"Love me cancerously, like a salt sore soaked in the sea. High maintenance means you're a gluttonous queen, narcissistic and mean. Kill me romantically, fill my soul with vomit then ask me for a piece of gum. Bitter and dumb, you're my sugar plum. You're awful, I love you" - Ludo "Love Me Dead"

38 Mistakes

The fire vanished. Arceus stepped over to Yacaeli's body, nervous. I could see it in his eyes. He didn't want it to be true. He wanted it to be a mistake.

I couldn't believe it. I had hesitated, stopped by a hint of doubt, and this was the result. I had ended the lover's quarrel, and opened up an eternity of sorrow for one of them.

I could hear my friends, far behind me, gasping in shock. It had happened so quickly. The timing had been too perfect. Perfectly wrong. Everything had gone perfectly wrong.

I tried to tell myself she deserved it, that she killed my father, but the fact I was trying to come up with an excuse made it even worse. Guilt had crashed down on me like a tidal wave. I had taken another life.

Someone placed their hand on my shoulder, though I hardly noticed. They said something, I think, but I'm not sure what. Maybe it was words of consolation. I don't know or care. All I could hear was the guilty beating of my heart, and the moans of misery Arceus was howling inside.

Abruptly, the great Pokemon was in front of me, his eyes turning red with tears. He towered above me, and I waited for him to crush me with one stomp of his foot. Instead, he knelt down and bowed his head. "This is all my fault," he said softly. "You tried to warn me, but I did not listen." His head snapped up. "Do you know why the dead cannot return?" he asked in a whisper.

I shook my head urgently. He needed no encouragement, and the story seemed to take over him.

"That is my fault, too," he said. Arceus looked away and focused on the sun, now rising steadily on the horizon. "I had a brother by the name of Anistan. We fought constantly, determined to obtain the power to create. That was the prize waiting for us at the end of our endless battle. The ability to make life.

"I won," he continued. "I destroyed my brother, and I turned him into a stone. His power was condensed into that stone, such as his fantastic ability to regenerate and revive himself and others, and his gift to take the powers of others. Even though I had won, I grew frightened of what his spirit would do to me, so I hid the Genesis Stone.

"I had almost forgotten about him, but I gave the stone to Absol to have him take Yacaeli's powers, and now there is nothing I can do to turn back that clock. This was all my fault." Arceus looked down again, ashamed. "I do not deserve the great power that has been bestowed upon me."

I opened my mouth to speak, but really, I could think of nothing to say. I remained silent, mouth open like an idiot, deprived of all speech.

It was Misty who stepped up and told Arceus off.

"You can't honestly think of yourself that way!" she cried, glaring at him. "You created this whole world! You are a great being, right? Now get it through your divine skull that you are what you are, you did what you did, and live with it! Mew, people like you make me so angry! I mean, you act like everything's your fault and then you go around wallowing in self pity and it's stupid."

Arceus glared at her. "I killed my love," he snapped. "Approximately five minutes ago. You expect me to shrug it off like it's nothing?"

Misty shook her head. "No, I expect to not be such a baby about it and live! I mean, I can understand you being upset about Yacaeli, but you're still whining about killing your brother? Even though he was intending to kill you as well? Jeez, and I thought my family was screwed up." She turned to me. "The Sky Cat is dead, Leaf is dead, I'm practically naked, and I am sick of this mountain. Let's get out of here."

I blinked, the weight of Leaf and Yacaeli's deaths crashing down on me again. "Shouldn't we bury her or something?" I wondered, gesturing to Yacaeli's body.

"Leave it to her lover," she snapped. And she grabbed me by the wrist and led me away, back down to where the rest of our group waited. I looked back at Arceus and Absol, standing around Yacaeli's body with sorrow on their faces. Shaymin and Suicune rested by Mew's fallen form, speaking in low, urgent voices.

I should have said something. I should have protested against Misty, insisted that we go back and try and console Arceus. But I said nothing. I allowed myself to be dragged away from the Pokemon who were gathered so mournfully.

Everything passed in a blur after that. The last thing I remember of the mountain was Pikachu's tiny feet scampering up onto my shoulder.

***********************************************************BREAK! Away from everybody!***************************************************

Walking through the ruined town of Ciel was heartbreaking. The destruction was too much to bear, with houses and shops and even their grand stadium ruined and crumpled.

I kept looking back to the mountain and its imposing form, wondering how it could have taken so long to get up and so short to get back down. I wanted to know what was going on at its summit, no longer shrouded in clouds but still impossibly high.

"What happened here?" Dawn whispered. She clung to Paul as if he were the only thing keeping her on the ground. As if letting go of him would mean the death of her.

Jessie and James, whom we had picked up on the way down, rode on the back of some of the larger Pokemon we had between all of us.

"I can't imagine," Drew replied. "It's as if something trampled the place." He carried the weak Max on his back, walking in step with May.

"You bet something trampled it!"

I blinked at the familiar voice. Turning away from the mountain, I saw Professor Teak making her way through the rubble. Pikachu squeaked a greeting, but I could tell by her harried appearance that she wasn't here for small talk.

Teak came up to us, her short brown hair a mess and her clothes dirty. "The Pokemon!" she cried, waving her arms wildly. "Every single creature on this island went berserk! They came stampeding through the village like their lives depended on it and left destruction in their wake. We've been looking for you guys for days!" She crossed her arms angrily.

I looked down, as ashamed as if it had been my mother lecturing me. However, that's when I noticed where we were standing, amidst the remains of the professor's house. How did I know it was hers? There were smashed coffee mugs littered all through the rubble. She had lost everything in the rampage, from her cups to her home to her research.

"OAK!" Teak yelled unexpectedly, making us all jump. "OAK!"

There was a crashing sound, and Professor Oak came stumbling out of a house that was miraculously still standing. He coughed in the dust from whatever had fallen. "Oh!" he cried. "Ash! You guys are alright!" He rushed forwards, arms outstretched. "Delia and I were so worried you all wouldn't make it off the mountain! But you won't believe it! The Pokemon have stopped rebelling against their Trainers. Did you happen to do something up on top of the mountain?"

I was about to reply, but the eccentric Professor interrupted me by turning towards the open space and yelling, "They're back!" as loud as he possibly could.

Several people showed up at once. No less than a dozen Nurse Joys appeared, along with multiple Officer Jennys, much to the enjoyment of Brock. My mom showed up, and promptly attached herself to my body like a parasite. Yes, I was happy to see her, but jeez did she have to be so clingy?

And, in case you're wondering, she asked that horrible question.

"Have you been changing your underwear every day?" she demanded, after she had covered me with kisses and hugged me to death.

I went beet red. "Mom!" I cried indignantly, which was better than telling her the truth. Remember when I said we had to burn our clothes due to lack of wood? Yeah. That's what happened to a good deal of my undergarments.

Everyone was thrilled to see us. Dawn's mom was there, and her appearance was the only thing that made Dawn detach herself from Paul. May and Max's parents were also there, all waiting for us and helping out with the rescue.

"I swear, baby, if you had taken one more day I was going to go up that mountain and find you myself!" said Norman. He had May in a bear hug, while Max was being fussed over by my mother and his own.

"Look at my poor baby!" his mother cried. "He looks like he went through a dryer with rocks!"

Misty's sisters were also there, by some miracle. When they walked over to see what all the commotion was about, they nearly tripped in their heels in their hurry to embrace their sister.

Reggie, of course, made sure Paul got his fair share of embarrassing family hugs. A lady I had never met before with long, curling green hair wrapped Drew in a tender hug and cried softly on his shoulder. Now that I think about it, I had seen her at some of Drew's contests, but we had never been introduced. I assumed she was his mother.

"Gary and Rowan are on their way," Oak told us. "I'm sure they'll want to hear everything as soon as they come in from Sinnoh."

Memories were triggered, and suddenly I was dreading seeing Gary. Not because of an old rivalry, or of some unreasonable hatred, or even the fact that I owed him an Oreo milkshake every day for the next two years (which I'm trying to get an explanation on still). No, it was the idea of Leaf that made me reluctant to see my friend.

I could remember Leaf very clearly, all the way back to when I was… five? Since when? Had I known her then?

Suddenly, something clicked in my head. Now I knew why she looked familiar. I had known her long, long ago. But why had I forgotten her?

It hurt twice as much when I realized there was only one creature that could have answered that question, but she was merely a carcass on the top of a mountain now.

*******************************************************Three Days Grace is da best*********************************************************

Madame Eulixia was dead.

I don't know why, but that cut me deep. It wasn't like she was close to me, but I still felt as if I had lost someone very dear.

Gary and Rowan came, and I could hardly look at my old rival. His eyes were very swollen, and his expression stony. "Ash," he said with a nod, and that one word seemed to break him. He looked away, determined not to show his pain in front of everyone.

The three professors took me into the makeshift Pokemon Center, where the rescue teams were staying. It was an interrogation, and I felt guilty for no reason.

"Tell me," Teak said, leaning close, "is the Sky Cat real?"

I looked her in the eye and shook my head. "Not anymore."

"What happened?" all three demanded.

"Did you kill her?" Oak asked, looking proud, for some reason.

I remembered that was what I had been sent up the mountain to do. "Yes," I said. "But I hadn't meant to."

"Pika pi!" Pikachu supplied, though I was the only one who understood him.

"So… so she was real?" Teak breathed, clearly shocked.

I nodded, my eyes feeling heavy. She gasped and dropped into a chair, silent tears running down her cheeks. Honestly, sometimes I just don't understand women.

Rowan cleared his throat. "What were her powers?" he wanted to know.

So I told them. I told them everything I'd seen her do, told them about Absol and Tenebri, about Mew and Shaymin, about Arceus, about… how Paul and May and Misty had died, and how Yacaeli had brought them back. I told them about Leaf, about Jessie and James, about everything.

The only things I kept secret were my dreams. I felt that every interaction with Cináed was something for me and no one else. Perhaps Mom, eventually, but for now, I thought I could be allowed some selfishness.

*************************************************************I'm aiming for 40 chapters*****************************************************

"We're leaving for Kanto tomorrow," Drew told me. "There's going to be a big party at your house, apparently."

I scowled as I lay on my cot. "Party for what?" I snapped.

"Everyone returning home alive," Brock said. He got onto his cot tenderly, though I think he was just milking the attention he got from Nurse Joy every time he winced.

"I'm going to ask Dawn on a date," Paul said abruptly, shocking all of us. "Anything she wants. We'll go do it."

"Are you aware you said that aloud?" questioned Drew.

Paul nodded as he stared at a hole in the ceiling. "I want to make her as happy as I possibly can."

"Who are you and what have you done with Paul?" Brock joked weakly.

Max snickered, but it turned into a low moan of pain. He was by far the most injured out of all of us. It didn't help that he was exhausting himself by practicing his new psychic powers when he thought no one was looking.

Drew stretched out on his cot and smiled to the roof above him. "Well, if Paul is going to ask Dawn out, I suppose I'll ask May. I can't be outdone by a 'heartless wretch'," he teased.

Paul rolled over and glared at him. "If I had a pillow to spare, I would use it to improve your face," he said.

"And there's the Paul we know!" I laughed.

Gary laughed a little too, but it quickly died into a sigh and he went back to staring wistfully at the stars. There was a hole right above his head, giving him a gorgeous view of the celestial night.

No one dared bring up Leaf. In fact, after Gary's reaction to the conversation, we stopped talking altogether. I couldn't help but think how this night was so very much like the one before we started our journey. It was amazing how my life had taken one big loop. Absently, I pulled Pikachu closer to me, relishing in his familiarity.

Everything is going to be fine. Those six words, playing over and over in my head, lulled me to sleep.

*AN: So, only two more chapters left! I hope. It's what I'm aiming for. The next one is going to be Ash's dream, and then the party, but I haven't written them yet.

The name for my new story idea? I promised some readers I would reveal the name here, so here goes! Ahem. "Cold Blooded Killers" will be the title of my next fic. And it will be very romance-y. I will not post it soon, however. I'm going to repost my KH fics, cuz I think that needs doing. If you want to read those, wait for the repost. They will be better. I promise.*