For the first time in a thousand years, Zapdos felt the pull of the eternal darkness.

It had taken almost everything the great bird of the storm had left to reach Trichroma Town. Its Champion had found the energy to endure, so Zapdos had as well, calling on the last of its reserves to overcome the agony transmitted through their bond. It felt like it could have fallen out of the sky with every wingbeat, and yet, it had persisted. It remembered this feeling. It was the same one it had experienced with its last Champion, the son of the Kiiro people, just before their bond had broken. Zapdos carried the sensation of death within its body, but it would not, could not die.

And it wouldn't let Spark die, either.

Articuno and Moltres had told Zapdos that what it was doing was unnecessary, but Zapdos had never been good at listening to them. It dwelled in storms, the kind that humans could sense in their bones, could predict with their radar, but could never truly resist. The will of Zapdos was unbendable, and the other birds knew it.

You have a soft spot for humans. It's cute, Moltres had mocked.

But Moltres had a soft spot for them, too. It watched their battles from afar, it passed over the weary and heartbroken to inspire them with courage. It loved its Valorous Knight dearly, and was moved by her capacity for love, in all its untamable forms.

Your Champion can keep his promise without you, Articuno had assured it.

But if Articuno's Mystic Sage had been the one standing on the brink, Zapdos knew it would have done the same thing. It too had drawn from deep, long-sleeping reserves to endure its Sage's pain and guide them all to safety. Articuno claimed to be disinterested in humanity, but if that were true, why did it share secrets with the brave, inquisitive humans that traveled high enough in its frozen mountains? Why did it glow with pride when they made new discoveries?

They'd all lived too long not to love mankind. A thousand years ago, they'd tried to deepen their bond with them, but it had been a disastrous move. So they'd withdrawn and grown apart not only from people but from each other. They'd not always been close, that was certain, but they couldn't deny their bond. In its memory, Zapdos still heard Moltres' cry of pain when the Rockets had found it within its volcanic home. They were, after all, family, and families shared each other's suffering.

Zapdos' Champion of Instinct was family, too. Perhaps Articuno and Moltres were hesitant to use the term with humans, but Zapdos didn't see the point in such reluctance. No, its Champion could keep his promise on his own, but Zapdos intended to help in whatever way it could, despite its own pain. Besides, it had a message to deliver.

So, with Articuno and Moltres watching over it, Zapdos returned to Spark's power plant.

Though it was no longer storming within Spark's mind, the damage remained. Downed wires splayed on the concrete and bent poles supported dead machinery. It took some flying to find Spark amid the wreckage.

He sat in a clear space beneath a still-functioning bar of surveillance lights, cross-legged, a sketchbook in his lap. He was smaller than before. A child, like the first time Zapdos had interacted with him. Instead of perching above Spark, Zapdos landed softly a few yards away.

Spark looked up from his drawing, calm, unflustered by Zapdos' appearance. "Hey… it's you."

Why are you so small?

Spark held his little hands in front of his face and twisted his lips in confusion. "Uh… because I'm a kid, I guess."

Zapdos hadn't expected to find its Champion like this, reduced to his simplest essence, bubbled within a safe memory. It was a defensive technique, it supposed. But if Spark lingered for too long, he might never leave. He required some coaxing.

Do you remember when we met?

Spark beamed. "It was kinda like this."

Do you know how long ago that was?

The boy's cheerful expression faded. "I'm not sure…"

Zapdos pointed its beak at the sketchpad. What are you drawing?

Spark toyed with his pencil and shrugged uncomfortably. "I dunno. Stuff, I guess."

Perhaps Zapdos had spent too long inside of a human's mind. It had been decades since it had felt empathy like this. Part of it didn't want Spark to realize what was happening, but he had to. Too much hinged on it.

Look at the sketchbook, Champion.

Spark chewed his lip, stalling. Eventually, he lifted the sketchpad and began to review it. Sketches of cave tunnels and crystals, monsters and people, a dead woman's face…

After about a minute, Spark set it aside.

"I don't like these drawings," he said, quietly.

But they're yours. They're your story, and your story isn't over.

Spark turned his face away and gazed pensively into the darkness.

Do you know why you drew those things?

"So I wouldn't forget," Spark said, his brows pulling together in concentration. "It's hard to think. There was something I was supposed to do…"

You made a promise.

"My friends…" Spark sprang to his feet. "I have to get back to my friends!"

Spark's form vacillated between child and adult for a few seconds before settling on the older version of himself. He instantly calmed down and turned in a slow circle, taking in in the destruction around him, then slipped his hands into his pockets and whistled low. Zapdos wasn't sure what it meant.

"I think I was a little lost just now. Should I be worried that you're back in my head? Because it seems like you and your buddies trashed the place the last time you were here," he observed, smirking grimly.

I'm reaching you psychically through our bond. My consciousness isn't truly in your mind like it was before.

"Oh. Uh. Great, I guess. But what are you doing here?"

I came to bring you home.

"Whoa there, big guy," Spark said, raising his hands. "If this is some kind of 'come with me to the afterlife' shtick, I'm gonna have to pass. I'm not leaving Blanche and Candela."

No, Champion. You are not dead. I want to help you live.

Spark crossed his arms. "Zapdos… Thank you for snapping me out of it, but it's about time I started rescuing myself. Now, since you're not technically in my mind anymore, I guess that means we made it through the gate. Are we somewhere safe? Are Blanche and Candela OK?"

We're in Trichroma Town. At the hospital. They're both being looked after and will be alright.

Spark puffed out his cheeks and released his breath in a hiss. "Dr. Davies is not going to be happy to see me again. OK. So, somehow, we all got home. Do we have you to thank for that?"

Zapdos nodded slowly. Spark was catching up. This was good news.

"So I ask again: what are you doing here?" There was a wonderful sharpness to Spark's question.

Truly, I came to assist you as you did for me.

"But there's something else. You were worried about me – which is super adorable – but you knew by now that I could pull through on my own. If I'm playing chess with death, you can't be in great shape either, so there must be another reason you pushed yourself to drop by for a visit."

I came to warn you, and to say goodbye.

Spark's arms fell to his sides, and Zapdos was slightly pleased that it could still surprise its clever Champion.

"What? Goodbye?"

We will be gone by the time you are well enough to fully wake. Moltres and Articuno do not like being so exposed, and will wait only long enough for me to regain sufficient strength to fly back to the privacy of the wilderness.

"And what are you warning me of?"

An oncoming storm.

Spark lowered his brows, unimpressed. "I thought Articuno was supposed to be the cryptic one."

Team Rocket has opened a door to a dark future, and I doubt they will be discouraged by the setback in the Akanoir Mountains. We have been preparing for the evils they intend to unleash. Years ago, we selected you as our Knight, Sage, and Champion with the hope that this time, we could take greater care in developing our bond. Our combined power would have stood a chance against Team Rocket's forces.

Spark's eyes darted, chasing invisible thoughts. "You knew about Team Rocket?"

We didn't know their name at first. We sensed the shifting of dark powers.

For some reason, Spark looked angry. "OK, Zappy-Wan Kenobi, so you sensed a disturbance in the Force, but you still flew into their trap?"

Zapdos tried not to reflect Spark's anger. Human emotions were intense, but ultimately fleeting.

Articuno and I had to respond to Moltres' call, despite anticipating the trap. We are called against our will to each other. Even if we weren't, I couldn't justify leaving Moltres to suffer. Moltres chose to dwell in those mountains to watch over the people who dwelled within it, and while it knew the Rockets had taken up research in the mountains, it believed it would all be for naught. We underestimated them. We will not make that mistake again.

Spark's anger wasn't dissipating. In fact, it was growing stronger. "What did you mean when you said you 'selected' us?"

We chose you. When we bond with you, our power magnifies. But it's a delicate process, and one that Team Rocket has abused. This is why I came to warn you. Articuno and Moltres aren't as concerned that our bond was forced so soon, but I feel the wrongness of it. We were meant to gradually come together until we fell in sync with each other. Now, it's too late, and I foresee terrible consequences. I want you to be on your guard. Your story is only beginning.

"You were using us."

Zapdos' feathers lifted in surprise. What?

"All this time, you were planning to use us to increase your own power, to use us as pawns in a war we didn't sign up for," Spark said, his jaw tight, fists clenched. "What if we don't want that?"

There are lives at stake, Champion.

"Yes, there are. Our lives," Spark said. "Zapdos, we're broken people. We've seen and done awful things, and now, we just want to rest and go back to our lives. I can't keep going like this, and neither can my friends. I'm not your 'Champion.'"

Zapdos didn't know what to make of his reaction. Spark should have been honored to be the Champion of Instinct. He should have been eager to defend humanity against the evils that were coming. Why was he acting like this?

There are people who need you. Not just the Knight and the Sage.

"They have names, damn it," Spark growled.

There are pokémon who will suffer unless you do something.

Spark sighed and shook his head. "Find someone else to do something. I can't let my friends be hurt again."

It's too late. It has to be you.

Spark shuddered, and Zapdos realized he was crying. It had liked that about him when he was younger. He held so much kindness in his soul that it came leaking out at every injustice he came across.

I chose you for a reason, Spark. You, Candela, and Blanche are the only ones who can stand up to the darkness.

Spark placed his hand over his face. "I just wanted a choice."

Choice. What a human concept, the idea that they had free will, the ability to choose their paths for themselves. It was a gift to see the world that way, but it made the absence of choice excruciating.

What will you do?

Spark stood tall and did not bother wiping away the few tears he had shed. He looked into Zapdos' face with confidence and defiance and, as always, kindness.

"I will keep fighting. I'll protect people and pokémon from Team Rocket. I won't let them cause any more pain. I'll do it because it's the right thing to do, and because I know this is bigger than me. But you need to understand that we are not your weapons or vessels or whatever it is about us that makes you stronger. We are ourselves, and you will not take that away."

I understand.

Spark bent to pick up his sketchbook. He flipped through the pages and traced his fingers over the graphite.

"I trust you. Even when everything was going to hell down in the caves, you still had my back, and you still let me be me."

It hadn't been easy for Zapdos. It had fought with its own manic paranoia every minute it was trapped in Spark's head. More than either of its cousins, Zapdos understood the fragility of humans, not just physically. It had pushed itself to the edge of its sanity to maintain control, to keep Spark from completely losing sight of the truth, but it had barely been enough.

Spark closed the sketchbook. "You'll keep us safe, won't you?"

There are many dangers ahead of us. But I will give everything to protect you. All of you.

"Then this must be the part where you say goodbye."

Zapdos moved closer and nudged Spark's chest with its beak. Only for now.

It allowed Spark to angle its head down so he could wrap his arms around its neck. They remained embraced for a long time, breathing in tandem. Zapdos had chosen the right Champion for a battle neither of them wanted to fight. It was only a matter of time before the real war began.

Spark let go and stepped back. "Goodbye, Zapdos."

Goodbye, Spark.

Zapdos allowed itself to return to its body and the pain that awaited it there. It knew it would get worse, that the challenges they would face would be grander than any encountered in the Akanoir Mountains. But this time, they could prepare. This time, the fate of the world depended on it.

§

AN: Happy Valentine's Day! I realize there's a feeling of finality in this chapter, but we're not quite done. I mean, I obviously can't help myself and am setting more things into motion for another story… but that's a whole other kettle of wishiwashi.

Anyhoo, I'm sorry about "Zappy-Wan Kenobi" (our only hope). Let's blame that groaner of a pun on Spark being loopy from exsanguination. I discovered somewhat recently that my wife (have I shared her name yet? It still feels weird saying "wife." She's Kelsey. I am just now realizing I did NOT prepare a Valentine for her. Oh crap. I'm discovering this in the middle of a parenthetical in the author notes section of my fanfic. I am ashamed.) hasn't properly seen all of the Star Wars movies. Which is unacceptable. I just thought you all should know.