Chapter 44

My eyes opened to nothing but white.

This . . . this must be . . . The flashes of color confirmed my suspicions, and I knew I was back in the strange room from earlier, where I met that little girl. I half expected her to appear again as I looked around, but no one was there. Then, a familiar voice called my name: "Lilly?"

I gasped, not expecting him to be there. Mewtwo? I called back. I finally turned around and saw him hovering nearby, though his eyes were unfocused. How did you get in here? I asked, moving toward him. He still seemed to not have heard me and continued turning his head. What are you looking for? I asked, a little hurt by being ignored.

"Lilly, where are you?" he asked finally.

I'm right here! I said as I stopped moving toward him, Can't you see me?

He can neither see you, nor hear you, a third voice spoke, you must manifest while you are in here.

Manifest?

You must will him to see you, the voice tried to clarify.

I did not understand that, either. Will what? But the voice no longer

answered. My attention shifted back to Mewtwo, who was growing more anxious by the moment as he flew about the seemingly never-ending space, frantically calling my name. I continued to call his name. Mewtwo! Don't be scared, I'm here. Can you see me yet, Mewtwo? Look over here! "Mewtwo!"

He stopped moving and turned around the third time I called him, his eyes meeting mine. "There you are," he sighed, quickly approaching me, "I was worried that something happened to you again."

I felt my forehead crease in confusion. "'Again'? You mean you've been here before?"

Before he could respond, Mewtwo was interrupted. Yes, the voice from earlier said, he has. We both turned and were too startled to say anything when we saw the speaker.

The being that stood before us was quite tall, nearly twice the height of Mewtwo. Its fur would have easily blended in with the white background were it not for its black face and chest. Light glinted off his forehead and feet, which seemed to be made of pure gold. But even more noticeable was the gold ornamentation that encased his middle, studded with green gems on the corners. The being's eyes were the same deep green as mine, and the pupils were like hot coals. Though his voice seemed to ring out like a choir of bells, he spoke telepathically. I have called you both here for an emergency meeting.

"Arceus," I whispered in disbelief.

I was going to wait until things settled down, but at this rate it seems as though I will be dead before then, Arceus said with narrowed eyes, glowering down at the two of us as if we had personally tried to do away with him.

I was still too dumbfounded to say anything, but Mewtwo was completely unabashed by Arceus' presence. "Where were you?" he asked tensely, taking a step toward him. "Lilly was almost—" he was cut off suddenly. Though I was slightly behind him, I could see that he was still trying to speak, but no sound left his mouth.

A jolt of irritation ran through the awe I was still recovering from. "What did you do to him?" I asked, looking back at Arceus.

You still fail to understand that my time spent communicating with you is valuable time I could be using to absorb energy, especially now. But as it pertains to this discussion, I will answer your queries. Though his words conveyed urgency, the voice with which he said them was calm.

I was present when Amber came to help you escape the hideout. I was present when I nearly used the last of my strength to get you and Lilly as far from the hideout as I could. Before I could ask who Amber was, Arceus' gaze suddenly shifted to me. If looks could kill, I might have died again then and there. His voice was still calm when he added, But I was not present when you recklessly drew power from the Opal to save Mewtwo.

I was shocked by this revelation. "You mean . . . you wanted me to let them kill him?" I asked, stepping in front of Mewtwo.

Arceus' face seemed to twitch. You humans never cease to amaze me with your selfishness, he practically sneered. Did you delude yourself into thinking that I exist to protect you? I allowed you to face Rayquaza because the entire world was at risk, I intervened when you went to save Mewtwo, but throwing yourself directly into the weapon that you knew would kill you?

"Aren't you supposed to protect all life?" I retorted.

Not at the cost of every other being! Arceus raged finally, the pupils in his eyes growing larger. I felt Mewtwo grab my arm. You were willing to plunge everything back into chaos, to throw away the future of this entire universe, for a single Pokémon!

"What chaos are you talking about? You're the one who's being selfish!" I cried out, "I've been living like this for almost thirteen years, and I still don't know a single thing about you, or . . . any of this! How is that fair?"

I looked back toward Mewtwo, whose hand was still on my arm and his eyes fixed on Arceus. I looked back toward Arceus again. "What good is this power if I can't protect the ones I care about? How can you expect me to make these choices if I don't know why I'm making them?!"

Since Arceus had not forced me into silence as he did with Mewtwo, I knew he was hearing what I had to say. After a pause, he spoke with a neutral voice again, Then, perhaps you are ready to understand who I . . . no, who we are. But first, tell me this: how did it feel to be restrained while someone you cared very much about was to die?

I did not see how that was relevant to any of my questions, but I answered him. "I was scared, of course."

What else?

"I was . . . I mean . . . really scared?"

Arceus shook his head, his movements smooth. Fear does not give you access to power, remember that. Perhaps you felt a lot of fear, but if that was the only thing you felt, why did you not look away? I realized that he was right; I never took my eyes off of Mewtwo while Team Rocket did their utmost to weaken him. What else did you feel?

There was another moment of silence before I finally answered, "I was . . . angry, I think."

The word you're looking for is furious, he said, and that fury is what allowed you to harness that much power.

"I have to get angry to use my powers?" I asked.

It was not what you felt, but how much you felt, Arceus clarified. But you should refrain from using that power, partially because if you try to use more than your body is accustomed to, you will destroy yourself. But more importantly, if I am constantly using that energy, the process of restoring myself will take much longer. The reason you and I are bonded this way is so that I can safely absorb energy from the Universe and recover my full strength.

"Then. . . you existed before I was born?" I asked, still not understanding. "What happened? How did we . . . why me?"

Arceus seemed to sigh. There is so much you have to learn.

A large, golden ring appeared in front of Mewtwo and I. There is only time enough to briefly explain my origins this time. A smoky blackness spread from the inside edges of the ring, and the wisps met in the middle and solidified.

Many eons ago, there was nothing. Then, there was an explosion of energy. A bright light flashed from the center of the darkness. From the light of this explosion, the Celestial Universe was born. But the light did not reach everywhere, and in the space where it did not reach, the Paralyzed Universe was born.

The explosion eventually condensed and became an ellipse, spinning like the rings of Saturn all the while. The two beings lived peacefully for a long time and had their own subjects to rule over. But as time went on, the ruler of the Paralyzed Universe grew tired of hearing the whisperings of his subjects, whom gazed longingly at the Celestial Universe each night. "How I wish I could enjoy that light from the Celestial Universe!" they said.

The Ruler of the Paralyzed Universe thought if he could bring some more of that energy to the Paralyzed Universe, his subjects would be satisfied. So he sought some of the light of the Celestial Universe, but their ruler denied him any more of their light. "We must have balance," he said, "all the light must remain here." The border between the Celestial and Paralyzed Universes gradually turned red. This sparked a never-ending war, threatening to tear the balance of the two Universes apart and ending the existence of all life that existed back then. But from the fighting between Celestial and Paralyzed rulers, I emerged.

An ancient painting of Arceus appeared in the ring, with depictions of the two rulers on either side of him. Both rulers were shocked when they saw me, but the ruler of the Celestial Universe decided that I was to be the balance between the two Universes, bringing light and darkness to both. And it was so. I was given my own kingdom, the Living Universe. It is filled with subjects of both the Paralyzed and Celestial Universes, but here they have a chance to either move to the Celestial or Paralyzed Universe depending on how they lived.

And that is my purpose, to decide which Universe these subjects go to once their time here is done. I have also created other beings to manage things like time and space in this universe.

But the ruler of the Paralyzed Universe was not satisfied with this agreement, and only after a few short years into my reign he destroyed me. I was young and not at their strength, so he nearly succeeded. But he could not completely destroy me, and the only thing that remained . . . He indicated my necklace, was that stone, where we are presently.

Once the ruler of the Celestial Universe found out, he was devastated, and war resumed for a millennium. Though the war raged, I was not revived. One day, the ruler of the Celestial universe decided that if this stone existed, there was a chance to revive me yet. But the stone needed to be attached to someone of this universe. A host, if you will. But how to choose one?

The ruler of the Celestial Universe did not want a proud host, or someone who would try to take advantage of such a blessing. He wanted someone responsible but unassuming, who would be able to live a safe and quiet life until their time came.

I felt my brow furrow together at this description. That was supposed to be you, but there were . . . complications that he had not anticipated.

The large, golden circle disappeared, and in its place formed a smaller, misshapen ring. Do you know what your mother's occupation was?

I was again taken back by his seemingly irrelevant question. Nevertheless, I jumped at the chance to talk about my parents. "A florist," I answered confidently, "my Aunt told me she grew flowers with her Pokémon's help. And my dad was a Pokémon trainer!"

Correct. The misshapen ring also turned dark in the middle, and a moment later I was looking at a lush forest. She became fascinated in botany because her own parents were botanists, Arceus continued, as a child, she was the only one of her siblings who traveled with them as they researched flora all over the Earth.

A strange cry sounded from the ring, and a girl about my age peeked through the bushes. I stared at her for a moment before I realized who it was. "Mom!" I gasped, coming closer to the ring. She seemed to be looking for something as she walked through the jungle. "Look, that's my mom!" I turned to Mewtwo to say, but he was staring past me. My attention returned to the ring when the cry from before sounded again, a little louder that time, and she quickened her pace. Her eyes went wide when she finally saw something, and she took off running.

After a moment she stopped and bent down, and I could finally see what she was moving toward; a small, pink Pokémon I'd never seen before was curled up in the roots of a tree, breathing quickly. From the looks of how its limbs were sprawled out beneath, he was definitely injured. "Are you alright?" I heard her ask, scratching behind its small, rounded ears. The Pokémon looked up at her weakly before closing its eyes. "I'd better get you back to Mom and Dad," she said before scooping up the Pokémon in her arms, "they'll know how to help!"

The vision went dark, and only then did I realize that Mewtwo was tapping my shoulder eagerly. "What is it?" I asked, turning to look at him. His violet eyes were wide, and he was moving his hands as he tried to tell me something. But not even his telepathy could reach me. "Let him speak," I said to Arceus, concerned by his reaction.

In a moment, he promised, but I showed you that because that was the reason you came to be. Your mother unknowingly saved the first Pokémon, and the ruler of the Celestial Universe saw and hoped she would raise her child to have the same compassion toward life.

The vision in the ring activated again, and this time I was looking at a baby with thick, black hair, asleep in the viewer's arms. "That . . . that's me?" I asked, drawing closer to the ring. Arceus nodded. "Celia," a man's voice said quietly, "you should go rest, I'll take care of her." The gaze shifted from the baby to a man standing nearby, also with thick black hair. I gasped and put a hand to my mouth; it was my father. "Alright," the woman's voice said gently, "don't wake her up this time." Mom? She handed me to the man, who was smiling to himself, and the image went dark.

"Wait, I want to see more!" I begged, "Show me my parents again!"

At your conception, the energy of this stone was fused to your being, Arceus continued, ignoring me. Your parents were informed of this during your mother's pregnancy, and as such kept the pregnancy quiet to the rest of the family.

It was the intent of the Celestial Universe's ruler that you grow up happily with them. But the ruler of the Paralyzed Universe learned of the plan to revive me and sought to use the darkness in humans' hearts to put a stop to it. That was something the Celestial Universe's ruler had not anticipated.

The image in the shape grew brighter again, and it looked like my mother was running up the stairs. Shouting could be heard from behind her, but I could not figure out what was going on. She ran into a pastel yellow room, with baby toys and a dark wooden crib, pausing to catch her breath. Then she called out, "Mew!"

I gasped as I saw the pink creature appear next to the crib. Now that he was fully alert, I could see that he had large blue eyes and a long tail. Mew . . . ?! I looked at Mewtwo, but his eyes were glued to the image in the ring. "I need you to take her to Little—"

The Pokémon cries from the battle nearby drowned out her voice for a moment. ". . . to my sister Chrissy Prescott. She will live there—"

A gunshot rang out, making the speaker jump in fright, but she kept going, "Please, you're her only hope of surviving this."

My mother ran to the crib where I slept and looked at me for a moment, blissfully unaware of what was going on, then she picked me up in her arms and held me to her. "My Adrianna," she choked out, "I'm sorry I couldn't protect you. I'm sorry I won't get to see you grow up into the wonderful person you're sure to be." She paused for a moment, sniffling, then continued, "I know you're so young, but I hope you remember . . . how much Mommy and Daddy love you. We'll always love you, and we're grateful to have known you." She pressed her lips to my forehead and tucked a folded piece of paper into my pajamas, then looked back toward the small Pokémon and held me out to it. The Pokémon lifted me with a psychic power and took me into its tiny arms. "Thank you," my mother said, bringing a hand to her eye, "thank you for everything."

The Pokémon didn't move, instead looking back with sadness in its eyes. "There's no time," my mother said through her tears, "if you try to stop them, they'll just capture you, too. Hurry!"

The Pokémon gave one tiny "Mew!" before disappearing, just as people had reached the top of the stairs and began entering the room, ones with large, red letter R's emblazoned on their chests. As soon as I saw them, the image went dark.

"No!" I cried, running toward it, "Mom, no—"

Your mother did not survive, Arceus said, she was determined to protect you until the end.

At those words, I crumbled. Mewtwo levitated me before my knees hit the ground and held me to him while I sobbed into his shoulder. "Why did you show us this?" he asked quietly, finally permitted to speak again.

Yes, it must have been startling to see your parents interact—

"Mew is not my parent," Mewtwo bristled.

Regardless, Mew was the one who brought news of Lilly's circumstances, and swore to protect her and I from danger when the time came. But . . .

Arceus looked directly at Mewtwo, it seems as though his services will no longer be needed with you around.

"How did they know about you? Were you ever going to tell us that Team Rocket was responsible for the death of Lilly's parents, or why?" Mewtwo shouted suddenly, "Or that . . . that Mew was the one who brought her to Hoenn?!"

Telling you too much will only accelerate the events to come, Arceus warned, but as I have stated earlier, Giovanni has more than enough incentive to find Lilly. Once he figures out who she is, he will stop at nothing to destroy us. Arceus paused for a moment. There is something else you both should know. Mewtwo, you'll recall that I said I did not know your fate?

"Yes," he answered stiffly.

Every being's fate is written. But how we rise to meet it determines if we are, as you say, good or bad, Arceus continued. But currently, there are two beings who were pulled directly from the energy of the Living Universe, and their fates are not pre-written. This complicates more than just your own lives. Lilly, you may want to watch this.

Mewtwo stroked my hair and I unwillingly turned around, my face tear streaked. The same ring was there, but in the background, I began to see other rings appear. Each one was uniquely shaped, some intertwining with other rings as they formed. This, Arceus said, is the fate of every living creature. Each ring has a place and interacts with others as they meet. The ring where we saw the world from my mother's eyes remained in place as others began to form around it, including one that was almost completely overlapped with it. When the rings close, it signifies the end of that person's life in this Universe. But the ring closest to my mother's did not close.

"Who is that?" I asked, wiping my eyes with my wrist.

You will understand in a moment, Arceus replied. Yours, or I should say, ours . . . from between the open ring and my mother's, a thin, golden line appeared, looks like this.

"It's . . . just a line," I remarked, though it was steadily growing longer. It moved quite slowly out of the center of the two rings, and I was so mesmerized by it that I had not noticed a second one moving toward mine. When they met, the two were sent upwards. This is the meeting of your and Mewtwo's lives, Arceus said, as I stared on in disbelief, and because of this interaction, the events that were due to unfold much later have begun to do so now, and ones that did not previously exist. Do you understand why it is difficult to predict what will happen now?

I stared at the thick golden threads continued together, rising like a thermometer. "Would she be safer . . . if I left?" I heard Mewtwo ask quietly.

His expression seemed to darken. If that would remedy the situation, I would have made it happen. But the damage is done, Arceus said in a voice that was very disappointed, separating you two will not change things.

"Is there nothing we can do?" Mewtwo asked earnestly, coming to stand behind me. "How can we protect ourselves?"

Take Lilly and leave Kanto, Arceus said decidedly, as if he had already thought about this. Together you must find a place in Sinnoh and remain hidden. And Lilly, he looked at me, if we are to survive this, it is time for us to become truly acquainted. I will tell you what I can as I find the strength to do so but seek out as much information about me as you can without drawing attention to yourself.

I stared at the golden shapes for a little longer. trying to make sense of that open ring. "Lilly," Mewtwo said behind me, "I think that may be . . . your father."

"What?" I choked on the air I inhaled. "My father's been alive this entire time?!" I cried out, looking from Mewtwo to Arceus.

I cannot further embellish on that, Arceus said, cryptic as ever, but as the ring did not close, it can only mean one thing. I stared at that open ring, taking in Mewtwo's words more with each passing moment. This concludes our meeting for today, Arceus said without waiting for me to ask any more questions, I will not be able to hold another for a long time, but please . . . he started to fade away, along with everything else around him, tread carefully from here on out.

The only thing I felt was Mewtwo's hand still on my arm as the inside of the Opal faded to black.

Sorry for the delay, I was kind of sick this week! Also, I re-wrote this chapter about four times. This chapter was kind of hard because it was the most dialogue I've written for Arceus ever, but I'm glad that you finally get some context for Lilly / Arceus' relationship here!