Mid 2023

"Cogita's your kid?"

Volo jolted awake, startling the Pokémon he was leaning against. Obstagoon made a displeased noise and shifted into a more comfortable position as Volo sat up and focused his attention on Akari. When had she gotten there? "What?"

"Elesa told me."

Still disoriented from his unplanned nap, Volo tried to make sense of her words. "She shouldn't have done that."

"To be fair, I thought Cogita was your wife or something so I think she was just trying to stop that train before it built up too much momentum, if you know what I mean. Is that how trains work?"

"Yes, that's how trains work." Volo blinked a few times and shook the last of the sleep out of him. Mentally, he reached out for Spiritomb, wondering if they were nearby. He felt a tug at the edge of his consciousness and decided to let Spiritomb return at their own pace. "Cogita's adopted. She was immortal too so I was the only one equipped to raise her. Just for, um- Apparently because my relationships need to be clarified, Nanu's my kid too. I helped raise his father, and then he died when Nanu was pretty young. Ingo, Emmet, Elesa, and I are just friends. AZ- AZ's immortal too which kind of complicates things. We conquered and ruled a region together though and I think that explains all you need to know."

"I have no idea who AZ is still and I don't really care," Akari said before pausing. "Wait, Cogita's immortal too? Is she still in Hisui? I mean, Sinnoh?"

Volo really wished Spiritomb was there now. He leaned back against Obstagoon and turned his head away. "I don't really want to talk about it."

"What, she disown you after you summoned Giratina to try to defeat Arceus?" Akari snarked and Volo wished she'd stop. "Arceus is important to Celestica, right? I bet she wasn't happy you tried to dethrone her god."

"You don't know anything," Volo responded, barely keeping himself from snapping. Obstagoon sat up a bit and licked the side of his face, wordlessly telling him to calm down. "Just drop it, okay?"

"Sorry," Akari said and it sounded like she meant it. "I really didn't come here planning to chew you out or anything. You kept saying I didn't know the whole story and I guess I realized you were right and- and I don't want to keep hating you. I don't see how anything you could say could make this better but I want us to give it a shot at least."

Volo could tell she was trying but he wasn't really feeling up for it. He said he'd talk to her when she was open to listening but saying that he'd talk and actually doing it were two different things. But before he could tell her no, Spiritomb materialized beside him. "Tel̕l ͡her."

"Not now, Spiritomb."

"I̶t'̸s ̨my s͡t͞ory ̛t͢oo̷," Spiritomb responded firmly and Volo knew there was no winning. "Tel̕l ͡her."

"What's Spiritomb saying?" Akari asked, eyes flicking between them. "Someone said you can understand them."

"I can. Arceus gave me the power when… It's not important." Volo shook his head and sat back up, resting his weight on his palms instead of the sleeping Obstagoon's flank. "That wasn't Spiritomb talking, by the way. It was Cogita."

"What?" The color drained from Akari's face and Volo hated that he found some satisfaction in that. He was supposed to be the adult here but it was hard to see her as just a kid after everything she'd done.

"Spiritomb imprints on anyone I grow close to. When they die, they become a wisp and join Spiritomb's collective. I didn't think Cogita would ever be part of them but her immortality had an expiration date. She was only supposed to stay alive long enough to help you," Volo explained, swallowing down the emotions welling up in his throat. It'd been a long time since he'd had to talk about it. He hadn't really addressed it since the memories stolen from the Ultra Wormhole resurfaced. "She died a few days before the, um, Giratina thing."

"S-She what?"

Volo nodded, barely pausing. "I know you think that was all premeditated but it wasn't. We had two thousand years together. I thought we'd have longer. I don't know why Arceus made me immortal but I have to believe it's some kind of punishment. Humans are social creatures, you know. We make bonds meant to last a lifetime but I outlive anyone I meet and forget them when I can't remember them anymore. Slowking helped with that but I didn't have him when Cogita died."

"You thought you would be together forever," Akari realized aloud and Volo felt a weight lift off him, "but she died. Because of me."

"You didn't kill her. I don't blame you."

"You blame Arceus," Akari said and it wasn't a question.

Volo nodded. "I know he's responsible for both of our immortalities. I- I know you got caught in the crossfire but I didn't want you to. If I hurt you, I'm sorry. I didn't want to. I wasn't trying to hurt anyone. Not even Arceus, really. I was a part of the Celestica as much as Cogita was. I hate Arceus for what he did to me but I respect him and I know how powerful he is. I didn't think I could take him out. I wanted him to take me out."

"Oh, Volo." Akari was on the ground next to him in a heartbeat. Throwing her arms around Volo's shoulders, she pulled him into a tight hug. Volo froze, not knowing how to react. He glanced at Spiritomb who only seemed amused. Softly, Volo raised his arms to reciprocate the embrace.

"If, um," Volo started before losing his train of thought. "I actually don't remember what went down between us. If I actually did something to hurt you, you don't have to forgive me just because my kid died."

"You ordered your Lucario to throw me off the mountain but I'm not actually mad about that anymore."

"I did what now?"

Akari snorted and leaned back. Her eyes were glassy but all the anger and frustration had drained from her features. "I had Carnivine and Honchkrow. I think you knew one of them would catch me. I don't think you'd really let me fall."

"As glad as I am you're forgiving me, I think we need to have a talk later about… I don't even know. Not being okay with people doing bad things to you."

Akari waved her hand in a loose gesture. "Meh. My track record is pretty mixed. I still hate Cyrus's guts but I made up with Arceus even though he sent me back in time without asking. I guess that makes you the tiebreaker now though…"

Volo's brain stuttered. "You spoke to Arceus?"

Akari's expression shifted into something almost excited. "Oh yeah! I caught him, actually."

"You what?"

"Yeah I didn't tell you because- I don't know, I thought you'd try to steal him or something."

"I don't think you should trust me not to do that. I make poor decisions constantly."

Akari waved him off again. "I kicked your ass on the Battle Subway. I can do it again. And Uncle Ingo and Mister Emmet and Miss Elesa would stop you if you did anything dumb. Hell, I have Nanu's phone number now. I could just get him to bully you."

"Fair."

"So do you want to talk to him?"

"Who? Nanu? I have his phone number too, Akari."

"No, silly. Arceus."

"Do I want to talk to- Of course I want to talk to Arceus!"

Volo gathered up Ingo, Emmet, and Elesa and then had Anabel Teleport over Nanu, Looker, and AZ for good measure. Not because he was procrastinating. Definitely not because he was procrastinating. Okay, he was procrastinating but he actually wanted his friends there. His mind was a lot less fragile after so many Psychic Pokémon had rooted around in there over the years but he still didn't trust himself. And… Well, if he became a wisp and joined Spiritomb's collective today, he wanted to see all his loved ones one last time.

"Do you know what you want to say?" Elesa asked as she straightened the collar of Volo's shirt. He wanted to tell her Arceus had no notion of human fashion and didn't care about appearances but he knew this was her way of showing her worry. Volo shook his head and let her fuss.

"When we were in Ransei, we talked at length about it," AZ told him but Volo couldn't recall anytime they'd done that. Sensing this, AZ assured, "It's probably for the best you don't remember."

"You've been waiting for this for a long time," Nanu spoke up. "Whatever you need to say will come to you."

"I am Emmet," Emmet said, gently pulling Elesa away from Volo. He glanced at Ingo before offering Volo a smile. "We are here if you need us."

"Thank you," Volo whispered, matching the smile. He glanced at Spiritomb, his steadfast companion, and then Akari. "I'm ready."

Akari nodded once and tossed a single Pokéball into Volo's backyard. "Alright Arceus, come on out! Someone wants to talk to you!"

White light poured out of the Pokéball and a tall figure emerged. Volo felt a light feeling well up inside him as Arceus appeared before him. So many centuries of his life had been devoted to reaching this moment and now it was finally happening. After all this time, he almost couldn't believe it.

"Akari, Volo," Arceus greeted with a dip of his head. Volo and Akari matched the greeting, dipping their heads in return, but Arceus's next words made Volo fumble. "My heroes."

"W-What?" Volo's mind scrambled to get itself together. Arceus must have misspoken. It sounded like he called him his hero. That wasn't right. Akari was the only hero Arceus had. But that wasn't true, was it? There had been another millenia before…

"It's been a long time since we've seen each other, Volo," Arceus said, fixing his gaze on Volo and Spiritomb. "You kept your companion after all this time. I'm glad."

There were a thousand things Volo wanted to say, so many he had to force himself to stop and think. Arceus knew he'd been alive all this time. It wasn't something Volo had doubted but there was a sense of affirmation to hear Arceus say it. But he'd always assumed it was some kind of punishment, that Arceus hated him and cursed him with this immortality. But Arceus spoke of him fondly. Spiritomb too. If Arceus truly hated him, he probably would've tried to take Spiritomb away, wouldn't he? He wouldn't let him hang onto a lifeline for this long.

"I'm immortal," Volo blurted out. His voice cracked in the middle of it and he knew his words were awkward but he just needed to spit them out or he'd never say them. "Why?"

Arceus's eyes widened ever so slightly. He was surprised. Volo couldn't fantom why. "I couldn't bear to let you die."

"Why?" Arceus wasn't making any sense. Arceus made humans. He made all life. Living things were meant to die yet he went against the nature of his own creations to keep Volo from dying. Why? Just because he didn't want to?

"You were my favorite human. My hero," Arceus explained as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. "You nurtured your Spiritomb from when it was just a single wisp into a Pokémon you could love and always rely on. No other human in that era ever thought to do such a thing."

Volo's mind whirled. He didn't remember that. The time Arceus spoke of was from before he was given his immortality. He didn't remember meeting Spiritomb, let alone them being anything less than a full collection. He must've just been a boy then. Oh how he longed to remember that time but those memories weren't stolen by a wormhole or Psychic Pokémon. He'd long since accepted the memories lost to time were never coming back.

"When Giratina breached into your world and tried to recreate it into his image, you stood up to him. You saved the ten Giratina had corrupted and battled alongside them to defeat him before he could tear into the Hall of Origin," Arceus went on. Volo could barely hear him, too caught up in his own mind to really process the words. "You saved me. For that, I gave you a gift."

Volo knew that story. It was one of Cogita's favorites. She'd carved it into stone tablets in her youth so they'd never be lost to time. Long ago, long before Hisui's first human settlements were established, Giratina attempted to wreak havoc upon the world Arceus had created. He frenzied ten Pokémon and a hero calmed them, uniting them to save the region. Those ten Pokémon had become the Nobles but there was no record of what happened to the hero. Now Arceus was saying Volo was the hero? That didn't sound quite right.

"Eternal life is no gift. It's a curse," AZ spoke up, drawing Volo out of his thoughts. "You crafted humans, did you not? The human mind is not meant to survive for so long."

"My hero is strong," Arceus argued, tone ready and voice resolute. "He can withstand more than the standard human."

"Maybe but no train can stay on the tracks forever," Ingo added sorrowfully. "Every car must retire eventually. You can repair it but not forever. At some point, the damage becomes too great."

Arceus blinked and swiveled his head back in Volo's direction. "Is this true, my hero?"

Volo didn't hesitate to nod. "Humans aren't meant to be alive this long. I don't remember who I was before I became your- your hero. I don't even remember battling Giratina. The story you told doesn't feel like me. It feels like someone else entirely. Maybe it is. I don't think you're lying but so much time has passed and I don't think I'm that person anymore. I've changed, Arceus. I've lived many lives, I've done so many things, and I've lost so many people. I thought I'd have Cogita at least but then you took her from me. I thought I'd have AZ for awhile longer too but he was cured of his immortality too… Sometimes, I love being alive. I love the life I've built here. I don't want to watch myself lose it again."

Arceus stared at him and it felt like he was staring into Volo's soul. "Would you like me to take my gift from you?"

"Yes! More than anything," Volo practically sobbed. Arceus hesitated for a moment then nodded once and Volo's mind caught up with his words. "Wait! Um, this isn't a take it or leave it type of deal is it? If this is my only chance to be free, I want to take it but if it's negotiable…"

"What do you desire, my hero?" Arceus asked. "I did not realize my gift went against your nature. I will do whatever I can within my power to make it right."

"AZ. You know AZ's story, right?" Volo said, the idea coming to him suddenly. "He was immortal but he isn't anymore. He's still alive though, and he kept your other gifts. You know, the ones we got in Ransei. I like my healing and I like being able to talk to Spiritomb and I don't want to die quite yet. I don't want to live forever though. Could you… Could you just give me a normal human lifespan from this point on?"

Slowly, Arcues nodded. "Are you sure this is what you want?"

Volo swallowed and bobbed his head up and down. "Yes. More than anything."

Arceus lowered his head. "Then it is done. You are mortal once more, my hero."

Volo expected there to be a flash of light or at least feel different but there was nothing. Or, nothing except a sudden weight against his back as Elesa crashed into him, crushing him into a powerful hug. "I was so scared you were going to die!"

"I wouldn't do that to you," Volo told her, an involuntary smile enveloping his face. Was his face wet? It felt like his face was wet. Had he started crying? "Not unless I had to."

"There is no terminal called End," Ingo said as he and Emmet joined them, the rest of the group joining them. AZ, Looker, Nanu, Anabel, and Akari. "We would not let Arceus take you from us before you were ready to depart."

"Thank you," Volo whispered as Spiritomb wormed their way into the center of the embrace, leaning into the warmth of everyone who had ever loved him.