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Chapter 40: Phoenix

All Pokémon names, locations, prevalent world characters, gyms, etcetera, are copyright to Nintendo, Game Freak, and a lot of other people. I do not own any of those. Aaron, and specific characters, are my own creations in this world, so please ask for permission.

Fox: End game, folks. Keep your limbs inside the ride until we reach our final mark. There will be a Fin at the end. I've seen a few stories that do some other sort of stuff but I'm not doing that stunt. Too much effort. Fin means fin, and I mean it.

Sako: What can I say? It's been a hell of a ride since I signed on to assist and complete this story. Never thought I would have been taken in to help either, but in the end it is hard to believe it is over. Where we go from here, well I think the ending takes the words out of my mouth. I hope those who have been here since the start will come away from this story like I have, satisfied. So sit back, scroll at your leisure and enjoy.

We had landed in Unova yesterday, and we've successfully infiltrated Castelia city. That's what Joy called this place. It has a great view of the ocean, and there were all kinds of boats making their way to and from the city. There were a lot of people mingling about, which made us blend in a simple affair. Travelers that were clearly not from around here carried backpacks around and were sightseeing just like I was. Of course, right alongside them are the locals, families, children, and the occasional dock worker and businessman or woman taking a stroll to get some fresh air.

“Enjoying the break?"

I turned around to see Joy smile and pass me an ice cream cone. With a grin, I nodded and took the offered treat from her.

“Yeah," I responded. “At least traveling here wasn't eventful."

She nodded. “You're right. It was a nice and quiet flight."

“Where's Jon?" I asked.

She shrugged. “I honestly thought he was with you," she said. “Though I suppose he did say something about wanting to look around."

I nodded. “That's what I thought he said," I said. “Either way, I thought I would stay here and enjoy the calm before the storm."

She smiled at me. It looked a little forced. I'm pretty sure she didn't like my choice of words.

“Do you think things will go bad?" she asked quietly.

I nodded. “Yeah. Knowing my luck, shit's going to hit the fan soon. I can already imagine Groudon walking towards the castle and wrecking this city apart to look for us."

Joy shivered at that. She looked around, as if afraid that someone overheard what I just said. “Keep it down!" she whispered.

I nodded. “You're right, though, I'm being a little pessimistic. I just… I don't know. I feel like we've gone so far, and everything hinges on so few things that we have no idea how they'll react to us."

“You mean that place?" she asked. “The castle?"

“Exactly," I said. “What if more Pokémon try to stop us? Will we have to fight our way through an onslaught just to do this?"

“Do you think it's worth it?" she asked.

I frowned at her. “Bailing out right now isn't going to bring back the people that Kyogre and Groudon killed. It isn't going to stop any of this stupid bullshit from continuing. Something has to happen, and it has to be done now."

Joy's eyes widened at that. She slowly nodded though, as if my words reminded her of something she would rather forget. To be fair, I didn't blame her at all. I wish I could forget what we saw that day. Joy placed a hand on my shoulder, and I straightened my back in response. She didn't put any weight on me, but her grip was strong.

“Don't forget that you're not alone," she said. “If you need to talk about it, we're always here, OK?"

I nodded. “I know. It's something I feel I need to get a hold on first. It still hurts, and I'm not sure when it'll stop."

“It might not stop hurting. Did you give that chance a thought?"

“No, l didn't. I don't think Spirit would want me to cave in like that either."

She sighed. “You're too hard on yourself."

I frowned. “Maybe," I answered. “Someone has to be, though."

She shook her head. “Just… just take a minute every day to not be hard on yourself. Can you do that? For me?"

Now that's not playing fair at all. Her body shook as she stood in front of me, a smile forcing its way on her face. I smiled back, though, and nodded. “Sure. That's not too bad."

She smiled and let go of my shoulder. Both of her hands went for my hips, and pulled me closer to her. Her forehead touched mine, and her hair blew into my eyes. I didn't mind, though. She was warm, and the smell of the ocean breeze mixed with whatever shampoo she had used this morning.

“Stop sniffing my hair," she said.

“It's a little hard to do that when it's all in my face," I said. “I'll ask the Rayquaza next time and see if they'll oblige in keeping nature calm for a moment."

“What a way to ruin our time together," Joy mumbled.

I grinned to myself as I pulled myself out of her hair. Leaning down, I brought a hand to her chin and lifted it up gently to put a kiss on her lips. Her arms rose to grab the back of my head as if to prevent me from escaping her grasp. Losing track of time, we kissed and held each other for a while. Thankfully, we weren't interrupted, but the ice cream that Joy had brought me was beginning to melt in my hand. We shared a laugh before focusing on eating our cold treats. It wasn't a flavor I could describe, but something that definitely reminded me of coconuts and berries.

“Did you like it?" she asked.

I nodded. “Yeah. The flavor was interesting. Definitely good though."

A comfortable silence between us as we enjoyed the rest of our ice cream. It wasn't long for this world, however, when I spotted Jon headed towards us. I waved at him and he picked up the pace to join us faster.

“Where's mine?" Jon asked.

“I ate it," Joy responded, sticking out her tongue.

“Funny," he said as he shook his head.

“Anything happen?" I asked Jon.

He pulled out a folded piece of paper, which when he opened it revealed the local area. Some details were obviously missed, but we could tell what roads lead to and from the city. There were a few circled areas in red that seemed to point out a local danger or warning of some kind. Jon ignored them, pointing towards the northern exit of the city. From there, the map changed from showing that there were paved roads to a barren wasteland.

“This is where we're headed," he said. “This castle, whatever it is, is in this desert."

“How do we know?" I asked.

“Tourist destination," he said with a laugh. “Apparently, ever since it came back a few years ago, swarms of people have come here to see it first hand. Throw in a few mysteries of people disappearing inside the castle and that there's more floors to be found and you basically have a place where outsiders will throw money at to visit."

“And that's where we're headed," I said. “What about the Rayquaza?"

“We aren't going with a tour group, if that's what you're wondering," Jon said with a laugh. “I don't have enough on me to pay, anyway."

I nodded. “Let's send the signal and tell the Rayquaza that we're ready to leave. No reason to stay here any longer."

Jon nodded. “Good call. I don't know if the local authorities have been contacted about us, but there's no need to risk it. The sooner we leave the sooner we're out of danger."

Joy didn't look convinced at all. Jon noticed her expression and sighed. I raised my hand to stop the argument before it could start. Thankfully, both of them nodded. I motioned Jon to lead, and he did while folding his map. Joy walked with me, her head leaning on my left shoulder. We stopped for ice cream on the way, Joy buying Jon one before getting another one for the both of us.

There seemed to be some kind of gate or checkpoint between Castelia and the outside. It seemed a bit odd, but I suppose there may be more to it than we know about it. Perhaps the Pokémon would attack the city, thinking that humans were invading their territory? Who knows.

As we entered the checkpoint, it proudly displayed that there was a sandstorm in the desert ahead. The lady at the desk, which oddly resembled Joy in hair, smiled at us as we approached. She must have noticed that we were foreigners, because she took a moment to speak to us.

“Hello!" she greeted us with enthusiasm. Her accent wasn't as thick as I've heard other people speak. “Please wait a moment before heading towards the desert. It is dangerous right now, with the sandstorm blowing. We are giving small breathing masks for travelers wishing to continue their journey."

I looked over to Jon, who shrugged. Turning to face the lady across the desk, I shook my head.

“I don't think this storm will be lasting for very long," I said before turning away from the desk. The exit itself was just a wide hallway that opened up towards the desert.

“Wait!" she exclaimed. We ignored her yelling, and continued onwards.

I didn't really see the problem. The storm had already stopped. As the lady came from behind us, she stopped and looked around. It was almost that she expected for the storm to start up again. She looked at us, as if we made this happen or something. She wasn't completely wrong, but I couldn't help but chuckle at her perplexed expression.

She turned to me. “Why are you laughing?" she asked.

“The way you reacted made me laugh. Sorry," I said.

“How did you know the sandstorm stopped?" she asked.

I turned around, already starting to walk towards the desert. “I didn't."

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While the storm itself had calmed down, it didn't stop the heat from threatening to stop our adventure. Thankfully, we were prepared for this since we stopped in Castelia. Jon was insistent that we carried multiple canteens full of water and stuffed our backpacks with decent rations. It wasn't really a good idea to stop just for food, so it was all stuff we could eat and keep on the move.

Since we left the checkpoint, we had a few people follow us. They didn't slow us down, and no one was speaking to us. I stayed silent myself, trying to keep attention from being drawn to us. Our unwanted entourage didn't, however, but at least left me alone after a few tried to strike up conversation. Jon and Joy seemed to be the same, ignoring all the other people following us and intent in keeping the pace up.

I could feel Mist squirm inside my chest. Slowing down my pace, I grabbed a canteen and opened the bottle to take a drink. The squirming lessened a little after that.

“Thank you, Master," she said.

I nodded to myself as I tightened the cap on the canteen again. No one seemed to notice that gesture. Breathing and walking forward were the only things I was focusing on.

“You need to pay attention to your body as well, Master," Mist insisted. “Exhausting yourself here wouldn't help."

I let out my breath through my nose. I knew that. Still, we didn't have time to just wait either. It all felt like we were the last ones to figure out where we needed to be or go. Damn Arceus, having to kick the bucket and leave His own problems to everyone else to fucking fix. The more time I've had to think this whole thing of Arceus sacrificing himself, the more stupid it seemed. What did sacrificing Himself do? It only worsened the problem and didn't fix anything at all.

“It's kept the Pokémon fighting amongst themselves and spared their attention from humans," Mist said calmly.

Why didn't they turn on us when humans grew to build communities? Why did some of them even help humans to settle disputes and band them together? Even the Unown language isn't originally a human language. Why did the Unown help humans communicate in the first place? With my limited knowledge of Unovan history, why did Zekrom and Reshiram help the two heroes stabilize the area?

“I… do not know, Master. Perhaps, though, is that they believe in Arceus' vision of the world. One world, united, no matter who you are and what you are. You were created the same, and we know that we go to the same place when we die. Why fight at all?

“If you didn't believe in this, even just a little bit, why would you be trying to help bring Arceus back?"

Did I really believe that Arceus would put everything right? I just wanted the fucker to answer for what he's done and the lives he's ended by his followers. That's what I really wanted.

“Are you ready to die if it means to get your answers?"

I stopped walking for a second. Joy looked at me with a worried expression. I waved my hand at her, grabbing the canteen again and taking a drink. Was I ready to do that? I frowned. If fighting my way through wasn't going to do it, would I be able to do that in order for this to end?

“I believe you'll make the right decision, Master," Mist said. “I will be with you when you make that decision, and afterwards."

A hand touched my shoulder, making me flinch. Joy gasped, pulling back her hand from me. As I looked around, it looked like I had made myself the center of attention for a moment. A lot of our unwanted companions were looking at me strangely.

“Are you alright?" Joy asked.

I nodded. “Yeah, just talking to Mist," I answered.

She nodded. “Keep drinking water. Your skin looks a little dry, like you're not sweating enough."

“Yeah, I think you're right," I said with a smile. “Must have not been paying attention."

She didn't say anything as I opened a canteen again and drank more water. Her eyes were still on me as I put the cap back on the canteen. Joy's taken my well being as one of her top priorities recently. Did Mist talk to her about something while I wasn't looking?

“No, Master, I have not," Mist answered with a soft giggle. “It is interesting that you are willing to shift a human's affection to my actions. No, she is acting well on her own accord and without my persuasion."

I shook my head. I have to stop overthinking things. Joy's just worried about me, that's all. She was standing next to me, taking my hand and giving it a gentle tug. I couldn't control the smile that formed on my face as my legs moved towards her.

“Are you alright?" she asked. “Are you tired?"

“A little bit," I admitted. “I just want to get to the castle as soon as we can."

“We're almost there," Jon said. “We've made great time so far."

“The fact that we haven't gotten lost due to a sandstorm is a plus," I said with a laugh.

Joy joined in laughing with me. “Gee, I wonder why?" she asked rhetorically.

The other people that joined us looked around, as if expecting the storm to come back in full force. We just laughed harder as we continued our walk forward. The surroundings didn't change much from the beginning of our time out in the desert sands. Funny enough, there wasn't really anything to speak of when it came to a landmark since we've left the boundary of the city behind us. Have the cities of Unova just left the wilderness alone all these years?

As we went around a large dune, my questions were answered. There was human civilization here at one point. What happened is a good question. The buildings weren't large, not compared to Castelia at any rate. A few of them were at least two stories tall, and perhaps there were others that were higher. That wasn't the case anymore, with empty window panes spilling sand out of their openings. The upper floors of some buildings were barren, the walls looking like they were blown away. Other buildings looked like they caved inwards, the creaking of steel and the soft sound of sand shifting making any statement that it was there. None of our group seemed to dare make their own sound, our silence either in respect to what happened here, or fear to anger something else that lived here.

There weren't any other people in the area, either. There was a sandstorm earlier, so that's probably the reason why there isn't any signs of human activity. No, what I noticed was a severe lack of Pokémon activity in the immediate surroundings. Perhaps it was just us creating enough of a ruckus to make any Pokémon nearby to get out of the way. What bothered me was that it didn't look like there hasn't been any signs of disturbance in any of the buildings at all. We didn't stop to take a look at any of the buildings or anything, but even outside, there were no marks on the walls that would show a Pokémon marking his or her territory.

I do suppose that maybe Unovan Pokémon settle their territorial disputes differently, or that they don't mark territory at all. Still, it seemed odd that there no outward signs of habitation. Someone groaned behind me. I turned around to see them shake their shoe, as if they've stepped in something. Another from the group of stragglers that joined us started laughing. Noticing the smell that came from that direction led me to believe that he had stepped on some dung or something. Perhaps it wasn't as uninhabited as it looked like.

“We shouldn't be far now," Jon said over the groups commotion. “Just up this dune and we should see it."

I turned to see him looking at his map. Hustling past him, I made my legs propel myself forward up against the sand. My feet sunk under the surface, the sand working against my footing. I was the first to crest the dune, and what laid in front of me took my breath away.

The castle itself was pristine from where we stood. It felt like the surrounding environment avoided it entirely. The sand would almost reach it, only to bounce off what looked like an invisible barrier. Either that or convenient air currents stopped the sand from ever ruining the pristine condition. Somehow, that seemed unlikely. Nature is never that accommodating. The castle itself stood in the middle of a what looked like a hollowed out cave. I have no idea how there wasn't any damage done to the structure of the castle. It could have been repaired, I suppose. The sun showed the stone bricks colors. From our point, it looked like a green color, with the roofs of different sections colored with bright contrasts of orange, yellow, red, and more. For a moment, I just stood there stupefied and astounded of what I was actually looking at. A castle full of history, right in my face! Mom and dad would choke someone just for a chance at this!

I had to reign in my enthusiasm, though. As amazing as the castle looked like from our view, it didn't really detract from our purpose here. Also, it was hard to ignore the rank and file of what could be hundreds of Pokémon milling around outside the castle itself. As other people reached the top of the dune, their murmurs that sounded of amazement and fear reached me. Jon and Joy stood next to me, their hands on my shoulders to reassure me of their continued support.

“Are you OK?" Joy asked.

“No, I'm not, but that doesn't mean we aren't going down there and getting this shit finished," I said. My body was shaking and my voice didn't convey any confidence. Still, I forced myself to walk forward.

The sand shifted under my feet. I didn't really walk forward as much as I just slid forward. Memories of sliding down hills under rain came to me, and my body just moved with how the sand shifted underneath me. The most amusing part came from Mist, as I felt her panic slightly with every shift as we made our way down.

“Master! To the right! No, your left!" she yelled in my head.

Don't you trust me, you silly ghost? I felt my legs buckle under my weight, the sand refusing to budge. Pulling myself out of the earth's grasp, I jumped forward to get out of our predicament. My heart beat loudly in my ears, mixing together with Mist's constant wails on how we should have just ridden on Zefyra's back. Sure, it would be faster, but at least this was more entertaining.

By the time we reached the bottom of the dune, Mist stopped shouting. Thank Arceus for small miracles. She huffed at that thought, but I hoped she knew I was joking. Looking back up, I saw Joy and Jon both in the skies as they rode their Pokémon. The rest of the group decided that they weren't moving, staying on top of the dune. Good. I was hoping they wouldn't get themselves involved in this.

After dusting myself off as best I could, I marched forward towards the congregation and the castle entrance. We weren't going to make it inside any time soon, so I tried to count how many other Pokémon I could see from my perspective. It was obvious that there were a lot of Pokémon here. This would have been much easier from the top of the dune to get an accurate count. Instead, I tried to see if there were any that I recognized from my perspective. Unfortunately I couldn't make out details from where we were. We'll find out when we get there, I suppose.

“What were you thinking?" Jon asked as his Dragonite landed next to me.

I shrugged. “Hills are hills," I said. “Doesn't matter what they're made of. Sand's just easier to slide down on."

“I take it you've done it before."

I smirked. “Yeah, you could say that, and on worse terrain. Mud's less forgiving."

We walked in silence after that. I noticed Jon shake his head a few times, but didn't say anything. Urging him on, he finally took a deep breath and spoke.

“Why aren't we flying?" he asked.

I shrugged. “Figured that if we're walking, we should get there by walking. Finish off in style type of thing."

“Style?" he asked.

“If we're going to finish this, we have to make sure it's remembered. No one's going to remember three humans that flew towards them. No, they'll remember the three humans and their Pokémon walking up to them and not giving a single fuck."

“So it's about making a statement," Jon said.

“Basically," I said with a nod. “I want them to know that we're done running. Somehow, this ends today."

“What makes you think they're going to let us in without a fight?" he asked.

I stopped for a moment. My shoulders slumped as I took a deep breath.

“If they don't let us through, I'm going to force a way through," I growled. “Nothing is getting in my way today."

My body was shaking. I'm not sure if it was out of fear, anger, or some other emotion. Either way, nothing was going to stop me today. It felt like this was our chance to make things happen.

“Do you think it'll make any difference?" he asked.

“Yeah, I do. This isn't about doing things fast, it's about doing it our way, on our terms," I answered. “They'll remember us, somehow. If it's standing up to them, taking our time to show them that we're not afraid of approaching them on our terms and not theirs, it makes a statement. It's not about riding on our Pokémon, it's about us showing them that we've carried this through by our own strength and not just by letting ourselves be brought to it."

I started walking again after that, with Jon and his Dragonite soon following. Joy took this time to land next to us and dismount her Hydreigon. Her eyes were wide, and started talking immediately.

“Holy fuck! Did you even take a good look at what you're walking towards?" she asked. She looked less scared and more angry. “It looks like they're waiting to murder us!"

“They won't do that," I said.

“What makes you so damn sure?"

“Call it a hunch. Guy's intuition if you will," I said with a smile forming on my face. “Truthfully, I just think they're more like a welcoming guard. It looks like these Pokémon just don't hang outside in the sun all day just because it's fun."

She snorted. “Just be ready," she said.

“Of course," I said with a nod. “We're ready."

For the rest of the march towards the castle, we stayed silent. The occasional breeze of hot air felt like we were walking into a forbidden place. Sand crunched underneath our feet as the castle slowly grew in front of us. Details of the Pokémon in front of the castle became easier to see. Some I recognized, like the Suicune and Zapdos, were easy to recognize. Others weren't immediately recognized, though they looked like the fabled Moltres and Articuno. I wasn't sure about the rest.

A giant shadow formed around us suddenly. It was narrow though. Looking up, the familiar shape of a Rayquaza loomed over us. There wasn't only one either, as more outlines flew above. I could not help but snicker. Well, that's one way to make an entrance. Would also explain why they never met with us before we left the city. All of them were following us from the sky.

As we approached the line of Pokémon standing outside the castle, they stood back to let us through. None of them spoke or made any sound as we walked past. I could feel them glaring at us as we continued to make our way towards the castle. We continued our pace through the crowd. Some of the Pokémon continued to glare, while others looked thankful as we passed them by. Others bowed their heads down slightly, while others snarled threateningly. When we finally made it to the end, there was a gate flanked by two Pokémon. They were both around the same height, but that was about where the similarities ended. While one looked like to have the fur of a pure white cloud, the other was covered in what looked like black plates. The white one's eyes were a clear blue like the sky, while the black one's were a crimson red. They seemed to be set up as polar opposites, or of similar but conflicting positions. They were similarly built, except with the black one having a set of arms and wings while the white one seeming to have wings for arms. I'm not entirely sure how that all worked.

They didn't move or say anything as we looked at each other. Honestly, it wouldn't have been a far stretch to say they may have been statues if not for the subtle movements of their eyes and the soft rise and fall of their chests. Seeing as no one was saying anything, maybe it was time to start the ball rolling.

I raised my hand. “Morning," I said. “Any chance that we can get in?"

The two guardians didn't move or respond to my question. I felt Joy tap me on the shoulder. When I looked at her, she shook her head as she glared at me.

“Let me start again. My name is Aaron, the Shard of Arceus. I'm here to help bring Arceus back."

Somehow, that roused both gatekeepers from their indifference. They both looked at each other for a moment, before nodding in sync. When they turned to face me, they both spoke at the same time.

“Shard of Arceus, your arrival has been anxiously expected by many sons and daughters of Arceus," they said in unison. Their tone was a level of monotone that I didn't think existed. Either that, or they figured out how to pitch their voice to be almost exactly the same.

“We cannot let you pass until-"

“No."

Everyone stared at me as I interrupted the twins little speech. This shit ends right here and now.

“No, we're not fucking waiting. We're sick and tired of fucking waiting, running around scared while being chased by the next crazy fuck that wants us dead. No, we're going inside and we're going to finish this. If you get in our way right now, we'll make you get out of the way."

The black plated one stepped forward, red eyes glowing. “You dare insult us?" The voice was slightly more pronounced now, with a softer and feminine tone to it.

“I don't know about insulting you. Maybe interrupting your grand speech there, but I can't tell if you're just so fucking ignorant that you can't understand to get out of the way so we can get this done."

A loud humming noise started to emanate from her. It was at this time that I noticed the tail that was attached to these two, and how this one was spinning and looked to be generating electricity. Lightning began to crackle from the Pokémon's mouth. I grinned as I stepped forward, my arms wide open as if to welcome oblivion.

“Do it!" I yelled. “Come on! End this, right here, right now! Let's fucking go! What are you waiting for?"

No one moved as the humming turned into a loud whine, like some engine being supercharged. I grinned wider, feeling angrier by the second.

“Let's go asshole," I said, stepping closer towards the Pokémon. “You can't be bad enough to miss at this range. Just do it!" I yelled out, doing my best to instigate the black Pokémon. “I dare you to do it! You won't do it either, because I know that you need me alive to do what needs to be done. You won't kill me, but go right the fuck ahead and blow me away! No one's stopping you! Come on! Do it!"

I was standing next to her, close enough to touch the sleek black skin. I did so, too, to prove that I could. Lightning sparked across the plates, but never touched my hand. I looked up, a grin spreading across my face.

“That's what I thought," I said with finality. “Now, be a good little girl and get out of the way."

Angry murmurs from the gathered Pokémon arose, but it stopped as soon as the black plated Pokémon moved aside. Glad to see that she got the message. I looked over to the white Pokémon standing guard, to see if it wanted to pick a fight. So far, it didn't look like anyone was going to stop us from here on out.

I walked past the black guardian, standing next to the white one for a moment. “Are you going to try and stop us?" I asked aloud.

“No," he said softly. “My counterpart spoke out harshly and without understanding the truth of the matter, yet her ideals are true. What do you plan on doing inside the castle?"

“Bring back Arceus," I stated.

“At what cost?"

“Since when did any of you care?"

“Not we, perhaps, but your companions? Do you think that they will let you go quietly to die so you can accomplish your goal?"

“I don't plan on dying today. I have a lot to do still, and Arceus has to answer a few questions before that."

“Oh? Like what?"

I didn't quite like the tone of his voice. I didn't quite like the direction this line of questioning was going. It felt like they were trying to buy time and scrambling to do something about it.

“Maybe ask him about why you keep asking me these stupid fucking questions," I snarled back. “Because it's only you two that are getting in my way right now."

The black one started to charge up electricity again. Was she actually going to do it? I really fucking hope so. Any excuse to start kicking ass is a good excuse to me at this moment. Mist stirred somewhere inside my chest, as if just waiting for the right time to scare the daylights out of this idiot in front of me.

“Sister."

We all stopped when the white furred Pokémon spoke. He stared at us, more at the black plated one than towards me.

“We shall let him pass," he stated. “I will provide a guide to take him to Arceus. We shall see exactly what he plans once he sees the truth of the world."

The truth of the world? What exactly did he mean by that? It didn't look like I was going to get more information than that because the gates creaked open. The black one huffed loudly before turning away from me.

“Go ahead, Shard of Arceus," the white one said. “We will see you soon enough."

“And what is it that you're planning now?" I asked suspiciously. “Why aren't you taking us directly?"

“I feel like you need to see a few things before that," he said. “This is the truth of the matter."

I restrained the impulse to roll my eyes and nodded. “Fine," I said. Turning to my friends, I nodded. “Let's go."

No one stopped us, though the black plated Pokémon was still huffing when we walked past. Whatever, let her stew in whatever the fuck she was huffing about. We have a job to do, and no one was getting in our way.

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The main doors closed behind us.

We were in a large lobby of some kind. It was, at one point, grandiose. I could picture the jet black stone floor reflecting the light from golden chandeliers. Expensive fluffy furniture placed next to a roaring fireplace. Now it was just ruins. Layers of dust kicked up as we walked forward. The remains of a chandelier laid in ruins on the floor. It felt like we were the first to be in here in a very long time.

“This feels weird," I muttered. “Hasn't anyone been in here in all this time?"

“Maybe it's been that long between visitors?" Joy asked.

“Or trespassers," Jon said.

“Like, grave robbers or something?" I asked.

“More like scavengers," he clarified. “Just people trying to steal for a quick buck."

I walked towards the chandelier on the ground. I frowned, reaching out to touch it. The metal felt exactly like was expected, though noticeably colder than the environment. The glass shade, broken long ago, showed the opulence of a bygone era. While it was a significantly colder in the building compared to the desert outside, it wasn't freezing. This, though, felt like it just got pulled from a freezer.

“Something's wrong here," I stated.

“Ghosts," Mist whispered.

“Where?" I asked aloud.

“What's going on, Aaron?" Joy asked.

“We're not alone in here," I answered. “Mist says there's ghosts around."

A soft giggle echoed around us suddenly. Looking around, there weren't any obvious signs of a ghost in the room. Were they invisible? Jon and Joy both looked around, trying to deduce the location of the laugh. Mist stirred slightly in my chest as well.

The giggle echoed again, only louder this time. A red fire lit from the tumbled chandelier in front of me. The only problem I had with this happening was that there weren't any candles when to light, and that it was just happening by itself.

The chandelier creaked loudly, like bones popping back into place, as it moved. Metal clinked against metal as the chandelier started hovering into the air. With all its arms lit, the fire suddenly engulfed the chandelier. The broken glass was slowly filled in, as if the damage was just an illusion. Two large, bright red eyes appeared that match the color of the flames. The fiery display ended with little fanfare, but not before leaving a large tuft of flame above the eyes.

“What is that?" I asked.

“A Chandelure," Joy said. “A real nasty piece of work. They absorb souls to light their fires."

The giggle came out again, this time louder than before. “No, silly human, we don't absorb souls," a soft masculine voice said. I turned to look at the Chandelure, making a similar gesture to how Iolanthe does with her eyes. “The older ones of my kind do attack humans and other Pokémon from time to time, but that is a barbaric sport and generally frowned upon."

The Chandelure shook, as if shaking off the last bits of sleep. “The twins have given me the pleasure of guiding you towards Arceus, while showing you why things are the way they are. I hope that you are willing to do a fair bit of walking. We have much to see, and little time to do it."

“Excuse me, but I'm not going anywhere until you explain yourself," I stated with a frown.

The Chandelure looked almost happy to do so. “Naturally! I am the four hundredth, seventy-fifth steward of this castle. Given express permission by the Masters to guide the Shards of Arceus to their resting place."

“Why have there been so many stewards before you?" I asked, still trying to grapple that number in my mind. That's a lot of butlers to go through.

“Most of them either perished due to age, or if they were a Ghost Pokémon they became bored with the arrangement and left," the Chandelure responded. “I have been faithfully serving the Masters for the last five hundred years today!" He exclaimed with a burst of fire.

“Congratulations, I think?" Joy said in a questioning tone.

“My thanks, young lady!" The Chandelure exclaimed. “Today seems like an eventful day! Arceus to come back with the final Shard here today, my five hundredth anniversary, and new visitors! The Masters have truly outdone themselves today!"

“Visitors?" Jon asked. “When was the last time anyone else has come into the castle?"

“Other than many trespassers over the years, none," the Chandelure said sadly. “We do not have many servants in the castle, though the Masters are never in much need for things."

“How many servants are there in the castle?" I asked.

“Ten at last count, sir," he responded cheerfully. “Five more than what we need, if I may say, though the extra hands are always useful."

“Are they all ghosts?" I asked.

“No, sir. Only one other is a ghost. The rest are either Pokémon of varying races, and one human. Though the human is more of a vagrant that stays on the grounds than be a servant to the Masters, he does bring the rest of the servants food and commodities we do not have readily available given our location."

“I think we're ready to move on," I said. “Could you please take us to where Arceus is located?"

“But of course, sir!" He exclaimed. “A question, if I may, sir."

“Sure."

“Which one of you is the Shard of Arceus?"

I raised my hand casually. “Present."

“You're housing a Ghost inside of you," he said. “Curious."

I narrowed my eyes at the Chandelure, but didn't say anything. He looked a little flustered, the flames on his body rising for a moment.

“Terribly sorry, sir! I did not mean any disrespect! Please, if you and your comrades could follow me we can begin."

Seems like everyone has a problem with a human having a Ghost inside of them. Mist giggled at that. Either way, the Chandelure lead the way forward. A single door opened, as our guide floated next to it. We marched through the door, Jon being last and closing the door behind him. We stood now in a long hallway, broken windows that peered outside allowing the dry air to blow in. Strangely, there wasn't any sand inside the building. Either they had a servant regularly cleaning every hallway that faced outwards, or there was more to it.

“This hallway will lead us to the first library," Chandelure said happily. “We do not have many things here, but we do have many books."

“Do the Masters read a lot?" I asked.

“Perhaps they did at one point," he said. “They do not paruse them like before, I think. My predecessor would tell me that at one point they read them over and over again, pouring days over a single document. Now, they rarely leave their rooms. They watch the Shards move, if that much in some days, and then retreat back to their chambers."

As we reached the end of the hallway, we went through another door. This one was a bit more ornate, with a very artistic letter A carved on it. It was interesting, but our guide didn't explain if it had any significance. He opened the door for us, and what I saw stopped me in my tracks as soon as I stepped inside.

Books. Quite possibly thousands of books stack on high on shelves impossibly high. The room itself was humongous, with a lot of space in between for a large being to walk unimpeded. Ancient candelabras hung from walls. The built up wax a clear indicator that it has been a while since someone cleaned up this area. It didn't stop the Chandelure from going to each one and lighting the candles on them with his own flames.

“I'm terribly sorry, esteemed guests!" Chandelure exclaimed as he passed by to light another candle. “I had thought that the servants would have done a more thorough job at cleaning our first library!"

I shook my head. “No, it's alright. Don't worry about it too much. It doesn't bother me."

The Chandelure flitted back and forth, the eyes changing from being frustrated and scared but finally relaxing. Maybe asking some questions would help take his mind off the mess? Though, to be honest, that the library had no books on the floor was either a testament to whoever cleaned it last, or the the level of disuse of the Master's own books.

“So, is there any particular reason that there was a large letter A on the door leading to this room?" I asked.

The Chandelure immediately perked up. “Yes, sir! Here, all the Shards biographies that their names begin with the letter on the door belong. Among other subjects present in all of our libraries, that is the main reason for the letters on the doors."

“Biographies of Shards?" Joy asked.

“So, everyone that managed to reach here that was either a Pokémon or human that housed a shard wrote a book about their life before arriving to the castle?"

“Yes sir."

“Why?"

“The Masters would ask them if they could," Chandelure answered happily. “To sit down with the Masters and speak to them, not as master and servant, but as equals, must be an exhilarating experience."

Mist squirmed inside of me. I wondered if anything was wrong.

“The way he worships those two is beginning to scare me," she whispered.

“So, there are peoples lives written here," Jon stated. “Could I see one?"

“Certainly, sir!" Chandelure exclaimed. “Please follow me, let me show you my favorite ones."

“Aaron?" Joy asked.

“I'm not sure if I should be impressed at the scope of this situation, or scared shitless."

“Maybe we should take a moment to gather ourselves?" Joy suggested. “Let's see what is in here. We could take the time to learn something about this place, and maybe a way to beat these guys."

“That would be unwise."

We turned to see the Chandelure, hovering a little too close for my liking. It looked like trying to maintain civility was going to be a struggle today.

“The Master's will gain the last Shard from you," he said softly. “It will only be a matter of time, but feel free to attempt. All of the previous Shards tried and none successfully defeated them."

I narrowed my eyes at the Chandelure. “You know that I don't care about the masters at all, do you?"

He didn't respond immediately. I continued. “Well, now you know. Maybe you missed the memo, but I poked the black one and she would have fried me if the white one didn't stop her. I was more than ready to fight my way in here if it came to that. I'm doing my damnest to stay civil, but if you want to push it, we can stop being nice and get down to business."

Our chaperone looked to my side towards Joy, as if to find someone to reason with. Instead it looked like Joy was giving him a stare that startled him more than my little speech.

“Very well," he said. “Let us keep this as civil as possible. Feel free to look around the library. I will be back for you in just a moment, if that is not much to ask of our guests."

With that, the Chandelure disappeared in a small puff of orange fire. I don't know if he went to speak with Jon or not, but at least he left us alone for now. Hopefully this doesn't end up backfiring on us.

“Do you think he'll shut up now about the Masters?" Joy asked.

“I can only hope," I answered. “Come on. Let's see if we can find something useful in one of these books."

With so many books, it was hard to choose a starting point. I just started grabbing books with interesting covers. None had a written title anywhere on the cover. They were either bound in some kind of leather texture, which made me question how exactly did that happen. Even without a title, each book was ornately decorated with something elegant and simple. One manuscript had a flower imprinted into the leather, while another had what looked like some kind of firearm.

The first page was always the same. If it was of some kind of research of a specific topic, it would open with a very clear statement that this was everything inside the book. If it covered someone's life, it began by stating the person's name and their Pokémon. They were all written in either the same or very similar calligraphy. It was hard to believe that multiple people would write exactly the same.

Joy focused on the research books while I poured through the biographies. All this did was confirm what I wondered. This whole fight for Arceus' shards has been going on ever since He sacrificed Himself. The other part, and this really bothered me, was how every single Shard that was alive, Pokémon or human, willingly gave their Shard to the twins. There isn't any story here about how each fought or anything. Nothing. Just them calmly accepting their fate and dying.

For what? For every single other one to do the same thing? I flipped through book after book, hoping that it wouldn't be like the last one. No. Each one ended the same way, quietly accepting their fate. Some had the decency to be afraid of what would happen to them. Others were happy that they were dying for something bigger. That last one really got me pissed. I slammed a book shut and threw it against the wall in frustration.

“Shit! Calm down, will you?" Joy exclaimed. “You don't want our guide to get pissed off at us any more than he probably is."

I forced myself to take a deep breath to calm myself. While it didn't work, I stood up and walked to pick up the book I threw. After putting it down next to Joy's pile of books, I continued walking.

“Where are you going?" she asked.

“Not out of this room, if that's what you're wondering," I replied. “Going to see if there are any books that aren't so one sided."

“We still haven't gone through half of this stack," she protested.

“I'm pretty sure that given how the ones I read ended, the rest will end the same," I said. “Doesn't matter anyway. They have all but one soul left. What would it matter finding out how the rest decided to just take death like a bitch and not fight back."

She called my name but I didn't really pay attention to it. “I'll be back in a moment," I said as I walked away.

I started exploring, trying to find something that wasn't just deliberately named after some idiot that gave up. Unfortunately, there were more books with names than not. After exhausting the five aisles of books on both sides, I came to the rough conclusion that every name that started with the letter A was exhausted out of the human language. I smirked, glad to see that they haven't just started writing a book about my own life or some shit.

Mist squirmed inside my chest. I stopped moving immediately, wondering if something was wrong.

“May I grab a particular book, Master?" she asked.

Sure, go ahead. My left hand extended, being controlled by the ghost inside me. When my fingers lay on top of the spine of a relatively new looking spine, control was returned to me.

“This one?" I asked as I pulled it gently from its spot on the shelf.

“Yes, that one," she answered.

“Anything special about it?"

“I have a strange feeling this might have some answers for us," she whispered. “I am not sure, but I hope I am right."

“Better than showing up empty handed," I said. “Should we head back?"

“Yes, before the other humans become worried about you."

I snorted. “Right, because Joy is going to be freaking out if I'm out of her sight."

Mist didn't respond, though it felt like she was just shrugging off my comment. I didn't mean it in a derisive manner, but Joy didn't quite strike me as someone that would do that. Either way, I flipped the book around, trying to decide if I should open it right now or later. Curiosity got the better of me, and I decided to open it anyway.

The first page was, to my frustration, emblazoned with my name. This would be funnier if it wasn't so aggravating. Alright, motherfuckers, what do you want? I flipped the first page over, maybe to see if there was any message or something. Page after page with nothing to show me, I shut the book with both hands.

“Perhaps I can be of some use."

The Chandelure's light peeked over the corner of the bookshelves, as if to avoid irritating me or something. I shrugged. “What do you have in mind?" I asked.

“I can do what I've done with other Shards before you, write your story," he explained. “Perhaps we can find some common ground, and not be so openly hostile to one another."

“I'm going to find that difficult to believe, but sure, fine, whatever," I said dismissively. “Maybe we can find a desk for you?"

“Follow me, please," the Chandelure said, making a bowing motion with his arms.

I shrugged again, following the ghost. It didn't feel like Mist reacted at all to the Chandelure's words or presence, so I took that as a good sign. We turned a few corners to find a desk and a single chair. Chandelure lit a single candle that was perched above the desk. I looked towards my chaperone only to have him float towards the chair and pull it for me. I sat down, a little wary of his friendliness.

“I truly mean what I said," Chandelure said. “I only have the best intentions for the Masters, and by extension, for you as well."

“I still don't quite agree with how I'm supposed to just lay there and take it," I pointed out.

“Out of all the rest of the mortals that we took their Shards, none of them complained about it once it was explained," Chandelure stated.

“I noticed, given the small sample of books we read," I stated sourly.

That seemed to give him pause since he didn't respond immediately. A gentle blue glow surrounded a handle on the desk, allowing Chandelure to extract a well of ink and a set of quills. I noticed that each quill was either well taken care of, or plucked recently. They didn't look used at all.

“The Ho-Oh have been more than willing to pass a few shed feathers from time to time, when they pass by," Chandelure explained.

“That's nice of them," I replied, doing my best to keep my voice neutral.

“Would you mind?" Chandelure asked.

I raised an eyebrow. “What do you mean?" I asked.

“If I wrote your story," he elaborated. “I… understand if you didn't, but would you allow me the honor of doing this one last time?"

“One last time?" I repeated. “What makes you think there won't be another time?"

“You're determined to end this, one way or another," he explained. “Either the Masters extract the Shard, or you figure out a way to defeat the Masters and revive Arceus in your own way. I have my doubts in you defeating them if you fight, but somehow this will end with Arceus returning."

I nodded. “So, you figure that if there aren't any Shards to record their stories, this job is over."

“Put simply, yes," he said, nodding.

I waited for Mist to say something. My ghostly companion maintained her silence. I shrugged. “Sure," I replied.

“Thank you," he said with a nod towards me. He opened the empty book, flipping past the first few pages. The inkwells top popped open and placed gently on the table. A Ho-Oh feather was gently picked up and slowly inserted to the well to soak up some ink. He gave me a brief nod.

“I am ready," he said. “Please start from the beginning."

I swallowed audibly, doing my best to think of a point to start.

“Anywhere is fine," he continued. “Just start when you are ready."

I nodded, giving myself a moment to collect myself. I guess we could start how I got my love of archaeology from my parents.

“It started about when I was five, and my parents digging through the Unown Ruins by our house…"

---------------------------///////////////////////////////////////-----------------------------------------

I don't know how long Chandelure kept me there. It was surprisingly easy to talk about things that I felt completely insecure of not that long ago. I also liked how he didn't damn me for having relations with my Pokémon. Perhaps it was how it happened, a mutual consent between individuals. Maybe he didn't care. Either way, it was refreshing not having someone jump down my throat immediately.

A smaller Pokémon would come by every now and then with a glass of water to help me keep talking. I didn't know if it was one of the other servants that Chandelure talked about, but they sure seemed to know where they were. It looked almost like Chandelure, but smaller in size and not as ornate looking. Probably in the same evolutionary family though.

It brought me another glass of water, and I thanked them once more. It was here that Chandelure closed the book and set down the quill. “I believe we are finished here, Shard of Arceus," Chandelure said.

“How long have we been here?" I asked, suddenly feeling exhausted.

“More than half the day," Chandelure said. “It is starting to turn to night at this moment."

I nodded. “Looks like we'll be staying at least one night in the castle," I stated. “I hope that the Masters don't have a problem with that."

Chandelure shook his head. “No, not at all. They had planned for this, and I took the liberty to have rooms prepared for you and your companions. If you would follow me, please."

“Hey, before we go, could I see the book for a moment?" I asked.

“Of course, Shard. Would you like to add something?"

“If that's alright."

Chandelure nodded, giving me another one of those eerie smiles with his eyes. “Of course. I will gather your companions. Please wait here for a moment."

He floated off. The other, smaller Pokémon stayed with me. It gave me a curious stare, but didn't say anything. Perhaps it was shy? I didn't give it much thought. Slowly grabbing the book, inkwell, and a new feather to write with, I flipped over the pages of the book. It felt weird, reading it all. I had just described what happened in so short of a time in a few hours. Sure, we glossed over a few moments, mostly the sex, but the important parts of it were still there.

The ending of it amused me though. It seemed that Chandelure had a sense of humor. It read “At the time of writing, the last Shard of Arceus has not given up on maintaining his life, and will continue to fight until the last". He wasn't wrong, at least.

I flipped over to the first page of the book, noting it was blank. Staring at it for a moment, I thought what to say. I wasn't sure who would find this next. Would it be another Pokémon or a human to find it first? What could I say that it would catch their interest? I frowned, trying to think of anything interesting to write down. Finally, something clicked in my head. I dabbed the quill into the inkwell and slowly wrote out my thoughts.

My penmanship wasn't something I practiced often, much less since I started this journey, but it was something that my father was particularly proud of. It was pretty ingrained into my head, at least the little bit of practice that I got while I was at home. I made deliberate movements, slow and steady to not mess up something that we worked hard to complete. A letter at a time, the idea in my mind was transferred into paper. I only hope that, when and if someone reads this, it would at least let them understand.

I laughed at the thought, sound bursting from my mouth at how ridiculous I must look. I stood up from the chair, putting the writing utensils away with as much care as the Chandelure did while taking them out. After everything was set away, I nodded towards my silent compatriot.

“I guess I should stay here, huh," I said aloud, hoping to get a response.

The silent light only swayed back and forth in place. I shrugged, sitting back down. I looked at what I wrote once more. My mind debated if I should just change it. Mist chimed in.

“No. Leave it as it is. It is you expressing your feelings as best you can. To be honest, it would pique my interest in reading this one book than any of the others we flipped over, especially if none of them have that sort of introduction to them," she said confidently.

With praise like that, I better be satisfied, shouldn't I? Leaning back on the chair, it felt pretty good to get that out of my chest. Chandelure moved into view, followed by Joy and Jonathan. I raised a hand in greetings, while they did the same.

“So here's where you were," Joy stated. “What's going on here?"

I shrugged. “Just putting the finishing touches on the book," I said.

“What book?" she asked.

I pointed to the one on the desk. “That one."

She narrowed her eyes at me. “Is it one of those books?" she asked.

“If you mean the Shard biographies, yeah," I said with a shrug. “Chandelure convinced me."

Joy rolled her eyes. “Whatever. Let's get to bed, it's late and we need the sleep. Chandelure, if you please?"

“Yes, ma'am!" Chandelure exclaimed. “Everyone, if you could please follow me."

What made Chandelure respect Joy so much all of a sudden? My curiosity would have to wait, as we all followed Chandelure through aisles of books towards the door. This one wasn't as ornate as the first one, but perhaps that was because of the direction we were approaching it. Chandelure opened the door, only to be greeted by a pitch black hallway. At least now the darkness wasn't an issue.

We walked for quite a while before encountering our first door. Chandelure opened it to reveal a very modest room. It was beautifully furnished, but nothing to make it stand out.

“For you, sir," Chandelure said with a bow.

“I'll see you all in the morning," Jon said before heading inside. We waved at him before he closed the door.

“Follow me, please."

We continued onward for a little more. The next door was just a few more steps away, around our first corner. “For the couple," Chandelure said.

“Excuse me?" I asked

“Let's go, Aaron."

Joy grabbed my hand before I could say anything else, closing the door behind us. Her arms wrapped around my waist and her head rested on my shoulders. I felt like the best thing to do is just to hold her, so I did. Even if the backpack was starting to poke against my spine, I didn't complain.

“Let's get this stuff off of us," she said. She didn't move, though.

I ran my fingers through her hair and kissed her forehead. “Sure."

We shed our backpacks and just got comfortable. I finally got a chance to look around the room, but found it as plain as the small glimpse of Jon's. The bed looked bigger, I think, maybe. Joy's arms wrapped around my waist from behind. She tugged her arms, forcing me to walk backwards.

“Hey now, what was up with Chandelure calling us a couple?" I asked.

“Well, aren't we?" she asked back.

My mind blanked. Holy shit, she's right. Words didn't quite want to become cohesive from my brain to my mouth. It didn't sound like Joy was disappointed in my silence or lack of voicing my thoughts.

“You've never thought about it, huh," she said. She sounded really hurt.

“It's sad that you have to put it that way, but you're right," I said.

She laughed. I don't know if she was forcing herself to or not. “Where do I stand?" she asked. “Do I even compare to Zin and the others?"

Holy fuck. “OK, you know you mean a lot to me, right?" I asked.

I felt her nod. “Alright, with that established, did you want to push our relationship to the next level?"

Hesitation on her part now. I didn't press the issue, not knowing how much leeway I had on this. “Maybe I didn't quite see the signs, but as weak of a defense that this might seem like, I'm not usually the first to initiate intimate contact. I mean, Zin kinda pushed the issue onto me the first time we met.

“For the others, I guess they just got dragged along with Zin's wishes. Odds are likely that they shared their want for something more. I'm not sure if what they're looking is something I can satisfy, but it's made us closer, that's for sure. I know that not a lot of people really understand that, but it's more about us than them at this point. It's not like I go parading the fact for anyone to hear."

“Zin might have other ideas," Joy said with a giggle.

“Well, yes, you're right," I said, shaking my head. “She seems to get carried away with anything."

“Is Mist here with you?"

The ghost inside of me pushed through my chest. “Yes, I am," she answered. “I think I know what you are going to ask. But, if I may be so bold to put words in your mouth, you want to know how I feel about this."

Joy slowly stepped from behind me to stand next to me. “Yeah," she said.

At first, Mist didn't answer. She hovered in front of both Joy and I before floating towards me again. Her head rested against my chest, where I wrapped my arm around her.

“I love this human," Mist stated plainly. “He has been with me since he was a child, giving all the Pokémon at the Center the attention we all desired but did not receive from the caretakers. Aaron volunteered his time, day or night, to come to be with us. He would tell us about his days, either it be of what he learned from his parents in the ruins, or perhaps an interesting bit of news from the paper. It didn't matter about what, he interacted with us, with me.

“It was around this time that I started to feel something for this human. He cared about me. Always wanted to know how I was doing. At first I found it annoying, but quickly discarded that thought. He was paying attention to me. I did not want to let that go, ever again. Not after… what happened with my previous trainer."

I felt the ghost shiver against me. I shook my head. “You don't have to say anything."

“Let her know, please," she said.

I nodded. “Joy, Mist isn't able to have children. She learned this the hard way."

“Hard way?"

“Forcefully learned."

At first, she didn't quite get it. A moment later her eyes widened and she mouthed the word that I didn't quite want to utter aloud. I nodded.

“Holy fucking shit," she whispered.

“Yeah," I said with a nod. “She's been through some rough times."

“But that didn't bother you, did it, Master," Mist said. It wasn't a question.

“No. I knew that you were nice and polite," I said with a smile. “I knew that the others gave you space because you didn't feel comfortable with a lot of interactions. Song would just let me know when it was best to approach you."

“That witch," Mist muttered.

Both Joy and I chuckled. Mist shook her head. “Irregardless," the ghost continued, “it was for the best. This man, this human, has been a foundation to me. I would never betray him or wish to see harm done to him. I may act differently, depending on circumstances, but I know he would never give me a reason to fear him.

“Now, with that said, I do not feel threatened by your desire to be closer to Master," Mist continued. “I did not think you wished my permission, or needed it, to establish a relationship. I feel like that is not my business to stick myself into."

“So, you're saying it's OK?" Joy asked.

Mist nodded. “I'm quite certain that Zin expected you to make a move a while ago. I, in particular, am impressed that you took this long."

Joy tugged at my arm. “Do you see me the same way?" she asked. “Do you love me?"

I looked over to Mist, who gave me a quick smile and a shrug. She floated off my arm, and I grabbed Joy tightly, putting as much passion into my kiss as possible. Probably tonight was going to be one of those moments that you burn into your mind for the rest of your life. I only hope that it would be the same for Joy, too.

------------------------------------////////////////////////////////////----------------------------------

Morning came sooner rather than later. It always seems to show up when you least care for it. Today, however, that wasn't the case. We were ready for our guide the moment the knock was heard on the door.

“Ah, good morning!" Chandelure said excitedly. “Are you ready to move on?"

I nodded. “Yeah, we're ready."

Jon was outside of the door, nodding as we looked at him. “We ready to end this?" he asked.

“Fuck yeah we're ready," I state with a nod.

We all turned to Chandelure, who nodded and proceeded to go forward. All of us followed silently, no one commenting on how Joy as attached to my arm or how was our night. The daylight showed off more of the pitch black hallway of last night. Different visual decorations lined the walls, from beautifully painted mosaics to carved to murals. The sand still refused to flow inside the windowless openings of the hallway. The only thing that stopped the view of the outside world was when we walked through a library. This time we didn't slow down, immediately going through it without stopping.

Curiously, there wasn't anyone else in the hallways. Given that we've passed five libraries today, it seemed odd that there weren't any of the other servants in these halls. Chandelure offered us to stop for food, but we politely turned down the offers. We had plenty in our backpacks, and we weren't going to let all of this stuff to waste. Most of it was just pre-packaged food, unfortunately, but it was better than nothing or taking the chance with the food they would offer us. We did have food we could cook ourselves, too, but I wasn't going to risk angering our guide with a fire in the hallway.

We would stop on occasion in a library, taking a moment to catch our breath. Us mortals had to stop to rest, unlike our floating guide. Chandelure seemed to understand and didn't question us. He would provide us with water, which we were extremely grateful for. Maybe the entire castle sat on top of a hidden spring, or something farfetched like stealing from the city. Either way, it was here and delicious.

My Pokémon were out of their containers, reading a book or resting near me. Jon was once more lost inside the library, though sometimes appearing carrying a large pile of books. Joy was with me, resting against my shoulder. Her eyes were closed, but I don't know if she was sleeping or not. Her Pokémon seemed tense, the ones not sitting down feverishly looking through books.

Zin, on the other hand, looked like she wanted to cause trouble.

She was looking at both me and Joy silently. Everyone else wanted to do something else other than stare at me for once. Unfortunately for me, that didn't include my Houndoom. When it was sufficiently quiet for her, she walked up to me and laid her head on my unoccupied shoulder. Her breath was hot in my ear, and her tongue wet as it licked the side of my face.

“So, how did she do?" she whispered.

I didn't answer immediately, though I stiffened in surprise. She giggled. “You smell of sweat, and not all of it is yours. I would know how you smell like," she whispered. “I'm not mad, you know. It's about fucking time she grew a spine and did the dirty. How did it feel? Good? Did she satisfy you?"

I shifted in place, feeling a little uncomfortable under the sudden scrutiny. Knowing that it was better to satisfy her curiosity than keeping her in the dark, I answered frankly.

“Yeah, she did," I answered. “Let's not push it right now, alright?"

Zin giggled. “If she's still tired, I have to wonder if she was able to satisfy you at all, Master."

“Just because I'm a little tired doesn't mean shit, you horny Houndoom," Joy shot back. “It's not my fault that you all seem to crank his libido up to eleven anyway."

“Well, we have to make sure he's well rested for anything that may happen," Zin answered.

“Which is a way of saying that you like to get off at any particular moment," Joy retaliated.

I felt like I was in the middle of a brawl that was about to break out. “Ladies, please," I said. “Let's move on if we're ready."

They both looked at me and grinned. “Sure," they said in unison. Neither of them got up, though Zin laid down on my lap while Joy wrapped her arms tighter against my left arm. At least the situation was defused if just for the moment. Jon passed by, a few books in hand and looking a bit more than worried.

“Hey, do you have a moment?" he asked.

I looked at him, then at the two that had me pinned down. “Sure, though I won't move at this moment."

“Just explain this to me, if you can," he said, as he sat himself down across of me. He put the books down, setting one apart from the others. He flipped a page he had bent the page on, and presented it to me.

“What does that say?" he asked.

It was a similar dialect written in the Cerulean Cave. The picture in my mind wasn't matching what I was seeing, but it was close enough. I frowned in concentration, trying to make it out as best I could.

“Pass the book to me please," I said. “Maybe if I can take a closer look at it."

He passed it to me, and having it closer wasn't helping much. I frowned, trying to answer his question. “The best I can get is that it's something about mankind, humans, 'eating the fruit of knowledge', I think. It's odd, like if it's some kind of written legend or something."

“Can you read the rest?" Jon asked.

“I'll try."

I took a deep breath to steady myself. “I'm going to wing this, just to let you know."

“Stop stalling and just read it," he said. “I'm not looking for a perfect translation, just the gist of what this book is saying. No other book in this entire library so far is written in this language."

I coughed, clearing my throat. “When Arceus created us, it wasn't clear if we were to be equals to other creations. We were, um, hold on. Abnormal? No, different. We were different than the others. We did not have the ability to create fire inside ourselves, or hold storm's fury in our hands. Why did Arceus create us?"

Looking up, everyone was looking at me. “What?"

“Is this how humans were created?" Joy asked. I shrugged, handing the book back to Jon.

“I'd hazard a guess and say yes," I said. “I mean, odds are it was written by someone well passed the point that Arceus had created humanity. That it's using the old written language is pretty obvious. We haven't found any older recorded human thought that doesn't use that writing system."

“We?" Jon asked.

“As in the scientific community," I explained. “While mom and dad were bigger nerds about ancient Pokémon stuff, they were knowledgeable about the human findings that surfaced in their line of work. Seeing how most old settlements, and by old I mean a good few thousand years old, are usually found with human and Pokémon cohabitation, it's not that crazy that we picked up their writing system."

“So, when did we get to the point where we are?" Joy asked.

I shrugged. “Good question, and all I know is what my parents know. One idea could just be that we basically changed to suit our environment. We weren't physically powerful, not compared to some Pokémon, and we couldn't live anywhere like others. We changed the world to suit our needs, far more than Pokémon found necessary. With the advent of technology, it pushed us further ahead than our Pokémon family. We developed our own language, with its own complexities. Slowly, humans became their own animal. Where the ideas that we were superior to Pokémon because we could train them to do what we asked them to do is something of philosophical debate. Historically speaking, as soon as the Pokéball was invented, we started subjugating Pokémon."

“That's putting it in harsh words," Joy said.

“Is it?" I asked. “Even if we ask them to come with us, the Pokéball technology changes something fundamental about the behavior of a Pokémon. It makes them view their 'trainer' in a more favorable light than before. It's not immediate, and no shit it can be a slow process. But eventually, unless the trainer is a complete shit for brains, the Pokémon will listen to them. There's a reason why even the most unruly of Pokémon tend to defend their trainers, even if they don't get along."

The atmosphere got a little too tense. Chandelure decided that it was the right time to show up. Before he said anything, I gently pushed Zin off me. My Houndoom didn't put up any resistance, while Joy pushed herself up off the ground.

“Perfect timing," I said aloud as I pushed myself up. “We were all wondering where you went."

“I went to make preparations with the Masters," Chandelure said. “They are ready for you now."

Finally. “Lead the way, my good ghost," I said. “It's about high time we finished this."

--------------------------------////////////////////////////////-----------------------------------------

The castle became more sparsely decorated, with only splashes of color rarely covering the stone all around us. The floors stopped being made of carved wood two floors ago, and the walls lost all their frills and hanging lights around the same time. While our guide tried to keep small banter, he stopped trying after he realized that we just weren't interested. My feet honestly were hurting after all of this walking. I ground my teeth together, forcing each step to keep the pace forward. Would I stumble now in a moment of weakness?

I shook my head, forcing such thoughts from my mind. Fuck that noise.

Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed Joy give me a worried look. My hand immediately extended to her. She grabbed my hand and I squeezed reassuringly. I could feel that Joy was worried about me. A grin spread across my face as I looked towards her.

“We'll be fine," I said. “Everything's going to be just fine."

“We cannot continue any further."

We stopped in front of an ornate gate. It looked like the entrance to something foreboding. What looked like a giant room expanded after the entrance. The gate itself seemed to be carved out of the surrounding stone. Carvings of different Pokémon stood out the most, surrounded by either other Pokémon or of crude human carvings. The rock itself wasn't the same that was used to build the temple, either suggesting that someone created this in honor of something, or this place was here long before the castle was built on top of it.

“So, why can't we go through?" I asked. “There's nothing stopping us."

“Only the Shard can pass through," Chandelure clarified. “Any other humans will not be allowed in."

“Fucking bullshit," Joy said. “Come on, we're going."

As soon as she stepped through the threshold, she grasped her head and screamed. Chandelure's eyes were glowing, and my first reaction was to punch it. Which I did, with little success. It did stop his concentration, however, which was good enough for me. I grasped tightly to his 'arms', making sure he got a good look at me when I stared into his eyes.

“Don't do that, or I'll make sure you don't," I warned.

“Is that a threat?" he asked.

“You don't fucking understand one when it's staring at your fucking face, don't you? Yes, it was a threat you moron," I snarled, “and don't make me repeat myself ever again."

I let go of the Chandelure, walking to Joy's side. She was shivering on the ground in the fetal position. Her body was a shivering mess, seemingly unable to stop shaking. I touched her and she screamed again, as if pain was all she knew.

“Chandelure, I'm going to say this once, so you better pay attention. Stop hurting her, or I'll personally end your fucking miserable existence and show you just how fucking angry I can get."

Mist stuck her head out through my back. “You are much more likely to live, if you do as he asks. It is beginning to get loud inside of him and I might have to erase you if it means things will go back to normal."

Whichever one of the two statements was the one that gave Chandelure pause, I'll never know. Joy's sudden inhalation immediately grabbed my attention. She was still shaking, but at least was making the effort to sit up straight. Touching her didn't make her scream in pain either, so that's a victory in my book. As soon as she saw me, she clung to my shirt like I was some kind of savior. She shivered a little bit, and I wrapped my arms around her. I could hear her mumble something, but it was a little hard to tell what it was when it was being said into my chest.

“She's saying I'm sorry," Mist clarified. “For what, I do not know."

“Jon, take care of her, alright?" I said, grabbing hold of Joy's hands. Jon came over, taking my place. She didn't seem to mind, from the looks of it.

“Are you going to be ok?" Jon asked.

I shrugged back in response. “After that, no, I'm not going to be ok. But I'll tell you something. After this shit, not one of these fuckers are going to be ok after dealing with me."

“You will fail, Shard, like all the rest before you."

That's as far as it got before Mist launched herself out of me and punched the Chandelure in the face. Her eyes were wide, glowing in purple energy as the next blow came across the Chandelure's face. We just sat there, watching as my ghost just beat the living crap out of the insolent pest that decided to say the wrong thing at the wrong time.

I didn't want to interrupt her good time, but the laughter that was beginning to come from her was making me worry. I tapped her on her back as she was pulling back for another blow, which made her pause immediately. The very angry Mismagius quietly composed herself and flowed back into me without a word. The Chandelure on the other hand, was a complete mess. For all I knew, if ghost Pokémon could actually die from physical impacts, I would almost be worried for his safety.

Almost.

“Let's go," I said. “Jon, I'll see you later, alright?"

“Later," he said, holding onto Joy.

I smiled and waved at Joy, but she didn't respond. It didn't phase me. I was just glad she was better now. Mist was still seething inside my chest, the anger in her beginning to affect me a little bit.

“I apologize for how I beh-"

“No, don't apologize," I said, cutting her off out loud. “He got what he deserved. Attacking someone like that is inexcusable without proper explanation. If I could have beaten the un-living shit out of him I would have. Because I couldn't, you did."

My chest felt warm all of a sudden. “Thank you, Master."

I laughed. “I should be thanking you, but you're welcome."

The room past the gate was even more boring to look at than the previous hallways, if that was possible. There wasn't anything that stood out as I looked about. There were a few torches that were no more than stumps of wood attached to the wall. Huge but unlit braziers were placed in odd locations through the round room. Of its dimensions, there was no doubt know. There was no edge to the room, but the more we walked around the edge the more it became obvious. What's the point of this room, though? The outer wall looked almost like a way for something to flow in between the braziers. Like channels for water or something like that. I'm not sure if that was really the case, but I found a deep gouge on the floor that led from the wall to the presumed middle of the room.

“Should we follow it?" I asked.

“It wouldn't hurt to see if there is anything in the middle of the room," Mist suggested. “We can always retrace our steps to come back here."

Sounds like a plan to me. I followed the path inwards, into what was almost pitch darkness. The room must be huge, or I'm walking extremely slowly. At this point, there was almost no reference point for me. I pulled off my backpack, fumbling in the darkness to find the familiar shape of a flashlight. Flipping it on, it felt like I should regret that decision.

In front of me was a golden altar, more ornate than anything in the castle. Words carved into the precious metal gleamed from the light bouncing off it as if freshly carved. The stone that made the base of the altar looked significantly different than the one that made the rest of our surroundings. I kneeled down to touch it, feeling how smooth it felt compared to the other stuff used for the ground. A drop of something fell on my head. I touched it, examining my fingers under the light.

“That's blood," I said aloud.

The words clicked in my head a moment later, and I stood up immediately. Flashing the light upwards, I was greeted to the sight of a gigantic skeleton, or what looked like one. It was a macabre sight, skin looking like it couldn't hold purchase on the bone it was placed. The body itself looked to be held up by two pieces of gold, a half circle piercing the body in multiple locations to hold it all up. The head, somehow, was held high as if in reverence. The only thing off putting was how the liquid fell out of the blank eye sockets, as if to show how the corpse was crying blood.

I walked around it, trying to wrap my mind around what I was seeing. There's never been anything like this in anything I've read about ancient history. It could just be that this was the part of history that's left out of the books, so we don't remember all the weird shit we did.

Another wet drop landed on top of me. I immediately step back and flash the flashlight upwards. The entire skeleton had moved, at least the upper body of it or something. It's head was over me.

“Something very wrong happened here," I said.

“You are quite right."

Two braziers lit up, one in red fire and the second in blue. I groaned internally. Not these two pompous shits again.

“Our Father, Arceus, died for us," Reshrom said softly.

“His actions allowed us to exist as we are today," Reshiram finished.

“If you're going to say that this giant skeleton of whatever is Arceus, I'm going to call bullshit."

A gout of flame appeared behind Reshiram. “You dare speak ill of your creator, human!" she yelled.

“That's not Arceus," I stated. “That's just a skeleton. A really fucking creepy skeleton that seems to move when you don't look at it and crying blood. If I didn't know better, I'd say you're barking up the wrong tree."

“We cannot suffer such disrespect!" Reshiram roared. “We will NOT tolerate this anymore!"

“What are you going to do about it?" I demanded, stepping away from the altar.

“You will be given to Arceus, what is needed to return Father to life. The rest will be discarded, like the waste that you are!"

“Well, that's some harsh language," I said with a sneer. “Don't you think you should watch your tongue in front of your daddy?"

Reshiram roared, plumes of fire firing behind her as she rushed forward. My hand was already at my belt, Song appearing in front of me.

“Counter."

Reshiram's attack stopped dead cold as it impacted Song. The wave of fire that came after was intense, the temperature feeling like it rose a few degrees just from the fire dissipating around us. Song's fist clenched tightly, glowing a bright pink and red. The resounding crack as the punch landed made me flinch slightly, Song's entire body flowing through with her punch. Reshiram's mouth was opened, a ball of fire being spit out as she flew backwards.

Song grabbed hold of Reshiram's outstretched claws. Her eyes glowed for a moment. I wasn't sure if she could do this move, but it was the only one that came to mind.

“Psycho Cut."

Song made a slicing motion upwards, her hand not making any actual contact with her opponent. However, a wave of energy impacted Reshiram's chest, appearing in the same way that Song made her gesture. Our opponent screamed in pain and began to struggle to escape Song's deathgrip.

The sound akin of a generator echoed through the room. Sounds like Zekrom is tired of seeing his sister get her ass kicked. I grabbed two Pokéballs from my waist.

“I don't have time for you either," I said. “Zin, Akalia, bring him down."

As soon as both of them appeared, they charged towards the offending challenger. Without my commands, Zin created a wave of smoke to give them a chance to avoid being attacked. Zekrom stopped and shot bolts of lightning blindly into the smoke. Akalia jumped out, lightning furiously jumping towards Zekrom. Zekrom valiantly tried to aim towards me, but every time he lost focus, Akalia was on top of him, a giant ball of lighting that refused to be shaken off.

It didn't take long for Zekrom to get the message and focus on the fight with Akalia. But it looked like he forgot something else, too.

“Zin, Flare Blitz."

A flash of smoke and fire was the only warning Zekrom got before being tackled in the back by Zin. It wasn't probably as effective as what I was hoping, but Akalia didn't hesitate. As Zekrom stumbled forward slightly, Akalia jumped to his throat, more lightning being poured into Zekrom's body.

I grabbed hold of the other Pokéballs on my waist, just in case something more came at us. Instead, Zekrom was encased in a field of lightning that prevented Zin and Akalia from pressing their advantage. I laughed.

“So the two mighty heroes are finally brought low," I said. “How about we talk now, and -"

“No! I will not stand for this!" Reshiram spat out.

“Well, right now you're on your knees, best case scenario," I pointed out.

A roar echoed all around the chamber. It wasn't Reshiram or Zekrom. For the first time, we all hesitated. Zin, Akalia, and Song all stood next to me in a defensive position. As Reshiram stood up, she laughed.

“It's been so long since we've had the priviledge, no, the pleasure, of fighting someone like you, Shard of Arceus," Reshiram said, as if gloating. “Unfortunately, your fight ends here."

My breath was beginning to appear in front of me, as if the temperature was dropping fast. A shiver ran down my spine. I couldn't tell if it because I was beginning to be scared or just from the temperature changing so drastically.

“You are not imagining things, Master. The temperature is dropping rapidly."

A sheet of ice appeared around Reshiram, encapsulating her body from the outside world. Fire seemed to rage inside the ice, and Reshiram's body began to change. The ice made it incredibly difficult to make out exactly what was changing. At the very least, it didn't sound painful.

A voice began to speak. At first I looked towards the altar, to see if I was just going insane or not. The skeleton, while it had moved in all the commotion, it was still where it originally was. Also, I would have wondered if it could speak without vocal cords. Then again, psychic powers, but this voice wasn't happening inside my head. I already had enough experience with that to know the difference by now.

“The moment humans were given the knowledge of creation, their fates were bound to us as much as we are to them. But humans, in their drive to master creation, did not understand what was given to them. Where science failed, some took to the basic truths of the world for comfort, but there was none to find.

“Yet to acquire your dreams, one must step into the unknown with unflinching courage and stout determination."

The ice shattered, revealing Reshiram once more. It wasn't the same Reshiram that was initially fighting us. Gigantic heavy things that almost looked like boulders of ice were covering her shoulders. Her flaming tail was gone, now left a solid looking tail covered in her feathery down. Everything had an odd looking metallic coloring to it all. Some of her white fur had changed to either a grey or black. Her eyes glowed, one orange-red while the other sparked with a dull blue.

Reshiram charged once more. Zin exhaled another cloud of smoke, while Song grabbed me and used the smoke as cover. To be honest, it was hard to track the new Reshiram's movements. One moment she was standing there, the next I was moving.

The impact that Reshiram made was a combination of fire and ice. Ice covered the ground, grasping upwards towards the air while a wave of fire consumed anything the ice didn't reach. The steam created by the attack pushed some of Zin's smoke cover away, though not all of it. I wanted to bring another of the team out, but I didn't want to expend everything in one fight. Especially since Zekrom was put into that stasis field or whatever it is.

We have to find her weak point. She acted aggressive and impulsive like always. Maybe we can take advantage of that again? I shook my head. No, I doubt it'll work. Now that I was next to Song, I could see the burn marks on her hands and arms. No, I wasn't going to push her to try that again, especially now with another element to deal with.

Akalia and Zin looked at me for directions. Before I could say anything, Reshiram was on top of us again. Mist didn't hesitate this time, Reshiram slamming hard against the barrier the Mismagius created. I could hear her groan in my head as she resisted Reshiram's massive attack. The ice and fire spread around us. Zin and Akalia both lept towards the attacking Reshiram. Somehow, she spun in the air, bringing her entire body weight to bear as she swung at both with her tail.

“Aurora, Iolanthe!" I shouted, throwing their Pokéballs.

Aurora appeared, immediately shooting Ice Beams towards Reshiram. Iolanthe transformed to her physical attacking form, making our aggressor pause in her attacks. I ran towards both of my injured partners, thankful that there wasn't any deep looking wounds or injuries. Making sure that both were alright, I sprayed some medicine on both to get them back to their feet.

Aurora and Io look to put Reshiram down, with one of Aurora's attacks landing and making it slightly harder for Reshiram to move. A furious wave of blows came from Iolanthe, all of her tentacles a blur of motion as they struck against anything exposed. With a final hit, Reshiram was pushed back. Zin began to move towards the fallen adversary when Reshiram was again put in ice.

The voice spoke again nonchalantly, as if stating facts and not interested as to what was going on. Once again, I looked around as it spoke, trying to find out exactly where it was coming from.

“Humans, in their misunderstanding of creation, thought themselves better than any creature. Still they sought comfort in lies, but these lies gave them strength to create beautiful things, but also terrible weapons. It is only by listening to one's true voice, will true wisdom be reached."

Lightning arced across the room's domed ceiling. Zekrom had been unleashed, and much like his sister, had come changed since we last saw him. Instead of being covered in pure black scales, almost half of his body was covered in metallic grey. His tail looked identical to Reshiram's new tail. The most obvious difference where the two large wing like parts that came out of his back.

Zekrom didn't immediately attack, but looked like he was focusing on something. It gave me a bad feeling and it looked like we all felt the same way. Song had already grabbed me once more, the Gardevoir doing everything in her power to keep me safe as a lightning bolt struck the stone floor where I stood. The problem wasn't that the lightning almost hit me, but that it left flames in its wake. Stone was on fire because it got struck by lightning.

Iolanthe and Zin both closed the distance between them and Zekrom. It seemed that neither of them were ready for him, however, when Zekrom was able to stop both attacks single handedly. Zin jumped away while Iolanthe dueled Zekrom by herself. Zekrom lashed out with a graceful swing, only to be dodged by Io as she changed into her speed form. Her blows didn't have quite the impact now, but she could dodge Zekrom's attacks now, and it was making a difference.

Zekrom being focused on the fight with Iolanthe gave me an idea. Zin, Akalia, and Aurora all looked at me as I approached them. Before I said anything, they all nodded at me. What was going on?

“I apologize, but I am communicating your wishes to them," Mist explained. “It seemed more prudent than you shouting our strategy to the enemy."

I didn't have the luxury to come up with a response before Zin had launched her Flamethrower attack. Zekrom anticipated the attack, shoving Iolanthe away to avoid the stream of fire and smoke. A bolt of lightning crashed on top of Zekrom, but it didn't have much effect. Aurora's Ice Beam landed, perhaps due to Zekrom ignoring Akalia's attack, but Aurora's ice was beginning to encase Zekrom in it. Iolanthe changed to attack form once more, bashing her opponent down face first into the cold stone floor.

This time, Zekrom was engulfed in a ball of fire, and Reshiram came again with a loud roar. To all our surprise, no damage could be seen after the pounding that Iolanthe gave her. What in the fuck are we to do now? Reshiram didn't have the decency to wait, immediately attacking us directly. Every blow that came from her now either exploded in fire, left chunks of ice on the stone floor, or crackled with lightning.

Through the attacks, the voice spoke nonchalantly. “The humans did not know yet the truth of the world. They delved deep into creation, claiming that they knew the purpose of our very existence. In their pride, they ignored their fellows and only listened to the truth they chose to believe. The only way to achieve true understanding is to seek guidance from others."

What in the shit was it talking about now? It was starting to annoy me more and more. It only spoke when one of the two was being transitioned, though. Why? Even more importantly, who was it? They clearly had a connection to the duo.

Reshiram had no intentions of being subtle. With a small gap in the defenses, she dove straight for me again. Song was with me in an instance, instantly preparing to counterattack. Something was different, and it seemed like Mist agreed with my views. A barrier appeared in between Reshiram and Song, sparks of ice and thunder sparkling hitting the ground as the blow hit Mist's barrier. I could feel her struggling to hold the barrier against the new onslaught. Song took advantage of not having to soak a hit first, immediately closing her eyes and took a slow breath.

Reshiram saw this and tried to break through the barrier standing between them. Mist held, grunting in my head with every blow absorbed. Zin came from behind Reshiram, climbing on her back and biting her neck. Flame and smoke appeared where she bit, making our assaulter stop momentarily. Song stepped forward, opening her eyes and delivering an even more devastating blow to Reshiram than the first, parts of Reshiram's extra pieces even shattering. This time, however, Reshiram wasn't immediately placed in the status while Zekrom came out of his. Would we have to fight both at the same time?

My partners were all beginning to get exhausted. Fighting back to back like this wasn't easy, even for me. I took a glance at the skeleton, still looking at us and seemingly weeping more blood from its eye sockets.

I ground my teeth in frustration. “Come on then!" I yelled.

Zekrom came at us, taking his sister's position as the aggressor. Reshiram was still down for the count, seemingly uninterested in attacking at this moment. I stood behind Song, this time Zekrom's attack aiming for her. Mist was again on point with her barriers, but they flickered in and out. Song defended herself, retaliating when possible. Zekrom attacked with a beam of lightning and fire point blank, which Mist was able to deflect some of it with her barrier. I could feel the ghost become utterly exhausted at this point. Song took the chance to reach upwards, grabbing Zekrom by the throat and stopping the immediate discharge.

Akalia and Aurora came from the sides, jumping to attack the moment there was a chance available. Akalia was engulfed in lightning, tackling Zekrom's right side. Aurora attacked with purple engulfed claws, leaving sickly looking gashes on Zekrom's side that bubbled on the surface of his scales. Zin and Iolanthe showed up, the Houndoom climbing on Zekrom's back to bite his exposed neck viciously. Fresh gouts of flame and smoke came while Zin kept her hold on his neck. Iolanthe, now transformed back into her attack form, battered anything she could see.

My partners were pushed back as Zekrom shook himself and was covered in lightning once more. This time, however, Reshiram was also hidden behind a curtain of fire. Once again, the voice spoke. Unlike the previous times, it was louder. As if it was approaching us from behind a veil.

“It was with great mourning that we watched our fellows be brought low by egotistical aspirations. Humans thought themselves master of all they saw, taming the wilderness that housed them by destroying everything in sight. In their place, castles and buildings rose, their majesty lost to us all but the humans that created them. But as time passed by, it brought with it the cruelty that it always possessed. New children were beginning to grow sick of the status quo. We lashed out to humans that destroyed the beauty of nature. It is only with the strength of arms and will that allows us to continue where others would be ground to dust."

Now both Reshiram and Zekrom attacked. Mist pulled overtime, keeping me informed as best she could of how the situation played out. Reshiram was more restrained, using more abilities than physical attacks. Zekrom was the polar opposite, throwing himself into the middle of everything. It didn't look like they didn't mind friendly fire, because Reshiram's attacks would hit both my partners and Zekrom if need be. It didn't look like the brother was any worse for wear, and in fact could be almost be strengthened by the sisters attacks.

Iolanthe moved in, stopping Zekrom's attack that would have hit Zin, as the Houndoom was focused on attacking Reshiram. Zekrom used his tail to smash Iolanthe's side but was met with a dull thud. Io had changed to her defensive form now, the bulk of her skin making the blow ineffective at doing its intended purpose. Turning his attention fully to Iolanthe, Zekrom delivered a point blank beam of lightning towards Iolanthe.

Reshiram was being chased down by Song and Zin, the brash one now taking an elusive stance to fighting. Explosions of different elements plumed around the two that chased her, neither of them being fully hit by the impact, but it was obvious that they were being slowed down by the relentless ranged assault. I grabbed the last two Pokéballs from my waist. If there was a time to go all out, this seemed to be the time.

Xola and Baast appeared, both darting towards the elusive white Reshiram. My Milotic, while not being as mobile, acted as artillery. The beams of water and ice began to slow down the darting assailant and made her focus on dodging than attacking. With a new target, Reshiram dashed towards Xola. The Lucario was on her immediately, darting from her side fast as a lightning strike. A long and slender bone club was held in her hands, smashing Reshiram from behind her skull, causing her to crash into the ground. A pressurized beam of water came from Xola to punish Reshiram's ignorance of the situation.

Baast moved quickly, taking advantage of Reshiram being controlled to helping with Zekrom. Zin and Aurora were both down, the black dragon's thrashing having knocked them out at some point of the fight. Iolanthe was still in her defensive form, withstanding the attacks but not able to retaliate effectively due to her slower movements. Baast quickly fixed that, using Iolanthe as a living shield, dodging in between Zekrom's wild thrashings and attacking at key moments. A few well placed attacks to the the knees made the thrashing slow, and a thrust between the eyes stopped the uncontrollable assault. Iolanthe transformed into her attack form, using all four of her tentacles to grab hold of Zekrom's immobile body, raising it straight up before slamming him into the ground. She repeated this process, the slams getting louder with every subsequent one until she felt necessary to stop.

The proverbial smoke cleared, Reshiram and Zekrom both returning to their normal state before they transformed. I cautiously approached Zekrom, being the closest to me. He was still breathing, oddly enough. Well, at least I can rest easily that I haven't deliberately killed a Pokémon yet, though given the situations I've been in I don't know if I can be damned for doing so anymore. Reshiram was in a similar state as Zekrom.

All the while, the skeleton on the altar still looked at me, dark tears staining the sides of its bone cheeks. What I really wanted to know if it was really Arceus. I shook my head, still wondering exactly what insane creature would do this to another. Standing next to the altar, I reached a hand up towards the legs. The ichor that covered the top of the altar was a nauseating thick liquid. Chunks of flesh floated through the proverbial soup that pooled around the skeleton. Baast was the first one to approach me, touching my shoulder.

“Is this Arceus?" she asked.

I shrugged. “I'm still trying to figure that out," I admitted. “The way Chandelure attacked Joy, I would say yes."

Baast stiffened at that, but I waved her worry away. “Don't worry too much about the Chandelure. Mist made sure that he regrets waking up. I gave him a few choice words, too. If he decides to pick a fight after that, well, let's just say that I stopped Mist when she stopped laughing."

The Lucario nodded. “Good."

“Is this what we were working so hard for?" Zin asked. “I wouldn't expect the very creator of the world reduced to bones."

“I'm not sure," I said. “Like I said, I'm still trying to figure it out myself."

“Do you really think it's Arceus?" Song asked.

I opened my mouth to say something, but was interrupted by the voice again. It didn't speak, but an old and raspy laugh emanated echoed around us. A thin veil of mist slowly began to creep from under the stone floor. The temperature quickly began to drop, and the mist quickly picked up speed of how much was coming. A haze surrounded us, quickly obscuring our surroundings.

“Stay close, everyone," I warned. “Keep an ear out for anything."

“Humans, in their needless pursuit for knowledge and a place to belong, never understand the majestic things about life. A frantic life is one ragged and marred by conflict. Even in the face of conflict, however, lies opportunities to rejuvenate oneself from the constant struggles of existence.

“There is one thing, however, that cannot be escaped. No matter how much we try, and no matter how much we search, there is always an end. That end is death. And death comes for you."

“Angsty little shit, aren't you?" I muttered to myself.

The mist was pulled to a single point in front of us. Slowly condensing into the rough shape of a large, four legged creature. More and more of the stuff came rushing towards this accumulation, forming huge legs that supported an unbelievably large frame. The body kept growing, to about the length of a fully grown Onyx and maybe even longer. Detail and color slowly came apparent, the braziers light showing the dark grey rocky texture of its skin. Two gigantic light grey wings spread on its back. They didn't look like functional wings, but more like something primal that was a part of him rather than normal.

The face came into focus, an elongated skull housed in metal casing that sat at the end of its long neck. The helmet looking skull had a pronounced jaw line, rows of sparkling sharp teeth grinned at us. Bright yellow eyes glared down at me, with two gigantic shapes that looked like horns protruding from above and behind where the eyes were.

It didn't speak when it opened its mouth, but roared. Ice and snow came out of its gaping maw, quickly covering us in heavy slush. The thought crossed my mind, and all my partners moved at once. Song once again grabbing hold of me to take me along her. Even after moving out of the way, the giant newcomer kept its focus on me. Mist was still exhausted, unable to create any barriers for the moment.

When Song touched the ground, the beast was already on top of us. How could it move so damn fast? A claw came down on top of us, a roar that accompanied it surprising me. Before I reacted, Song grabbed my hand and pulled me away. No, I wouldn't make it out of the way in time. A barrier shimmered into existence, protecting me from the majority of the blow. I could hear Mist scream inside my head as she exerted herself even more. We couldn't keep this attrition for much longer.

I couldn't focus for extended periods of time, my brain pounding from Mist exerting herself so much. Every ache and throb of her using her power reflected on me somehow. Either way, right now still being alive is what mattered. A giant shadow appeared beside us, slamming into Song and sending us tumbling across the ground. This time there wasn't any barrier protecting either of us. We were grabbed after a few bounces, Iolanthe's tentacles taking hold of both me and Song. The giant turned towards us slowly, yellow eyes glowing menacingly.

What in the hell was this? Any chance to even ask was abandoned when a beam of lightning and fire erupted from its mouth and screamed towards us. Iolanthe stepped in front of the attack, switching to her defensive form. The bulk of the attack seemed to splash harmlessly off her, though our surroundings were far less lucky. After the attack ended, the giant was halfway towards us. Io launched herself to attack the beast, changing to her attack form. The giant pivoted to its side, bunching itself momentarily before springing forward with incredible velocity. Iolanthe was sent flying, smashing against the side of the far wall with a loud boom to accompany the impact.

Akalia, Zin, and Baast charged underneath the giant. Their size and speed made them hard targets for it to pick out individually. My team's attacks didn't look to be doing any sort of damage, and more of pissing the damn thing off more. It opened its maw and made a sound that made nails on a chalkboard sound pleasant in comparison. The high pitch screech echoed in my head, even after blocking my ears with my hands. I yelled at them to focus, but they were disorientated by the sound attack. Zin recovered first as the giant focused its attention on Akalia. The Houndoom spat fire at the beast's underbelly, making it hesitate for a moment. Akalia and Baast were able to focus, moving out from under the monster in the room.

For a brief moment, I looked towards the skeleton on the altar. It wasn't looking towards me this time. From where I was, it looked like it was staring at the monster that was trying to kill us. For the first time, I honestly thought that this might be Arceus. I shook my head, discarding the thought for the moment.

Aurora joined the trio, landing on Baast's shoulder. The giant opened its mouth again, but Zin and Akalia launched bolts of fire and lightning at its face. Though it didn't stop the beast from opening its mouth again, the attack gave Baast the time to leap upwards. Using the monster's own size, she scaled upwards swiftly, jumping above its head. Manifesting another massive bone shaped club, the Lucario swinging hard downwards. Aurora jumped from Baast, slashing the beast's head with two furious claw swipes of purple energy. The two initial hits didn't seem to do anything. The giant didn't seem phased as Aurora fell past its eyes. The Lucario, on the other hand, made it regret even thinking of opening its mouth.

The hammerblow to the head made the giant stumble. On the initial impact, the monsters head slammed against the stone floor hard. It made the ground shake that it made me lose balance. With a shout to rival the monsters insufferable screeching, Baast brought her club to bear once more and smashing the beast's head. The sound of something cracking was obvious at this distance, but of what was hard to tell. One of the horns on the beast's head was gone. It was impossible to tell if it was on the first or second attack that Baast made. She nodded resolutely, spitting on his head as Song and I approached her.

Baast shook her head, approaching us as we stopped. The look she gave me was enough of a warning to tell that she didn't know if it was safe yet. I still didn't know what happened to Iolanthe. My attention was split in so many directions. Xola, Zin, and Akalia showed up soon enough, as if summoned by my thoughts. Aurora brought along Iolanthe a brief moment later, calming the worries that went through my mind. I could feel Mist strain herself, to keep all communication lines open even when she was exhausted.

“So, is it over?" Zin asked.

“I don't know," I said. “I still don't know what this altar thing is about."

“Is that Arceus?" Zin asked, looking disgusted.

“I don't know," I repeated. “It sure as fuck wasn't what I was expecting."

“It is Arceus," Song stated.

“How are you so sure?" I asked.

“The things that are impaled to its sides, those arches form a giant circle that is connected to Arceus' torso," she said. “It was in one of the books while I was training in the monastery."

I nodded. “Makes sense to me, I guess. The problem is how we get Arceus back together."

Everything happened extremely fast. Mist screamed in my head. I turned around and felt that something wasn't quite right with me. Oh. Last time I saw, I didn't have five spires of ice jutting from my chest. Shit, this hurt.

I hit something behind me. My feet left the ground, my back hitting something wet. A splash. My vision was black now. All I felt was being wet and falling. Lots of falling. My eyes stung, so I closed them.

The screaming didn't stop for a long time.

---------------------------------------------//////////////////////////---------------------------------

I was still falling, though this time it wasn't through whatever it was before. This time it was just falling through air, or something that was in place of air. The only thing I noticed was how some islands were floating sideways and other upside down.

Oh. So I was dead. Fuck.

The fall didn't scare me. I mean, what's the worst that can happen now, right? I closed my eyes, trying to reorient myself if only a little. Well, if this was the Distortion World, that means Giratina is here. Or, I should think, he better fucking be here.

“Giratina!" I yelled.

No response. Islands of stable ground passed by as I continued to fall perpetually in between the land masses. I yelled for Giratina again, because any good idea is worth trying a second time. No luck on the second one, either.

A soft hum came from somewhere around me. It was impossible for me to tell exactly where it was coming in relation to my position. As I continued to fall, the humming increased in volume until it was all encompassing. Something grabbed my arm, pulling me into its embrace. The grip on my savior tightened as our descent was slowed down. Even without seeing the face, I knew who it was.

“Spirit, it's nice to see you again," I said, turning to see the familiar cheery face of my Flygon once more.

Her wing had healed nicely over the time since I last saw her in this dismal place. She rubbed her face against my neck, all too happy to forget where we were to make sure I was alright. Even if her claws were busy holding me securely against her, she used her face and tail to inspect my body. I winced as she touched my chest, which she immediately placed little kisses on, as if to will them away.

“Come on," I said, squirming slightly. “Let's get to solid ground if you want to inspect me so thoroughly."

She guided me to her back, and I did my damndest to not hurt her. It was hard to tell if that was possible here, but seeing as my own wounds still hurt, it could. Once making sure I was safe, she beat her wings once more and flew to… somewhere. I didn't know where she was taking me, but it looked like she knew where she was going.

Even with all the amazing sights around me, from structures hanging upside down to sideways falling waterfalls that linked two islands together, I closed my eyes. Was Mist alright? What about the rest of my Pokémon? Something stirred in me, the familiar grogginess of the Mismagius being roused from sleep a sensation I didn't think I would ever forget.

Something must have clicked in her mind, as she began to ask questions. “Master! Are you alright? Are you hurt?! I am so so-".

“No, you stop that right there," I said aloud. Spirit looked at me for a moment, but I tapped my chest and she nodded. “As you can tell, unfortunately, I'm actually dead. To answer your questions, I'm not sure if I'm alright just yet. Spirit's here, so that's a bonus. I'm not hurt other than the wounds in my chest. No, I won't take my shirt off because I really don't want to know what the wounds look like. And if you were going to ask where we were going, you'll have to ask Spirit that."

Mist sighed. “I understand, Master. Still, I am sorry for not being there in your time of need."

“Didn't I say to stop that," I said. “I'm not letting you beat yourself up over being beaten by whatever that thing was."

“I… Alright, Master. But from what Spirit says, she is taking us to Arceus."

“You mean to tell me that Arceus was in the Distortion World this entire fucking time?" I snarled. “Wow, way to go Giratina."

“No, it's more like Arceus appeared in the Distortion World when you… when you were…"

It amused me that Mist couldn't bring herself to say that I'm dead. “I'm dead, Mist. It's alright, you can say it."

“When you died, Master."

“Thank you. Still, that's really convenient, isn't it? Arceus shows up when I'm dead, in the place where one of his own children calls home and has been looking for him for who knows how long. This doesn't make any sense."

“It's the accumulation of all one thousand shards in the Distortion World that has allowed Him to return. That's what Spirit is saying," Mist said, as Spirit hummed in different pitches and tones.

“So why didn't he appear the first time I passed by?"

“My guess is that you were still alive, still a living vessel for the Shard of Arceus inside of you. It could be that being alive causes some kind of interference," Mist said in speculation.

“Still mighty convenient," I grumbled. “Whatever. Let's see what he has to say for himself."

The rest of the journey was spent in silence except for Spirit's humming. It was a welcome change of the air billowing around me while I was falling. A few dips and turns later behind more floating islands stood a majestic figure in a very small island. Well, small compared to the others it was floating next to. The island was no more than possibly ten paces across, and nothing decorated it except what looked like a bench or some kind of seat. Spirit did another fly-by, slowing down and hovering above the island. The being was smaller than I expected, maybe as tall as I am. It was covered head in beautiful white fur, though with a funny looking long mane. It stood on four legs, and like Song mentioned, the circular golden arch attached to his body. Instead of them holding a mockery of majesty, they only accented what could be considered a beautiful sight.

When we landed in front of Arceus, the first thing I noticed was how, for a lack of a better word, fresh the air smelled. Again, whatever acted as air in the Distortion World. I shook my head, frustrated that I was going to bother if how I breathed air was any different than the outside world when I was standing in front of Arceus.

“It's something that all my children have been wondering, so it's not that odd of a question."

I stared wide eyed at the being in front of me. I could feel how happy Arceus was. “Please, sit," Arceus said, “I feel like we have much to discuss."

I sat down on the bench, Spirit curling down at my feet. Arceus laid down gracefully, almost as if floating down instead of letting something petty as gravity have a hold of him. I looked at the creature in front of me, still trying to process exactly what was going on.

“You wonder why it took your death to bring me to existence," Arceus said, as if knowing my own mind.

“I have known you your entire life," Arceus continued, “and the ghost in you is helping me understand where you are, mentally speaking."

Arceus paused for a moment, as if lost in thought. With Spirit resting so peacefully and Mist not saying anything, it felt like I had to do something to break the silence.

“Why?" I asked. “Why did this have to happen?"

“My own ignorance," Arceus answered. “Surprisingly, not even the very creator of the world can predict how his own creations will react. Even after seeing millions of beings be born, raised, and die, I could not imagine how my very own blood would react to another one of their own.

“Humans, for their lack of actual power, possessed a keen intellect and a drive to learn everything. They used what I gave them to survive in a world where they could not fight. This was the first divide, what truly separated brother and sister appart. I was not aware of how jealous my own could become, and in their fear they attacked each other. Again, I thought that showing them true selflessness would cause them to work together, and once more I showed my ignorance. To this day, my sons and daughters tried, and failed, to murder you in cold blood, due to fear of facing me."

“Some didn't, though," I pointed out. “Some wanted you to come back."

“Was that why you went along with them?" Arceus asked.

I frowned. “I just wanted to have a normal adventure, like every kid my age should have had by now. If going along with that plan would get me to that point, it was a better deal than the alternative."

Arceus nodded. “Unfortunately, you were born with a fragment of me within you. The largest, and the most important. Even if you never left for an adventure, they would have come for you eventually."

“That would have put a lot of innocents at risk."

“To my sons and daughters, no risk was too great if it meant that they would either bring me back, or keep me from returning."

A brief pause came, though it was quickly filled by a gentle laugh. “Why doesn't your companion leave your body?"

“She'll disappear if she leaves my body in the Distortion World. Ghosts get reabsorbed by the currents, or something."

Arceus' laughter was contagious, having me smile slightly for no real reason. “Well, I can say with certainty that your ghost will not disappear into the ether while I am here."

Mist slowly pushed herself out of my chest. The familiar void of her leaving me felt achingly more apparent here than ever before. She floated about for a moment, before wrapping two of her limbs around my body and pressing herself close to me. Arceus smiled at me.

“Ah yes, I did notice your friendship was more than just of master and Pokémon," Arceus said with a grin. “Believe me, I am more than happy to encourage such practice if it is as yours and your beloved ones."

I smiled, genuinely happy that I wasn't getting yelled at by the father of everything for doing consensual sex. Better than literally anyone I have ever heard of.

“So, what's lead up to this moment, and what do we do from here?" I asked, trying to shift the conversation to the present. “What happens now?"

“That mostly depends on you," Arceus said. “Seeing as how you are the largest of the Shards, a lot still depends on your decisions. Unfortunately, I must rely on you even after you have earned a rest for all your troubles."

I raised an eyebrow in response. Arceus took a deep breath, holding it deliberately before releasing it.

“When I exit the Distortion World, the rest of the Shards can come, but you will not be allowed to come back."

“Come again?"

“You being the largest Shard, you would have to be the anchor that allows the rest to reincarnate. The others, while numerous, were only a means to get to you. For my rebirth to be finished, you would have to stay here."

“You know, that doesn't sound like it makes any sense," I pointed out. “Why would your power source be me, for one. Two, why would it need to stay here?"

“The Shards are just that, pieces of my power lost through the ages when I sacrificed myself. I threw myself to the mercy of my own creation, hoping that they would find a way to gather once more. Again, I did not expect my own children to fight against my own resurrection. Parts of me grew stronger, as it seemed that their odds of success where higher. As more and more of the Shards continued to fail, the rest, or more precisely, the last one, gathered all of its strength to one single point."

“Me," I stated. Arceus nodded.

“You were the catalyst, little one. Your mentality, ambition, kindness, and love, is what let you grow to be the Shard you are today."

“That sounded really corny," I said with a laugh.

“Laugh all you want, but that is what happened. Do you think that you would have made it here without those qualities?"

When confronted like that, it was hard to refute against it. Mist pressing her face against my neck also made it difficult to say anything to the contrary.

Arceus smiled at us again. “Do not ever forget that passion is a drive that all creation feels. Not everyone can claim that they have a definitive answer to what drives them, but the passion for it is the same."

I nodded. “Alright, while still odd it makes slightly more sense."

“You are still unsatisfied." Arceus stated.

“Well, do I just have to stay here and stare at the vastness that's in front of me for the rest of eternity?" I asked. “That's probably not very healthy for the mind."

“No, I have two suggestions, which I hope will satisfy you," Arceus said. “One, is that you could become the new caretaker, the shepherd that guides new souls through the Distortion World and helps old ones reincarnate to the living world."

“So, what Ho-Oh was doing," I said. “Doesn't sound like a terrible idea, though I'm pretty sure that there's others who would be a bit more competent at the job."

“How do you think that Ho-Oh did so well?" Arceus pointed out. “It's not like one is born with knowing how everyone works."

I sighed. “Fine, no, that sounds like a good idea."

The stare of a lifetime met my eyes, as if Arceus didn't believe me. The conversation continued swiftly.

“The second, is that I could remake you."

“What?"

“It would be painful, and would tax my current powers to their limit, but if you wish, you could be made more than what you are now."

“I'll just go ahead and repeat myself, what?"

“I'll do it."

I looked down at Mist, who was looking towards Arceus. The look on her face was one of complete seriousness. Where they having a conversation and excluding me? Mist shook her head.

“Arceus is giving me a chance at another life, one forever bound to you," Mist explained. “It would be your body, but my soul to fill the gap that is left gaping in you right now."

“So, you'll die," I said plainly.

“No, I'll continue to live in you, Master. This means that I, unfortunately, will not have a corporeal form, so you would have to tolerate me inside of you for the rest of existence."

I frowned. “So, no different than what you were doing before all this happened, right?"

Mist's laughter was something I hadn't heard in quite some time. It was good to hear her so carefree for once.

“So, does the proposition interest you?" Arceus asked.

I nodded. “Yeah," I said.

“Are you in agreement?" Arceus said, turning to Mist.

“Of course," Mist said, nodding.

“Hold him tightly, as if your life depends on him, for it soon will be."

The ghost all but leapt into my arms as I stood up, grabbing hold of my neck with her wispy limbs. Her eyes looked into mine for a moment before she pulled me down and pressed her lips against my own. Something began to cover us, but I didn't stop focusing on how she felt in my arms and against my skin. Pinpricks of pain started to flare up all over my body, but I ignored them. Then a sudden pain, like someone pouring hot water on my chest, appeared. It felt like something was being poured into a container. Slowly, the ghost on my arms faded, as if gently drifting away. For a moment fear gripped me, but even as she was fading, her grip on me never relented. She didn't say a word, but the focus in her eyes made it clear to me that everything was going to be alright. I kissed her again, trying to push the pain that seared across my chest from my mind.

Eventually, she disappeared. All that was left were motes of light and wisps of shadows in my hands. Even as the surroundings came back into focus, I feared that something had gone wrong. A stirring in my chest made my heart leap, somehow different and familiar at the same time.

“You won't get rid of me so easily, Master," the ghost chided me.

I looked towards Arceus, who looked winded from the exertion. The deep pants that the most powerful being in creation was taking made me pause. Was Arceus alright? I wanted to approach the creature, but would that be alright?

A wheezing laugh answered my question. “Yes, I am quite alright, just exhausted. It looks like my rebirth will need to be scheduled for a later moment in time."

The absurdity of the statement made me chuckle, and grew to outright laughter. Arceus joined in not long after. Only Spirit looked at us as if we had all gone insane. We enjoyed ourselves for a time, slowly winding down our laughter until silence descended on us again.

“Our bond will only grow stronger," Arceus said. “It will not be long until both you and I will be able to walk the same world together. It will not happen immediately, and I cannot say when, but I want to believe that we could walk the same sky together, side by side."

“I won't be seeing you after you leave the Distortion World, huh."

“That is correct," Arceus said with a nod. “It pains me to leave you on such short notice."

I shook my head. “I don't think I'll be lonely."

Arceus nodded. “I'm glad I chose the right human for the job."

Everything that needed to be said had already been said. Arceus laid down once more to rest. I sat back down, closing my eyes to rest for a moment as well. Mist giggled softly inside my mind, but didn't bother me any more than usual.

“Just so you know, I will really miss having sex with you," she whispered softly. “That means that I need to be creative."

Oh, well, that's new.

--------------------------------------///////////////////////////////------------------------------------

We reached the end of our journey with little fanfare. The only one to be there was Giratina and two Darkrai. Giratina and Arceus both had a Father to Son moment, or something to that extent. Both Darkrai were the ones from before, the ones that attacked me. Even if they looked identical, it was more intuition at this point than anything else.

While Giratina was busy, I approached the two Darkrai. They looked uncomfortable, refusing to meet my gaze at all. I extended my hand to the nearest one.

“If we're going to be here and work together, we might as well get rid of this awkwardness between us," I said.

“We're really sorry," the male said.

I nodded. “Don't worry about it. That's behind us now. But, if you're going to make it up to me, you're going to show me how all this works, because I have no idea."

The two Darkrai looked at me, a mixture of awe and joy as they both rushed at me. For a split second I feared they would attack, the memory of their sharp claws returning. It was all for nothing, as their arms brought me tightly against them, their laughter infectious.

I turned to see Arceus and Giratina looking quite pleased with themselves. The grins on both their faces made me think that the three of us walked into some unspoken plan of theirs or something.

“I think that your plan will work spectacularly, my son," Arceus said.

“Thank you, Father, I think it will," Giratina said, with a hint of pride in his voice.

“My name is Nuri," the male one said, introducing himself.

“My name is Cais," the female said.

“These two will be your guides, Aaron," Arceus said. “They will help you become acclimated to the laws of the Distortion World, for you to better accomplish your goal as gatekeeper."

“So, where are you two headed?" I asked.

“In a moment, we will be leaving the Distortion World in your care," Giratina answered. “I am to help Arceus if anything were to go wrong."

“Go wrong?" the female Darkrai, Cais, asked. “What could possibly go wrong now?"

“The others that did not want Arceus to return," Giratina said. “They may attack us out of fear or disbelief."

“Do you really think so?" Nuri asked.

Arceus nodded. “I am taking precautions. Honestly, I do not know my own children anymore."

“We will show them, Father," Giratina said stoically. It was the first time I've seen him in a while, yet it felt like he was more serious than ever before.

Giratina turned to the three of us. “I do not know when I will be able to return. In the meantime, you have full control of the Distortion World. Your word is law here."

“What?"

The three of us had spoken at the same time. The Darkrai at my sides looked at me with narrowed eyes. “Father, didn't you tell us that this would be a temporary situation?" Nuri asked.

Giratina nodded. “It is. I'm not sure when I will be back, so I am entrusting him to take care of things while I'm gone."

“Then why not us? We know more of the Distortion World than he does!" Cais exclaimed.

“It was Arceus that made that decision, not me," Giratina said, bowing his head slightly.

At this moment, it began to sink in exactly what I had agreed to become. Giratina approached us, lowering his wings down to encircle me in them. I didn't know how to react. Should I bow, or maybe kneel? A shadowy tendril touched my cheek. Looking up, Giratina's entire body began to glow a soft purple that ran from his legs, through his body, and ending on his wings. The purple condensed into a single drop at the tip of one of the red protrusions. Giratina gently pressed it into my mouth, and it pooled in my mouth. It didn't take long for another drop to be pushed in, followed by another.

Mist wasn't yelling, so I hesitantly swallowed the liquid. It didn't have any distinct flavor, just a liquid in my mouth that kept pouring in. After the fifth drop, Giratina withdrew the spike. It felt like I had a Caterpie stuck under my clothes, or something crawling on my skin. Looking at my hands and arms, the sensation was clearly obvious. My body was changing. The transformation wasn't painful, or even obvious. My hands grew a little longer, and my skin was changing to a darker pigment. Darker in the sense that I now resembled the Darkrai around me. It didn't extend all throughout my body, but it felt like something fundamental had changed. Giratina seemed pleased, nodding to himself and stepping away from me.

“We will be taking our leave now, little ones," Arceus said. “Please do your best. Nuri, Cais, please teach him everything he needs to know."

“I'm counting on you," Giratina added. “Do your best."

The two deities touched the tree, slowly being suffused with light until it became painful to look at them. After a flash of light, they were gone. The three of us stood there, painfully aware that we were now alone. Spirit, who was staying out of sight after we landed, immediately inspected my body. She fussed like usual until she was satisfied that I wasn't hurt. I was surprised that she took the transformation in stride and wasn't freaking out that I had just physically changed.

“I think it's easier to start by doing," Nuri said. “And by that, I mean that you should guide your Flygon to be reborn."

Spirit recoiled at that, immediately shaking her head while hiding behind me. I laughed, finding humor in this shitty situation. I turned around slowly, seeing how distraught this fact made her. Spirit was crying, shaking uncontrollably. I touched her cheeks, wiping away the tears that stained her beautiful scales.

“Don't cry," I said. “We'll see each other again. I'm not going to go anywhere."

She buzzed and hummed. Even without Mist translating the sounds, I knew what she was saying.

“Don't be silly, of course I missed you. This was good, though! We got to see each other again. Not that many people can say that with certainty, you know."

The buzzing and humming. I didn't answer immediately, but I cupped her cheeks and brought her head down to my eye level. Kissing her cheek, the Flygon melted in my embrace.

“You won't forget," I said, touching where her heart would be. “The soul doesn't forget. You'll live another life, another chance to have the things you didn't get to experience. You'll be back, and you'll tell me all about it. All the joys and all the sorrows, and I'll be here to cheer and cry with you."

She seemed to like that, nodding with a little sniff. Spirit was still shaking, but she looked to be emboldened by my words. She nodded to me and we walked together towards the tree. A brief hesitation, but I placed a hand on her shoulder. She touched the tree, and she began to be suffused by the same light that covered Arceus and Giratina. She turned back to me, and I smiled back at her. After a moment, she too, disappeared like the deities before her.

A claw landed on my shoulder. “Good work," Nuri said. “You can cry now, if you need to."

My eyes watered, and all the emotion I was holding back came flooding out all at once. I grabbed hold of Nuri and poured everything out. He didn't say anything, just holding me tighter against him. Cais joined us, their silence and actions allowing me to experience these emotions. Neither of them said anything, letting me calm down at my own pace. Mist was whispering in my mind about how brave I was. It helped a little bit.

“Now you know why we Darkrai never become attached to the dreamers of the world, and neither to the ones to be reborn," Cais said. “It hurts to see them leave."

I shook my head. “You're right, it does hurt, but I refuse to become cold because I fear being hurt again. While I'm here, things will be done slightly different. It doesn't make sense to just turn the gears because that's why we do it and not worry about how."

“What do you mean?" Nuri asked.

“Can we create something in this world?" I asked, rubbing the tears from my eyes. “I have an idea."

Nuri nodded, letting me go. “What would you have us do?"

“Teach me everything. How can I manipulate these immediate surroundings?"

“What are you planning?" Cais asked, her eyes narrowing in suspicion.

“It's time to liven this place up a little," I said, being fully aware of how the saying didn't make much sense here. “I promise it's nothing going to be weird, but make this a more comfortable place."

They both looked at each other almost in exasperation. Nuri shrugged and Cais sighed. We sat down near the tree, as they began to explain everything about the Distortion World. Mist giggled softly, but didn't interrupt. I listened, intending to learn everything as soon as possible. I'll be damned if I get a job like this and I'm not doing the best I can.

====================\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\======================

Time seemed to just pass by. Soon enough, with the help of Cais and Nuri, we turned the land around the tree into a place where souls would willingly come. At first it was simple changes, with a small lake and shrine gates leading to the tree itself. Later, we created rooms for lodging and places where spirits could commune. It felt like I was creating a business, since even Nuri suggested that we kept a tally of each spirit that passed by. There obviously wasn't a form of currency, and some spirits of deceased humans were worried that they would have to pay to stay.

Some asked why have this. It wasn't for the luxury, as the rooms were basic and there wasn't much to actually do except wait. That was the point. To wait for others. Sometimes people died before their time. Others wanted to see someone important to them and never got the chance to confront them about something. This is a last stop, a chance to recuperate and get all that stuff figured out before starting anew. Regret was a powerful emotion, that drags down a reborn soul. It manifests in ugly ways, too, and usually goes without notice until it is too late.

This also had the side effect of having information be funneled to one location. I constantly heard dates and events that happened in the real world. From disasters, new champions being crowned, to different migration patterns and old knowledge. Nuri mentioned that he had never seen so many souls in one place, eager to speak to each other. Cais, surprisingly, was a comforting presence to young children that died to illness or accident. At first she was hesitant to do it, but as more and more spirits came, she relented. It's not easy for her to do it, but she constantly volunteers to help when a new child appears at our front door.

I was manning the reception again, which seemed to surprise people more and more. I would have thought that some weird legend would have appeared that the Distortion World was some kind of paradise for souls. Apparently the old beliefs were hard to replace.

“It's been getting busy recently," I said as Nuri passed by.

He nodded. “It looks like there was a disaster in the Sinnoh region recently. Quite a few people died in a cave-in."

I frowned, memories echoing in my mind. Mist helped me calm down, our bond allowing her more and more control of how even my emotions ran through my thoughts.

“Do we have an estimate on how many dead?" I asked.

He shook his head as he stopped. “Not a lot, from the sounds of it. Just enough to make the news, or something. Seemed to have happened quite a while ago, from my estimate. A couple was saying how two scientists had died and were going to be a loss to the archeological community, whatever that means."

I nodded. “Thank you, Nuri."

“No problems, boss," he said, waving at me.

“Didn't I tell you to stop calling me that?"

“You know I don't really listen, boss," he called as he continued onwards and around the corner.

I busied myself with organizing paperwork and making sure that any problems were being rectified. My reflection caught my eye, the wooden counter polished to a mirror sheen. There was no dust, so cleaning was a relatively minor task. Every time I saw myself, it looked like I was becoming less human and and something more in line with either a Darkrai or a Mismagius. My face was round and smooth, my jaw becoming almost nonexistent. The hair on my head resembled that silly looking stuff that the Darkrai have. My old clothes still fit, thankfully, so most of the other transformations were hidden. One thing I noticed is that the five wounds in my chest were still there after all this time.

A bell greeted two people walking through the gateway leading to the reception area. I smiled at them. Both were humans, a man and a woman. Both were talking quite amicably, pointing and looking around at what we had built here. They saw me and stopped to stare for a moment. This was a normal reaction by now, so I waved at them in greeting. They slowed their approach, more in taking in the atmosphere than being wary of who I was. When they reached the desk, the man placed his hands on the wood as if to make sure that this was real.

“Yes, it's real, sir," I said with a laugh. “Can I get your names please? For the registry."

“What is this place?" the woman asked.

“A place for weary souls to have a moment to relax before being reborn again. It doesn't have a name yet, though I don't remember exactly how long ago it was that I built this place now. Suggestions are being taken all the time, so please feel free to leave one if you so desire."

The man looked pensive for a moment. “Have you considered Valhalla?" he asked.

I laughed. “Nuri! Another one for Valhalla!"

“On it!" he shouted back.

“That seems to be a popular option, though I think people might think you're crazy," I said with a chuckle. “Also, we don't serve drinks here."

“Excuse me?" the man asked.

“This isn't a bar, though we do have fireworks every now and then," I stated, snapping my fingers for a ink well and quill while grabbing a new sheet of paper. “Now, your names, please?"

They both looked at each other and shrugged. “My name is Edgar Elazar, and this is my wife, Sarah Elazar."

Mist's laughter was the first thing that rang through my head. “I hope you remember these names, Master," she said. “I have never met these two humans, but you should know who they are."

Yes, I know very well who these two are. Now, to be subtle about it or be up front. I found my hands shaking, the quill in my claws scratching and ruining the paper. A sigh escaped my lips as I scrapped the paper by balling it up and rolling it across the table.

“Mom. Dad. It's nice to see you again," I said with a forced smile.

The silence that fell basically stated how anyone was feeling at this point. Both of their faces showed the shock and disbelief that I was expecting. However, it soon changed to elation as mom started to fidget in place with tears appearing in her eyes. Dad was shaking his head, as if he couldn't believe anything.

“Is that you, Aaron?" she asked.

“It would be really cruel of anyone to tell you a lie here," I said with a frown. “Also, I've never lied to you about anything."

“When you left your Pokédex behind, it was all we could do to call the authorities," Dad said, his voice straining to stay calm.

“Good thing they never found us," I said. “I always wanted to say I was sorry. It must have been a nightmare to worry about me."

“Arceus," Mom said simply.

“Yeah, that guy has a way with it," I said with a shrug.

“He said that you would be back," Dad said. “Arceus called you a savior, a modern messiah. The original churches are still having a hard time making the transition since Arceus returned."

“Mostly because the books are factually wrong, since they were written by humans long after Arceus had sacrificed himself," I said. “Yeah, there's been a few people that don't do very well when coming here."

“What happens to them?" Mom asked.

“They're asked to leave," I said with a shrug. “They come back when they're ready to be reborn. If they insist on being reborn with resentment, it usually doesn't take long for them to come back anyway."

“Has that happened yet?" Mom asked.

“Haven't had it happen yet, as far as I know," I answered with a shrug.

“And what about us?" Dad asked. “What are we going to do?"

I shrugged again. “It's up to you how long you spend here. I can't force you to leave. That's not the point of this place. The intention of being here is to understand what lead up to this moment, accept what happened, and move on. To stay here is to stagnate the very reason of life."

Mom laughed, the first joyous sound that anyone has made so far since they stepped inside. “That sounds exactly what Arceus said."

“Oh?"

“About a month or two after you disappeared," Dad explained, “Arceus made a very public appearance at Kanto's Indigo Plateau. Arceus wanted to clear your name and the names of your friends that let you arrive to Him safely."

Yeah, safely. Because getting shafted is the definition of safe. However, I kept that to myself and nodded. “Right, that makes sense. How long ago was that?"

Dad looked at Mom, who scratched her head. “I think about ten years ago," she said. “It's been a while, that's for sure."

“So it's been ten years since I died," I muttered. I shrugged. “Whatever. Anyway, anything else?"

“Could you show us around?" Dad asked with a grin.

“Why not. Nuri! I'm going to show these two around. Cover for me?"

“I'll be right over, boss!" Nuri called.

I walked around the counter, mom practically enveloping me in a hug. Dad patted me on the shoulder, a smile on his face. I rolled my eyes but didn't say anything.

“Should I interrupt?"

Both my parents gasped and I couldn't help but laugh at their reactions. “Nuri, these are my parents," I said. “I'll be showing them the area and give them their room. If you could make sure no other guests go unwelcome, that'd be great."

He nodded. “Of course," he said with a nod.

“Let's go," I said, grabbing mom by the hand. “There's a lot to show you."

-------------------------------------------/////////////////////////////---------------------------------

After showing my parents around, we stopped in front of the tree. They stared at it with wonder for a moment before smiling at me. It clicked on me that they were ready to leave already. My mouth felt dry, and I wanted to stop them before Dad reached out to touch the tree.

“Does it hurt?" he asked, as light flooded his body.

I shook my head. “I don't know, but I've never heard anyone say anything."

“We'll see each other again. I'm happy knowing you've done amazing so far."

I laughed. “Take care."

As soon as he disappeared, mom hugged me tightly and giving me a kiss on the cheek. She looked a little more reluctant to leave immediately. I guess seeing her son again in ten years will do that to you.

“You won't hold this against him for leaving like that, won't you?" she asked.

I shook my head. “No. Some people adjust faster than others. You're more than welcome to stay as long as you need to."

“I just want to make sure that you're ok," she said worriedly. “You're not hurting, right?"

“The wounds don't hurt anymore, if that's what you mean," I said with a laugh.

She stared at me. I lifted my shirt, showing the wounds that were still on my body. Covering myself, her eyes were wide.

“What happened?"

I placed a hand on her shoulder, guiding her away from the tree and sitting her down on a nearby bench. Sitting down next to her, I began to regale her the situation as I remember it happening. It was entertaining to see how she reacted to every blow and she teared up a little when I was finally killed.

“Did it hurt?" she asked.

“Yes, it did," I answered with a laugh. “It really did."

“Will they ever heal?" she asked.

“Honestly, I have no idea. Spirit, my Flygon that already left here, her wings had healed. I don't know if they will. These things don't hurt anymore, as long as they're left alone."

“How did you know how Spirit looked like?" she asked.

I laughed. “If you keep asking questions you'll never leave," I warned her.

“I'm your mother, I don't need a reason to worry about you."

I raised my arms up in surrender. “Alright, you win. Ask away. I'm an open book to you."

“Are the things Arceus said about you true?" she asked pointedly.

“What things? I've been stuck here since I died. I have no idea what's been said about me."

“That you had… physical relations… with your Pokémon."

I rolled my eyes. “Yes, I did."

She took a deep breath at that, releasing it slowly. “Did you force them to do it?"

“No, mom, I didn't. I'm pretty sure that I we wouldn't be having this conversation if it was the other way around. Have you even seen Zin? That Houndoom would have bitten my face off if I forced myself on her."

She shook her head. “Too much information," she muttered.

“You're the one that wanted to know," I pointed out. “I felt it was relevant to the topic at hand."

“Anyway, moving on. What of your companions? Did you have physical interactions with them or their Pokémon?"

I shook my head. “No, not their Pokémon. With Joy, we did the deed once though. By the way, did you get to meet her?"

Mom nodded. “Arceus helped the poor girl. She was traumatized by something or another for a long time."

I nodded. “It was when that Chandelure attacked her," I said. “It's the only thing that makes sense to me."

Mom nodded. “I think you're right. Anyway, yes, I met her. She's a sweetheart and she's been taking care of your Pokémon since your passing."

I smiled. “Thanks, Joy," I whispered.

“You should thank her yourself," she said, resting her hand on my shoulder.

I shook my head. “I can't leave this place. Not until Arceus has regained more power, or some weird thing like that."

Mom frowned at that. “I wonder why?"

I shrugged. “Something esoteric, believe me. Arceus explained it to me and I still didn't really understand it. Either way, I won't go against Giratina, either, since he stated that I would be taking care of the Distortion World in his absence."

“So, you're basically the new caretaker of the dead," mom deadpanned.

“Yeah, basically. It's a pretty important job."

“Even when it's like this?"

“You should have seen it before I got here. There wasn't anything here. The idea was to make people and Pokémon more comfortable with the surroundings."

“Are you alone?" she asked.

“I have the two Darkrai, Nuri and Cais, acting as support and friends. I don't think there's a physical attraction, though Cais has acted a little strange around me sometimes. Since no other of my team has died that I have been aware of, except Mist, it's been the same ever since I've been here."

She nodded, smiling at me. “Are you happy?" she asked.

I chuckled. Mist herself chuckled alongside me inside my mind. “Yeah, I'm happy. I'm happy that I get to see you and dad again. I'm happy to hear that everyone is doing alright. I know it's not easy out there, on the other side, but with people like you making it a better place, it can only get better."

“Will I remember any of this?" she asked.

I shook my head. “No, not really. Sometimes, I hear that recently resurrected individuals have dreams or nightmares of the Distortion World. Though, again, I'm not sure. Someone once told me that they wrote a book about it, but who knows how that did. He never mentioned the title. Again, wouldn't do me much use here.

“Though my observations tell me that some part of the soul does remember what it experiences in the Distortion World. It ends up just an echo, and I haven't had repeat visitors, but the theory does have at least some evidence to back it up."

Mom seemed pretty satisfied with that. She stood up, extending her hand to mine. I took it, as she pulled on me to stand up. I looked at her quizzically, wondering if she was ready to leave already. Sure enough, we walked towards the tree. There were other spirits milling about, as if eavesdropping on our conversation.

“Will they remember this, too?" she asked.

“Like I said, probably just an echo in their hearts and nothing more."

Before approaching the tree any further, she turned to me and we embraced one last time. Her tears came freely, and her sobbing was loud. I ran my claws through her hair gently and held her against me. Sometimes people just need a good cry to get it all out. I whispered words of comfort to her, helping her to slowly calm down. She sniffled a little, but she looked at me with a determined look.

“Are you ready?" I asked.

She nodded, placing both her hands against the trunk of the tree. She immediately became filled with light, becoming almost a beacon of light and flooding the surroundings in her glow. She gave me one last smile, mouthed out something I could not hear, and disappeared. I could feel the tears begin to form in my eyes, but I couldn't help but smile while doing so. It was good to see them and for them not to be in pain was an added bonus, that's for sure.

The spirits around formed a swarm as they approached. Some asked me questions of the two I spoke with, while others just wondered if I was alright. It made me smile to know that there were others here that worried about me. Of particular note there was one small Vulpix cub that approached me in the arms of a Lucario, who wanted to know if he could give me a hug. Of course, I obliged the little one with multiple hugs. After a few well wishes and a few more that left for the real world, the crowds slowly dispersed. Cais walked towards me as the crowd disappeared, smiling at me.

“Giratina would be proud of you right now," she said.

“I'm glad you think so," I said with a smile.

“I know I am, Master," Mist said with a giggle.

“I think that it's time that Father tell you more, though," she said. “There's more to us than guiding souls back to the world. If and when Father shows up that is."

What she said made little sense immediately. Why wasn't this told to me? Maybe it's just to make sure I could do the basics required before putting on more responsibilities. Thinking about it made the situation painfully clear.

“Do we have a timeframe when Giratina will be coming back?" I asked.

Cais shook her head. “No, but I have a feeling that this isn't the ultimate goal for you."

I nodded. “Your hunches are usually on point, so I trust you on this," I said. “Keep me informed if anything else happens."

Cais nodded. “Yessir."

I sighed and she laughed at my reaction. As she walked away, I was confident that both of them did this in order to get me to react. Maybe this is how they were all the time, before all the orders and fighting. If that was the case, I was glad to be able to see who these two really are. It's not just anyone that can say that they have a good relationship with a Darkrai, let alone two of them. As I walked back to the front desk, Nuri waved at me and told me that five more spirits had appeared and were all settled. I thanked him and settled myself behind the counter.

While I tried to never favor one or the other, it seemed that we had a certain chemistry. We all seemed to get along with relatively minor arguments. Those tended to focus more on how to treat humans that abused others, either they be humans or Pokémon that hurt or killed others unnecessarily. It was almost a formality at this point, and the two Darkrai usually try to make this place into a purgatory for those kind of people. Sometimes they deserve it, while there are other times there is hope for redemption.

The bell rung again, bringing my attention to the present. A group of humans and Pokémon entered the building. I smiled at them, hoping that I didn't frighten any of them.

“Welcome to the Distortion World," I said. “If you could sign your names here, I can get you all settled."

-----------------------------////////////////////////////////////////////////------------------------------

Time was an odd constant, a variable that I knew changed every moment. My issue was that I had no idea what that variable actually was in the first place. I know time was moving, since people kept dying. I just didn't know how much time has passed. There was no motion of the stars or sun in the Distortion World, just what mocked the heavens in the infinite distance. There was a sky, technically, the same way we technically have air. Anything that existed in this world was a cruel reminder of what you were exposed to while you lived. Nothing more, and nothing less.

The bell rang again as I stood in my usual spot at the reception desk. Seeing how nobody was there, I walked outside to see if there was anyone. Standing at the front of the gate, the two familiar figures of Giratina and Arceus stood side by side. Arceus seemed to had regained much of the power that was lost, having grown in size to match Giratina's enormous serpentine shape.

“Cais! Nuri!" I yelled. “They're here!"

Nuri rounded the corner first, almost running into me in his hurry to see Giratina again. Cais was a little behind, holding a young child in her arms. The baby seemed restless. I offered to take the child off her arms.

“Are you sure?" she asked.

I nodded, taking the baby out of her hands. “Go," I said with a grin. “They're not going to disappear anytime soon."

Cais nodded and ran after her brother, who was already embracing Giratina. I chuckled and shook my head. I was happy for them, truly. I was lucky to see my parents since all this happened, though it was obvious that it would happen eventually. The baby in my arms looked at me with curious eyes. It was definitely a human child, an unfortunate reminder that a life can end before it even begins. I walked to the tree with the child in tow, idly wondering if I should wait to see if the mother committed suicide or if I should hurry this child to the next life.

Shaking my head, I made up my mind. I walked towards the tree, noticing that only a few spirits were mingling around the area at the moment. The child didn't struggle as I gently made his or her feet touch the bark of the tree. It didn't take long for the child to be headed off to whatever life awaited them.

“You did the right thing, Master," Mist said softly. “There is no reason to wait for a mother that may or may not come."

“That sounds harsh," I said aloud, “but I think you're right."

“You are beginning to understand how I see the world now," she said happily.

“That is a scary thought," I said with a laugh.

I turned away from the tree and headed back to my usual post. I made sure to glance over to make sure that Giratina and Arceus were still there. They were, Nuri and Cais speaking with them avidly. I had no idea what they were talking about, but this was the first time I had seen them so happy. Who was I to take that away?

Shaking my head, I busied myself with paperwork. Damn that Nuri, though, leaving me almost nothing to busy myself with. Cais came back into the entry room, and didn't hesitate to grab my arm and pull me away from what I was doing.

“Don't be stupid," she hissed. “They want to meet you as much as you want to meet them. Just come on! The world will keep rotating without our help for a few moments."

I couldn't argue with that kind of logic. I didn't offer any resistance as she led me to where Arceus and Giratina stood. Deciding to have a little fun with the situation, I frowned at the two Darkrai.

“And why haven't you two properly showed our guests inside?" I asked, making an effort to frown at Nuri. “And here I thought they knew better! I apologize profusely for their rudeness."

The two Darkrai both looked a little shocked at my outburst, almost tripping over themselves for a moment before stopping when Giratina and Arceus started laughing. Nuri and Cais gave me dirty looks before joining the laughter.

“It is good to see that you have adjusted being here," Arceus said.

“You've done wonders to this place," Giratina said. “I wholeheartedly approve of the changes. It feels comfortable, and we haven't actually looked around."

I smiled at that. “I'm glad that you approve," I said.

“With that said, I hope that everything has gone well?" Arceus asked. “I know that I imposed on you a few things and didn't quite satisfy your curiosity."

I shrugged. “We've moved on," I said. “Nuri and Cais have kept me company, and that's not to count the countless spirits that are here at any given point."

Arceus nodded. “We have noticed that. Your actions here in the Distortion World have made a positive impact on the other side."

I felt relieved. “You have no idea how good that feels to hear that."

“Were you worried?"

“About not doing a good job," I clarified. “We've been playing the whole thing by ear. So far, it's been working."

“How is your Mismagius?" Giratina asked.

“She's alright," I said, answering for her. “She doesn't talk as often as she used to, but that might have to be because she might not have something to say."

“Would you want me to talk more often? I was under the impression that it made you look like a lunatic."

I rolled my eyes. The Darkrai laughed. “This happens when she talks," Nuri said. “It worries some of our guests, but they understand after we explain what's happened."

“Your return seems to be welcome, I've noticed," I said, changing the subject.

“Yes, it has. I'm quite happy with how things have turned out," Arceus said with a nod. “You have also helped with that."

“How so?"

“Humans and Pokémon do not truly forget what happens to them in the Distortion World, as you know by now. Finally seeing you, the final Shard, with their own eyes makes it easier to accept what has happened and confirms what I have spoken about in the other side."

“I'm sure there are people that still don't believe you," I said with a sigh. “Change isn't easy."

“No, it is not," Arceus said sadly. “Still, progress is happening, and the world is largely at peace with my return. That is more than I could ever ask for in such a short amount of time."

“Speaking of time, how much time has passed since all this started?" I asked.

“Thirty," Giratina said gently.

The number hit me like a blow to the head. “That's… ok, wow. That's quite a while now."

“Yes, it is," Giratina said. “It's about time I came home, too. There are a lot of things to take care of here. While you did an excellent job here, there's a few things that need my attention."

“I'm sorry. I wasn't made aware."

Giratina laughed. “No, don't apologize. Arceus was already worried about you since we left you here alone with these two. Nuri, Cais, let's leave these two alone. Show me what Aaron created that's made so many spirits happy."

The two Darkrai immediately jumped to attention, more than happy to have something to do. Also, probably, happy to be with their father after so long. I turned to look at Arceus, who was avoiding my gaze. I couldn't understand what would cause Arceus to not look at me.

“So, thirty years," I said. “What's changed? Or, maybe I should ask what did you see that caught your attention the most."

“I am amazed by how humans have welcomed me into their midsts," Arceus said. “This… religion that they spoke of, and the creation stories, have many truths in them."

“I'm sure the priests were happy to hear that," I said with a chuckle.

“Where you a believer?" Arceus asked.

“Yeah," I answered. “I always believed that you were around, somewhere. Obviously, I had no idea that my life would end up like this, though."

Arceus looked to say something of an apology again. I raised a claw up and interrupted the deity. “Look, you can stop apologizing. I insist that you stop. This worked out for the best, probably. I'm not a fan of being dead, but shit happens. Let's move on, though, alright? For both our sakes."

“Will you forgive me if I still feel I should apologize?" Arceus asked.

“Of course I will," I answered. “Just don't feel the need to say it all the time. I understand what happened and I accept what's happened to me."

“You will be happy to hear that I have more plans for you."

I raised an eyebrow. “Yeah? Do I get to leave this place for once?"

“Actually, yes, you do."

“You have my complete and devoted attention, sir."

“Since regaining my lost power, thanks to you, I have another task that only you can perform for me."

“Sounds scary," I said. “Count me in."

Arceus looked at me, slightly confused. “Do you want to know what the tasks you are going to complete?"

“Does it involve me hurting someone?" I asked.

“Perhaps, but it is mostly to heal and relieve pain instead of causing any."

“Will I be killing people or Pokémon on this duty?"

“You will be guiding dying people to the afterlife."

“OK, now I'm confused. Why is this so important? People are dying all the time, and no one's done this job for however long. I guess the real question is what are the consequences of this job not being done."

“Some humans and Pokémon have incredibly powerful souls. Souls that, if left unguided, lash out in their death to the living."

“So, is it any death?" I asked. “Does the way these individuals die make a difference?"

“If it was a natural death, there isn't much of a problem. Any other way, either killed because of jealousy or they were murdered in cold blood, the soul haunts the location of their death and only leaves for the Distortion World after a long time, sometimes centuries to finally accept what happened to them."

“So they become a ghost," I said, “or a revenant. A ghost with ill intent. What you're saying is, that you want me to become a beacon for these ghosts?"

Arceus shook his head. “Well, yes and no. You will become a beacon for them, but the duties of your position will give you the option to intervene and stop the haunting from happening in the first place."

“Pre-emptive measures are welcome in this line of work. I get out of the Distortion World, and travel benefits from what you're saying," I said aloud. “It sounds like a bad deal not to take this offer."

“You would be at my mercy," Arceus warned. “It won't be easy and it won't all be glorious."

“Sometimes, you have to get dirty so the job gets done right," I said grimly. “I think I'm a literal definition of that."

“Will you accept the job?" Arceus asked.

“A question. Will I be allowed to come back to the Distortion World? As much as I'd love to get some fresh air, after getting to know Nuri and Cais I would hate to never see them again."

Arceus laughed. “Of course you would be allowed to come back."

“Where do I sign?"

Small gleaming motes began to float around me. Slowly I was lifted into the air. Arceus' eyes were closed, focusing on something. Swirls of light condensed all around me until there was nothing to see except a film of white covering the details of my surroundings. Something touched my right claw, and then it felt like something was flowing into me. While these sensations weren't completely alien to me at this point, this one just felt like a part of me was being cleaned. It was certainly a weird sensation.

Something felt itchy on my back. That was new. I tried to reach for it, but my left claw wasn't able to reach it. Something felt out of place, and a loud crack and popping sound accompanied it. A part of my back felt heavy, like a backpack that you had slung over one shoulder and said backpack had all your school books.

“If you gave me one wing, I'm going to be disappointed in you," I said.

“It's not a wing," Arceus replied.

“What it is, then? Holy crap, it feels really awkward."

Arceus put me down gently, and I shifted to feel what exactly was attached to my back now. It felt heavy, though not in a cumbersome sort of way. I looked at Arceus, who had a satisfied look on his face.

“You're not going to tell me, aren't you?" I asked.

“I would rather see how you react when you see it."

I rolled my eyes and shook my head. Waving my claws over to my right, I created a temporary screen to reflect what I saw. It shocked me to see what looked like a golden contraption attached to my back. Approaching the reflection and giving it a closer look, it wasn't just a piece of metal or something so crude. It acted like it was alive, for all intents and purposes. As I moved my right arm, it flexed and moved alongside it. The base looked to be attached near my shoulder blade and extended a bit past my claws. There wasn't anything that hung off of it, so the risk of self injury was minimal.

There was some writing on it, but I couldn't make it out from the reflection. All I could make out was something about Arceus, but any more details about the text was lost on me. I waved the mirror away and turned to Arceus.

“Alright, you had your fun," I said with a shake of my head. “What is this?"

“It marks you as a disciple of Arceus," Arceus replied. “The idea came to me from a stained glass window that was in one of the many places of worship that I visited. It was an interesting idea, that an individual would rise to such importance to be marked by me as a reward for their faith."

“I don't know if that was a reward, or more of the typical angel being a character type in a lot of stories that acted as a redeemer for you," I said. “Usually that's the kind of stuff they did in the stories anyway."

“And that is exactly what you are."

“I'm to be your angel?"

“My angel, my redeemer, and my wrath, if need be."

“This got really grim all of a sudden," I said with a raised eyebrow. “Why wrath, by the way. Are there still people that don't accept you?"

“Yes, but it is more for your protection rather than mine."

“Or for me to act in your defense."

Arceus nodded. I sighed. “Fine, whatever, lay it on me. What's the first order of business?"

“You are to go to the Unova region. There have been reports of humans and Pokémon being attacked by a marauding gang of Pokémon. They cover the entire continent, constantly roaming throughout the year. Your objective is to stop this pack leader from causing any more harm."

“This sounds really dumb, but alright. Do you have any more leads?"

“The pack is composed of many runaway Pokémon, though all are lead by a savage packmaster that runs the group with a proverbial iron fist. The leader is known to murder subordinates for failing to accomplish what they are commanded to do."

I raised a claw to stop Arceus from going any further. “That sounds like enough information to me. Unova, stop whatever is going on. Reap what you sow. One last question. How do I exit the Distortion World?"

“Touch the tree," Arceus said. “It will take you to where you need to go."

“That's oddly convenient."

“Would you rather have to find where the weak points in reality are from this side so you can tear through them?"

I shook my head. “Forget I said anything."

Arceus nodded. “I expect great things from you."

“I don't know if you're just saying that now, or you've said it all the time and now it's a habit for you. Either way, sure, I'll be back."

As I walked towards the tree, Giratina, Nuri, and Cais were talking excitedly with any spirits that were brave enough to approach them. They waved at me to approach them. Giratina shook his head.

“So, Father really did do that," he said. “I'm sorry for him to force you to do this."

I shrugged. “I feel like I'm nothing more than a puppet at this point. But, if I can help, I might as well help as best I can. No offense, but being in here for thirty years is a little boring."

Giratina laughed. “No offense taken, and I understand what you mean. Since I've visited the normal world now for so long, it feels odd to be here now."

Nuri and Cais gawked at me, their claws running over my new appendage. “What does this even do?" Cais asked.

“So far, decoration," I stated. “Hopefully it does something more than just look nice. Either way, I'll see you some other time."

They all nodded. Nuri shook claws with me, while Cais gave me a hug. As I walked away from the group, Mist laughed in my mind.

“I wouldn't have guessed that she would take your loss so hard," Mist said.

“Don't jinx this," I said. “Just, for fucks sake, don't do this to me now."

I truly hoped that Mist was wrong. Whatever anything happened, I hope that Giratina was able to keep everyone, especially her, under control. Mist's laughter echoed inside my head. Either at my unwillingness to see the truth in front of me, or for believing in something that was clearly incorrect, she would be right on both. As I touched the bark of the tree to return to the world, Mist's laughter continued inside my head. Her laughter continued until the world was nothing but white. The laughter echoed as wind rushed through my ears. I had no fear of falling, and that was exactly what was happening. I braced for the impact, the thing on my shoulder extending on its own when we hit the ground.

Looking around, it looked like the shoulder thing actually did something. There wasn't a giant crater to show that I had appeared. At least it didn't knock down any trees or anything. We were close to Castelia city, that much I remember. Something was odd, but I couldn't place what exactly.

I wasn't sure if humans and Pokémon could see me, so I decided to try my luck at using a glamour. I wasn't sure if that even worked, but at the very least I could say that I attempted to keep people from groveling over me due to being something out of a prayer book. With a wave of my claw, I kept the glamour as nondescript as possible. People will, ideally, just see a normal human. Hopefully nothing is out of place. I've never really tried to conceal myself with a glamour.

The city limits weren't far away, which confirmed why everything looked so odd. The desert wasn't here anymore. Construction equipment was still laying around, but it looked like the humans of Unova decided to tame the desert north of Castelia after all that time. Entering Castelia proper, it was obvious that there was a layer of fear in the air. There were missing posters plastered on walls and the sides of buildings. The giant bulletin screens reported on local and world news. One piece of news on the screen got my attention immediately. A woman appeared on the screen, bringing to a halt the weather report.

“We have new reports that the packs of wild Pokémon have been spotted near Castelia city. Citizens without Pokémon are required to not leave the city limits for any reason. This is for your safety. Trainers are required to stay within city limits as well. There have been now over one hundred confirmed Pokémon trainer kills by this wild pack. For your safety and the safety of your Pokémon, let the trained professionals handle this."

The statement continued began to loop as soon as it ended. The only thing that changed was that there was a live feed of the surroundings of Castelia city. I don't know if they were waiting for something to appear, but I wasn't going to waste my time.

“Wait a moment, please," Mist whispered.

What do you think is going to appear on the screen? It's just going to state the same shit that's been said twice now.

“No, not that. Pay attention to the picture of what is going on outside," she said. “That's what you should be seeing."

I was about to refute her, but something looked to move at the bare edge of the screen. The camera moved and refocused. Clear as day, was my worst nightmare made real. A very large Pokémon stared right at the camera, growling extremely angrily. The bones on its exterior were worn, scars clearly visible on her once meticulous clean coat. Flame and smoke belched from her muzzle. Almost as if issuing a challenge, the ball of fire rushed to the camera before being engulfed and turning the live feed into static.

“The years haven't been kind to her," Mist said sadly. For a moment, I wondered if she really did feel sorry.

“Zin," I whispered, “What's happened to you?"

-----------------------------------------/////////////////////////////////////------------------------

I pushed my way through the crowd of people. Some humans had a horrified look on them while others only looked infuriated. Some looked at me while others followed me outside. It was clear that I wasn't some ghost in the world, and that my glamour was working. My extra appendage moved by itself, unconsciously curling and twisting out of the way to avoid any suspicion. A police officer moved to block our progress while the gate was lowered to close the exit to the city.

“Citizens and visitors, please move away from the gate," the police officer said. “We are doing this for your safety."

Ah fuck this shit. I ignored the man and he grabbed my shoulder. I stared at him.

“If you don't let me go, you're going to regret it."

He moved to report something on his radio. I grabbed his hand and twisted it. He yelled when his arm started to point in an unnatural angle. I punched him to stop struggling. It wasn't the best idea, but there was a job to do. Seeing who it was made me want to go towards the target without any fucking around. Zin needed help, and I was going to provide it.

There was still the issue about the gate that was in the way. Again, subtlety was for another time. Mist took over, my left claw slashing the metal gate to shreds. That was something new. The ghost giggled in my head. It was the first time that she's done that. It felt like a void was around my claw that I shaped to what I needed for it to be.

As soon as we were outside, it was clear that there were still around. The wall itself was scorched, with something that resembled tar oozing downwards due to gravity. It was also on fire, much like most of the surroundings. A few scorched trees stood among others that showed more what looked like scratch marks. Tuffs of fur hung onto the grass, the aggressive nature of the attackers unable to be content with waiting around.

It didn't take long for a Pokémon to appear. A Growlithe and two Houndour appeared, the three immediately encircling me. I rolled my eyes and ignored them. One of the Houndour was behind me and thought it would be a good idea to attack. I ducked down, avoiding the tackle entirely. The other two wanted in on the action, charging at me. My claws glowed with purple energy. I sighed as I slashed the two out of the air. Their bodies hit the ground. It relieved me to hear them breathing, however labored it was. Dammit, Mist, you didn't need to go so overboard.

“Perhaps this one will use the brain between its eyes and call for help," she said menacingly.

“Maybe," I said aloud. “Hey, pup, go call for help, or what happened to these two is going to happen to you too."

The Houndour stood there, looking between me and the two that laid on the ground. My claws began to glow again. It got the message, immediately tilting its head upwards and howling loudly. Good, get the fucking message across. Now, I just hope that it doesn't take long for someone to show up. I ignored the looks the Houndour was giving me, while I passed by the two injured Pokémon on the ground. I sighed, kneeling down and touching their sides. The Houndour's injuries were pretty mild physically. It was probably more stress than anything. It seemed young, too young to be going out like this. The Growlithe was in a similar state, though the physical wounds were slightly worse. There wasn't any bleeding, and it didn't feel like there was any internal injuries. I spotted some trees that were relatively unscathed by the passing Pokémon and headed there to rest.

I leaned on a tree trunk, enjoying the occasional breeze that passed by and the warm air around me. I hated to admit it, but it was nice to finally leave the Distortion World. It wasn't that I was ungrateful, but I guess I really did miss this place, deep down inside. The thought that I wasn't part of this world passed by. It's been thirty years since I died. That's a lot of time. I wonder how Joy and Jon are. I didn't get to say goodbye to them, not before getting killed.

Something was coming. I focused my attention, trying to decipher what was on its way. Mist laughed, making me lose focus.

“There is a group of quadruped Pokémon on its way. That Houndoom is with them."

“Is it Zin?" I asked.

“I do not know," Mist responded. “Houndoom all look alike. The odds of one surviving to be thirty with her complete disregard of well being would be something to behold."

“You say this, and life has a way to prove you wrong," I point out.

“I have also proven life wrong numerous times," she argued.

“We'll find out right now, it looks like."

Five Houndoom ran towards the one that howled. Three of them spotted me, immediately forming a frontal guard. Two stayed their distance, checking on the fallen little ones before trying to get them up. When they stumbled, the standing Houndour came to them, helping prop them up so they could walk. It didn't take long, thankfully, for the two pups to get their bearings. Some dialogue passed between them, while I ignored it to pay attention to the clouds passing by.

“Stormy weather is approaching," I said.

“You got that right, human."

My eyes widened at that voice. I turned to see the Houndoom from the camera, boldly approaching me. She walked through the invisible line the other three Houndoom were making, calmly sitting next to me.

“I've never seen you around," she said. “What's your name?"

“I don't give my name to just anyone," I said with a laugh. Was my voice disguised? Would she be able to pick up on who I was? “Anyway, you haven't introduced yourself, either."

“Usually trespassers are the ones to give their names first," she pointed out.

“Good thing I'm not trespassing then."

Zin didn't respond. I inspected her closer, noticing the patches of regrown fur over scars on her back and legs. Her left eye was missing, the wound looking like it was treated with the care of a blowtorch. It was just an empty socket, scar tissue and moving muscle clearly visible. She looked at me curiously, as if trying to decide on something. She shrugged, laying her head down.

“Do you like this kind of weather?" she asked.

“A little bit," I answered. “It's been quite some time since I've seen a storm. It reminds me of some things."

“Do tell."

I shook my head. “Nah. I wouldn't want to bore you."

“Why are you here?" she asked suddenly.

I shrugged. “Still figuring that out."

“Why did you attack those three?"

“What makes you think I instigated the fight?"

Zin laughed loudly, to the curiosity of the other Houndoom. She turned to them and barked out some orders. They looked uncertain. It didn't take long for them to react when she actually chased them away. When she came back, it didn't look like there was any mistrust in her eye for me.

“You can drop the act, you know," she said. “I know it's you."

“Was it obvious?" I asked.

“Well, yeah, actually. Your voice is still the same."

“Good to know glamours don't work on voice. In hindsight, it makes perfect sense."

“That's not you?" she asked.

I shook my head. “No. What do I look like anyway? I just waved my hands and kept going. I didn't think my disguise through at all."

“It looks like you," she said. “I might be missing my eye and it might have been a fucking long time, but I remember you."

I rolled my eyes. Great disguise, just dress up as some kid that's been dead for thirty years. No one would suspect a thing. Zin put her paw on my arm and immediately pulled away. While it looked normal to me, she probably recoiled based on how my skin wasn't the same.

“You're different, aren't you?"

“Before this goes any further, you know that there's someone to pay for what you've done, right?"

Her good eye narrowed at me. “What? Are you angry at me?"

“I'm disappointed. Does that count?"

“We tried to bring you back for so long. They had to pry me off your corpse when it was obvious that you weren't coming back. Those two other humans were doing something, trying to keep you alive. After that, Joy tried to take us under her care. I wasn't going to have it. I ran away, and ever since I've kept running."

I nodded. Zin continued, now that she was on a roll. “Baast and Akalia followed me. With them, we found my old pack. I killed the pack alphas and anyone that was remotely in charge. Since then, I've been the alpha female. A few have tried to take that place from me, daughters of the bitches I killed myself. Needless to say, they didn't make the fucking cut.

“Akalia is a matron to young ones that can't, or won't, fight. She's been the planner of all we've done. I just do things. I like getting dirty."

“What about Baast?" I asked.

“She's around, somewhere. Probably punching something. She hasn't been the same since you… left. She still isn't the same."

“What do you mean?"

“She has no patience for anyone anymore, except for me or Akalia. Even then, it's pushing it when we have to talk to her about what she's doing to humans."

“I can imagine it's not good."

“If you've heard of anything that I've done, what she does is way worse. There's a reason we usually try to keep her to the training pits. If she kills anyone there, they knew what they were getting themselves into. Most of the time, anyway."

So Zin wasn't the real problem. I sighed in relief. Zin looked at me oddly and laughed. “What's gotten into you? Are you nervous of meeting Baast?"

I shook my head. “No, not really. I'm more worried that she won't recognize me."

“Of course she will. Come on. At least this way you get to see Akalia, too."

I could feel Mist shiver inside of me. It would be a lie to say that I wasn't nervous. Though to say that I was scared wouldn't be wrong, either. She started to run, barking orders left and right. A howl was sung nearby, echoed by another howl farther away. A few more Houndoom came out of hiding, while two Arcanine came around. It didn't look like she was going to wait for me, so I stood up and followed after them. If it wasn't obvious to them that I wasn't a normal human, being able to keep up with these Pokémon is all sealed the deal. I kept pace with the group, ignoring the looks some of the others were giving me. Some began to get close to me, as if to see what I really was. A growl from Zin kept them in line, for the most part.

Their den wasn't that far away from the city. Though saying you can see Castelia city skyscrapers didn't mean anything since they were so tall now. I was surprised by how many different kinds of Pokémon were present. There were fighting types like a few Machoke and the impossible to miss four arms of a Machamp. A Parasect waddled next to a Scyther, who were all dwarfed by a Steelix. We walked past them, some giving me odd looks but didn't do anything due to who I was with. There was a single constructed hut, where a few odd Pokémon milled the area. Some brought water, others food. There weren't any walls set up, probably due to the weather, but it made it easy to see who was there.

Akalia was laying down, her ears perking up as we approached. No one said anything until Zin came close and whispered into her ear. Akalia waved a paw, and everyone slowly walked away. Zin nodded, and I approached the Luxray. The years weren't kind to her either. Her black fur was more gray than black in some spots, while the blue was mixed in with white spots. Her eyes looked at me, a smile spreading across her thin mouth. Her tail wagged happily, the star that's at the tip missing one of the four arms.

“Hello, Akalia," I whispered.

She purred happily. I extended an arm, though I pulled back when I realized that touching her might scare her. She moved her paw towards her, as if encouraging me to continue. She didn't flinch when I touched her, only purring louder as my claws scratched her favorite spot behind her ears. A growl caught my attention before someone grabbed my shoulder. Akalia hissed angrily. A fist rammed its way right into my face. It surprisingly didn't hurt as much as I remember. The next blow came, but I met it halfway before it was introduced to my face again. The fist that struck me was a giant one. Looming above me, the Machamp from outside was the one to get a little roudy. I looked over to Zin, who was snarling a warning. The Machamp didn't answer except with one of his two unoccupied arms to point outside the tent.

“I'm not here to cause problems, ya know," I said. “You can put me down and apologize, if you want."

The Machamp pulled his fist away from my grasp before trying again. I really didn't want to hurt him, but at this point it wasn't about what I wanted. I aimed for the inner elbow, digging my claws into his skin. His grip didn't break immediately, but it was enough to pull away from him. I dropped low, turning to my side and shoving my elbow into his gut. I could hear Mist snarl in my head, alongside the grunt of surprise from above. With the Machamp at eye level to me now, I grabbed his face.

“Karma's a bitch," I snarled, before giving him a taste of his own medicine. The giant fell to his side and had the good senses to not stand up again. Zin walked up to me, nodding approvingly.

“I tried to warn him," she said.

I shrugged. Looking over to Akalia, the old Luxray gave me a sad look, but otherwise didn't do anything else. I frowned but she shook her head. Maybe she didn't approve of what happened instead of what I did. Odds are that's the case. She nodded towards Zin, who pushed me out with her head. I didn't fight against it, but I did wave goodbye before leaving.

Outside of the shaded area, it wouldn't be any more peaceful. Pokémon that saw what happened gave me and Zin a wide berth. It wouldn't take very long for her pack to know what happened. Well, Zin and Akalia were accounted for. Where was Baast? I voiced my question to Zin, who stopped when I asked my question.

“It's probably a good idea for you to go," Zin said.

“I'm here on a job," I said. “If these attacks don't stop, I'm going to come back again."

“Baast isn't the most stable out of all of us, and that's being compared to me," she stated flatly. “I know I don't have the best judgement, but at least I haven't killed human children for fun."

“And she has?"

The Houndoom nodded. “Baast sort of snapped. She runs into danger without considering any repercussions of her actions. We all suffered when you died. Iolanthe was distraught for the longest time. I haven't seen her in a while, and I'm not sure she's even in the area anymore. The point is, that crazy is going to lose it if she sees you."

“I still have a job to do," I said.

“I wasn't really telling you to go," Zin said, “I just need you to know that she's not all there upstairs. You might not recognize her, to be honest. You might want to change that illusion thing you have going on, though."

“What do you suggest?"

“Just drop it. At this point, it's not going to matter what you look like to me. You're you, no matter what skin you have on the outside."

A faint shimmer surrounded me for a second as the glamour disappeared. I heard Zin gasp, but didn't step away from me. If anything, she got closer to me. Even in her age, it amused me that her attitude to life hasn't changed much.

“So what Arceus was saying about you is true," she mused aloud. “I wonder if we would be compatible now."

“Holy shit, Zin, you never stop thinking about sex, do you?" I asked, exasperated.

“None of the other studs around here held a candle on how you could fuck me," she said with a shrug. “They think bigger is better or some other shit. I still remember how I took you in my cave all those years ago."

I shook my head. A scream made me focus on the world around me instead of my thoughts. Zin walked in between me and the newcomer. While the spikes on her chest and paws were dulled, Baast had changed little in her age. If anything, she had gotten taller than I remembered, which was a little shocking. The four appendages that are attached to the heads of all Lucario were reduced to two. Her eyes glowed while a snarl pulled back her lips to reveal sharp teeth. The Lucario didn't wait for Zin to say anything, charging at us with her fists encased in Aura.

“We'll have to defend ourselves," Mist stated.

“No shit? I would think getting punched for the second time today would be relaxing."

I moved in front of Zin, guarding the Lucario's initial hit. The appendages moved, her right leg coming up and hitting my exposed side. I grabbed her leg, but her fist connected to my chest. As I stumbled back, she grabbed my arm and twisted behind me, locking us in place. All this time, she hasn't said a single word. Only growls and snarls came from her mouth. She twisted harder and I felt pain on my left shoulder. Mist's voice echoed in my mind.

“Should I take over?" she asked.

“Yeah, sure, just don't hurt her," I groaned aloud.

“Your kindness will get the best of you one day," she said as I relinquished control.

Whatever Baast detected wasn't something she felt that she should be close. She let go of my arm, which was bathed in purple energy. My legs moved towards the Lucario, putting Baast on the defensive. Her Aura and the energy around my limbs seemed to counteract each other, sparks of power showering the environment with each impact. Baast pushed us back, gaining space to create the same Aura weapon that she used on that fight long ago. Mist used my hands to launch a few Shadow Ball attacks, which were easily repelled or dodged by the Lucario.

Her Aura was beginning to dampen. Not because it was weakening, but it was changing color. The blue motif was swiftly changing to a red hue as the fight continued. I pointed this out to Mist who nodded. It felt weird enough that my body was moving on its own, but having my head nod to my own ideas was really pushing it. How was another matter entirely. Defeating her would just make her more angry. It didn't look like we were going to do this the easy way, though there might not have been an easy way in the first place.

“We might have to kill her," I thought morbidly. The things that Arceus said before giving me this task echoing in my mind. Redeemer and wrath indeed.

Baast charged at us, swinging the gigantic bone like it was weightless over her head. We moved out of the way of the blow, Mist launching more shadow orbs behind us. My feet left the ground as Baast chased us, the bone weapon slowly changing color alongside the Aura that fully enclosed Baast by this point. Mist stopped moving after dodging the last attack, though I could feel her prepare something. A shimmering barrier appeared between us and the charging Lucario. The bone smashed through the barrier, the psychic field disappearing on contact. My face smirked, as if she had planned something all along. We didn't dodge as the weapon impacted the side of my head, though Baast came along with us as we rolled with the momentum of the impact. The Lucario screamed in pain. My vision was blurred, but it didn't seem to hurt as much as to what Baast was experiencing.

“Pain Split," Mist said as an explanation. “Equalize the playing field. I won't be able to do it again. We need to stop her now."

Baast stood up, blood mixing with the spittle that she spat out. It terrified me that this is what happened to one of my friends. I clenched my fist, actually in full control of my body once more. I wasn't sure if Mist was fully able to do the deed. Honestly, I wasn't sure if I could either. I wasn't sure what to do. Baast charged again, throwing away the weapon she had created. My claws glowed with a light that I had no time to appreciate. She swung wide, this time without any finesse or foresight. My body reacted mindlessly, parrying her wild attacks before placing my glowing claws on her shoulders. She screamed again, the red aura finally receding away to nothingness. Her legs gave out and I caught her in my arms. Her eyes were unfocused and her breathing was uneven.

“What did you do?" Mist asked.

I had no idea what that was. Was this something to do with whatever Arceus did to me? The offending appendage moved into view, the letters glowing white. I looked down again, noticing how Baast had stopped moving and breathing. I looked again at the thing on my shoulder, wary of it now more than ever. From the tip of it, a golden drop was forming. While I didn't have the faintest idea if it was the right thing to do, it was the best I could do without having instructions on how to do my job. If Arceus wanted the job done in a particular way, there would have been more details about this.

Mist took over for the moment, moving the golden limb with more precision than me. I tilted the Lucario's head back and opened her mouth. The tip of entered her narrow muzzle, pushing open her throat to allow the thing to actually be swallowed. Her body began to glow from the inside, becoming lighter as time moved on. For one brief moment, Baast seemed to move again on her own. She looked at me, before being completely covered in light. When the light disappeared, so did she.

“Well, that was anticlimactic," I said aloud.

Zin came over to me, looking at the appendage on my shoulder. “What's that thing?"

“Honestly have no idea. Something Arceus decided to give me," I answered briefly.

“So, what do we do now?" she asked.

“Maybe stop being so violent," I said. “Arceus sent me to stop the attacks that were going on. If Baast being sent to… wherever she is now… stops those attacks, all the better."

“So, Arceus sends you to kill whoever is threatening people?" she asked. “That doesn't sound like a fair deal."

“I think it's more of a case by case scenario," I said. “I don't think Arceus planned this out, either."

“Either?"

“Just believe me when I say everything in this world is built on the mistakes of others. It's hard to say that with a straight face and mean it, too. Trust me."

“Will you be here for us, when we die?" she asked.

I frowned. “I hope so. If anything, you'll probably see me in the Distortion World. Giratina is back, but I don't know what I will be doing all the time. It's highly doubtful that Arceus will have me running all over the world because of someone did something stupid."

“You say that now," Zin said with a laugh. “Wait until you know more before saying something that makes you look stupid."

I sighed and nodded. “Yes dear."

The Houndoom laughed louder. I grinned at her, but was glad that she got closer to me. I scooped up the Houndoom, leaving the slightly blasted landscape of my fight with Baast behind. A few questions came to mind as I walked back to leave Zin with the pack. How would I know if the job is done? How do I get back to the Distortion World? Would I go back there? The more I think about it, the more questions come to the point where I'm angry at myself for not thinking it through, and Arceus withholding information.

Either case, I should finish the job. I first concern was if there more to this than it seemed. Again, no way to know exactly what was my purpose other than stopping the packs attacks. Maybe that's why, since Zin and Akalia are still around, the pack still has a sense of purpose. I don't know what the consequences will be with the abrupt loss of leadership, and what will do the rest of the Pokemon do when that happens. Would I need to stop them, too? Zin seemed to notice something off about my behavior because she squirmed in my grip. I let her go, her piercing glare wanting to know more.

“What's the problem now?" Zin demanded.

“Arceus tasked me to stop the pack from attacking innocents. Even after Baast was… relieved, I'm still here. I'd imagine that there's more to do."

“You figure that?" Zin remarked. “I'd say that Arceus isn't so stupid as to leave something half assed anyway."

“To change the subject, you don't seem to be angry of what happened with Baast," I said.

Zin shook her head. “No, I can totally see why you had to do what you did to her. It's unfortunate as fuck, but the Baast that you knew died the day you died. You did her a favor, in my eyes."

As I was about to respond, two Houndoom came towards us, barking mad about something or another. At first, Zin looked moderately angry at our time being interrupted. However, after a moment of angry growls from Zin she dismissed the two. They ran ahead while Zin and I continued walking.

“Is something wrong?" I asked.

“Akalia. She's not doing well," she said. “She hasn't been doing well. She's old, and the years haven't been kind to her. She was already a spoiled Luxray, especially with you. It's almost been a running gag to see when the old girl would finally croak. Not to say that I'm happy that she hasn't, but she's suffering every day. Her breathing is shallow, sometimes she refuses to eat at all. She wets the bed constantly. It's not fun."

I nodded. “I can see that. If I can help, I'll do what I can," I promised.

“Just be there for her," Zin said. “It's the most she can ask for."

As we rejoined the camp, it was obvious that the news had spread. A lot of conversation was happening, snippets of dialogue being translated to me by Mist. I didn't really pay any attention, though it amused me that they were hoping Arceus would come to intervene. The irony of this situation didn't escape me. It also didn't seem that anyone actually cared of how I looked like. No one was paying any attention, and I hadn't formed a glamour around me. The saying that ignorance is bliss crossed my mind. Everyone made way for Zin and me. I looked over my shoulder to see that the limb was still there and doesn't just disappear when it's not needed.

Two Chansey's were working feverishly over Akalia. Other Pokémon would come around to give them new supplies as needed, but only they were allowed to approach the elder matron. I shook my head. Whatever was going on, it was clearly taking its toll on her. The thing on my shoulder vibrated as if eager to do something. Zin moved forward and I followed her. Both Chansey didn't stop working, but it was clear that their treatments weren't helping.

“Her breathing is incredibly irregular. Could be a restricted airway. Fluid in the lungs?" Mist mused aloud inside my head. “She is not going to last much longer at this rate."

“Should I?" I whispered out loud. “More importantly, can I?"

“This is a mercy. Would you rather let her suffer more?"

No, I won't. I walked next to Zin as we finished approaching the Luxray. The Chansey refused to move out of the way, even with Zin growling angrily behind them. I touched one on the shoulder lightly, feeling the Pokémon tense under my claw. She looked at me, a mixture of exhaustion and fear on her face as she moved to the side. The appendage on my back moved over my shoulder as I laid Akalia on her back. I ignored the muttering and grumbling that happened around me, focusing on her breathing. As soon as it stopped, the limb on my shoulder dipped forward, doing the same thing it did to Akalia as it did to Baast. She wasn't in pain anymore, and as she slowly disappeared I was filled with relief.

It was as if that was the moment that everyone noticed I wasn't just some human or something. I don't know how they didn't notice until now. It was amusing to see how they were all reacting. Some stood their ground, approaching me angrily. Others backed away, while even others prostrated themselves. I rolled my eyes as Zin laughed.

“You idiots!" she exclaimed as she came to stand next to me. “You don't see who this is? Are you actually going to attack Arceus' representative? Because if you are, you can leave right now."

A few of the more aggressive Pokémon hesitated at what Zin said. She paced back and forth, snarling angrily. Even for her age, she demanded respect and Zin gets what she wants.

“Go ahead, fight him, see what happens when you fight the one that took down and killed our strongest fighter," she snarled. “Baast is dead now, and now our matron is gone. Most, if not all of you, have no reason to stay here. We set out what we came to do, and that was to find a home. This whole thing was just more of that Lucario's bloodlust and everyone here knew it. I'll kill you right now if you think you're going to continue that plan. My suggestion to you all is to go back home and find someone else to lead you. Someone with more sense than me. I'm done."

As she finished, she looked at me with a smile. I nodded, squatting down and picking her up. As I walked out of the camp, a few Pokémon followed me. It felt really awkward being followed. Maybe we could leave faster?

Mist took over for walking, as we left the ground entirely. I wasn't entirely sure how that worked, but I was more than happy to let her take the lead. I focused on holding tightly to Zin, assuring her that she was safe in my arms. At least she looked happy. We didn't spend too much time flying, landing on a verdant hill somewhere. I honestly wasn't paying attention to which direction Mist took us from Castelia city. It didn't matter anyway.

“Hey," Zin said, “what's with that thing on your shoulder anyway?"

I explained all I knew of it and how I thought it worked instead of brushing off her question. She nodded, sniffing at it. She touched it briefly, the sensation feeling completely new to me.

“So, what's that stuff that it produces?" she asked.

I shook my head. “I have no idea. Whatever it is, it sends people into the Distortion World."

“So it kills."

“That's putting it bluntly," I said with a grimace. “It feels more like something that finishes the job."

“So it's a poison that kills."

“You're not helping."

She giggled. “Sorry. I'm a little nervous."

“You? Nervous?"

“Believe it or not, it took a lot of self restraint not to cry myself to sleep every night," she said. “It really hurt us all. Especially Joy. That girl was a mess for a while."

“Have you seen her?" I asked.

Zin shook her head. “Not in a while. The last time was a few years ago. She's doing better. Aurora and Xola are with her. She visited your parents all the time until they died. Sorry for that, by the way."

I shook my head. “Don't worry, we talked."

“What? How… oh right, right. Anyway, what I'm saying is that she's still alive. Or should be, anyway."

I nodded. “That's good enough for me, I guess."

The Houndoom smirked but didn't say anything. She looked pensive for a moment, but stayed quiet. I wanted to ask what was on her mind, but I was afraid to ruin the moment. I sat down, getting comfortable and enjoying the sun for the first time. Just feeling warm was a sensation that I didn't know I would miss until being deprived of it.

Zin laughed as she squirmed against my chest. She didn't want to get away, but just to realign herself. I leaned back to let Zin lay to my side. There was something clearly on her mind, but didn't look either comfortable with the idea or didn't want to ruin the mood. I smiled, scratching behind both her ears.

“What's on your mind?" I prompted.

“It's nothing," she said.

“Tauros shit," I said, scratching under her chin.

She didn't say anything immediately, looking a little uncomfortable. She shook her head, as if finally coming to a decision. “Are you going to do the same thing to me like you did to Akalia and Baast?"

“I might have to," I said. “It doesn't look like I'm done here just yet, so it might need you to die, too."

“I'm not being sent into some place to be punished, right?" she asked, fear edging into her voice.

I shook my head. “No, you're not," I promised. “I'll personally see that, even if there's a chance, it won't happen."

“Arceus isn't that bad, is he?" she asked.

“No, not at all. A little overprotective maybe, but I think it's just because he wants the best for everyone."

“Even if it means making you get rid of a former partner that's gone over the deep end."

I sighed. “Yeah, I'm not one hundred percent sure about that, but I think it's that Arceus figured I knew her best, which would let me try to get to her. Maybe I failed overall I don't know, but what's done is done, unfortunately."

We stayed quiet for a little bit again before I spoke again. “There isn't anything here for you anymore, is there," I said gently.

She shook her head. “No, you're wrong. It's right here, and I'm not letting you go again."

“I can't stay here, you know. Arceus will come around, asking why I'm taking so long."

“Then take me with you."

I looked at her oddly. “You would want to come along?"

She nodded. “Of course! Someone has to keep you out of trouble."

“Mist is here, you know," I pointed out.

“Oh? Can she come out?"

A pang of sadness struck me. I honestly wasn't sure if it was my own, or from Mist. “She can't, unfortunately," I said, as I explained what happened between me and Giratina when we first came to the Distortion World.

Zin nodded. “Makes sense now," she said. “I'm just glad she's alright."

“She's happy to see you too," I said with a grin. I felt Mist squirm when I said the words out loud.

“What happens? In the Distortion World, I mean. What's it like?"

“It's hard to track how much time passes," I said. “There's no sun or moon, though there's ambient light everywhere. What looks like a sun is just what the Distortion World lets you experience. It's hard to describe. I still don't really know how it all works."

“Well, only way to find out, right?" she asked.

I wasn't surprised at her forwardness. The thing on my shoulder moved, muscles I didn't know how to control properly moving under Mist's expert control. Zin sniffed at the golden appendage, as if detecting if it was natural or not. It didn't seem to bother her, though it caught me by surprise when she pulled it inside her mouth. A shiver ran down my spine as she started to suck on it, as if drawing out a treat. It wasn't surprising to see her eyes hooded as she gently held the appendage in her maw. Her tongue was glued to the tip that was in her mouth, as if attempting to draw out the liquid payload within.

The sex euphemism didn't escape me. “That feels weird," I said.

“Does it feel good?" she asked.

“Different."

“Good," Zin said, before gobbling up the appendage again.

I sighed as I watched her enjoy herself. I didn't want to ruin the moment, but it was really weird just having her suck out the stuff herself. Her body slowly began to glow, meaning that whatever she was doing was working. She suckled more vigorously, her muffled moans arousing me a lot more than I would like to admit. Zin squirmed against me, her warmth overwhelming almost every other sensation. The one thing I did notice was how the more she glowed, the more muted the colors of the world turned.

It didn't take long for the world to become muted and grey. The transition between the real world and the Distortion World was a slow one and accompanied by a lot of small changes. The grass lost its color first before slowly being sucked into the ground itself. Dirt was rough before turning into a smooth texture. The entire world disappeared, but that didn't matter to me. My world was in my arms, and I wasn't going to let her go.

Even inside the Distortion World, I knew that we weren't truly alone. Zin slowly let go of the appendage in her mouth. Looking around, we were in a large room with two beds. Both beds were occupied, one with Akalia lounging on top of one and Baast sitting at the foot of another. Baast got up and immediately ran towards me. I could feel my body crack under the pressure of her hug. Akalia shook her head, but stayed silent as she watched us. I could feel Baast's body shake as she held me.

“You can cry, if you want," I said softly. “You're safe here."

With my words, the proverbial floodgates were opened. She buried her muzzle on my neck and cried. Her paws grabbed hold of my shoulders tightly, afraid that I would leave her again. There was definitely no restraint to her emotions. Her body would be covered in a gentle blue glow every so often, but dissipated as soon as it appeared. Nobody said anything as Baast let out all the emotion that's been building up for thirty years. I stroked her head softly but didn't say anything.

It took some time, but she was able to calm down. She refused to let me go, even when I tried to stand up. I sighed, feeling like it would be a while before I would be allowed out of her sight. I embraced her, twisting a little to make sure I could wrap my arms around her. Even here, I knew that I wouldn't have enough time to console her. She slowly calmed down, wiping away the tears. I gently helped her, her eyes locked on me as I cautiously wiped away the tears on her cheeks.

“It's really you," she whispered.

I nodded. “Surprise," I replied.

More tears appeared, but I shook my head. “Don't apologize," I said, “not to me. I sort of understand what happened. Arceus might not."

“Just don't leave me, Master. Please! I wouldn't be able to handle that again."

I sighed as she grasped me tighter. “I'm not going anywhere, Baast," I said gently.

------------------------------------//////////////////////////////////////--------------------------------

“I require your aid again, Aaron," Arceus said.

It wasn't long after we had settled Baast down. She's been unable to be away from me for any period of time without breaking down. I'm not sure if it's due to being in the presence of Arceus, meeting me again, or a combination of both. The way she was still clinging to me made me hazard the guess the latter than the former.

Arceus looked at us in confusion. “Is she alright?" Arceus asked.

I shook my head. “No, not really," I said. “She's been through quite a bit before all this. She's also one of the three that you sent me to get."

Arceus nodded. “Yes, I remember now."

“I'm glad you do," I said. “I don't know about you, but I don't think it would be a good idea to have her return to the real world any time soon."

“What is your suggestion?" Arceus asked.

“She stays with me," I said sternly. “At this rate, she won't recover properly to the point she would get over this. You yourself said that souls don't forget what happens to them here, which would entail that they don't forget events. A traumatic event like what she's gone through won't be forgotten easily, and might cause more incidents down the line."

“She wouldn't be able to stay without Giratina's permission," Arceus cautioned.

“She already has it."

Giratina, Nuri, and Cais walked up to us. I was a little surprised, but it looked like Arceus wasn't. The giant Pokémon nodded as Giratina approached Baast. He offered her a wing, which she reluctantly took. I was offered a wing as well, which I accepted graciously. He looked serious for a moment, as if finalizing a decision.

“Do you, Baast, regret your actions in the world of the living?" Giratina asked. “Do you wish to atone for the pain that you caused?"

Baast looked shaken, but nodded. “I would like to make up for the pain I caused in my anger," she whispered.

“Then, you will accompany Aaron in any of the tasks given to him by Arceus," Giratina said solemnly. “You will help him to the best of your abilities, and obey his commands as you did once before. Do you accept these terms?"

Baast turned to me, her eyes looking for support. I smiled and nodded, wrapping my right arm around her and pulling her close. With my left, I placed a claw against her muzzle and kissed her gently. She stiffened slightly, but soon relaxed against me. I didn't draw it out, wanting to comfort her that there wasn't anything to fear from her surroundings. As I pulled away from her, she nodded.

“I accept."

Baast was embraced by Giratina's wings. I looked at Arceus, who nodded to me. As Arceus turned around, I followed. “Don't you want to see what your son is doing?" I asked.

Arceus head shook. “No, I know perfectly well what Giratina is doing," Arceus said. “I'm happy that he is able to make sound decisions and execute them immediately."

“Are you happy?"

“No," Arceus said strictly. “In the old days, this would not stand. A soul that tarnished was made to understand the suffering they made others go through while they were in the Distortion World."

“When were they allowed to leave?" I asked.

“Whenever they understood the same pain their victims suffered," Arceus said. “Some did not. Some still do not understand."

The idea that the 'ghost winds' of the Distortion World are potentially souls that refused to understand what they put others through made me feel a little uneasy. I shook it off, though. This didn't feel like the right time to bring up how right or wrong that was. I focused on the matter at hand.

“So, what was it that you wanted to talk about?" I asked. “You said you needed help with something."

Arceus nodded. “Yes, there is another soul that is in danger."

“I thought so. Still begs the question how many of these souls are out there."

“Surprisingly, not many," Arceus answered. “As you already noticed, only individuals going through traumatic experiences are the ones in true danger of being lost."

I nodded. “Right, right. Anyway, now that I sort of know what to do, could you at least tell me who it is this time? I was a little worried about not knowing how many individuals I was looking for, or how to even do my job right."

“You were able to piece it all together," Arceus said with a nod. “I have full faith in your abilities."

“That still doesn't answer my question. A name, if you could."

“It is your Gardevoir. Song."

I stiffened at the name. Is she in danger, or trouble? “Where is she," I stated.

Arceus nodded. “I'm glad to have your attention. She is with the same monastery in Sinnoh, training a new generation of monks. A diligent teacher with a warm heart."

“You're not telling me everything," I snarled angrily. “I need to hear everything, Arceus."

“She has been entertaining dark thoughts as of late," Arceus said. “If this continues, a lost soul like hers could bring desolation to the small monastery."

Dammit! I pushed past Arceus, only being stopped when someone grabbed my arm. Words of anger became stuck in my throat when I heard the one behind me.

“I'm coming with you," Baast said.

I didn't respond immediately. “Giratina said that I was to help you," she persisted. “You promised not to leave me alone."

She had me there. Mist laughed inside my head, her voice echoing in my ears. “You're right, I'm sorry. Of course you can come."

Baast tightened her grip on me. “You got us three to go with you. You're not going alone ever again."

“Three?" I asked, turning to face her.

Standing next to her were Zin and Akalia. They both wore grim expressions, but they nodded as my gaze landed on each of them. All three of my Pokémon had a silver streak of fur or hair on their heads now. Giratina was standing behind them, who nodded towards me. Arceus stood calmly behind them all, looking at me as if judging my decision.

“What's going on?" I asked Giratina.

He laughed. “I only did what they asked me to. All three can be bound to you. The question is, will you let them be?"

I looked at the three Pokémon standing in front of me. Baast had her paws tightened into fists, but stood defiantly as if daring me to disagree. Zin had her traditional smirk, shaking her head when I looked at her. Akalia nodded patiently, content with her knowledge as if she knew the outcome already. The most frustrating part is that she was right.

There wasn't an option here. To be honest, I was happy, but it felt like we were all being set up. Would it be for the best? I have no idea. But at the same time, I wasn't going to let this opportunity pass by either.

I nodded. “Of course. What do I need to do?"

Baast kneeled down and held both her paws out. Akalia and Zin walked closer, each placing one paw on both of Baast's paws. I kneeled down opposite of the Lucario and placed my own claws above their paws. Giratina came closer, placing one of his wings against my back. Something felt like it was flowing into me. Small ribbons of different colors came from each Pokémon. Red for Zin, yellow for Akalia, blue for Baast. They traveled to where we touched, up their limbs and into mine. A gentle warmth flowed into my chest as Mist stirred slightly as if to accommodate something. As fast as everything was happening, it ended. The lights disappeared but the sensation remained.

“They are yours now," Giratina said. “Just like in life, in death they follow your commands."

I looked at my friends, slightly horrified at what they just gave up on. The words wanted to come out, but all I felt was shame at thinking such thoughts. This was their decision they made, without Arceus convincing them to do something. Giratina was an extremely straightforward individual, and only did what he thought was right. If it was alright with Giratina, and they obviously wanted to stay, who was I to tell them they could be making a mistake. I sighed aloud, feeling like an extra weight has been placed on my shoulders. Baast moved next to me, helping me stand up to the deities in front of us.

“Why?" I asked, still unsure of what I expected.

“We weren't going to live again without you," Baast said. “Not after thirty years of loneliness."

“You could have moved on, you know," I pointed out.

She shifted slightly. I felt terrible. “No, that was out of line. I'm sorry. I shouldn't ha-"

“You're right. We should have moved on. Your abrupt end, plus the weeks that followed, we never recovered your body. Everything happened so quickly. We never mourned for you. As soon as you died, Arceus came. After that, so many things happened just in Unova that we never had a chance to properly send you away. We never said goodbye."

“She's right, you know," Zin said, picking up where Baast left off. “We weren't in a good state of mind. Neither us or the two humans were in good terms with your death. They had their friends and Pokémon, and we had each other. After you died, we all separated. Without you, many of us didn't have a reason to be there. We just took the opportunity to stake a claim in this land."

I looked over to Akalia, who nodded at me with a smile on her face. Well, at this point the deed was done. I had gone with it, too, so no going back now. “Alright, well, is there anything else that needs our attention? The longer we're here, the situation can deteriorate."

“No, I think we've discussed everything that needs to be spoken of," Arceus said. “Good luck, Aaron."

“Do your best," Giratina added.

I nodded. “Let's go and don't panic."

----------------------------------//////////////////////////////////////----------------------------------

The real world was at dusk already. The sun was hanging low on the horizon. Ocean water sprayed upwards as waves smashed against the rocks. Drops of salt water landed on my face. This was a sensation I haven't experienced in a while. Standing on the edge of the cliff in front of us was a familiar figure. A robed Gardevoir stood facing the ocean. There was a staff leaning on a boulder nearby.

“Song!" I called out.

She turned around as we approached. Her eyes widened at my voice. She seemed hesitant, so I stopped before getting too close to her. Zin didn't have any reservations, almost running into the Gardevoir before stopping. Baast took Song's hands, pulling her away from the Houndoom and the cliff behind her. Baast didn't say anything, but her narrowed eyes said more than words would do at the moment.

I smiled at Song. She smiled back at me, almost unsure of who I was. Zin rolled her eyes, the Houndoom growling loudly.

“I hope you recognize us," she said loudly. “I sure as fuck hope you remember Aaron."

Song stiffened, looking at me with even wider eyes. “It can't be," she whispered.

I nodded. “Surprise," I said with smile. “I hope we didn't interrupt anything."

She shook her head. “No, of course not! I was just meditating. It has been a long day, and these moments are the few times I have the chance to be alone."

I nodded again. “Sounds about right. Being a teacher isn't easy, that's for sure."

I could see Zin roll her eyes, but it looked like Song didn't see it. “Yes, it can be quite draining. I'm glad that they don't mind me taking so many walks sometimes."

I raised an eyebrow but didn't say anything. I could feel Mist pushing me to say what I was worried about. “Song, I'm going to get straight to the point. How long have you considered suicide?"

She backed away from me, but Baast didn't let her get away. Song didn't struggle, but refused to take my offered claw. She struggled more the closer I got to her. Her gaze looked hurt, as if she had betrayed something to someone. She refused my gaze at my question.

“Too long," she whispered, before regaining her composure. “How do I know it's you, Aaron?"

“Song, I remember it was here that we had to leave you behind. That we danced after having to beg Joy to play some music so it wouldn't be so damn terrible for you. I remember when your powers got taken away by Darkrai in Celestic town. I also remember you conspiring with Zin all this time to see who could have sex with me more, and encouraging everyone else to do the deed with me."

Her cheeks gained a rosy color as I spoke. She shook her head. “Alright, alright," she said, avoiding my gaze again. “I shouldn't have doubted you, especially after seeing the others here too."

“Damn straight!" Zin exclaimed.

“Why didn't you believe it was me?" I asked.

She shook her head. “It's nothing."

“No, it isn't. I want to know, Song. Please."

She glanced over to Zin, who nodded at her. Baast squeezed her shoulder while Akalia rubbed against her legs. She came to me and hugged me tightly. She shivered, but didn't say anything immediately.

“For a few years now," she whispered. “Every so often, I just get incredibly sad. Everything just feels pointless, and even when I see the smiling faces of new students, I can't shake the feeling that everything would have been better if you were here. It hurt so much."

Tears came down her cheeks as she closed her eyes. “After Joy brought me here, everything became routine. Wake up, meditate, train, meditate, eat, teach, meditate. Repeat ad nauseum until someone broke something or asked a new question. It became monotonous, and I hated it. Every so often, the nightmares would come and I wouldn't be able to get any sleep. Dreams of how you died haunted me for years. They still do. The spikes that pierced your chest. The splash of your body as it sunk into the liquid. Everything happened so fast. I… I…"

I shushed her gently, placing a claw on her lips. “I get it now," I said softly. “No one is here to judge you. Least of all me, ok?"

She nodded, staying silent. Her grip on my body tightened, her head resting on my chest. She slowly calmed down but didn't continue the story. Personally, I was grateful. I don't think I was ready for more of that.

“Was today the last day?" I asked.

She nodded. “I was about finished convincing myself that dying would be better than this life without you."

“You know that's not true."

She shook her head. “No, it really isn't. I've tried to find that spark, something to bring meaning into my life again. Nothing has come close to what we had together when you were here. Other men, human and Pokémon, have tried to woo me. I gave a few an honest shot, but they didn't interest me. A human had already stolen my heart, and I didn't have it to give it away anymore."

I smiled at that, feeling a little fuzzy at the love that Song has for me. Even after all this time, that passion still burned between us. The thing on my shoulder reacted, whipping over my shoulder like an Arbok waiting to strike. I rolled my eyes, cursing at the things ability to ruin a good moment. Song withered at the sight of the appendage, but gain confidence when it didn't strike or anything.

“Mist, is that you?" I asked.

“Yes, sorry, was trying to make sure it was certain motor functions," she said. “I am attempting to give you more direct control over it. It would seem like a good idea in case we have to defend ourselves again."

“Mist?" Song asked.

I nodded, explaining what happened on my side of the experience after my death. Everyone sat down, listening to me speak. Nobody interrupted me, though I was pretty sure that Giratina would have told the other three about everything else by now. Either way, by the time I was finished, Song looked more confident. She nodded, as if coming to a decision.

“I want to go with you," she said.

“There isn't any coming back," I warned. “If you take the same decision that these three made I mean."

“There is no way that I'm letting you go again," she stated.

I sighed as I brought the appendage closer to her lips. Everything seemed to happen faster, as if I was gaining more control over my new body. Once again, the world transitioned swiftly into the Distortion World and the real world became no more than an echo in the air before long. Giratina was already walking towards us, as if he was expecting us.

“You're late," Giratina said.

“Explanations take time," I quipped back.

Giratina laughed. I was really glad he seemed to have a good sense of humor about all this. Song and I stood side by side in front of Giratina. He lowered his face to look at Song eye to eye. He nodded, seemingly satisfied with something before standing up straight and bringing his wings down.

“I offer the same thing I offered the other three," Giratina said. “You would forfeit the ability the return to the living world by your own choosing. In its place, you would guard the Distortion World by following your Master, Aaron, as he obeys the will of Arceus. Are these terms acceptable?"

Song looked at me, as if asking if what she was doing the right thing to do. I smiled at her. “This is up to you, Song. I won't make this decision for you. You're a big girl."

She slowly looked at each of us. Zin barked happily at her, wagging her tail. Akalia smiled and nodded her head gently. Baast gave her a thumbs up, a grin spreading on her muzzle. It didn't take long for the Gardevoir to come to a conclusion.

“What do I have to do?"

----------------------------------------///////////////////////////////////-------------------------------

Time was a constant that I was rudely aware that flowed beside me. We were a port in the storm of life. While the Distortion World was a major stop, it was also a place for souls to get their bearings. We helped them with words of advice, retrospection, and sometimes just the plain idea of fun. With the five of us, the area around the tree became a lot more peaceful. Even with Giratina taking back full control of the area, he had relented that I was still needed here. Giratina might be the master of the Distortion World, but I was the guardian of the tree.

The tree, while it might have had a name at one point, nobody was able to give me a satisfactory answer. Some just called it the tree, with no emphasis on it. Others called it The Tree, as if it was something larger than life. Either way, the more time passed, the more it seemed to bloom. Pink and rosey petals bloomed on its branches. The bark on the tree became much more normal by human standards. A bit of color seemed to permeate the world around the tree, as if establishing a beacon for anyone that was lost.

I was still relegated to the front desk, nobody being all too comfortable handling newcomers. Some, like Zin, just didn't really have any of the social skills to do the job properly. Nuri and Cais were around, choosing to help around the tree unlike their fellow Darkrai. I was just glad that things have calmed down. It's been some time since Arceus has sent us to stop someone, but we've been ready in case it does happen. It looks like the vast majority of the world has come to know peace. There are a few places that seem to crop up a group of violent individuals, but at least there hasn't been deaths caused by them or huge displacements. From the sound of the latest batch of newcomers there's been a resurfacing of something called Team Plasma. Whatever that meant.

Nuri passed by, two books in hand. Arceus had taken the liberty of providing reading material for those that wanted to have something else to do while they spent their time here. Slowly but surely, it looked like Arceus was transferring all the books from the Unova castle to the Distortion World. I was genuinely surprised. Why would this be happening? All those biographies would be gone from the world. Isn't that a bad thing? Nuri placed one of the two books down on the desk and pushed it towards me. I raised an eyebrow at the cover, not recognizing it immediately.

“Open it," he said.

I did, feeling my heart pound in my chest as I read the words on the first page. It felt like an age since I remember writing on these pages. They were the words I wrote on my biography that Chandelure wrote all that time before everything happened. Reading what was there made me grin at how cliché it sounded. Either way, it was a good way to start the day.

“Sure brings back memories, eh?" Nuri asked.

I laughed. “Sure, you can say that," I said.

“What does it say?" he asked. “I'm still getting used to human writing."

“This is so embarrassing," I said, shaking my head. “Don't worry about it."

“But I want to know!" he exclaimed. “You thought it was important to write down for other people to read! Why can't I know?"

I sighed. “Fine, just don't laugh, alright?"

He held a claw over his chest. “A Darkrai never breaks a promise."

I chuckled at him. “Fine, let's see now. It says 'There was once a story, a legend, if you will. A boy had found friends, a treasure greater than money or gold. That boy had found something amazing, yet held secrets he did not know. The child fought bravely against the tide, in the depths of night, through shadows and pain. Far from his home, soaring past the skies, there's hope to be found, for a better place for you and your kin.

“This is your path now. Greatness is promised. The world will come to witness a new hero's coming. Now take a deep breath, and read onwards. Because this is a legend, of a tale untold."

FIN