Louisa leads the road forwards, his sail-like crest flailing in the wind, and eyes occasionally glancing back at the injured duo. The invasive thought of jumping him with three on one has absolutely crossed Masters' mind, but he's since locked it away alongside every other possible qualm he may have had with their strange lizardy friend.
Masters glances at Louisa. The wound still gushes despite the Iron Thorn missing from his gullet, painting his entire bottom in invisible ink. Poor man.
"You need me to take a look at it?" Masters says, letting Lucario drag him along the frosty stones. "I can cauterize it, you know."'
"I'm aware." Louisa says.
They leave the temple through a stone arch, passing by more and more till the hill of weaponry is long past them. Despite Masters being hit by an actual meteorite, it is Lucario who appears the worst. His arms, though working, are bent in ways they should not. The cuts along his body, while minimal, are numerous. Masters offers to carry him, but he refuses.
Below, after cresting the hill, sits Lucario's steed and two familiar figures. Lucario groans, Masters smiles.
"I would scold you for following us, but I'm happy you're here." Masters speaks, waving.
The two wave back, not even looking at the strange new Lizard with them. As they roll up adorned with wounds, Whiskey peers at the arrivals nervously.
"You can fix him up," Lucario waves weakly, "not like he has much to steal anyways."
Whiskey's horn glows pink. He brings it near to Louisa's stomach, closing the wound in an instant. Bleeding's stop, goodness, still looks like he is missing the bottom half of his body - camouflage saving them from having to look at the gruesome sight until it inevitably dries.
With the Lizard fixed, Masters turns his attention to the others.
"What are you two doing here?" He asks.
To which Dexys drops her Mienshao mask, flashing her irksome badge. Whiskey lets out a dramatic gasp.
"Ah! Another torchbearer!" Whiskey glistens with glee. "I thought you were pulling my leg trying to trick me last night!"
"And…why would I trick you?" Dexys responds.
"Fair point, Dexys." Whiskey speaks her name like one calls to a friend. "I've just come to expect the unexpected from this world. My memories are muddled, and seeing you again arouses mixed feelings from my heart."
"Make us both." Dexys sighs, leaning against one of the ruined columns. "Did they tell you I left before everyone? I've had time to piece things back together, find someone who could hide me, lose them. She was aware enough to come and track me down so I think she's the exception to this amnesia."
"Who?"
"Guildmaster - The Torchbearer." She spits. "Don't tell me you don't…"
"Darkrai."
Everyone's eyes, barring Lucario's, turn to Masters at the drop of her name. Darkrai must bring up more memories than just his ones about a fifteen year old deal turned sour, a deal he refused for what he thinks is the better of the world. Palkia would not have come for Darkrai had he…well…
Masters swallows his emotions, then continues.
"The Grass Continent had the displeasure of one who was trying to create a world of Darkness, one without light. He wanted freedom at any cost, just like that Knight."
"What do you mean?" The Dragon of the group snarls, a hand from the Zoroark keeps her from getting closer and doing something stupid. "The knight would never put his world in jeopardy, he swore against outsiders, outside influence. Why would he wish for a world of Darkness?"
"I don't know, Halcion. Don't hate me for getting the message out fifteen years too late." Masters shudders, gripping what was once a gaping hole in his body - the Colbur's done its job finally. "It was far-fetched then, it is still far-fetched now, not even Dialga had any idea what was going on - they were too busy trying to keep time from falling apart."
On one hand, his words did not even reach the zealot staring him down. They do hit the ears of the Lizard, who, breathing heavily and using their steed as leverage, speaks out.
"There aren't many people in these lands who know even half of what you do, Masters, and fifteen years in the past is a very specific date to name." Louisa takes a deep breath, wheezing. "I know what I know because I was the head of a society, I got to know these things you're slinging around through having spoken to Winter herself. She's real, as real as this Darkrai, Dialga, or your Zekrom once was, and what you're talking about is the reason why she remains in solitude - even from her own followers who made a whole temple for her."
"People whose ambitions would ruin this world, whose selfish goals only seek to get them a throne of power. Is this idea of a world not one Darkrai would have ruled?" Louisa motions weakly at Halcion. "He latched onto your knight's ideas for his own gain. Removing this world from outside hands is not unreasonable, Darkrai's idea of it is."
"Just look at the trouble this other Darkrai has caused. This hunt has to be her doing, or at least, she has to be the one to sew the thought in the Krows' mind…"
"I was first to run into a gear, you know." Lucario, at last, speaks up. "Hal busted me. I know my old boss is a madwoman about old artifacts but even this bounty is way too much for her. She had to have known."
"This new darkrai tore through a whole town without mercy, stole the gear from me after I beat Lucario silly."
Halcion, of course, slides something in there. Masters sees Lucario just rolls his eyes.
"I know her abilities, and what they do. Touching her means death, she can put you into some kind of coma while her gear lets her do some jumps to where she was earlier." Halcion shows her shoulder to them, a faded wound blemishes her armored scale. "Minstrel saved me with a racket band. Other than guzzling chesto like it's out of fashion, keeping away from her is the only way to keep yourself from joining the fishies."
How familiar, an ability to send those into comas. Poor Azurill. It could be the ability of every darkrai - beings of the night who cast any foe into a neverending nightmare. Masters has some experience with it, though, he has never had the misfortune of falling under its influence. Cole died at the hands of Palkia much too soon to oppose Darkrai himself.
"Sounds like Darkrai. Minstrel made the right choice..." Masters mumbles aloud. He looks to Dexys. "Does it sound like the guildmaster you are in fear of?"
The Zoroark nods.
"Thanks to Louisa's impeccable aim, we know she can be hurt. Her kind is far from invincible, else why on earth would the one I had to deal with be so scared to fight a little Quilava?" Masters laughs through the direness of all. "We'll find her."
A dense pause follows suit. The winds of the northern land blow over, and the sound of snow racing along the icy earth sizzles all around. Three wounded, two in much better shape, Masters takes a look at their chances then at their steed who watches his lord carefully - waiting for so-called "sire Lucario" to give the queue to leave.
The many different explorers, now a quintet whether they want to say it or not, look at each other. Their badges make them all a target, Masters can name only one place safe for them right now, and without Lucario's Gear, it so happens to be the home for the only pokemon who can mend a temporal wound. The question is not if Masters can trust them; it is up to the others.
"She's ahead of us by a great degree. I heard her talk. Once she realizes she's two short she'll come searching for us." Louisa coughs, his body trembling. "I'm willing to trust you two, Typhlosion and Lucario however."
Masters bites his tongue, here is his chance.
"Three, we have three actually. The two you have and one we have saved so we're never truly done." Masters steps towards Louisa, and grabs him by the arm. He guides Louisa to Whiskey's back, to which he climbs up, accepting the offer.
"I can take us there." The Typhlosion nods at Louisa. "We'll get your partner on the way through Lapis Town. I just need to know if I can trust all of you."
Hal and Lucario exchange a glare.
"It goes without saying that I trust you, Masters." Dexys nods towards Masters, then turns her gaze to the wounded Louisa. "Me and my partner could care less for the gears. We want Darkrai gone and dealt with, that's all."
Her answer is an answer which seems to satisfy every party. Dexys taps her partner's shoulder and leads the way through the snowy earth, quickly strapping on her old, familiar disguise.
Masters follows, and Lucario thereafter. Although his arms are certainly a gruesome sight, his legs are fine enough to keep pace. Together they all make their leave, abandoning this temple for good.
The winds continue to breeze, cutting through the evergreens as the glow of the Rapidash shines across the snowy landscape from behind. Each step they take brings them to whence they came, soon they will happen across the road right Lapis Town. Surely there are safer, more clandestine routes, but this Darkrai of Another World would not be dumb enough to strike them on a well-travelled route of all places.
They pass by a sign pinned to a tree. "Shungite Shrine" the sign reads in crude Unown lettering. Does every place here need to be alliterative? They pass onto the beaten highway, the two up ahead chattering amongst themselves.
Masters looks at Lucario. He nudges him, then whispers.
"Do you trust them, be honest."
"I trust they will get me closer to the gears." He says flatly.. "Isn't this what it's always been about, you and me? Getting them all, using them? We're not better than this Darkrai but I can sure trust you're not gonna use it to try and become king of the universe, or whatever she wants."
They have been over this, yes. One question in particular still dwells in Masters' mind. What happens if they are used once? Do they disappear? Can he even share this wish with another? Masters' aim with these gears, well…he's starting to become unsure about. It remains a constant in his mind, buzzing all the time these blasted artefacts meddle with the lives of everyone around them.
"What about the deal you mad-"
"What about it?" Lucario snarls beneath his breath. "I want the gears, I want all of them. I will get them. Trusting Louisa and them gets me closer to them."
"I don't even want the wish, or their power. All I want is for Honch or I to have amounted to something. You or my mistress can have them afterwards. I need to feel them in my hands - once before everyone else - to know I've won."
A new word, Mistress. Lucario ignores the confusion on Masters' face, looking straight through the duo to what lies ahead. In Lucario's deep crimson eyes, Masters sees a determination he has seen only fifteen years ago - in a prince's cold, dark gaze.
"The only person I trust in this world is you, Cole."
The doors to the society open, then close again. Out walks Louisa holding a grotesque thing in his arms: a Sneasel, or what was once one, having been aged beyond any sense of recognition. Her claws have torn through her fingers with their growth, her fur having lost its dark luster and fallen out. She does not seem to move, she barely can breathe. With what strength she has she uses it to look Lucario's way, letting out a pained, vengeful breath.
Masters sees Lucario ignore her. Now as Louisa has the strength to walk, their journey is little less than a few more minutes down this frozen river. What remains of Sneasel is hung across whiskey's body as the group continues unperturbed through the never ending night.
Perhaps due to good timing or having beaten every other competition to a pulp, there is no one to interrupt their journey all the way to the frozen shores. Reaching them, Masters digs into his cap to brandish a cloth. He lights a flame in his other hand, holding it up to the symbol like a lens.
A beam shoots out through the symbol into the horizon, and within minutes of seeing its beckon call, a figure floats from out the the Sea. Lapras makes not a sound as he swiftly glides ashore, surprised at the sight before him.
"Well, it has been ages since I had brought quite the cargo with me." Lapras gives each of them a warm wave with his flipper. "The last time I had more than you and another, t'was…"
"I know, a while ago. Are you still able to carry these people or am I going to start to draw straws here?"
Lapras chuckles warmly, the massive water pokemon beckoning from the water's edge with a flipper.
"Don't expect me to be nearly as swift as I usually am." He glances at the Inteleon. "Should your water friend not mind, he can simply hold on and float till we cross over The Sea itself, would save me a few pounds of heft."
"I'm…not as heavy as you'd think." Louisa speaks. "But…"
And he is first, laying his tiny companion close to Lapras' neck. He merely grabs hold of one of the dozens of protruding lumps from back of the large pokemon, then allows himself to float in the ice cold waters. The rest climb aboard, finding whatever is comfortable on the massive creature's shell. After all of them settle, Master waves at Lapras, and he begins a long trek across the water - practically gliding above its surface with unmatched grace.
Finally able to sit somewhere, Masters closes his eyes. The exhaustion from the battle slowly takes its hold over him, and he fades away for a split few moments of pure nothingness.
Till of course, he opens his eyes to the bedazzled sounds of his companions looking all around. Hearing the winds racing past them, he opens his eyes to find them right on Hidden Land's approach. Louisa has his entire tail garroted around Lapras neck in fear of falling to the abyss while the others gawk at the sky below. Lucario is, as to be expected, trying to pretend as if he does not care.
As they arrive on the landing Louisa practically leaps onto the dusty red earth, the others departing from the Larpas' back in timely order. Halcion carries the Sneasel now. Masters waves a short farewell, then leads them through this strange place. And save for a few snide comments from the bigger of the two lizards how the hall of murals should a hundred percent consist of her favorite, oh so special Knight in shining armor, they reach the pyramid and begin their climb.
Slowly, rising to the top, they pass under the odd tree's glistening blue leaves. Lucario throws his body here, motioning to his steed to remain with him. "You got this." He says to Masters, and he nods back, leading them down the pyramid to where a garden of brilliant pink leaves awaits.
And there, past a tunnel of trees, a friend awaits him. Celebi sits by a fountain as pedals rain down. In her hands is the shape of a gear. She probably knew they were coming since the moment he brought up the idea of coming back. Seeing the four strangers alongside her only comes as a slight surprise to her.
"Oh dear!" She says, looking straight at the barely conscious Sneasel. "Let me have a look at her, please?
Halcion immediately lays the poor thing's body on the fountain's edge, and Celebi flutters over, leaving the Dark Gear to sit where she stood. A glow begins to radiate from her pink antennae as her hands traverse over the Sneasel's wounds, making her missing fur grow back before her eyes, her claws trim and her muscles rejuvenate. Healing these impossible wounds is no different than a Heal Pulse to her.
"Don't count on her waking for a moment, these things take time." Celebi smiles. She flutters back to whence she was, kicking her feet carelessly off the fountain's edge. "It has been a while since we had such a crowd in the Hidden Land. Did you make some new friends since you were gone, Cole?"
Masters looks at Halcion, who under her deep red cape, sits the garish yellow pattern of a racket band wrapped tightly around her neck. Minstrel's doing, probably. He is the only person who would know to deal with a curse like this.
"Friend of a friend, her." Masters motions at the Dragon. "The Zoroark's an actual friend, and you can consider the water-type a work partner."
Lousia nods.
"Wouldn't have it any other way, boy." Louisa approaches the fountain, giving his companion a careful examination. "I mean this in the nicest way, I take you're not exactly a normal healer, are you?"
"Normal healers don't travel through time on a whim, don't they?" She laughs. "My name is Celebi, has Cole introduced me to you yet?"
"Didn't know his name was Cole till you said it, pinkie." Halcion snorts. "I'm Hal, she's Dexys."
"Louisa." The Inteleon answers. He sits himself down by the fountain. Between large gulps of freshwater, he speaks. "I'm sure I've heard your name before. Were you involved with what happened here?"
"Of course I was!" Celebi giggles. "I had my husband-to-be come and help put things back together, Cole too, they both did a fantastic job keeping Temporal Tower from collapsing."
"Wait a minute." The Dragon steps towards the Typhlosion. "You're that person? You did that?"
Does she mean he is the one who solved this? Yes, well, not really
"I don't like to talk about it for this exact reason, I hate talking about it." Masters comes close to rolling his eyes. "Long painful story short, I am that person you think I am, people forgot about me, and if you want a history lesson ask Celebi instead. It might be your only chance. We're getting what we need here and going tommorow."
"Oh? You mean the time thingy right?" Celebi produces the Black Gear from behind her. "I figured out a few things. This little one right here was so fussy, didn't want to give me any ability."
"Because I already had one when I found it." Louisa clears his throat. "By taking that gear from its place, it went inert. The one we had in the Society was also one I first touched, I didn't want others to get an ability from them…"
"Clever." She says. "This one isn't useful on its own, but I was able to find two things: first is that it tends to get brighter in places of temporal foolery. I brought it near the big tower in the sky and it lost its marbles. And two: I'm fairly sure there are less than I had thought."
"How many have you found so far?"
They have three, they lost a tonne already. Masters thinks.
"Eight, there are at least eight out there." The Typhlosion answers.
"Perfect, lines up with what I managed to squeeze out of Dialga up there. You were closer than you thought, eight may actually be the number." She nonchalantly lets the world know she's been talking to someone considered deific, and continues to speak. "I may or may not have to swing around a favor - that favor from him, Cole. But he did tell me, so that leaves us…"
Masters feels a brief, sinking sensation flutter in his stomach.
"I wonder where I could possibly go to use these magical gear-thingies that happen to be, well, the most distorted place on this rock?" She looks skyward. "Oh golly, where would I ever go?"
"I get it, Celebi." Masters chuckles softly. "I don't know if there's many ways to get out into the Sea short of throwing yourself and praying, the person we're looking for is…in a predicament."
"Oooh, what person?" She gives Masters a long look over. "Did she rough you up?"
"She did with these three, she has most of the gears, and it seems to be a problem." Dexys speaks for their behalf. "I can talk your ear off about her later."
Thanks, Masters nods at the Zoroark.
"So how would she get into the Sea, anyways?" Masters asks the crowd.
"Considering how many of his things I've seen, how many of his ruins and weapons and the actual one of his roaming around." Halcion speaks up. "I may have an idea."
The one of his being the Luxrary Masters let loose. As if letting out an ancient warrior was not going to bite them in the shins later on. Halcion crosses her arms and continues.
"Stories said he went from land to land with his knights on a vessel which could cross the seas, it's how he got to the Sand Continent, how he arrived to the Dawn Continent to mess people up, then to wherever this Destiny Tower place is." She looks up into the sky where the gargantuan pillar floats on its isle, shadowing the hidden land with its gaze. "Like everything else lately, I think it's a little ridiculous myself but things were different in his time. Explorers of the world were his knights. They were chivalrous, honorable, armor was fashioned and weapons were wielded. The Knight having a fancy boat is somehow the least implausible thing about him."
"I could ask Minstrel, I've had him looking for stuff about the Knight for ages. He owes me. If not him, then…"
She reaches over, tapping her partner's badge with a soft click. The purple gem at its center whirls.
"She'll lead us right to it. That interloper still needs our gears, she may just be waiting for us. I'm liking our odds, you?"
"There are worse odds, certainly. I highly recommend we attack in threes." Louisa splashes water over his wounded gullet, finally standing up to his feet. He groans. "I have water camouflage, I can find a way on board my lonesome and ambush her or disable this possible ship from its innards. You - Hal and Dexys - can either do the same or attack her outright. This leaves you, Masters."
The fires on his head flicker with anticipation. Of course, he and Lucario are not known to be the stealthy sorts: melting icebergs and burning down guil- societies in their wake. His flames make Masters a searing purple target. Then again, who else has more experience than him with her ilk? It has to be him.
"I'll ask Lucario, although I know what the answer is." Masters stares down the pedal path to the pyramid awaiting him. "I didn't get a chance to fight the one I had to deal with. Don't even know if this hypothetical ship is-"
"You guys are driving me crazy, talking in circles." Celebi giggles. "Just say her name already!"
"In a moment." Dexys holds out a claw.
"Well, I have someone who does." Halcion pins her badge off her chest. "I'll send a message to Lunatone, they'll go poke Minstrel for us. I'll have them tell him it's urgent, I'll even drop a Masters in there, is that good?"
Masters blinks. He has no idea the badges here have this ability.
"Good," he says.
Masters turns around, walking to whence they came. Soon as his back is to them he hears Celebi going off, utterly chewing their ears out with whatever nonsense she has to ask about Darkrai and the secrets they want to know about this mysterious ghost. He has a story, it is worth telling, it is not worth going through the painful motions for the thousandth time.
Masters climbs the steps. Atop, glistening cobalt leaves line the stonework, and waiting for him by the tree is Lucario, standing against it - staring at the tower at the sky forbidden by all to set foot in. After carrying them for so long back-to-back Whiskey is already in a deep slumber on his side of the tree, giving the duo their long-needed privacy.
Lucario breaks the silence with a sigh.
"I assume you've come up with a plan, right?" He says, his gaze focused on the tower.
"One sort of fell in place." Masters speaks. "Louisa is the one who put it together."
Masters joins Lucario in his stargazing. Where they are, so high above the world, the stars seem close enough to grab them. Of all the times he has been here, the sight of the tower standing among the heavens has never failed to awe him. If only the rainbow stoneship were active then perhaps they can go even higher and reach the sky Lucario seems so entranced by.
"Things are going to be rough, aren't they?" Lucario says.
"I have no doubt. We're going to take her down, all of us. She aims to put a halt to the Sea and free us from the outside world. I don't have reason to doubt her other than her being our enemy. I would want nothing else than to see the Sea stop for a moment, to give us some time to figure it out, but…"
Masters' breath wavers, he collects himself.
"I know what happens when it's tampered with. I stopped time from standing still, I made a 'sacrifice'. Like closing a dungeon on a scale I can't understand."
"She's going to make the same decision I've made. I know where she is coming from. I made the same choice when I was in her footsteps…"
Lucario snorts.
"Of all people, I thought you'd be on board."
He would, by all means he would. Fifteen years of believing he had doomed a future civilization while destroying the lives of countless families in the present, he thought it was all for a better cause, but the world Darkrai wants is inevitable. This Darkrai…not her - he is no longer here to take the reins of the world. The world Masters delayed ensured those in the future would have a chance - they are better off, seemingly.
But the lives of all those people in the Sea of Time - all of those explorers looking to save those trapped within and the families swimming across the temporal waters - they no longer exist. Their blood is on his hands alone. His flames dim.
"I knew what I had to do - I did it - and it's haunted me since. I don't believe for a moment she will come to regret what she is about to do by halting The Sea. She can run the numbers all she wishes, she could try to convince us of a greater good. I know she'll never look back and regret it.
"It's what separates us; why I have to stop her."
There's a pause before Lucario speaks again. He pulls up his scorched poncho, revealing something pressed against his neck with a purple cloth. He pulls it out. Shining in his palm is a mega stone.
"I still have this. I need to find a way to use it, and when I do this Darkrai is done. The Gears will be mine."
Mine. The way Lucario talks makes Masters shudder.
"What you said earlier - you don't actually care about those Gears, do you? You don't have some kind of bigger wish or plan, right?"
Lucario gives him a glare, like he was stupid for even asking this.
"Sorry, I've…these Time Gears - black and the ones stored up there." Masters nods at the tower in the sky. "They have been more trouble for this world than they are worth."
"I'm on your side. How many times do I gotta say that?" Lucario sounds tired, not necessarily appalled by Masters' insinuations. "Want me to punch it into your face?"
"You can explain why you started throwing Thunder Punches at least, that was you who put Bisharp down, right?" Masters snorts.
"Wish I knew how, maybe you've rubbed off on me or something." Lucario smirks, stuffing the Mega Stone back under his neck. "I've had to watch you do it how many times? I swear it is the only move you know sometimes."
"If I used Eruption more we'd have a fried Lucario on our hands.
"Guess I should be thankful."
Lucario does not sound it, but he flashes his shiny teeth at him. Message on his big chompers aside, Lucario seems like he means it.
"One more thing I have to ask, then."
Thinking about Lucario still perplexes him. Rei wants to prove himself, for what? Masters has no idea, He has never been in the same boots as him, never, even before meeting that stranger on the beach so many years ago. He can barely remember his upbringing before then, other than the fact upon discovering this strange fragment he has sworn to himself and to everyone he would one day be an explorer.
Years into the future, he is living his childhood dream. And he can continue living this dream until his soul gives into despair. He is immortal, at least in a sense, and with everything a bright eyed child would have once wanted, he feels…
Empty?
They're still staring into the sky, the pauses between speech and thought seems less unnatural than usual. Masters musters the strength to speak.
"Were you-" Masters stutters, "you were being honest when you said I'm the only one you trust. Right? You were being truthful?"
"Finding it hard to believe?"
Lucario chuckles in the face of Masters' dread.
'No. I don't. I just want to know why. There is one person who trusted me wholly, who followed me everywhere, and who taught me to be who I am, and that person is no longer with me."
The feeling runs deep, he can feel the dryness gurgling up in his throat. Masters takes in a sharp breath. Tears start to welt, memories start rearing his face, all of whom he manages to push down for enough of a moment.
"Well..." Lucario's voice slows. "The last person I trusted was Honchkrow till… all of this happened."
"You on the other hand, you're different. I don't know why you want those gears, nor do I care, and I haven't really bothered to take a dozen stabs at it. You want them for your own reasons, you've made this very clear to me and everyone we meet. And unless the situation falls on deception to save us, you aren't out here spitting nonsense to people. You tell the truth, you stay truthful."
"I don't know if your aim with the gears is "pure ". You yourself, you're "pure". You've stayed pure since the second you scraped me off the floor. You aren't trying to hold them all for yourself, you aren't gonna pull a fast one on me and tell me why you need to give up a thousand lives with your gears to make us all safe. I know who you are, through and through. You're the same Masters who looked at some pathetic idiot and said 'yeah he can stick along'."
"You've been through a lot, I've gotten to learn this about you, 'M. You don't need to spend hours telling me why you do the things you do."
"That's why I trust you. You're the only person I have left, for you I'd do anything."
Lucario draws a deep, sullen breath, pulling the wide brim of his new hat over his eyes. He flattens against the tree. Either the noise they made or Lucario's weight stirs Whiskey awake, and his mane lights up like a bonfire.
"Sir…'tis not even morning, what troubles…?"
"Nothing at all." Lucario smirks, facing Masters. "Masters is to escort you downstairs to meet and sleep in Celebi's garden for the night. This is an order, your lord demands some peace and quiet."
The Rapidash groggily rises onto his hooves. Walking around the tree, he reaches Masters' and cradles his neck underneath Master's arm. The Typhlosion exchanges his partner a knowing glance then leads the horse downstairs.
After all they have been through, who is he to argue against Lucario demanding a bit of alone time? He hardly had time to properly grieve. This is his final chance before everything spirals out of their control.
Lucario's eyes flutter open to the sound of tiny wings buzzing into his ear. A moon crests the tower above, and the leaves around them illuminate someone. Celebi is here, smiling in his face.
"I was wondering what you were doing up here all alone, Rei. There's all sorts of goodies down there, I got you wine, and berries and - you know!"
He groans.
"I told you not to use that name." Lucario shuffles, pinning himself more upright against the bark. Whiskey is nowhere to be seen atop the pyramid, it is just him and Celebi up here. "What brought you back, worried about me?"
"A little bit"
She hovers down, lying on his lap. She pushes her big round head into his fluffy chest. Part of this still feels a little weird to him, especially after some news about her love life he more or less pieced together himself, but does he hate it? Of course not. He loves it.
"You know, last time…I've been…feeling a bit weird about things."
"About what?" Celebi smiles up at him.
"How else do I say this? The only people I let this close are those I'll never see again. I have no problem running into them, things feel weird for me if it's someone I'm going to be calling friend and knocking down their door every other day.." Lucario bites down on his tongue, trying not to pierce the thing. "Masters is the exception - he's uh…harder to explain."
"You're talking in circles, Rei." She giggles. "If you don't want me here, I can always go y'know? I don't want you to feel uncomfortable."
Lucario squints.
"You sound like you're manipulating me, are you trying to manipulate me?"
"No. I'm not like that. Maybe a little, but…"
Her face flares up, red rushing to her cheeks. The little antenna flicks nervously as she faces away from him.
"I don't know how to say this without Grovyle sounding a bit weird but…he won't exactly be born for another hundred - I don't really know how many but a long time - years." She taps her fingers together nervously, her emerald eyes dashing between Lucario and the stars. "I travel from era to era, get to know all sorts of people, fall in love, or maybe just become friends with them. I'll always be around till Dialga has enough and smites me, but he's way, way too busy to bother with little ole me."
Celebi sticks her tongue out to the sky, mocking the deity in his sky tower. Lucario just laughs. He has not a lick of understanding on how people like her see this world, he can never pretend to unless for whatever reason he dies and wakes up a ghost.
He is simply gonna assume she is fine with this, so he breathes a needed sigh of relief.
"Whatever, I take it you're lonely being up here, I'm lonely too, only ever got Masters to keep me from going crazy." Lucario gives her a crooked glance. "Is that why you came up here last time?"
"Erm…not really."
"What about this time?"
Celebi nods, then simply falls onto his chest. He barely knows what to do with this tiny deity in his arms. She whispers to him.
"Cole's uh…not nearly as interested, he's more friend than anything. But you, Rei, you really don't seem to care I'm a - you know - immortal. You have this attitude about you I find very, very…er…intriguing? Is that the word?"
Celebi's wings beat, bringing them face to face. Her little hands hold his big snout. Lucario can hear his heart raging.
"Just tonight, okay?" She says.
"Yeah." He says like he didn't say this to a bunch of people before her. "Just tonight."
She embraces him, and Lucario leans in, planning a kiss on her smiling face. He shuts his eyes as every care in the world bleeds away.
/ Final chapter before I start uploading the finale. It's five parts long.