Meeting AgainDisclaimer: I claim ownership of Aria, her back story, my copy of Pokémon Platinum, my Pikachu backpack I keep my Pokémon games in and a Pikachu plushie. Everything else basically belongs to someone else.
(On a side note, can you spot the Cameo?)
"In life there are meetings which seem like fate." – Lucile pt II, canto III, st. 8
"You…" The Pokémon disappeared before she could say anything else, dragging Cyrus with it through the portal it had created. Mars and Jupiter were in shock, unmoving, looking blankly at the place their boss had stood only seconds before. Behind the swirling vortex the two legendary spatial Pokémon, Palkia and Dialga, too were frozen. She didn't have to reach far with her abilities to feel their unease. Their anxiety and the rage of the shadowy Pokémon had hit her hard when the shadowy Pokémon had first appeared, and they lingered like a mist over the area.
She snapped out of her trance when Cynthia showed up, shouting in dismay as Cyrus disappeared through the hole. The creature hadn't closed it after him and it was distorting the world around it, the pillars decorating the Spear Pillars looked bent and warped. The three Lake spirits had already disappeared into the portal, Mespirit lingered a moment longer than the other, locking eyes with her and giving her a message. It was…strange. She'd conversed with telepathy before, using words, but conversing using feelings… it got through though. "Follow, be brave, we're with you." It disappeared through the portal after its brethren.
"I'm sorry I took so long," Cynthia said, looking windswept with her normally impeccable long blonde hair, her face displaying her panic. "I think I finally found the answer from studying the myths. When this world was made, Dialga and Palkia appeared. Apparently, there was one more Pokémon that appeared at the same time. A Pokémon with as much power as Dialga and Palkia…." Cynthia trailed off. Aria frowned, but nodded. It made sense. Every area of the world had a trio of legendary Pokémon, some more powerful than others. Johto had the three current Pokémon, Lugia, Ho-oh, and Celebi; Hoenn had the three ancient Pokémon of Sea Land and Sky, Kyougre Groudon and Rayquaza. Legendary Pokémon tended to come in trios- why should Sinnoh be any different? The trios were for balance- the most obvious example were those of Hoenn, sky balanced land and sea, sea balanced land and sky, and land balanced sky and sea. But what could balance out Time and Space? The three lake Pokémon could balance out one- why only one? She didn't know.
"But also one whose name was never to be spoken – Giratina!" Aria strangely relaxed. She had a name now, a name for that Pokémon she'd seen long ago in that cave. "It's said to lurk in another world…" Unseen to Cynthia, Aria smiled, already aware of this. She'd met it in another world after all, under strange circumstances. "A world on the opposite side of ours. That's what the shadow was. It must have been Giratina." Aria frowned again; Cynthia felt and sounded uncertain. Dipping her head, Aria mentally went over what she'd seen, both then and now. Both times she hadn't gotten a good look at it- there was a chance the two Pokémon weren't the same.
She had to know for herself.
"The pillars are distorting… It's because of that portal. It's joined us to the other world. If it's not closed, the distortion will spread to Sinnoh and beyond… our world will be destroyed…" Face set in determination, Aria took a step forward. "Are you ready? We have to chase Cyrus!" Answering with actions instead of words, Aria broke out into a run, jumping into the portal without another thought. She wanted her answers, finally.
Why had she survived?
The world was dark and cold. The very air felt strange against her skin and she felt even lighter than normal. Behind her Cynthia emerged also.
"This place… Can you feel it? There are no Pokémon here at all. Time isn't flowing and space isn't stable. A world where the rules are broken. A space one might call the Distortion World… Let's find Giratina. We need it to stop the spreading distortion at the Spear Pillar." Both young women jumped as a black shadow flew overhead and a loud roaring cry echoed through the empty world. It sounded familiar, but she couldn't be sure. She had to see it, meet Giratina face to face! Then…then maybe she would know. She discarded the thought that perhaps she would never know.
"That was…Giratina!" The two took off, running across the narrow pathways, taking advantage of the unstable gravity to jump farther than ever before, and found appearing and disappearing platforms. "We have to hurry! If something's not done, the distortion will swallow not only our world, it will overwhelm the Distortion World…"
"Cynthia," Aria began as the two traveled downwards on an elevator like platform, "Why was Giratina's name never to be spoken?" Cynthia gave Aria a sidelong glance before answering. "Giratina…it's called the Renegade Pokémon. It was supposed to have been banished from our world by the Original One for it's violence." Aria looked away, surprised and a little sad. The Pokémon that had helped her… although her abilities were only then beginning to awaken, wouldn't she have felt such anger from the Pokémon that had saved her? Maybe it wasn't Giratina… "Also," Cynthia continued, "ancient people's associated Giratina with death. They said…it was a Pokémon that could transport lost souls to the after life if called upon. Saying it's name…it sort of like avoiding jinxing yourself." Shrugging, Cynthia stepped off the platform as it came to a stop.
"Will we get to see Giratina if we keep going down?" Cynthia asked herself quietly; it was only because she was so close that Aria heard. "In the Distortion World, are we really traveling downward?" Suppressing a smile, Aria stepped off and followed.
"The legend of Giratina has been all but forgotten to a few…" Aria looked towards her exploration partner and tried not to throw up; they were on a distorted piece of land- from one place it looked like it was floating perpendicular to the ground. She was currently standing flat on it and it upset her stomach and boggled her mind to do so. "The legend told of a world on the other side of ours. This world. Why does this world exist? Why is Giratina here all alone? There's so much that can't be explained, but we have things to do. Let's split up. We have to find the right way."
Nodding, Aria and Cynthia split up. Aria wandered for what seemed like hours but in fact could have been minutes or even seconds…or years. Time was unstable here after all. She shuddered- she hoped it wasn't years later in the real world. Walking down a path, she stopped as she heard footsteps. Up ahead, Cyrus appeared.
"The shadowy Pokémon isn't here." He said in lieu of a greeting, not that she was really expecting one. She was actually more surprised he was rather unharmed since the last time she had seen him he'd been snatched up by the Pokémon. "It abandoned me here then disappeared somewhere farther down… Was it content merely to interfere with my plan?" He looked thoughtful for a moment; the emotion seemed foreign on him and actually feeling something from him for once rather than the emptiness she was used to was strange.
"Incidentally, do you understand the concept of genes?" Aria blinked in confusion but recalled what little she knew and what he'd said before, how the twin strands of space and time twined together to created this world- Aria nodded. "Genes can be considered the blueprints of all life-forms. That included humans and Pokémon alike. Genes are contained in a DNA strand. A DNA strand consists of two chains of opposing characteristics in a spiral. If one of the chains were to be broken, the other could replicate it. One or the other cannot exist without its opposite. Do you understand where I am going with this?" Tilting her head, Aria nodded hesitantly. Looking away from her Cyrus stared out into the swirling pulsating darkness that made up what could be called the sky.
"This is a bizarre world. Time doesn't flow. Space isn't stable. Only that shadowy Pokémon lives here. This is the opposite of our world – our world I wish to change. It is like the two chains composing a strand of DNA. The two worlds must be balancing each other to remain in existence." Aria absently nodded again, imaging the two strands in her mind, spiraling together. "Without one, the other cannot exist. The shadowy Pokémon must play a role in keeping the worlds in balance. That is why it must have interfered and brought me here." Aria suppressed a smirk at the spark of annoyance she felt form Cyrus despite his blank face. "The shadowy Pokémon must have made this bizarre world. That's why trying to change our world disturbed it and made it reveal itself." Aria thought that she'd be pissed too it some wack job tried to mess up her world. Actually…she cast a quick glance at Cyrus, she had been kind of pissed, but really she'd been more amused. His idea… it was kind of ridiculous to her. It was as foreign to her, the idea of making a new world just for a few people, a world devoid of spirit, as the idea of a spirit was to Cyrus himself.
"But that is all irrelevant. What matters is defeating that Pokémon and making this world disappear. I won't allow it to interfere with me again." Aria snorted and rolled her eyes. "With it gone, neither world will be able to revert to its original state…" Aria frowned slowly; what did Cyrus mean by 'defeating'? The Pokémon trainer definition, and making it faint? That wouldn't work, she and Cynthia needed it to close the portal and it couldn't do that when it was fainted. Besides, it wouldn't exactly endear them to it and help in convincing it to do so. The idea that perhaps Cyrus mean to…to kill it...it horrified her. She felt such panic at the thought that Giratina should die…she wouldn't allow it to happen.
"With it gone, neither world will be able to revert to its original state…" Cyrus continued, seemingly unbothered by the angry and horrified look on her face. He turned and walked away quickly. She followed after him, but lost him among the confusion of the Distortion World. Continuing she did run across Cynthia again though.
"This place…it seems to be a giant puzzle. Maybe Giratina wants to test those that visit here?" Arching an eyebrow Aria thought, "Well that's no way to attract guests…its not like it's easy to get here." Mentally shrugging she listened as Cynthia suggested that perhaps they couldn't continue until they solved the puzzle.
Solving the puzzle was surprisingly easy, especially as she began to learn her way around. The three Lake spirit Pokémon were eager to help, showing her the proper hole for her Pokémon to push the stones in before leaving through the portal. As she watched Azelf fly off she wondered if they could counter balance Giratina too. Or couldn't they? It wasn't like she could ask now… maybe later. Using a newly appeared platform she and Cynthia traversed down further. She could feel them getting closer, Giratina's rage lapping against her like waves. Shielding herself again she began to follow the direction the feeling was coming from.
"This is it… Giratina is up ahead." Nodding, Aria was suddenly overcome with nervousness. This was it; would Giratina be the Pokémon she'd seen when she was younger? Walking behind Cynthia onto a floating platform she suddenly stopped in a halt after Cynthia did so. Looking around the older girl, she spotted Cyrus again.
"So, you were already here." Cyrus turned to face the two, walking down the thin platform towards them. "Why do you seek to change the world?" Cynthia asked the man. "If you hate our world, you should just go off somewhere alone." Aria cast her eyes upwards, having thought the same thing many times. "Find somewhere where you can live without seeing others."
"Why should I run and hide from the world and have to wait quietly?" Aria grumbled quietly, stomping her foot and thinking "Because you're the only one complaining!"
"My aim is to rid our world of the vague and incomplete thing we call spirit. By freeing ourselves of that, our world can be made complete. That is my justice! No one can interfere!" "Justice? What Justice?" Aria wondered at his word choice as Cynthia retorted, "But that's no justice at all!"
"Cyrus," Aria started in a solemn tone. The man cast a glance at her, a strange glint in his eyes. "I…" she grimaced, thinking of what Cyrus' plan could be for Giratina. "I won't allow you to harm this world or our world. If you must insist on this path…" she reached to her waist and pulled a pokéball free, grasping it in her hand. "Then you'll have to get through me!"
"I won't lose!" Cyrus shouted, "Not to that shadowy Pokémon! Not in any worthless world! And especially not to you!"
Panting as the adrenaline of the battle wore down, she recalled her tired Pikachu as the sparks from it's Thunder attack faded away. "I won't accept this," Cyrus mumbled loudly. "This can't be! Not after all the sacrifices we've made to get this far! What of my new world?! Of my new galaxy?! Was this all a dream to be swept away by your reality?!" Frowning sadly, she watched as the man tried to keep himself together, feeling his emotions like she felt her own as they pushed at the barriers he'd put between himself and them. Biting her bottom lip she put her pokéball away and wondered what to say.
"Cyrus…" she started but stopped. What could she say? "Sorry for kicking your butt?"
"Don't think that you can defeat or capture that Pokémon. This bizarre world is none other than that Pokémon itself! Capturing it or defeating it will make this world disappear!" She frowned and felt the skin of her right eyebrow twitch before it turned into a smirk and she laughed darkly under her breath. The guy really knew how to kill sympathy didn't he? "Very well! Do what you will! Rather than repairing the world, you're going to destroy it for me!"
"Do it." His voice became flat and dark. "You inherit my legacy." With that said, Cyrus stalked off down the pathway and into the darkness of the world. She watched him go with mixed feelings.
"Don't believe his lies." Cynthia's voice broke her musings. "It's not possible that a Pokémon can make the world disappear." Aria gave her a thoughtful look.
"And could it not be said that it's impossible for a Pokémon to create a world?" She thought quietly, unwilling to say such a thing. Legends say so…but legends weren't always truth. But they weren't always lies. She wasn't there; she couldn't say either way.
"The world awaited your birth." Aria froze at that phrase. She looked in shock at Cynthia who continued, not noticing her companions shock, "Not only yours, either. The Pokémon with you. The people close to you. All the Pokémon and people were born because they have a part in the world." Cynthia smiled. "I'm convinced of that. Giratina won't go out of existence. This Distortion World won't disappear. Our world won't disappear, either." Turning to Aria, Cynthia smiled again. "Let's go meet Giratina." After Cynthia healed her Pokémon, Aria followed the older trainer down towards where she sensed the shadowy Pokémon.
"Giratina is enraged because the two worlds are endangered." Although she couldn't attest to the reason, Aria did agree that Giratina was mad. "It has merged the Distortion World and our world at the Spear Pillar. That's why both worlds are becoming distorted." Aria wondered if maybe Giratina merged the two in an effort to stop Cyrus; destroy one, destroy the other. "But there's nothing to fear. You can defeat Giratina and show the tight bond you share with your Pokémon. Or you can demonstrate how much your want it to join you." Aria looked down the path towards where the Pokémon waited. "If you succeed in doing either, Giratina will understand. The distortion of the two worlds will stop! I know that the bond you share with your Pokémon is strong." Smiling and nodding, Cynthia stepped back to allow Aria to go ahead, and watched as the younger girl went forward.
"Show it the tight bond you share with your Pokémon…or demonstrate how much you want it to join you…." Aria thought as she walked the narrow path towards her encounter. "The world awaited your birth." She'd often thought why she was on this world. She'd avoided death, not once, but twice. The second time, escaping from what should have been certain death. How, she didn't know. But afterwards, she'd been asking, why. Asking her father, asking her therapist, asking herself. Why did she survive when all those others didn't? Why her? They called it survivors guilt. She'd left to live with her aunt in Twinleaf almost a year ago and from there had left on a Pokémon journey. Although Cynthia hadn't meant it that way, Aria sort of saw it as an answer to her why. Was she the one meant to confront Cyrus and stop him? Meant to meet with Giratina? Meant to, clichéd as it sounded, save the world?
Laughing a bit to herself, Aria reached the place that maybe she was always meant to be. There was a brief shadow flying from underneath to overhead. As she jumped the last platform a dark shadow descended before her. She watched in silent awe as the darkness faded away from the form of the giant Pokémon. Primarily metallic gray, it had a red stomach and from it's back six black tentacles ending with red spikes extended. It's face was covered with a gold helmet, casting it's red eyes in shadow. Along what she supposed was it's chest were gold metallic claw like structures and along it's body were six gold spikes.
Aria smiled; laughing quietly it as the grin split her face. She hoped she wasn't freaking the Pokémon out (she was freaking herself out honestly), but she couldn't help it. She was relieved. This was it, she was certain of it, the Pokémon that had saved her as a child in that cave. The eyes made her certain; she would never forget those eyes, staring out at her from the fog. The shadowy Pokémon, Giratina, watched her carefully, slowly drifting towards the platform she stood on.
She wanted to ask so many things. Why was I spared? What is my purpose? Why do I have these abilities? Why did you save me? She opened her mouth, to ask, but in the end closed it. Did she want to know, really? What did she expect? She doubted destiny was as planned out as people thought. Maybe Giratina just saved her because it could? Who said that the 'Renegade' Pokémon couldn't perform an act of kindness? That a Pokémon that was banished for it's violence couldn't change and help a six year old girl crying in the dark?
"Do you…remember me?" The sound of her own voice surprised her. The giant serpentine Pokémon tilted its head slightly and she saw its eyes blink. It leaned in slowly, eyeing her closely. She heard a strange rumble and tentatively reached out with her abilities. The rage was dying down although still prevalent, but she could feel beyond it now. Curiosity, wariness and…loneliness. She looked sadly at it; she couldn't even image being in this place for as long as it was said Giratina had existed, all alone.
Bowing her head she had to decide what to do- to capture or defeat it? The world needed to be saved and the distortion stopped. Both ways lead to this end but there were other things to consider. Did she have the right to capture a legendary Pokémon? To take the Pokémon out of it's element, literally? Did any one? What about Palkia and Dialga? To capture the Pokémon of Space and Time…did that mean the trainer controlled space and time? If she captured one did she have to capture the other in order to prevent an imbalance? And if she defeated it? What kind of gratitude was that? Beat it within it's own world and hope the portal closed on it's own? What if it didn't? What if it did but she was stuck here?
Uncertain she groaned and pulled at her hair, wishing she had a clue. "I'll take that as a no…" she mumbled, reaching back and grabbing her pokéball. "Well…" She thought, tossing the pokéball casually in her hand. "Here goes nothing I guess." With a roar from Giratina, the battle between the two began.
"Giratina seems to have understood us!" Cynthia's voice rang out as Aria adjusted her bag and settled her hat. Turning to face the other trainer Aria grinned cheekily but inside thought, "What 'us'? I did everything!" Behind her a portal to what she assumed was the real world had opened. Despite their tiring battle Giratina had been able to open the portal at the end.
"That Pokémon…" Eyes widening a bit both girls looked to see Cyrus emerge from the darkness. "That shadowy Pokémon was defeated?! Your doing so means this irrational world will remain in existence! Does that make it impossible for me to create a new world? Even if I made new Red Chains, the new world can't be made! Why?! What compels you to protect the two worlds? Is spirit, a vague and incomplete thing, so important to you?!" The two were silent, Aria personally shocked at Cyrus' uncharacteristic display of emotions. Swallowing once she opened her mouth to answer.
"I happen to like the world as it is; yes, people fight, and there are some parts of the world that are ugly, but for every bad thing there are good things too. You keep saying…the world, the spirit, is incomplete. I can only think that you are judging it all with yourself as the control. I…I think you are the incomplete one Cyrus, for turning away from your spirit." Aria watched Cynthia as she spoke, then locked eyes with Cyrus as she finished.
"The places we are born…the time we spend living…the languages we speak…we are all different. But the presence of Pokémon unites us. We share our lives with out Pokémon, and our happiness grows as we all become greater than we were alone. That is why we can battle and trade with anyone we choose…."
"SILENCE!" Cynthia was cut off by Cyrus' outburst. "Enough of your blathering! That's how you justify spirit as something worthwhile?! That is merely humans hoping, deluding themselves that they are happy and safe!" Aria grimaced and grunted a bit as the barrier Cyrus kept on his emotions cracked and seeped through, like steam from a volcano before it blows. "The emotions roiling inside me… Rage, hatred, frustration… These ugly emotions arise because of my own incomplete spirit!" Breathing heavily, Cyrus' placid face contorted in anger for a moment before resuming its' placidity. "Enough. We will never see eye to eye. This, I promise you. I will break the secrets of the world. With that knowledge, I will create my complete and perfect world. One day, you will awaken to a world of my creation. A world without spirit." Aria smiled sadly and watched as Cyrus disappeared into the darkness of the Distortion World for the last time.
"Since there is sadness, we can feel joy." Aria looked at Cynthia. She felt the slight sorrow the girl felt. "When there is anger, compassion is born… Let's go back home." Both turned to face the portal, shining with a bright white light, completely unlike the portal that had led them there. "The portal where Giratina was should lead back to our world." Aria grimaced. "Should?" She thought.
"Giratina was written in legend as being on the other side of our world. It stands to reason that it has a link to the other side." Nodding, Aria turned and leapt into the hole.
"This place?" Aria opened her eyes, blinking away the blindness inflicted by the shine of the portal and the water before them Aria stood up and, again, adjusted her hat. But she echoed Cynthia's shock, even if for different reasons. This place, the spring, looked eerily familiar. That place… nearly thirteen years ago. Turning she found the opening to the cave too, hidden just barely by the grass, exactly as she remembered from that day.
"It's the Sendoff Spring… It's said to somehow lead to the great beyond… and Giratina was said to live in a world on the opposite side of ours…" Cynthia stared into the opening of the cave, as if she were expecting the answer to jump out at her. She'd heard of the Sendoff Spring- it was a place that, long ago, was where ancient people's scattered the ash of their dead. Those whose ashes weren't spread there were said to wander the cave before them, lost for eternity. Aria smiled knowingly, looking away from the cave and towards the sky, tinged red by the setting sun.
"I can't help but think…that maybe everyone got what they wanted, in the end." Aria thought. "Cynthia and I, we got to save the world from the distortion. Giratina got to protect it's world, and Cyrus…he got a world all his own. A world with just him." Adjusting her strap she beamed and for the first time in a while, felt at peace with herself. "I'm glad…to live in a world that waited for me."
Author's Notes:
Phew! Well, that's it everybody, I've officially lost my fanfiction virginity XD But honestly I hope I did ok. I've been sort of a lurker on FFN for a long time now but I'm just now posting something? Shame shame. Anyways, I decided to start with what I know and I definitely know Pokemon. I've always liked the part where you meet Giratina the best and have replayed Platinum several times mostly for that part. So as I was playing that part again this little biddy popped into my head and here we are! I churned this out in about... five hours? I kept getting distracted by crime dramas (curse you Law and Order: CI!) but I finally finished. In case no body notices I took a lot of the dialogue from the game itself practically word for word (the only parts that are mine are basically when Aria talks... *sweatdrops*). I always wished that videogames would let you respond to them. Oh well, I'd probably just end up punching out Cyrus because it's easier.
As for Aria, I wanted to make her sort of mysterious and give part of the answer without too much...how did I do? I realize now that I didn't even describe her...whoops. Oh well, consider it part of her mystique. Unless I continue this...is anybody interested in more? I've been kind of playing around with the idea of doing like a series of one shots involving Aria in key moments in the Platinum game...and maybe HeartGold (when it comes out). And as for the fate of Giratina...did she capture it or defeat it? I left it kind of ambiguous so people could think what they wanted. I might clear it up later on.
If anybody cares, I love Giratina so I always catch it the first time around (for those who don't know, if you don't Capture Giratina in the Distortion World you can find it later in Turn-back Cave like in Diamond and Pearl).
Well this Alki, signing out. Wish me luck everyone and please review!