Chap 4
As the years rolled by, I found myself spending more and more time in my room, balancing black holes, super novas, and depleting gravitational pulls, as well as enjoying my own thoughts. It was not until many years later that Mew suddenly appeared, and shook her head at me in a nuance of disgust.
"What?" I asked.
She had found me curled up like an Ekans, relaxing on my stone floor doing nothing.
"Just, haven't seen you in forever," she complained. "What have you been doing?"
"My job," I quickly answered.
"How come you don't come out anymore?"
She was whining, and I honestly did not have the slightest clue how to articulate what was really going through my head. To be honest, I don't quite know what happened to me during those years. I had found myself better preoccupied with fantasies than reality. I did not even feel the years pass by, in actuality. However, I could not find the words to tell this to Mew, who probably would not understand or be hurt by the fact that I did not openly come to her as she had done with me.
"The castle just bores me," I came up with an excuse.
Mew had a counter for me, as I expected. "Well, there are plenty of new Pokemon for you to meet now!"
"I thought Arceus didn't want us all to gather until Earth was finalized?" I was truly resisting her. I'm not quite sure what was driving this childish struggle. I must have been feeling too bashful, yet too proud to show myself after such a long absence.
Mew continued to pester me, though. "It's not strict, he just doesn't want to have a huge meet and greet quite yet."
She had beaten me. I did not have another good reason for staying in my coil, and she fruitlessly tugged on my gold horns. "Just come down with me! I'll introduce you!"
I finally gave in when I said, "Fine, fine, I'll come with you. Who's new?"
As I reluctantly uncoiled myself and phased through the wall of my domain, Mew quickly teleported to greet me on the other side. The great expanse of space had not changed very much from when I last saw it in person. It was still an inky blackness penetrated by the brilliance of stars thousands of light-years away. However, passing my tower, the rays of light from the Great Star reflected off a new Earth as it came into view. It was drastically different than I had imagined. It was pleasantly blue and green now with gentle whites on its ice caps. Pleasant clouds wisped over its surface lazily. It was so peaceful to look at, so mesmerizing to experience. Mew came up to my side and murmured, "See? You missed a lot."
Mind you, the Earth was still not like it is today, what with the continents in vastly different places and such. But it certainly looked a lot more hospitable. It was the gem of the solar system.
"Many more deities have joined the group," Mew said, pulling me towards The Universe's ceiling. We both found our respective ways inside. "There is a Pokemon for every working of the Earth."
"And I'm sure you want me to meet them all, yes?" I asked with a nuance of sarcasm, as I knew Mew too well to be serious in asking such a thing.
"Of course!" she giggled. "You're just in time. The ladies usually gather by the Fountain at this time. It's the perfect opportunity for you to meet them all at once."
When we finally arrived at the Fountain, I instantly recognized it as the very same place I last spent time with Dialga. However, the room itself was vastly different. Though the fountain was still a golden tower adorned with water spouts that now spewed the relaxing substance continuously, the room itself was much brighter. The ceiling itself was illuminated with electric power fueled from a source unbeknownst to me and brightened the entire room so that not an inch of it was shrouded in mysterious darkness. It was for this reason my opinion of the room changed and I secretly wanted it to change back into the barely-lit room I saved in my memory. The room also reverberated with the sound of the water crashing unto itself from the fountain and the chatter from the Pokemon enjoying its refreshing qualities.
Mew led me closer to them. As I was not hard to miss, they all looked up and stared as we approached.
"Hey, girls!" Mew greeted them familiarly, which was already making me feel uncomfortable, but I kept quiet and in place so as not to draw any more attention to myself. The gaggle of deities were all bird-shaped, though it appeared to be the only thing they held in common. One was very beautiful, covered in sapphire-colored feathers and a long, shiny tail. Her head crest rested just above her deep, red eyes before her small face concluded into a small beak. Another was yellow and black with spiky feathers. Everything about her seemed jagged. Behind them sat a yellow bird almost consumed in fire, but her eyes were gentle and mysterious.
"Gira, these are the Legendary Bird trio who help out Lugia with the weather of Earth. You'll meet him later, but this is Articuno, Zapdos, and Moltres," Mew introduced them, pointing to the blue one, the yellow one, and the fiery one respectfully. "And girls, this is Giratina! She's the mistress of anti-matter. She helps Palkia maintain the universe outside of Earth."
The three bowed their heads, welcoming me. For a moment I felt at ease, that is, until I heard a haughty voice chime in from behind the fountain, "Helping Palkia? I didn't know Palkia needed help. The cosmos seem ever so still!"
From behind the fountain emerged another bird, though she seemed larger in every way to the other birds. I have to admit, she was beautifully rainbow-colored, though her eyes troubled me in the way they glared.
"You would be surprised," I finally spoke.
"Perhaps I would," she said in a condescending tone.
"Gira, this is Ho-oh," Mew introduced her. "She works on the opposite of Lugia as a lack of weather and the beauty of nature."
"I also spread around the joys of Arceus' creation that is the Earth!" she added, though I could already tell she was fluffing up her duties to be more noble and stunning than they actually were. Nevertheless, I tried my best to be courteous.
"So tell us what exactly it is that you do in space that Palkia cannot take care of?" Ho-oh challenged.
As annoying as she was, I preferred to shift my answers to the other three birds who seemed genuinely intrigued by me. I answered, "I work on the dimension opposite of this one. Black holes, the remnants of dead stars all over the galaxy, are where these dimensions connect. It is my duty to ensure that their power and diameters stay constant. It is a round-the-clock kind of responsibility. Should they become unstable, they could collapse both dimensions. I also need to make sure Palkia does not create any matter, for it is forbidden and could also rupture the balance between our dimensions, though he seems to abide by this very well."
Articuno, Zapdos, and Moltres were so intrigued by my tiny science lesson that they seemed to lean in on every word. Although Ho-oh was listening, she did not seem to believe a word I was saying. Instead, she put me down.
"So, you're a "behind-the-scenes" kind of worker, yes?"
"I suppose you could say that," I answered, at that time not really realizing how condescending she was being. Mew was noticing it though; I could see the confused, yet defensive face she was giving Ho-oh.
The rainbow mistress sighed, "Well, then I just don't understand. Dialga told us about you, and how impressive your work was, but you seem kind of useless to me. I mean, you rule over a dimension none of us will ever go or enjoy!"
I perked up for a split second at the sound of Dialga's name and Ho-oh took notice of it before I retaliated the rest of her sentence with bared teeth.
"Okay, Ho-oh, I think that's enough," Mew stated, trying to get between us. I was still baring my teeth at the rainbow hawk, but I never intended to us them. Ho-oh only elevated her beak in a slight smirk, having already found the right buttons to push. She quickly recomposed herself and angled her neck so as to face Mew.
"You're right, I'm sorry. I've been kind of moody and, dare I say it, a bit jealous, lately," Ho-oh confided in us.
Mew softened, and with the desire to please, asked, "About what?"
"I desire my own band of helpers," Ho-oh said. "It's not fair that Lugia and I are on the same plane of importance, but he gets a small army while I work alone! I hate it!"
I sealed my fate with what jumped out of my consciousness right then and there.
"Why would you require assistance?" I asked coyly. "Your job is simpler than those you consider below you. I would think that Lugia could just as easily retain his weather-making for another rotation of Earth, wouldn't you agree?"
The legendary birds snickered and Mew shrugged. Though I was proud of myself for showing her up, we both glared at each other. It was true either one of our jobs could have been taken up by another deity, but it was principle to Mew not to overwork anyone and promote teamwork. I always thought it was a good thing Ho-oh and I did not share the same field of work – in the end we might have just killed each other instead.
I left after I made my point. Ho-oh had no comeback for me. She either decided to ignore my comments, or secretly agree. In any case, I vowed from then on to make friends, not enemies, though it seemed to me the making of enemies was never my fault. I also, to this day, will never understand Ho-oh's initial malevolence towards me. She had never met me, after all, yet she tried her hardest to show me up. I have cracked it down to her feelings of insignificance. After all, she kept asking for her own flock like Lugia's to no avail. Being a bully seemed to be in her favor.
However, what was on my mind immediately after leaving was what she had said about Dialga. He had apparently been saying good things about me, even after all the time I remained missing. I tried not to let my feelings persuade me into thinking he must have missed me, even just a little, or that it was only him saying those things. Nevertheless, I wanted to see him. I had been fooling myself that my imagination was enough all this time, but, just the thought that he might actually have fostered a special liking for me was enough for me to slither among the extensive halls of the Universe Castle to find him.