Genesis

Symphonia kept her eyes trained on the floor in front of her, too ashamed and anxious to speak. Her and her companions had returned to Alan's apartment and awkwardly left their groceries on the kitchen counter before settling in various spots in the living room- Alan sitting at the laptop desk, Symphonia in a chair a meter or so next to him near the center of the room, and Combusken on the floor beside Alan.

Alan took a deep breath, unsure of how to proceed, and tried to break the silence.

"So…you didn't want us to know you were that strong, huh?" he jested, shooting Symphonia an awkward smile.

"I'm sorry I lied," the Gardevoir choked. "I'm so sorry. After everything you've done for me."

"About…your job? Where you live? What do you mean?" replied Alan innocently.

"Everything!" she shouted. Tears formed in the corners of her eyes. "I'm not from Hoenn. I didn't grow up in an orphanage. I wasn't kidnapped."

Alan leaned forward to comfort her but Symphonia recoiled instinctively, shrinking back into her seat and preparing to defend herself. Bright scarlet energy exuded from the center of her chest, manifesting into a horn the same way it did when she began her escape from the research compound, and Alan and Combusken backed away in surprise.

"Hey, it's alright, I'm not angry," Alan explained soothingly. "Where are you from, then?"

Symphonia stood next to Cyrus in the center of a cavernous genetic laboratory, dimly lit in a blue glow coming from light bars running along the floor and ceiling. A network of walkways and platforms containing various equipment and machinery filled in the space overhead. Placed against the walls of the room were titanic computer terminals with various monitors that provided a jumble of readings. Several geneticists, mostly human and a single Kadabra milled about busily, engrossed in their work.

Before Symphonia was an array of incubation chambers; hulking masses of silver alloy and black polymer interlaced with electronics, framed around clear, cylindrical tanks: some empty, others populated by various aliuman forms floating in a semi-opaque white liquid. She leaned closer to inspect one of them, observing the indeterminable mass amidst the vat of synthetic amniotic fluid. She could see what appeared to be limbs (and perhaps a tail) moving about inside.

"I was born in one of these things?" Symphonia enquired, lost in thought.

"That's correct," Cyrus answered flatly. "In this lab."

"What about my name?"

No response. Her expression of interest became one of irritation, and she turned to face Cyrus.

"Is that also a part of…everything you said I can't understand now? "

Cyrus returned naught more than a blank look.

"You can't even tell me what my name means?" Symphonia nearly shouted, her aggravation increasing. "Why all this secrecy?!"

A few of the geneticists momentarily stopped their work to check out the commotion.

"There is a time where you'll be ready to know these things," he responded coolly. "And when it comes, you'll have no more questions."

"My destiny," she continued, staring furiously into Cyrus' eyes. "You promised I have a destiny in this world. That I would find purpose, happiness, fulfillment…beyond what anyone else could know. And yet, the more I learn about it, the less I understand. What makes me special? What's the difference between myself, and…all of these?!" she demanded, pointing to the incubation tank behind her.

"I recognize that you're incapable of trusting me fully right now. It would be unreasonable for me to expect you to," Cyrus reassured. His lips formed into a faint smile as he spoke.

"At this moment, the world stands at the precipice of a fate long set in motion. Human and aliuman existence are poised to ascend to their eternal zenith and shatter the chains of the false god Arceus….and you will be an instrumental part of this. Your education in the past year, and going forward, is to prepare you to comprehend this story that has been written over and lost to time…and from there you will be able to find the sort of answers you seek."

Symphonia remained in place as Cyrus turned to leave the lab. Though her confusion remained, her anger started to dissipate as she processed her creator's words of assurance and the new questions that began forming as soon as he'd finished speaking.

"Have I any choice in this?" she called after him as she began to follow. "Can I change my destiny?"

"Symphonia is the name of a princess," Cyrus replied without looking back.

"I'm sorry. There's a lot for me to take in right now," Alan said softly. "But we believe you."

Alan shot a glance over to Combusken, who nodded rapidly in agreement. The pair had little to say after the tale Symphonia recounted.

"I have so many questions but it doesn't seem like a good time. We can talk about all of this after some sleep, maybe? I'm sure this has been weighing on you so much," Alan continued empathetically as he stood up and stretched his arms behind his back.

"You…I…I can still stay with you?" Symphonia asked, bewildered at Alan's seemingly nonchalant response.

Alan's expression changed to one of concern, and he averted his gaze to the floor.

"You don't have anywhere else you can go, right? I mean…do you know if anyone's after you?"

She shook her head solemnly.

"I don't know. They could be. I'm so sorry," she almost whispered.

"Hey, we'll figure something out! It's only been two days and a night since you showed up in Goldenrod City. I'm sure no one could have zeroed in on you that fast."

The boy took another stretch, accompanied by an anxious yawn.

"Let's just get some sleep, then we'll think more about this. At the very least, this condo complex has cameras and security, right?" he suggested.

Symphonia shut her eyes tightly.

"I've killed people."

Alan and Combusken stood a bit rigidly, but offered smiles of compassion.

"After hearing all of this, do you still trust me?"

"Yeah!" Combusken squawked, followed by a resounding 'of course!' from Alan.

"I don't see why you'd want to hurt us. I'm sure you could have done a lot of things to us already if you planned to. You have access to tons of money, and there's nothing you could use us for. Even then, you seem like an honest person. And I think all the fun we've had means something, right? I think I owe it to you not to throw you out at least," Alan surmised with a laugh.

Symphonia silently stared back for some time, then muttered a 'thank you' before standing up and retreating to her room. Alan and Combusken exchanged looks, and headed for their rooms as well.

"I hope we can help her!" Combusken declared as he smoothed out the cushions in his corner.

Alan jumped backwards into bed and rolled underneath the blanket, resting on his side facing away from Combusken. He could hardly contain his excitement.

"I don't know how I'm going to get to sleep," he joked to his friend. "Cyrus? Who died when Team Galactic was defeated? And those things she said about Arceus…I need to know more."

Darius hunched over his laptop on his hotel bed. The only light in the room came from the screen and the lamp on his nightstand behind him to the right. His fingers clacked furiously on the keyboard as he rifled through the Johto Bureau of Revenue's records.

What am I thinking? He's never paid taxes in his life.

He nearly slammed the laptop shut as he laid back and threw the covers over himself.

And I don't have a login for the Goldenrod school system yet.

"Dammit!"

"Over here!" a familiar voice called out in the distance.

Symphonia milled about in the total darkness surrounding her, searching for the source of the voice. It came from a male, but she struggled to ascertain who it could be. The air seemed thin. She took a step forward and attempted to sense for life, but couldn't detect even the faintest of brain wave signatures.

"Symphonia!" a stern, older voice called behind her.

She froze, and her heart began to pound. She immediately registered the powerful signature of a single human; the source of which was unmistakable.

"Is this the choice you felt you were denied by your birth? A fleeting moment of naïve adventure, in exchange for your part in the future of the universe? I thought I raised you better…"

Cyrus' words cut like a razor, and she winced as she recalled one of the first major memories she had in her life, of a summer night in Mossdeep City: atop a hill near the outskirts, she lost herself among a sea of stars in the crystal clear sky as she took in the magnificence of this fantastical, mysterious world she suddenly found herself awake in less than one year ago.

"As if you've got the right to decide for me!" she cried out, refusing to look back.

Symphonia began heading toward the first voice that beckoned. With every step she took, matching footsteps from Cyrus reminded her that he was approaching closer, but she ignored it and pressed on. Her breaths grew sharper and she found herself struggling to remain level headed.

"It isn't too late to change your mind, now that you've sated your curiosity," Cyrus said almost playfully.

"I wasn't planning to," she spat back defiantly.

All of a sudden, the first voice called again, and the Gardevoir's moderate pace quickened to a run. A few minutes passed…or perhaps several, before the next time it spoke.

"Hey! Over here!"

She turned her head to the right, noticing a small glint of something and changed course toward it…but to her horror, the footsteps from behind her began to multiply.

"You are in such a haste to forfeit something you don't understand…why? Are you afraid?" Cyrus prodded, his voice like an arctic gale.

As Symphonia approached the glint, she began to notice the fingers of a hand. She broke into a sprint, doing her best to shut out the growing chorus of footsteps behind her. Not long after, she came close enough to see that the hand was extending from a small, white rift suspended in the darkness. It extended further and gestured directly toward her, but an intense feeling of uneasiness overtook her and she scrambled to determine the cause.

There's…there are so many signatures…!

She spun around. To her horror, a mass of grey, faceless forms which took the silhouettes of humans and various aliuman species: bestial, bipedal, avian, amorphous, stood menacingly in a concert behind Cyrus.

"What is it you wish for instead, the life of a commoner? To be like a child, free from any responsibility for the world outside of your own?"

"All I wished for is a life of my own!" Symphonia raged. "A life where I can think, feel, choose for myself! A life where I can be a person, rather than a mere…pawn in a game I had no choice but to play!"

Cyrus shook his head despondently, followed by a long, heavy sigh.

"You would have been so much more than a pawn."

The minions behind him shifted from a stance of alertness into a solemn bow of submission; Symphonia first took it to be directed at Cyrus, but immediately realized the gesture was intended for her. Recoiling a couple of steps, she craned her neck to look back over at the hand, and as if on cue the first voice called out again.

"Come on!"

It's Alan!

Symphonia grinned madly, and then turned to face Cyrus once more. She planted herself firm, and with more resolve than she'd ever shown, stared him dead on as she delivered her verdict.

"I am so much more than a pawn now. In these last two days, I've felt…happiness. I felt that I was cared for. I see a future for myself, one where I'll have a chance to see all the beauty and wonders of this world you call a prison! And I'm going to stop you. I won't let you take it as your kingdom."

Cyrus scowled back, looking first to Symphonia and then to the arm and hand protruding from the rift.

"The only thing you shall live to see is regret for your decision."

"Even if I did, I'd be satisfied that the decision was mine," Symphonia concluded, and grasped Alan's hand firmly. She felt no need to turn back as it pulled her up into the light.

"So, and this is just to make sure I'm following everything," Alan inquired, standing in front of the fridge as he watched his glass fill with water. "You were created in a lab, about three years ago, by Cyrus' new organization. You got your education from them, which is like, basically the type of stuff they taught me in school, but they trained you in combat too, and had you work for them."

The morning sun shone brightly, even with the blinds closed. Its warmth relative to the days before soaked the whole apartment. Symphonia stood about a meter from the kitchen counter in the living room, as if awaiting a punishment.

"Yes," she nodded sheepishly. "What I told you about last night, when I found out about it all myself, was this year. All my life, Cyrus has told me everything was for…his cause, and that it was all righteous. That the people I'd killed needed to die. For the future of everyone, and the whole world! I don't know why I ever believed him. I-"

Alan could sense her increasing panic, and as he finished filling his glass he took a long gulp and smiled at her in reassurance.

"No, I get it. There's no other way you could have known. From what you've told me it's like, it's like he's your…dad, kind of, right? It's only normal that you trusted him. Especially since they taught you, provided for you…I don't blame you, if that's what you're worried about. You did it all because you truly believed it was the right thing, yeah?

"I did," she responded, nearly in tears.

"You couldn't have known better, then. If what you were taught was that all of us in the world, no matter what we believe, are living an illusion, and that he alone knows the truth and can free us all with that knowledge…what other choice would you have but to follow him? A good person would do exactly what you did."

The Gardevoir began to sob, and Alan motioned to a stack of tissues on the kitchen table, which she took graciously.

"I don't want to ask all these questions at once, so if you don't want to talk about it more right now that's fine."

"It's quite the opposite. Not having anyone to share this with has been killing me every single day. I'm alright; ask about whatever you want to know."

"Mm. You mentioned Arceus isn't a god. Not that they don't exist, or that religious understandings of them are completely wrong. This makes sense to me. I'm not religious myself, by the way, but that's very interesting…did Cyrus explain what Arceus is then, if not a god?"

She dried the last of her tears, and shook her head dejectedly.

"No. But he knew, and that was something he insisted on keeping from me. What he confirmed was that Arceus is a single being, that they are not the creator of the universe, the world, humans, aliumans and the other animal species."

Alan suddenly burst into laughter, which he scrambled to stifle as he remembered the gravity of the situation.

"I'm sorry. I was thinking about how the Arceusans probably couldn't handle that, huh? I mean…shit...all the prophecies in their holy books, that once every epoch Arceus will awaken to judge us all and the worthy souls will reach a higher plane of existence, that type of stuff. Well, I get that the ones who aren't fundamentalists probably don't believe in it literally, but still..."

"You don't seem alarmed," Symphonia mused with a puzzled expression. "Cyrus told me that this would come as a shock to most people."

"I agree with that part. I know around the world, most mythology and religions have Arceus as a central figure even if they're not revered as a god. Like how Zek-Reshiists believe they're an ascended being that mastered the Dialectic, or the Protoarchaians see them as the original super-ancient. But like I said, I never believed in anything that puts much importance on Arceus.

I can see the significance in what they represent, but if the Arceusan view of them as an embodiment of justice is true, what about the terrible injustices happening every single day? Kids dying of cancer and whole cities blown to pieces in war! What sort of justice are they when the world they created is so full of suffering, and according to scripture this isn't even the first epoch?! We're meant to find comfort and meaning in some far off moment in time where the all-powerful Lord Arceus will judge our souls, long after it's all said and done, and only then there'll be justice and redemption? Don't even get me started on the role they're supposed to have in other religions! None of this comes as a shock to me. If anything it's basically what I expected."

Alan set his glass down on the table as he finished, and Symphonia couldn't help but notice the sneer on his face.

"I don't mean to say you're alike," she began nervously, "but there are ways you remind me of Cyrus. In your convictions, the strength and confidence you seem to have when you explain them. You have the same sort of fire in your eyes."

"I don't ever want to become someone like him," Alan retorted, almost indignantly. "He hates Arceus for being a false god only because he wishes to be in their place! The way he treats you like a canvas for him to project his delusions on, giving you no choice but to trust him, all so that he can have you serve him, kill for him! What cause could he possibly have, where he can only tell you that it's absolute truth, but nothing meaningful about it? You ask me, this sounds exactly like what he was trying to do with Team Galactic- become the god of a new universe he plans on creating."

"That's basically the conclusion I'd reached," Symphonia answered, a stern expression on her face. "I did some research about Team Galactic before. When he attempted to summon Palkia and Dialga, and Giratina…the accepted story was that Giratina killed him, correct?"

"That's the official story," Alan confirmed, making his way through the living room and to his laptop. "Though I've read conspiracy theories from people who seem to be Arceusans, specifically Pillarites, which claim Giratina took Cyrus into what they call the Distortion World, during that infinity energy storm that happened when he tried to summon at Spear Pillar."

"They would be correct. The Distortion World does exist, and he told me he was taken there and spent years inside of it. But because Cynthia and her party were the only others at the Spear Pillar itself during all of this, she chose not to reveal to anyone that they went in after him. I have no idea what sort of conversation they must have had in there, or why she decided to leave. She may even know that he's still alive. Maybe she hadn't expected he would be able to get out?"

"Now this is fascinating," Alan muttered as his fingers clacked maniacally on the keyboard. "I'm looking for news articles about the whole thing. Cynthia's official testimony is pretty much that Giratina vaporized Cyrus, haha. I wonder what they talked about in there…you wouldn't happen to have any kind of government connections, would you?"

Symphonia paced over to stand behind Alan, and began scanning through the wall of text on his screen.

"I wish I did. I don't even have a real citizenship anywhere. I used counterfeits wherever I needed documents."

"There's no way anyone would believe us without proof, and we can't get that…"

"Same thing I was thinking. I have no idea what to do. And now that I got you and your friend into this…"

Alan turned to face Symphonia.

"How do you feel about it all?"

"He can't be allowed to succeed. A world that someone as heartless as him rules over couldn't be a world worth living in," she replied without hesitation.

"Let's put a stop to it then," Alan smirked. "You have no idea how excited this makes me. This is the type of opportunity I've wanted my whole life."

She gazed back in disbelief.

"W-what?"

"Yeah. This sounds like a proper adventure! This would be the perfect chance for me to make my mark on this planet. Compared to school and that other boring shit? I'd much rather be giving my all for something like this," Alan bragged coolly.

Speechless with astonishment, Symphonia eventually returned a weak smile, unsure of what to say to his proposition. She watched as he turned back to the computer and scrolled through a catalogue of furniture, recording some text into his Pokégear and thinking out loud.

"Should probably pick up a TV during Wishmaker's before they go off sale…we'll fill in Combusken when he wakes up, which should be soon. I have some more questions but I think it's a good time for a break…"

Alan stood up, stretched, and reached over the left side of the table to pull up the blinds. A sunny glow flooded the living room, tinging everything gold, and an ear to ear grin formed on his face as he looked out at the city. Rays of light cascaded onto his messy, unkempt hair, down his resolute but gentle face, and as she took note of his features in the radiance, Symphonia couldn't help but blush slightly, unnoticed a mere arm's length away.

He's so amazing!