Alpha – Origin Chapter 4: Antimatter

The Eighth Day.

From the "Eighth Day" onward, a time of greatness and prosperity flourished over the planet that Arceus and Its children helped shape. All of the proto-life forms that Arceus gave birth to–and decided to not continue giving birth to from here on out–adapted to their assorted global environments and permanently shaped themselves to suit their needs. Those that stayed close to the mountains adapted to the cold climate and the thinner altitude. Those that remained in the skies adapted themselves for flight. Those that dived into the oceans adapted themselves to breathe underwater. Those that scurried in the desert adapted to the harsh heat. Those that clung to the forest trees adapted themselves for climbing and camouflage. And those that ascended into the cosmos adapted to the vacuum of space.

As Arceus and Its Six Children saw and sensed from soaring over and surveying the Earth, there were no more proto-life forms roaming about. The closest echo of their former existence on Earth were the Mew that had stayed close to these seven Pokémon, and since then those Mew have been rather elusive, not to Arceus and Its Children but to the other Earthling Pokémon. And even as they roamed the cosmos for traces of these proto-life forms, they could no longer find any. In their place were startlingly different Pokémon compared to those on Earth.

This was every bit Arceus intention when It decided to spread trillions upon trillions upon trillions of new life forms across the Universe, life forms that can sustain and intermingle with one another in order to continue to exist and maintain or even increase their numbers.

As the Eons passed since the dawn of new life was blanketed over the Earth, Arceus' children were tasked with what Arceus has taught them throughout their everlasting lives. Dialga kept time moving forward to the point where it only needed to interfere in order to alter it in any given way. Palkia kept space expanding to the point where it only needed to create bridges across the universe to connect one corner of the universe to another. Giratina kept reality maintained by holding it all together and occasionally discarding unnecessary debris into the Distortion World, where it swapped properties and took on new life in there by that dimension's own rules. Azelf kept Pokémon determined and reinforced their natural drives and needs. Mesprit kept Pokémon emotionally diverse and vibrant, so that no two Pokémon were ever alike in terms of mentality. And Uxie kept Pokémon intelligent, within their understandable limitations, so that they knew more than mere biological instinct.

And as for Arceus?

Ever since giving birth to so many children, most of which have now spawned as children across countless generations of ancestral Pokémon, Arceus has considered Itself less as a God and more as a Mother or a Father, depending on the widespread Pokémon lore and what gender they decide to mark a genderless Pokémon with. Arceus roamed the world like a God among Pokémon, attracting all kinds of attention, almost entirely positive and appreciative of their known Creator. The Alpha Pokémon traveled across the corners of the Earth millions of times, constantly growing, shedding, and discarding new experiences and traveling companions over the millions of years. Most of these Pokémon had questions for Arceus, while others felt as though they were lacking something. Few felt angered at Arceus. Those Pokémon that were angry at the Alpha Pokémon were either quelled by Its blessings or at a better understanding of the world through Its seemingly infinite wisdoms.

Not just Arceus' wisdoms, but those of its first Six Children as well, as they too took time off of their jobs across the universe to personally roam about those that they dwarf.

For all kinds of Pokémon, there were all kinds of stories, all kinds of memories, and all kinds of challenges that Arceus and Its Children found themselves telling and making and taking part in. And for each and every single one of them, they loved being a part of, despite the brevity of the lives of these Pokémon. Arceus and Its Children knew that these experiences would be inherited to the next generation, and that no two experiences were ever the same. With the way the universe was shaped and the laws of it that Arceus and Its Six Children formed through their actions, that was entirely intentional.

But as time went on, there were noticeable changes to Earth, the kinds of which not even Arceus took into consideration. The one that stood out to Arceus and Its Children the most was the incrementally growing negativity amidst certain Pokémon and in certain locations.

As they soon determined, this sort of negativity was not natural and it was widespread globally. But rather than it covering the entire Earth in a cloud of malice, it only covered dots and segments of the planet, the likes of which had no pattern and no traces of origin. The only clues that Arceus and Its Children could discern from this was that, from these emotionally negative blemishes on the planet, they appeared to be spreading. And if it was allowed to continue, then there was a real possibility of the entire Earth being surrounded by negativity.

Peace would shatter. Order would break. Sense would dismiss. Anarchy would reign. There would be chaos of an emotional kind, instead of the turbulent chaos that Arceus was born from.

Knowing that this negative plague must be contained, Arceus and all Six of Its Children split up and covered the Earth as evenly and as efficiently as possible. Where one of them went, the other six would sense. What one of them said, the other six would hear. What one of them does, the other six would know. What one of them thought, the other six would acknowledge.

If there was any evil at work, then these seven Pokémon would prevent it.

…Or so they believe.


Arceus and Its Six Children skimmed over the earth like the northern, southern, eastern, and western winds. They looked over each and every single point on the planet where the negativity most likely originated from. And in looking at these psychological blemishes on the planet, all they could find in terms of evidence of evil at work was nothing.

Whatever was responsible for warping a Pokémon's thought process clearly did so without physical actions. That would mean that they're dealing with a spirit of sorts. A shadow. And to catch a shadow, all they had to do was shine a little light onto it. So to speak.

As each Legendary Pokémon stopped by each of these negative zones they've established just from sensing the dark and unnatural auras of the surrounding Pokémon, and as each of them used their power to dispel whatever evil was at work, one of these seven Pokémon failed to realize that it was being targeted by this same ethereal force.

And that Pokémon…was Giratina.

"You've met with a terrible fate, haven't you?"

Giratina's actions in psychically resetting this area and everyone in it back to normal were instantaneously terminated as it spontaneously raised its guard and surveyed the land within its field of vision. In searching the somewhat barren land for signs of life, Giratina attempted to pinpoint the source of the calm, collected, deep voice that somehow appeared to exist everywhere.

Or was it speaking to Giratina via telepathy…?

"Wasting your powers for good, when they should be used elsewhere."

"Where are you? What are you? Show yourself!" Giratina shouted, its telepathic voice carrying on across the horizon in an attempt to call out this inscrutable force. "I so much as think it, and my family will be here to stop you!"

"Then prove it."

Whether or not this voice in Giratina's head had said that or not changed Giratina's choice of actions. It cast a mental beacon over the planet, calling in its Father, its Brothers and Sisters, having located the area where the antagonist presently is but having yet to pinpoint its exact location. Giratina waited for Palkia to appear from a rift in space with everyone else appearing from it.

…But nobody came.

"What have you–?!"

"Shh… We're having a private conversation now."

A faint thought of escaping here and physically bringing its family here entered GIratina's mind. But when it did, Giratina was overcome with a painful headache, the likes of which felt akin to having your skull split in two, while you were still conscious long enough to see your perspective cut in half, straight down the middle. Giratina collapsed onto the ground, paralyzed from the mental shackle that this unidentified force had most likely put over it. Giratina felt like passing out, what with its face already pressed into the dirt, but the pain was deliberately weakened to prevent this. Whatever was at work clearly had plans for Giratina.

"Who…who are you?"

"Look up to the sky and see."

Giratina did exactly that, slowly at first in order to minimize the splitting migraine it now had rolling within its skull. But upon seeing a quartet of familiar pointed feet on the ground, Giratina set pain aside and sharply looked up, perplexed at what it was seeing staring down at it with red/green eyes.

Never Meant to Belong/Bleach Original Soundtrack 1/Shiro Sagisu

(Song Begins)

"…Father?"

"Hello, My son." Arceus responded back, appearing to feel genuine care for Its own "flesh and blood".

At first, seeing such a familiar face made Giratina feel at ease. But in staring at the face of Arceus, as Arceus Itself was returning the gesture, Giratina began to see through this façade.

"No…" Giratina slowly stood up, digging in each of its six feet into the earth to support its body. "You're not my Father. You're an imposter!"

"" Arceus continued to stare at Giratina, even as It was finding Itself craning Its neck up to look at Giratina and its towering height over the default size of its own "Father".

"You're not Arceus!" Giratina knew for certain now. "What is your name?!"

At first, "Arceus" didn't appear to respond to the behavior of Its own "Son". But upon smiling with an unnatural mouth that spontaneously formed on Its face, much to Giratina's horror, "Arceus'" white body began to darken, until Giratina found itself staring a body so black that it almost appeared as though anything touching it would fall into an endless void.

Giratina stepped back in horror of this imposter, this apparition, this monster, this entity that could hardly be labeled a Pokémon at this point.

"I am Curseax." Curseax identified Itself before Giratina. "And I have come from your Father's shadow to cleanse the universe of Its sins."

From those few words, Giratina had a surplus of questions regarding Curseax and Its connection with Arceus.

"…You are my Father's shadow?"

"I am." Curseax denied nothing. "You have two Fathers now. Two choices in life, instead of the one Arceus has forced onto you and your siblings."

This abomination wasn't Giratina's Father. It wasn't anyone's Father! It was just a byproduct of Arceus that somehow managed to give Itself life in order to do whatsoever It pleases.

"How dare you question Arceus?!" Giratina was furious now, at everything about Curseax. "How dare you question our Creator."

"Your Creator." Curseax corrected.

"What did you just–?!"

"Arceus and Curseax are one and the same." Curseax continued, referring to Itself in the third-person for the sake of clarification. "We were born from the same place of origin. We shaped the universe together. Or at least, Arceus did. I am the result of your Father's attempts to bring order into chaos."

"What are you talking about?" Giratina couldn't yet comprehend what Curseax was implying.

"Before Arceus created the universe, It was born from an egg at the heart of chaos. This chaos existed as a small speck at the heart of a realm of limitless nothingness. Arceus was born within this nothingness after feeding off of the chaos. And after converting it into order, Arceus created the universe under this new power."

"And where do You fall in this tale?" Giratina was obviously curious, and continued speaking to the Dark Arceus while It was still in a conversational mood.

"I exist as Arceus polar opposite." Curseax admitted, speaking as if It hated being connected to the Alpha Pokémon. "As the lingering chaos that Arceus had all but wiped out collected itself and regroup within a new source, it selected a host."

"And that host…is You?" Giratina began to put the pieces together. "The chaos that Arceus cast aside possessed Its shadow and made you?"

"Yes."

"And why tell me all of this when we have every intention of stopping you?!" Giratina raised a valid point.

"Because you, your Brothers, your Sisters, and especially your Father, can't stop what has existed for an eternity before Arceus decided to created this…this…façade!" Curseax's anger began to surface. "This…this…web of lies, where the grand illusion that Arceus has cast over every feeble flame It calls 'life' is that everything is right in the world!"

Giratina could hear a tremor reverberate across the area, a result directly connected to Curseax's growing spite in regards to an apparently touchy subject. But Curseax was immediate in noticing Giratina's recoil of Its volatile anger and quickly composed Itself before continuing.

"And the reason I'm telling you this is not because I want to or am forced to. Not because I play the villain and wish to share My evil plan with whomsoever I'm confident can't stop me. I'm telling you this because I've taken pity over you, and the role Arceus has placed over you."

"My role?" Giratina sounded less insulted and more concerned.

"Arceus created the universe. Palkia controls space with its every breath. Dialga controls time with its every heartbeat. Azelf influences willpower. Mesprit bestows emotion. Uxie grants knowledge." Curseax listed before targeting the only obvious Pokémon for last. "And you, Giratina? What do you do? What has your Father relegated you to doing?"

"Keeping things together, akin to gravity." Giratina uttered frailly, as if doubting its point in life, as if doubting Arceus. "As well as disposing of certain cosmic materials through black holes, vortexes in space that lead to the Distortion World."

"And do you understand how gravity works?"

"Yes I do." Giratina knew for certain. "The larger the object, the greater its gravitational pull to smaller objects. It's what keeps this planet from dying and what keeps all life anchored to the surface."

"And yet, the smaller the object, the less gravitational pull it possesses." Curseax pointed out. "For another life form rivaling your size, gravitational pull is almost nonexistent. They'd have better luck having dust and debris cling onto their hides through static electricity."

In Giratina's mind, this conversation has gone on long enough, and it was time for it to put it to an end.

"…Don't think I don't know what you're doing to me." Giratina grumbled.

"Then tell me, so that I can ensure if you've been catching on or not." Curseax responded brashly.

"You want me to join you." Giratina strongly believed. "You want me to betray my family to join you in plunging all of Arceus' hard work back to nothingness!"

With a mighty flap of its amorphous, ethereal wings, Giratina backed a few body lengths away from Curseax, while Curseax Itself didn't even blink Its eyes from the sudden gale or feel Itself lose Its balance from the wind pressure.

"I won't sit idly by and watch you terrorize Arceus' creations and miracles any longer! I will defeat you, even if I'm forced to do it by myself!"

Curseax saw Giratina hunch its upper body low and angle its wings in such a way where their red conical claws appeared ready to tear at Its black hide if given the opportunity. To any normal Pokémon, the sight of one of Arceus' Children making itself ready for battle would make them cower and beg for mercy, or make them excited to fight and only end up lasting a few seconds. But to the Dark Arceus, It saw this as a feeble display of resilience, the likes of which proves that Giratina has next to no understanding of the adversary it wishes to challenge.

Because of that, Curseax felt like humoring Giratina.

"Then prove it." Curseax boasted without taking up a stance Itself. "Prove to Me that, as one of Arceus' first Sons, you have the power to kill Me! Show Me that this universe is worth living in, and not doomed to fall into My Void!"

Giratina did exactly that. Without a moment's hesitation, it sank into its own shadow via SHADOW FORCE and began to home in towards Curseax. Giratina's speed as a shadow in the earth was certainly a sight to behold and almost impossible to retaliate against for most Pokémon.

But Curseax was not "most Pokémon". In fact, it was hard to say for certain if Curseax could even be labeled as a Pokémon.

Ten black arms emerged from Curseax' midsection and immediately stabbed the earth at the exact moment Giratina's shadow would darken over it. The result was Curseax holding Giratina's shadow in place, a few feet before it could reach Curseax's body. Then, with these same ten ethereal arms, Curseax lifted them out of the ground, alongside Giratina after its SHADOW FORCE attack was stopped dead in its place.

Baffled, Giratina could only watch as Curseax lifted it up, out of its own shadow and high above the ground. Giratina could only struggle in vain to break free from Curseax's grasp, as all six of its legs, both of its wings, its midsection and its neck were restrained by those same ten black arms.

"This universe that your Father created, all of the life It pushed out of Its body, all of Its Sons and Daughters, as well as Itself…" Curseax stared Giratina dead in the eye, with Its horrifying mouth opened wide again, as if intending to devour Its victim. "They will all be swallowed whole by the Void of Curseax!"

Curseax retracted Its ten arms with Giratina still bound by them. Giratina watched in growing horror as Curseax's mouth drew closer and closer to its face. Giratina braced for the worst, as Curseax truly appeared to keep Itself true to Its own words, and begin to swallow Giratina whole, or in bloody pieces.

But instead of disappearing down Curseax's gaping maw, It shut its mouth a split-second before Giratina's head could enter it, in order to look at the Renegade Pokémon horrified countenance directly.

"But before that, a point must be made."

Curseax summoned an eleventh arm from Its body and hovered its sharpened tip precariously close to Giratina's forehead, waving it back and forth so that Giratina could see its presence, before driving it clean through the Renegade Pokémon's mind like a metaphorical sword. Giratina's eyes widened at first at the black sword arm that cut with no blood or tearing, yet still prodded its mind in ways that it has absolutely no defense for. Then, Giratina's eyes rolled behind its head and closed as the Renegade Pokémon succumbed to unconsciousness.

"The greatest evil that you call Father must know of My power."

With the sword arm still in Giratina's forehead and Giratina itself now entirely vulnerable, Curseax relinquished Its hold over the Renegade Pokémon with Its other ten arms. And through Its eleventh, Curseax migrated Its entire body into Giratina, overshadowing a mind made exploitable and feeble by Its power, disappearing from sight and manning a different body like a vehicle without its driver. Once Curseax successfully possessed Giratina, It opened Its eyes, each of them harboring a secondary green pupil and black iris, just beside the red one.

"Arceus and Its Children must experience carnage, fear, and hopelessness firsthand." Curseax spoke, Its voice harmonizing parallel with the possessed Giratina's telepathy. "Only then do they have My permission to return to it."

Curseax-Giratina flapped its mighty wings to take to the skies. And once high enough, It took advantage of the Griseous Orb that Giratina had embedded into its being. Curseax-Giratina transformed from its Alternate Forme to its Origin Forme, and soared across the skies, straight towards Arceus.

(Song Ends)


"Sometimes you have to feed the tiger so it won't devour you." —Orson Scott Card (368) ("Shadow of the Hegemon")