Day breaks at last on a tumultuous night. Arceus yawned and stretched. He shook his head, accidentally knocking Myao off. She yelped as she hit the ground in front of him. Archie paused in his tracks as he stared at her with perplexity. It was as if he had never seen something like her before.
"Oh, heh, good morning, my lord!" Myao said. "Did you... sleep well?"
Arceus blinked at her and tilted his head. "Who are you?" he asked. "What are you talking about 'my lord'?"
"You, of course!" Myao said, giggling.
Archie blinked. "I... don't know what you're talking about, sorry," he said.
Horror came across Myao's face as she realized that whatever made Arceus into this also wiped or locked away his memories. "Do... Do you remember who you are?" Myao asked.
Arceus paused. He blinked as he tried to access his memories. There was nothing but a thick fog, leaving his memories impossible to penetrate. He heard one voice, that kept getting cut off. That word... it must be his real name. "Archie," he said. "My name is Archie."
Myao's heart dropped. "I... Okay," she said, admitting defeat before daring a losing a battle. "Well, it's nice to meet you, Archie. My name's Myao. I've been a friend of yours for years."
Archie smiled at her, appreciating the irony of what she'd said. "Myao. Okay. I'm glad to meet... a friend I've known for years," he said.
Myao giggled. "You don't remember anything, but that's okay," she said. "I'll stay right at your side so you don't have anything to worry about!"
Archie nodded, grateful that this mental fog within him at least has a light shining for him. "You were sleeping on my head. Were we close?" Archie asked.
"Well... not exactly, even though I've wanted it," Myao said. "I don't think this'll really help give me a chance, either."
Archie smiled. "Since I can't remember anything, I think it would," he said. "What kind of relationship did we have?"
Myao's heart swooned as she felt her spirit soar. This was her chance to earn Archie's hand. "We... I always came to you for help, you always appreciated all I did for you. We were really good friends."
Archie hummed, thinking on this. "Well," he said. "If you were really that close... I think we should be boyfriend and girlfriend."
Myao gasps and lets out a swoon as she floats onto Archie's head. "You mean it?" she asked.
Archie smiled as he nodded. "Sure," Archie said. "I mean, a girl I spend a lot of time with, that's comfortable enough to rest in my fur, that I always appreciate for all you do for me. That sounds more than enough for us to be in a relationship."
Myao pauses. "I'll take it!" she said. "But, does that mean you don't love me?"
Archie hummed, trying to cut through the fog. "No, no, I do," he said. "I can remember feeling particularly strong feelings for you... even if I can't place exactly what they were."
Myao takes to the air and explodes into a squee of delight. "This is everything I've ever dreamed of!" she exclaimed.
Archie smiled. "I'm glad to see you so happy," he said. "I must mean a lot to you."
"Oh, you do, you absolutely do!" Myao exclaimed.
Archie smiled. "I think the best option we have right now is to figure out our bearings, kind of get used to where we are," he suggested.
Myao nodded. "Anywhere you go, I'm glad to," she said.
Archie smiled. Already, he could feel some sort of connection with this Mew girl, whatever that connection may be. He knew for sure he loved her, even if why was still a mystery. He smiled as he watched her float about the air, always looking at him longingly. "You can ride on my head if you want, I'll remember you're up there from now on."
Myao smiles and swoops around, landing on his head. "You really are a lot more comfortable with long, fluffy, fur," she said as she noticed Archie wondering what she meant. "Never mind. It's a bit of a long story that I don't even know enough to really say what happened."
Archie smiled nonetheless. He looked about. The world felt unfamiliar, alien even. It felt as if, even though he felt grown up, he was a newborn in this world. A group of Bird Pokemon chased each other through the trees, a Swellow chasing a Fearow only for a Staraptor to be chasing the Swellow. Archie looked away before he could find out what happened. He looked along the path, seeing a few rodent Pokemon scampering along. He was on the outskirts of a forest, nearby to a flowing creek. It must be the middle of summer. As he looked into the stream, he saw a Magikarp swimming aside a Feebas, neither looking troubled or bothered by the presence of each other.
Myao giggled. "This world really is amazing," she said. "I always enjoy coming down here."
Archie paused. "You live in the sky?" he asked. Every time she spoke, it was something new and intriguing to him.
Myao nodded. "I live up in Heaven," she says. "Of course, for you, I don't wanna go back. I wanna just stay here and spend time with you."
Archie smiled. "I'm glad," he said. He felt a pulse of love through him, as if whatever was locked inside him especially liked to hear what she had to say... but he could hardly register it.
Archie walked down the path as he spotted a Furret, just walking along the path. "Morning!" the Furret exclaimed. "Always nice to see a new friend on a walk!"
Archie paused and smiled. "I guess so," he said. "Who are you?"
"Just a lonely wanderer, always looking for new friends," the Furret said. "I'm headed for Forestedge Town."
Archie paused. "Alright, I might head there sometime, if I can find where it is," he said. "I'm just enjoying a walk with my girlfriend."
Myao giggled as she heard him call her that again. It was a beautiful sound to her every time she heard it.
The Furret smiled and shrugged. "Alright," she said. "I'll see you around, hopefully!" She continued on her walk as Archie watched her leave. She had a funny little saunter to her walk, though it wasn't something that made Archie laugh.
Archie hummed and continued on as he wandered the forest's edge. He could see several species roaming about in the deeper woods. A Vulpix was chasing a Zorua. The Zorua was laughing with delight before it took one wrong step and ended up in the jaws of a Ninetales. The Zorua is swallowed down before she magically rematerializes, racing away from the scene with a childish snicker. Archie paused and looked to Myao.
"Some Pokemon have the ability to revive after death," Myao said. "Zoruas are one particular species. Though this one... I get the feeling she's just a little troll who loves making people think they're giving her a comeuppance."
Archie nodded and shrugged. He continued to wander the edge of the forest as a black Ponyta stared back before walking deep into the woods. Archie shivers, unsure of what it was he'd seen. Green specks appeared to materialize. Feeling uneasy from the sight, he backed away and ran back to the road, nearly trampling a Floragato in the process, sending the cards they'd been shuffling out of its hands.
"Watch out!" the Floragato, a male, exclaimed. "I was just getting good at that trick!"
"Sorry, sorry!" Archie exclaimed. He paused. "What trick were you working on?"
The Floragato paused. "Well, it was a magic trick where I try and locate your card while I'm shuffling them, making the audience confounded how I'm able to keep up."
Archie paused. "Isn't it easier when you can see the card?" he asked.
The Floragato smirked. "You would think that... but no," he said. "It's actually much harder as the shuffling makes the key element of concentration be entirely lost, leaving the moment I select the right card all the better."
"Ooh! Ooh! I wanna try it!" Myao exclaimed.
"Excellent!" the Floragato said. "Hello, my dear. What's your name?"
"I'm Myao! This is Archie!" she said with a big smile.
"Perfect, perfect!" the Floragato said. "My name is Flora." He waved his hand as a business card... flies out of his wrist, fumbling while trying to catch it. He smiles nervously as he hands her the card.
Myao hums, not impressed by his sleight of hand yet. "That's... not a basic one, is it?" she asked, wearily.
"It is..." Flora says. "But I'm getting better at it!" He pulled forward his cards. "Now, go ahead and pick a card!"
Myao hummed and pulled out a card, the Ace of Diamonds.
"Perfect, perfect," Flora said. "Now, don't show me, but show your friend and put it back in the deck." Myao smiled as she did exactly as told. Flora smirks. "Now... prepare to be amazed." He began to shuffle the cards, them even flipping out of his hand, in mid-air, and landing in his other palm. "Now... is this your card!" he exclaimed as he stopped the deck and pulled out... the Queen of Hearts.
Myao drooped. "No, it's not," she said.
Flora's jaw dropped, incredulous that he could have failed again. "It... It's not?" he asked. "You sure?"
Myao smirked sassily. "Yeah, pretty sure," she said.
Flora drooped, lowering his head and begin to step away. "So I do have a long way to go," he said as he sighed.
Myao smiles at him in sympathy. "Hey, I'm sure you'll get there," she said.
Flora nodded. "Eh, I'll just keep practicing."
"Maybe the shuffling is a little much," Myao tried to advise, pinching her fingers to emphasize it.
"Heh," Flora said with a smirk. "I'll remember that. Maybe it'll help next time, or maybe it won't. I can't tell right now. I'm off. I need to prepare to perform for Forestedge Town."
Myao shrugged. "Alright, see you there. Seems like everyone goes there."
Flora smirked back at her. "Of course," he said. "Don't you know? It's the big place to be, no matter who you might be."
"We'll remember that," Myao said before looking to Archie who nodded. "Seems we're running into a lot of locals. I'm surprised so many of them are friendly."
"Why?" Archie asked, tilting his head. "Is it uncommon to find people who care about others around here?"
"It's hard to find those who believe and want to break out of their most basic instincts," Myao said. "At least, that's just been my experience ever since the gods have started to turn unkind."
Archie slowly nodded, taking in the bit of information. How could the gods have taken such a drastic turn? Surely any god would want to prop up the world, make those living in it live comfortable lives. Though, given Myao's words, it seems as though this has become quite uncommon in recent times.
"Just look there," Myao said as she pointed to an Ekans, swallowing down an Eevee. "Death is... it's practically the rule outside of the towns, villages, and cities." She turns to point out a Weavile slicing through an Abra with little effort. "Pain, disease, it's running rampant." She points out a Dachsbun, clearly in its final days, coughing up a lung, its Rockruff friend watching them with sadness, choking back tears. "And so many have lost parents..."
"You there!" a voice calls out from behind them as a Lucario rushes to them. "Identify yourselves."
"Who are you?" Archie blurted out.
"I asked the question first, identify yourselves," the Lucario responded simply. She didn't look like she was in the mood for games, but then, she didn't look like she cared for much of anything at all beyond laying down the law.
"Archie, and this is Myao," he said. He smiled at the Lucario nervously. Surely he and Myao weren't in any trouble, right? They had done nothing wrong, so what was there to suspect?
"What are you doing so close to my town?" the Lucario challenged. She looked three seconds away from using Bone Rush on the both of them, but yet she never did.
"We... We don't know, we just got here," Myao said. "We woke up here."
The Lucario hummed. "A likely story," she said. "But, I sense no hostility in you. Carry on, but watch yourselves. Don't forget that I'm the law in this town." Archie nodded exaggeratedly to indicate that he understood. "Name's Captain Chal," she said. "If you ever need anything, you can come straight to me. I'm the Captain of the Guard for Forestedge Town."
"Someone as attractive as..." Myao started before gasping at her outburst, trying to look innocent.
Chal narrows her eyes. "I'll be watching you, Myao," she said. "I don't take kindly to being flirted to by strangers. I don't care what reputation my species comes saddled with, I'm not a girl that'll bend over at the first sight of an attractive male and a pretty female."
Myao paused, hard. "You... think...?" she asked.
"No," Chal said, cutting off her line of thinking. "I'm not into either of you, like I just said."
"So... you just... called us attractive and pretty..." Myao says.
"Because there's no other way to differentiate a Mew and an Absol," Chal said matter-of-factly. She crossed her arms. "Any other questions?" She smirked amusedly.
Myao shook her head. "No, ma'am. Other than you saying like you need to differentiate a Mew."
"You're far from the first I've ever seen," Chal said. "You're just the first female."
Myao nodded. "Of course," she said. "Our kind are plentiful but elusive, and I'm sure someone with your keen eye..."
Chal smiled, showing that Myao was, indeed, on the right track. "Heh. Cute, kid. Come see me if you need anything. I need to get back to town and double check my case file for a missing Eevee."
Archie cringes. "Yeah, hopefully you find him," he said.
Chal paused, turning to him and kneeling down to look him in the eye. "Got some kind of lead?" she asked.
"Was it... a female?" Archie asked. "Kind of small, probably not able to fight?"
"Matches the description," Chal said. She narrows her eyes. "Her parents are worried sick. Where is she?"
Archie laughed nervously. "Well... she's... probably digesting right now," she say, pointing to the Ekans.
Chal sighed, facepalming. "This is the twentieth time this week..." she said as she raced away to rescue the Eevee.
Archie shrugged as he continued on. "Who... even lets the world run like this is if there are gods out there with the power to stop it?"
Myao paused, feeling anxious as she decided not to answer. Archie just shrugged and kept on walking. Archie continued to walk along the road, lost in the beauty around him when he bumped, hard, into a Shiny Umbreon who yelped out before snarling. "Watch it!" the Umbreon snarls out.
"Heh, sorry," Archie said. "Didn't see..."
"Where you were going, I know," the Umbreon said. "Neither was I. It's fine. Honestly... with how things for me have been lately, that I can even take a walk in the woods feels nice."
Myao paused. "What do you mean?" she asked.
"I mean..." the Umbreon sighed. "No. Never mind. If I told you, you'd just run away or act like I'm crazy."
"No, I won't," Archie promised. He nuzzled the Umbreon's face as he picked up the musk of a female.
The Umbreon stepped back and looked sad. "Forget it. I don't think there's anything you could do about it, anyway." Archie paused and was about to speak before the Umbreon looked back. "I'm cursed. Cursed by someone I once held dear to become violent and vicious."
Archie paused. "Is... that it..." he said to himself. "I'm sorry. I could always be a friend, hang around you, stop you from hurting anyone."
"No," the Umbreon said. "You'd only get hurt. My friends are the only ones who can hold me back. Everyone else has ended up dead. For your sake... this should be the only time we meet."
Myao frowned. "If there's anyone who help you, it's Archie," she said with a smile.
The Umbreon shook her head again. "Even if he was Arceus himself, there's nothing he can do," she said.
"What's your name?" Archie asked. "I don't think this is going to be the only time we meet."
The Umbreon sighed again. "You're probably right about that," she said. "Abby. My name is Abby."
Archie smiled. "Well, it's good to meet you, Abby. I hope to see you again sometime."
Abby smiled bittersweetly. "I don't," she said. "But... only because of Her. Otherwise, I would be glad to see you again. Everyone who finds out about me always calls me a monster and tries to attack me."
Archie and Myao look sad for her as Myao quickly gives her a hug. "You don't deserve that. Not one bit," she said.
Archie smiled and nodded. "You deserve to be happy," he said. "You're really not that bad, Abby. No matter what some spirit wants to make of you."
Abby does look touched as she shakes her head again. "I'll see you later," she said. "My friends and I live in Forestedge Town."
Archie nods and smiles as he watches Abby leave. "Seems we have a good reason to go to Forestedge Town," he said. In the same direction as Abby was headed, he noticed a Sylveon racing to him. He smiled at the Sylveon before she hugged. "Thank you, thank you!" she exclaimed. "If you weren't here to see what happened to her, my daughter would have been killed!" She's crying tears of happiness and thankfulness.
Archie smiles as he bends down to nuzzle the Sylveon. "You're welcome," he said. "Why... are you in a nurse's outfit?"
The Sylveon giggled. "I.. It's..." she wipes away her tears. "It's because I'm the nurse of Forestedge Town," she said. "I'm so busy taking care of so many things, my daughter slipped away from me. I was so worried sick, I never thought someone would try and eat her." She looked up at Archie. "I'm forever in your debt. If there's anything you need, any medicine you're in need of... it's yours, free of charge."
Archie smiled warmly but had a small look of shame. "I didn't think I'd be able to help," he said. "I can't say I exactly was going to say something... I thought..."
The Sylveon placed a ribbon on his mouth. "You're new in town, I know," she said. "You wouldn't know whose child is whose, or if it was a wild Pokemon... I understand. The thing I'm thankful for is that you didn't try and act like she didn't exist."
Archie nodded and smiled. "Honestly... I just want to be the best person I can be," he said.
Myao smiled but still felt a bit jealous. "Are you flirting with him!?" she exclaimed.
"Nooo," the Sylveon said. "I'm just thankful. I'm Nurse Sylvie." She looked to Myao. "Who are you?"
"I'm Myao, Archie's girlfriend," she said, having a look of defensive superiority.
Sylvie smiled, looking unshaken by her attempt. "I really don't want him romantically," she promised. "Cross my heart." She paused as she felt the air. "I... I think I need to step away."
Archie tilted his head. "What's wrong?" he asked.
"New customer," Myao said. "Serious injuries. I'll be around."
Archie smiles. "Go to them, it's okay," he said.
Sylvie smiled and ran back towards town. "Be careful out there!" she called out to him. "Predators don't care if you're a hero!" Archie nodded, taking her advice carefully.
Archie smiled, relaxing. He laid down to rest for a moment before feeling the ground shake. "What is that...?" Myao asked.
Archie looked towards the direction of the sound to see an Arcanine racing towards him. He paused, unsure whether to run or to stay where he was. Myao settled in, her face buried into Archie's fur, obscuring her vision of the massive predator inbound. With each foot the Arcanine ran towards them, it became more and more obvious that Archie was the chosen prey for the huge canine. Archie gasped and turned to run but felt his hindquarters being bitten before he could take off. He yelped out in distress as Myao woke up from her trance just to find herself thrown backwards into the Arcanine's mouth, the same toss sending Archie half-way in. Archie began to panic and let out a bark of distress, hoping Sylvie could still hear him. The only answer was another powerful toss from the Arcanine as the latest toss caused Myao to be swallowed. With Archie entirely within the Arcanine's jaws, he let out a scream for help before the Arcanine swallowed him as well. Archie could feel himself sliding down the Arcanine's throat before landing in its stomach. With his arms and legs free to him now, he began to toss and scratch and squirm to try and fight his way out. Myao even tried to use Moonblast to escape, but the Arcanine proved too powerful. He could feel and hear the enormous belch that signaled his arrival. Archie curled his lip and screamed out in frustration before collapsing onto his belly.