"I knew you would come."

Calem missed Kyle. When Serena had been injured in the fight against Diancie, there was a minor frantic panic. With only one child left, how could they defend against the last divine left to come. Mew was ancient, legendary, immortal. Whatever power the Mewtwo's possessed was probably a pale shadow to its ancestor. There was Shauna left, sure, but she and Gyarados Red were completely incompatible, her psychic connections unable to read or penetrate the mind of the dark typed mega.

Somehow, Kyle was introduced to FLARE. Dubbed, the fourth child, his role was to be brief yet important; to give Calem a partner in the final battle yet to come. At first, Calem hated Kyle. He was all smiles, always seemingly in a happy mood. How could he be so content, when Serena had nearly died in the fight before? How could he be so joyful, replacing a person who deserved Gyarados Red far more than he did. What had he done? Had he stood toe to toe against divine and lived to laugh about it? No. Serena had. In Calem's mind she was better than him in every way. She didn't deserve what happened to her at Diancie's hand, he did.

Normally, after practice, where the children were trained in sync with their megas, Calem went back to his room, to be alone with naught but his music. X was… intense. The mega tested not only Calem's endurance, but probed his very soul everytime they came in contact. Only his music drowned out the feeling, the memories, the world. Yet Kyle was there this time, ambushing him in the showers of the locker room. It was different, talking to Kyle, then it was for anyone else he had ever met. The harsh judgements he felt in the eyes of all others around him weren't in Kyles soft gaze. When Calem spoke, Kyle listened, truly listened.

He followed Calem home that night, and the two actually laughed and had fun watching old movies and listening to Calem talk about his grandmother's messy house and horder tendencies back in old Johto. Even Aliana Prinplup joined in, one time getting tickled by Kyle so hard that the bird squirt a jet of water from its beak all over Calem.

Kyle slept over that night. Before the two drifted off, Calem remembered him saying, "Humans constantly feel pain in their hearts. Because the heart is so sensitive to pain, humans also feel that to live is to suffer. You're so delicate, like glass, especially your heart. I'm glad I met you, Calem. I hope we can exist in each other's hearts for years to come".

"He loved you. And you killed him."

It was a false hope.

The next day, Kayle started poking around FLARE attempting to get a sense of the place. Lysandre had given him full run of the base, all except the very lowest levels of the facility. Kyle stayed very far away from X's terrarium, though. Calem managed to catch up with him in the early evening, and Kyle had a plan for the two of them. He wanted to see what Lysandre was hiding, as he didn't trust the leader of FLARE. Calem was all too ready to help his friend, and would do anything if it meant defying his father's word.

The terrariums were designed to house the megas when outside of battle. These cages were designed with comfort in mid, each providing a facsimile of the environment the pokemon so very desired. But what they did not contain were doors, or exits of any kind. FLARE cultivated the megas, but they did not turn a blind eye to their destructive potential, their only sense of escape was through entry and exit via the pokeballs their partners used. That was their design. But it all went wrong, that evening. Something weakened the barriers of the third mega's cage, and with it Gyarados Red went into a rampage.

"Use Me."

The command came to his mind as Kyle and Calem ran for cover, seeking safety in the lower levels. The terrariums were special, containing multiple layers of force fields designed against the mega's power. How then did it fail? Without them, the rest of the base was like wet paper to a dog under Gyarados Red's wrath. Command scrambled, but the security forces were being overrun. Kyle begged him to stay with him, his hand holding his in an embrace Calem rarely enjoyed. Yet he knew what he had to do, what X had to do. Calem called for his mega, and his mega answered. And through X's psychic eyes all was laid bare and revealed.

Gyarados Red raged, but X had that covered. The two battled through destroyed tunnels and broken holding bays. X had given him truth, in a rare instant of trust in his partner. Gyarados Red was not itself. That, was Kyle's fault. For Kyle was not who he seemed, who he pretended to be. Kyle was Mew, the last divine, the ancestral pokemon, shifted into human form.

Rage filed Calem's heart that day, rage born out of confusion and betrayal. How could he, how could the person he had actually called friend be his enemy in disguise all along? Kyle, no, Mew, had managed to break into the dark recess of terminal dogma, and stood in front of Xerneas. Calem caught him there, and for the first time in his life, drew a gun.

"it is my destiny to live forever, but is it fair that my survival must bring destruction to the human race? Xerneas calls to me, and I answered. I'm sorry Calem, for if it were my choice, I would have spent the rest of my days with you." Words were pointless after that. Calem screamed and threatened, he raised the gun and warned. Mew just turned, and began a slow walk toward its beginning.

Two shots rang out that night. Two shots that haunted Calem's dreams ever after.

Yet here he stood, in the presence of Mew's cloned progeny, X. The mega's gaze rest solely on his.

"Are you ready?"

Calem knew what he had to do. He knew that, finally, running was not an option.

"Survival is not a mistake. Were Mew to believe in his cause, the world would have ended, such is his power. Life belongs to those with the will to live, and mew believed in your life, Calem."

X rose. Higher than the tunnels below. Higher than the launch bay at the surface. X rose into the very sky itself, and a great and terrible storm brewed in his wake. Calem rose too. Lifted by the psychic strength of his mega. He looked over the land, and saw naught but destruction. What was once beautiful, this Lumiose City, had been reduced to rubble. And at its center, fed a pack of abominations, on the corpse of Gyarados Red, and Serena.

Calem screamed.


"What did Cyrus say, all those years ago when he ascended onto the mountains zenith? Ahh, yes." Lysandre turned his gaze from Xerneas to Yveltal, the pulsating giant black egg. "Bring forth the true form of evangelized humanity! Through indiscriminate death, and through prayer, we shall return to our original form! Our souls shall be at peace. Let the sacrament begin."

"Now Shauna, release your mind. Let your soul bond with the dreams of both Xerneas and Yveltal so that-"

Bang.

Lysandre gasped violently for air. The bullet struck home, tearing through his chest and exiting the other side. He looked at his young ward, with all the shock of betrayal on his face. She had shot him, with his own gun he discarded earlier.

"What?! Shauna… why…"

"Because I am not like you. Fate is not yours to command."

Lysandre stumbled and fell to his knees. She turned, and walked toward the slumbering hulk of the scintillating Xerneas.

"Wait! Please Shauna!"

In hushed tones, she stopped, just shy of the sleeping gods many antlers. In hushed tones, she spoke. "I cannot see what might come to pass, the future is uncertain. But I know this, Calem is waiting for me."

She stuck her hand out, and its many, uncountable eyes opened.


"Mega unit 01 has finally launched!" Bryonny stated. Those who were left in the command center waited on baited breaths. Whatever happened from here on out would be up to Calem to decide.

Psychic power radiated off X like the heat from a dying star. Debris was being pushed back with lightning force, and the monitors showed even the enemy armored patrol carriers were having a hard time staying grounded. Albin hoped, that maybe they were going to make it through this after all.

"Hang on, I'm picking up some strange readings!" Kaguya shouted. "Dimensional values are distorting and the solenoid graphs are inverting!"

"What? Check that again!" Xerosic barked.

"It's true! I'm running the data against known values, and its matches the readings from 5 years ago. Oh, oh Arceus, have mercy. We have begun Third Impact."

As if on the command, the ground rumbled. Everyone was knocked off their feet as a massive earthquake rocked the command center. Xerosic hung onto his console with white knuckles.

"These impacts are only physical shockwaves! The Base was designed to withstand such pressure. Hold out, and we should be fine.

But they were not fine.

The command center was intact, but the rest of flare base was in shambles. A giant, massive hole had been ripped through it, as if something grand and terrible and been birthed from the earth. And in the sky, it announced itself to the world. The wings of a massive entity spread themselves out, encompassing hundreds of miles each, blotting out the sun.

Xerosic looked on, the color drained from his face. Was this what Lysandre had planned? Surely not, for no one would be foolish enough for this. "Yveltal has reawakened," He announced to those who remained. "The black bird, the progenitor of man. Will it be an ark for the salvation of the humanity, or will it be a beacon of destruction heralding the end of the world. Only time will tell."


"That's it, ladies, our mission is a complete failure." Surge stated, the abject despair palpable in his voice. He was standing outside, with the rest of the men who had long since abandoned the worthless safety of their armored vehicles. In front of them was a sight few would ever behold. In a sky darkened by howling winds and a blackened sun, there flew Mewtwo X, its psychic radiance empowered by the ring of the first child. Behind them, though, was the majesty of the great black bird.

Surge imagined that all over the world, people were looking out windows, and standing in streets, wondering just what the hell was happening. He wondered this, because in his mind he owed them blissful ignorance, the ability to live their lives day to day without so much as the care of bills to pay or pokemon battles to fight. He left them down this day.

The bird's wings expanded, growing exponentially. Small debris and rocks began to tremble around him, and then float, only to be picked up in gale surround them. Yveltal was massive, its form generating its own gravitational pull. What had the Elites been thinking? How did they ever hope to believe that they, mere mortals upon this earth, could ever contain or dare to control this thing?

Lighting arced and crackled throughout the sky. First dozens, then hundreds of bolts lit up the darkness. Yveltal let out a screech that could curled the blood of men and drive women insane. The great bird began to glow, eerie red jagged lines that traced its whole body and wings like veins. And in one flap of its wings, Lumiose, and all those on its surface, were no more.


"Who are you?"

"Who are you?"

"?uoy era tahw"

"Who are you?"

"WHO ARE YOU?"

WhAt ArE yOu?


The kids screaming was deafening coming across the comms. Somehow, he had managed to survive the great and terrible wing of oblivion from Yveltal. Probably due to the protection of his mega. Down below, the command center remained, though intact was not a word that could describe it anymore. 80% of the base laid in ruins, be it from the assault, the violent emergence of Yveltal, or the flap of its wings destroying everything even remotely close to he surface layer. The command center itself had ceilings that were buckling in, and doors leading to destroyed hallways. Amazingly, power still functioned. Was that a testament to the strength of foreplaning the designers' put into the headquarters construction, or pure luck?

"Is everyone alright?" Xerosic shouted once the loud rumblings of the earth subsided. A small chorus of ayes and yeses rose up. The sub-commander of Flare could tell though, not everyone was shouting back. He himself had been thrown from his chair, and his leg felt like it was just shy of being broken in all the wrong places.

"Calem and X are still up there!" Bryonny reported. He already knew though, for a child's scream is something never taken lightly.

"Maybe we can make it through this! X is still active, what if he attacks Yveltal, like the divines?" Kaguya asked. He had taken refuge under the desks during the impacts, alongside Bryonny and Albin. The three at least had mode it this far.

"No good. That thing, that bird, is no divine. I doubt X could even make a dent in it." Albin replied, dejected.

Suddenly, alarms rose form the few remaining consoles. Bryonny, who managed to hang onto the laptop in her hands during the earthquakes, began furiously typing away. "An unidentified high energy object is approaching from terminal dogma rapidly!"

"Pattern blue!" Albin responded from his own computer. Which could only mean one thing.

"What? Another divine now? How? Is it one of those from the core of the earth? Is it Heatran?" Xerosic's confusion was palpable.

"Negative!" Bryonny replied. "It's... Its… human…"

AT first, there was light. Brilliance in a multitude of hues that only the radiance of a rainbow could match. It filled the room, piercing even the deepest corners and banishing the shadows. And then, it came, rising through the floor. First the head of a deer, covered from the very tips of its antlers to its snout in eyes which looked in every direction at once. It rose and grew, as if standing up from a long slumber, atop the body of a naked human girl. This was no human, though, not any more.

Its body passed through everything like a ghost, including every man, woman, and pokemon left standing in the command center. And when it passed through them, they screamed in existential horror. All except Xerosic, who looked on with stoic determination.

That thing, that fusion of seed and girl, grew to ten, then one hundred times its size, its arms and head reaching the stratosphere. There it raised its arms in mock jubilation. Xerneas had awoken. Yveltal had awoken. Between them, they gazed, each seed looking directly toward the sky between them, where hung X, and its partner Calem.


"I can't take it anymore"

"I can't take it anymore"

"I can't take it anymore"

"I can't take it anymore"

His head was on fire, as if he was experiencing the absolute worst migraine of his life. Millions of visions assaulted his mind, making it next to impossible for him to even think for himself. Behind him X twitched, eyes rolled up into its skull as the mega seemed to experience one seizure after another. Calem kept chanting that phrase to himself, in the vain hope that this would all be over.

Xerneas opened its mouth, and no sound came out, but Calem froze. He saw a world, teeming with life, greener than even the most bountiful of spring days.

Yveltal opened its beak, and he saw a world covered in civilization, every square kilometer of the globe filled with city blocks.

The two seeds closed their mouths, and Calem saw the world. A world where every pokemon twisted their forms, convulse, and their bodies became covered in faces. Each smiling uncannily, and giggling. Each in the form of Shauna's vacant image. He wanted to scream, to run, hide, flee. Yet his body would not respond, and his mouth would not move.

"is this better?" the question came, echoing through his mind, drowning out all the other voices. Calem looked, and where Xerneas once stood, a colossus of deer and girl, the seed had morphed into the form of Kyle. Its face warm and inviting.

"Have, have you been there, with me, the entire time?" Calem wanted to ask. The Kyle opened its arms wade, and moved them to embrace Calem. He could feel the love in his mind, in his very heart. He wanted this. Behind, Yveltal did the same, its massive wings enclosing Calem from above.


"Calem's ego barrier is getting weaker!"

"X is resonating in tune with the seeds!"

"Both X and Calem's psychostrata are down!"

First Impact was caused by the war raged between the seeds. This, it seemed, was the opposite. "The fruit of life is held by pokemon, and their crown Xerneas. The fruit of reason is held by man, given by Yveltal. Mewtwo X now possesses both, and therefore becomes God." Xerosic's looked on as the form of Yveltal merged with the form of Xerneas, brilliant light, melding with utter blackness. Both entombing X, and its partner Calem. "Now the font of all souls, the tree of life, has been reformed. Will it be an ark that will save mankind from the vacuum of Third Impact? Or is it a demon that will destroy us all."

Kaguya tugged mercilessly at Albin's jacket. "Have we... have we done the right thing?"

"How the hell should I know?"

"Now the fate of all man and pokemon kind lies in Calem's hands." Xerosic continued, unfazed at the madness of it all.

The two seeds merged and became one, a brilliant glowing tower streaked with black, its branches of horns extending into infinity. Its surface, covered with an unthinkable number of eyes, each looking into the soul of a different being.


"This pokemon is your heart, and your dreams." A soft, kind, motherly voice spoke.

"What is it you wish for?"

The evening sun shed its blood orange hue across the park. Calem sat on a bench overlooking it, but still next to the street. He was waiting for the bus. He was 10.

The recital had ended a little over a half hour ago. Parents had clapped and congratulated the children on their performance. The conductor, his music teacher, bowed and thanked them. Orchestra was a class, but not a required one. Like sports, it sat in that grey area between academics and activity, but unlike them, the school devoted a hour every day to let the conductor teach. Music education was important after all. It shaped young minds and was linked to higher IQs and better test results.

They had practiced for weeks, with the song Slowpoke's Lullaby being the crown jewel of the show. It wasn't too advanced, but nevertheless the children played it well. Calem played the cello. His parents did not come.

After the performance most hugged their fathers and mothers and took packed away instruments home. Calem stored his cello away, for it was too heavy to transport to and from school all the time, and locked it up within the music room. Then he waited, watching the sun set.

"Your parents didn't come huh?" a girl, his classmate asked.

"No, buts that okay. I know he's really important and busy person". His father didn't come. His mother couldn't.

"Then why do you play?" she asked, curiously.

"What do you mean?"

"Why keep playing at all? You're not very good at it, you're always last string."

"I know"

Out in the distance, the wind whistled through the trees, bringing in warm fall air. Calem lifted his eyes, and saw the figure of X outlined by the setting sun.

"My mom won't let me quit. I don't like playing. It's all so rigid and it takes too much time to practice on the weekends. She's always going on about how I'm going to be a doctor someday and I need to have focus taught by music or some such. Ever since our music teacher told her about the class, she won't shut up about it."

"Yeah, I joined because he told me to play too."

"So? Why don't you quit? I doubt your father would care."

"I don't know. I guess nobody told me to stop."

His mind blurred. A voice, soft, feminine rose within his mind. "I guess I wasn't able to become Calem's mother after all…" It was Aliana's. He found himself here, there, somewhere. A room, small, with four walls made of concrete hastily painted over in a vain attempt at dignity.

"Mmmm, let's do it." She purred.

"Again? Aren't you supposed to meet your friend at the base today?" A man.

"Hmm? Oh yeah, Jeanette. It's okay, we still have time..."

"We've been cooped up here for a week now..."

"Yeah, but I think I'm getting the hang of it... so come on..."

Calem stood there, unnoticed, as the beast with two backs was formed. Words resonated within his mind, her words. "I probably just do this to prove that I existed."

"Ugh, that's stupid! Its' just two depressed grownups licking each other's wounds!" Serena exclaimed. She was next to Calem now on his right, though she dared not look.

"We want to feel needed, even if it's only physical. I feel wanted, and that makes me happy." On his left, Aliana stood, watching herself and August.

"It's just an easy way to convince yourself that you're worth something." Serena retorted.

"This is also me. The me that exists when two hearts are melded as one. The me that Calem will never know. Reality can be painful, but you just have to accept it." Aliana spoke.

"Oh man, does that mean when I grow up I'll do the same thing's Aliana does?" Serena was starting at him. They were at the apartment. Their apartment.

"Say, wanna kiss?" her lips shone, the scent of strawberry gloss fresh on the air.

"You mustn't!" Aliana.

"Or are you afraid?" Her hair shone as Serena chided him.

"It's not for kids". Alina's voice grew weaker.

"Here I come". Serene stepped closer. They looked into each other's eyes. Calem told his body to lean in. But he froze.

"You don't understand anything! Just stay away from me."

Calem was outside, alone, starring over the hill that marked the entrance to Lumoise City "But, I do understand."

"No you don't! You're such a moron!" They were in mega practice. She kicked him, fiercely in front of the collected members of FLARE.

"You really think you understand me!? You jerk! You think that you can help me? That is so arrogant! You couldn't possibly understand me!" She yelled at him across the dinner table at their apartment.

"How can you expect me to understand you if you never talk to me?" a hundred doors slammed in his face, from a hundred different Serenas. "That's impossible!"

"Did you ever really try?" came a voice, Shauna's voice.

"Of course…"

"Idiot. I know all about how you think of me when you go to bed at night. Maybe we could live out one of those dreams together some time. But, if I can't have you all to myself, I want nothing from you, ever." Serena leaned over him on the train. She was wearing her new bikini for the one day off they had to go swimming.

"Then, why don't you ever try just being nice to me?"

Calem was surrounded by the three of them, Aliana, Serena, and Shauna. They all smiled behind fetid smiled and spoke in unison. "We are nice to you."

"Liars!" Calem swatted away the image and fell tumbling into chaos. "You all just hide behind those smiles but intentionally keep the truth ambiguous!"

"What would you rather have? A pleasant lie or a sour truth?" Shauna comforted him, easing his fall into her arms.

"I just… I just want someone to care about me…"

He was 40. He was tired. It had been a long day at the office, and the summer heat sweltered under his collar. The drive home had been filled with nothing but the endless traffic of rush hour. As he walked in the door, he saw her, and dreaded what was to come.

She sat at the table, her greying hair covering her face as her head buried itself in her arms. On the table were papers, with printed legal texts asking for signatures here, and there. No laughter of children could be heard, for they did not have any. He knew what those papers were, the only thing they could be.

"I want to make it work. I want to stay with you, Serena. Forever. I want to help you, but I don't know what to do?" He dropped his suitcase and walked over to her.

"Then don't do anything." She whispered. "Don't come near me. All you ever do is hurt me."

"Serena, help me. Please, you're the only person who knows. Help me help you."

"Liar." She turned her head to face him. "Anyone will do, huh? You don't care who it is. You're afraid of Shauna and Aliana! You're afraid of your mother and father too. And you came running to me, because it was the easiest way to keep from getting hurt!"

"No, but I…" She shoved him. Hard. His arm spun wildly and the coffee machine was knocked over, spilling cold, ignore brew all over him and the floor.

"You never really cared about me. You used me to help yourself, because it filled some void that you made in you made in your heart. You never loved me, you never even learned to like yourself!" He fell to the ground, his chest hurting where the heavy kitchen appliance fell on him. He began to whimper, as Serena stood over him, her eyes glaring daggers.

"Pathetic."

"Please, I need you. I need someone. I can't be abandoned, I don't want to be alone again! Please Don't leave me! Don't kill me!" He yelled in a fit of anguish. He stood, and violently tossed aside the kitchen table and chairs, the same ones they had picked out for their wedding registry together.

All that replied was a silent, "No."

Where tears were forming, in his mind, in his heart, there stood X.

And rather than cry, he lashed out. Arms stretched, he grabbed Serena by the neck, and choked her.


Anger.

Sadness.

Love.

Joy.

Frustration.

Hope.

Confusion.

Eating the last slice of pizza from the box at a party.

A kindergartener drawing their favorite superhero out of crayons and watercolor.

A dog welcoming you home.

The same dog, dead.

That new car smell.

Month old mushy fish.

Hands squeezing tightly around a throat.

Visions, images, thoughts, feelings. All these flashed through Calem's mind. His life, the life of those near him, and all the lives of those who ever lived danced in his soul.

"You ddin't understand anything"

"I thought, that this was supposed to be a world without unpleasantness, without uncertainty?"

"Because you thought that everyone was like you."

Calem thrashed, lashing out at the nothingness, and at eternity.

"You've misunderstood from the start. You simply assumed without asking."

"Nobody wants me. What difference does it make if everyone were just to die?"

"Then what are your hands for?" Shauna, as she floated next to him.

"Then what is your heart for?" Aliana, as she did the same.

"Nobody cares whether I exist or not. Nothing will change. I'd be better if I wasn't here. So, I should just die too."

A sea, red, flowing. Its depths filled with the souls of all creation, ever circling, encompassing the earth.

X, its eyes glowing.

Silence.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!


"Partner's response is verging on infinite zero!" Albin shouted.

"Mega Mewtwo X and the seeds are approaching the E layer of the atmosphere and still rising!" Kaguya added.

Xerosic looked on.

"The anti-DeMalgian field coming from Yveltal is expanding and materializing!"

Above, the tree, that amalgamation of both seeds, stretched and extending, carrying its host unto the upper atmosphere and beyond. And at its peak stretched the combination of all things. Thegiant head of Xerneas reemerged, atop the torso of Shauna once posed, now made from the same black streaked scintillating form of the seeds.

"The anti-DeMalgian is exceeding critical limits!" Albin stated in pure disbelief.

"Soon individual entities will be unable to maintain their separate forms!" Kaguya added in despair.

Underneath the console, Bryonny sat, curled into a fetal position, stuffing her face in a pillow like a flightless Dodrio bird its heads in the dirt.

The tri-part being extended itself, and wings formed. First two, then four then 10. Its wingspan reaching halfway to the moon.

"The chamber of souls has been unsealed. The door to both the beginning, and end, of the world is opened at last." Xerosic knew.

The tri-part being bent down, and where its shadow was cast, gravity fell to ruin. Across the globe, Shauna appeared, to all beings, both pokemon and human, simultaneously and fully. To those she touched, knew pain, nor suffering, nor sorrow no more, as they burst, their clothes falling around them, into pure light. "The world is overflowing with sadness. People are surrounded by emptiness... And loneliness has filled their hearts." The Shauna spoke, in complete and utter unison to the world.

Kaguya panicked, fear stiffening his muscles. Shauna looked at him, her pale deadpan expression of integument scared him to his very core. As she moved closer, she morphed, her brown locks changing into Major Alianas dyed deep purple, her face into hers, her body the same. She gave him as kiss as he screamed, and then burst, his clothes fluttering into the seat.

Near, a dozen, naked Shauna surrounded Albin, who tried to hide vainly under the desk. They encircled him, and showed him the light.

"The DeMalgian fields... all of them… they're all disappearing…" Bryonny typed flutily away at the keyboard. Hands encompassed hers, typing "I need you" on the screen. She turned as was embraced by Dr. Celosia. She cried out in ecstasy as she too, found the light.

Far away, one after another, the callers dropped off the line.

"Did we bring this upon ourselves? Did we, those who thought ourselves better than the rest, by virtue of skill and adoration, cause this madness?" Elite 1 said before his line went silent.

"Maybe." Elite 9 responded, who was from Sinnoh. "or maybe this this was the will of Arceus all along. Yes, the beginning and end are one and the same." She too went silent.

"Or perhaps we should have not turned a blind eye to doctrine and zealotry for so long." Elite 4's last words were.

"In the end, does it matter?"

Lysandre lied in a pool of his own blood, down in terminal dogma. Next to him stood Yui, his love, his heart. She spoke, and he listened.

"When you were gone, I didn't know what to do. I was lost, within a sea of despair and weariness. I abandoned Calem because I all ever did was cause him pain. I thought, that maybe it was better if I did nothing at all. I didn't believe that anyone could ever love me again."

"Were you afraid of Calem?" Yui asked, softly.

"He was, he is, so very much like you. Your death, your pain, I believed it was all my fault. I never deserved to be loved."

"So, you were running away, and you rejected the other around you, so you could never be hurt." Kyle, no Mew, spoke.

"You were afraid of the invisible bonds people form." Yui added.

"And so you closed off your heart." spoke Shauna.

"I… I've waited so long for this day, but its not what I ever imagine. And so, this is my reckoning." Lysandre whispered. Above him, Shauna twisted and morphed into a great beast. And in one bite, ate Lysandre.

Across the planet, like a tsunami, pillars of light arose, higher than the highest skyscraper, taller than the tallest tree. In one motion, the planet was lit like a star in the night, and ascending into the sky were the radiance of billions. Each individual point of light collecting with another, until the entire earth was no more different than the sun itself, covered in a glowing layer of souls.

They drifted, collected, and formed together in a new moon, one made of radiance rather than rock, held aloft between the hands of the great tri-part god. And at this being's very opened an eye, in which X, and its partner, survived.


I hate you.

I wouldn't be caught dead with you!

Don't get me wrong... Do you really think I could ever like you?

You have nothing to do with my life anymore.

Get away from me!

Don't call me anymore!

Stubborn bastard...

Don't follow me around anymore.

Your type makes me sick!

I'm sorry...

We're nothing more than friends.

Annoying bastard...

Why don't you learn to give up?

There's no way I'd ever go back to you.

I HATE YOU!

Go away!

I wish you were never born.

Dammit, get away from me!

i hate you!

You're a pain in the ass!

"Wimp," Serena.

"If its painful, you can stop" Aliana.

"If you don't like it you can run away" Shauna.

"But wouldn't you rather be one with me? With us?" All three.


You pause for a second. This work had stop making sense a long time ago, yet you kept reading. Why?

You get up, and walk around, wondering what it all means. You look out the window, seeing the world outside. It might be a busy city street, bustling with people, or an empty road, or a vibrant forest. You know this, because you've seen outside that window countless times before. Its familiar to you.

You being to turn back to the book, but are stopped. Maybe someone is calling out to you, calling your name, trying to get your attention. Maybe they are not. It doesn't matter to you, because it has happened before. It will happen again. Being alone right now, reading this work does not bother you, because you know you are not truly, alone. There is always someone else, there will always be someone else.

You think about this. You remember firstly those time when people annoyed you, how being around others was awkward or uncomfortable. Perhaps that is why you are reading this now? Perhaps that is why you are reading this alone? However, you also remember those time when others made you laugh, made you cry, made you, happy, and made you mad. Others made you feel, which means on some level, you let them into your heart.

You keep reading, wondering where this is going.

You're glad this is all a story, that the adventures of poor Calem are text on a page. You don't want to be in his shoes, but you find thrill in experiencing what he does through the medium of text and words. You briefly wonder what you would do, but it doesn't matter. It's just fiction.

Though now you wonder, are you just a part of the story? The author stopped writing about Calem, and now is writing about you. You exist within the story too. You pinch yourself, it hurts. Good. You thought, you felt, and you came to the conclusion that you do exist. This you the author writes about, its not the real you, the you that exists within your own mind. It is the you that exists within the text, that exists as a fabrication of the writer's words. You realize there are multiple yous, besides these two. Everyone you have ever met has a you within them. Your lover, your friend, your mother, your brother. Even that person on the street you walked past once and never spoke to has a you within them, the you that exist solely as a ephemeral creature, there in their lives one moment as backdrop in their commute an gone the next. It might not last, that you might be forgotten, to die the death of abandonment. But in others, you exist longer. You realize existence is a two-way street, the existence of you who you see versus the you others perceive. Each one is as true as the other, in some sense or form.

You might care. Or you might not. But you exist. Your life is a string of experiences, experienced by you and others around you, all leading from one moment to the next, with no end in sight and no destination fated. The joy of existence is experience. You remember the warmth of the sun on a spring day, the feel of water during a nice bath, the pain of a paper cut, or the thrill of a roller coaster. These and more make up you, the you that lives within your own heart. And they are to be treasured. The you that exists within other hearts might share some of these memories but not all. Each person carries a fraction of you, and only by piecing it together with others can they mirror what makes up your existence. So, exist, make choices, have adventures, live your life. Even if that means you might want this part to end.


"Hey, what are dreams?"

"Yes! Dreams!"

He saw, and he knew. This world was just one possible would, out of countless millions upon millions. A world where he was born named Shinji, a world where Pokémon existed just within video games, a world where fairies never existed. All possible, all true, in one form or another. His mind reached out and touched them all. But try as he might, he could not live within them, for all he saw were just dreams, visions of them.

"I don't understand, I don't understand where to find the true reality."

"You can't bridge the gap between your own truth and the truth of others."

"But, where do I then find happiness?"

"Its at the end of your dreams"

"So, this is not reality? This world, where no one truly exists?"

"No, it is only a dream. Your dream."

"Then I don't exist here either."

"Is that wrong? Why can't I dream that I'm alone?"

"Because you are never alone. That is not a dream, but your convenient excuse to avoid your reality."

His eyes opened, and beheld an endless sea or orange and green, where a multitude of lights twinkled off in the distance, with no surface to speak of. In it he floated, naked, underneath the form of Shauna, who gazed into his eyes.

"This place, is eternity. A world without limits, without the barriers of the heart, where all are one. A fragile world, where you cannot tell where you end and others begin." She whispered.

"Is this death?"

"Not quite."

"So, who am I? What is me?" he asked.

"Does it really matter?"

"It does, to me at least. I'm not Serena, not Aliana, nor you, or father. I know I'm not the strongest, not the bravest, but that doesn't matter to me. I know I exist within others' hearts, and that me that dwells within them might be something I fear or dislike, but that's okay I guess."

"This is the world that you were hoping for, your world. A world without pain."

"But... this isn't right. I don't think this is right."

"So, what you're saying," Kyle started, floating alongside them. "Is that you wish for the barriers of people's hearts to separate them again? Even if they hurt you once more?"

"To let existence continue in a world where people cannot truly know one another?" X added.

"I thought it was okay to run away from the place I was, to a world all my own, because I only felt pain. But I there was nothing good about the place I escaped to either, because no one else existed there. And so, I didn't exist. Maybe, avoiding the problem isn't a solution, since nothing ever gets resolved. I guess, I don't mind a little pain, once in a while. But what are the two of you within my heart?"

"We are the courage one must summon the face the world with eyes wide open." X started.

"And we are the words 'I love you'" finished Kyle.

"But, that's just a pretense. If I hate myself, how can the you within my heart have love and courage?"

He floated there, eyes open. And then the fog shattered.

"Maybe, maybe I truly don't hate who I am, who I was. Maybe I want to be me."

The sea vanished, replaced by a beach filled with white sand; where crystal clear waves lapped and the sun should down above. Calem stood surrounded by friends and everyone he knew.

"Congratulations!" clapped Bryonny.

"Congratulations!" clapped Dr. Celosia.

"Congratulations!" clapped Aliana.

"Congratulations!" clapped Shauna.

"Congratulations!" clapped August Sycamore.

"Congratulations!" clapped Xerosic.

"Bwak bwak!" clapped Prinplup.

"Congratulations!" clapped his orchestra classmate.

"Congratulations!" clapped Serena.

"Congratulations!" clapped his grandmother.

"Congratulations!" clapped Kaguya

"Congratulations!" clapped Albin.

"Congratulations!" clapped his mother and father.

"Thank you! Thank you all! I want to see you all again, because I know at the time my feelings were real."


Blood splattered. Blood made from the combination of the millions of souls coursing through the veins of the tri-part being. Its head tilted, as if struck by a great hammer, and the neck connecting the face of Xerneas to the body that once was Shauna's split in two, first by a hair, then entirely. The being ever so slowly, as if in suspended animation fell backward. Its multitude of Yveltal's wings collapsing with it, before dissolving unto the ether from whence they came.

The new moon, its light still flickering against the darkness of the void between worlds, pulsated, grew, then shattered back into billions of individual points of light. Each spiraled out like some mockery of the great Milky Way galaxy before covering the globe once more with their light.

Atop the head of Xerneas, as it split from the great whole of the body, grew one massive eye. It did not blink, for it could not. It did not see, for it could not. It shimmered, before from the very pupil emerged X, it glowing with the mega's majesty. X howled, a long, echoing howl before bursting from the eye like a bullet through an egg.

Reality exists within a place unknown.

And dreams exist within reality.

Truth exists within our hearts.

And our hearts shape our reality.

The tri-part being fell, down, down back toward the earth. Its limbs separating, with each hand falling into a different sea, each branch of the tree it sprung forth from drifting throughout the world, planting themselves in each its own corner. As the head fell, it crashed into the land with a silent impact, its eyes wide and blank.

The power of imagination is the ability to create new images in one's heart.

New images which will shape our own reality.

New Images which will create our own flow of time.

The head split as it hit the mountain's peak, severing in two, with each falling onto different sides. From its body sprung the light of souls, which reached unto the heavens and encircled the globe.

Evolution is change ongoing, the power of free will to shape our own destinies.

So one must fine their own lost self, even if they become lost in other's desires.

Anyone can return to their original form, if they can imagine themselves within their own heart.

All creation has the power to be brought back to life.

As long as the sun, the moon, and the earth exist, everything will be alright.


[[ONE MORE FINALE]]

Calem walked along the shore, his feet bare so he could feel the ocean waters on his feet when the lapped the shore. Behind him was X, but he didn't mind. He left X to do its own thing.

The world was still, and silent. Nothing moved save for him and the waves. The night sky above shore with the light of the full moon, and the ring of red light encircled the sky above, a new ring for a new age. In the distance, Xerneas's severed head glinted in the moonlight.

He knew he still would think about death and stuff. He knew (not) where his happiness lied. Those things, however, didn't matter anymore.

Lying on the beach in front of him was Serena, washed ashore. Her form reminded him of the sleeping beauty from myths and fairy tales. His legs took her towards her, and then collapsed him onto his knees.

Her eyes were open, but did not see him. Her mouth, half agape and half shut.

Calem stuck out his hands, mere centimeters from her neck.

"You are (not) alone."

Her eyes twitched and met his. She raised her arm, and caressed his face.

He relaxed, and cried.

Fin.