The annoying thing about this challenge... is that they're related and, unlike Eons, one of a kinds. I had it working out so well, and then I found out they were from the same egg. Rrraaarrgh! All the Romance down the plughole immediately. You might still see hints in the first few paragraphs of the direction I was going, but (growls again) its frustrating when your imagination is limited.

Of course, if I can make a version of this where they aren't related, then I can make it much better. Tell me in a review, because frankly, this is missing a lot of what I could have made it. And I really want to make the better one. Being limited by the family connection ruined this. Really, it's up to SilverUmbra as it's her challenge.

Disclaimers: I don't own Pokemon, otherwise I'd outsource my animation rather than make every frame myself.

Warnings: Contains very slight Spoilers for Diamond and Pearl.

# # # Story Notes # # #
Don't ask why Azelf doesn't like Spear Pillar despite the relevant events not having taken place yet. Just call it a nasty sense of foreboding.


Contact:

She was the only reason he was flying now. Arceus would completely flip if she found out he'd taken an overground route from Lake Valor, but he couldn't help it. It had been hundreds of years since there had been any kind of social interaction between the Lake Trio, so he leapt at the chance to see her again. Lights flickered by below him as he soared over Hearthome, before the paved streets gave way to the open country, and finally the rocky spine of the region: Mount Coronet. He averted his eyes as he swept over Spear Pillar, flying onwards to his destination.

He noticed the air grow cooler as he entered the northern lands, and the woodlands that hid his friend's lake sprung up before him. Slowly, he descended into the tree cover, stopping in the bushes at the edge of Lake Acuity. In the frigid night air, not a breath of wind blew through the clearing. Even so, the stillness of the water was suspicious; a glazed mirror on the ground. He hefted up a small rock, measuring the size, before hurling it into the lake. With a loud crack, the layer of ice splintered under the impact, making a miniscule hole. He winced, and hovered over the point of impact, watching as the floating shards settled. He landed on one of the larger pieces, clinging onto a corner as it tilted under his weight, wiping away the frost layer from the top. The ice underneath was like a clear pane of glass, and he pressed his face against it. The coldness of the ice was soothing after the time he'd spent flying, but he knew he'd have to move eventually otherwise his sweat would freeze him to the lake. Judging the depth through the shard, he hovered back up about a metre from the surface. He took a deep breath, steeling himself, before speeding down through the ice layer. His momentum pushed up a small mushroom spray of water and ice as he delved into the water, the frigid jigsaw knitting itself back together above him.

For a few seconds, he was little more than a blue torpedo pushing through the water, before his initial burst of acceleration dwindled and he opened his eyes. Just in front of him, a bed of seaweeds were wafting lazily in the current, harbouring several species of fish Pokemon that peeked out from the fronds in interest. He flicked his view upwards, scanning the floor of the lake for the tell-tale mound of the guardian's chamber. He smiled when he spotted the caverns entrance, before swimming towards it, twin tails undulating behind him.


He corkscrewed out of the water inside the cave, and hovered about five metres above the surface. The interior of Uxies cave was almost exactly the same as his own one, with the exception of the glyph plastered on the floor, but immediately he could tell something was amiss. In the centre where each of them would usually whittle away the years dreaming, there was little more than a shallow pool. Uxie was nowhere to be seen. He floated down above the pool, scouring it for any sign of her, his tails flickering anxiously.

"Uxie?" He called down to the pool, eliciting no response, "Uxie?!"

He felt something move in the air behind him, and he spun around in alarm. Immediately, he was pushed down and into the pool as Uxie tackled him down. She grabbed him round the chest in her own arms, squeezing the air from his lungs.

"Azelf!" She squealed ecstatically. Azelf made a choked groan and tapped her arms for her to let go of him. She shook her head, hugging him tighter.

"I'll let go of you before you faint, don't worry about that." She said, rubbing his face with hers affectionately. He made a strangled squawk, and prised her arms off him, gasping for breath. She placed her hands on her hips, offended by his restraint.

"I've waited four-hundred years to see you; surely holding on for the next four point seven seconds would have been acceptable." She said huffily. Azelf landed on the floor, clutching his side in pain.

"After all of these years I'd rather be conscious whilst talking to you." He replied. She laughed, and hugged him again without the bone crushing pressure.

"Is that better then?" She asked, resting her head on his shoulder. He smiled past her shoulder, hugging her back.

"Much better." He answered. After a few minutes in each other arms, they slowly pulled away from each other, holding each others hands. Neither of them wanted to interrupt the beautiful silence, but Azelf could tell that Uxie was actually concentrating. Her grasp on his hands tightened, as though she was measuring something. He looked down at them, noticing she was shaking them slightly.

"You went over Spear Pillar didn't you?" She said mournfully. Azelf sighed, earning a knowing smile from Uxie. He was hoping she wouldn't bring that up, but it was always going to be hard hiding something from an omniscient. He let go off her hands, and floated backwards slightly.

"I know I shouldn't have…"

"But you still did." She said reproachfully, "You're always so stubborn… you see things through to the end regardless."

He braced himself for the scathing comment that he knew was coming. He didn't need to be a genius like her to see what she was about to say.

"That's what I like about you." She said quietly, floating closer to him once again. He opened his eyes, relieved that she wasn't going to scold him for it. Now if it had been arceus, it would have been a different matter entirely. There might not even have been enough left to fill a matchbox.

"So… you brought another message." She said. He gasped, earning another knowing smile from her. He'd actually forgotten the reason why he'd been woken up, the thought having been pushed out of his mind by seeing her again.

"Yeah." He answered, "Arceus says be on the lookout for humans. Apparantly some team Galactic is getting pretty hyped up over something, and we should be on the lookout for anything suspicious. She reckons they may be after us."

Uxie snorted derisively.

"That's never going to happen." She said, "They won't even know where to look."

Over on the other side of the region, Lake Valor exploded as Team Galactics bomb detonated. Stroking his Toxicroak, Commander Saturn smirked. A new universe indeed.


Please review! I need to know how much I wrecked this. I've got a completely different storyline waiting for it if I get the go-ahead to make one with them not being related.