Eh, yeah, he was god of antimatter, the opposite of good, death, but he did have a good heart and strong intentions. It was nearing the new year, when the sun was renewed and Ho-Oh would take her flight around the world once more after a relaxing week in Costolo City, and everywhere people were getting ready for the gift giving and sweets. Giratina? Ah, nah- he found himself leaning back in a chair, one leg crossed over the other, arm propped up lazily on a chair, and head resting in his outstretched hand as he watched with cold, ruby-red eyes what the young Smeargle in front of him was painting. Costolo City was a moment's glance away from all the horrors of the world around them. If it wasn't for Giratina being such a softy on the inside, he never would have built the place and would have spent his entire life on the reverse side of the world, watching, waiting for foolish Pokemon to stumble upon one of his portals and be engulfed by the darkness that took everyone.
His city was his own refuge; he didn't have to be big bad Giratina just to keep up his reputation, he didn't have to keep a stone-cold, hard demeanor to intimidate his siblings and keep others away from him. Most importantly, he didn't have to think about his past, the past in which he lost suddenly. That was why most people came to his city; here there were kind people- young Pokemon could train their powers and talents without being called out; those who were perhaps weaker than their reputation had them could build their skills, learn how to focus them in such a way that they were no longer picked on and yet still remaining the same person they were before. Misfits flocked to the city- it wasn't rare to see what people called a 'morph'- a teased, bullied, and often depressed Pokemon who was born with odd colors. Sure, all Mudkip kids looked different, but it was in their natural make up that made them so obsessed with the color blue. Even their hair most times was blue, but sometimes, just a few, lonely children were born with pink hair, the need to find pink clothes and flounce around, showing it off.
Sometimes Giratina wished that these poor Pokemon didn't have to live like that, or rather, didn't have to have a history like that. He was pleased in what he had created for himself, and enjoyed the younger Pokemon's attention. That was what had brought him to the art school, where he showed his face again for the first time in many years, having hidden in the Distortion World, ashamed of himself. The young Smeargle, Chatot, Spinda, Zorua, and Lotad were so excited to see him, and he himself was excited to see them and those misfits that had come; a Riolu who had discovered that her powers were weak but her hand steady, allowing her to paint beautiful pictures and carve wonderful, life-like pictures; a flightless, abandoned Tailow who could work wonders with card stock and glue; a Delibird with one of the most beautiful voices Giratina had ever heard.
The children were used to his gaze, some having come to the school for more years than Giratina could count. When the Smeargle turned around to show Giratina his picture, the Legendary Pokemon perked up a bit, smiling slightly at the sight that caught his gaze.
"You drew me..." Giratina said, sitting up and leaning his arms against his knees. The Smeargle skipped up to him and held up the picture.
"You like it?" he asked timidly, his tail quivering. Oh how cute he was, with deep brown rings around his eyes and floppy ears of the same color. His hat was falling off to one side, and his apron was covered in pain splatters. He was what people considered a morph, with a red tail tip, a deeper tan, and a red tattoo on his cheek, hidden by dark brown hair. He bit his bottom lip, looking a little scared. "I...I hope you do."
Giratina smiled. "It's great," he said. "You got me down perfectly."
The young Pokemon frowned, shaking his head vigorously. "I messed up a lot," he mumbled, pointing to the picture. "I got your face to squished up and-"
"Stop scolding yourself. It's perfect."
He looked timid but nodded anyway, going back to his table and sitting down. The picture literally was perfect; he could paint and draw like no tomorrow. Giratina shook his head; the only reason Smeargle was there was because he was different. He hated that.
Now it was time for him to go. Giratina stood up and reached over for his coat, waving to the Smeargle as he walked out of the room. Every white space on the wall was filled up with shelves of wooden figures, drawings and paintings, clothes that some of the children had made. As he was wrapping his scarf around his neck and shoulders, one of the figures almost seemed to come to life, but it was a tiny, playful Zorua casting illusions on the item. She ran up past Giratina and took out a feather duster, brushing off all the figures at that end of the hall.
"What are you doing out of class?" Giratina asked, turning his head to the side and raising an eyebrow. The girl giggled and continued on her way.
"My teacher said I needed to come do this," she said. When she was done, she giggled and ran back the way she had come, leaving Giratina in a slight state of confusion.
He just continued on his way, burying his hands in his coat pockets and bracing himself for the cold. It wasn't too bad this time of year, usually the warmth of the late spring, but to see Ho-Oh off this year, the Ice Type Legendaries had come. Which meant Articuno, Suicune, Regice, and Kyurem where all gathered in his city. Just one of them could send the city into the deepest part of winter again, but four of them together was as cold as the north and south pole. Giratina didn't wish for it to be like that, because he himself knew how much the cold sucked, but it was Arceus' choice and who was he to go against not only his father's word, but the Pokemon god's word?
Red on black eyes scanned the street. On days like this it would be empty, Pokemon retreating back to their homes for a warm cup of hot chocolate or a heavy, thick blanket, but today it was busy. In just less than a week a festival would occur, and stalls were being set up, streets cleaned, parks sparkling for those children who could not find anything better to do. Giratina's heart skipped a beat; one of his favorite events was coming up, and this year he was finally going to participate for the first time in however long he had been alive. It was like a war that would take place at the heart of the city, where it was clear in a large circle, decorated like the Hall of Origin; the columns were always decorated in hues of gold and silver, pots of flowers would surround their bases. Only thrice did Arceus himself appear, and that was when Giratina had disappeared from the city.
In just a few minutes, school would be getting out. Giratina turned his head left and then right, watching as a few cars stopped for him. Instead of going home, he was going to go see how his city looked, as it always made him happy to see the joy on everyone's faces as they worked.
Giratina's gaze snapped right, and he stopped in front of a bakery. After little to no consideration, he walked in, bought a few poffins, and walked out, taking in the heat from the spiciness. He finished off with a sweet poffin, his favorite, and crossed another road, this time deserted.
A smile appeared on his face when he came to the heart of the city, dubbed Origin's War Zone by Ho-oh, who thought of herself as the origin of the sun. A teacher had brought her students on a field trip. The Roserade was pointing to all the flowers and pillars arranged like a roofless, open air pavilion that stretched for miles. Children called out excitedly as Giratina walked by, and he did his best to wave at all of them before turning behind a stall and disappearing from their sight.
"Hello there."
That was one of the oddest accents Giratina had ever heard; the consonants where hardly pronounced, the words slurred together almost like a drunk. He turned to see inside the stall, and came upon Kyurem; his arm was resting on the counter, his head in his hand. In his other hand was a newspaper that he absentmindedly turned. He was staring at the pictures rather than reading. Kyurem did not bother to learn how to read their language, only speaking. Of course he was odd, but he, his family, a family of magicians, a family of swordsmen, a dancer, and an athlete all hailed from across the ocean, an odd place in his opinion.
Giratina forced a smile. It wasn't that he didn't like the man; in fact, they were quite similar. It was, however, the fact that Kyurem was just downright weird.
"Hello, Kyurem," Giratina said, shifting his eyes to look at the things in the stall. "Signed up to be a referee this year?"
"Had to," Kyurem sighed with a roll of his eyes, closing the newspaper and shoving it aside. "Because, even though I have to see Ho-Oh off this year, Arceus thought it would be best for me to sit back and referee instead of take part in the battle. Cobalion, Terrakion, and Virizion are participating this year."
The way he said those names terrified Giratina, as the usually blunt, quiet Pokemon hissed them, venom dripping from his tone. Apparently Kyurem hated those Legendary Pokemon.
"Well, it's nice that you're here," Giratina pointed out, burying his face in his scarf when a harsh, cold breeze blew by. Kyurem stared up at him with cold yellow eyes.
"If you say so," he mumbled before looking past Giratina. Confused, Giratina turned around, seeing a girl dressed in black and a boy dressed in white running up to Kyurem's stall. The girl in black slammed her hands down on the counter, shoving the boy away.
"Dad! The decorators need you!" she exclaimed. She, too, had an accent, though not as thick. "They keep fighting over what colors to put!"
Sighing, Kyurem stood up and ducked under a curtain, appearing around the stall. "Fine, let's go."
Zekrom followed him but Reshiram stayed behind, crossing his arms. He didn't look like he wanted to talk, so Giratina just walked away. He saw that everything in the city was going well, and no one needed his assistance. Why hang around?
Silently, like a shadow, Giratina trudged home. Unlike the more popular cities, there weren't apartments, or resident specific areas. In his city, houses where mingled in amongst schools and stores, and in the main business area, there where a few buildings over eight stories, others being no taller than sixteen. His own home was located towards the back of the city, where the neighboring forest started.
He grunted and pulled out a key, grumbling when the door wouldn't open no matter how hard he shoved. Finally he smashed into it with his shoulder and stumbled inside, throwing his arms out to the side to steady himself. When he was finally composed again, Giratina turned, flicked on the lights, and wandered through the house, throwing his coat and scarf on the couch and migrating towards the kitchen.
Dotted throughout his house were pictures of his family; he and Arceus, Dialga and Palkia, his lesser-known siblings Uxie, Azelf, and Mesprit. They were all so amazing, so happy looking. Giratina tipped his head to the side, staring at a picture of Dialga as he walked by it on his way to the living room. In just a few days all of the Legendary Pokemon would be in his city and finally things would start to look up. The beginning of a new year never went smoothly, but it has to be better this year than in past years, he reminded himself, glancing at a picture on the table in front of him. He stared at it as he sat down on the couch, then turned his gaze away.
It was a picture of a young boy, no older than ten. His skin was pale, his eyes a dark, deep red. But his hair was the color of spring grass. On his white choker was the tiny charm of a gracidea flower. Behind him was a woman who, too, had long green hair and a choker, but her eyes were a beautiful shade of green, her features long and delicate, like a flower.
By now Giratina had gotten over them, but occasionally he still felt a pang of sadness.
"No matter..." Giratina mumbled, turning on the TV to the news. That sucked to him, so he put it on cartoons. Hey, he was still considered pretty young amongst his family, having been the last one created. Before this planet, they lived on earth. It had become ravaged and destroyed by human nature, and to save everyone, Arceus gave them life as humans on another planet. Only he and his siblings were allowed to even remember anything of their past lives, and what they did remember was when they were created. Arceus told them stories about Earth, but they were not allowed to repeat them, and for thousands of years they upheld that promise. Why couldn't they just live peacefully, without complaint or regret, why not just be regular old Pokemon? Giratina didn't want to ruin anything anymore than he wanted to see his civilians hurt, so he said nothing and went with the flow.
A knock on the door made him silently curse. He trudged up to it and slowly opened it, seeing a very excited little Gengar.
"Sir!" she exclaimed, pointing back towards the city. "Lady Ho-Oh requests your presence!"
Giratina raised an eyebrow. "She's early," he deadpanned.
"I do not know what she intends, but she wishes to see you, sir. Now."
He grumbled. "Alright, alright, tell her I'm coming."
As the Gengar girl left, sinking into the ground and darting away as a shadow, Giratina grudgingly donned his coat and scarf. He locked his door for the second or third time that day and headed back towards Origin's War Zone. The first sight he came upon was that of a crowd of people. A woman with black eyeshadow and a theme of golden orange was in the midst, laughing and talking to them. Behind her, large wings ruffled, and just by being anywhere near her Giratina could feel warmth radiating from her. It was Ho-Oh all right, but she looked tired, her feathers dull. In her arms was a little girl, her red eyes large and terrified.
Giratina came closer, and instantly Ho-Oh's eyes were on him. He didn't remember the child from other years, and probably looked like a moron from the confused look on his face. Ho-Oh managed to get through the crowd and walk up to Giratina, a smile on her face.
"I know, I know, I'm early this year," she said with an exasperated sigh, "but Pheo over here managed to catch up with me."
"No, mama, I can't fly yet. I found you."
The little girl huffed and stretched her tiny wings. The shimmering green primary and secondary feathers were just showing. Suddenly she buried her face in Ho-Oh's shoulder, terrified of Giratina's gaze.
"Anyway," Ho-Oh began, "I was wondering if you could watch her? I need to head back to Drimare for some Sacred Ash I managed to drop. I know you're good with kids, and I trust you over the Tao Trio." She shuddered.
The Legendary of Distortion's face paled. "Wh-what makes you think I'm good with kids?" he asked, taking a step back.
"Come on, I saw you at the art school today. Those kids love you. Can you do this for me?" Ho-Oh frowned, her eyes becoming huge and watery. "Please?"
Giratina bit his bottom lip, but he couldn't help it. "Fine, fine," he said. "How old is she?"
"Four. Not too much trouble, actually. I promise to do something for you in return. The trip will fill however many days I was early, and I'll be here midnight of the new year."
"Alright, I'll take her."
Why was he doing this? Giratina held out his arms, taking the very light child and holding her close to himself. She seemed to be very timid and shy, wanting to be close to anyone her mother trusted. Pheo's arms wrapped around his neck and she pouted. Ho-Oh gave a very quick, rushed 'thank you!' and spread her wings out in that mighty wing span of hers. Waving, she sprinted a good forty feet away from the two and leaped high into the air, disappearing through a cloud within moments.
Giratina looked down at the girl, gently running his fingers through her golden hair. "Come on, I'll take you to my home."
Pheo was silent the entire way there. It was odd, considering her mother was so chatty, and it caused Giratina to start talking to himself, attempting to get the girl to talk.
"So, how are you today? No answer? Well, I'm good. Sort of." Eventually he just began to ramble on about the most random things, from something he did ages ago to the drawing the little Smeargle had drawn him. He even jumped slightly when he got to his house, and looked down at the girl to see that she had fallen asleep. Laughing sheepishly, Giratina silently chastised himself. He was turning into his father a little too much.
"Hey, Pheo, wake up. We're here." Giratina went to open the door, shoving it with his free shoulder again. This time he knew what was going to happen and quickly regained his balance, walking in as calmly as ever.
As Pheo was playing with some toys Giratina had found, he ended up finding his uneaten bowl of cereal and dumping it. He'd have to stop doing that, wasting food. He made sandwiches for the two of them, noting how it was already five. Pheo at it without complaint, leaning back against the table to nibble at the corner. She then took a huge bite of it.
"Whoa, you seem a little hungry."
"No crust," she said through a mouthful of peanut butter.
"Of course. Kids don't like crust."
Pheo simply nodded and finished it off. Giratina handed her some cheese crackers and afterward let her watch some TV. He himself was sitting back on the couch, one leg crossed over the other, tapping his cheek with a finger. Pheo wasn't all that exciting, but he didn't say anything about it, switching to a movie called 'The Luxray King', which portrayed the Pokemon as animals.
Sometime during the night Giratina had dozed off. When he woke up, it was nearing ten at night, and Pheo had turned the TV off and curled up next to Giratina, using his chest as a pillow. Mumbling to himself, Giratina took the girl in his arms and laid her in one of the guest beds, throwing a few warm blankets over her as his house often got very cold during the night. He didn't care, but someone of the Fire Type would.
The next day...oh Giratina was in for it. Pheo had managed to spill his flour all over herself, get stuck in muddy creek, rip half of her feathers out when one of her wings got trapped between two rocks, and knock down all of Giratina's pictures before lunch had even happened. He had put a frozen pizza in the oven and then threw Pheo into the bathroom, taking a washcloth to her face.
"How in the hell you even manage to...I don't get it. You kids are fickle."
Pheo frowned at him, jerking away from the cloth. "Don't," she said.
"I need to get you cleaned up," he said. Their red eyes met, and finally Pheo simply sighed and looked down, her figure drooping. With the mud off of her face, Giratina spun her around to look at her wing; not too many feathers gone. He scrubbed the mud out of her good wing and gently took a washcloth to her other one.
"That's better now, isn't it?"
Pheo stretched her small wings, nodding. She skipped out of the bathroom and sat down on the couch. Within the next half an hour the two were eating pizza, but Giratina was running about the house, tending to his usual chores. He was like the mayor of the city, and every single day he got requests, and pleas, and he was alerted to things that he had to respond to. With a clipboard in hand, Giratina chomped through three entire pieces of pizza while simultaneously attempting to scribble his signature at the bottom of some papers.
More stupid laws vetoed, invitations accepted for the other Legendaries wishing to come to the festival, little things like that Giratina was okay with. It was trying to figure out whether certain things would be okay for his people that made him grumble in annoyance. He remembered way, way back, millions and millions of years ago, when it had only been his siblings and his father, and nothing but a wide open universe and millions of dimensions to explore. No one had to worry about anything then, as there were but seven living creatures, but everything had to change eventually.
Giratina looked up from his clip board to see Pheo looking at a picture.
"Who is that?" she asked. Giratina walked over, noticing it was a picture of the two Shaymin. "They're really green." Of course green was naturally appealing to her; people with red eyes were just like that.
"They are Shaymin and Shay," Giratina said, sitting down on the couch, resting the clip board on his lap and clasping his pen to the clip. "Shaymin was my wife- Shay was my son."
"Was?" Pheo asked, tipping her head to the side. "What happened?"
"Four years ago Shaymin died. Me and Palkia where fighting, and in a rage I...I sent my soldiers to attack him." Giratina took a shaky breath. "When they got to the city where Palkia was at, they only informed me after the place was obliterated that it happened to be Shaymin's."
Pheo blinked. "How did...she die?"
"Oh, you don't understand yet, do you?" Giratina tipped his head to the side, a frown appearing on his face. "Well, every Legendary Pokemon is set in charge of one city and with it they can do whatever they wish. As long as it is still standing and the main life source- the heart of the city- hasn't been destroyed, the Legendary can live. But...Shaymin's city was so destroyed she could do nothing but sit there, dieing within mere minutes because her life energy was literally connected to the city."
Still the child looked confused, but she silently accepted it, turning away when Giratina rubbed his eye with the back of his hand.
"Shay, however, was mad at me. He fled the city, never speaking to me again. It's been four years since I've seen him." He shook his head and stood up, walking away to a small room with a desk and a computer. Pheo followed, the look in her eyes and on her face telling him that he wasn't done explaining. But she didn't say anything and simply watched Giratina go about his business, staring above the level of the desktop with her hands clasped together and behind her back.
She was very well behaved when she had calmed down, and Giratina couldn't help but give her a cookie. Pheo squealed happily and took it, surprising Giratina. He leaned back in his chair; the girl sat down on the floor, munching away happily. To be honest, Giratina was actually glad Pheo was around. He didn't mind taking care of her now that he realized it. He smiled when Pheo smiled at him, and then he decided he was going to procrastinate today. None of this stuff had to be finished until three days after the new year, so why not?
Standing up, Giratina walked out of the room and grabbed his coat and scarf. This time, though, he brought gloves and a little hat, portraying a particularly mean, golden creature with red and black eyes. He called to Pheo and she came, gladly taking one of the jackets that Giratina handed her.
"Where are we going?" she asked.
"To the park," Giratina responded, grabbing a bag from the kitchen. It was full of some snacks for later, and carried an extra scarf for Pheo if she ever needed one.
This time the walk was rather enjoyable, Pheo never shutting up. Giratina answered her questions and laughed at the pointless things she said, even chased her to the end of the street and all the way to the park. What he was met with surprised him, for there where little Legendaries everywhere. It seemed like all the children had come, and Pheo seemed to know all of them. There was Latias' daughter, Latios' twins, Entei's daughter, Raikou's son, a new Legendary named Genesect that Kyurem had adopted, a young Darkrai and a Cresselia, Celebi, Victini, and dozens more. Sitting on a bench with his arms crossed was a red haired man with yellow eyes and a red jacket covered in spikes. He was staring at one of the boys, and Giratina assumed the other red haired kid was his son, because he never took his eyes off of him.
Pheo squealed happily, grabbing Giratina's hand. "Come on!" she exclaimed. "Groudon! Groudon!"
He looked over at them, his face blank. He grinned when he recognized the two and asked, "What do you need?" He was almost tackled over by Pheo, who hugged him tight and didn't let go of his arm. "Pheo?"
"Giratina!"
The man looked over his shoulder, a terrified look replacing his calm, blank one. Before he could get away, he was tackled down by all the children, his nephew, and even other kids he did not know. He propped his head up on his hand and drummed his fingers on the ground absentmindedly. When the others weren't expecting it, six thin wings came out of nowhere, throwing everyone off. He stood up and they disappeared, but the kids where laughing and saying. "Do it again!"
Groudon laughed. "Silly children," he said, standing up. "Grou!"
A red haired kid looked up, frowning. "Is it time to leave?"
"For now, yes." He held out his hand and the child took it. Waving, Groudon walked out of the park and turned the corner. Giratina knew he'd seem him again on New Years.
And in fact he did. Everyone was finally ready for the new year. All of the Legendaries where out in the freezing cold, standing at the heart of the city. Giratina clenched his jaw, forcing himself not to chatter. Pheo, the source of most of his warmth the past couple of days, was waiting, sitting many yards away, chattering with Celebi. When Ho-Oh got there, it would finally be warm again, or at least as warm as it could get if the goddess of the sun canceled out the Ice Legendary's powers.
Giratina was just about ready to call it a night and ditch when he saw someone land in the center. Or, well, crash and create a giant hole that looked like a snow angel. Ho-Oh crawled out of the hole, sticking her tongue out in thought. Her wings beat a few times and she landed on the edge, too late to look dignified and glamorous like she usually did.
Lugia tipped his head to the side, hiding his smirk behind a hand. "Are you okay?" he asked nervously.
"Yes, yes, perfectly fine," Ho-Oh said as she brushed off her dress. "That was really painful. I wonder..." She tugged her wing over to the side, but Giratina took her hand and stepped around her instead.
"These marks are from the Eon duo," he said, brushing his finger across a strike on her back. "They were exiled nearly twelve years ago. I bet they're mad because they can't come here."
Ho-Oh blinked, her eyebrows furrowing. She looked at Lugia, who was staring back sorrowfully.
"I have no say over what they do," he said.
"We don't blame you," a man in pink said. "Latios was insane since he was born."
Lugia rolled his eyes. "Whatever. I still don't think my children should have been exiled. Go on." He absentmindedly waved a hand and looked away.
"They won't cause too much trouble," Giratina said. "It's already healing."
He smiled. Everyone got quiet for a moment as he backed away. This was his city; he knew what to do in order to really start off the festival.
With a bow, six wings appeared behind Giratina. The antimatter that surrounded the city, kept it safe in times when Giratina wasn't there, rose into the air; to Giratina, it was a beautiful, deep purple color, but to others, it was invisible. When a bubble of purple appeared around the city, Giratina stood up, and said, "Welcome to the city. Please enjoy your stay in Origin's War Zone!"
Some snorted while others cheered. Finally the festival had begun!
The first thing going on was the art show. Smeargle were hopping about from canvas to canvas, spinning around and lashing out their tails or jumping high and splattering paint everywhere. There were performances by the Zorua and Zoroark families, Ludicolo and Exlploud were grouped together with music, and groups of Lucario were showing off their powers by breaking thick slabs of stone a friendly Onix created for them. Giratina was watching Meloetta dance with some Totodile and Chikorita children as he sat on a low stone wall. Kyurem's stall was pretty busy; he was selling little figures made of ice so cold they would never melt. Regice and Articuno were nowhere to be found, actually, leaving Suicune alone to follow Ho-Oh around. They didn't have to, but Suicune's leader was Ho-Oh, and she felt in debt. Or something.
For the first time in days the sun was shining brilliantly, the sky cloudless and the most beautiful shade of blue one had ever seen. Aipom and Ambipom ran by the wall, holding kites in their hands and tails. One of the Ambipom stopped and spun around to face Giratina, handing him a funny little balloon in the shape of a cat. He took it with a smile and tied the string around his wrist, his gaze now facing the left where battles where taking place.
Orange shrouded his vision. A group of three appeared in front of him; one was a tall man with large, blue and orange wings; the middle was themed red a tail that was on fire at the tip; the other was a tiny girl themed orange with large happy eyes and a small tail.
"I challenge you!" the man said, crossing his arms. Giratina smirked.
"You challenge the god of death?" he asked. The Charizard looked serious. "Well, fine. Have a go at it. Name?"
"Marcus."
Giratina stood up. He took a step to the side as he unbuttoned his coat, missing a fiery punch. When he began to take his scarf off, he ducked forward to reach around his neck, and missed a Flamethrower. The Charizard gave him an angered look, huffing. Giratina could tell this guy was from out of town, and he used that to his advantage, especially when the Pokemon didn't realize exactly what he could do.
He left his items on the stone wall, taking a couple steps back. A shadow stretched from his feet, confusing the Charizard. But as the Pokemon looked back and forth between the shadow and Giratina, he realized that Giratina was gone.
A ghostly hand reached out of nowhere and grabbed the Charizard, throwing him high into the air. Giratina reappeared on the ground, kneeling, and when Marcus fell, beating his wings to steady himself, a blue sphere began to appear in his hands. Marcus threw a fire ball to counter the Aura Sphere, and then landed so hard on the ground that it began to shake.
Sound waves began to echo through the air, causing people around the duo to cover their ears in pain. Giratina's eyes flashed as he went to grab Marcus by the arm; however, Marcus shot to the air, dragging Giratina with him.
"Idiot," Giratina grunted. Marcus growled at him and spewed fire, burning one of Giratina's hands. The Legendary whipped his free hand back and a beautiful, red string appeared, wrapping around one of Marcus' wings. Giratina smirked- the Charizard took damage when he smashed Giratina into the ground!
Rolling away, Giratina stood up, surprised that Marcus was even able to move after that. He threw Giratina pretty hard.
"You haven't beaten me yet."
Giratina rubbed the corner of his mouth with the back of his hand, growling. "I could easily just take your life away," he said. "You don't want to mess with me."
"Go Giratina!"
The children from the park where cheering from the other side of the wall. The Charmeleon and Charmander siblings were yelling at their brother to attack, to use a move called Overheat. Giratina motioned for Marcus to continue attacking; this was like being bitten by a bug to Giratina. He remembered suffering all the way through Arceus' Judgement when he was real young, and that was by far the strongest move he had ever faced. It could wipe out planets if Arceus was angry enough.
People were gathering around now, in a large circle. The Ghost types could practically feel the amount of antimatter surrounding their patron; how this was possible no one would know. Science wasn't as big a thing as it was on Earth.
"Why are you just standing there?" Giratina scoffed.
Marcus beat his wings to keep himself steady. His face looked pained, his blue eyes dark. He rubbed his arm and then, without warning, flames began to cover the ground. Giratina rushed forward, dodging flames, and grabbed Marcus by the shirt. Flames erupted around him in the Overheat, but he ignored them. He took the Charizard and spun around, throwing him so hard that the crowd was knocked off their feet and a huge skid mark a good fifty feet long appeared on the ground.
His brother and sister stared at Giratina, horrified.
"You killed him!" the tiniest yelled, running up to beat her fists into Giratina's leg. He didn't take notice and walked the distance to Marcus, just to see that he was, in fact, not breathing. All he had meant was good.
Giratina didn't just leave him, though. He knelt down and put the back of his hand to Marcus' cheek, feeling the warmth escaping already. A few feet away was the terrified spirit of a Charizard, looking around, wondering why no one was answering his calls. He walked over to Giratina when the Legend called to him, and the moment the two touched, Giratina became a pathway back to the Charizard's body.
Marcus' little sister was bawling, unable to look. Giratina reassured her that everything was fine, and then helped Marcus to his feet.
Arceus was going to freaking kill him for bringing someone back to life, but the Legendary couldn't help it. Marcus had been stupid enough to attack, and after killing him, Giratina felt very bad. He was probably the one looking after his siblings, too, if he wasn't mistaken.
"Are you okay?" Giratina asked.
"No!" Marcus exclaimed, jerking away, stumbling as if he wasn't used to his own body. "How could you just...just..."
Giratina held his hand out and a thick stick was placed in it. As calmly as ever, Giratina beat Marcus upside the head with it and watched as he fell to the ground. Chansey and Audino scrambled up and took him; a few others stayed back and consoled the Charmander and Charmeleon, who were both sobbing and cursing Giratina.
The man simply shrugged and walked away, not having to push through the crowd. They simply parted for him, shocked at what he had done.
So many people died every day, and Giratina always saw spirits around when his senses were at the highest. He didn't understand how some others felt, and even having his own wife killed didn't phase him all that much, simply making him wish he had not done that. For four years Giratina wanted to feel something, but just couldn't. And for the rest of that day, his senses on high alert after the battle, he saw spirits- animal, Pokemon- and found that he was unable to enjoy the festival like he thought he would.
Later that night, he took his balloon, surprisingly undamaged, and released it into the sky.
When finally the next day came, everyone in the city gathered in Origin's War Zone. Giratina had left his coat, scarf, gloves, and hat at home this time, donning his red and black striped shirt, gray jacket, yellow shoulder pads, and baggy pants. Odd patterns covered his sleeves and pant legs, but they were constantly shifting and changing between his two 'forms'. In one form he was quick and light, in the other he was slower, stronger, imitating his old Pokemon form.
The crowd cheered when Ho-Oh stepped up on a few boxes placed there for her use. In her had was a microphone, and she tapped it and spoke into it a few times to make sure everyone could hear her.
"Okay, we'll start the 'war' in just a little bit," she announced, listening to the excitement of the crowd. Giratina stood at the back, silent as ever. He saw the Char family a little ways away, but from the sight of Marcus, he knew the man wouldn't take part. "I will need all my Fire Pokemon to head to the northern area of the pavilion after this; the others can stay right here. Alright, who wants to see what the prize is for the one person who is left standing?"
Giratina didn't pay attention, his gaze on the sky. He didn't see the boy walk to the top of the pyramid of boxes.
"He loves all things green, and wishes to battle the last man standing. Other than a battle, he wishes to show you his secret garden and will let you take part in building his new city! He is the prince of antimatter and gratitude..."
His heart almost stopped; he didn't hear what else Ho-Oh was saying. Everything around him became a blur as his gaze slowly turned to see a teenage boy, tall, thin, and pale. Blinking a couple times, Giratina took a step back. The boy was the same as always, but a crown that looked like Ho-Oh's sat atop his head, and cradled in his arm was a staff; it looked like a regular old staff, but actually, it was a special container for keeping antimatter, and Giratina could see that.
When did his son gain control over antimatter.
"Do you have anything you wish to say, Shay?" Ho-Oh asked. Giratina narrowed his eyes, growling like an animal. The sun goddess had planned it all! This was what she had meant when she said she'd do something in return for Giratina watching Pheo.
"I have nothing to say," Shay said; he sounded so...so much older, not like the little kid Giratina used to know.
Ho-Oh nodded and turned to face everyone. "Alright, who's ready to begin this? Start making your pacts!" Pokemon erupted into cheering. "Now- split!" In a burst of fire that erupted like a blooming flower, Ho-Oh was gone. Shay leaped off the box, landing lightly on his feet, and looked around, hiding amongst others.
Giratina shook his head and disappeared behind a column. He bit his bottom lip and leaned against it, sliding down until he was sitting with his knees against his chest.
His son was back.
Ho-Oh had given him a chance to see him again. Giratina never intended to win this war, and still doesn't, but... His thoughts trailed off. Of course he was worried; four years without seeing his own child, and suddenly he appears again? That would send any Pokemon over the edge.
His vision blurred slightly and, terrified, Giratina rubbed his eyes. The god of death and antimatter was not going to sit here and cry- the last time he did was when he received news of Shaymin's death. And even as the war began behind him, panning out across two and a half miles, Giratina found that he had little to no energy left. It completely drained him, left him feeling as if he was so close to something yet so far. Dialga and Palkia would make fun of him; Mesprit would try to make him feel better, Azelf would encourage him to keep going. If anything, Giratina had to get up. He hauled himself to his feet and kept a hand on the column, protected from many attacks. He was about to step out into the war when someone caught his arm, and he turned around. There was no one there, and he turned his head left and right, up and down, still seeing no one. Giratina narrowed his eyes and blue figures began to appear in his vision.
The woman was short, only as tall as Giratina's shoulder, but her hair was long, a scarf wrapped around her neck in such a way that it flared out like wings. Shaymin had died in Sky Forme, now only a wandering spirit, but even as the ghostly figure, her eyes were shining, her smile bright.
Giratina swallowed, reaching out his hand only to have it go straight through her. He jerked it back, cursing himself for having forgotten about his own kind's restrictions. Pokemon couldn't talk to or feel spirits; they, however, could talk and touch Pokemon.
"I miss you, Giratina," Shaymin said. "I'm so sorry I haven't gotten to see you before. But I felt as if I should come today." She giggled quietly. "I do not accuse you for anything. Palkia had planned it all. A kind family of Zoroark and Ambipom have taken Shay in. They're really quite cute. Have you missed me?"
Slowly Giratina nodded, wishing he could speak. Even the god of death had rules.
"Well, I'm glad someone still does. I miss you, too. Please watch out for Shay, will you?" She reached her hand out. "Fight for me?"
Like a wisp of smoke Shaymin disappeared. Giratina reached out once more, seeing nothing of her, and let his shoulders droop in defeat. There and gone, just like that. He forced back a choked sob and went to fight in the war. For the next three days after this there would be a calmer air about the place, but at the current moment, it was tense. Thousands of Pokemon were dueling it out in the center of the field. All the Fire Type Pokemon- mortal and Legendary- were fighting for Ho-Oh, and the goddess herself was in the air, watching over. Kyurem, Suicune, Regice, and Articuno were hopping from the tops of the columns, keeping a watchful eye over the 'war'.
Down went Jirachi, falling back, trying to pat out the flames covering his robes. Celebi's entire hand was on fire, and he was bouncing around, frantically trying to find a Water Pokemon before it reached his shoulder. To say that the Fire Pokemon were destroying right now was an understatement.
"Oh come on!" exclaimed a man dressed for desert weather as he was thrown backwards, landing hard on the ground and skidding into a pillar. "We're Legends for Arceus' sake and I'm being owned by a Growlithe! Hersey!"
"Regirock, pull yourself together," snapped another man. "It's a bunch of FIRE Pokemon!"
Giratina marched right by them, his eyes set on an Arcanine not too far away. He let out a quiet gasp when he saw an entire group suddenly spot him and charge. Flareon, Numel, and Moltres were close enough now- Giratina took a step forward, stomping his foot on the ground. In a straight line, a dark purple energy flowed, knocking the group aside. Moltres groaned and pulled herself to her feet, but a ghostly hand came out of a shadow behind her and threw her into the air. A Pikachu girl that seemed to be faster than light leaped into the air and did a front flip, throwing Moltres back into the ground. A shield of ice appeared around her and Kyurem said she was done.
Giving a thumbs up to the Pikachu, Giratina sprinted towards the bigger group, where everyone had merged together. He lunged to the side, a fire ball grazing his right ear, and took the high amounts of energy around him to create an Aura Sphere. Whatever Pokemon was attacked, he didn't know, because already he was occupied again; he grabbed the neck of a young Growlithe and send him tumbling into an Emboar to his right.
"Mr. Giratina!"
Only the art students called him that. Turning to the side, he saw the young Smeargle was fighting, and when he took down another Pokemon, he ran over to Giratina, a smile on his face. Suddenly appearing next to him was the Zorua girl.
"May me and Jessie fight with you?" the Smeargle asked, playing with the hem of his pale brown shirt. "Please?"
"Um...um..." Giratina didn't know what to say. These children wanted to fight with him? He'd always been a loner. "Sure, Max. Just stay behind me when you see me attack."
The two playfully saluted and charged another Pokemon. With a scream, Jessie flew past Giratina, but she was grabbed quickly and set on the ground. Before she knew it, Giratina had spun her around and held her close, a bright light appearing behind him. The Hyper Beam died out and Giratina placed her on the ground, standing up slowly. His eyes were scary now, almost completely red.
Jessie and Max huddled together behind Giratina. He let out a scream and sound waves blew threw the area. Those who were immune, like Jigglypuff and Exploud, were instantly on the others, attacking them while they were down. Entei snapped and fire appeared around his hands, so hot that Giratina could feel it from nearly forty feet away.
Giratina was dog piled by Flareons. With a burst of dark energy, they were thrown aside, but one still had hold of him. As he was dragging Giratina to the ground- the Legendary felt a little fatigued, his throat pained from the Echo Voice- a new group of Fire Pokemon pounced,
"I'll help!" Jessie exclaimed happily. She leaped into the air and kicked a the Flareon boy in the face, spinning around to grab a Tepig and pull hi m to the ground. Within moments all the attackers were on her, and Giratina frantically grabbed them and threw them back like he was digging a hole, worried that something bad was going to happen. Someone always managed to die in these things.
And Jessie was changing. The red streak in her bangs fanned out and covered her entire hair, which grew longer and spikier. Red marks on her eyebrows disappeared, the eyeshadow like markings above her eyes sharpening and wrapping around. Everyone backed away; attacking an evolving Pokemon only led to even more problems. The new Zoroark stood, now much taller than she had been before. Her dress was now a short tunic with a vest resting over it, baggy pants covering her legs and claws replacing her feet.
Her eyes slowly turned to look at Giratina, and then at the other Fire Pokemon. She was gone within moments, disguised as something else.
Max let out a scream so loud Giratina had to cover his ears. The Pokemon was using Echo Voice!
He had to fight to keep his eyes open, his mind from going completely blank. A bubble of ice appeared around Max and Kyurem carried him away.
Hours went by and Pokemon were going down one by one. Giratina hadn't fought like this in years, and now he didn't know how much longer he could go. All that attacked him were taken care of with ease, though now everyone seemed to be going for him, seeing how tired he looked. On Ho-Oh's side there were but ten Pokemon left. On the other side? Giratina and an Electivire- the Girafarig had just fallen.
It was now him surrounded by ten Fire Type Pokemon. How he made it this far was beyond him.
And then he fell. A surprise attack from the back caused him to stumble forward and land on his hands and knees. More attacks came, but none of them hit. Giratina looked up and saw the tiny particles of antimatter surrounding him; someone walked through the bubble and stared down at him with angry red eyes. The person said nothing as they turned around and walked away. Kyurem was instantly at Giratina's side, pulling him to his feet, but Giratina just couldn't stand.
"Giratina, stop moving." Kyurem hauled Giratina back up, but he was just too weak to hold him up. Regigigas came over and pulled Giratina into his arms as easy as if he was lifting a paper, and they walked away.
"My back hurts..."
"You were nailed pretty hard with at least sixdifferent Overheats," Regigigas said. Kyurem nodded. "It's going to hurt, even if you're a Legendary Pokemon."
In a building specifically built for days like this, there were hurt Pokemon being tended to. Giratina was laid down on his front side and then left alone for a few minutes as someone went to fetch a Chansey. He just knew he wouldn't be partaking in the rest of the festival; he could barely stand let alone walk with how badly burned his back was. Sighing, Giratina folded his arms across his pillow and just laid there, allowing the Chanseys to do whatever they wished. He just didn't care anymore; from the beginning he knew this was a very bad idea, and his heart felt pained even more when he saw Max and Jessie a few beds down. A rule should be made where children were not allowed to participate so young. A lot of things should be done that Giratina never got around to.
Finally, much later that night, Giratina had the nerve to sit up. He knew it was bad, but he couldn't help it; he'd slept for hours now, and didn't know what else to do. Some Pokemon who weren't too badly hurt were already up and leaving, but others were so hurt they were going to be there for a while.
Ho-Oh was skipping into the room with Pheo in her arms. They dropped something off at the nightstand beside Giratina's bed and sat at the edge to talk to him.
"That was awesome!" Pheo exclaimed. "You were like- pshew! And Moltres was like- hit into that rock and..." She went on forever about the war, looking so pumped and ready for when she got to take part in it.
"Yes, yes, he was awesome, but let me talk to him now, okay?" Pheo sighed and nodded, and Ho-Oh turned to the god of death. "Arthur, the Electivire, was the last one standing. He took out all the rest of my warriors. But he doesn't want the prize, and has already talked to me and Shay about it. He will come see you on the last day of the festival. For now, eat those Rawst Berries and get better."
Giratina didn't know what to say. He just nodded, his eyebrows furrowed. As they left, he took the bag from the nightstand, seeing it full of two types of berries; Pecha, his favorites, and Rawst, the berries that often helped cure most burns. He ate the bitter fruit almost whole, absolutely loathing and hating the disgusting taste of it. But even if he hated it, he could feel the berry working even before he swallowed it. Or, it at least soothed the burns, which hurt like none other. Over the next two days people came in to talk to him and some even showed him pictures. Max, the Smeargle boy, had even given him the picture he drew prior to the festival.
His nephew came to talk to him, his wings buzzing excitedly. "I brought you these!" Celebi handed him cookies shaped like the animals that Arceus assigned to them; when they first got to the planet, Arceus had 'given' them special animal forms, but he neglected to tell anyone that was how they really looked back on Earth. His cookies were shaped with a golden crest with red eyes; he saw Darkrai and Cresselia, and could easily point out Ho-Oh and Lugia.
"Thank you," Giratina said, allowing, for the first time ever, Celebi to give him a hug.
He ate one of them, and found out the cookies were made out of what berries each Pokemon liked; the Shaymin shaped cookies were spicy, Heatran cookies were dry, and Celebi cookies were sweet.
Finally came the day he was able to leave. An Audino nurse had wrapped bandages all around his torso and given him plenty more Rawst berries to eat later if his back started hurting again. Arceus and made him new clothes (as his old ones were burned and they were uniform) and he pulled them on, noting how they were much thicker than before and more vibrant in color. Waving to the Zoroark girl, who had just woken up, Giratina stepped outside, getting a blast of warm, spring air in the face. Children were running about happily, eating food adults gave them, and on the last day of the festival, everything was decorated like the sun and rainbows. One thing caught his eye, and it was a trail of antimatter. Eyebrows furrowed, Giratina followed it through his city.
Giratina ducked under a low hanging branch in the woods by his home and came to an empty clearing. Still following, he walked around a hedge and stopped dead in his tracks. Butterflies, bugs this city never saw, and rabbits were hopping about. Shay sat on a swing, rocking back and forth, his eyes closed. A kitten sat on his head, replacing the crown, and a few ferrets were curled up together at the base of the tree.
What was most remarkable was how many Gracidea flowers there were.
"I come here every day," Shay said. "I don't live too far away, actually. I live with a family of Zoroark and Ambipom. You actually know their daughter."
Shay opened his eyes, staring straight at Giratina. "I only live so close because you are the only Legendary who accepts the color of my eyes. Lugia thought I was a creep; Mewtwo wanted nothing to do with me. I could have gone to Palkia's, but I hate him. And Dialga...she hates me."
"Why did you run? I've missed you."
"You killed her. I didn't want to see you ever again! But Emily- the Ambipom- convinced me you weren't so bad. I still hate you."
Sadly, Giratina let out a breath. "I don't blame you, but I would not have bothered you if you had told me where you were." He began to walk toward Shay, but the child let out a growl that didn't sound anywhere close to the quiet, cheerful species he was. Giratina took a step back, shoving his hands in his jacket pockets, opting to go around instead of through the flowers. "Why did you tell me you could control antimatter?"
Shay stiffened. "That would have made me even more of a freak than I already was. I haven't told anyone. Do you know how terrified I was when I saw it?" He stood up, about to walk away from Giratina, but he was stopped by a hand on his shoulder.
"It's scary, isn't it?" Giratina asked. "Being one of the only people to see it. And without training, you can't turn it off."
The boy swallowed, staring at the ground. "I only agreed to let Ho-Oh use me as a prize so I could see you again. But now I'm not so sure. Please, leave me alone. Why are you not leaving?"
Giratina refused to say anything at first. He stared at the field of flowers, the animals running around. The star shaped tails the rabbits had caught his eye, and a butterfly landed right on his head and then flew away. Shay stood still, never moving.
"I'm not going to leave," Giratina said. "Ever. You can't-" Before he was finished, Shay's arms wrapped around him, the boy sobbing, pressing his face against Giratina's chest.
"I thought you hated us..." he said, voice muffled and cracking. He truly sounded hurt. "I thought you attacked her because you hated us."
The Legendary's face became clouded, his lips a frown, eyebrows furrowed. He let the boy sob, and then he couldn't help it; he ran a hand through Shay's soft hair, pulling him closer.
"I love you- I would never leave you or hate you."
"I'm so sorry..." Shay squeaked, pulling away, rubbing his eyes. "I was mad about mom dying... I- I was scared of everything..."
Giratina watched him go back to his sing and sit there, hands on the ropes, head down. "At least you didn't have to live with the thought that your own son might have died somewhere, somehow."
As much as he wanted to stay, he didn't. He looked at Shay and then walked back around the hedge. He heard the boy break out in sobs again as he following the trail of antimatter back to the entrance of the forest. The garden was so well hidden that even Shay had to have a trail to find it again. Giratina let out a sigh and forced the antimatter to disappear from his sight. He found his way back to the center of the city in time to see Ho-Oh jump into the air. She waved to him, and Pheo took his hand. Kyurem, Regice, Articuno, and Suicune waved her off, creating a pillar of ice for her to stand on.
"Entei will take her back to my city!" she said. With a bow, she continued with, "Thank you for letting me stay in Costolo City, brave warrior of death!" Again fire erupted around her like a flower and sparks rained down. The Fire Legendaries grabbed some of the sparks; it was like a treat, the sparks of a fire.
Everyone left except Giratina. He stared at the sky for a few minutes, allowing the protective bubble of antimatter fall back into place among the city. When he felt a small hand grab his, he squeezed it, let go, and turned walking back to his house.
Shinzu: Shoot, man. I managed to finish this in about three and a half days. XDD There is a happy ending to this, trust me.
Do you guys like this world I have created? I'm just curious; I plan on writing more about it. It's still enough like Pokemon to keep me interested in the stories, but it's different enough that it's not the same thing over and over. Also, I changed Shay for this world; he used to be a regular Shaymin, but I gave him attributes of Giratina to get them to, um, connect more? Yeah.
By the way: Each day is about 35 hours. A week is 5 days long. A year is 35 weeks long. Muahahahah- -chokes-
I hope you enjoyed!