Chapter Start
Giratina stared dully at the chunks of floating land in front of him, his body floating aimlessly in what he had dubbed 'The Distortion World'.
How many days had gone by? Months? Years? Decades? Centuries? It's been so long that he didn't know anymore.
"To fill the endless centuries of solitude, Giratina the Renegade devoted his time to learning more about the Void, and what he found..."
Perplexing was the best word he could use to describe it. After what he estimated to be centuries of observations and inferences, Giratina finally understood what the Void truly was.
It was neither matter nor antimatter, living or dead. It was everything, yet nothing. Ironically, the floating landmass was created by the Void, around the same time that Giratina closed the rip that lead to time and space.
"*Whoosh*!" eight black blurs shot past Giratina, causing him to jump in surprise. As far as he knew, he was the only living creature in the Void, something that was quickly disproved just now.
"Hello? Who's there?" Giratina called out.
"*Tap* *Tap*!" something small nudged his shoulder. He spun around to find...
"What the heck?"
'W-E-L-C-O-M-E-!' Eight small creatures, each one resembling a different letter of the Latin alphabet.
"Uhh... hi?" Giratina said hesitantly. "Who... or what are you things?"
'W-E A-R-E E-V-E-R-Y-T-H-I-N-G Y-E-T N-O-T-H-I-N-G-!'
"You... You're the Void."
"The Renegade was surprised, shocked even. The Void which had spawned both his equal and himself had reached out to him, thus creating the Unown."
"Why have you approached me now of all times?" Giratina questioned, the creatures multiplying and shifting around to form his answer.
'Y-O-U-R A-C-T-I-O-N-S H-A-V-E M-A-D-E U-S C-U-R-I-O-U-S-!'
"What... What do you mean?"
'W-E H-A-V-E S-T-U-D-I-E-D Y-O-U F-R-O-M A-F-A-R F-O-R Q-U-I-T-E S-O-M-E T-I-M-E-!'
"Your point being?"
'W-E A-R-E P-R-O-P-O-S-I-N-G A D-E-A-L T-O Y-O-U-!
W-O-U-L-D Y-O-U C-A-R-E T-O H-E-A-R-?'
-Shirogane DxD-
Arceus gazed into the ever-changing void that surrounded her. A pocket dimension of solitude.
Centuries had passed since the... incident, and she - along with everything around her - had changed. For better and worse.
The Mews had all but died off, diversifying into new species of Pokemon with specific abilities. Humanity, on the other hand, had not changed - yet at the same time, she could not say they were the same as they were in the beginning.
They became smarter, craftier, and more violent.
She even heard rumors of humans capturing Pokemon - her children - with strange spherical devices, and FORCING them to fight each other.
It sickened her. Thankfully, her first children had learned to create their own pocket dimensions as well, retreating when humans began to capture Pokemon in these so called 'Poke Balls'.
'Dialga-chan... Palkia-chan...' Arcues pressed her knees to her chest, curling up into a ball as tears spilled from her eyes. Her two sons didn't speak to each other anymore, and barely spoke to her too. The only form of acknowledgement she saw between them was the harsh glares and sneers they sent each other, but that was only in her presence. She knew that when they met without her presence intervening, it would be in combat.
"Ar... us... c... n..." the Goddess of Pokemon perked up when she heard a strangely familiar voice call out in her dimension. Someone was trying to access her dimension, probably a human or Pokemon that by luck stumbled upon the link that tethered her dimension to the universe. Arceus straightened up as a white energy began to overtake her form. If it truly was a human or a Pokemon, then she would greet them in the form that they knew her by... a qilin-like creature she dubbed her 'Judgment Form'.
She refused to let anyone but her two sons, three daughters, or her darling Giratina or any of her other children see her in her original form.
"Arceus-chan!" Her green-red eyes widened as she finally recognized the voice calling out to her, the white energy around her immediately dissipated.
"G... Giratina-kun...?" her voice cracked, hands clamped over her mouth as she trembled in both fear and excitement. Six tendrils tore at the emptiness surrounding her, pushing outward until she came face-to-face with her equal. Without hesitation, she zipped towards her beloved...
"But it was not to be..."
-only to slam into an invisible force, a barrier that separated her and Giratina by a mere centimeter.
"Arceus-chan!" Giratina repeated, a panicked look in his eyes as he pushed against the invisible shield, the tear that his tendrils made slowly growing smaller and smaller.
"No..." Arceus mumbled. "No no no no no no no no NO!"
"Damn it!" Giratina exclaimed, his tendrils no long able to support the portal frame. "I promise you, Arceus-chan! I promise I'll find-" the portal closed before she could hear the end of his statement.
"Giratina-kun!" she exclaimed, falling to her knees and openly bawling.
It was like a floodgate opened. Thousands of years of pent up sadness reaching the breaking point.
Her first two sons, her children that chose to stay in the mortal realm, her beloved...
She was alone... again.
"The pain and grief was too much to take, and the worst turn of events occurred..."
Anger. All she felt was anger. She felt angry at her children, who bickered and fought over the smallest matters. At the world, which cruelly stole her love from her. And at her equal, Giratina, his noble sacrifice having gone in vain...
She had finally snapped. Her form was enveloped in a blinding light that took on a blood red tint, expanding and contorting into her 'Judgment Form'.
She would not allow herself to feel this pain in her heart again... by closing off her heart to those she loved and held dear.
'Take away this pain! I... I don't want to feel what I feel anymore!' she mentally exclaimed, a wave of emptiness washing over her qilin form.
"Arceus fell from grace, her anger and pain blinding her from the truth that she tried to deny before...
And she would stay that way for many, many centuries to come..."
-Shirogane DxD-
"-I'll find a way!" Giratina finished, though his portal closed before he could. "Damn it! Damn it all!"
"S-A-T-I-S-F-I-E-D-?"
...
"You!" he exclaimed, his crimson pupils glowing menacingly. "What cruel creature, what twisted being are you to deny the embrace of my equal and I?! What sort of monster are you?!"
"We have been patient enough, Mister Renegade." Giratina froze in shock, the sound of three voices that were distinctly male, female, and demonic yet gender neutral all speaking as one. He was even more surprised when the Unown in front of him melded into shadows and took on a humanoid form.
"Who... what are you?" Giratina questioned hesitantly.
"We are many things, Mister Renegade, many things indeed." the creature stated. "But for now, you may call us... your employer."
"What are you talking about?!" Giratina demanded.
"This place you are in... is our domain. And you... you intrigue us." the creature said. "This world your equal has created... it will not last."
"I... I don't understand." Giratina said. "What do you mean by that?"
"Humans are intriguing creatures, are they not?" the creature asked. "Human nature is not black and white, but black and grey. They will build empires and kingdoms and knock them down and start that cycle all over again."
"Please, I beseech thee. Do not speak in riddles. Convey what you wish to say in a direct manner to me." Giratina commented.
"Did you ever wonder where humans came from? They were not your creation, nor were they ours." the creature questioned. "But what we have found out is that humans... they always are, despite their technological advancements and social morals, destructive beings. They destroy everything they touch, either in seconds or decades or centuries-"
"Your point being?" Giratina queried.
"You and your equal... intrigue us." the creature stated. "The creatures that you created, whether intentional or from your influence on the world, have presented us an opportunity that we had initially dismissed long, long ago."
"I'm not following..." Giratina said.
"We merely wish to warn you." the creature said. "We will allow you to continue to use our plain of existence. It interests us to see your... progress."
"Progress?"
"Take a closer look into the void. We are sure you will find... intriguing knowledge..." the creature answered, the shadows exploding outward and dispersing into the void.
"Intriguing knowledge...?" Giratina mumbled.
"The seed had been sown. At first glance a harmless idea, yet..."
"Ideas are some of our most potent weapons..."
"The Renegade would not be alone in this journey, though..."
"H-Hello? I-Is a-anybody there?" the platinum blond haired man perked up, hearing a timid female voice call out in the almost silent void. Giratina willed his tendrils to sprout out from his body and shoot off like a bat out of hell, easily pinpointing the location of the voice.
"Yes! Who's there?!" Giratina called out, spotting a mop of short green hair attempting to hide behind a floating tree. "Hey! You there!" he exclaimed, alerting the person that he was aware of their presence.
"P-Please don't hurt me!"
A... child? A little girl with short, light green hair with two Gracidea flowers and emerald green eyes.
"How... how did you get here?" Giratina questioned.
"I-I don't know..." the girl replied.
"Do you know where you are, child?" Giratina asked.
"I don't know..." the girl repeated.
"Do you know who I am?" he queried.
"No..." the girl said.
"Well, I am he who guards the edge of existence, the equal of Arceus the Goddess of Pokemon, father of Dialga the Temporal, Palkia the Spatial, and the Lake Guardians Uxie, Azelf, and Mespirit. I am Giratina the Renegade, and you are in the void." Giratina said, his voice booming and leaving the girl's mouth agape. "Might I inquire as to what your name is?"
"I... I am but a lowly Shaymin, just a common Gratitude Pokemon..." the girl muttered.
"Nay. Social stature matters not at the edge of existence." Giratina stated. "Now I ask again, what is your name?"
"H... Hisakata Kansha..."
Chapter End