Author's Note: Hello again, readers (if there are any XD)! Meganium here again with Chapter Three. I promised plot in this chapter, and here it is! I'll be honest, though: I'm a little iffy on this one. I like Chapter Four, but this one...meh. This Chapter is rated T just to be safe for mention of death, and blood.
I hope I didn't scare anyone off with that.

Disclaimer: I own 493 Pokémon in Pokémon Diamond. Sadly (and confusingly), this does not mean I own Pokémon.

Um, anyway, please enjoy, and don't forget to review! ^ ^

Seven Nights

Night Three: Gone

When Celebi awoke next, Jirachi was still asleep. It was barely dawn, and the sun was just rising. Jirachi slept peacefully, his streamers wrapped around him securely like swaddling clothes. Celebi couldn't help but think he looked endearing as she watched him sleep.

Was this what he had looked like when Sachi had slept by his side?

The thought made her heart jolt painfully, and she decided to wake him. "Hey," she said softly, shaking him gently. "Wake up. It's morning."

He yawned, unwrapping himself. "So it is," he agreed, rubbing his eyes. "What will we do today, Celebi?" he asked.

She smiled at him. It was impossible to dwell on sad thoughts when he asked her so eagerly. "Well," she said thoughtfully, "The ocean is nearby. I thought maybe we could play in it."

He grinned widely, his eyes lighting up. "Oh, wow!" he said. "That sounds...that sounds..." He trailed off, trying to find a word to describe his enthusiasm for the idea.

"Cool?" Celebi supplied with a small smile.

"'Cool'?" Jirachi repeated, confused. "Is the water cold?"

Celebi laughed. "No. It means... Cool means that it's good." Of course Jirachi wouldn't understand modern expressions, she reminded herself.

"Oh!" Jirachi said. "If that is the case, then yes, it sounds 'cool'!"

She shook her head at him and smiled. "Come on, Jirachi," she said. "Let's go to the beach!"

(-o-)

"Come on in," Celebi urged him, splashing about in the water. "I promise it won't bite!" She gestured with an arm toward the water, and Jirachi hesitantly stepped forward.

"Are you quite sure?" Jirachi asked timidly, sticking a small foot in the water and pulling it back.

"Sure I'm sure!" she laughed, grabbing onto his arm and pulling him forward slightly. Smiling at her uncertainly, Jirachi allowed himself to be pulled into the shallow water. She smiled back at him reassuringly.

"So...is this it?" Jirachi asked after a moment.

"Well... I guess it could be..." Celebi said mischievously, letting go of his arm and drifting backward slightly. She put her arms under the water in preparation...

"Unless I do this!" she exclaimed playfully, splashing Jirachi suddenly with a bit of water.

Jirachi yelped and covered his face, laughing. "Oh yeah? Well what if I do this?" he countered, splashing Celebi back. She giggled and splashed him again, and soon they were engaged in a playful splash fight, with Jirachi wading after a fleeing and giggling Celebi as she splashed water behind herself with her feet.

"Get back here!" he laughed, wading through the shallow water in awkward movements. "How am I to splash a moving target?"

"That's the idea," Celebi teased, sticking out her tongue at him over her shoulder and splashing him with her feet again.

By the time the splash war ended, both Pokémon were quite tired out and quite wet, and they lay on the sand, panting and looking up at the sky. Several Wingull flew overhead, their cries breaking the silence.

"I have never played in the ocean before," Jirachi admitted after a pause, his chest still heaving with the effort of attempting to catch Celebi (an attempt which proved unsuccessful).

"Well, now you have," Celebi corrected him simply.

"What is next?" Jirachi asked, sitting up.

"Um...I'm not sure," she replied, sitting up as well. "I guess I could show you all the kinds of berries in the forest," she suggested with a shrug.

"That sounds intriguing!" Jirachi said with his traditional eagerness. Where did he get all this boundless enthusiasm, Celebi wondered?

"All right, then," she said, taking his hand again and lifting off, pulling him with her. "Let's go!"

(-o-)

"What kind is this?" Jirachi asked her, holding a pear-shaped yellow berry between his hands, but not plucking it from its branch. It was evening, and the sun was setting, painting the dappled light a faint orange. Celebi glanced over at the object Jirachi held— it was a berry she knew well.

"That's a Sitrus berry," she told him knowingly. "It can restore a Pokémon's energy in a pinch. It has a really interesting flavor. The skin is really hard, though." Jirachi nodded and let the berry go. The branch bobbed slightly at the lack of pressure. His eyes searched around eagerly, looking for unfamiliar berries for Celebi to identify. Not seeing any new berries, he flew from the branch and glided around a bit, looking this way and that. Celebi's eyes sparkled with amusement as she watched him fly.

"Oh, Celebi!" he said excitedly, flying over to another tree. "Just look at—" Suddenly, he stopped cold. His streamers did not even flutter, and he fell silent.

Celebi saw his movements cease, and blinked in confusion. "Jirachi?" she prompted. "What's wrong?" Jirachi did not move. He still hovered in the air, his back to his green friend. Hearing no response, Celebi flew over next to him and followed his gaze.

At the foot of an Oran tree lay an old, grizzled Zigzagoon, its fur dulled with age. It was motionless, its mouth open slightly and its legs splayed out. A pool of blood had seeped from a wound in its neck, and its stare was blank and glassy, its expression frozen in a yelp. Celebi's gaze flickered from the fallen Pokémon to her friend worriedly, horrified at the sight.

"Wh...what is wrong with him?" Jirachi whispered, looking down at the poor creature. "Why does his fur lack color? Why is he not moving? Why is he bleeding so much? "

Celebi opened her mouth several times, only to close it again. Her eyes clouded over with pity and regret, sorry for the Zigzagoon as well as for Jirachi, who just didn't understand. "Jirachi..." she began softly, taking his hand. She tried to explain, but merely sighed, furrowing her brow and trying to find the words. Jirachi looked at her, and he looked so lost that it made her heart clench. Spurred by his questioning face, she finally managed to attempt an explanation.

"Jirachi... you don't know much about life. You haven't seen enough of it." She spoke as gently as possible. "Other creatures— other Pokémon, humans—they... they don't live forever. They have to go sometime." She paused, looking him over as she thought of how to explain it. "Things can happen to them, and...sometimes they don't live as long as they're supposed to. Other times, they... get old, and they pass naturally." She flicked her eyes over him, trying to gauge his reaction. "They don't continue on forever like you or me. Humans and other Pokémon— they die, Jirachi." Her voice was a bit choked. Why did she have to explain this to him? He had been around for thousands, maybe millions of years— hadn't he ever seen anyone die? But the look on his face told her that he hadn't. He'd never known anyone long enough to see them die.

Jirachi yanked his hand away from her grasp, his eyes full of confusion and hurt. "But... that is not true," he insisted, shaking his head. He looked down at the Zigzagoon again, his expression almost desperate. "He is... he is only sleeping," he said. "From up here, he looks like he is asleep." He looked back up at Celebi, his eyes pleading.

She shook her head slowly, her eyes reflecting his pain. "No, Jirachi," she whispered, moving closer to him. "He's not."

Jirachi stared at the Zigzagoon, but he appeared to be looking through it, his brows knit together in confusion, still struggling to understand. "They just...stop? Just like that? H-How long did he live? How long does anybody live?" His questions were becoming increasingly frantic, and Celebi knew what—or who—he was thinking of.

Her eyes found his, and their expressions were nearly identical. Celebi felt tears prick the backs of her eyes. "Not a thousand years," she said quietly, her voice choked.

The tears that had been building up in Jirachi's eyes finally spilled over as he recoiled in shock and sorrow. "No," he protested quietly. He floated backward slowly, shaking his head as if he could clear it of the unwanted knowledge. "No," he repeated, a little more insistently.

"Jirachi—" Celebi whispered, reaching out to him. "Jirachi, I'm sorry..."

He floated back, avoiding her touch. He stared at the ground, not seeming to hear Celebi at all. "I will never see Sachi again," he said, his voice thick with grief. Tears rolled down his cheeks, but he did not attempt to wipe them away. "I will never see any of them again..."

Celebi opened her mouth to comfort him as tears spilled from her eyes at last, but Jirachi flew away suddenly before she could say anything more. "Jirachi!" she called after him. "Wait!" She took off after him, but did not know where he went. Looking around frantically, she flitted from tree to tree. "Jirachi!" she called out desperately. "Jirachi!" She flew through the forest, calling out his name.

"Jirachi!" she called once more as she stopped to search in another area of the forest. A small sob reached her ears, and she whirled around— Jirachi sat in the branches of the Cheri tree under which she had found him, his face covered.

"Jirachi..." she sighed in relief, flying down to light on the branch with him. "Don't take off like that," she admonished, but she sounded more sad than reproachful.

"She is gone, Celebi," Jirachi said softly, lifting his face to look at her. The anguish in his eyes broke her heart.

She edged closer to him and placed her arms around his shoulders, embracing him, offering her comfort to him. "I know," she told him quietly. He shuddered a deep breath, more tears rolling down his cheeks as he turned into her embrace, accepting it.

They wept together, the stars winking overhead.

Author's Note: Well hopefully you won't be able to tell which part of that chapter I hated. XD
And don't worry. This won't turn into an angstfest. I really, really hate those, and it would kind of break my heart to see happy little Jirachi and Celebi angsting all the time. So there will be happy cute fluffy moments ahead, particularly in the upcoming chapter, I promise. :3
Also, you'll start to notice the chapters getting a little longer. Sorry about this- the story has kind of grown since I originally thought of it, and since I read everything to my Mom before I post it anywhere, the story has gone through a lot of minute changes and adjustments and has been developed a lot (my mom is an awesome editor. Thanks Mom! :D). Sooo, I hope you, the reader, enjoy the story for what it has become: a real test of my writing ability and a chance to see whether I can really write a multichapter story and not have it suck like a Hoover.

Self-deprecation aside, thank you so much for reading, readers. I really love you all, in a platonic, non-creepy-stalker way. Thank you to everyone who's reviewing; you guys are the best. :)