Now. Shall we begin?
Immortals
"Adjourned."
Reshiram allowed her snout to droop ever so slightly in relief as Arceus called their meeting to an end. Now, it wasn't the fact that she internally despised the meeting and thought they were worthless, because questioning acts of Arceus was against the Legendary Code.
Of course, even if it was because of that, Reshiram wouldn't have been caught dead saying it aloud.
"What were your opinions on Arceus' presentation?" Zekrom's telepathic voice cut through the Truth wyvern's thoughts. "I found it perfectly relevant and useful. Did not you?" Reshiram couldn't help the sly smile that wove its way onto her feathery snout. She and her counterpart were fabled to be one of the most volatile Legendary pairs, second only to Kyogre and Groudon. It wasn't a point to completely dismiss; 2500 years ago, they had destroyed the Unova region with their heroes' rather dramatic sibling rivalry.
But… that was, in all truth, two and a half millennia ago. Things had changed.
Zekrom had grown to be a rather respectable but still imposing presence. Not quite gentlemanly in his mannerisms but still respectful, the Black Yin had a profound ethic code that he always adhered to. It was never wise to challenge Zekrom's opinions without reason, and the Dragon/Electric type was not afraid to share these ideals with the council. Despite this, Reshiram still knew very little about her counterpart, as they only saw each other at the monthly meetings and on the occasional, rare special assignment from Arceus. Zekrom seemed to take this in stride, and she'd never heard him complain about the relationship the Tao dragons held between themselves.
Reshiram herself had also changed, in ways she perceived to be for the better. Although she wasn't quite as formal as her Yin counterpart, the White Yang still made sure to respect her fellow legends and adhere to the truths set by the Legend Code, if only during the meetings. In her spare time, she consistently busied herself by… writing, of all things. Using what little psychic power she had, and a few burglarized human supplies compliments of Hoopa (before she had died, at least. Arceus had told them month ago that the Ghost/Psychic had committed suicide, but Reshiram still found herself unable to believe that). Despite that, the Truth wyvern had put pen to paper and written a quite large collection of literature.
To begin with, she'd started with non-fiction; textbooks of sorts that dealt with religion, philosophy, and ethics. They were fairly simple for her to write, seeing as how she'd gained countless libraries worth of knowledge throughout her existence. Then, after 1000 years or so of that, she'd shifted into narratives. At first, she stuck closely to historical fiction and adventure, seeing as how she'd had her fair share of both in her life. Reshiram had become enamored by the idea that an author could create their own world—or influence the one they lived in—and make history as they saw fit.
However, after the N's Castle incident with Zekrom and the Giant Chasm incident with Kyurem two years after… Reshiram made another shift in her writing topics.
She began, to her own complete and utter shock, writing romance novels.
At first, she had wondered what had compelled her to go down that rather cliché and oftentimes shallow route. After all, everything she'd written about before had been something she had personal experience with; history, philosophy, adventure… so what in Arceus' name had possessed her to start weaving tales of romance, of all things? Every time she tried to write these tales, it never seemed to go the way she'd initially planned it, unlike every other story she'd ever written. Yet, instead of getting discouraged, these failures seemed to entice her, if nothing else, to continue with the genre.
Reshiram could not figure out for the life of her as to why, and it was driving her crazy.
"Reshiram? Are you all right?"
The somewhat-concerned voice of her counterpart snapped Reshiram out of her long and rather expositional reverie. Shaking her head the slightest bit, the wyvern turned to the right and faced her counterpart. "Of course," she stated simply. "I was simply reflecting."
Zekrom's response was prefaced by the quirking of an ebony eyebrow. "Reflecting on what, if I may be so bold as to ask?" Reshiram let out a short chuckle and she nudged her counterpart's shoulder with her own.
"Quit the formalities, Turbine Brain," she said with an air of humor in her voice, a rather rare occurrence. "You know I do not care how you talk to me, or anyone for that matter." Zekrom smirked before shrugging his wide shoulders, his black wings rising and falling as a result.
"I do so to uphold my social image, if not only to annoy you, Flare-Up" he said, bowing in what would have been a gracious manner had he not been obviously stifling a chuckle at the use of Reshiram's nickname. Reshiram chuckled again, and felt a rather odd twinge in her chest as she did so. However, in light of the conversation, she pushed the stimulus aside.
"Consider yourself successful, counterpart," she told him formally, overplaying the airy and aristocratic tone of voice she was using. "You are quite the annoying gentleman." Zekrom straightened and let out a bark of laughter, unwittingly sparking another twinge to resonate in the Truth wyvern's chest.
"I digress," he said lightly, a certain gleam of enjoyment in his blazing eyes. "You never did answer my question, though. What were you reflecting on?"
Reshiram shrugged, her clawed wings flapping gently as she did so. "Nothing dramatic," she said in a softer tone, although she wasn't quite sure why. "Just… us. How we've evolved over the past few millennia."
Zekrom's expression faltered somewhat; but before Reshiram could read what it had changed to, a third voice met her ears:
"Pardon me, you two."
Reshiram turned to be greeted by the sight of none other than Mewtwo. The clone was glancing up at Reshiram seriously, although there was a small light of jest in his amethyst eyes.
"Zekrom, I know you are quite busy flirting, but would you mind if I borrowed Reshiram for a second?" Reshiram could almost hear her counterpart stiffen behind her at Mewtwo's comment, and she herself felt a strange prickling of warmth rise to her cheeks. She dismissed it as nothing but a Turboblaze flare as Zekrom responded.
"I… do not object," he said tightly, and Reshiram could imagine his ebony fists clenching. He moved up suddenly to stand beside Reshiram, and he gently placed a clawed hand on her shoulder blade. The sudden contact startled her somewhat; Zekrom had never been a contact-prone Legend, outside of battling of course, and yet… despite the idiocy of the thought, she swore that he had done so out of an effort to reassure her.
She mentally scoffed at the thought. Before she could indulge in the shooting-down of thoughts involving a compassionate Zekrom, said Electric type tacked on more to his statement.
"That is, unless Reshiram minds…?" The Tao counterparts shared a quick glance; barely concerned fire meeting slightly confused ice as they silently exchanged words. Reshiram did her best to ignore the feeling of warmth rising in her cheeks, once again turning to her Ability for an excuse.
"I do not mind," she said formally, shifting her gaze to eye the Psychic clone below her evenly, who simply returned her gaze with the rise of a single eyebrow. "You may retire, Zekrom. I shall see you next meeting."
Was it the White Yang's imagination, or did Zekrom's grip on her shoulder tighten slightly before he let go?
"Very well," said Zekrom in a somewhat resigned tone, averting his gaze from the two Legends almost immediately, something that spawned some curiosity in Reshiram. He has never been averse to eye contact before, she noticed mentally. I wonder what sparked this anecdote.
"Farewell, Mewtwo," said Zekrom as his Teravolt took effect, his turbine and markings glowing a bright neon blue in prepare for his takeoff. Before doing so, he took an extra second to glance back at Reshiram, who met his gaze may have been possible that the energy Zekrom was emitting had distorted her vision, but she swore a small smile laced itself onto his face.
"Until next time, my lady," he said with no small amount of jest in his voice. Then, the Deep Black Pokémon launched himself into the sky, leaving bright blue trails of electric energy behind.
Reshiram's next few breaths felt exceedingly shallow for some reason, but the Truth wyvern shrugged it off indifferently as she turned to face Mewtwo, who instead of watching Zekrom, had been observing her. Narrowing her icicle irises at the Psychic type, she let a soft growl escape the confines of her throat.
"What do you wish to speak to me about, Mewtwo?" she asked, not bothering to keep the annoyance out of her voice. "If it is nothing of importance, I have pressing matters to attend to."
Mewtwo's muzzle twisted into an analytical frown, although there still remained the smallest races of a smirk. "Courting Zekrom is certainly a pressing matter, I would agree," said the Psychic casually, which prompted the wyvern before him to twitch slightly. "Or do you wish to continue your human-like novels of incoherent mush?"
A low growl prefaced the snarl that spread over the White Yang's snout as Mewtwo finished speaking. While he had always been quite powerful and coldly imposing, he also had the quite annoying habit of trying to pick apart others' lives and motives. As such, Reshiram's growl of annoyance was nothing new to Mewtwo, and he chuckled quietly before responding.
"At ease, Reshiram," he said smoothly. "All joking aside…" Reshiram scoffed before he could continue, crossing her wings over her broad chest.
"If only such a thing were possible, Mewtwo," she snarked. The Psychic type took her comment in stride and pushed on.
"… I find myself in need of some advice, if you are willing to administer some."
That was something that immediately caught the whole of Reshiram's attention. "Mewtwo" and "asking for help" were two things that had never existed in the same time period before, much less in the same sentence. Regardless of the fact that Mewtwo asked for help, what intrigued Reshiram morewas what exactly the Legend needed help with, and why Reshiram was the first to come to mind when it came to obtaining an answer. Besides Truth, her sphere of control, she was an expert on nothing.
"Oh?" she asked with slim traces of mockery lining her words. "And what, pray tell, am I capable of aiding you with?" Mewtwo shifted his weight ever so slightly, and Reshiram felt a small ripple of anxiety pass from the Psychic to herself. Yet another abnormality in my day.
"I would be much obliged," Mewtwo began in a somewhat subdued tone of voice, prompting Reshiram to tilt her head curiously, "if you could advise me in how to express one's emotions freely." Reshiram blinked in a manner that was all too easy to perceive as disbelief. Several rampant thoughts and inquiries crowded themselves in the wyvern's mind as she attempted to answer in an impassive tone.
"What exactly compelled you to believe that I was the best Legendary to ask this of?" Mewtwo chuckled in a tone that managed to sound somewhat empty in Reshiram's opinion. The clone's gaze drifted off to the side for a moment before returning to the wyvern in front of him.
"I know you have been writing stories with a romantic premise as of late," Mewtwo said in a somewhat forced tone. "Knowing that an extreme amount of thought goes into the words on a page, I felt compelled to ask you how to express such emotions."
"You failed to mention romance before, Mewtwo," Reshiram said with growing curiosity. "Who exactly are you trying to express affection for?" The temperature surrounding the two Legends dropped several degrees as all the mischief leaked from Mewtwo's eyes. Reshiram was not sure whether she should have laughed or cried at seeing this polar reaction from the Psychic clone.
Probably both, if anything.
"That is none of your concern, Reshiram," Mewtwo said evenly, a small growl lacing his words. "Does it matter at all?"
"Of course it does!" blurted Reshiram indignantly. "You know damn well what rules Arceus has laid down for such relationships between Legends." When Mewtwo scoffed and rolled his eyes at her statement, the wyvern continued in a surge of indignant heat.
"Regardless of Arceus' laws," Reshiram continued. "You also know that an emotionally exposed Legend becomes mortal." Mewtwo had no response, his snout set in cold alabaster as his amethyst eyes trained themselves on her form dangerously. Despite a small nagging voice in the back of her head, the White Yang continued her tirade.
"Those kinds of emotions lead to death, Mewtwo," she told him evenly. "Is death really the price you are willing to pay for a fickle, indescribable emotion? Who do you even hold in such a high regard?"
Mewtwo growled, the tip of his bulbous tail swishing back and forth angrily. "I hold no one in that high of a regard, Reshiram," he said lowly. "Watch yourself. You are powerful, but not that powerful"
However, the clone's threat faded into the back of Reshiram's mind as her infallible sense of Truth blared in her mind, allowing her to glimpse the real answer to her question. Impossible, she thought to herself in shock. Of any in the world to choose from; why her?
"Deoxys?" she said in a soft voice, for once not harboring any tones of contempt or annoyance or negativity. The second the sound left her mind, Mewtwo's countenance hardened cruelly. "How can you possibly love such a foreign and strange creature?"
Mewtwo's eyes flashed a deep violet, and Reshiram suddenly found a growing desire to retract her description of Deoxys. However, instead of attacking, the clone initiated a Psychic connection with the Truth wyvern, easily pushing past her off-guard mental defenses. Instantly, a wave of powerful, raw, pent-up emotions washed over the Truth wyvern's mind and body, making her feel dizzy, elated, and exhausted simultaneously.
Reshiram gasped slightly as her mind was freed from Mewtwo's kaleidoscopic whirlwind of emotion almost as quickly as it had been ensnared. Her chest suddenly felt as though a gathering of Wailord had been dropped upon it, filling her with an empty kind of despair she had never thought possible before. Sizzling tears formed in the corners of the wyvern's eyes, and her throat became lodged for reasons beyond her. The amount of pure emotional depth that Mewtwo had exposed her to was simply staggering; even with her writing skills, she had no words eloquent enough to describe the sensations.
And yet… underlying the depressing symptoms she had been given, there was a latent ember of warmth; a kind of reassurance that everything would be fine no matter what happened.
That miniscule and pulsing warmth felt, strangely, like Zekrom's claw on her shoulder.
Mewtwo straightened, still keeping his countenance cold and lifeless although his eyes betrayed some satisfaction. "This is one rule I cannot follow, Reshiram," he said roughly, although Reshiram could hear the struggle to keep his voice even. "Besides, if everyone follows the rules… they are not truly rules, are they?" The White Yang found herself capable of, at the very least, forcing a single inquiry past the clogged emotions in her throat.
"T-then what are they?"
Mewtwo remained unnaturally still. "They become worlds," he said simply. "Each with their own set of unbreakable laws. I have simply taken it upon myself to explore new ones."
Silence dominated the space between the two Legends; one overflowing with foreign emotion that was poised to flood at any moment, and the other a swirling vortex of those same sensations, kept together only by its own movement. Mewtwo tilted his head the tiniest bit before breaking the silence between them.
"I advise you to ponder who you might value in such a regard, Reshiram," the clone said coldly. Before the Truth Legend could so much as emit an indignant squawk, Mewtwo continued. "Do not refute this. Knowing and remaining in denial is one thing, but not even knowing to begin with will unravel you faster than you ever thought possible."
A brief silence, where the only sound heard was a soft Turboblaze flare passing through Reshiram's form. Then, a Psychic's sigh prefaced the next sentence spoken.
"You need not fear death, Reshiram," Mewtwo said softly as he began to turn away. "If the time ever comes where you do expose yourself, you will see why it fails to matter. It is the paradox of being an immortal." With that, the Psychic clone turned on his heel and marched his way towards the Hall of Origin's exit. Reshiram was left shell-shocked, frozen by foreign fear, tears of someone else's sorrow streaming down her face. Suddenly;
"Oh, Reshiram?" Mewtwo stopped several meters away and tilted his head back slightly. Hating herself for having to do so, the wyvern sniffled quietly before acknowledging her fellow Legend.
"Yes?"
"If you ever jest about my love for Deoxys again, I will personally give you a reason to fear death."
With that, the Psychic type disappeared through the doorway, leaving an incapacitated wyvern to stand alone in the Hall, wondering why she felt so terrified and yet joyous at the same time.
/-\-/-\
Zekrom lay curled up on the tile floor of Dragonspiral Tower's highest platform, doing anything and everything mentally possible to keep his mind blank and, more importantly, off of Reshiram.
The Black Yin growled angrily to himself, electricity sparking along his teeth as a Teravolt rose and fell within him. Thunder grumbled across the sky above him, dark clouds covering ever corner of the sky. I have co-existed with this for two thousand years, Zekrom told himself for what was most likely the tenth time that evening. Why am I suddenly collapsing now?
Zekrom had never denied it of himself; he romantically loved Reshiram, the dragoness he'd fought with two times before, both during horrible human conflicts. The Black Yin knew all Legends developed these fleeting feelings at some time in their lives, but for them, there had always been a catalyst. There was some disaster, like the death of Latios that prompted Kyurem to care for Latias. There had been Cyrus' capture of the Lake Trio where Azelf broke down her own barriers and admitted her emotions towards Uxie in the time of desperation. Even Kyogre and Groudon had stopped in the middle of one of their legendary brawls, something that completely surprised Rayquaza, and found that they actually quite liked one another when they weren't bashing the other's brains out. And, of course, Zekrom could never forget the strange behavior of Giratina and Shaymin as they continually shared the shade of a willow tree in the aftermath of the Jewel of Life incident…
Zekrom had no such reason for loving Reshiram. He just… did, for who she was. However, there was one other problem that involved the other love-struck Legends;
They are all dead now.
Each and every one of them, no matter how important they were to the community or the planet itself, had passed away. It was a very unsettling weight that hung over the heads of every Legend, and Arceus made sure that they never forgot its message; Adhere to our laws, or pay the price.
Especially amongst immortals, death was a prime motivator.
Because of that, Zekrom reigned in his passion and rampant emotions, for not only his but also Reshiram's survival. He remained content for the next few centuries, enjoying the odd flares of sensation his counterpart always seemed to inadvertently bestow upon him, even in times of stress or anger.
Recently, though… something had changed.
Before, talking and mentally sparring with Reshiram and her wit was something Zekrom had always enjoyed, even before his emotions became rampant. And yet, recently… it had almost become painful to do so. The warm and somewhat giddy feeling that had always bubbled up in his chest had long since departed, and in its place was a breathtaking agony. This, above all things, annoyed Zekrom the most.
Perhaps it would not be as annoying if I at least had an idea of why the sensations suddenly changed, he mused to himself as he lay curled up. I suppose there's nothing to do but hope it improves upon my awakening.
The Black Yin fell asleep atop Dragonspiral Tower, unaware of the two small shadows that shifted behind the ancient pillars.
/-\-/-\
Thunder roared and lightning bolts sizzled with energy as Reshiram flew across the boiling sky. Her mind was still a myriad of rampant emotion, but she strangely found herself not making any efforts to repair coherent thought.
The whirlpool of emotional energy had initially felt foreign and unwelcome in Reshiram's mind. The confusion, as well as the contradicting feeling of secure warmth, left the White Yang with an unprecedented desire for… something. She did not know what. Only that it was something she'd never had before.
As of that moment, she only knew lightning, fire, thunder, and a burning fire in the deepest recess of her heart.
Thunder cried and fire flew as a pair of amethyst eyes followed the White Yang's progress over the sky. The figure smirked, then departed without a sound. Good luck, comrades. I know I'll need it as much as you.
/-\-/-\
*clatter*
"Dammit!"
Zekrom's eyes snapped open as he heard the high-pitched cursing. He rose menacingly to his feet and faced the direction he thought the sound had come from, growling deeply. "Who disturbs my slumber?" he asked deeply, not caring how pompous the question sounded.
*clatter*
Zekrom's eye locked on one of the Tower's fallen pillars, where he'd seen a small cascade of pebbles slide off of.
"Who is there?" he asked again, becoming simultaneously unnerved and angered. "Show yourse-."
"HELLO! YELLO!"
Zekrom stumbled backwards in surprise as a Pokémon suddenly materialized directly in front of his face. The Black Yang was fully prepared to lash out and destroy the interloper, but he refrained from doing so when he realized who exactly was giggling in front of him.
"Are you surprised?" Hoopa giggled some more, doing a small backflip before smirking at the Tao legendary. Said Dragon was, in fact, surprised.
"Hoopa?" he asked in disbelief. "How the hell are you alive?" The Mischief Pokémon put a small paw on her chest, feigning hurt.
"Ouch, Zek," she said. "What kind of conversation starter is that?" The Black Yin shook his head in disbelief.
About ten days prior, Arceus had called forth a meeting. In it, he'd stated that Hoopa had (once again) misused her powers in some childish prank regarding Groudon. After Arceus had stripped Hoopa of her Legendary abilities, she had reportedly gone to an old temple and taken her own life. Later, when Arceus had briefed the Legends on Hoopa's "death", Reshiram had stated that Arceus' speech was 47% truth, and the rest was unclear.
"Unclear? That's an understatement, don'cha think?" Zekrom blinked, caught off guard by the petite Legend's comment. Hoopa smirked, and she giggled mischievously.
"I am a Psychic Type, y'know," she said matter-of-factly. "We can do this thing called mind reading. What we do is-." Hoopa's explanation came to a rather abrupt stop as the Black Yin rose to his full height and snarled.
"You will tell me why you aren't dead," Zekrom told her evenly, cold venom coating every word. "And you will do so without making jokes at my expense." The Dragon could tell by her expression that Hoopa wanted to ask or what? but he also noticed the fact that she restrained herself from doing so.
"Fine," she huffed eventually, crossing her small arms across her chest. "But I'll have you know that I don't know how or why I'm still alive." Zekrom dragged his claw down the front of his face in exasperation, wanting to argue. However, he knew better than to make an attempt at arguing with Hoopa.
"Fine," he growled through clenched fangs. "Then tell me what you do know. How long have you been like this, and why haven't you returned to the Council? This is monumental news, and it ought to be brought to Arceus' attention."
Hoopa scoffed, and Zekrom realized he was about to witness one of the few moments where she would be serious in conversation. "Why, so Arceus can find a way to kill me again?" Zekrom's eyes narrowed at this accusation. He was not fond of Arceus, certainly, but he still knew making those kinds of accusations were dangerous.
"We still don't know what happened to make your attack backfire," Zekrom said heavily. "It could have been the fact that your powers had been sapped." Hoopa scowled, her arms once again crossing over her chest.
"Even if you're right," she said with a bitter tone that implied she in no way believed Zekrom. "And even if I survived an unintentional backfire, why would I ever want to come back to the Council? Every last one of you down to Mew hates me." Zekrom indignantly snarled, but Hoopa shook her head and rose a small paw.
"Don't even," she said preemptively. "I know you and Reshiram questioned Arceus' story, but I don't remember seeing either of you vote to bring me back." The Black Yin winced, hoping that she would have forgotten that. After being questioned by the Tao dragons, Giratina had made an offer; she would bring Hoopa back from the dead if at least three other Legends agreed with the idea.
Not a single Legendary had volunteered.
"I..." Zekrom was at a loss for what to say. How could he justify himself? At the end of the day, he was the one who had not done his part for a comrade. Hoopa realized this and chuckled emptily.
"Forget about it," she said dismissively, and with much more maturity than Zekrom would have expected from her. "The point is, I've left the Council, and we are not going back." Zekrom's brow furrowed at the plural discrepancy in Hoopa's statement.
"We?" he asked with honest curiosity. "I do not imagine that you are referring to myself?" Hoopa giggled and did a backflip, her old and bright personality restored.
"Nope, sorry Zek," she said with an undertone of mischief in her voice. "Turns out, Arceus goofed up when he created the universe." Zekrom blinked incomprehensively, not sure how that related to their conversation at all.
"Too vague?" she asked, a hint of humor in her voice. Zekrom was not amused, if one couldn't tell by his low, resounding growl. Hoopa chuckled before turning to Zekrom's right and cupping her paws around her mouth.
"Oi!" she shouted, the unexpected rise in volume catching the Black Yin off guard for a moment. "You can come out now." Zekrom raised an eyebrow as a small creature waddled its way into Zekrom's field of vision. It was… interesting to say the least. If Zekrom knew his species well enough, he would have called it an Aerodactyl but for one issue;
It was a bare skeleton.
The skeletal 'mon waddled its way next to Hoopa, who lowered her hover so their shoulders were even. The Aerodactyl extended its wingtip towards the Ghost/Psychic type that hovered beside him, who extended her own paw and shook the creature's wing quite formally. However, there was a certain kind of light to Hoopa's eye that Zekrom had never seen on her; it appeared to be fondness.
Before he could decipher the Mischief Pokémon's expression further, the Aerodactyl moved its wingtip in Zekrom's direction, and despite the fact that it had no eyes, the Black Yin could clearly imagine that it was waiting rather expectantly for… a handshake, of all things. He was saved from having to respond by Hoopa, who laughed at her companion. Once again, Zekrom marveled at how this laugh sounded warmer and fuller than the ones he'd heard from Hoopa in the past following one of her pranks.
"He won't shake your hand, dictionary!" said Hoopa lightly, gently socking the skeletal creature on the shoulder. "Not when both of us could be crushed by it." The Aerodactyl tilted its head to the side in a curious fashion.
*Then how do we greet each other?* asked the skeleton, its voice having a tinny echo to it. Hoopa rolled her eyes playfully.
"Introduce yourself. Tell him your name." The Aerodactyl nodded before turning back to Zekrom.
*I am MissingNo.,* it said clearly. *What are you?*
Still half surprised, Zekrom found himself replying immediately, ignoring the creature's use of what instead of who. "I am Zekrom," he said. "Legend of Ideals and Darkness." Zekrom made sure to cause a Teravolt surge, lighting his markings and tail a bright neon blue. He may have been mature and gentlemanly, but the Black Yin certainly had a liking to theatricality.
'MissingNo.' (as it was called) hummed thoughtfully. *Zekrom,* it said eventually. *Described as 'a creature who allied with a human against its counterpart, Reshiram, in a conflict that eventually leveled Unova.' Of the Dragon and Electric types.* The Black Yin was taken aback slightly at this description, his thoughts turning to Reshiram for the first time in quite a while. In order to ignore the side effects that were likely to come from that train of thought, Zekrom spoke up.
"What is this creature, Hoopa?" asked Zekrom, referring to MissingNo., who was currently preening its nonexistent feathers. "I do not recall ever knowing of or seeing this species." Hoopa smirked wanly.
"I told you Arceus goofed up," she said. "MissingNo. is a glitch Pokémon. My best guess is that Arceus had an idea for another creature, but he never fully finished it. Dictionary here is the result."
In spite of himself, Zekrom had to question the nickname. "Dictionary?" he asked, and Hoopa giggled.
"Yup," she said happily. "It took him forever to understand hyperboles, believe me." MissingNo. squawked indignantly at this.
*Forever,* it said. * Described as 'for all future time'. All future time has not passed, therefore did not take me forever to understand hyperboles.* Zekrom blinked as Hoopa laughed.
"This is all very amusing, Hoopa," said Zekrom eventually. "But if you do not intend to return to the Council, then why are you here? I have matters to attend to."
"Like telling Reshiram you love her?"
Zekrom choked on his last breath, shocked by the Mythical Pokémon's bluntness. How in the world can she possibly know of that? he frantically thought to himself. I have never told anyone this, and I am quite certain my emotions were not that obvious.
"Hey Zekrom," Hoopa said, snapping the Dragon type from his thoughts. "Psychics can do this thing called mind reading, remember." If he were able to, Zekrom would have paled. She heard every thought I've had on this Tower tonight, he realized.
"Yup," Hoopa confirmed with a little too much joy in her voice. "I sure did."
Zekrom rose to his full height and growled, the noise threateningly resonating off the stone walls of Dragonspiral Tower. He did not like being spied upon, even if it was by a deceased Psychic type. "So, I ask yet again," he said quietly, the anger in his voice masked by a calm front. "Why are you here? To rub it in my face that it can never be?"
Hoopa shrugged indifferently. "Maybe for a little bit."
In a spurt of passionate anger, Zekrom swiped a massive claw at Hoopa, who squeaked in surprise. MissingNo., however, tackled his companion to the ground in order to avoid the attack. Zekrom was ready to launch another assault, but he found that his anger dissipated as he returned his ruby eyes to Hoopa and her companion.
A quite noticeable speck of fear was evident in Hoopa's eyes, and this was enunciated by the way she remained on the ground, staring at nothing in particular. MissingNo., on the other hand, was ever alert. The creature was running its inquisitive snout up and down Hoopa's form, checking for injuries.
*Are you okay?* it asked. *Have I injured you?* Hoopa snapped back to reality at this, and she chuckled emptily.
"Yes, MissingNo., I'm fine," she said, stopping the Aerodactyl's head in place with her paws. "You don't need to worry so much." MissingNo. shook its head adamantly.
*I am your mate,* it said strongly, its voice showing the first sign of life since Zekrom had heard it speak. *It is my right to worry about you, Hoopa.* Zekrom opened his mouth to speak, but then the glitch bird's words registered in his mind.
"Mate?" Zekrom asked in slight disbelief. "You… and MissingNo…" Hoopa's cheeks flushed slightly, but she smiled nonetheless.
"Yup," she confirmed. "A Ghost and a glitch. Who woulda guessed?" Zekrom was still having trouble processing the idea.
"How?" he asked, for once at a loss for eloquent speech. Hoopa smirked at his inquiry.
"You haven't had this talk yet, Zekrom?" she asked in mock surprise. "When two Pokémon love each other and want to have offspring, the male and the female-."
"Hoopa!" Zekrom shouted, causing the mischievous creature in question to do a backflip and giggle. "I know how mating works." Hoopa flashed him a cheeky grin.
"Do ya wish you could do it with Reshiram?"
"No!" Zekrom replied immediately, ignoring the warmth in his cheeks. "I mean, yes, but no!"
Hoopa snickered, and MissingNo. spoke. *I do believe I can assist you in the expression of your sentiments, Zekrom.* Quite eager to change the subject and divert his mind's attention before it started creating images that would never leave his head, Zekrom nodded for MissingNo. to continue.
*A simple and somewhat blunt admission of the sentiment is most effective, in my experience,* it said honestly, and Hoopa smiled and put an arm around its bony shoulders affectionately. Zekrom shook his head slowly.
"I cannot," he said plainly. "Do not mistake my hesitation for cowardice; this is not a question of courage." Hoopa scoffed and rolled her eyes, but the Black Yin decided to ignore it for the time being. "If we fall for each other, our lives will be at risk," Zekrom protested. "Our immortality will fade. We will perish due to our own passions." Hoopa tilted her head back so she stared at the ceiling and groaned obnoxiously.
"Are you kidding me?" she asked him in disbelief. "The reason you haven't told her for all this time was because of Arceus' stupid law?"
"I would not exactly be eager to call a death sentence 'stupid', Hoopa." Zekrom crossed his ebony arms across his chest. "I do not seek my own demise." Hoopa shook her head slowly, and Zekrom had a very easy time imagining her as… disappointed?
"You don't get it, do you?" Hoopa fixed her emerald eyes on Zekrom, and she could only be described as sad. "You really think Arceus told you the truth. You think it's real." Zekrom felt an unfamiliar blanket of dread drape over him as he listened to the Mischief Pokémon.
"What are you implying, Hoopa?"
"I'm saying," amended the Mischief Pokémon, her emerald eyes heavy for once with pity and regret, "that we've always been mortal."
Silence.
Zekrom found himself incapable of doing much more than widening his eyes and taking a shocked step back. "What?" he hissed in disbelief, before shaking his head in denial. "No, that's impossible. How else have we been living throughout the millennia, if not by our own power?" Much to the Black Yin's surprise, Hoopa's answer was almost immediate.
"He uses his power to keep us alive, that's how," Hoopa said emptily, her eyes still gleaming with pity. "Did'ja really think Arceus would make fifty-some creatures immortal just for the purpose of managing nature? 'Course he wouldn't do that, because then he'd be vulnerable to being overthrown." Zekrom's mind was still unable to wrap around the idea that they weren't immortal, and that Arceus had lied to them all.
"Then why?" asked Zekrom desperately, trying to find some way of validating his now-fragile belief that they were immortal. "Why would Arceus not tell us this directly?" Hoopa chuckled darkly, but her MissingNo. companion spoke up before she had the opportunity to.
*It is a security precaution,* said the skeletal avian, its head tilting to the side as it explained its reasoning. *If Arceus were to tell you all that it was because of his power that you lived, it would likely create feelings of fear and distrust in him, knowing that he could snuff your lives out in a second.* Zekrom blinked slowly, his mind slowly beginning to realize what the glitch was implying.
"So he keeps us in the dark," Zekrom murmured in horrified understanding. "And we never know how vulnerable we are. When one of us does die…" The Black Yin stopped for a moment to glance at Hoopa, who nodded at him sadly, knowing what he was going to say. "… Arceus can place the blame on not following the rules. He murders us one by one, and we never even know it."
Hoopa chuckled sadly, and she draped a small arm around MissingNo.'s shoulders as she stared up at Zekrom. "D'ya see now, Zekrom?" she said seriously, for once using his proper name. "Nothing's ever really been holding us back from doing what we want. We're not allowed to be ourselves, but only because of Arceus' lies." A spurt of hope arced through Zekrom's body at hearing Hoopa's reassurance, but doubt and newfound fear still clouded the Electric type's mind.
"But we would still be vulnerable," Zekrom insisted worriedly. "Arceus would find out eventually, and he would proceed to strip us of our powers." MissingNo. shook its head and squawked quietly before rebutting the Black Yin's comment.
*Arceus can only destroy your immortality if he has good reason to do so,* MissingNo. stated obviously, *or else he risks rousing the suspicion of the other Legends. Thus, if Arceus never discovers your infidelity in the first place, he can do nothing to punish you for it.* Zekrom blinked incomprehensively, before Hoopa rolled her emerald eyes and spoke up.
"What the dictionary means," Hoopa said, the nickname earning her a jab in the side from her avian mate, "is that you can still love Reshiram so long as you don't get caught." Zekrom scoffed at the Ghost/Psychic's implications and rolled his crimson eyes.
"And how exactly do you propose we hide something as dramatically influential like a… a love affair?" Zekrom asked skeptically, hesitating the slightest bit before saying that dangerous four-letter word. Hoopa giggled impishly at the Black Yin's question, and she reached over to lightly grip MissingNo.'s skeletal wingtip with her own before answering.
"I guess that's something you'll have to talk to Reshiram about," Hoopa said deviously, and her mischievous tone made Zekrom's heart sink in dread. Oh no… Hoopa giggled as he realized what she was implying, and the impish Ghost type vanished into thin air, taking her glitchy companion along with her. Unfortunately for Zekrom, he wasn't alone, and he confirmed this suspicion when he turned around and was greeted by a soft and friendly;
"Hello, Zekrom."
/-\-/-\-/-\
Reshiram couldn't deny that a tight knot of anxiety had formed in her stomach as she spoke her counterpart's name, although the White Yang did everything she could to ignore the sensation as she forced a gentle smile onto her feathery countenance. It wasn't long before Zekrom regained his composure, and the black dragon gave her a small, formal bow.
"Greetings, Reshiram," he said to her, although Reshiram was quite certain that she could hear a waver in his voice; an uncharacteristic nervousness to the black dragon that piqued the Truth wyvern's curiosity. "And to what do I owe the pleasure of your company?" Much to her chagrin, Reshiram felt a light blush dust her cheeks at Zekrom's formal words, though she did her best to shake the odd sensation off before continuing.
"How many times must I tell you to quit being so formal with me?" she asked, keeping up their general bickering for the sake of a sense of normalcy; so many confusing and irrational things had happened that day, Reshiram felt that she needed a reminder of normalcy. A small, playful grin crossed Zekrom's obsidian countenance as he rose; evidently he was enjoying their banter just as much as she appreciated it.
"As many times as necessary, my lady," Zekrom said, straightening his posture in mock seriousness. "I cannot allow my maturity to falter, not even for my annoying counterpart." Reshiram felt a laugh bubble in her throat, although the sound that came out resembled a scoff. She felt that a scoff was more appropriate, especially since it accompanied an eye roll of hers.
"Is that all I am to you? Nothing but an annoyance?" Much to Reshiram's surprise, the question was asked with a much greater seriousness than she had intended. Interesting, Reshiram thought. I am truly curious as to what his answer is. I cannot imagine why. Occupied by her own strange thoughts, Reshiram failed to notice Zekrom's murmur of surprise.
"No," said the Black Yin thoughtfully, and Reshiram was slightly taken aback by the warm tenor that he used to express his answer. "I suppose you mean more to me than a simple annoyance." Reshiram couldn't help but quirk a white eyebrow at the Electric type's response.
"I'd certainly hope so," Reshiram commented dryly. "We are counterparts, after all. We should do much more than simply annoy each other." Zekrom flinched at this comment from Reshiram, and the White Yang didn't fail to notice the hardened sheen of determination that settled over her counterpart's fiery eyes.
"You are completely correct, Reshiram," stated Zekrom, meeting her gaze easily. There was something in Zekrom's eyes, something that looked suspiciously like passion or something else, rather… something deeper. For whatever strange reason, Reshiram realized her heartbeat had sped up, pounding in her chest and roaring in her ears. Why am I getting flustered? Reshiram wondered to herself. It is not as if Zekrom is going to… The Truth Wyvern's heart froze as she realized what Zekrom was going to say just seconds before he actually said it.
"Reshiram… I love you."
Reshiram wanted desperately to believe that it was a lie. She knew how dangerous even talking about such deep and passionate emotions was. She knew that if she chose to follow Zekrom down the path he proposed that it would be an arduous journey. But… she also knew that she'd loved him back for longer than she'd ever cared to. Reshiram supposed that was something ironic, considering how she'd portrayed the romances in her stories beforehand. It was all something happy, something to be celebrated and cherished.
That could never be true for her and Zekrom. Their love would always be a burden, and the only day that burden would lift would be the day Arceus discovered them and ended their lives.
Reshiram was at a crossroads. She could choose a long and dim life, ignoring her counterpart for the sake of both their survival… or she could choose a short and bright life, celebrating what little time she would undoubtedly have left with a Dragon who loved her just as much as she did him. Despite her eloquence with words, Reshiram decided to let her actions speak the Truth for once, if only in this one instance. The White Yang closed the distance between the two fully and wrapped Zekrom in a warm embrace. Her sputtering heart leapt with joy as she felt Zekrom's massive hands return the gesture, squeezing Reshiram's shoulders tightly, as if determined to never let go. Truth and Ideals remained in their loving embrace for as long as they dared finding true, serene peace for the first time in their immortal lives.
From behind the shadow of a pillar, where two figures floated and watched the lovers, a mischievous giggle could be heard. Then the figures disappeared into the peaceful night, leaving Reshiram and Zekrom alone atop Dragonspiral Tower with nothing but their love, each other, and a bright new life ahead of them.
/-\-/-\-/-\
Arceus was alone in the Council room when Mespirit spoke from behind him. "Arceus?" The Alpha turned to smile benevolently down at his creation.
"Yes? Have you something to say to me, Mespirit?" A short nervous nod came from the Being of Emotion.
"Yes. Reshiram and Zekrom have broken our laws. I have felt their emotions change dramatically in the last half hour."
"Are you sure it is severe enough to warrant punishment?"
"Yes, Arceus. Emotions that strong and positive can only be indicators that they have fallen in love. I'm sure of it." Arceus nodded down at Mespirit, hiding the rage and annoyance that had risen within him.
"Thank you for telling me, Mespirit," Arceus told the Being of Emotion. "You are dismissed." With a short and nervous nod, Mespirit teleported out of the Council room. Once she was gone, the Alpha allowed the phony smile to be replaced by a withering scowl, and the Normal type stomped towards his throne.
I knew I should never have let Reshiram write, he thought to himself as he approached his sacred seat. It was foolish of me to think that it wouldn't end this way. How pitifully shortsighted of me. Arceus closed his eyes and summoned two orbs of power; one was a vast white and the other a deep black. Without hesitation, Arceus suckled the power from them and let them fall to the ground, causing both to shatter against the lifeless tile floor. Arceus clicked his tongue and turned away, completely unfazed by what he'd just done.
Such a shame, he thought as he left the Council room. I'd actually liked those two a little bit.
The double golden doors of the Hall of Origin slammed shut.
Somewhere in Unova, Truth and Ideals took their last breath together before fading away forever.