A/N: Ash experiences a rather abrupt change in personalities this chapter. Being my first story, I think I've done all the cliché things now. I even tried to add romantic fluff at the end? Err, anyways there's just the epilogue after this. Which I have not written at all. And since school is finally starting up for me, I probably won't have as much time. Or update as often. Normal typing is human language, italics are Pokemon language.
I have just discovered how to use reply to reviewers! So now I don't have write replies in my stories, but I can personalize each one! Yeah!
Disclaimer: I do not own Pokemon or any characters from Pokemon. I don't own the "Valzoa" from Aedis Eclipse, although I have used some of his traits for my own character. I do not own the chaos emeralds from Sonic the Hedgehog or any Sonic character. However, I have altered the purpose and powers of chaos emeralds to suit my fanfiction stories. I do own Siran, Valzoa (the pikachu), Blitz, Paul (the Palkia), Destiny, Ash (the Giratina), Astaria, and the chaos badge.
BEGIN-BEGIN-BEGIN-BEGIN-BEGIN-BEGIN-BEGIN-BEGIN
Merging and Synchronization
Ash's POV. At completion of transformation.
When I realized that Arceus was about to destroy me, I sealed up most of my powers here at Spear Pillar. I was not sure how, but one day I would come back here to gain it all again. I never thought I'd be reborn as a human. Not only that, but all of my previous life's memories had been locked away.
Finally, I remember it all! I've regained all of my powers! No longer am I a mere weak human! I can finally have my revenge on Arceus. I shall defeat her this time and I shall become the Master of Pokemon!
Look at the cowards around me. Cowering in fear at my awesome power! Well, except for that pikachu. Why does he look so smug anyways? I hear a voice near me.
"Ash? You're still in there right? I know you look pretty scary now and all the others are terrified of you. But that doesn't change anything about how I feel about you. I still love you Ash, please tell me you remember…" I turn my head towards her and ponder what she says.
Ash? That is the name I used back when I in that weak human body. I look scary you say, but you still love me? What are you supposed to be to me anyways? Should I even…
Wait, that voice. That beautiful voice that awakened my dormant memories. The one that would love me no matter what happened. The only one I could ever truly cared for.
You're so small…
But you need me and I need you. I must bend down to see you again, oh your beautiful eyes! Together we could rule this world of Pokemon! "My love, my Queen, my Astaria. We can finally be together at last, for all eternity." Astaria, the perfect name for my perfect love.
You even feel wonderful, and that scent that comes from you truly is divine. I can feel myself purring as I nuzzle you but I care not. You give me emotions I have never felt before. I want to be with you forever.
Suddenly there is a blinding light, and when it fades we are within what Arceus calls the Hall of Origin.
"It appears that you have finally come back from the dead Demon." Arceus looks at the terrified congregation before her. "This heartless beast has come back in order to enslave this world to his every whim. All of you, help me destroy him once and for all!"
I watch with apathy as all of the Pokemon slowly make their way to Arceus's side. The only exception being my love… oh and that pikachu over there.
"I'm sorry Arceus, but you're wrong about Ash! He's not the heartless beast you think he is; he's a wonderful and caring Pokemon. You don't want to rule the world right Ash?" I stare at her for a while, and then bend down to nuzzle her once more.
"My dear Astaria, I would do anything for you. If ruling the world holds no pleasure for you then there is no need to. But know that you'll always be my Queen and my love forever." She feels no desire to rule, and my only desire is to see that she is happy.
Arceus does not appear to believe her; "You put yourself in great peril young bayleef. Leave the demon's side now or I shall be forced to destroy you, too!"
With that, the pikachu starts to laugh rather loudly. He calms down and apologizes, "Oh sorry Arceus, but what you just said sounded so cliché I just had to laugh." Arceus glares at him and responds.
"Any side that isn't with me is with the demon. Come here now or I shall destroy you as well." But the pikachu laughs again and dashes over towards me. "Hey Ash, I think I'll stick with you. Things could get really interesting soon, but I believe in you and Astaria!"
The charizard standing by Arceus seems shocked by the pikachu's words. But then he flies over to us. "I'm with you Brother, no matter what."
The pidgey standing by Arceus flies over to our side as well. "Bayleef, I mean Astaria, we've pretty much been best friends forever. I won't leave you now!"
The Palkia looks really depressed. "You guys are my friends, but you're also nuts! I really care about you guys, so please, give me a really good reason why you're over there instead of over here with me."
The pikachu looks smug, "Reason number one is that after all we've been through, have I ever given you a reason to doubt me?" He pauses and the Palkia shrugs. "Reason number two is probably the most important deciding factor of all! This Arceus is NOT classified as a god based on university standards!"
I don't quite understand what he just said. The Palkia didn't seem to get it either at first. Then his face brightened as if he just had the greatest of revelations. He runs over to the pikachu and yells, "MAN VALZOA, YOU ARE A GENIUS! I'M WITH YOU ALL THE WAY!"
The pikachu replies smugly with, "I know I am, and I'm glad to have you with us."
I look towards the five Pokemon who I trained throughout my Pokemon trainer career and watch as they look at each other confusedly. Then they all look at me. Their eyes are filled with sorrow. They stay on Arceus's side of the room, but hide behind her rather than stand by her side. In retrospect it's my fault for not caring more about them.
Wait, why should I care about them? I care about nothing except for Astaria.
No wait, that's not true. I look around me and I see friends, not necessarily my friends, but friends who stand together and stand by my love. In turn they stand by me. My fight with Arceus shall be different this time. If they believe in me, surely I will win!
Arceus sneers at us, "Very well then, I, the god of Pokemon, shall smite you all for teaming up with a demon!"
The pikachu pipes up again, "He isn't a demon, and you aren't a REAL god! You feel threatened by Ash; you aren't giving him a chance to live a new life! He's changed, why can't you except that and be happy?"
"SILENCE! PREPARE TO DIE HERETICS!" I don't care what she says; I'm going to win this time!
0000000000000000000000000000000000000000000
Valzoa's POV
Ah, another classic battle of good versus evil. This Arceus is nowhere near as powerful as the other one I fought. In fact, I could probably take this one on and win. Still this is Ash's and Astaria's fight, I'm pretty sure they'll win in the end but it's always interesting to see how it happens.
I will admit I was a bit surprised when I noticed the sudden change in Ash's emotional patterns. I thought his old human personality was lost forever. Thank goodness he has Astaria, or else I would have cheered for Arceus instead.
Arceus begins, "Cosmic Power come to my aid!" A defensive move, she's most likely thinking this shall be a long fight.
Ash responds with "Ominous Wind!" Dark gusts blow towards Arceus and cause her damage. Ash appears to be a bit stronger after that attack.
Arceus replies, "Ice Beam!" Blue light streaks towards Ash and hurts him. Some frost still clings to his body.
"Shadow Force!" Ash disappears, and Arceus prepares herself.
Again Arceus calls to the heavens, "Cosmic Power hear my plea!" Probably a smart idea to do, she won't be able to hurt Ash until after he finishes his attack anyways. Seconds later, Ash reappears and damages Arceus severely.
Wait a second; I thought Arceus was a normal type? I replay all of the moves I've seen up until now in my head. This second time through I notice that Arceus's aura appears to change depending on which move she uses. Oh, I see now. Since Cosmic Power is a psychic type move, she temporarily became super weak to ghost attacks. Judging by her emotion of surprise right now, I bet she forgot about that.
Arceus growls out, "Sword Dance!" Looks like she's getting serious. That's going to raise her attack power.
Uh oh, apparently Ash doesn't know about her being normal type now. "Have some more Ominous Wind!" Arceus grins, as the attack does nothing to her. Ash again seems to have become stronger.
"It is a good thing for me that you've been stuck in that human body for so long. I shall end this now! Face your PUNISHMENT!" Punishment? I look at my virtual screen. Oh boy this isn't good.
Due to all of the beneficial side effects of Ominous Wind, Ash ends up taking massive damage. He collapses in pain and struggles to stand back up again. Astaria runs up to Ash and speaks with him. I also notice that Arceus takes this moment to use Recover on herself.
0000000000000000000000000000000000000000000
Ash's POV
Damn it! What the hell did she hit me with? I feel pain all over my body and it really hurts. Now I know how my Pokemon felt when they battled for me. Huh? Astaria is running up to me.
"Ash, no! Please hang on. I don't want to lose you. I don't want you to leave me again!" Sweet Astaria.
"My love, what are you saying? It's not like I'm dying… ugh… Although I really don't feel too good. Please don't worry, I'll win this fight." I struggle to comfort her but fail. Tears start falling down her beautiful eyes, but then she looks up with hope. She whispers to me with determination in her eyes.
"No, you're not going to end your life like this. I won't allow it. Please, let me help you. Take my strength!" Take her strength? I close my eyes and wonder what she meant. Suddenly, I feel awesome power that I've never felt before flood my body. My wounds begin to heal and I feel better than ever!
When I look over to find Astaria I see that she is no longer here and I begin to panic. Everyone in the room has wide eyes, except for that pikachu over there. He's grins widely and gives me a thumbs-up. "Now finish this battle so that you can live with your loved one in peace."
I still feel a bit hesitant but then I hear a voice in my head. "This is a really odd feeling, your aura feels so warm and fuzzy. Oh sorry, we've still got a battle to win. I know that we can do this together Ash!" She's inside me? She's a part of me now? Well, I'm not sure how it happened but together I know as well that we cannot fail!
0000000000000000000000000000000000000
Valzoa's POV
Clever, very clever Astaria.
Using the chaos badge, Astaria was able to merge with Ash. Ash looks slightly different now; his golden helm has turned a forest green color. Unknowingly Ash/Astaria used Synthesis to heal all of the damage dealt to him in the battle so far. However, by far the coolest thing about this battle is that Ash and Astaria have 100 percent synchronization with each other. Not only that, but now Ash/Astaria has complete access to grass type moves.
"I see that the foolish little bayleef paid the price for believing in you. You demon, you consumed her to recover your strength!" Areceus was scowling at him now. I noticed that Ash's sync rating went down briefly when he heard that but then it soared back up to max immediately afterwards.
Ash/Astaria decides to respond with a new attack. "Solar Beam!" A beam of gigantic light, much larger than a hyper beam, rips through the air and smashes into Arceus.
As the dust clears Arceus looks up in fear at this new development, "Impossible! No Solar Beam is that strong!" She then calms herself. "No matter, you should be really weak to Ice now! ICE JUDGMENT!" Huge rays of cold light with ice-shards batters the Giratina, but he takes barely any damage. Disbelief is written all over Arceus's face when her opponent appears to have had little harm done to him.
I'm not surprised though because I know how good synchronization can be. When I partnered up with Siran, I was pretty much unstoppable because of our sync. Together we had a synchronization of roughly 95 percent. My powers over electricity felt like they increased ten-fold! No matter what anyone hit me with, I would still keep going strong! It felt so godly! I was so sure that nothing could bring me down!
But then we ran into a REAL god Arceus and I learned what the limits to my powers were. Again, never fight beings classified, by university standards, as gods. No matter how good your synchronization is, a god will pwn you.
So knowing what a 95 percent sync is like, I can only imagine how much stronger a complete 100 percent is. Freaking, this Arceus stands no chance. Even I would only have about a 10 percent chance of winning alone, at least that's what university statistics show. Although, if Siran were here to sync with me you'd better believe I could beat Ash/Astaria fairly easily.
Where does sync originate? The chaos badges use chaos energies. Chaos energies can be formed from strong emotions. If the emotions between two beings are strong, loads of chaos power is created for them to use. This chaos energy in turn empowers the users. So sync is a measure of peoples emotions, the more two beings emotions match the more their chaos badges help each other out with the empowerment. Friendship to the extreme can get as high as 95 percent sync, while an emotion such as love can possibly reach 100 percent.
It is possible to do something similar with negative feelings such as hate, but that's more difficult. Your enemy has to totally despise you and wish with all their heart for your end. Personally, I prefer positive emotions. They're safer.
So where was I? Oh, right the battle. The Giratina is saying something.
"You cannot defeat the combined power of our love, Arceus. You shall be defeated this time. Ominous Leaf Storm!" Purple winds with glowing green leaves slash into Arceus. Once the storm passes, she collapses onto the floor panting.
Arceus looks up as the Giratina approaches her. "I've lost? Now the world is doomed. Please if you have any mercy in you, end my life swiftly. And please do not harm the other legendaries, please don't…" Arceus voice drops as her eyes close and she begins to cry.
I can feel the emotions around me. Most are completely shocked at the sight of Arceus looking like a rag doll in her own Hall. Paul is appalled at the sight and starts to move to help her from crying, but I hold him back with a stare and a shake of my head.
From the Giratina I feel their synchronization splitting drastically, two separate emotions within the same being. I believe that Ash's side is filled with victory and excitement for the end of his long time nemesis, but the side that seems to be Astaria is begging Ash to stop. She doesn't want Arceus to die and is pleading with Ash to help her now that she has been defeated. At first Ash's side seems shocked, but most likely he changed his mind because his loved one wished it. Slowly their sync reaches 100 percent again.
The Giratina bends down towards Arceus. "I did not fight you to rule the world, I wanted to merely live with my love in peace. If you want it, allow me to help you recover your strength." Arceus opens up her eyes and slowly nods.
Ash/Astaria manage to pick up Arceus and hug her to their body. It might look unusual at first, but then they glow the bright yellowish-green of Synthesis. Arceus looks up to them in wonder.
"You really do have a heart now. I'm sorry for getting in the way of your happiness. I thought I was doing the right thing." She appears ashamed for what she did.
Ash/Astaria nods. "You are forgiven. Now for one to become two again." A bright light emits from them. When it fades, a Bayleef and a Giratina stand side by side. Ash still has a green helmet on though. At the moment Astaria looks unchanged, but I have a hunch that she won't be for very long.
"My love, thank you for lending me your strength. It felt incredible fighting together like that, and with you there to help guide me." Ash begins to nuzzle Astaria and she nuzzles back. Their extreme height difference is still noticeable though.
3…2…1…
Astaria begins to glow the white glow of evolution. When the light fades she has become a rather unique Meganium. Proportionally she is a lot taller than an average Meganium; in fact she reaches just underneath the Giratina's head. Also unique is the yellow helmet on her head, a mirror to the one Ash wears. The flower around her neck is golden yellow instead of pinkish-red.
They look into each other's widened eyes in shock. Then I register the extreme emotions that are emanating from them. Oh!
"All right everyone, exit the Hall of Origin! We need to evacuate this place immediately! That means you too Arceus! Paul! Guard the entrance and let nobody in through these doors!" Everyone looks at me a bit confused, but they comply.
We all exited the Hall as fast as we could. Most of us reappeared at Spear Pillar. The only ones missing were Destiny, Paul, Ash, and Astaria. Arceus asks, "So what was the big emergency?"
0000000000000000000000000000000000000000000
Paul's POV
I wonder why I have to stand outside and guard these doors? At least Destiny is here with me to keep me company. Remembering what has just happened in the past hour I ask Destiny a question.
"Hey Destiny, did you want to give merging a shot? Who knows, it might be fun and then we could know how high our sync rating is." At first her emotions battle between disgust and interest.
Interest apparently won out. "Sure, I mean if you want to. It could be interesting while we're just waiting here." It takes a few minutes, but then I feel her merging into me.
I ask her, or I suppose myself? "How does it feel inside? Are you okay?" Then I hear her voice respond, "This is a really unusual experience. It's like I can feel your aura, and it's kind of lazy, but it can be playful and friendly. As to your body, it feels odd to be so big!" She pauses at that, and then I laugh.
I ask her with humor in my thought, "So, do you feel any incredible urges of love towards me now?" Her thought response was immediate, "Hell no! I like you as a friend but I don't love you. I've only known you for about a month for Arceus's sake!" She pauses a bit before continuing. "Although, I do feel something for you. Give me some time to figure out if it is love."
I think about my own feelings and respond. "You know, I think I feel the same way. I was just joking earlier, I like you as a friend. But maybe with time… Who knows?" I can feel the part that is her snuggling next to me… somehow… while she's in my body… it's a strange feeling. I again hear her voice. "Your aura is very comfortable and soothing. It's like the most comfortable nest I've ever slept in." Even though nobody else is around I blush shyly.
I reply, "And your aura is like a gentle little thing that I feel I must protect. I feel stronger knowing I am your guardian." I take a look at my virtual screen. "Apparently we are at 30 percent synchronization right now." Destiny snorts, "Gentle thing my tail feathers! I'll show you what a gentle thing I can be!"
I'm not exactly sure what she's doing inside of me but it's effecting me somehow. "Uh, Destiny, could you please stop whatever you're doing? I don't feel right." Destiny responds, "I'm just wrestling with your aura a bit you big cry-baby! I'm not a gentle thing and I'm proving it to you!" I start to sweat and I groan out loud. Why does this feel so damn good?
Wait, what? This feels good? I… oh Arceus! "Please Destiny, I'm begging you to stop! You don't know what you're causing me to feel! Please, stop a moment and see what you're causing!" Finally, I feel whatever she did to me stop. "What I am causing? What are you talking about… HUH? You mean to tell me that wrestling with your aura actually turned you on? Oh ewwww! I'm so sorry I didn't think that would happen!" I stop panting and manage to get my heart rate back to normal.
After I catch my breath, I decided I liked the feeling. "Hey, Destiny. Don't worry about it. Just next time, wait until we get a private room or something where no one would bother us. I did enjoy it now that I know what happened. I guess you do turn me on after all." Again she has an immediate response, "PERVERT!"
My attention turns outwards when I notice Lugia and Latias flying up the stairs. "Hey Lugia and Latias. Arceus is waiting down at Spear Pillar for you. I've been told to not let anyone into the Hall of Origin." They nod and I open up a rift that leads to Spear Pillar for them. That was quick, maybe that's why Valzoa told me to wait here.
All of a sudden I hear loud noises coming from inside the Hall. It sounds like a battleground in there! "Hey Destiny, do you think we should peek inside the Hall to make sure everything is fine?" Her reply is, "I kind of want to know to, but Valzoa told us to guard the outside." I hear scream and a yell from inside. I tell her, "Did you hear that? That sounded like trouble inside! I think I'll investigate." Destiny doesn't respond, but I feel her acceptance.
I take a look inside and find both Ash and Astaria on the floor… then I shut the door quickly and stand guard back outside.
"So that's why I'm standing guard out here." Destiny replies, "We shouldn't have intruded on their privacy." I think for a minute about how they seemed oblivious to everyone around them. Also on how much they seemed to be enjoying themselves.
So I ask her, "How about we go find a room and try that out? It looks enjoyable." She screams at me, "You PERVERT!" With that, she de-merges from me and flies up to my eye-level furious.
"You know, you look really hot when you're raging. You really know how to turn a guy on." I was just joking at first but then I realized that part of me wasn't. She turned really bright red. I waited for her to explode at me but she didn't.
"Well, I um… I think you're the only guy I've ever wanted to turn on… Wait, no! That came out wrong!" I stared at her dumbfounded. She decided to take me seriously? She speaks again.
"Uh! You see, um. Heh, sometimes the chaos badges are a real drag. They let you see the emotions a person has, so it's kind of easy to know what you really mean even if you laugh it off." I had forgotten about that, and I blush in embarrassment. She must have noticed, she flies over to me and lands on my shoulder.
I take another look at the screen and see that our sync rating is up to 50 percent. I suppose merging does speed up the process. Both of our emotions are all tangled and confused, but there's also a feeling of hope that the other is a soul mate.
She snuggles next to my neck, "Let's just take this one step at a time. It's comfortable to be with you, but beyond that I'm not ready. Heh, who knows? Maybe I'll turn into some kind of Palkia hybrid, kind of like Astaria, after I evolve and maybe I'll be ready then."
A part of me with her, and a part of her with me. I double-check my body for feathers, but I don't spot any. I start to relax as she rests on my shoulder. "Yeah, okay. This feels really good right now. I kind of hope this feeling lasts a long while." I feel sleep start to take us.
END-END-END-END-END-END-END-END-END-END-END-END-END-END
A/N: An Epilogue chapter and this short story should be done! As far as my next story goes, I think I'm leaning towards the pokemon revolution story. I enjoy writing stories form first-person-views rather than thrid-person-veiws. Normal POVs are too boring for me I think. Whereas with a character's POV you can know what they feel, and experience things from a unique perspective. I've tried to give all of my different POVs a somewhat different personality. Is it easy to tell the difference, or not really?
Thank you for your reviews! I'll be sure to try out the reply to reviews system!
