The wind was calm, and the sun was shining. A few white clouds in the sky had been sighted, but it was a perfect day. The short grass was soft and warm, several trees surrounded the area, and a few other things around. This was the place that Crystal had trained Ash, Darkrai and Rikuo. The was a stump in the middle of the forest, sitting there, untouched. Not a living soul had ventured near it in forever.

But that changed.

Two black paws walked towards the stump in the middle of the forest slowly and softly along the grass. The figure was armored, neck and down, a large, rigged sword with blue markings sheathed across his back, two pistols on his hips, and a knife with dragon markings on the handle on his upper-right arm. His armor was unique- it was smooth, silverish blue plate. But after being worn through a recent, obvious fight that had made there become many blade scrapes, burn marks, and even more. The equipment probably weighed a lot, but the figure walked without a problem, as if it wasn't even there.

The figure sat down on next to the stump and smiled. "It's good to see you again, Crystal." He place the bouquet of black and white roses on top of the stump. "How've you been?" He noticed a few leaves from a nearby tree on top of the stump, and he began to wipe them away. He leaned back after the area was clean and looked back down at the stone. "I've got some things I need to say...

He woke up out of his paralyzed state and looked over at the lifeless body of Ribo. He flopped over onto his chest and began to crawl. After a few seconds, he slowly began to get up and was now walking and climbed up a small rock hill, but then tripped on a body and tumbled down, face first. He got up again and began limping towards the sound of the commotion. He also noticed that he had large bruises and deep wounds and bullet holes all over him, and his cloak had been completely torn up.

"I could have saved you, but I didn't..." He said slowly, a hint of sadness and depression. "It was my fault..."

He fell again as he had been paying attention to the faces of each of those he passed. He looked up and saw what he didn't want to. She was sacrificing her soul to save Lily, and he couldn't believe his eyes. He reached his arm out for her, and tried to call her name, but nothing came out. His vision faded and his arm fell as he lost consciousness.

He sighed and smiled down at the cut tree again. "You know, today's March 17th..." The male figure looked around at the beautiful trees. "It would have been a great day... a very, very great day, if I had done my job. But I didn't. Now we're all suffering the consequences."

He smiled again, closed his eyes and leaned his head back, eyes closed.

"Zarko?"

"Yes, Crystal?" The silver Lucario asked the young black and white Treecko, probably about the age of 6 or 7.

"Why do you look different than the rest of the Lucario?" She asked out of curiosity. Zarko looked down at her from the tree branch he lay on, and reached his hand down towards her. He look far different than he did in present time- he only had about three small scars, not very noticable, but still in view. She took his, and he pulled her up on his lap and faced her towards the dawning sun.

"Well..." He started, unsure of how to put it. "Some people in the world are... different. I'm not exactly an everyday person you see around the place. My story really isn't like the others."

"What does your story have to do with the color of your fur?" Crystal asked. Zarko smiled at her, figuring that she'd ask that.

"Your father had me as a leader because he thought it was just natural birth with my fur, and that I had off-the-charts fighting skill. The thing is, though, I wasn't born."

"How is that?" Crystal blinked, obviously confused.

"I was... made, created by the hands of the god who made all. He tells me what I need to do, and what universes I am needed in. Right now, my place is here." He knew that she didn't understand what she was talking about, nor would she remember it. "It wasn't only me, though. I have four brothers- Alterran, Alcrus, Arctus and Reiden."

"They sound like they'd be a lot like you, will I ever meet them?" She asked, looking away from the sun and up at him. Zarko smiled again and shook his head.

"I hope that when the five of us are done with our works and have created peace elsewhere, we can all live in peace with others and have normal, caring lives. A long time ago, a friend of mine told me, 'I don't enjoy killing, but when done righteously, it's just a chore, like any other.' Even though some of us do bad things, they're not always for bad. I was meant to fight and kill, and once my brothers and I are done, we can have the life we've always wished for." Zarko didn't like telling her this, but he wasn't exactly meant to be nice and peaceful and caring, but it's what he wanted, and he tried the best he could. "Anyways, what brings you out here? Shouldn't the birthday girl be enjoying her party with all of her friends?"

"I was, but you didn't seem like you were." She said, leaning back into his fur. "You always seem so lonely, and people don't seem to like you all that much."

Zarko shifted position, "Well, thats mainly because I'm... It's hard to put into place, but people don't really like to be around me because of what they have seen of me. Sometimes I seem a bit intimidating to others, or unfriendly. Even though I've fought in the most cruel battles for thousands of years, it's still hard for them to trust a dangerous person, mainly because of fear of me turning on them when I get too close. Most people don't know that in reality, I was meant to be a peacekeeper, and I am. Just not the kind that would be imagined floating down from the sun in shiny armor." Zarko didn't lie about a single word he said to her; it was all the truth, and he wouldn't dare lie to her. He didn't expect her to understand this, but he wouldn't deny telling her either way.

"That must be horrible to live through, not having anyone trust you because of what you can do. I don't understand those people though, I mean, why? I don't get why they would think such a thing against a nice and honest person." Crystal stated, smiling gorgeously. "That's why I'm here. I don't want a guy like you to be left alone."

Zarko smiled as well as the two looked out into the setting sun. "Well, because of you, I'm never alone."

Zarko opened his eyes slowly and pulled the dagger out of its sheathe on his arm. He looked down at the stump, raised the dagger high, then stabbed the blade into the stump, and only the handle was showing. A strange glow began to emit from the cut area of the stump, and long, blue-green lines began to flash out in a wave repeating every two seconds throughout the forest, either into the trees and throughout the leaves or out of sight further out. After a few seconds, the glowing stopped and everything turned back to normal. Zarko let go of the dagger and stared at it.

He closed his eyes yet again and he saw black, as all beings do. He suddenly felt lighter, as if all his weapons and armor were no longer there. His very soul began to feel as if it was leaving his body and being lifted towards the sky, but his paws still felt the warm grass beneath him. He now felt a presence among him, but it wasn't any usual feeling that he got when someone was near. He opened his eyes and looked to his right, across the stump and saw...

"...Crystal?"

The black and white Grovyle was sitting in the same position as he was, her left arm laying on top of the stump. She smiled at him confidently. Zarko was having a hard time with this. "Is that really you...?" He reached out a paw and put it on her left cheek and began to stroke, and he felt her skin (Or scales, perhaps?). Crystal nodded.

"It sure has been a while, Zarko." Her smile remained, and she gently put her hand on his arm he was using to see if he wasn't hallucinating or not. "I was missing you."

Zarko slowly lowered his arm down, his fierce orange eyes staring into Crystal's golden eyes. "How... how are you here?"

Crystal chuckled. "Oh, how did I know you were going to ask that?" She smirked. "Anyways, I actually have the power to be here on earth, in living form, but not forever."

"Dead but not alive..." Zarko whispered to himself.

"Exactly." Crystal confirmed. "I can't help but thank you deeply for coming."

"I would never forgive myself if I didn't." Zarko admitted. "You sparked a light in my life when I met you, and for that I owe everything to you."

"And I owe a lot to you as well." Crystal smiled. "You taught me so much about life and how to live it. Without you, I would have been lost from the lack of knowledge I was granted."

"It was my pleasure, Crystal." He smiled back, sadly. "Do you remember this stump?"

Crystal looked down at the dagger Zarko had plunged into the stump, and looked at it intently.

"Yes..." She nodded. "Yes, I do."

"Zarko, come on." Crystal pleaded. "Just sit down and take a drink!"

Zarko was practicing his hand-to-paw combat against the trees, his palms and feet hitting its mark with efficiency. Bark was flying everywhere with every hit he made, making the tree look naked. Eventually, he gave a finishing roundhouse kick and the tree cut itself from the ground and flew about seven feet back before landing on its side. Zarko breathed heavily and looked down at his paws. They were leaking red blood, and quite a bit of it. Behind his hands, he saw a black and white figure run in front of him. He looked down past his paws at the eleven year-old Treecko.

"Please, Zar, just sit down..." She desperately said. "Zar" was a nickname she had given him two years before, and it was rare that she called him that. She was the only one that had ever given him a nickname. Sighing in defeat, Zarko sat down on the stump of the tree that remained in the ground and continued to look at his paws. The Treecko happened to carry a pack with her that had supplies in it, so she remained standing while she pulled out bandages and began carefully wrapping them around his paws. Zarko just sat there and remained staring at his paws, as if remembering something.

When she was done wrapping them, she began to check his feet and saw that they had major scrapes, with a little bit of blood showing, so she began to bandage them as well. Zarko lowered his paws to his sides and looked down at Crystal. "Thank you, Crystal..."

She smiled and handed up a canteen of water to him. He gladly took and, unscrewed the cap and chugged it down. "It's no problem, Zarko. You needed to rest." She began working on the other foot. "What caused you to go in such a rage all of the sudden?"

Zarko seemed pained almost, telling her that it wasn't something good. "Just... anger." He whispered. "There's so many things that are my fault. There's been major events that have happened, and I just stood on the sidelines and watched. I couldn't have helped them."

Crystal finished wrapping his last paw and looked up at him. "That must feel horrible..."

"It is." Zarko nodded as she sat down next to him. "Why... why are you down here?"

"I heard the destruction going on down here and I came to see what it was." She answered. "I guess i know now..."

Zarko smiled tiredly. "Well, I appreciate you coming down here. It's always nice to have some company." He patted her on the back and smiled at her. "Always a great day with you around."

Crystal smiled back and laughed. "Good to know that I'm not the only one who has someone to brighten my day."

They both laughed at this. Crystal stopped and looked him in the eyes, still smiling. "I got something for you."

"Do you?" Zarko asked. He was surprised, considering that he didn't really get gifts. But he could have expected it from Crystal.

"Yeah!" She said, reaching back into her pack.

Crystal pulled out a brown cloth wrapped around something. She held it out to Zarko and uncovered it. It was a dagger. The blade was and detailed, shining in the sun. The handle was wooden with carved-in dragon markings.

Crystal looked up at Zarko and said, "I also remember when you used to sing."

Zarko's eyes widened for a second and he blinked them back to normal and looked at her, making her chuckle. "You remember that?!"

"That's what I just said, isn't it?"

"..." Zarko had sometimes sang to himself when he was alone a very long time ago, mainly because it comforted him and few had ever heard him. Those who had heard him... well, he could say that they liked it. "I didn't expect you to remember that..."

"Actually, ever since I died I've recovered all lost memories, including the time of Reshiram and Zekrom. I can also see all events in the world that have passed." Crystal noted. Again, Zarko was dumbstruck, making her smirk.

"Oh, for the love of... that means you remember-"

"Yes, I do remember that." Crystal smirked wider as Zarko sat there in shock. "I remember that you cared for me like a daughter, more than a being you were meant to guard. Arctus, your brother, had betrayed by controlling you and made you kill the one you loved before you could become mates. You've went through hell to keep the world as peaceful as possible, fighting anything from weak grunts to the destroyer of the earth. Through all of the pain you were caused, you fought on and continued to save others. You've been left for dead, lying in your own blood with death clawing at your back. Things that would normally kill others, you survived. You are no normal being that was just simply born into this earth, you were made by the god of all realities and universes, meant to travel in between them and fight all evil that concealed them. You were built to fight, you were made to kill, with no one to love- no mother, no father, no uncles, no aunts, no cousins- nothing, just your brothers that knew only the same purpose as you. But you found more than you were meant for... peace and love."

Zarko had been silent the whole time, staring at the grass in front of him. Zarko wasn't exactly sure about what he was supposed to say, as he was lost in thought as his memories flashed through his head. He remembered much of his near-death experiences- so much. Zarko finally snapped out of the blood-staining thoughts and looked at Crystal.

"I'm glad, then..." Zarko admitted slowly. "I'm glad that you can know about me and find out for yourself without losing your trust for me. It would have been hard for me to explain it to you, but I guess I don't have to. Anyways, what ever happened between you, Zoroark and Eclipso?"

Crystal's smile disappeared as she looked at him. "Well, to put it simply, I'm with neither of them. If I chose one the other would be heartbroken beyond belief, and it'd make me feel guilty. Plus, I still hate myself for forgetting about Eclipso's feelings for me."

"I understand that, and it's not something I can cure, sadly." Zakro sighed. "I can only lend you my support."

"Well, it helps me that you remembered my birthday." Crystal joked. Zarko laughed.

"Of course I did!" Zarko smiled back. "I could never forget a day like this!"

"I'm happy you couldn't. You're the first one to have visit here today." She told the silver and black Lucario. "Hm, can I see your sword?"

Zarko blinked and nodded, pulling the unique sword off of his back with one arm and waving it out in front of her. Crystal examined it closely. She checked both sides of it. The sword had blue markings up and down the middle of the blade- a language that she did not understand. The edges were both shape and dull. The sword was obviously ancient and of great history.

"Quel'delar." Zarko said simply. "The blade is not of this world, and was not meant to be of mortal possession. It was forged by an immortal race thousands of years ago. It was meant to slay undead, and was lost in a battle by the wielder who had stayed behind and fight the enemy while his soldiers retreated. I recovered the hilt of the blade, lost out in a completely different continent. I reforged it and purified it before use. The allies who were formerly in control of the blades were in tears of joy at the recovery of one of their long lost artifacts. As a gift of their appreciation, they let me keep the blade."

"Impressive..." Crystal whispered, intrigued as she still examined the blade. "Can you read the markings?"

Zarko's expression changed. "No. All I know is that this is my weapon that I use to fight for freedom and peace. And that's what it'll be."

Crystal nodded in understanding as Zarko sheathed Quel'delar to his back. Crystal eyed Zarko up and down with curiosity. "Say, can you take off your armor?"

Zarko stumbled forward at what she had just asked him. He looked at her in surprise. "What?!"

"No no no! I didn't mean it like that!" Crystal said quickly. "I didn't mean all of it, I just meant most, not... that. I want to see the scars for myself."

Zarko calmed down a bit at this. He looked around and put a hand on his arm. Suddenly, the armor began to evaporate in a blue mist, revealing his body. Crystal was shocked at the sight. His body was covered in scars everywhere. She could count at least twenty scars, both large and small- but mostly small, as they had either stabbed right through him or he had barely evaded them. The most noticeable ones were diagonally across the front of his torso. Another was directly in his stomach, and from the looks of it a sword has impaled straight through him. Crystal also noted that there was on across his left cheek, which she hadn't noticed before. Crystal also took note of a few other things. His form wasn't muscular like a famous wrestler or anything, but he did have quite a few muscular features.

"The muscles are better in use than they are for show." Zarko had taken note of Crystal's inspection on him. She blushed at this and also noticed that the spike that would usually be in a Lucario's chest was longer than it should be. Normal Lucario's spikes were about three inches out of their chests, but Zarko's was about seven or eight inches out of his chest. "I'm not all that normal obviously. I look better as a dragon."

"You can turn into a dragon?!" Crystal exclaimed, and Zarko nodded.

"Well, not at any time I want to, and it's not a Pokemon-dragon. Flying is the part that feels great, and so are the scales." Zarko clarified. "I can also turn into other creatures, both Pokemon and beings not of this world."

"Amazing! I wish I had known this much about you before." Crystal said.

Zarko nodded with a smile. He never thought that he would see Crystal again. He adored the black and white Grovyle as the idol of his life. "Well, at least you got to know it eventually. It's better late than never."

She agreed with this. "Zarko?"

"Hm?

"I know you always travel, but where is it you go after your job is done?"

Zarko hesitated at this, unsure of what to say. But he only gave one simple word in response.

"Home."

"'Home'? You mean where you were born- er, created?" Crystal quickly changed. She was still confused by his answer. "Why would you want to return to nothingness?"

Zarko looked up at the clear sky and smiled. He slowly explained, "Just because it may not be where we were born, it's still home. A home isn't where you were born, it's the place you want to spend your life at. You, Crystal, taught me that. My home is far out of this would, in between heaven and earth. A place where there's no violence, no cruelty. But for now, that place lays at rest until I'm done with what needs to be done."

Crystal glanced around quickly. "Zarko, there isn't much time left. I feel that I might have to go soon."

Zarko was saddened at this. He wasn't wanting this to end, as he enjoyed talking with her. But since time was of the essence, he got right to the point.

"Crystal, listen..." He started, grabbing her attention. "You were the one thing that sparked my life into something else. That spark became a flame, and that flame became a fire. Eventually, that fire had formed into an inferno, spreading like a wildfire throughout my mind. I think that my god sent me to you not mainly to help and protect you, but to help and protect me. I think he saw restlessness in me, and saw you as the answer. So to both you and him, I am forever grateful. Don't get me wrong, but you as an asset? No, no no- you're far more than that to me." He looked at Crystal's intent golden eyes, and stared straight into the pupils. "You are family to me. You're everything to me. I know we barely have known each other, but that doesn't matter. A family isn't people who are biologically related- they're people who love and get along with each other. If there's anything you ever need, you have but to call for me. For me, I spent a long time looking for you, but it wasn't the hard part. The hard part, is letting go."

Crystal was speechless at this. She could say the same, but in another way she couldn't. He knew that their time was slowly ending. Crystal felt a small tear leak from her eye and down her cheek. Zarko reaches out his hand and wiped it from her face slowly. "I'm sorry to have worried you. You could have saved both me and Lily without any of this happening and we all still could have lived."

"Don't say that, Crystal. You worried me and I could have saved Lily, yes, but you had no way of knowing. And you're better off this way; your mother and friends I could not save. You're with them now, and that's all that matters." Zarko comforted her. "I want what's better for you, not for me. If it was your time, then it was your time. When my time has come, we can see each other in another life, where we never say goodbye."

"But for now... is a goodbye?" She asked slowly.

Zarko's expression turned into great sorrow. "I'm afraid it is."

They both looked down at the stump in sadness as their hands crossed and made contact. Their eyes also made contact. Zarko was lost in a trance, never wanting to look away from those golden, reptile eyes. Silent as the wind, she began to fade into nothingness. A tear rolled from his eye and down into his fur.

"Goodbye, for now."

She was gone, and his paws sank down into the wood. Zarko's mind was empty, as his he'd just had all memory taken out of his head. He closed his eyes silently, took a deep breath in, and sighed it out.

Zarko's ears perked up as he heard a noise. He stood up quickly as his armor reappeared around his body, but this time it was a black cloak with white detail. He turned to the sound and recognized it as footsteps- two sets, one two legged, the other four legs. There was someone else floating above ground, he could feel it. He looked around quickly and ran up a tree. The leaves provided shade over him, leaving him in the dark.

The three figures he had heard from a quarter of a mile away eventually appeared in the clearing, but not directed at the stump. Zarko recognized these three figures- a boy, in his mid teens. A Pokemon trainer, more or less. There other two were legendaries, one of thunder, the other of darkness. They had also came to pay their respects to Crystal as well. What puzzled him though, is how they knew of her birthday. He decided not to argue with it. The three didn't seem to notice the dagger in the stump, which wasn't there the year before. Suddenly, more of the first memory he had continued in its path.

"Crystal! Come on, we still got stuff to do!" A voice called out for the Treecko on Zarko's lap. The two looked out in the distance where the voice came from and glanced at each other.

"Well, I guess I'll have to go. I'll talk to you later." She said, then did the unexpected to him- she gave him a quick smooch on the face. "Love you!"

With that, she jumped down and ran off. Zarko was left there, not knowing what to think. What she had just done and said had went deep into him. His heart felt tight and warm. He felt loved and cared for, like never before. And on top of that, it was the first time anyone had kissed him anywhere, period. Zarko looked for her, but she was already out of sight. Zarko just looked back out the sun, with a new feeling inside of him. Love.

Had she remembered that? Did she really remember everything? The question kept passing through his head- it wasn't something if he could ignore whether she meant it or if she still was the same way.

Zarko looked at the dagger she had made him from the branch he stood atop of, and he knew it was time to say what he should have said millennia ago.

"I love you, too..."

The electric tiger seemed to eventually notice the dagger and his eyes widened in shock. He pointed it out to his two companions, who also looked at it and came to recognization. Zarko smiled down at them. The three looked around until the darker being spotted the Lucario and faced him directly. He called out to Zarko, making the other two look at him, then at Zarko. They didn't have any clear way to clarify that it was him, as his hood covered his eyes. But they could see his smile, and a gust of wind blew a nearby tree top over him, concealing him with leaves. When the gust disappeared, he was no longer there.

And just like that, he was gone. He was still a fighter and protector, nonetheless. He still had a duty to finish, and he would. In the aftermath of these events, he had fought with more in mind- with more to save. He walked the long road of death, fearlessly. Standing tall Zarko had entered the flames of destruction with determination. Alone he stood, facing what no other would dare to face. But he knew he wasn't alone, as he felt the presence of Crystal walking by his side, even though he may not have seen her.

After finding Crystal again and walking the road of death, it gave him a chance. A chance that he had longed for. A chance to learn and realize more about the world. A chance to find truth. A chance for peace, quiet, love. A chance to fix his life and rid himself of all the blood stained on his body. But it wasn't only a chance for him, but the world as well. Everyone he did and didn't know, no matter the background.

A chance... to begin again.

There are quite a few references in this story. Quel'delar is a rare two-handed sword in World of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King (Which I have ^.^). The character, Zarko and his brothers are a reference to my major series which I am planning on creating, and the book based off of Guardians of Ga'Hoole is already in progress, which also has Zarko and his brothers, along with the same background story. In the flashback where Zarko says, "I don't enjoy killing, but when done righteously, it's just a chore, like any other," that's a quote from Joshua Graham (a.k.a. "The Burned Man") from Fallout: New Vegas: Honest Hearts. The other quote, "It may not be where we were born, but it's still home," was from Courier Six, Ulysses, who had learned that from the main character of Fallout: New Vegas, the Courier in the Lonesome Road DLC.

And yes; I've played and beaten Fallout: New Vegas, all of the DLC, and gotten to level 50. Also yes; I do play World of Warcraft and I have been since the classic version, as well as the names of all (or most) of my characters named after the ones in my series on here, with my main character as a level 90 Paladin on Rexxar-US. I still play both of these games today as I normally would. I don't mind friending people or talking about it or anything on the games or whatever. Always nice to meet new people.

One more note: I do NOT intend for it to seem like a man-woman relationship, I meant it to seem like a father-daughter relationship (Or brother-sister... whichever you think suits it most). Sorry, I'm rather horrible at that kind of stuff. Well, okay, maybe it could have seemed like that kind of relationship for the flashback, but even if it was, it clearly changed with the mention of a mate.

This story was based off of LMV2003's New Divide story. Even though she changed her username, I'd still like refer to her as her original name. Nevertheless, I hope you all enjoyed this story. Also, I have aspergers and mentally illness, so you may find a few things confusing. Also, no flaming in reviews! And if there's an error that is not major, please don't point it out. I'd really only like the large things to be noted to me.

Happy birthday, LMV2003!