[Pokémon] Yggdrasil - Rated T

"Stay still," Mew chastised when he tried to sit up. He grumbled under his breath but obeyed, which was so out of place funny that Linda stopped to stare. Koko, on the other hand, laughed.

"What's so damn funny?"

"You take orders from a little pink embryo," Mel explained with a snicker. Giratina growled but Mew stopped him with a look.

"Little pink embryo?" she repeated, tilting her head to the side and widening her bright blue eyes. Linda was slow to catch the pink glow and only looked over when Mel started shouting. He was hanging upside-down by an invisible hold, flailing his arms madly. Linda tried pulling him down with Koko's help but Mew's Psychic was impossible to overpower.

"And you two call me mean," Giratina muttered, shaking his head.

"Because you are!" Mew said before Mel could speak. "Nice people don't threaten to end the lives of innocent children!"

"Innocent?" he repeated, eyes wide and mouth guards wide open.

"How does she know?" Koko asked. "She can read your mind too?"

"Of course she—it can. We're not immune to each other's abilities…however much we wish to be," he said dismally, ignoring Mew slapping his guards in protest. To be fair, her tiny paws against his massive body was probably like wind on a boulder.

"Mew, can you please put my brother down?"

"Yeah, please?" he echoed not as sincerely, his face turning red from all the blood rushing into it.

"I suggest you hold him there until his head explodes," Giratina advised. "It would make him fifteen times more bearable." Mew ignored him, slowly righting Mel and letting his feet hit the ground. He fell back against Linda for a moment to catch his breath.

"Zygarde damn near exploded your head," he muttered. Giratina growled, shifting until he was half-righted.

"You're just the right size for me to eat now," he warned, pressing forward. Mel simultaneously moved behind Linda. "I'll finish the business that pidgeotto started— Ow!" He stopped mid-step, eyes winced with pain.

"Your fault," Mew chastised, tapping him on the head. He turned away but didn't respond.

"I can tell you lost," Mel said, "but what happened to Zygarde? You killed him?" Linda tensed at the thought. Mel, catching it, took her hand and squeezed it reassuringly.

"I wish," he lamented before catching himself. "I mean, no, but I was close."

"Close is in horseshoes, buddy, and this isn't a rodeo. What I'm guessing you're trying to say is I got my ass kicked and couldn't do a thing about it." Giratina eyed him like he was the bane of all existence but didn't say a word. Koko tugged his pants in warning but he continued anyway, a wry smile growing on his face. "And even after it's said and done, you can't admit that you were Zygarde's plaything. Maybe you should be a little more fucking humble, Giratina."

"Stop it!" Linda snapped, causing both of them to fall silent. She glared at Mel until he finally decided to look ashamed before turning to Giratina and Mew. She wrung her hands anxiously for a moment, debating her words, before she finally managed to speak. "You said before…that you were looking for the cause of the anomalies…and if you found it, you'd kill it…"

"I said maybe," he corrected. Mew gave him an unreadable look but didn't intervene.

"Then… Then if I say that I'm—"

"The source? If you say that you're the source, will I kill you, is what you're asking?" She nodded, holding her breath. He sighed and shook his head slowly. "To be completely frank with you, I do not have adequate energy to deal with this—all of this." He dropped his head to the ground, closing his eyes with another sigh. "Even if I wanted to kill you—which I do not want to do, considering you're the more bearable of the set—I couldn't. Mew wouldn't either, at least I think she wouldn't."

"Think?" Mew echoed, offended. He snorted but didn't speak.

"He likes you better," Mel muttered. "He likes you better. I don't even know how to feel about that. It's just baffling, offensive, creepy— I don't know what to say." Linda didn't respond, still staring at Giratina. He didn't look like he was sleeping, but he didn't continue the conversation.

"Killing you would be the easiest way," Mew said after a moment. "There are other ways though."

"Please, Mew, any other way." She slowly floated forward, causing Linda to freeze up, and she stopped a little bit away. Mew reached out slowly and touched her forehead. Warmth blossomed out from beneath her paw and Linda leaned into the touch.

"Your mind…" she muttered thoughtfully. "The minor energy you have isn't yours. It may just be a side-effect of some event. Whatever the case, they can be removed entirely."

"Gone? I won't be able to talk with Pokémon anymore?"

"If you ask me, that's a pretty sweet deal that you should jump on," Giratina said. "That, or I could eat your brother and call it a damn day. I like that option better." He clicked his mouth guards and grinned when Mel jumped at the sound.

"You won't be eating anyone. Stop torturing this poor little boy," Mew reprimanded, glaring daggers at him. "And you should be resting to begin with! You're not going to get better like this."

"Humph," he complained. "Out here playing nursemaid to me… Don't you have better things to do? Like cozy up in that reserved spot with Arceus?" Mew tilted her head, confused, then she blinked in understanding.

"Golden child," she mumbled. "I'm not a 'golden child.'"

"Whatever. The sooner that I'm better, and this whole fucking anomaly shit is over and done with, the sooner I can rend space and return to the Distortion World. I am so entirely fed up with this stupid world I can't stand it."

"I think the problem here is that the world is fed up with you," Mel said dryly, but there was a sort of desperation beneath his words, like he absolutely had to poke at Giratina or else something bad would happen. Well, something bad had already happened—maybe it was him coping. "And the world turned you into this shredded tuna heap that we see now." Giratina didn't respond immediately, then he moved way quicker than any of them expected, and in a second he was face-to-face with Mel. He was so huge that his mouth guards could easily crush Mel's torso.

"Being hated is something you're good at sympathizing with, huh?" he growled, causing Mel to shake and go completely colorless. His mouth opened automatically but nothing came out but a weak whimper. The growl continued in his chest and even Mew froze for a moment. More fluid leaked from his cuts as he moved forward, and it occurred to Linda that it was his blood. "I'm going to—"

Stop it! Mew's voice rang through their minds as the whole area was filled with a pink aura on every surface down to the tiny grains of dirt. The two of them shot apart in a second; Giratina crashed into the cave bodily, curling in on himself reflexively, and Mel slammed into Linda's front, making her fall on her back. Koko went over and licked her hand, then Mel's when she confirmed that she was okay. I can't just send you anywhere, not until you're healed, she said to Giratina as he rolled over with a groan, but you have officially gotten on my bad side.

"Mew has a bad side?" Mel said dazedly. He looked okay, then he started muttering something about cotton candy vanilluxe.

"You've already fractured my last good ribs," Giratina complained. "What else can you break that isn't already broken?" She didn't answer, but that pink glow remained when she turned back to them. Linda flinched at the intense look in her eyes.

"I can't carry Giratina around, not when he's this conspicuous, so we have to retrieve his vessel first."

"You mean Orville?" She stared before realization hit her. "He's not here?" Mew shook her head.

"He was lost in Kalos. Most likely he's in a hospital right now."

"And you're just going to drag him away to force Giratina into again?"

"There isn't a choice in the matter. The time it would take to recover another vessel is indeterminate, and it's time that we don't have. You'll stay with him," Mew said to Linda.

"My sister is not staying with that vicious beast," Mel protested, finally focusing on them.

"Between her and you, I believe that she is less likely to be eaten."

"Why do you need me anyway? You're Mew."

"So you two don't kill each other!" she said with finality, and in the next second they were gone. No noise, no visuals, just silence. Linda watched Giratina worriedly as he shook himself out, regarding her with passive eyes.

"You've got a problem?" he demanded. Koko started growling, where Linda calmed her by resting a hand against her side. "I'm not going to kill you or anything," he said in a lower voice. "Not in this condition. I'd most likely end up killing myself."

"I wouldn't let you anyway," Koko said, finally sitting down and eyeing Giratina dangerously.

"Like I'm scared of a little flaming rat." She growled. "Actually, I don't think I've seen you use fire yet," he continued, smirking. "Can you even?"

"Koko, stop, don't attack him," Linda said, picking her up and setting her on her lap. She settled on her jeans and stared daggers into a nearby plant instead. Giratina burst into laughter that shook the ground beneath them.

"This is fucking hilarious!" he exclaimed. "A fire-type that can't even use fire… I think I might break my last few ribs!" Linda let him laugh, even though Koko complained and asked for permission to attack three times. "Okay, okay, I'm fine," he said after a few minutes, still smiling. "Can I ask why?"

"When I first found her, Mel had bad asthma, so she couldn't use any fire and risk him having an attack from the smoke. She never learned how to use it then." He listened with a surprisingly stoic expression.

"You sacrifice a lot for that brother of yours," he said.

"What's wrong with protecting family?" she demanded, running her fingers through Koko's warm fur. Giratina sighed.

"Did you ever wonder how you found a growlithe? It's because arcanine abandon their young early, to fend for themselves and develop their instincts. Otherwise, a growlithe won't ever learn how dangerous nature is until the appointed time has long passed. No matter the maternal feelings of the other, she knows this, and she accordingly releases her cubs," Giratina said matter-of-factly. "Not doing so means that they end up as predator fodder and the mother is so distraught that she, too, gets killed. Get what I'm saying?"

"It's not like that…"

"Alright, then tell me what it's like." Linda had no comment, which Giratina picked up on immediately. "But what do I know, huh? It's not like I've a burden to drag around the rest of my life."

"He's not a burden!" she protested.

"My mistake. The definition must have changed since I last came to this world. Is it not still 'that which is borne with difficulty?'"

"He's… He's…"

"Your precious little porcelain brother?" he mocked. "Or would you rather I talked about your charity case of a growlithe?" Koko snarled, which he ignored. "You are one of the better examples of humanity, Linda. No, seriously, you've a better soul than half of my so-called family. Don't waste it."

"It's not a burden to take care of Mel," she said tersely. "It never was. And Koko is my friend, not a burden either. I help them because I want to."

"What a prodigious little angel you are. Not everyone needs help, little princess. Worry about yourself some more."

"Linda?" Koko asked worriedly when she went silent, nudging her stomach.

"Sorry, Koko, I'm just—" A ripping sound cut between them, like space itself was tearing apart, then a distorted mass of blue energy exploded against the stone. Linda and Koko were both thrown backwards from the ensuing wind and smoke, and she felt something hard and jagged stab into her back as she collided with the cliff. She fell forward onto her stomach and was frozen as blood soaked through her top and ran down her arm.

"I can't ever catch a damn break, can I?" Giratina complained as the smoke cleared. Linda saw Mel sprawled across the stone, a bloodied Mew half-thrown from his arms, and a few feet away was a lucario, but it looked a little…odd. She didn't have time to narrow down the difference before it pulled back its arms and launched another Aura Sphere. "Nope!" With a loud groan Giratina threw a Shadow Ball. The two attacks collided in an explosion of energy that burned across her skin like fire. Fire—Koko. Linda looked around and saw her lying on her side a bit away, but she could barely move. "You're not getting at them and especially not at Mew," he growled. "Not while I'm alive."

"You being alive is the issue here," the Lucario snapped back. "Because you're alive, my owner barely is." His owner… Orville. He must have meant Orville. Giratina had the same idea.

"That pitiful human is who you're fighting for? I feel sorry for you." Giratina crawled from his hole, shaking himself out and clicking his mouth guards menacingly. Lucario looked him up and down.

"Damaged. This will be easy."

"That's what you think," he snarled even as more blood ran from his wounds. He wasn't going to make it, and whether or not he knew that fact, Linda did. She forced herself up to her knees despite the pain, watching her blood trace a new path down her arm.

"Koko… Get up, Koko." Koko rolled to her feet, shaking herself out before she saw Linda. She trotted over and licked her hand worriedly. Linda gently pushed her away. "Koko, you have to fight," she said, pointing at the Lucario. Koko followed her finger and growled a little.

"I don't want to," she said, looking back at Linda. "You have to get to a hospital." Linda shivered as another surge of pain ran through her.

"No, not yet. You have to fight. Please."

"I don't want you to die."

"I won't. I'll be fine." Will I? "Please." She stared at Linda for a long time, then a growl caught their attention. Lucario formed another Aura Sphere while Giratina recoiled, trying and failing to make another Shadow Ball. Koko hesitated for just a second before running forward.

"Blow into pieces, you killer!" Lucario shouted, launching it. Koko jumped between them, and before the attack connected she smacked it with Iron Tail, launching the ball off course and into a massive rock formation, which promptly burst into pebbles. Koko's lips were pulled to expose her teeth, her fur raised like quills. Linda had never seen her like that before, and it was so frightening.

"You hurt Linda," she snarled, eyes burning. "I'm going to rip you to shreds."

As far as the others knew, Giratina hated the assist, but inwardly, he was glad that Lucario couldn't kick his ass more than it already had been.

Still, that growlithe won't win, not against a Mega Lucario…

It was more than a little surprising to hear concern in his own thoughts, but he figured that even those dregs would grow on him eventually. Lucario was first to recover, clenching his paws around an invisible weapon that solidified into a bone made of energy, and rushed her. Koko dodged his swipes at first, then a feint ended with her taking a hard crack to the side that made Giratina wince, sending her barrel rolling across the dust. She recovered with a cough and charged, electricity racing from her form as she rammed into Lucario's chest. He was stunned by the impact, but not for long as he used Bone Rush once more, this time connecting with her legs. Won't work, he thought with a growl, trudging past them. She has no real battle training. She'll die, then we'll die.

With a more furious growl, he stepped down hard on Mew's shadow. She jerked once in shock, then her body turned rigid as he rolled her onto her back. She gave a surprised gasp that turned into a coughing fit, red blood dribbling down her chin. "Mew, we really need you right about now."

"G-Gira," she managed, eyes a little blurred. He carefully gripped her tail with his mouth guards, lifting her into the air.

"Nap time's over. Take a look."

"What?" Mew looked over at the battle raging between Lucario and Koko and frowned. "No…"

"Exactly. You've got to send him back."

"I…can't," she said after a moment of straining. More blood ran from her mouth and joined a stream from her nose. "Headache," she complained, clenching her head. She probably had a concussion—she wouldn't be useful for a while. He released her and tried sinking into the shadows. While he could still manage that without causing himself too much pain, he couldn't say the same for the others, and as much of a bastard he knew he was, he wouldn't leave them behind. Couldn't leave them behind.

"Next time Arceus needs help," he muttered resentfully, "damn everyone's excuses. I'm never doing this shit again." He watched Lucario knock Koko flat on her back one more time, a stream of blood following her trail, then he raised his bloodied fist for the last blow. Linda tried to run over but fell on her stomach with a weak cry. He tried to make a portal to anywhere, but just the attempt had pain lancing through his body like the lightning from earlier. Why did he have to be so useless? The one time someone went out of their way to help him, and he couldn't return the favor. "Giving up, I can't be giving up…"

It turned back towards Shaymin as it whirled from behind, eyes glittering with the excitement of battle, and went to dodge its Energy Ball, opening him up for a Seed Flare in the face. The light blinded him, followed by an intense burning sensation all over his torso, and he slowly sunk from the air and to a platform, furiously rubbing his eyes.

"Giving up already?" Shaymin jeered from just a few feet away. "You always quit. You're such a quitter, Brother."

"I'm not…" he rumbled.

"You're what? I can't hear you." Now it was just next to Giratina's ear. He growled louder and spun around, slamming its tail into Shaymin's side. It went flying before crashing into a mangled streetlamp.

"I'm not done with you!" it roared. "I only give up when I'm dead!" Shaymin floated back into the air, a few damaged leaves falling from its body.

"Good," it beamed. "Because I know you, Brother, and you're too strong to give up."

Strong, him? The words still didn't make sense to date.

Giratina's bones ached as he slammed his front leg down. Lucario froze not of his own accord, eyes darting to his shadow now pinned beneath Giratina's foot. "Release me," he growled, fist inches from Koko's skull. She was shaking as she got to her feet, and blood trailed from her leg as she limped away. "Or would you rather I killed you first, in front of these kids?"

"I'd like to see you try," he sneered. He lifted the chunks of rock around them and launched them at Lucario, who was still paralyzed. They stacked all around him, growing thicker and taller until he had a virtual mountain restricting him. Giratina quickly backed away, knowing that even that wasn't going to hold long, and went to inspect Koko.

"She's hurt," Linda whispered as Koko laid silently on her lap. She may not have been killed on the spot, but she was already going down that road for sure. Giratina crouched down as much as he could and nudged her.

"Thank you," he said. Koko mumbled something in response before she started coughing, blood staining her fur and Linda's pants. "Linda, let go of her and step away."

"I'm not going to—"

"Do it," he barked. She met his eyes and maybe saw something in there that he wasn't aware of, because she silently nodded. She gently set Koko on the ground and stood on shaking legs, making her way over to her brother. Numerous cracks and smashes echoed from the rock formation as it began to crumble—it wouldn't hold much longer. Koko couldn't even lift her head as Giratina made a Will-O-Wisp, letting it burn just above her fur. She leaned into the heat gratefully. Flash Fire, he figured. Dragging out more of his energy, he stepped away as he made more, letting the flames coalesce into a fire growing bigger and bigger around her by the second. She rose into a sitting position, then stood as it looked like she was centered in a bonfire. An indeterminate expression flashed in her eyes as, amidst the now-blue fire, a white glow surrounded her body.

BOOM! The rocks flew apart and Lucario stood heaving, fists literally smoking from the effort. He gave them an enraged look before running, disappearing entirely the next second. Giratina could sense him though: he was moving too fast to be seen. He lifted his legs and slammed them down on the ground, rending it with a huge fissure down the center. Lucario briefly appeared some feet in the air, slightly startled, but used Extremespeed right after, vanishing again. He used Protect, or at least tried to, and managed to block the first attack, but his shield shattered right after as he couldn't keep his focus. His next punch smashed one of his mouth guards, golden bits raining to the ground, and Giratina recoiled from the pain. Then, point-blank, he made another Aura Sphere. Giratina was just preparing to take it when Lucario was sent flying by her Iron Tail. He caught himself as he hit the ground, but a new bruise was forming on his head.

"It's gonna be harder to eat you now," Giratina complained. Koko turned back to flash her teeth, and Giratina noticed that she didn't really have to look up at him anymore. Linda stared with wide eyes, her mouth open. Koko started running, larger muscles contracting powerfully, and as soon as her paws hit the ground she burst into flames. Lucario was up as well, and when he charged she dropped into a roll, the flames bending around her to form a wheel. Lucario dodged her initial lunge, but she made a sharp turn and barreled into him. He tried to stand his ground, but her lack of control was in her advantage: her flames burned hotter and hotter by the second. On top of that, she also had a height and weight advantage now. He dug his feet into the ground, holding her at arm's length, but after a while his form dissipated into vapor, leaving him a normal Lucario. Koko came to a stop, her bared teeth right in his face, and she bit down hard on his arm.

"Let go!" he howled, trying to pull away, but Koko held fast. Electricity started sparking from her jaw and then both of them were covered in it. His muscles locked up after just a few seconds, and by the time the electricity dissipated he was too weak to stand. She didn't release him though, and her flames were having a devastating effect now. Blood stained her teeth and the fur around her mouth from his arm before she let go, and he immediately fell onto his back. Giratina turned away; he knew what was going to happen next, and he didn't really want to see it.

"Koko," Linda whispered. He looked back and saw her freeze, her teeth just barely around the Lucario's skull. "Koko," she repeated before falling onto her side and going still. Koko yipped as she ran over, nudging her onto her back.

"Hospital," she said nervously, lowering her head to move Linda and Mel onto her back. "Can you fly?"

"If I could, do you think I'd still be here?" he said dryly. She growled in response. "Yeah, I get it, not the time for sarcasm."

"What about shadows?"

"It's going to hurt them even more."

"But…there's no other way…" He saw the conundrum too, and he didn't like it any more than she did.

"Arceus isn't fond of me," Giratina said, using his back legs to dig up the earth. "I just want to give you warning now. It is not very likely to spare me good fortune." It gestured to the shadows created by the mount of dirt and Koko stepped into the range. It gripped Mew between its mouth guards with just enough leeway to breathe and followed. She stood shoulder to shoulder with him. "Hold your breath," it warned before they plunged into darkness. Mel's eyes popped open as did his mouth, and his hands went to his throat when he realized that he couldn't breathe. Giratina rolled its eyes as it brought them to the surface again.

"Cold," Mew complained, shivering. Snow surrounded them in all directions, and more of it was coming from the dark clouds above.

"There," Giratina said, turning towards the buildings in the near distance. "Snowbelle City." He heard a yelp, then Koko jumped back, releasing Linda and Mel to the ground. The snow under her paws and around her melted in record time.

"Can't," she said, turning away. "I can't control the fire." Mew managed to get in the air and patted her head.

"You'll learn," it consoled. Koko whined in response. "Giratina, you have to carry them."

"Great. Now I'm demoted to luggage boy." Mew helped lift Linda and Mel onto its back, but the effort left it more exhausted than before. "This would be so much easier in Origin Form…"

"We don't have the time to go looking for your Griseous Orb."

"I know where it is," it corrected, setting across the snow purposefully. It helped that Koko took the lead, melting it to clear the path ahead. She was emitting too much fire though—she'd burn herself out quickly like that. "It would be an easy flight too." Mew flopped onto its head.

"Maybe." There was silence for a moment, nothing but the wind in their ears.

"Thank you," Koko said. "For not saving your own skin." Ah, it sounded worse coming from another's mouth.

"What can I say? You all grew on me. Like fungus." He paused. "Speaking of fungus, didn't the brat have a cacturne?"

"The pokéball is still in the hospital room," Mew said. "The teleportation was sort of…quick thinking."

"Yes, I'm very curious about that situation. Please elaborate."

"Well, we snuck into the hospital and found Orville's room. He, Melchior, was acting…odd, so I both caused a distraction and worked on getting him away."

"Odd?"

"It makes sense," Koko said. "Mel doesn't like hospitals."

"Oh, yeah, he said he was sick as a smaller brat. Then let me guess: blue rat crashed the show?"

"No, Orville's Lucario showed up. There wasn't a rat or a show."

"It's exaggeration." He sighed into the air, watching his breath freeze into a cloud instantly. The cold made his wounds ache even more, and his steps were starting to get sluggish. He was down to his last three when Trainers on their way from the city spotted them—not that they were hard to miss.

"Is that— Haylie, look, it's Giratina!" the boy said, pointing. "And he's hurt— Are those kids?"

Giratina came to a stop, allowing the two to pull Linda and Mel down. Take care of them, it said before losing consciousness.

author's drabble - things start and things end, and isn't it lovely in theory, but i could never be i could never be ready

3.1. fear and love and loathing.

part i

mel's p.o.v.
​

Mel hadn't known before what an Aura Sphere to the chest felt like, and he wished that he'd continued through his life with that ignorance. It was like a punch directly to the soul, and the fist corkscrewed and did figure eights too. He woke up with that corkscrew-eight feeling and blinked into bright lights before awareness hit him. He felt the IV jammed into his wrist and heard the consistent beeping of a heart monitor, plus the strong smell of antiseptic in the air. It was a good thing he was already in a hospital room, because he started hyperventilating.

A nurse rushed in and injected something into the IV bag that didn't quite make him fall asleep, but it did make him feel a little dopey. "What's happened?" he asked.

"I'm not sure," she replied with a shrug, checking some readings. "Two Trainers brought you and your sister in."

"My— Where is Linda? Where is my sister?"

"She's down the hall— Don't get up!" she protested as he swung his feet to the floor. She pushed him back easily but that didn't stop him from trying again.

"I want— I want my sister. I want my sister now."

"Okay, okay, we'll move her in this room with you, but don't try to get up again, or else your wounds will reopen." As soon as she left he moved again, rising on shaky legs. His mind wasn't in top condition, but he kept a perfect recollection of their total defeat at the paws of Orville's Lucario. Except they weren't totally defeated—if that was the case, then he wouldn't be waking up in a hospital still alive. His memory cut off as him and Mew returned to the mountains though, so what happened in that in-between period of time? Since he didn't see Mew, he hoped Linda would have answers.

"I can't wait for them," he decided, working on moving forward even though his legs felt like they'd been smashed by sledgehammers. "I've got to find he—" His body had a better idea, though, and instead he fell over, thankfully back on the bed instead of on his face. Suddenly his thoughts went to Giratina, if he was the one that saved them. It seemed highly unlikely—more than that, it seemed downright impossible. All Giratina did was threaten him and insult him and… It's not like I did any better to him, Mel thought sourly. If it turned out Giratina did, in fact, save his butt, he owed the Pokémon one sincere "thank you."

Two doctors came wheeling a bed in. When they were placed side to side he met eyes with Linda, who immediately started crying. He put his arms around her, pulling her close, and she clung to his shirt. The doctors worked quickly and quietly to get her hooked up again before leaving. "K-Koko," she managed, her voice hoarse.

"What happened to her?" he asked quietly.

"P-Pokémon Center, it's connected to the hospital. She's down there, t-they said her fire's burning so low, she might not m-m-make it…"

"They're lying. They gotta be. She doesn't use fire for it to be burning out like that." She looked up then, her eyes sad.

"You don't know what happened." He waited but she didn't continue.

"…Well? I really want to know." She pulled away from him and wrapped her arms around herself.

"Do you remember the Lucario?"

"Painfully so."

"He knocked out you and Mew, and Giratina wasn't in a state to fight, so Koko was the only one left. But… But she couldn't fight him either, and she was dying, so Giratina covered her in fire, like from a Fire Stone, and she evolved." Okay, so he did owe the bastard something.

"That's good, isn't it?" She shook her head slowly.

"She beat the Lucario, but she used too much fire, since she couldn't control it, and I passed out, but I guess that she kept using it until there was barely any l-left…"

Mel honestly couldn't imagine getting by without Koko. Sure, she was like a little stray rat when Linda first found her, but she grew on him after a while. She was the one that made him go outside more often when they were younger, and even if it made him sicker at first, eventually it started doing him good, so he owed part of his health to her. He also knew how devastated Linda would be if she died, and that was something he would keep at bay with all his strength.

"Is Mew down there with her?" He doubted it even as he said it. He assumed that if Mew, of all Pokémon, was found, there would be a huge scene.

"I don't…I don't know… Maybe? If she is, she doesn't look like Mew."

"What about Giratina? He can't transform, can he?"

"I didn't hear anything about him." She closed her eyes for a moment, inhaling deeply.

"…When we left home back then—even though it's not all that long ago—I didn't think we'd be caught in the middle of all of this shit," he said slowly when she remained quiet. "It's my fault that we're in this situation in the first place. I should've stayed home, huh?" he said with a dry smile. She gave him a hard look.

"It was both of us," she corrected. "Me for being…like this, and you for leaving. There's no single blame. This is just a…sucky situation all around." She rolled on her back unconsciously and gave a cry of pain, going back on her side. Mel touched her arm in warning before he grabbed the hem of the hospital dress and pulled it up.

"Arceus, Linda," he breathed, eyes widening at the red-speckled bandages crisscrossing her torso.

"It's okay," she muttered. "You're the ones that were hit by Lucario—you all have worse injuries."

"But that doesn't make your injuries any less bad. Worry about yourself some more, please?" She tensed slightly, then let out a low breath.

"I know…" She still cried silently, and Mel held onto her until she finally went to sleep. When he was sure that she was gone, he carefully detached himself from her and sat up. Glancing around, he saw his clothes folded neatly on a countertop across the room adjacent to a sink. He slid back until he could stand, his legs still shaking beneath him, but seeing Linda had given him a new resolve, and he managed to move forward without falling on the bed, or worst case scenario, his face. (Although he was already in a hospital and breaking his nose wouldn't mean much in the face of his probably broken ribcage.)

He made it to the counter and slowly stripped off the hospital's clothes, replacing them with his hoodie and jeans. They were still pretty battered, but a Trainer was nothing without some scuff marks, right? He also found an extra, larger jacket and boots for the cold weather. He clipped his belt around his waist and stared at the empty hole where Shady's pokéball belonged. Taking a deep breath to steel his resolve, he laced up his sneakers and walked out the door.

It has to be the same place—now, if he's in the same room, then this should be quick. I should get back before Linda wakes up and sees me missing. Actually, I have to get Koko back too, so it might take longer…

He didn't see any nurses roaming the halls but was quiet anyway, creeping along the wall with one hand braced against the textured white paint in case he fell as he slunk towards the elevator. He pushed the button, and every waiting second felt like an hour until the doors finally pinged open. He stepped inside to join a slightly older boy with thin blond hair and sort of a dazed expression, like his mind was in two thousand places at once. The doors shut and the elevator started moving with not even stupid music to fill the silence.

"…What are you in for?" Mel asked after a moment.

"Accident," he responded tonelessly. "You?"

"Same thing." The doors pinged again on Mel's floor and he stepped off, giving one backwards glance to the boy behind him as he headed up the hall. The boy provided a weak wave before the doors shut.

Orville's door was slightly ajar from when they broke in earlier. Mel was surprised—it felt like a fair amount of time had passed since then and somebody should've rectified that. Or maybe Mew left some sort of influence there. Whatever the case, he found he didn't have much left to lose by walking in.

Orville was sitting up, awake, whereas he was asleep earlier. Something about him still seemed off though, like he was a zombie or something. Though it sort of made sense when he considered that Giratina was essentially killing him the longer he spent there. "Who are you?" he demanded, voice rough.

"That's not important."

"I say it is, and I hate repeating myself, so I'll say it one more time: Who the hell are you?" Mel wanted to point out that that wasn't what he said the first time, but he knew that he didn't have the time or energy to mess around and so jumped to the point.

"You don't remember anything that happened to you before you woke up here?" Orville glared for a moment before shaking his head, never breaking eye contact. "Well that makes things harder…" He trailed off as he spotted a bit of red and white under the bed. He ducked down despite Orville's complaints and grabbed the pokéball. He just made it back to standing position when he was seized by his collar and brought into the older man's face.

"You're gonna let go of that pokéball," he growled, eyes narrowed in fury. "Now." Mel knew that he should've been scared, but somehow Orville's actual anger seemed weak after dealing with Giratina's for so long and he was barely fazed.

"You must be insane, because this is—" He stopped and looked closer at the ball, and realized that while Shady's was still pretty new, the one he was holding was full of nicks and scratches. "Oh, my mistake."

"You're damn right it's your mistake!" He dropped Mel and snatched the ball away, holding it carefully like it was made of glass. "And if you don't tell me who you are in two seconds, I'll call security," he warned.

"I'll tell you who you are. You're Orville, and you've done a lot of crime, and now you're awake in an entirely different region with no memory of how you got here." Orville froze for a moment before recovering, jaw clenched. "And around here, I'm the only person that can tell you how," Mel continued, "so you're not going to get me kicked out. At least, it wouldn't be smart to do so, and you look like a pretty smart guy."

"What do you want?" he said after a moment, practically growling through his teeth. "I'm sure you're not going to tell everything to me for free." Wow, Giratina really did pick well with this guy—he's even more of a bastard than him, Mel thought with a wry expression, rolling his eyes.

"Look, I'm here because we need you for Giratina to possess. Shut up," he said as Orville opened his mouth, "and just let me finish." He grabbed the T.V. remote from a side table and turned it on. It took a bit of flipping, but after a while he found a news channel still talking about the damage in Kalos. Orville watched for a while, his expression still hard, before shrugging a shoulder.

"What's this got to do with anything?"

"You see the headline there, at the bottom?"

"Yeah, uh… 'Giratina and Zygarde's clash in Kalos'? And you said you and…whoever…need Giratina to possess me?" Mel nodded in response.

"The thing that allowed Zygarde to come into this world is a major problem," he explained. "Giratina is the one that's supposed to fix it, but it can't go around inconspicuously without a body—that's where you come in. Supposedly, Giratina can possess anyone, but it's easier for someone closer to it in personality. Well, in short, we need you."

"I don't know if you're blind or what, kid, but as you can see, I'm not in mobile condition." He pointed out the IVs going into his arm and the bandages around his head and broken leg. "And besides, I'm not trying to go roaming around carelessly. There are people that'll hate seeing my face."

"Coincidentally, I'm one of those people, but look: we don't have any backups. It's you that stands between a normal tomorrow and no tomorrow period. No pressure though." He scoffed, dark eyes narrowed a little, but there was no negativity in his expression as he looked off, just weariness.

"I'm not a hero, kid—never have been. I'm just lucky to be here and not still in that cell…" He suddenly jolted, grasping his head first, then his chest, right above his heart. "Oh… Oh wow, Arceus, this is something else."

"What? What happened?" Orville chuckled bitterly, letting his eyes shut as he leaned back against the headboard.

"I remember that I should've died, that I cut my throat with my own two hands," he said matter-of-factly. "Because I'd rather have died than spent the rest of my life locked up for my so-called crime. And now I'm here, because a legendary pokémon needs me to handle their extra-paranormal shit. I don't think I've ever been this useful, nor wanted, in my life. God…" He fell silent after a moment, but as his eyes were still slightly open, Mel knew he wasn't asleep. But he also knew that he wasn't going to get any help from the guy either.

"Thanks for nothing then," he said after a moment, turning around. "No need to save the world you live in after all, I guess."

"I just said I'm not a hero." Then, "Why don't you do it, huh? If all Giratina needs is a bastard, you seem to fit the bill pretty well from where I'm lying."


The pokémon center was a ground-level building attached to the hospital, probably so Trainers injured in the heat of battle could still get to their pokémon as soon as they recovered. He was about to walk into the lobby of the hospital before he remembered his situation: he and Linda had been found with Giratina and Mew, two iconic and infamous legendary pokémon. Surely that would cause him a fair deal of attention, and he couldn't stand the thought of it. He ducked, and instead of cutting straight through the lobby he took a side hall that went past the bathrooms and went towards a staff exit. It was a smart decision, because as he passed into the alley between the two buildings, he spotted a growing group of excited Trainers and reporters stationed in front of the hospital.

"Never thought I'd be famous," he muttered, awestruck, as he leaned against the wall to catch his breath. His healing ribcage throbbed consistently and he was getting a growing spot of pain on his leg, making it hard to walk without an obvious limp. He pushed away from the wall only to sink down to his behind on the stained concrete, clenching his aching sides. "Ugh, not…not gonna…get any father… Should've stayed there, should've stayed with Linda…"

Don't be a quitter, Melchior!

"I hate that—" He broke off, eyes wide, as his head whipped from side to side, searching for the speaker. A soft scuttling brought his attention to the ground as something ran from the direction of the pokémon center—a pikachu. It wasn't until the pikachu beamed at him that he recognized it. "Mew?"

In disguise, it elaborated. As it came closer, its tail and ears wilted. I wish Giratina would've had the same ability, however.

"What— Where is he? Was he captured?" Mew nodded solemnly.

I didn't see the Trainer, or at least I don't remember the face, but I did see the pokéball activate.

"What are we going to do?" he groaned.

For now… Nothing. Its response surprised him, bringing his eyes to it as it stared back at him. Legendaries get captured all the time—it's not as big a deal as you imagine it to be. The anomalies can be resolved with or without him: it's just a matter of removing Linda's psychic abilities and they should cease.

"Oh."

Why do you sound disappointed? You two have never gotten along.

"I know, but…" Giratina had saved his life a few times now, plus Linda's and Koko's—it would've been utterly careless of him not to start to like the creep in some way. He forgot that Mew could read thoughts, because the expression it made was cringeworthy. "No, I don't mean—"

Giratina's made a friend! it exclaimed mentally, looking as if it would take off flying. Arceus wouldn't believe it—oh, Palkia would gain a rune in surprise—

"Oi, Mew," he called to get its rapidly descending attention. "I get that we don't need Giratina to succeed, but I kind of owe him for saving my ass, okay? I'd like to repay the favor."

Not that I can help. As I've said, I don't know where it is, it said dismally. However, if you speak to the Trainers that it met, maybe they have it, or at least they'll know who does.

"Then we'll go find them," he decided, bracing himself before rising to his feet with the help of the wall.

You can't! Mew protested. The anomalies, remember?

"It's fine, we'll just split up: you and I will go find Giratina, and Linda and Koko will—" He stopped and looked towards the pokémon center again. "Koko… Mew, you just came from the pokémon center, didn't you?"

Yes, I did. Its sudden monotone caused his heart to drop to his feet.

"Koko… How is she?" Mew didn't respond immediately, walking over to the end of the alley and looking around the street. Then it turned around, yellow fur shifting to pink as it went, and by the time it buried itself in Mel's chest it was in normal form. He felt more than saw it shake its head, and that was all he needed.

author's drabble - bring on the fudging angst

3.2. fear and love and loathing.

part ii

mel's p.o.v.​

"In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return."

His thoughts wandered as he sat, hunched, in the slick leather chair of the pokémon center, hood drawn far over his head. Mew was a Pikachu again, curled in his lap with his hands on her stomach. The warmth was comforting, but only slightly.

"Excuse me?" He looked up into the sympathetic eyes of a Nurse Joy. "Are you Melchior, Trainer ID# 00049?" He nodded and stood.

"How is she?" he asked even as he knew the answer.

"Not doing well. Follow me." She led him down a long hall of recovery rooms. Some pokémon were practically back to normal, messing around with their Trainers, but others were encased in so much life support they looked otherworldly. "Did she evolve too quickly?"

"No… I mean, I don't know… Why?"

"She has little control over her fire. Because of that, she's emitting it constantly, and even though arcanine have the greatest fire-making abilities of many fire-types, she's quickly wearing herself down. The stress of making and replacing flames is building up more and more by the second. She's going to burn out, and soon."

"Isn't there anything you guys can do?" he pleaded. She frowned and shook her head softly.

"We've tried, but it didn't help that her body was battered to begin with." He thought of that Lucario and grimaced.

"How long is Koko still gonna be here?" he asked quietly.

"A few days, a week at best, but if I were you, I'd get my final words out of the way as soon as possible." They stopped outside a door as plain as the rest and Nurse Joy rested a comforting hand on his shoulder. "I'm sorry," she said with genuine sympathy before turning away. His hands itched as he grasped the handle, and it was a herculean effort to open the door. When he did, he didn't even want to look, didn't want to see Koko in whatever condition she was in.

"Arcanine…"

He saw her half-curled on one of those flat beds designed for canine pokémon, her face in her paws before she noticed him coming in. There was a heart monitor next to her that was moving slower than it ought to have been, and a second one that measured her temperature, which was low by human standards, let alone arcanine standards. "Well," he started softly, a wry smile on his face, "you went and disobeyed, Koko."

"Arc?"

"You weren't supposed to evolve, you know."

"Nine," she murmured remorsefully. He took a step forward, then another, and another as his legs shook from the pain and now also from his emotional agony, until he was close enough to bury his hand in her head fur. She hummed under his touch.

"You did it to save us, and I don't know if you knew the risks then or not, but either way, you're paying for it now." Paying all the way to Hell. "Thanks. I owe you a lot more than I can give."

"Arcanine," she said with a little smirk, which he took to mean 'Don't mention it.'

"I'm sorry that you have to die for my sorry ass. Arceus, Linda's gonna break after this," he lamented. Koko whined at her name, shutting her eyes. He pressed the base of his palms into his eyes and detected some wetness there. It surprised him to realize that he wasn't just crying for Linda's sake, but for Koko as well. "You've really grown on me, you know? I'm gonna miss you…Arceus, I'm gonna miss you…"

"Arc…" His weak legs finally gave out and he fell to his knees, gripping the edge of the mattress with wobbly arms.

"This is all just fucked up!" he exclaimed. "Just freaking screwed…" He reached out and cradled her head in his arms, leaning against her. "I shouldn't care this much that you're dying, and it's mean, I know, but I shouldn't. I wouldn't care this much if it was Shady, I know that, but since it's you…"

"Nine?"

"Y-You made me run when I never wanted to… A-And it's m-mostly because of you that I can run now, that I got stronger instead of w-wasted away back home… Linda had a friend with you—no, you are—w-were more than her friend, more than our friend… I j-just…" He couldn't catch his breath, was he having another attack? He hadn't had one in four years, but maybe… Or maybe he was just crying too much. He couldn't remember ever crying that much before.

"Arc, arcanine," Koko whimpered. He wiped his eyes on his jacket and rested his head on the bed. Despite the circumstances, she still felt a little warm, or maybe it was just his imagination going wild. Either way, he knew something for certain: He didn't want her to stop being warm, for her body to go cold and stiff from death. But if the pokémon center couldn't save her, who was to say that he could?

"Mew," he called. "Mew!"

Melchior! She looked like a pikachu still as she appeared on the floor, then as she glanced up and down the hall, she returned to her normal form. You're crying, she noted with some distress, flying closer. He pushed her away self-consciously.

"That's not the problem here. Can't you help her?"

Not as I am, Mew admitted, rubbing her head. Mel noticed for the first time that she, like him, was injured, with thick bandages wrapping around her small skull. I was concussed when the Lucario struck me in the head. If I was to use fire in this condition, it would just burn me instead, and I don't have the concentration necessary to heal her injuries.

"Damn it," he muttered, rubbing his chest as he remembered his own pain courtesy of Aura Sphere. Mew looked at him curiously and, without any warning whatsoever, flew down and wormed up his shirt. "H-H-Hey, quit it!" he cried as she wiggled around under there. After a moment, her head popped out alongside his.

You've sustained a lot of damage too, she noted. You took an Aura Sphere directly, didn't you?

"Well, yes, but it doesn't hurt that much anymore."

Because the energy damages nerves. Just because you're not feeling pain doesn't mean you're not hurt. You shouldn't be up and around as you are—your body needs time to heal.

"Says you."

I'm going to heal faster in the end. You, on the other hand, have a weaker constitution.

Was I just called "weak" by a fetus? he thought sourly. She glowered at that but didn't respond. "But we don't have time for that, do we? Because the longer we lay around here and do fuck-all, the higher the chance of more anomalies appearing."

Still, you're not going to be much help as you are, she said, and neither will Linda. She left his shirt and sat next to Koko, whose chest was barely moving from shallow breaths. And without her, you're down to just one pokémon.

"You can't summon any legendaries to help?" he said, hating how he was practically begging. She hesitated.

I… Maybe, Mew admitted. I could put out a call of sorts, but—

"Do it."

Melchior, they might not be—

"Do it!" he repeated, louder. Mew's eyes narrowed slightly a second before his throat tightened. He froze, thinking it was an attack, then he realized something external was stopping him from breathing.

It's almost certain that if a legendary pokémon comes into this world, it won't be to help, she continued unhindered. Giratina is the main cause with his bad track record, however there are those that naturally despise the underworld. In fact, that is the reason it was so hard to find a pokémon to come resolve the anomalies in the first place: they either hate the world or hate the humans in it. They're too cynical to do you three any sort of goodwill favor.

"—But," he gasped as he could breathe again, rubbing his throat. "You're talking about a majority. A minority has to exist—you're proof of that much, right?"

A minority is referred to as such for a reason, you know. And even if I did find one of my friends, I myself am unable to create portals.

"Really? Even you?" She started to speak but hesitated.

It would be a gambit, she said after a moment. I can make a portal by discharging energy into the atmosphere, but there is no guarantee that the one who comes through will be friendly.

"Then again, do we have anything left to lose? The cost's the same whether we act or sit here." Our whole lives have become a big game of "roll the dice," he thought. How bad have things really gotten that we can put everything on one stupid chance occurrence?

I don't think the problem lies in your life itself, Mew said pensively. More because the circumstances around you have changed. And… He felt a little tingle like an itch on the back of his head as Mew hummed. You wanted the risks of a journey, didn't you? What's the problem now?

"I didn't consider all this sci-fi shit as part of the package!"

A journey isn't such without adventure, and adventure isn't such without life perils, love and loss and the change that comes with it! She flew a loop-de-loop with a sudden excitement, eyes wide. That's—excuse me for interjecting my opinion, but I think that to be the best part of being human: you can go and travel and experience and live as you please! Us, we're confined to our worlds with few able to traverse up and down Yggdrasil, and the legendaries are not the most…amicable company, especially after some centuries spent together.

He's never thought of it that way, but still, things seem to tip in Mew's favor. "Well? Are you up for it?"

I… I'll try, she said reluctantly, slumping. Mel realized after a moment that she wasn't just slumping but falling from the air entirely. He reached out and caught her before she hit the ground. Tired, she breathed, blinking rapidly. She was so small and light, reminding him of how physically inept Mew really was.

"…I'm tired too," he admitted shortly. "…Been a long day. Both of us can use some rest, huh? Or I should say the three of us," he added, glancing at Koko. "Or…the four of us. There's a lot of us."

Mm.

"This is like the calm before the storm," he muttered, staring at Mew. She mumbled something under her breath before taking the form of a pikachu again. "Tomorrow, we either get an ally, or we all die. It's funny in a grave sort of way." He scooted back to rest his head against the mattress, and Koko curled her body around him, giving off the bit of warmth she still had.

Do you regret leaving home, Melchior? she asked softly. He let out a breath.

"I hate that name, you know… But yes, I do, and every second I see our situation get worse I regret it even more."

Mel, you shouldn't hate yourself over this, Mew muttered. You were the driving force here, but maybe it would've been your sister in five years. I believe that the world functions upon certainty, and so while you were the cause now, anything would have caused it after any given amount of time. …Mel?

"I like that logic," he said with a short breath and a wry smile. "I really do."

3.3. fear and love and loathing.

part iii

linda's p.o.v.
​

Linda would've been lying if she said she expected Mel to be there when she woke up, not because he didn't care—in fact, it was because he cared so much she was certain he'd go out and do something stupid to try to help her—but it still didn't sit right with her when she opened her eyes and saw she was alone. She was still exhausted however, and fell asleep again right after.

"Hey, Lindy, are you sleeping? Wake up."

"Mel," she murmured, opening her eyes to see him crouching close to her face. "Where did you go?"

"The pokémon center." He hesitated. "I saw Koko. And—no, don't cry again—and I saw Mew. We've made…a plan."

"A plan?" she asked, wiping her eyes. He nodded once.

"Giratina's been captured, and we're not exactly in a condition to help, so we've come up with the idea to get another legendary to help. If nothing else, they can fix Koko so we'll have her back on our side."

"But Mel, the legendary pokémon aren't nice."

"Not most of them anyway, but we're hoping for the best. The alternative is that we sit and do nothing."

"I see that, but… I don't know, Mel, I don't like the sound of this," she admitted.

"I'm trying to believe that we can still have a little luck. It's our last option, Lindy. If it doesn't work, then well…" He just shook his head. "Anyway, I'm breaking you out of here." He held up a bundle of clothes and flowery sandals. With some help from him, she managed to sit up without too much pain, and he pulled the hospital gown over her head. She managed the rest on her own and turned to him when he slung on a Trainer's backpack.

"Where are we going?"

"Somewhere far from the city, in case…you know." He shrugged a shoulder, trying to look passive, but there was pain on his face too. "Oh, and you're going to need to change your face a little."

"Why?"

"We're a little…famous at the moment," he said sheepishly, turning away. "You know, because Giratina was with us."

"Oh." It made sense, but she couldn't see herself drastically changing her appearance. "But you didn't disguise yourself?"

"I snuck around, but considering that we have to leave town, we're gonna have to face some people. It shouldn't be anything major—simple things can throw a stranger off our tracks. Like, uh…" He rooted through the backpack for a few seconds before pulling out a pair of glasses with a skewed wire frame.

"Where did you get those?" she asked, wrinkling her nose as she tried looking through them.

"The hospital's lost and found. People lose some pretty nice stuff there." He held up an MP3 player, scratched but in good condition, and a cellphone. "By the way, the stuff I picked up had been there six months or more, so I doubt the owners were coming back for them." She looked up in surprise as he held the phone up to her face. It took a moment, but she recognized the number he had dialed. "If you want to… I mean, this may be the last time we'll talk to them."

"They'll be mad," she whispered, swallowing.

"Totally. But I think they'd be easier on you than me."

"At the same time?" she suggested. He nodded, but it took him a while longer to work up the nerve to press the dial button. The ringing tone filled the silent room and Mel muttered some sort of prayer about them not being home. At the last second a phone clicked on the other end:

"Hello?" Tears welled in Linda's eyes—it felt like she hadn't heard her mother's voice in years. Mel, too, looked stricken, but tried to hide it. "Hell-o?"

"Mom…"

"Wha— Linda? Linda, is that you?" Her mom's voice cracked and static sounded as she dropped the phone. She picked it up after a moment, sounding completely breathless. "Linda, what happened? Where did you two go? Is Melchior there too?"

"I'm here," he said flatly. She took a few moments to compose herself, and when she returned she sounded more suspicious and angry than tearfully relieved.

"Why did you two leave?" she demanded. "Do you know how worried sick I was?"

"It was my fault," Mel said, setting the phone down between them and wringing his hands together. "I wanted to leave, and…and she tried to talk me out of it, but she came along just to make sure I didn't die or anything. It's my fault, Mom."

"Why? Why would you want to leave?"

"I didn't— I wanted a journey." He looked ashamed now, ashamed and pitiful. "It sounds pretty pathetic and selfish now that I say it out loud, but back then it was all I could think about. You were so paranoid about me that I'd relapse at any second, and I hated being treated like glass. I wanted…something normal, and being a Trainer is about as normal as things can get." He squared his shoulders for a second, then all the energy left his body. "But things went…bad. Horrible. I wish I would've stayed. I'm sorry. Sorry doesn't even cut it here."

"It doesn't matter," she said finally after a moment of silence. "When are you two coming back?" There it was, the hardest part of the conversation. Linda hid behind her hands, trying to choke down a sob. Mel's hand was light on her shoulder as he answered:

"We don't know."

"You don't know…?"

"When we'll be coming back." And a pause, and both his arms went around her, holding her as if she was glass, but she could sense he was on the precipice of breaking too. "Or…if we'll be coming back."

"You would really leave, leave and not come back?" she asked in a faint voice that cracked slightly. Linda shook her head even though she couldn't see them.

"It's not that… We want to come back, but we might…we may…die," Linda whispered. It was the first time either had acknowledged it, and it brought the crushing weight of reality down like a fist from god.

It didn't make sense, it made no sense. They were just thirteen years old, two thirteen-year-olds from an average town of an average province looking for an average journey. They were meant to go out, and Mel would realize he should go back after a lengthy period of his legendary stubbornness, and eventually they'd return home, and their mother would be cross but forgive them in time, and things would be fine, things would be normal.

Instead, what they found was Giratina—Orville at the time—and he dragged them onto the adventure of several lifetimes. They've encountered Legendary Pokémon, Mew and Latios (the latter of which not being a pleasant one) that they'd never think of seeing, but not only were they proven real, they were just as powerful as they seemed. Just as apathetic as they seemed, too, or else the three of them wouldn't have been in such a huge conundrum. She wished that the Pokémon were as friendly as the stories told, but they were just stories after all. She remembered the days of reading them and wished she could go back, both her and Mel, to the days of dreaming of a journey rather than being thrown under the bridge for one.

They had a grand purpose. They were to help Giratina find and resolve the anomaly problem, which was Linda, which made their goals coincide. Maybe, then, if Linda had told him of her problem sooner, it could've been resolved sooner, and none of that would have happened. But it was all in the past and couldn't be changed; they were in the future, and they were to put all their energy into fixing what they'd begun.

"Die?" Linda and Mel's mom repeated. "What? Why would you two… What's going on, Mel, Linda?"

"It's a lot to explain," Linda began, and Mel pulled away to give her a hard look. Don't say it, it said, and she understood. Their mother was very down-to-earth, had never considered going on a Trainer's journey even when she was younger and the excitement was at its peak. She couldn't understand the importance of their situation—she'd demand them to come home anyway, or even if she didn't, Linda still couldn't risk her by going back. "…I'm sorry, Mom. We're both so sorry."

"Linda, Mel—"

"We wanted to talk to you one more time," Mel said, scrubbing his eyes. "But hopefully, this won't be the last time. We don't want to do this, but we must, so please believe in us, Mom. Please."

"You two—"

"We love you," Linda said. "More than anything. And we're sorry for leaving, again. Bye, Mom…"

"Bye, Mom…"

"I love you two too, but wait—"

They hung up. Then they held each other for a long time in silence.


Linda's back ached. It made sense considering what had happened, but what didn't make sense was the sense that the pain increased with each footstep towards the train station. Mel was a few paces ahead of her, his shoulders slumped but his head high. Mew was flying next to him in the form of a togekiss.

She thought of seeing Koko before they left, gently stroking her fur as she'd done a million times before, and saying her goodbyes. Perhaps it was because Koko knew she would be dying either way, but she wasn't as distraught as Linda was, which was comforting. Neither said anything the whole time, until Linda was leaving and Koko spoke up: "You won't die. I know you won't." Her certainty made Linda's stomach turn.

"Linda?" Mel asked in concern. She shook it off and clapped her hands to her cheeks, bringing herself back to the present moment and jogging to catch up with them.

"I'm…not fine," she admitted. "I can't be."

"It'd be shocked if you were fine," he said with a bitter smile.

"How are you doing, Mew?"

"Better," she said, but she didn't seem happy.

"What's wrong?"

"I don't like this, not at all," was all she said before turning away. Linda looked at Mel, who didn't have the strength to look back at her, and they continued.

When they reached the station, Mel bought their tickets while Linda and Mew sat in a café that overlooked the hoary landscape around them. Linda ordered for the three of them while Mew rolled a pokéball between her wings. "Isn't that Shady's?" Linda asked. "When did Mel get him back?"

"Before you woke," she answered. "He had to go back to Orville's room to do so, and it was none more pleasant than the first time, but with me it was easier."

"What did you do to him? Orville?"

"I only put him to sleep. I didn't want to hurt him, not after what Giratina had done…" She sighed and brought the pokéball to a halt. "Us legendary pokémon, we were created by Arceus to make humans' lives easier, but all we do is lurk within our own realms and loathe them as humans loathe insects."

"Doesn't it care though? Arceus doesn't care?"

"I wouldn't know. We don't see Arceus too often—it's busy maintaining all existence majority of the time. We only really see him for gatherings, like the one we had before Giratina came. In fact, gatherings are where a lot of us reunite for the first time in decades. We don't interact often, period."

"That's horrible. I couldn't imagine having that kind of relationship with Mel." Mew laughed a little.

"I envy you two's relationship."

Mel returned just as the food arrived: watermelon for her and Mew, a gyro for Mel. He stared at it for a moment. "The hell is this?"

"Mel!"

"Sorry. What is this?"

"It's a gyro, I saw it on the menu. It's chicken in flatbread with tomatoes and onion and tzatziki sauce—I thought it sounded exotic."

"And you just got it for me and not for you?" he deadpanned, frowning, as he unwrapped it and peered inside like a zubat was going to jump out.

"Because you would've just gotten bread or something plainer. At least once, Mel, you should try something new. You're not gonna get sick off of random foods anymore," Linda said. He blinked, his frown deepening, then he picked up the wrap and took a bite with no further complaints and continued to eat in a concerning silence.

"This is amazing!" Mew exclaimed after taking a bite of watermelon. "It's so sweet!"

"Right?" Linda agreed, beaming alongside her. "You've never had it before?"

No, she said in amazement.

"It must not have been in season when you came."

I've come a lot, she said offhandedly, the juice matting her feathers down. Maybe it was just a hidden gem. Like you two.

Mel and Linda exchanged a look, then gazed at Mew, who was still enjoying the watermelon. "What do you mean?"

I'm glad to have met you two, she continued, that's what I mean. She swallowed, and for just a second she appeared in her normal form. It's actually not that often that the universe is in danger and we legendaries can take direct part in the affairs. I believe that the last interesting thing that happened was with a Sceptile and an odd Zoroark, but my memory's faulty sometimes.

"But…didn't we cause trouble?" They realized they were speaking in sync and broke apart. Linda continued timidly, "It's because of me that the anomalies are happening in the first place. That doesn't bother you?"

Anomalies within themselves are common—every half century or so they'll happen one way or another. As I've told Mel already, the fault doesn't lie with either of you. It's just something that happened, and fate chose it to happen to you. And when it's over… She looked down at the half-eaten watermelon with a sour expression. If you two last that long, in any case.

The pressure that had momentarily subsided returned in a heartbeat, smothering them once more. Maybe fate found it better to give them a break in the wake of what they were doing, because as a train pulled up Mel announced that it was theirs. Linda left her watermelon untouched—she didn't much feel like eating anymore.


"You still remember the day we left?"

Linda was surprised to see Mel's clothes thrown through the doorway as she walked up the hall. Koko jumped out of her backpack and onto the floor, sniffing at them curiously, while Linda forged ahead into his bedroom. He had his drawers yanked out and all his possessions scattered except a few piled onto his bed.

"Linda!" he exclaimed when he saw her. His face was flushed and his hair was wildly disheveled as he held his hands out. "Let me get your backpack?"

"Yes, but—Mel!" she cried as she handed it over and he dumped her stuff out unceremoniously. He began packing his own belongings inside.

"I'm leaving today," he muttered as he went. "Right now, in fact. I'm leaving on a journey, me and Shady."

"You're…leaving us?" she whispered. "Leaving me?" He hesitated, but just for a second.

"It's something I have to do, Lindy."

"You're not going alone," she interjected, stepping forward. He zipped up the stuffed bag and hauled it onto his shoulders with a huff, staring at her with wide eyes. Koko barked her agreement as Mel straightened. Then, slowly, he smiled.

"Well, can't argue there."

Linda hugged herself tighter as she watched Snowbelle City disappear into the wintry horizon. She wondered if she would ever see the city again—or rather, if she would ever see anything again.

"Of course," Linda responded.

The trees of the forest were soon gone as well, leaving only piles and piles of snow. It almost looked like a scene from a dream, it was so abstract.

"Feels like centuries ago." Mel paused, then looked at Mew, who was taking up space in his lap. She had gone oddly silent since the ride began—Linda assumed she was meditating. "Meeting Giratina, the other hand, feels like seconds ago. I dunno, there are these weird blank spaces where I'd expect him to insult me and shove me around." He paused again. "I miss him."

"Me, too."

"So the man, the real Orville," Linda asked tentatively, "is he in pain?" Orville gave her a very odd look, like he felt an emotion that he couldn't articulate on his face.

"Is he…in pain?" he repeated. "Well…I said that he is, didn't I?"

"And you're in pain too?" He just nodded, still bewildered. "It sounds cruel, that the both of you are in constant pain," she said with a sad look.

"No, no, no no no, please don't pity me," he sighed, slouching over again. "I don't want it, nor do I need it. If there's one thing Arceus can teach you, it's that pain is just as irrelevant as time. There are worse things than pain, Linda, like…" He deflated even more if it was possible, then he turned on his heel and started walking again, muttering incomprehensibly to himself.

The rest of the people in the car had gone to the dining cart. After a moment, Mew returned to normal, lining up with the window and watching the flat landscape turn to snowcapped mini-mountains. "Have you ever been captured, Mew?" Mel asked all of a sudden.

…No, she said after a moment's thought, turning to look at him. I don't get caught off-guard a lot. Also, most of my time here is spent in Yggdrasil.

"I thought that Yggdrasil was the portal or whatever that passes through here?"

That's the old name for it, yes. More modernly, it's known as the Tree of Beginnings.

"The Tree of Beginnings!" Linda exclaimed. "I've read about that! It's a kind of sanctuary for all pokémon over at the edge of Kanto. But it really connects to other worlds?"

It does, she confirmed. Although only legendary pokémon can access that portal, it is the Tree of Beginnings that holds it. Still, the pokémon within exist in a slightly different space than yours. It's a beautiful place even without the Yggdrasil title. It's equal parts sunny and rainy for all pokémon to enjoy, and there's always plump and delicious berries to eat and the pokémon are friendly.

"Asgard," Mel muttered. Mew gave him a peculiar look and he shrugged. "I mean, it fits with Yggdrasil…"

Hmm?

"Never mind."

I want to know! she protested. Mel crossed his arms and looked away, at which she huffed angrily, but the effect was lost with her size. Melchior!

"I told you I don't like that name!" he snapped.

Melchior!

"Ugh!"

Linda laughed with it, getting an exasperated expression from Mel, and she ruffled his hair in response. He glanced out the window and saw something that made his eyes widen.

"We're here," he announced in a grim tone. She followed his gaze but couldn't see anything but more snow and frost.

"Where is 'here?'"

"It's an old Trainer's battlefield," he explained. "It's been abandoned for a long time because the area's gotten colder recently. There's nobody for miles around."

"Oh. —Oh." She gently picked up Mew, who returned to a togekiss in her arms, and stood. Mel's head was down as the train kept speeding past.

"Mew?" he said quietly. She nodded and reached out, touching his outstretched hand with her wing. The colors of the train blurred and smudged around them, and for a moment Linda felt dizzy, then the ambient reds and browns were replaced by bright whites and greys and blues. She blinked into the sudden sunlight and watched the train continue on for a moment, then Mew moaned as a trickle of blood came from the corner of her mouth.

I'm fine, she said, turning back and flying into the air, itching at her bandages. It's going to take some readjusting. I'll be fine.

"Can you still do it?" Mel asked when Linda didn't have the nerve to.

Yes, just give me a second. After a few breaths, she closed her eyes as energy started sparking around her. This is the last chance for you two to stop this. When the anomaly opens, there is no telling who will come out. They may kill you on the spot.

Mel and Linda grasped each other's hands. He sighed shakily, his breath freezing into a misty cloud. "Two halves of one whole. Just like the sun and moon make up a day—"

"—love and hate make up a person," she said in response, squeezing his hand. They gazed at Mew, who was waiting with an expression that was equal parts anxious and exasperated.

"Do it."

3.4. fear and love and loathing.

part iv

giratina's p.o.v.​

It took a fair amount of time before Giratina discovered that there existed a meadow of those grassy rats. It was an entirely accidental discovery by means of Regigigas taking it on a "tour" of the northern reaches of Sinnoh, and stumbling upon the hidden Flower Meadow past the Seabreak Path. It hoped that it at least looked damn terrifying, coming in there roaring and stomping. To his immense pleasure, they all went flying at the sight of him.

"You're here?" a young voice said from over his shoulder. He spun around, jaws open on instinct, and a flying shaymin easily dodged with a peeved expression. "I've heard of you, Giratina of the Distortion World. You cause trouble for every generation of shaymin."

"It's my fault?" he sputtered indignantly. "The story is twisted coming from your mouth."

"It was the word of Esteemed Elder," he protested, flying close enough that Giratina could see fury in his scarlet eyes. "It never lies."

"The Elder, eh? Where is this old fart?" The shaymin bristled further but kept himself under control.

"Why would I lead you over? So that you could eat it?"

"Contrary to popular belief," Giratina said coolly, "I am not a vegetarian."

"You—"

"Yes, me," it interrupted. "And anyhow, I'm here as a guest who also happens to be a legendary pokémon higher up the hierarchy than yourself, which also means I'm closer to Arceus' godly ears. Maybe I'm not asking nicely enough," it supposed, relishing that blasted shaymin's incensed expression. "May I please have a word with this Esteemed Elder of yours?"

"…As you wish, Giratina," he grumbled. Giratina pretended not to notice the swarm of bladed leaves that went flying his way as he was led across the field of multicolored, nose-clogging flowers. The sun's rays were extraordinarily powerful and beat relentlessly on his semisolid skin, and with every heavy step of his, the tiny pokémon nestling under the plants dispersed into the wind. Soon, the repeating backdrop shifted to miniature mounds and burrows that he assumed the shaymin slept in. They were banked by a lake so clear that Suicune would shrivel in jealously at the sight of it.

"Could it be any brighter out here?" Giratina groused.

"Some of us thrive in the sunlight, you chthonic ghost," Shaymin muttered.

"Yes, and other, better creatures thrive in darkness."

"Oh, you mean like moss?" he replied innocently, and had the gall to grow a bushel of the blue-green stuff and wad it up on Giratina's mouth guards. Giratina let out a cutting laugh as he turned intangible, letting it fall to the ground.

"Very amusing, Shaymin," he said, eyes glinting. "In comparison, my talents aren't nearly as versatile. I can only do a simple trick with mirrors…" As they passed the lake, Giratina brushed the tip lightly with his tail. The water rippled before sucking inwards, and bounced back with a large and blocky object that slammed Shaymin from the sky and onto the graciously soft bluegrass. While he struggled with the old television set, Giratina continued towards the largest cave in the area.

"Look, look, it's the Giratina that Elder is always talking about!" a smaller shaymin said to a whismur. He had to admit he was feeling pretty big, being a warning among the shaymin community. He opened his mouth guards and spread his wings to look extra terrifying as Shaymin grunted something under his breath that sounded suspiciously like "son of an itch."

To say the inside of the cave was a tight fit would be like saying Sootopolis City was a little wet. It was a formation made for things shaymin-sized, and Giratina was not that. Luckily, the advantage of being semisolid was that he could shift his general build within the confines of his Altered Form, and he shrunk down until the rocky walls were only a slight bother. Inside was even more fit to burst of foliage than outdoors, and the scents made his nose itch terribly, but he had a strong suspicion that if he sneezed, he would blow away the fragile skeleton that was their Elder.

"Brother," she said in a fatigued yet cheery voice, rising on shaky feet. She was in Sky Form like the others, but her feathers were ruffled and bent out of shape, and her leaves were wilted and browning at the tips. Still, those ruby eyes were as defiant as they were years ago. How many years ago would that be in underworld time? He felt sick not knowing.

"I am not your brother," he snarled, tucking his wings tightly among the ridges of his armor. Elder Shaymin tittered, utterly pleased with herself still. Her primary feathers vibrated with her laughter.

"As you say," she replied, jumping into the air. Her wings pumped slowly, but sadly there was no sight of her falling anytime soon as she hovered about his head. He snapped, or at least made his best attempt to, but the lack of space made it hard to connect with his target. "How have you been?"

"Fine, until I found this place," he replied edgily, his shoulders grating against the walls as he backed away and out of the cave. Shaymin watched him with wide eyes before following, flapping up to rest on the roof.

"This is our home," she said brightly, waving a paw around to the endless expanse of pasture and flora. "Hundreds of generations of us since the earth was conceived. Did you know that, before we were here, this was simply a mound of dirt in the water? But with us came the meadows, and with the meadows came thousands of pokemon species that now call this place home."

"Is that so," he ground out. Envy was not his prime emotion when faced with shaymin, but knowing that their existence provided homes and lives while his did little more than convenience/inconvenience those around him was humbling. For a second, he wished they would trade places, then he swore at himself for thinking that nonsense. He shook his head with a low growl. "Shaymin, Elder Shaymin, whatever—how long has it been since we last fought within my world?"

"Since then, it's been…" She crouched and folded her legs beneath her, tucking her wings in. "Hmm… Somewhere in the range of one hundred years… No, wait, three hundred would be more accurate. Somewhere between three hundred and three-fifty."

Three hundred years. That was well through a shaymin's existence, then again grass-types lived generally shorter lives than other pokemon, especially when said pokemon were legendary pokemon. It shook its head slowly in disbelief. "Time passes," Giratina said absently.

"Indeed it does."

"But, if all this time has passed, why haven't you return—" Giratina cut off upon realizing the implications of what it was saying, but Shaymin understood nonetheless.

"That is to say, you wanted me to be there fighting with you?" she said with a smile. "You liked that?"

"I didn't say all that!" She chuckled.

"Well, I found more interesting things to do, no offense," she replied a bit cheekily. "Some of these children are mine, you know." There weren't many legendaries that could freely reproduce—as a matter of fact, they were almost all genderless, including the ones who could reproduce, but some had special circumstances that exempted them from being infertile, such as the fact that grass-types reproduced by seeds and not physically—and envy for them was much more common. But Giratina was never one to buy into the whole family situation, perhaps because his own family had disillusioned him to the whole thing.

"They look like you." He paused. "That's a stupid thing to say."

"Shaymin can look different," she protested. "There are a lot of subtleties that a giant like you wouldn't notice, I guess, but the more obvious differences would be in the types of grass and plants growing from our heads. Some grow barley, others bluegrass, others cotton, and the flowers can be poinsettias, daises, lilies…" She then jumped into a longer discussion of the species' nuances, which Giratina found about as interesting as pulling teeth.

"Nevertheless," he interrupted as Shaymin got into "the good part," "I do believe you have better things to do than to speak with me."

"You know what?" the Esteemed Elder said with a familiar, mischievous glint to her eyes, "I do have better things to do. There isn't much fun to be had these days, being a legendary among pokemon much weaker than I. I constantly have to pull my punches. Now, if I was to fight someone on equal standing with me…"

"In layman's terms, then, you want to battle me again?" He'd be lying if he said his blood didn't light up at the sound of it.

"In formal terms, yes. In layman's terms, now, then I want to battle you, Giratina." Giratina stared for a couple of seconds before smirking.

"Well, it would be impudent of me to ignore the wishes of the Esteemed Elder, so I will have to agree."

"Great!" she exclaimed with a grin that matched her youth far more than her old age. The prick shaymin returned with a deeper scowl than before, landing at her side. "I wish for the area to be cleared," she told him. "I will be doing battle."

"But, Esteemed Elder, none of us wish for you to be harmed," he protested. She waved him off, still smiling.

"Don't worry about me—I've survived a lot more than you can imagine! Now, please?"

"A…As you wish." He flew down to the ground, and after a moment the grassland pokemon were clearing the area, hurrying towards their burrows with eager eyes peeking over the lips. Giratina backed away an acceptable distance from Elder Shaymin, who kept her place with the beam still clear on her face. "This battle will be between the Esteemed Elder and…Giratina," he said with significantly less energy. "Both pokemon will fight until one or both cannot rise again. Let the battle…commence!"

"This'll be fun!" Elder Shaymin exclaimed. Giratina grimaced—did she really consider their previous scuffles some version of "fun?"—but before he could process the thought, she was on him. He had forgotten how fast she could be at times—within the span of a heartbeat, she was back in the air and on him, and by the time he managed to jump backwards, she had already struck him across the face and was several feet away skidding across the grass when he had recovered. His face stung, and he wondered how speedy an old shaymin could possibly be.

Giratina planted its hoofs into the ground with a warning snarl, then released a widespread Flamethrower. Shaymin ran in a tight arc before leaping onto a spongey fungus that launched it into a highspeed spin that took it higher and higher, easily clearing the flames' reach. I have wings too, prick, it thought angrily, pumping them and launching into the air. It wasn't as fast, but it gained more altitude with each stroke, both due to raw strength and its ability to nearly nullify its weight totally. Shaymin made a short note of surprise as Giratina rounded on it, then gasped aloud as its tail went swinging. It tried to dodge but was a beat too slow, and Giratina had it spinning back towards the earth.

"Elder!" the other Shaymin cried. "Don't lose to that degenerate Giratina!" Giratina rolled his eyes—what an asskisser, that one. Elder Shaymin maybe did find the cry encouraging, because afterwards she righted herself with a swirling ball of green and watery energy forming in the air between them. The Energy Ball shot wide of Giratina and he dodged with a smirk, then turned back to see Shaymin glowing bright green. She lowered her head and a cloud of golden seeds exploded into his face.

"Aagh!" he shouted, shaking his head furiously. He was forced to shut his eyes against the blinding pain, and without them he was left defenseless as Shaymin struck at the soft bits of skin between his armor over and over again.

"Things never change, do they, Brother?" she jeered. He growled and swung back and force, clipping only air and grass as the true target of his rage flipped and flitted about easily. He remembered a time when he was envious of that too, a Shaymin's intrinsic mastery of the air. For him, he basically fumbled his way around, especially in Altered Form.

"For your sake, you better hope that things are the same!" he warned as he hit the ground with a heavy whump! It sounded like all the pokemon cleared his way and he didn't feel any tiny bodies squish beneath his hooves. "Time out!"

"What is it?" the bastard shaymin sighed. Giratina blinked heavily a few times but couldn't manage a better sight than a watercolor world. Still, it was better than nothing.

"Your Elder Shaymin is in its natural element," it told the shaymin. "Shouldn't I be owed the same?"

"I'm sorry that we cannot transfer your twisted dimension over," it replied dryly. Giratina stamped a hoof, sending the little pokemon scattering once more.

"Then do me one better! Over there is my Orb—bring it here." Giratina didn't think it would need it, but now it seemed that the playing field needed levelling. Shaymin groused and grumbled but flew over to the area, rolling the Griseous Orb that was twice its size over to its owner. Giratina nestled up to it gratefully, feeling the familiar energy of his world flow through the cool surface and warm his skin. His body lightened and his wings shifted into more solid talons that curled into his sides at the sunlight. More importantly, his mouth guards sealed up, protecting a good fifty percent of his face from further injury.

"Are you prepared now, Distortion Pokémon?" Shaymin asked with a tone that said it couldn't be less interested whether the answer was affirmative or not. Giratina snorted and turned back to the other annoying green rat.

"Does this answer your question?" Elder Shaymin wasn't ready to dodge as Giratina rushed over, snaking across the grass to coil about it. Shaymin's small size was no advantage as Giratina pulled tighter and tighter until it finally let out a pitiful breath.

"Hurts—!" it cried.

"Yes, it does," Giratina agreed, getting close to it. Shaymin's eyes were pointed, sharper, but still it was defiant, still it persisted. Giratina nodded once in acknowledgement of its long-time adversary before squeezing even tighter. Shaymin's body glowed green again and Giratina turned its face away, but this time it had another trick: the grass and flowers around them broke away and began swirling faster and faster, forming a funnel of foliage that sliced itty-bitty papercuts into Giratina's skin. "Was this supposed to hurt?"

"No," Shaymin choked out. The plants came to a standstill for a single breath, then they were propelled high into the air where they were compressed as if by a giant hand and formed into a massive leaf that eclipsed the painful sun. "This." The leaf raised, then flapped down. The ensuing energy wave was so strong that Giratina was forced back into solid form, then the gust that followed was so powerful that Giratina was sent rolling across the field. After a while he stopped himself by rooting its talons, and just in time: a second later and it would've plunged into the water, and swimming was not one of its many skills.

"Loser," Elder Shaymin said, landing right at the epoch of its mouth guards. Giratina hissed in outrage.

"The battle has not been decided yet!"

"Loser loser loser," it repeated, buffering Giratina with its wings. It roared in indignation, sending Shaymin flying, but as it tried to rise it found itself stuck. When it glanced over, it saw that thick green vines had sprouted around its talons and served as chains binding it to the earth. "You shouldn't have given my seeds a chance to take root."

"You—you—"

"Giratina is unable to rise," said the other shaymin with far too much smugness. "Therefore, I conclude the winner—the obvious winner from the start—to be our Esteemed Elder."

"I had fun," Elder Shaymin said, slowing its descent until it hit the ground.

"Augh! You bastard!" Giratina roared, struggling and straining to no avail. Pokémon were drawing close, observing it like a sort of sideshow, and its anger grew to boiling point. The next one that dared to step near, Giratina slammed its tail down on whoever the poor bastard was.

"Son of a bitch!" Shaymin exclaimed, stroking his damaged wings. Mud stained his white feathers, probably from when he face-planted, and Giratina would've been lying if he said that he didn't get some pleasure from the sight. "This is why you should remain in your world, rather than destroy ours!" he growled, gesturing to the uprooted land and crushed flora all around them.

"Excuse me, this was a two-part job here."

"Yes, but can you regrow plants within the span of a few seconds?" he demanded acerbically. Giratina rolled his eyes.

"I don't know about that, but I can regrow indifference magically quickly."

"Things like you have one place to be, and that is away from everyone else. I'd think Arceus a genius, then, for shoving you in the corner as he did."

"That is enough!" Elder Shaymin said, but it was too late. Giratina was back in the air, huge gobs of earth dripping from the vines that it had dragged along, eyes glowing even brighter than the sun.

"I hope you've already said your final goodbyes," he snarled, sinking into the shadows below. Shaymin jumped into the air but its ruffled wings couldn't hold it, and it sunk down into Giratina's open and waiting maw. Giratina only had time to savor its shocked yell before the Elder swooped in like the hero it had to be, snatching its wayward child and carrying it to safety. Giratina's Origin Form dissolved and it hit the ground with a dissatisfied grunt.

"Giratina!" the Esteemed Elder cried, anything but cheer on its face now. Its not-nearly-as-interesting son gave him a death glare that easily carried across the uprooted ground. "I believe it's time you take your leave."

"Great," it said, snatching up its Griseous Orb before taking off. It's not as if I've ever expected to be buddy-buddy with the Shaymin population, it thought with a grimace as it broke through the cloud barrier. It's not like I needed another set of enemies on my already long list, however. In any case, I don't think I'll ever have a problem with those rats.

3.5. fear and love and loathing.
part v

???'s p.o.v.​

The light was blinding and all-consuming only for a moment. When it subsided, all had changed.

What's happened? Where am I now?

Green eyes blinked into another grand source of light—the sun. Scanning the area provided the sights of a frail-looking human girl and—oh, wow—and of Mew, who was hovering several feet from the frost-powdered ground and glaring with clenched paws.

"Of all the pokémon to appear," it said in a low voice. Its eyes, normally round and bright and full of wonder, were narrowed to chips of azure.

A quirk of lips, real tangible lips, as those green eyes acknowledged small and pale hands that clasped and unclasped on command. Then a sharp chin was thrown back to let loose an even sharper laugh.

"Mel!" the girl cried. With a swipe of those hands that move on command, she was flat on her back in the snow, eyes dazed. Ah, snow—it wasn't good for grass-types, let alone flying/grass-types, but it was manageable nonetheless. After all, it was not too often that portals were opened into somewhere other than that blasted Distortion World. Mew's paws shook as its tail batted and lashed and churned the psychic energy around it. Meanwhile, those borrowed green eyes of "Mel" never lost their edge.

It seems I'm in the underworld. And if I recall correctly, Giratina is here too.

Now, this should be fun.

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author's note