Hall of Origin
"I cannot believe you two are seriously considering this," Complained an exasperated Dialga.
Arceus, Mew, Dialga and Xerneas stood in the Hall of Origin amidst a heated debate. In lieu of Mew's learning of Palkia's disappearance, it was actually her who convinced Arceus to trust in Giratina. His aid in this matter would be invaluable, though they would have to break the news of Palkia's existence to him to do it.
Dialga bellowed, "Have you forgotten that he is the prime suspect of Palkia's disappearance to begin with?! If he knows that we know he is responsible, Palkia may become in even more danger!"
"We do not know if he is responsible," Corrected Arceus with a stern stare, "Nor do we have the luxury of blindly assuming that and distrusting him on a pure whim void of evidence. His ease of traversing dimensions is an asset that cannot be ignored."
Casting his gaze over to Xerneas, he added, "I took a gamble by extending the knowledge of Palkia's existence to Xerneas, who is trusted in the Hall perhaps even more than I am, because I knew there is no ulterior motive with that information that could interest her. It is only fair that Giratina, Palkia's brother, should share that knowledge."
Patience has always been a must for the Pokemon that ruled over time, but even he had his limits. "You cannot compare Xerneas to Giratina. It is as you said: Xerneas could have no ulterior motive. There is no end to the amount that Giratina could have if he knew!"
The ever calm and elegant Xerneas smiled at Dialga. "I do not believe that Giratina is beyond hope," She cooed. "In order to see our world restored, the grudges of Legends cannot be allowed to cloud our vision. With time and care, I know we can live together in peace again. You must give him a chance, Dialga, please."
Dialga merely scoffed. "That is exactly why you and him are incomparable. Justified or not, there is no end to his grudges and where he will take them. I doubt the thought of peace with Father Arceus and M-Mother Mew has crossed his mind in aeons."
Another stern glance from Arceus made Dialga think twice about continuing. "You two really are brothers," Spoke the Alpha. "For someone so wary of Giratina, you are beginning to sound a lot like him."
Dialga's brow creased in irritation. "Father, you know I will support you, but support does not mean blind faith! Please listen to me when I tell you that this is a horrible idea! You haven't even told the Chosen One about Palkia's disappearance!"
"You know full well that Ash has his own duties," Countered Arceus. "I will not get him mixed in with our family's problems. Not to mention that Ash is always surrounded by friends. I could never ask him to keep secrets from them, and if they knew, word would spread rather quickly. We both know Giratina at least keeps to himself."
With a heavy sigh, Arceus faced the center of the Hall where Giratina was to be summoned. "Besides," He said, his voice gradually calming, "Giratina is direct family. We have no choice but to treat him like it, as I should have done from the beginning."
Still not convinced, Dialga replied, "Palkia is direct family as well, and yet we are actively endangering him more than he already is!"
Mew could only watch the altercation between father and son hopelessly. Desperately, she wished to summon the courage to say something, but the stammer in Dialga's voice when he called her mother broke her heart. He was forcing himself to say it. If she opened her mouth, the situation would likely only worsen.
"Giratina is not heartless, brother Dialga," Xerneas spoke. Her voice was as soft as a pillow to Mew's ears. "I do not believe that Giratina would willingly bring harm to Palkia. While I cannot deny that he has often interrupted our meetings and caused disruptions, he truly did have the best interests of the other Legends at heart."
She tilted her head at Dialga, her smile fading. "Did you know," She asked, "That Giratina wept for Palkia back on that battlefield?"
The eyes of the others in the Hall collectively widened in disbelief. Albeit shakily, Arceus was the first to respond. "I…did not know that," He admitted.
Dialga spent a moment trying to picture such a thing before slowly shaking his head. "I know you are not the type to lie, Xerneas, but I have trouble believing that."
Xerneas giggled as she stared up at the Hall's blank rooftop to better recall the event. "He was farther than anyone else from the survivors after the war had concluded. While I rounded them to heal their physical wounds, I could do nothing for their inward scars. I admit, I too could not believe my senses when I felt that same emotional pain from Giratina."
She glanced back at the others with a wry grin. "There were many unfriendly words and gestures thrown at me when I confronted him on it. It took some time, but I was able to eventually get him to concede his true feelings." She chuckled. "Never in a lifetime would he admit it in his right mind, but he realized that he did care deeply for most of the Legends. I do not believe that he would harm Palkia."
It took Dialga and the others a moment to come to terms with that knowledge, but eventually, the brother of Giratina sighed and conceded defeat. "Fine. I will…try to trust him. Thank you, Xerneas."
Xerneas smiled at him kindly. "There is no need for thanks, Dialga."
Mew could only stare at her daughter in awe. So easily, it seemed, she placated Dialga's worries while her own mother was at an absolute loss for words.
Nodding, Arceus returned his attention to the summoning spot. "I knew it was wise to bring you along, Xerneas. Now then. Let us begin, and hope all goes well."
His gaze intensified, and a white flash briefly manifested ahead of him. From that flash, a dark, twisted hole tore itself open into reality. The black mass of shadow that was the Renegade emerged from it and floated before the present members of the Hall, and when those shadows dissipated, a smirking Giratina was left in their wake.
"A direct call for me specifically must be important," Spoke Giratina with a hint of amusement writhing in his voice," But it seems not many members of the Hall have been summoned." He glanced over at Mew, who frowned at the unending malice he hid in his gaze. "I suppose they fled from her. Many congratulations on the make up between you two though."
Mew's eyes widened. "You…you knew?"
Without a hint of care for the consequences of what he was about to say, Giratina nodded. "About that little altercation between you and Arceus? How could I not? Your voices were practically ripping holes through space!" He chuckled to himself darkly, reveling in the look of discomfort on Mew's face. "Why, I'll have you know that I know many things."
Already, Dialga was regretting giving his older brother a chance.
"Does that knowledge extend to the existence of a new Palkia and Groudon?" Arceus asked boldly. Though some part of Arceus already knew the response he was going to get, his mood still soured when Giratina nodded without even the slightest hint of a care.
Giratina chuckled, replying, "Of course. I am Palkia's brother after all. I could feel the shift in space when the presence of a Palkia suddenly appeared once again. As for Groudon, well, I had my doubts that Palkia would be the end of it and went ahead with my own research."
Challenging Giratina's haughty attitude, Arceus asked, "Then I assume you know that Palkia has suddenly disappeared?"
At that, Giratina suddenly froze. The look of boldness on his face melted away in seconds, replaced briefly by a look of shock that contorted into raw, unfiltered anger.
"…What?"
"Don't act-" Dialga tried to call out Giratina, only for his brother to suddenly explode with a fury that shook the Hall itself in a way that he had only felt from Arceus and Mew before.
"What do you mean he disappeared?!" Demanded Giratina. "Are you telling me that both of you just let him slip past your grasp?! You two, with all of your power, allowed him to just run off alone?!"
Glancing at Xerneas to boost her confidence, Mew cleared her throat and attempted to speak. "I was not…present when it happened, but Arceus immediately realized-"
"That he had just let his son wander off into the complete unknown!" Interjected Giratina. "Yes, I understand that part perfectly. What I do not understand is why it happened at all."
With blazing red eyes, Giratina paralyzed Mew with the sheer pressure he exerted. "And you. Arceus, I can almost understand. He's gone senile and weak. Palkia should have never been under his control to begin with, and I could say the same for you." Pointing one of his tendrils at her accusingly, he screamed, "I heard it all! When you learned of Palkia, you tried to take him by force to become another puppet in your endless games, I'm sure."
His eyes widened slightly as realization suddenly crossed his expression. "And yet…you have always been at the peak of your power. Am I to believe that you simply didn't notice Palkia's disappearance after you threw such a fit over him?" He chuckled. "Absolutely not. You'd surely have your eyes upon him the entire time-"
"Giratina, that is enough," Commanded Arceus when he realized where Giratina was going.
But Giratina did not stop. "-Waiting for the opportunity to take him for yourself. That's the kind of witch you always were. Greedy. Monstrous. Heartless. Don't think for a minute that I am oblivious to the Pokemon you steal away from the trainers of that town near your tree."
Arceus stomped his foot down on his pedestal, making Giratina recoil from the force. "I said enough, Giratina. Mew is not…how she used to be. I have seen the change in her."
The shock of seeing how much power Arceus had regained was suddenly overtaken by a short fit of amused laughter from Giratina. "We have investigated ourselves and found that we've done nothing wrong," He said mockingly, "Is that it?"
"Giratina, that isn't fair-" Arceus stopped himself and winced, knowing the fire he had just unintentionally lit.
"Not fair?!" Barked Giratina. "Do not speak to me about-"
The hall quaked once more when Arceus lost his patience. "Be silent!" Commanded the Alpha. And so, Giratina was silent as he stared into the familiar burning glare of his father. Recognizing this, Arceus closed his eyes and sighed to be rid of that glare. "Giratina, let me get to the point. You have done nothing but-"
He cut himself short of adding fuel to the fire as he nearly went on a tangent of the many times Giratina had sewn discourse amidst the Hall and drove wedges between himself and the Legends. Instead, he took a moment to regain himself under the expectant, waiting gazes of the others, then spoke once more.
"Giratina, we have called upon you because we need all the help we can get in order to find Palkia."
Giratina merely snorted in amusement. "And bring him back to you? If you haven't found him already, then it's likely that he may be far from our planet anyway." Once more, he chuckled to himself as he mused about that prospect. "On second thought, perhaps this is a blessing! Perhaps Palkia has gone to the far edges of the universe to escape from the likes of you."
By now, the Lord of Time was shaking with rage that he had reigned back even while Giratina had endlessly insulted them. But he could hold his tongue no longer. "How can you say such a thing?!" He demanded. "Palkia only knows our world, and our world is dangerous for someone as young as him! How can we know that Team Rocket has not yet captured him?!"
With a haughty false laugh, Giratina hissed, "Child he may be, he is not foolish enough to be captured. Clearly, he is more intelligent than you give him credit for-" He motioned towards Arceus and Mew. "-If he knew to run away from them. The most dangerous thing about our world is its creators!"
Snidely, he tilted his head toward the two and added, "Besides, if Palkia was able to escape from them, it is clear they never cared about him more than owning him anyways."
"This is not the time for jokes, Giratina!" Roared Arceus. "Neither Mew nor I would ever willingly endanger Palkia!"
Giratina asked, "Can you blame me for not believing that? After all…" He gave Arceus a piercing sideways glance. "...You killed the first one."
That comment shook both Arceus and Mew to their cores and Giratina delighted in the looks on their faces. Arceus in particular, though he fought to retain his composure, began to shake like a leaf. Unable to keep up his stern stance any longer, he let out a mournful moan and fell to his knees amidst the mocking laughter of Giratina.
"I was afraid that all that power you've been stockpiling returned your backbone, but it seems like I worried over nothing." As Mew cried out Arceus's name and went to his side with worry, Giratina barked out a laugh. "Oh, what are you doing? Now, after thousands of years of selfishness, you finally have the capacity to care for others?" He scoffed. "Completely ridiculous."
Mew could only glance at him, unable to respond to that. She felt some small sliver of relief when Dialga spoke in her place. "This is exactly what I was worried about," He said in annoyance. "Giratina, if you are refusing to be of any help, then why bother staying?"
"Help?" Repeated an incredulous Giratina, snapping his attention toward his junior brother. "Retrieve Palkia? For them? How could you ask me to do such a thing? If it suited their indiscriminate whims, they would forsake him in the same way they threw away the others!" He shifted the rest of his large body to give Dialga his full attention. "Dialga," He started, "You witnessed it! You were a victim of those whims yourself, and that damaged diamond on your chest should be proof enough! How could you ask me to deliver our own brother back into their grasp so they can repeat it all over again?!"
Mew could not take the stabbing sensation his words left upon her heart any longer. "Please, stop!" She begged. "Just...enough, Giratina."
At that, Giratina snapped his attention, along with his piercing fiery eyes, back upon her. "How many times have you heard your puppets trapped in your tree make that same request?" Flinching, Mew could only go silent. Yet Giratina would not let her rest so easily. "Like that boy you recently picked up. The once-human."
Mew felt her blood run cold, and it only worsened when she felt the shocked gazes of the others upon her. Even Arceus opened his eyes again when he heard that.
"H-how do you…?" Realizing that she had just dug her own grave, she quickly shut her mouth, but the damage was already done. Now, not even the serene Xerneas could hide her visible dismay.
Dialga looked at her with warped awe. "Mew- Mother Mew, is this true? It was no secret that you enjoyed playing with Pokemon, but...a human? It was you who forbade the entry of humans to begin with!"
Tripping over her own words as she desperately struggled for the right thing to say, Mew stammered, "W-well, I...it's…"
Chuckling to himself, Giratina answered him for her. "Well, she had quite the creative fix for that. Once she had done away with the boy's family, she simply turned him into just another Pokemon."
"That is not how it went!" Insisted Mew.
Giratina smirked at her smugly. "Would the boy give us that same recount?"
Mew could only seethe to herself.
As Arceus briefly nudged Mew with his leg to keep her calm, he turned to Giratina and said, "We will speak of this later, but Giratina...how did you know of this?"
"It is simply as I told you," Replied Giratina. "I know many things."
That made little sense to Arceus. He wondered if he may have found something after all. "So, you knew of this human child that wandered into the Tree of Life, Mew's domain, without her knowledge. You also knew his story and how he was transformed." He narrowed his eyes at Giratina. "And yet, while you claim to have known about the new Palkia since his conception due to feeling the changes in space, you did not notice his disappearance until today when we told you of it?"
Suddenly, all eyes were turned from Mew to Giratina again.
Giratina returned Arceus's expression. "I knew of his disappearance, but I did not know you had lost him. I merely assumed you had caught on to my knowledge of him and sent him somewhere I could not sense him." He glanced from Arceus to Mew, then added, "Never did I expect for either of you to let him slip past your grasp after fighting so viciously over him. It sounds like you are accusing me of something to get me off Mew's back."
"I am not accusing you of anything as much as I am asking for your reasoning," Arceus claimed, "Nor have I forgotten Mew's situation. We will return to that topic later, I assure you, but for now we must focus on Palkia."
Xerneas looked back and forth between Arceus and Giratina. Noticing the latter about to retort with something that would likely brew an entirely new argument, she decided to speak up. "Giratina, would you allow me to speak for a moment?"
Chortling as he noticed her, Giratina replied, "I had forgotten you were here, Xerneas, though it's no surprise they would prioritize the knowledge of Palkia and Groudon's existence for you rather than me. Surely, they needed a test subject." His chuckling slowly came to a stop, melting away under the silent gaze of Xerneas's eyes which he could not meet. "...Fine. Say what you will. I am not going anywhere."
She nodded to him gratefully, then cleared her throat. "Giratina, you are entitled to your grudges for the past wrongs dealt to you, but I implore you to focus on the future right now. Palkia, your brother, is missing. The world is under siege by humans that hold powers that rival even the Legends and are still closing the gap. As it stands, Palkia is in danger."
Noticing Giratina's refusal to meet her eyes, she craned her neck to the side and tilted her head. She allowed herself to feel a small twinge of amusement when he turned his head further. "Giratina."
Finally, he whipped back around and snarled, "What?"
Xerneas smiled at him kindly. "I know you are worried for Palkia as well. Please trust that Arceus and Mew are, genuinely. They would not have relied upon you if they weren't. I know it is difficult for you to see them as anything other than monsters, but surely even you can appreciate the world's beauty now that you are free to roam it once more. Team Rocket threatens that world, and they would certainly threaten Palkia for their own ends." Her smile brightened as she asked, "Brother Giratina, would you please aid our search for Palkia?"
A mirthful chuckle from Giratina made her smile falter slightly. "So I'm Brother Giratina now that it suits you?" He gave a brief nod toward Arceus. "According to him, I lost the right to that title upon banishment. That is what I am. The bastard child. The enemy. I harbor no grudge against the rest of you, but for them…" He sneered at them. "I think I will keep that title."
She chuckled at him in amusement, irritating him. "What?" He demanded. "Is this amusing to you?"
Xerneas shook her head. "Dear Brother Giratina. Even in those years, you were a brother to us. Never an enemy."
Giratina's body stiffened at that. He turned away, no longer able to face any of them, let alone Xerneas. "You...are too good for this Hall, Xerneas. And too naive. Fine. You...will have my assistance. I will at least make sure Palkia is safe, but I will not deliver him to the likes of them until my dying breath." He tried to glance back at her, stopping short the moment she came into his peripheral vision. "It would serve you well to distance yourself from them as well. They could only dream of serving this world as you have."
Once more, within the same Hall meeting, Mew was utterly stricken by Xerneas. Placating Dialga was one thing, but Giratina was a matter neither she nor Arceus believed had any chance of being quelled. Xerneas had conquered that in record time and using words alone.
Giratina interrupted her train of thought when his six tendrils plunged forward into the air and tore open a rift. "I am leaving," He announced.
As his serpentine body began to slither its way through the portal, Mew suddenly called out, "Wait!"
Xerneas had inspired her. If her own daughter could make peace with Giratina, then perhaps it was not impossible for her to do the same. To the shock of Xerneas and Dialga, and to the horror of Arceus, Mew dashed through the portal after Giratina. When she was through, she was surprised to find a world where a deep hue of purple seemed to cover every inch of...everything. Pieces of stone, land and even buildings floated amidst the violet void, twisted into every shape imaginable and unimaginable. She was in the Distortion World. But why here?
She hissed in air through her teeth when a long shadow appeared before her eyes. It encircled her before revealing to her its face. "Well?" Asked Giratina. "We are here. If you've come to kill me for daring to expose your secret to Arceus, then by all means. But my grave will be here where I was banished. You will have to face this place yourself instead of looking the other way like before!"
Mortified, Mew held up her hands inoffensively. "No, no, you've got it all wrong!" She insisted. "I'm not here to do anything like that! Not anymore. Not ever again. I'm only here to talk, Giratina. I wanted to apologize. For everything. I don't want us to go on hating each other."
With a dismissive snort, Giratina asked, "So, this is another game? Cut to the point."
"This is the point."
Some of the amusement present on Giratina's face fell away. "Do you think I am a fool? I am insulted." He shook his head as he circled around her. "Mew, Mew, Mew. Am I expected to believe that you have become as senile as Arceus in only a fraction of the time? You underestimate me."
Mew tried to find the words to reply, yet just like in the Hall, words suddenly seemed to evade her mind. She could only give Giratina a pained look, earning another scoff from him. Suddenly, he snapped at her. "Do not look at me so pathetically. If you are going to pretend to care for some ulterior motive, you will need to be more convincing than that."
"I do care!" She exclaimed fervently.
At that, Giratina doubled over and chuckled to himself. The utter hilarity of those three words coming from Mew made him devolve into more laughter until he threw his head back and made the void around them quake. "Oh?" He asked. "Is that so? Listen, if this is a game of yours, I'm not playing."
When the shadowy dragon stared at her for answers, she met his gaze firmly. "I am telling you," She said, "That this isn't a game. This isn't a trick or a joke or anything." She paused for a moment to gauge Giratina's reaction, and when he gave her none, took in a deep breath and continued. "I know no amount of words can possibly fix what I've done. Actions probably won't either. Still, I came here to apologize, and I mean this honestly. It may not mean anything to you anymore, and I understand if it's the case, but please let me speak my mind."
Merely scoffing, Giratina muttered, "Oh, this ought to at least be entertaining. Please, Mew dearest, do go on."
"Now, I know no apology would be sufficient-"
"Agreed."
"-But I'm going to say it anyway." She cupped a hand over her chest. "Giratina, the wrongs Arceus and I have done to you are inexcusable. For everything, I am truly sorry." When she saw the raised brow from him, she added, "Really, I mean it! I promise!"
Giratina rolled his eyes and replied, "How convincing."
Sighing, Mew said, "I knew there was nothing I could do there. But, please, I don't want us to be enemies anymore. I just want us to be a family again. Remember that?" Suddenly, an idea struck her. She conjured a portal, reached in, and pulled out a time flower. Upon inputting some of her Psychic power, it began to glow.
As the time flower sprung to life, the world around them suddenly changed. The flower projected an image of something Giratina had not remembered in ages. He and the other Legends that existed at the time, They were so young and small. He hardly recognized himself. The few Legends there all danced around Mew at the center, frolicking in the safety of the tree.
"Don't you remember this, Giratina?" Asked Mew, looking upon the dancing young Legends with wistful old eyes. "Back then, we were all so happy. I know you're all grown up now and we can't go back to this, but...there was a time where we were all very close with each other. I would like us all to return to that at least." She continued watching her younger self twirling about with the little ones in tow and chuckled. "This reminds me of the times where I was the one protecting you from big bad Arceus when he came to take you for training."
The flower's vision became warbled as Giratina howled with booming laughter. "Protecting me from Arceus? That one didn't quite last so long, did it? When Arceus accused me of a crime against his ego and sent me spiraling into an abyss of solitude for aeons, did you come to protect me then, Mew?"
Frowning, she tried to reply. "I couldn't-"
Giratina would have none of it. Shaking his head, he interrupted her with, "No, you could never. I did. When no one came to rescue me, I rescued myself. I fought against this very void I was trapped within and won. I mastered my powers and changed my form to exist in this domain without falling for an eternity! I did that for me! I saved myself! Not you or Arceus or anybody else!"
He jabbed a tendril at her accusingly, narrowingly keeping it from piercing the flower she held at her chest. "You never even lifted a finger to help me then, just as you never moved even an inch to protect my brothers and sisters from Necrozma!"
Those words caused the sensation of her children dying in her mind to return in full force, flashing across her vision. Deoxys, fighting for a world that wasn't his. Groudon, who fought to make amends with his wrongdoings. Kyurem, whom she personally sent out to die for her. And Palkia. The sight of Palkia laying beneath Necrozma, and his horrible screams amidst the demon's laughter. They were too much for her. As tears dotted her eyes, she buried her head in the flower. This only served to further enrage Giratina.
"How dare you use Fake Tears, you damn witch?!" He roared with such force that the stones around them shattered before falling into the bottomless abyss. "Do you expect me to believe that, now, after countless millennia, that you suddenly care for them?! How dare you expect me to believe that, and how dare you use their memory for this game of yours?! You never cared enough to defend anything but your pride! You never acted out on their behalf since that moment in your precious flower! You have no right to cry for them!"
Mew's shuddering ceased when a shadowy tendril whipped through the air and shattered her flower right in front of her face. Frozen in shock, she could only watch with wet eyes as their glimmering remains disappeared into the void. Within their reflection, the last thing she saw within them was herself and Giratina, separated by the shards as they reached out to one another.
Her head was lifted up to meet the blazing eyes of Giratina by his jagged red claw at her throat. "Or maybe you have become as senile as Arceus. Did it finally strike you across that demented head of yours that you let your own children die? Sent them to their deaths? Why do you care now? Why didn't you care back then?!" Repulsed by touching her, he removed his tentacle to let her head hang once more.
"That flower," He said, "Was nothing but a sham. You never cared for us. The only reason you enjoyed our company back then was because we belonged to you. And when we grew up and left you alone, clearly for our own good, you could not stand it. It drove you mad knowing that we could think and act for ourselves. You were never a mother to me, nor to them! You are nothing but a monster, and someone Necrozma would be proud to call a friend."
As he turned to leave through a portal, he looked over his shoulder one last time to say, "I will look for Palkia, if only to make sure he never comes in contact with you again. And if you find him and dare to lay a hand on him, I will fight you to my last breath." And then, he flew into the rift, leaving a motionless Mew alone in the realm used for her firstborn son's eternal torment.
A dazed and dizzy Palkia awoke feeling groggier than he ever remembered feeling before. The last thing he remembered was taking that human's hand. As he pushed himself up, he realized that he had been sleeping on metal. The realization that he didn't know where he was made his eyes shoot wide with fright. In a panic, he shot his gaze around the room he found himself in to try to make sense of things.
Aside from the metal table he now stood on, it was empty. There were glass windows lining it. When he tilted his head down to look through the other side, he saw nothing. It was completely black. This was all too much for him. Unsure of what to do, he raised his arm and began to charge power from his pearl to his hand. But when he made the chopping motion for Spatial Rend, the energy fizzled out in an instant.
"Wh-what?!" He cried, staggering back.
The sound of another voice revealed itself to him. "Please, do not be alarmed!" They told him in a bizarre accent. "You are being kept here for your safety. Your friend instructed us to do exactly that. Do not worry about your spatial abilities, Palkia. They are sealed within that room. If you used them, Arceus would certainly find you!"
Arceus's name sent chills up the young Legend's spine. "Who are you? Where is-?" As Palkia attempted to recall the name of the friend he met on the mountain, his head became fuzzy once more. There was a ringing in his ear. It became louder to the point it was unbearable, only ceasing when he stopped trying to remember.
"Your friend," Spoke the voice, "Is otherwise occupied right now. But you won't have to worry! He instructed me to keep you safe, and well, I'm a friend of his too. A friend of his is a friend of mine."
In spite of what was supposed to be reassuring words, Palkia was still terrified. "Wh-where are you?" He squeaked, looking around the room for the voice's source.
In response, the blackness of the windows began to fade, allowing the young Legend to see what was on the other end. More people like his friend sat near the windows, though they didn't pay much attention to him. They were fiddling with machinery the likes of which he couldn't understand. One man, a short old person with something sticking out of a metal desk near the window by his mouth, waved to him.
"Right here," Spoke the old man as he waved at Palkia. Now Palkia was even more confused. Though the old man clearly spoke from ahead of him, his voice came from somewhere above him. "Now then," He said as he pulled out a stack of papers and set them upon the desk, "While we are here, there are some things your friend has told me to ask you in order to better protect you." He chuckled suddenly. "Oh, how rude of me! I forgot to introduce myself. My name is Doctor Benedict Mengele, but you may call me Ben."
Palkia could at least admit that the second name was easier to remember than the first. "B-Ben." He repeated to get the name down.
Ben nodded along. "That's right. Now…" He scanned through his notes and took out one of the papers from the stack. "The first question is if you know anything about a Pokemon named Mew."
When he heard that name, Palkia recoiled with shock. He was reminded of the little red demon that had managed to throw Arceus around, and if his brother was scared of Arceus, then Mew must have been a completely different monster. He could still remember how her fur spiked on end and her eyes seemed to glow like a fire. Just being in her presence, even for how little he saw her, was enough to shake him to his core.
Noticing Palkia's reaction, the doctor stifled a grin. "So you do know of it."
"Wh-why do you want to know about h-her?" Palkia asked shakily, earning a look of confusion from Ben.
Benedict raised an eyebrow at him. "Why? Are you telling me you don't know?" When the only response Palkia could manage was a look of confusion, the doctor slapped a hand on his bald head. "Palkia, those two have been tearing the world apart trying to get at you! They've already been sending out others to find you too! We managed to stop one when it got too close."
Palkia was alerted by the sound of moving metal. On the opposite side of the room, Palkia saw something that made him reel. There was another room like his own. Metal window blinds folded upwards to reveal what was inside. A colossal black and red bird dangled from the countless crimson chains that trapped it, and its wings and tail were pulled to the corners of the room. There was hardly an inch of his body not covered by scars, burns and other wounds.
"This," Spoke the doctor, "Is Yveltal, the Pokemon of Death. This is just one of the Pokemon that Arceus sent to take you back, but if he sent the harbinger of death after you, I'm not so sure that he wanted to just capture you." Palkia felt his blood run cold upon figuring out the implication. Behind him, the doctor whistled. "It's a good thing we managed to protect you from this one. He was quite feisty."
Slowly, the eyes of the death bringer opened, meeting with the fearful eyes of the young Palkia. His vision was hazy beyond comprehending what was in front of him. Vaguely, he made out the shape of Palkia, but was unable to comprehend his size. Wearily, he rasped, "Lord Palkia…?"
"L-lord?!" Repeated a baffled Palkia.
Ben said, "It was a good thing we stopped him when we did. He was just about to call the others before we stopped him. We had to bring him here to keep you safe."
Upon hearing the doctor's voice, Yveltal's eyes shot wide and he let loose a harrowing roar. Palkia doubled over, clinging at his head and crying out in agony. "Do not listen to that monster!" Bellowed Yveltal. "Look at what he has done to me! You must leave this place! Find Arceus and bring down the Legends upon these madmen!"
Beside Benedict, another scientist looked upon the situation before them with worry and asked, "Is it alright to be keeping them so close together?"
The old man removed his finger from the microphone. "They may be more willing to cooperate while in each other's presence," He replied. "I doubt they will be so ready to deny orders when they witness the results of their refusal firsthand."
Leaning back in toward the glass, the doctor said, "Young Palkia, we may be able to negotiate a terms of surrender with Arceus. But we will need your help."
He pressed a button on the desk, and Palkia jumped when something manifested on the window, obscuring his view of Yveltal. It was Arceus. Fearing that his father had finally found him, Palkia shrieked in terror and fell back off of the table.
"Wait, wait!" Cried Benedict. "Do not worry! It's not real! It's just a video."
The other doctor beside him snarkily asked, "You did that on purpose, didn't you? Can you at least wait until we've exhausted our options before you begin with the fear tactics?" Benedict merely ignored her.
"But look at what he has done, Palkia!" Continued Ben, pointing at the screen. Palkia dared to look upon the vision of his father once more. He was on that snowy mountain and sent down a cascade of golden arrows that tore it to pieces. He roared and raved, letting no pebble escape his wrath. It was only when the mountain was gone did he give up and move on. Palkia could hardly believe his eyes.
"It's just like I told you!" Cried the old man. "Arceus and Mew have been destroying everything trying to find you! We have tried everything, but it is only a matter of time until he finds us!"
He grinned like the Devil he was under the cover of his hands that rested underneath his long, crooked nose. "But," He said, "We have observed other Legends making portals without your spatial abilities. These portals lead back to this "Hall" Yveltal has told us of. If you could make one for us, we could try to stop Arceus and save you."
From the other room, even while electricity continued to ravage his body inside and out, Yveltal managed to scream, "Do not listen to them! Arceus would never-" His cries heightened when the voltage cascading his body increased, completely enveloping his container.
"They will stop at nothing to get their way, Palkia," Benedict told him. "We must take action now! You must make that portal! I assure you, you won't have to face him alone."
Between the agonized wails of Yveltal and the expectant gaze of the old man, Palkia could hardly even think to himself. Why did this Pokemon, who was supposedly here to kill or capture him, call him a lord? Where was his friend? Everything was too confusing for the young Legend. But when he thought of making that portal, Palkia could only picture Arceus's face behind it and what Giratina had showed him.
Viciously, Palkia shook his head and closed his eyes to drown all of it out. "N-no!" He cried. "I'm not going back! I don't want him to find me!"
Hearing that, the doctor could no longer hide his smile. "Is that so?"
Palkia yelped when some invisible force yanked him to the center of the room and dangled him above the table. To his horror, he couldn't move an inch. A series of chains revealed themselves to Palkia, seemingly manifesting around him from thin air. He wasn't even given the time to speak before they emanated a controlled shock.
His wails filled the observation lab. While most of the scientists did not react, some of them winced at the agonized wails of the child. One, however, relished in it.
Yveltal slumped forward in his chains when the lightning stopped on his end, allowing him to hear the cries of Palkia. Cries that were a few octaves higher than he was expecting. His eyes slowly fluttered back open to witness the young Legend's torment,
"Lord…Palkia?"
When Palkia's punishment finally came to a close, his sobbing, limp form hung from his bindings helplessly. The lingering lightning that remained on his body made him twitch uncontrollably. As he sputtered and coughed for burning air that scorched his throat, the doctor entered the room.
He grinned up at Palkia, brandishing a scalpel. "Thank you," He said, "For giving me probable cause to carry out my work. Now, are you going to be cooperative and make that portal?"
Palkia could only sputter lamely in response, which was all the doctor needed as an answer. Hungrily, he circled around Palkia. The pearl in his shoulder caught his attention.
"What's this?" Asked the doctor with a ghoulish hiss in his voice. The chains dragged Palkia down to the table, pinning him on his stomach to let the doctor get a closer look. "What a wonderful looking gem. This would make for a good paperweight. But alas, the data shows you could not survive without it."
He sighed in disappointment, circling back around to Palkia's face. The young Legend stared up at him with foggy eyes and a hazy mind. The scalpel was brought close to his eye as the doctor leaned in to study it.
"Arceus would certainly kill me a thousand times over for this," Mused the old man with a wicked chortle, "But if the others do their job right, even he will be brought down. In the meantime, we have all the time in the world with each other."
And then, he leaned in with the scalpel, slowly getting closer to his eye. Palkia was too dazed to feel fear. His eyes drifted aimlessly from thing to thing, unaware of the danger present. The tool drifted more and more proximal to his eye until…it pressed in.
The doctor's grin fell clean off his face when the scalpel made no dent in his eye. "What in the…?" He pushed harder, giving it everything his meager old body could handle until the scalpel snapped in half and clattered to the floor behind him. Ben could only stare at his broken tool blankly.
His attention was caught when someone entered the laboratory. It was a Black Suit, moving toward Palkia's holding cell. When he entered, the doctor raised his arms as if he was greeting an old friend.
"Perfect timing!" He exclaimed. "Say, would you be so kind as to part with your plasma knife?" Showing the Black Suit his broken scalpel, he added, "I appear to be bereft of my tool."
Unamused, the Black Suit shook his head firmly. "Not happening, doc. You can commission one on your own time." He shoved a large stack of papers into the doctor's hands as more Black Suits, followed by the armor-clad Heavy of Ryder's squadron, entered the room.
The doctor looked on in confusion as they approached Yveltal's containment cell. One Black Suit said something to one of the scientists outside Palkia's container and a thick blue mist began to seep from inside Yveltal's chamber.
"What the-?!" Cried Benedict as he watched Yveltal flail against his chains in response to the mist. "I was told I would have at least another three weeks with him! What are you doing?!"
In response, the Black Suit pushed the highest paper on the stack close to the doctor's face, and what he read made his skin somehow even paler than usual.
"Recent breakthroughs in the Dahara base have sped things up a bit," The Black Suit told him as he walked back to the door. "As such, we will need to relocate Yveltal for the weapon. You still have the new one-" He pointed at Palkia. "-And the higher-ups still expect results. Soon enough, you'll be needed for that project too."
And with that, he took his leave. Yveltal's flailing eventually came to a stop, and he hung from his chains limply. One of the Black Suits gave an order, and Yveltal was released. Heavy entered the room, throwing the colossal bird over his shoulder and carrying it out as if it was weightless. Palkia glanced at Yveltal one last time before he was carried out of the lab. The last thing he saw was the door closing behind the Black Suits before everything went black. He was left alone in the hands of Dr. Death.
Authors Note
Pokextinction Fact of the Day: The Iron Masked Marauder from the Celebi movie was intended to play a pivotal role in assisting the Nova Branch and Team Rocket. He would have been bailed out of prison somehow, likely by one of Ryder's men, and hired to assist them with his Dark Ball technology. The Dark Balls would have been used to create more angry rampaging Pokemon like the ones used to destroy the Dragon Village in Unova.
He was cut from the story for a multitude of reasons. For one, he would be overpowered. Turning Pokemon evil would be one thing, but those Dark Balls also "elevate their power to the highest level." Dealing with a bunch of Level 100 Pokemon would be difficult for even Legends, let alone Ash. If Dark Balls were mass produced, it would be difficult to move the story forward.
Second, the marauder being so overpowered would make him a massive villain in his own right, which would slow the story down in order to take care of him.
Third, between everything else in the story going on, we didn't really have a place where it made sense to put his introduction, let alone an entire arc dedicated for him.
And finally, considering the main goal of the Nova Branch specifically is the eradication of all Pokemon, it wouldn't make sense for them to hire and fund a guy who can make their natural enemies into unstoppable killing machines.
The Creator- Wanted to name this chapter 'Sins of the Mother' so badly, but I gotta keep with the two word name schtick. The past cannot be forgotten so easily, let alone forgiven.
Hydra- My god poor Palkia, being subjugated to the same horrors as Yveltal. He's too innocent for how they're treating him, I can only imagine what's gonna happen once Arceus or Mew realize what's happened.
SilverWolf1130- Soooo going back to the previous chapter. I thought about some stuff after I posted my review.
Christopher Lee has been using his Necrozmatrix (Ben 10 reference if you don't get it.) to get out of sticky situations! He used it to escape Lugia during their first encounter (That's why he had absolutely no fear) and then during the island raid! He didn't use a hologram. He teleported! That whole "I'm sorry for everything! Giovanni did it!" was all an act by a really good actor!
With him supposedly being dead and the Legends focusing on Gio, Lee has a lot more freedom to do what he needs.
Now, with that type of power on his wrist, it seems like Lee could easily destroy anyone in his way, unless it has a certain limit. But if not… here's how I see it.
Christopher Lee wants to prove to the Legendaries that the humans are superior. That their technology surpasses them. He wants to show the world that the Legends, the supposed Gods, can be defeated by human tech. If Lee simply destroys them with Necrozma-ish abilities, the world would only see him as the second coming of the demon from the stars who nearly destroyed the world.
Now going back to this chapter. It was good to see Latias again. Poor girl. She's going down a dark path because of what the world is becoming.
I suppose they wanna show that humankind can do so much more for the earth than any Legendary can with what they've shown here
Launcher is just as hateable as the rest of his group. Wanted to break his face for hurting Latias (The Eon Twins are my favorite Legendaries…. And yes, Latios' death hurt…)
I know he wasn't in this chapter, but I wanna see The Heavy (I'm very curious as to what he's like. Don't think we've seen much of him, I think) try and outmuscle a Legendary, particularly one of the bigger ones like Lugia. I can see him trying to pull a "Bane move" and break their back.
I will say, I do like the villains of this story, particularly the Nova Branch. Going back to the whole "Science vs Nature" theme, I like their motive. They just come off as cruel bastards that deserve to suffer. When your villains are hated, it's a good sign. Christopher Lee, as hateable as he is, is a really good villain. I've always liked villains who use their intelligence rather than brawn. Lee shows how deadly the human mind can be.
About Giratina seeing the new Mew.
Mew: *Opens her mouth to speak*
Gira: Nope *Leaves*
Mew: Oh come on!
But for real, I sincerely doubt Gira will just forgive and forget so easily. It ain't gonna be pretty…
The Creator- Well you were pretty right with Giratina's reaction to Mew. Though Giratina just can't resist making all of his visits sting as much as possible. But for all the pain he puts them in, it is nothing compared to what Arceus and Mew have done to him and everyone else. Hope I satisfied your need for Heavy to appear. We've got more planned in store. So much more.
Hydra- You might've noticed a lot of similar things at play during earlier chapters. One thing I will admit is I had a lot of inspiration from Superman's villain Lex Luther. The fact that a supposed god was able to be outsmarted by a regular man with intellect was so awesome. Your doubt was warranted because as you can see Giratina reacted exactly as you'd expect. If Mew hopes that he will just open up to her after an apology, she is sorely mistaken.
G- Good chapter, so Ash and his team traveled to Dahara city to help Hoopa, well is very sad to see the drastic effects that the Necrozma's war in the world, as places like Dahara city ended pratically abandoned as result of the casualties and destruction suffered by the cosmic invader. Well, any war always brings great consequences, for everybody.
Also, so Hoopa get one of her rings stolen by the Nova branch, and even they found a way to "reprogram" it to takes the control over it, giving them one of the most notable skills of Hoopa; teleportation. Adding that after read that they talked about that got enough information about this rings, i wonder if this could means that the Nova Branch would end making some reverse engineering to the Hoopa's rings, and would creates artificial versions of this rings, giving to their elite units like Black men, the power to summon reinforcement easily, or even to makes tactical retreatments, making more easy to this agents escape from a crushing defeat, and making more harder to the heroes could corner them in their future conflicts. Well, if this occurs, i hope that Mr Star and his organization, can finds a way to counter this technology, and maybe Hoopa could lend temporally one of her rings to them, reluctancy, to could analyzes and finds a way to blocks this energy, to could creates a countermeasure against the Nova rings.
As other point, regarding the experiments of the Nova Branch with the crystals to creates life, i guess that they tries to somehow finds a way to takes the places of the legendary pokemon, in the sense of creates artificials means to that the humans be capable to takes over the natural duties of the legendary pokemon, to basically makes that the humans can replaces the legendary pokemon completely, according to their human supremacist mindsets. Even this experiment in particular, could means an attempt to replaces the duties of Xerneas and Yvetal, as the pokemons that control the life and death.
To finishes, regarding some of the final notes, Giratina could has the chance to meets the new Mew in the next chapter. Well, to considers all the resentment that Giratina harbored against Mew and Arceus, i doubt that Giratina can easily bury his resentment toward this two legend pokemon, after all, one moment to accepts your mistakes, don't compensates years of grudge for some injustice, meaning that even if Mew show her new mindset, Giratina could simply takes this like a chance to rubs all her mistakes in her face, like behaved as an inmature and insensitive legendary pokemon, making that maybe Mew even can understand reluctancy that Giratina is right, leaving her clear that could take a very long time to makes that all the remaining legendary pokemon can see her like a trustworthy future leader, and even more time with the legendary pokemon like Lugia, Keldeo and Giratina, as they harbors a personal resentment toward Mew, needing more time to ammends their relationship. Well, i wishes good luck to Mew to could fixes this.
PS. i hope that the fated confrontation between the Burned man and Moltres can takes place some of the next chapters, as i want to see if Moltres could end suffering some nasty consequence in this battle, like loses its Fire type as result of some experimental Anti-fire weapon within the suit of the Burned man, making that Moltres end getting the Dark type as replacement, turning it in its Galar form.
Keep the good job.
The Creator- Sometimes, it can be difficult to remember the effects of Arc 1 while all the craziness of Arc 2 is unfolding before our eyes. I just wanted to remind the readers that, while Goldenrod city was lucky due to the Legends and Mr. Star all being there in the aftermath, many other places of the world did not end up so lucky. A slow, rotting death that is forgotten. The old makes way for the new.
The Man said that they might not even need the rings anymore with the data they've accumulated from just one and with the technology they've already displayed, things may be moving along far more quickly than anticipated. Your theory of them attempting to master and replace the powers of the Legends may not be entirely inaccurate. But just matching them may not be enough for the likes of Team Rocket.
Hydra- Just like Silverwolf and you predicted Giratina was not so forgiving to his mother. He was locked up for his entire life in the equivalent of hell and when you've have millions of years to think upon your punishment and how unfair it is that'll make anyone doubtful. By the way, what do you think of Mew as a character now? Do you like her and believe that she's completely changed or do you think something else could be at play that has yet to be revealed? Can't wait to hear your thoughts as always!
Leafy boi- ARE YOU FPUFFING KIDDING ME!? BIG BADDY "The Man" WAS THERE ENCLOAKED IN DARKNESS AND HE STOPS RIGHT BEFORE THE LIGHT HITS HIM AND ALL WE GET TO KNOW US HE IS WEARING A LATEX GLOVE?! NOT CLUE AT ALL OR HELPFUL! gah the suspense is making leafy stressed WHO IS HE?! TELL MEH! and man it must be hella awkward for the legends to be near tobi, like walking in on your hot cousin changing awkward - and poor hoopa when they took her rings qwq the mini tantrum mixed with the song leafy had playing (slander- love is gone accoustic) was so sad.. and that poor marill ówò you did well in making leafy angry at fictional science people, leafy wanna hit them òwó grr..
The Creator- A man that spends his life in the shadows cannot leave them so easily. If "The Man" is even real, that is. All shall be revealed in due time.
Glad you mentioned Tobias. Especially with how important he'll be in the next chapter. Not many people seem to give him much mind. Though I'm sure Latias wishes she could ignore him so easily.
Hydra- We made you angry? GOOD. I always believe that a great villain is one that you can get a reader to hate or despise, but not be annoyed whenever they appear just like Ryder.
The Creator- Next chapter, while on a search mission, Tobias's Poipole begins to act strange. It urges the others to follow it, and what Ash and the others find will shock you. Tobias will also reveal how and why he became a trainer in the first place.
Hydra- Well things certainly aren't good in this chapter. Hopefully young Palkia can hold out until someone arrives to save him, but when your in the presence of dr Death how realistic is that?
