Chapter 3 - Friends Galore

As the group exited the ship, they noticed more people had begun to arrive, notably Crystal, who had ridden her Lugia, as it was inside the Aether Paradise's dock, with Crystal and Gold sitting on top of it, and being a bit more lovey dovey than usual. The group smiled to their friends and walked over, with Gold calling, "Hey guys!"

When they arrived, Sun smiled and said, "A little early aren't yah? The weddings not for another couple days."

Crystal smiled and said, "And miss helping to set up the wedding of the guy I used to work with and the girl I kidnapped," then she glanced at Lillie and said, "Sorry about that by the way."

Lillie smirked and said, "You only caught me off guard. Had I been ready, I've beaten you."

Crystal shrugged and replied, "Whatever you say." This got a chuckle out of the group before Crystal said, "But we really are here to help set up. What do you guys want us to do?"

Lillie thought for a second and said, "Well, both Darkrais are working on lighting, Celebi and Mew are working on the ribbon…"

Sun interjected with saying, "Can we really consider what those two are doing working?"

Lillie giggled, but repeated, "Celebi and Mew are working on the ribbons. The chairs and tables haven't been setup yet, the cake hasn't arrived yet, and the decorations, excluding the ribbon, haven't been setup yet."

Sun nodded, but stated, "That can be done in the morning. It's about 9 right now, I'd say. Come on, let's go find you guys some places to sleep."

Gold smiled and said, "Thanks, though we aren't the only people who've showed up."

Lillie raised an eyebrow and asked, "Who all's here?"

Crystal smiled and started counting on her fingers, "Well, Silver arrived with us, Red and Green showed up a little while ago, Blue showed up with Mewtwo, which probably didn't help Mew, though Mewtwo can get those two working, so maybe it did help. White and Black showed up together, Bianca and Cheren, Emerald showed up at some point, but I don't know if he's still here…"

Sun raised his hand and said, "So you're saying everyone we invited is here?" Gold and Crystal nodded in unison, and Sun sighed. "Um… where are we going to have everyone sleep?"

They heard a voice behind them, "Oh, don't worry about that Young Master Sun. I have already taken the liberty of finding everyone a place to sleep. While they are a bit scattered, everyone seems happy." Everyone turned and saw everyone's favorite purple haired Aether employee.

Lillie smiled and said, "Hello Wicke," as she gave her a hug, which she returned. Lillie asked, "So you've found everyone a place to sleep for tonight?"

Wicke nodded and said, "Like I said, they're a bit scattered around the Paradise, but they all seemed happy."

Gold and Crystal climbed off Lugia's back, while Crystal asked, "Yeah, actually where are we sleeping? I don't remember."

Wicke smiled, bowed, and replied, "Follow me, I'll show you."

The two took each other's hands and began to follow Wicke, when Sun noticed a glint ome off both of their left hands. Sun whistled and got both of their attentions. Sun simply said, "New bling?"

The two began to blush and started to stutter as their friends began to notice their wedding bands. Finally, Crystal was able to form a complete sentence, saying, "We had a small ceremony back in Johto. Nothing special, we didn't want to over shadow yours. We were going to have a bigger one and invite everyone after yours, but we kinda hoped no one would notice the rings."

Gold sighed and said, "We were trying to wait, but we couldn't take it anymore. We want to be together so bad, and finally we decided we would be."

Everyone smiled and began to congratulate the two, their faces red, which caused Brendan to note, "Hey, it's not Sun or Lillie blushing."

/

Sun and Lillie were laying in bed together, cuddling closely. After all their friends were in bed, Lillie and Sun had decided to head to bed. As much as they were excited for their wedding, the only time they really got time alone was when they were in bed, and even sometimes they weren't alone, because they could hear Mew's giggling. Even they didn't have it too much, they loved their time together; it was when they could express their unconditional love for each other for each other without threat of being teased.

After a few hours of faking sleep, Lillie stood up and looked around. She looked at Sun's face, and admired how peaceful he looked. He was good at hiding it, but she could tell he was nervous about the wedding, though she was terrified. She would sometimes stay up all night, worrying she wasn't enough for him. Sometimes she'd wonder if he didn't really love her, but was faking it to keep her happy. Maybe he really loved someone else. She constantly had to remind herself that he was the one who said "I love you," first, and he was the one who asked for her hand in marriage.

She tried to shake the thoughts from her mind, but the more she resisted, the more they came. Eventually, she got up, kissed Sun on the lips, which he subconsciously returned, and headed out to get some air.

As she was walking around the Paradise, she was greeted by an eerie nothingness. There was no noise, and it reminded her of the day her, Sun, and her friends invaded the Aether Paradise to stop her mother from summoning the Ultra Beasts. That night had been just as silent as this night, and Lillie didn't appreciate. Finally, she decided she'd look over the ocean, as it was always a calming view.

Once Lillie reached one of the many views of the ocean, she took in a deep breath, letting the smell of the ocean take over her senses. As she peered over the ocean, her thoughts began to return. She began to think that maybe her thoughts were right and that none of this was real, and that Sun was willing to sacrifice his own happiness for someone else's, which she knew he would. Maybe…

"Boo," she heard behind her.

"Ahh!" Lillie yelled, as she turned, seeing Green standing behind her.

The two were silent for a second, and when they were sure no one had heard them, Green whispered, "Sorry, didn't mean to scare you. You just looked lonely, so I figured I'd chat with you."

Lillie smiled and replied, "Thanks Green." Then she looked back over the ocean and whispered, "Green… I'm scared."

Green walked over and stood next to her. "Yeah, I bet. You're a day away from marrying your childhood sweetheart, and you want everything to be perfect for both of you, but you don't know." Then she smiled at Lillie and said, "Don't worry, we'll do everything we can to make it the perfect wedding for you two."

Lillie smiled and replied, "Thanks Green, but that's not what scares me." Green glanced at her, waiting for Lillie to continue. "I'm afraid maybe I won't be enough for him, or maybe he doesn't really feel anything for me…"

That second comment practically brought Green to tears. "You're scared he might not really love you?" Lillie nodded, knowing it was silly, which Green reiterated by saying, "Have you forgotten how he literally threw himself in front of a corrupted legendary, the Alpha legendary I might add, without a second thought?"

Lillie thought for a second and whispered gratefully, "Thank you Green…"

Green smirked and replied, "Anytime. And to answer your question if you'll be enough for him: There is no one else for him."

Lillie nodded, but said, "There is one more thing that's been bugging me."

Green nodded and replied, "What is it?"

"What if… what if I hurt him? I don't want to, but I might…"

Green sighed and looked across the ocean. "I have an answer, but I don't know if you want to hear it…" She looked at Lillie, whose eyes were practically pleading for an answer. Green frowned but said, "Hurting those you love is saddly an inevitability of life. But," she lifted Lillie's head with her hand, "Never dwell on the pain you cause others. Focus on what you can do to soothe that pain."

Lillie began to tear up. "Thank you Green…" Then she wrapped her arms around Green, which she returned.

After a few seconds, the two let go and Green said, "Don't worry, I'm always here to talk if you want to. I'm sure any of our friends would be happy to talk if you wanted to."

Lillie was about to respond when they heard the sound an eerie flute cut through the silence. The two looked around as they heard the sound of the flute echo. Then they heard the echo stop, and another eerie sound, that sounded similar and it slowly got higher in pitch, while occasionally getting lower, then it held a high note for a few seconds,then it got slightly lower, and then the sound vanished. The two looked at each other, and began exploring the Paradise, searching for the sound.

/

Sun had woken up to find Lillie was gone. He looked around, having a mini heart attack, thought after everything the two had been through, it was warranted. Finally, he stood up and began to head out, when he noticed a very faint eerie noise coming from one of Lillie's dresser drawers. He blinked and walked over to it, opened it, and gasped. He saw that the Azure Flute, which had been granted to Lillie by Arceus, was glowing, and a faint eerie noise was coming from it. He picked it up and began to look it over. He couldn't figure out why the flute was glowing, but he decided he'd try it. He went to blow it, but no noise came from it.

He blinked, and suddenly these strange pokemon that seemed to form letters appeared in front of him, which read, "To summon the Alpha, you must have space for a king."

Sun blinked again and the strange letters disappeared. Sun shook off his confusion, and left his and Lillie's room. He immediately went to the front of the Aether Paradise, where he had heard Crystal had jumped off and landed on Lugia. Once he was there, Sun tried the flute again, and this time, and eerie echo sounded from the flute, and suddenly, Sun got the feeling he was being watched. But, he continued to play, and the flute seemed to play itself, with the notes changing on their own. After a few seconds of playing, the flute went silent, and a golden hole opened up in the sky, and Arceus emerged from it.

Sun stared in awe as the Alpha Pokemon emerged from a hole of golden light. As it descended, the hole disappeared, the light disappearing. When Arceus landed, it bowed its head to Sun, who bowed back. "Savior of the world and lover of my savior, Sun," Arceus spoke, "It is nice to finally see you again."

Sun smiled and said, "It is nice to see you to Arceus, though is there any pokemon that doesn't know about me and Lillie now?" Arceus silence answered Sun's question, who just laughed. Then Sun frowned and asked, "You know, we've had this flute since you gave it to us, but tonight it was... humming I guess. Why was that?"

Arceus bowed again. "It hummed for I wished to speak with you. I'm aware you and Lillie are getting married, correct?" Sun nodded, and Arceus continued by saying, "I was curious who you were having wed you two?"

Sun frowned and said, "I don't know actually. We never really came up with someone." Then Sun cursed himself for not remembering that fact sooner. Then Sun said, "Crap, now we need to think of someone to wed us…"

Arceus shook its head and replied, "Do not bother." Sun raised an eyebrow at the pokemon, who continued, "I will do it." Sun's jaw dropped, which caused Arceus to make a noise, Sun assumed later it was a chuckle, with Arceus continuing, "After all you two have done for me, I wish to repay the favor… If you two are willing."

Sun nodded and said, "We would love it, though is it alright if I don't tell Lillie? I think the surprise would be nice." Arceus nodded, and Sun smiled. "Thank you. I need to return to my bed, but I will see you again in a day." Arceus bowed, and disappeared.

After Arceus left, Green and Lillie showed up. The two were looking around, and finally Sun asked, "What're you two looking for?"

Green frowned and said, "We heard a strange noise a few minutes ago, and we've been trying to find it."

The flute, Sun thought. "I mean, I didn't hear anything…"

Lillie frowned and said, "Are you sure? It sounded really eerie and ominous."

Sun smiled and kissed her. "You worry too much. I didn't hear anything, besides the wind. Come on, let's go back to bed, before you start dreaming other things." Then he glance at Green and said, "You should probably head back to bed to. I'm sure Red'll notice you're missing here soon."

Green nodded and said, "If he hasn't already." And with that, she turned around and headed back to where she was sleeping. Sun turned back to Lillie, took her hand, and asked, "Ready to head back?" She smiled and nodded. As they headed back to their room, Lillie began to drift off, her mind relaxed after her conversation with Green. Thankfully, she made it to bed before she fell completely to sleep, though when she did, she was snuggled close to Sun, who loved it just as much as her.