With a bright flash of light and energy, Uxie's teleport ended, leaving him on the far end of Fogbound Lake's perimeter. He scanned the surroundings with his mind. As expected, there was no one else around. Even the wild Volbeat and Illumise that lived in the area hadn't left their nests yet.

Now that he was well and truly alone once again, he allowed himself to release the exasperated sigh he'd been holding in.

(Well, this is certainly turning out to be an... interesting night,) he thought to himself, shaking his head.

...If he was entirely honest, Team Sunrise's request was not truly that unreasonable, given the circumstances. He could not blame them for wanting to see the lake again. And especially considering everything the young explorers had done, Uxie would have felt... petty, refusing such a simple, heartfelt request.

But at the same time, he had remained here alone for centuries, guarding the lake and its Time Gear with all of his strength. Seeing his cherished home... degraded in such a way, after all this time, was... frustrating to him. Far more so than he would care to admit.

Uxie took a deep, calming breath, and let Fogbound Lake's usual serene silence wash over him. He refused to allow emotion to cloud his thoughts. He had always taken pride in his ability to remain calm and rational at all times. Emotion was Mesprit's domain, not his.

(...Speaking of which, I wonder what Mesprit and Azelf would have to say about all of this.)

It would be easy enough to ask them. They already used their telepathy to contact each other on most nights anyway, simply to talk. It was still... roughly fifty-six and a half minutes early for that, by their usual schedule. But Mesprit had broken that often enough in the past. Uxie supposed it would not hurt anything to contact them early, just this once. He did not feel like waiting that long right now.

He focused his mind, reaching out telepathically. Thanks to their shared mental link, he could easily sense his siblings' minds, even despite the vast distance that separated them. It took minimal effort to find the two of them, as he had done countless times before. Azelf was still in the deepest part of Crystal Cave, as expected, while Mesprit was... currently somewhere off in the north-east corner of the continent. Probably roaming around wherever she felt like, as she'd been doing ever since the Time Gears had been returned to Temporal Tower.

Azelf was the first to respond, his voice resounding from within Uxie's mind. "Yes, brother? What is it?"

"Hey, Uxie," Mesprit said in her usual airy tone a moment later. She let out a soft giggle. "Something happen? It's not the usual time for you to contact us... and we all know how much you hate to break from your established routine."

Uxie nodded, choosing to ignore Mesprit's teasing. "Yes. I received a... very unusual visit, just now. From the same pair that prevented Temporal Tower's collapse."

That sobered up Mesprit quickly. "Did something happen? There isn't another crisis of some kind, is there?"

"No, it was nothing of that sort," Uxie reassured.

"That's good, at least," Azelf said. "You had us worried, for a moment."

"What are they actually doing at your lake, in that case?" Mesprit asked. "What, did they just want to see the pretty sights again? Enjoy a romantic night under the stars, with a beautiful lakeside view?"

"...I can tell from your tone that you are joking," Uxie said in a dry, unamused monotone. "But the answer is yes. Almost precisely that."

For a few moments, the telepathic connection went silent.

And then, Mesprit abruptly broke out into laughter. Loud, unrestrained giggling, which was still being transmitted right into Uxie's mind at full volume. He grimaced, and had to purposely dampen the mental link for a few moments to avoid getting a headache.

Sometimes, he forgot just how apt Mesprit's title as the 'Being of Emotion' really was.

After a handful of seconds, which felt like far longer to Uxie, Mesprit's laughter finally petered out enough for her to properly respond. "Oh, that is perfect. Please tell me you let them through. Surely even you could not refuse such a wholesome request, right, brother?"

Uxie gave a quiet sigh. Of course that would be her reaction to the situation. Reluctantly, he answered, "...Yes, Mesprit. I allowed them to proceed."

The veiled annoyance in his tone only made Mesprit even more amused. "I'm glad to hear it. Maybe you do have a heart underneath that cold exterior after all."

Before Uxie could make any kind of response to that, Azelf decided to cut in. "To have traveled all that way, just to make that sort of request... and from a Legendary like you, no less." Azelf let out a soft chuckle. "It is a little bit brazen, arguably, but you have to admire their guts. I did not even realize those two were even... together, in that way. But good for them."

Uxie shook his head, deliberately suppressing the annoyed frown that tried to spread across his face. He should have known that his siblings would not share his view on this. "...It is disrespectful," he complained. "Not even a year ago, Fogbound Lake was a solemn place where none were even allowed to tread. It deserves more respect than being treated as... as a private date spot."

Mesprit laughed. "You're far too uptight, you know that, brother? Personally, I would have gladly let them use my lake as a 'private date spot', if they had asked me about it. They've certainly earned a quiet night to themselves like this, after everything they went through." She paused, giving an overly melodramatic sigh, before adding, "Alas, my lake is at the bottom of a miserable sand pit. They'd be better off having a date in a swamp."

Azelf was a little more sympathetic. "I do understand your annoyance, Uxie. But... haven't you told us that you've begun allowing some pokemon through to Fogbound Lake recently, anyway? Isn't this a very similar situation?"

"Exactly!" Mesprit agreed. "You've admitted that you enjoy getting to see pokemon's awed reactions to the gorgeous view. And as far as showing Fogbound Lake the respect it deserves... well, you're the one that spoke to them, I suppose. But I think if you actually believed they were going to do anything that would, ah... 'disrespect' Fogbound Lake... you would not have let them through in the first place."

Uxie remained silent... mostly because he knew that Mesprit and Azelf were right. In all truth, it was not that much different. And given Team Sunrise's accomplishments, and what he had seen of them personally, he was willing to give them a degree of trust on this matter.

Even still, however... Uxie would be lying if he claimed it did not bother him. It was the principle of it all.

Mesprit sighed. "...Brother, I do get where you're coming from." Her tone had shifted completely, her teasing playfulness replaced by a gentle warmth. "But cut the kids some slack, alright? It's just for one night. Just find a cozy spot somewhere else around your lake, and meditate the night away like you always like to do. They'll be on their way before you know it."

Uxie let out a sigh, and slowly nodded his head. "...Yes. That was my intention, after I finish speaking with you and Azelf."

"Good to hear," Mesprit said. "And I know you don't like to admit it, but I think there's another reason why you're annoyed about all of this."

"Oh? And what is that, pray tell?" Uxie asked, genuinely curious what Mesprit would have to say.

"You secretly appreciate the rare company you get, now that you can actually afford to let some of them through. It brightens up the boring solitude you fill your days with otherwise. You were hoping for a bit of conversation with your newest visitors, but it turns out they had other plans."

"An... interesting hypothesis," Uxie said, before shaking his head softly. "But it is entirely unfounded. As I have told you repeatedly, I am a solitary pokemon by nature. I do not need visitors to 'brighten up my day'."

"You can deny it if you want, brother," Azelf challenged. "But all three of us know all too well just how isolating it was, guarding the Time Gears for so long. If we hadn't been able to communicate with each other like this, even you would have gone mad from loneliness after a while, Uxie."

Uxie was silent for a moment. A bit of genuine warmth slipped into his tone as he finally responded, "I... do appreciate your companionship. Both of you. It would have been... very difficult to endure the long centuries here, without you both."

"Even though I try to press your buttons every chance I get?" Mesprit said, a playful laugh in her voice.

"...Yes, Mesprit. Even then. It is true that you can... try my patience, at times. But you are still family."

"Aw! That's very sweet of you to say, Uxie!" From the genuine delight in Mesprit's tone, she clearly hadn't expected that heartfelt of a response. "I know you can't see me, but I'm reaching out my arms right now. Consider yourself hugged for that."

"...That is not how telepathy works, Mesprit." Uxie's tone was as dry as ever, but there was the faintest hint of a smile tugging at his lips.

"Oh, just humor me, alright? Humor your silly, sentimental sister for once."

Uxie shook his head fondly. "...Very well." He held his arms out slightly, well aware that neither of his siblings could see it anyway. "...Consider yourself hugged as well, Mesprit."

For a short while, a comfortable silence settled over the trio's telepathic connection. Even Azelf did not say anything, simply glad to see the two really getting along.

Eventually, Mesprit continued, her voice surprisingly low and somber. "...In all seriousness, though... I wasn't joking about you being lonely like this. I still say you and Azelf should really spend some time away from your lakes sometime, now that we all have the chance."

In an instant, Uxie had already reverted to his typical stoic demeanor again. "Mesprit, we have been over this. If you wish to abandon your lake, that is your prerogative at this point. But-"

"Who said anything about abandoning your lakes?" Mesprit interrupted. "You can both fly, or teleport. It would be easy for you to travel around a little, and still get back to your lakes very quickly. You'd be gone maybe a day or two at most, and that's if you decided to go decently far."

None of that swayed Uxie. None of that addressed the real point of the matter, to him.

He knew he could technically leave for a day or two, or even a week, and the lake would probably be fine. The Time Gear was not here anymore, and what few visitors the lake did get lately were simple explorers, who had heard about the lake as a result of the news from the Time Gear crisis. Most of them would pose no real threat to the lake at all.

But Uxie had no desire to wander around the continent simply for the sake of it, like Mesprit seemed to be doing. And he had even less desire to seek out other pokemon to talk to.

...Perhaps he did enjoy the occasional company, whenever a pokemon managed to find their way here. But that was completely different, as far as he was concerned.

While Uxie stayed silent, Azelf actually decided to chime in instead. "...It would be nice to get out of this cave for a while, and get some fresh air. And a short absence wouldn't really hurt anything at this point, since there's no Time Gear to guard here anymore regardless. I suppose I would be up for it, at some point."

Azelf's response caught Uxie somewhat by surprise. The last time Mesprit had raised the idea, Azelf had seemed to share Uxie's thoughts on it. But it seemed that the Being of Willpower had actually changed his mind, in the meantime.

"Excellent!" Mesprit cheered, happy to have gotten at least one of them to agree. Further emboldened, she continued, "C'mon, Uxie. Why not join us? Even if you won't make it a regular thing, wouldn't it be nice to spend a bit of time together, all three of us? There's a few places I've seen around that would be nice to get to show you both."

Goodness, Mesprit was persistent. But... admittedly, when she put it like that, it was... actually a little tempting. It had been far too long since the three of them had spent any real time together in person.

"I will... consider it," Uxie said slowly, not wanting to commit to anything. "But to clarify... what sort of places do you have in mind? I trust that you do not intend for the three of us to simply... stroll into a village, and start making small talk with the locals."

"As entertaining as that would no doubt be, no, that was not my plan," Mesprit laughed. "But, if we should happen upon any travelers while we are out... well, a bit of 'small talk', as you put it, wouldn't hurt anything, would it?"

Uxie groaned. "Mesprit..."

"I know, I know. Legendaries casually chatting with mortals for no good reason is frowned upon," Mesprit said with a sigh. "You don't need to remind me. But, need I remind you that you are proficient enough with illusions to make a full size Groudon illusion, which can even fight? Azelf and I might not be quite as practiced, but we can all easily make convincing enough illusions to simply hide our identities."

Uxie cocked his head slightly. That... actually wasn't a bad solution, he supposed.

...Not that he would participate in such a thing regardless, of course. He would feel ridiculous, speaking through an illusion for such a mundane purpose. The very idea was still simply-

The sound of the lake's geyser erupting brought Uxie out of his thoughts. He had not realized it had gotten that late already. The three of them had been speaking for longer than he thought.

The prolonged telepathic communication was beginning to get tiresome, actually, now that he realized it. The fact that they were all on nearly opposite ends of the continent did not help matters at all. They could keep the connection going, but it would start to get quite draining if they kept it up too long.

Thankfully, Azelf seemed to realize the same thing. "Perhaps we should continue this talk another time. We have been talking for quite a while, now."

"Oh, alright." Mesprit quietly sighed in acceptance. "You're probably right. The usual time tomorrow evening, then?"

"...That sounds fine," Uxie answered. "Again, I will... consider your suggestion, Mesprit."

"That's all I ask," Mesprit said warmly.

As annoying as Mesprit's insistence could get, at times, Uxie knew she was simply trying to help him, in her own way.

"Well," Azelf started, "good night, Uxie. And you too, Mesprit."

"Night, you two! Sweet dreams!"

"Good night, Mesprit. Good night, Azelf."

Uxie severed the mental connection, leaving him once again alone in the tranquil silence of Fogbound Lake. He gently lowered himself to the ground, cutting off his levitation and allowing himself to rest his psychic abilities for a bit. Knowing that there was no one nearby, he opened his eyes just a bit so he could properly take in the lake's spectacle.

It truly was beautiful. And it was home, as it had been for Uxie for nearly as long as he could recall. He would struggle to imagine any other place he would rather spend his days than this.

But, after having watched over it for hundreds upon hundreds of years at this point... he supposed that an occasional change of scenery could perhaps be... acceptable.


A/N: The original idea that sparked this whole scene started out as just a quick gag. But then I liked the idea of the lake trio bantering and chatting as siblings enough that I expanded it into a whole separate scene of its own. Like I noted before, I think this would have heavily broken the flow if I'd tried to keep it in the previous chapter. But hopefully it's still enjoyable in its own right.