Watcher of Arceus - Path of the Immortal

by The Shadow Master of Weapons

Watchers, the direct descendants of Arceus herself, sets of twins born with her power. Born in pairs, these twins were meant to bridge the gap that had come between humans and pokémon, one a gifted human, born beside a pokémon. Inseparable immortal twins, the godchildren wandered the world. But now, a single pair remains. Full summary inside. Reboot of Watcher of Arceus.

18. Chapter 18 - The Oath

Watcher of Arceus

Disclaimer: I don't own Pokémon. Only the idea and OC's.

Author Notes:

-X-This will be used for scene breaks and for when the story switches to another character, but it does not mean that a new section of the story has started.

~xXx~ This will identify where each paragraph breaks.

"Human Speech" 'Character Thought' {Pokémon Speech}

Co-author: Catsithx

The following is a total and complete Reboot of the story "Watcher of Arceus".

~xXx~

Chapter 18 : The Oath

Thomas was still oblivious to everything, even going so far as to raise up a hand, using two fingers to keep his place on the wall, whispering small bits and passages here and there. Radara for the most part was with him, but she wasn't as directly interested in the entire history as Thomas was.

While both of them had known their own history pretty well, neither of them had any idea that this same history had been written from the view and in the words of their mother however. Thomas was going over every word, but Radara's interest in the mural and their history was much further down. She was most interested in the section that talked about what had come to be known as the Days of the Traitor among their kind, a mystery that none of them had ever managed solve or so Radara and many others had thought.

Radara just looked down towards the end of the mural once more, where the final passages, however there had been had been ripped down and melted, removing their mother's words from the wall. She couldn't help but wonder if their mother might have found the truth that they were all looking for though as she just eyed the mess it left on the floor.

In the meantime, this left Thomas and his sudden obsession with the entire mural, and everything else that was going on. Suicune had still volunteered to help out and gently pulled Sarah off to the side, find a place for her to rest herself and try to take in everything that was going on around them, but Rebecca had clearly made a mess of things.

Rebecca didn't want to leave Thomas now though, and showing some interest, or rather a bit worried about his obsession and wanted to make sure he was okay. Like Sarah, she didn't see any writing on the wall, only what she assumed was a solid gold mural with a few images sculpted onto it.

She could tell that he wasn't lying, he did see whatever it was that he was reading, his aura told her that. As soon as she asked what he was finally reading, he was all too eager to walk her though it, pointing to whatever passages he was reading far more clearly, and he began to share what he was with her all to quickly, sharing what he and Radara were in the words of their mother.

"Forever changing, the world is as much alive as the first of my children. It will always need some guidance, but I fear that my direct intervention will not give them the guidance they need most. Some take my word as deep philosophy and spends weeks trying to find its try meaning. Other take it only at face value, and some still try to twist my words to their own devices. Already though I can feel the first of my new children growing well, and it is my hope that these twins shall be the gentle push that the worlds needs to maintains its peace. I hope that if they carry my words in my stead, my words will be heard as they were meant." Thomas said, reading the words slowly, just barely running his fingers over the mural with the words, showing what passage he was reading, hearing the past in the voice of his mother now as much as his own.

-x-

He continued down slowly, explaining each image as he came up to it, even if they were only a few images here and there along the mural, the first an image of Arceus in a nest of flowers, surrounded by the faces of many of the legendary pokemon, all looking down to a budew and what looked like a human infant resting against Arceus, but even then still never missed a beat, continuing on with the passages

"Already the first of my twins breathe air and the pair grows well. All of my other children aside from those in slumber have come to enjoy the idea of new siblings and wish to help teach them, to show them the ways of the world. They are as much teacher and family as I could hope for, and they all look forward the meeting the rest of the twins, even before I have chosen what they might be. The second set of twins now grow within me, but I feel no strain. I was worried at first that I could not handle the birth of all of them so quickly, but with all the eager help from my other children, I have no such fears anymore." Thomas eagerly held onto every word as he moved down the mural slowly, uncaring for how much time it took.

-x-

"At last, the gift of reincarnation is upon the first of youngest children. For them, those who would look human, I have given them a shorter life, half of that that they shall live in full for future generations, but only for their first life. Tavu is ready, and has even found a female he wishes to bless, that he would like to carry his new life. Zini cannot wait, and she eagerly awaits the chance to teach her brother of who he is, of who we are once more. It shall be even stranger though, for now we shall have three godly infants to teach at a time, for the birth Boro and Illustri shall come at the same time as Tavu's reincarnation."

The image below the passage was a small scene, the Cross of Arceus there in the middle, once again holding the image of an emerald heart, split in two. On the left, sheltered and within the outer left bar of the cross, was a child and maybe a parent. The images of the two were vague, but clearly the older one was caring for the younger, the younger one with a smaller left half heart silver and tinted emerald, and the other with a right half heart, but fully emerald. The upper image was of the two figures, both grown and hand in hand. Both held their half heart, fully emerald in color, but the body on the right just looked and felt older for some reason. The image on the far right now almost mirrored the image of the left, sheltered once more, but now they were swapped. The figure with the left half of the heart was vibrant and fully emerald, while the one with the silver and green tinted smaller heart was the infant this time. The bottom image once against showed them both, but the image on the left felt older now.

-x-

Although the images were rare among the mural, some passages still stuck out more than others for Thomas, and some of them were still before Thomas's first birth, in a time before Thomas could even have any memory. He was taught of the times before his birth, but to read the history in the words of his mother clearly had a profound effect on him as he read them.

"As my family grows, all cultures take watch and follow us now. Not all of them openly listen to our requests for peace, but with each of my new children born maybe they shall to listen more. The world I have given life to is a hard and vicious place, and there will always be conflict, but it is the way of life. There are those who merely need water and live off the berries of the land, and there are those who survive best on the flesh of others, but this is the cycle of life where all things are connected. Much like how all of my elder children have their place in the world and their purposes to maintain, to work with each other to ensure that the world is held in balance, the interaction of all life on this world is connected and part of the cycle as well. It is my hope that my newest children, my loving twins, paired to one another shall show how the world can maintain a balance between survival, greed, and cooperation."

-x-

"As I watch my youngest children grow, my older children watch with fascination and joy. Some have even taken to make them homes, turning a few our private sanctuaries into places more livable for them. They eagerly help show them all the world, and help to teach them the slow lessons of the world and how each of them are needed to help the cycle of life and death continue. I myself though watch on in awe of them, for they grow and band together, showing how to bring a peace about them. I have gifted them the same powers as their elder brothers and sisters, a portion of my own power, but they rarely need to use this power, and are openly accepted by so many."

-x-

Even as Thomas kept reading, Rebecca needed rest at last herself. She tried to pull Thomas along, but Thomas just assured her that he was fine. Even if he left the wall and the mural for now, he couldn't bring himself to sleep. He had tried to walk with Rebecca to rest in one of the beds that Suicune had found in the chambers beside the main hall, but quickly found he couldn't quite lay down easily. The vines that made up the base of the beds, over grown with soft and yet overly sturdy flowers still proved wonderfully comfortable to the feel and it had been generations since he had slept on one.

With his injuries however, comfort proved something that was hard to find. The fall and multiple hits to his chest region from multiple sides didn't exactly let him rest easily on his back or side, and it felt like his lungs would give way in an instant when he tried to lay on his chest. As much as Rebecca wanted him to sleep with her though, she never liked to see him pain and tried to help him get comfortable elsewhere.

After Thomas found that he could only just manage to sit down easily in a chair as long as he leaned forward a bit, Rebecca couldn't help but quickly get worried again, until Suicune came up and got her, using her powers to help try and calm her with Radara's help. He quickly promised to try and get sleep as he just rested in a chair back in the main hall where he could feel more power flowing through the halls to help him recover, but temptation quickly got the better of him.

Shortly after he felt Radara pass out, he couldn't help but give in and once again was reading the wall, picking up right where he had left off not even an hour ago.

"I've never seen so many of my children band together so well. There are some who are at ends with each other, but when my twins come around, even they are civil and nice with each other, more so then even before my own presence. I never intended them an aura of peace bringing acceptance, I only helped give them the gifts to help bring a peace between others, but all of them seem able to help calm the minds and bring an air of willingness of cooperation to everyone around them. The more of them that gather, the more that this shows as well able to even slow arguments between large groups. As Gali grows though, I've never seen someone able to draw such crowds to peace without controlling them. She is a warrior by heart, but so rarely draws her blade, using her words before her power to give meaning to what she asks. She has grown up so fast and many of her siblings look up to her every day. Even Tahu perhaps thinks of her of a leader and I've seen him consulting with her about many things."

Without Rebecca there holding onto him, Thomas was free to read once again at a much faster pace. He did miss sharing what he was with her, but for now he knew that she needed rest and in time he would too. Until he could sleep though, he just kept reading at a much faster pace now.

-x-

"The world watches and my word is spreading. When I choose to merely sit in the places of worship that have been offered to me, and allow my youngest children to offer my word instead, the people listen more closely. They choose to take my word as it is said more closely, without spending weeks trying to divine its true meaning. When my youngest speak, many find it harder to even twist my words, like they wish not to try and misuse them. It has not stopped all conflict, and I don't that it ever will, but maybe in time, it stop war. Even more, this word spreads to others beyond just humans and conflicts have stopped between others as well. Tavu, Froosta, Gali, and Trinity are all showered with gifts everywhere they go by the the major cities and towns along the main roads of Japan where they preach. And even beyond these places, all open the way for them to at least speak their words and hear what they have say. Froosta may never leave the shores with her home of course, but we all have our fears and I will never fault any of my children for theirs, even more when they use their fears to help them teach others. Of course, there are some who turn away many of the gifts that would be given to them, but it doesn't stop them from talking with others. Zini, Sayonada and Soular prefer a quieter touch, a softer chance to talk with people without being worshiped. They all have their ways of spreading of my word, and now at last, my word spreads as it was meant to be, peaceful and merely listened to."

-x-

"For every grace, there is a flaw, and for every speaker and leader in the light, there is something who hides in shadows twisting those words. Although I have always know this fact, it is only today that I have been made witness to such a thing in the shadows as strong as myself. I have never thought of myself as the sole truly shining light in the world, but today perhaps I become just that. While I have worked for generations to bring life to this world, a free life where choice was always the option before, where it would mean something to have the gift of freewill mean something, something is now perverting that choice to take it from others. I fear that a great challenge now lies before me, and I know not the cost of what it will take for me to save the world I have cared for. Although some of my elder children have been tainted and controlled by this strange being, all of the twins have quickly rushed forward from all over the world to come to the aid of their elder siblings. I had never asked for them to be warriors, I had always asked them to promote peace, but the threat against the brothers and sisters have united them in ways far greater then I could have ever imaged. As a group, all of them who were age came forth eagerly, leaving only those sixteen who had not awakened to be left behind, their pair still coming to the aid of plight. I still fear for what may come, but coming here and thinking over the lives of the children, all of my children who I must now protect with the world, it gives me new strength, the strength I need most right now to prepared to make a choice that may leave my children without their mother."

-x-

As Thomas approached the middle of the mural after almost a full day of non stop reading, he happened upon the image of the golden cross of Arceus and the strange shape that tried to obscure it. Around it, hundreds of small figures were amassing, all of the legendaries and the god-children were rushing to the aid of Arceus. While most of the figures were towards the bottom, there were still some partially obscured by the same strange effect that was trying to over take the golden cross of Arceus, and Thomas knew that those were the brothers and sisters that he, that all of the children of Arceus had needed to help save. Almost a dozen of his legendary brothers and sisters had been taken by the great evil that threatened the world, and it was because of its influence over them that their mother had to seal the great evil force instead of kill it, to save her children and with it the world.

"The cost of victory to save my children was great, and not just for myself. My powers are weakened, and my elder children too were forced to give up a piece of the power I gifted them to help me seal away this vile entity for which I still have no name. I could not kill it then, for to do so would kill my children that he had possessed. Even my youngest, the twins were forced to give up a piece of their power to help us save all out brothers, but they have survived better then any of us for their power appears to have far more then own. It was a choice that we all made however, and that we all agreed to. We must all recover now and the world is dulled a bit for a while, but things will recover. It will take time, but as my power recovers, there will come a time when I can finish what I have started. When I am recovered in full, I shall cast this foul force to find the peace it seeks."

Looking over it now, Thomas could recall the War of Legend so very clearly as he just barely traced the images of himself, and then reaching up to trace the image of a few of his possessed brothers and sisters. Among of them was Suicune and Latias, two of his elder sisters who often personally watched over him and Radara and Thomas just closed his eyes for a few, resting his head against the chilled metal, thinking back on it.

Even though the war itself was mostly skipped over, several months of time even, he still remembered both the acts of war and the costs of the War of Legend, and what it meant for Arceus to make the choices she did then. Looking back up slowly, he continued to read the next few passages as Radara walked up to him slowly, having woken up recently and still worried about him. She just watched though as he found the vows that they had made and Thomas just stepped back a bit, the entire vow there, word for word and considerably larger then any other bit of script on the entire mural, a separate emerald border around it, a full one hundred and twenty split emerald hearts lightly stacked over each other, signifying all of Thomas's personal brothers and sisters, all of the twins and the choice that they had made.

"To our mother, to our elder brothers and sister, upon this day we make this vow. By Blood and Birthright, By Choice and Will, We the Twin Children of Arceus do here swear ourselves to a task of our choosing. To Our Mother, we swear our power and our many lives. To our Elder Brothers and Sisters, we swear our time and our help. With the gifts both those given by our blood and life and those we found and trained our own, we shall enforce and protect the balance of the world as set by the rules before our time. We shall watch and forever train ourselves, honing our skills, our minds, our thousand lives. While you rest and recover for saving our brothers and sisters, while you are weak and devote most of your powers to keep the world full of life, for as long as there are those who would try to take or abuse your powers or lives in your place, We shall be ever watchful and find you. With our gifts of prophecy, we devote ourselves keeping you safe, and ensure that your lives shall always continue. By this oath, we swear ourselves now as the Watchers."

Thomas had read the words slowly, and in the ancient tongue that they were meant to be in. It had been generations since he had even thought about using the tongue of the legendaries, but reading the vow now, he felt that he had no choice, and it just happened without even really thinking about it.

'Its been … a long time since I heard you speak in the immortal tongue.' Radara said softly, moving up slowly as she sat beside him, both slowly bowing their heads and making a small prayer. As they lifted their heads slowly, Radara just looked upon the vow herself like Thomas.

Thomas just nodded lightly though as he kneeled down to gently rub Radara's ears a bit now. "It... it..." Thomas tried to speak, but was clearly at a loss for words.

'It would be wrong to speak those words other then how they were meant to be spoken... in the same tongue that we carefully selected them in the first place... It was one of your greatest moments.' Radara said softly, leaning into his hand, and then gently stopping him. She just pulled up a chair again, but a larger one this time and gently pushed Thomas back into it, then jumped up beside him, resting her head on his lap.

"I... didn't do that mu-" Thomas tried to start, but Radara interrupted him.

'Words use to be one of your greatest gifts. You could use them perhaps better then most of our brothers and sisters even without thinking. Those words may not be yours alone, but you helped to scribe the drafts several dozen times over before at last we all felt that they were perfect. You helped to clean up draft after draft, you wanted to do your part more then any other. Only in recent lives have you become as skilled in the acts of battle as our other brothers and sisters. Like all of us, you are stronger then many of the mortals, but among us, you always only did what you needed to hone your skills and powers as not to harm others by accident. Only when it became a need did you refine your skills and abilities further...' Radara spoke softly, recalling the time before the War of Legend, when Thomas was physically a weaker person. It was only when War of Legend started that Thomas trained himself harder and harder, because he wanted to do his part to protect his elder brothers and sisters from being possessed ever again.

"No, I really di-" Thomas tried to speak again, but Radara just shook her head, her tail against his lips to stop him even if she remained silent for a few.

'Except you really did. We all offered our own takes on a vow, but it was you. It was you Soular. There were your words first because it was you, and Zini, and Illustri who were truly gifted with words and while we all spoke the words and agreed upon their meaning and what they meant, I think that our vow was always more your work then anyone else's.' Radara said quickly silencing Thomas once again, still looking over the vow, and then looking over the passages beside it.

'Even our mother noticed that it was your take on words that guided our vow. We debated for days how to do it, and when it was finally done, we all put our hearts the essence of our lives into it. She names you, your birth name... as the the one who gave us the insight of how to wield words with power, and she admits that this was our first true step into adulthood, that we were no longer children.' She continued slowly, pointing up to his proper birth name on the wall with her tail.

'I could not be more proud of my youngest children then I am now. Without my knowledge, or even asking any of their elder siblings, my twins have met on their own and in unison came forth with a vow. They came to me in my personal sanctuary, all of them, even the unawakened. They had met and talked for days in private, without consulting any of their elder brothers and sisters, or even myself and hid it so well, even I did not predict what was happening, that they were at last adults all their own. They came to me, and through the crystals that I gifted the world to build it and connect us all, they shared a vow all their own with us all. From this day forward, it would be their hand that protected us, their mother and their elder brothers and sisters. While they too are weakened from their help in saving this world once before, they have faired so much better then the rest of us, and now they seek to use their gifts to watch over us while we all recover. They have always felt the danger before us, and it was even this feeling that I never intentionally gave them that helped us survive the fight and even prepare for it. Now they wish to use this gift to be our aid, to stop others who might try to take our power, and already they are eager to do this for us.'

'While the words were inspiring and powerful, and they help such a great meaning and desire to protect us while we, their elders are weak, I knew at once that these carefully crafted words were the work of Soular, helped by Zini and Illustri. I know that everyone helped in their own ways. To hear their words, to hear all of them who were old enough to speak, give it their all though was such a sight. As much as it I hate to say it, my children have grown entirely on their own. They have continued to spread my desired teaching to the world and they do it so peacefully and in their own ways, but now they have given themselves a new task all on their own and who I am to argue their desires, their decisions. Some of my elder children had already began to consider them as adults, but now we are all in agreement, and as of today, I shall step back from teaching them more and allow them to learn on their own.' Radara read the passages that directly followed the oath, and more importantly the second one that called out Thomas by his proper birth name of Soular, a name he had long since tried to cast off, before slowly looking down, recalling older times like Thomas now.

'Everyone was so proud of us... it was the first time that they called us true adults in our many lives. They threw us all a large party, and it was one of the few times that almost all of us were gathered in one place for a joyous celebration. The sleepers still slept, but even they joined in spirit, but everyone else was there. And after that as soon as she had the power to manifest her blessings, mother gave us personal gifts. She gave you and all of our siblings who walked among the humans the gifts of a symbol and weapon like your Dragon's Eye, to those us who walked among the common pokemon were blessed a sigil and collar... I still miss mine.' Radara said softly, getting very comfortable in her brothers lap, laying down fully now.

"You gave it away to save a group of wandering traders who use to worship us and then got caught up in our problems... I'm sorry that we could never find it again." Thomas said, gently rubbing her cheek slowly with his thumb, earning a nice gentle purr from his sister. "But I remember why you did it. It gave those people a chance to be taken in by the knights and not be hunted like us, and they were all given a new home for it, a new chance at life rather then ..."

'I know... I know why I did it, and I know what fate we saved them from. It was the only choice then, and I never regret it.' Radara sighed heavily, before looking up and over the wall a bit, Sarah finally waking and coming over slowly, still just as confused as she was when they found the temple, or perhaps even more so.

'Morning Sarah... have you slept well?' Radara asked, seeing no point in keeping quiet about herself anymore after all that had happened.

"I... I didn't think that sleeping on a bed of vines and flowers could be so comfortable." Sarah said, walking up slowly and still looking at the mural, which to her was still just a blank golden slate, only the occasional image cast into given it any form.

"I didn't know the beds would survive that long... Usually you have to replace them from time to time from the plants they were made of. They felt great for what few moments I could stay on them without suffering a lot of pain from my injuries. I wish I could have enjoyed laying on them beside Rebecca, I've never found a better bed." Thomas said, Radara just giving him a sudden stern look, and then smacking him with her tail after realizing that he had been up all night.

'You promised that you would get some sleep... We had to clean the frames and place new vines and flowers into the beds and recover them to sleep on. You would know this if you bothered to rest and noticed the bed of extra flowers I placed just for you to make it softer given your fall!' Radara hissed a bit, jumping down off his lap shaking her head.

"I'm sorry, but I just can't stop..." Thomas stated, already looking back up to the mural and finding his place, getting up slowly himself. "I'm not tired, and I'm recovering still. The blessings here must be really focusing on me because of what happened."

"Thomas, you really need some sleep, it would make me feel better alright. Suicune and Radara both said that fall should have been fatal and even if I don't understand how this place works, it can't be healthy for you just stay up all night in the first place." Sarah stated.

"I can't help it if I'm not tired, I'm sorry." Thomas quickly replied as he looked over and moved over to take a seat. It was clear that it strained him a bit as he shifted, but not too much. "I tried to close my eyes, but all I see is this." He said motioning to the wall, and then looked down giving a small sigh. "I don't know why I can't sleep, maybe its because this place is whats keeping me alive right now. I need an active mind to keep using Recover right? Maybe that's why I can't sleep, this home is giving the power to save myself."

Radara just looked him over some, before nodding. 'That... would make sense. I am lucky to still have you around after that fall. It should have been fatal for you, but you've been using Recover ever since the water the caught you haven't you.'

"It will take days for me to recover like this, I shouldn't even be able to use recover properly yet." Thomas said softly, only to quickly look up as a pair of ribbons touched his shoulders to comfort him.

"I see you've been roused for your obsessive reading. Are you feeling well?" Suicune asked, having quietly just walked up on all of them, now gently nuzzling Thomas's cheek from behind. "Have you slept enough?"

"No, he hasn't. And now he's talking about how he might not need sleep for a few more days." Sarah quickly added, Suicune moving forward a bit more to Thomas's side.

"I would have thought that you needed some rest to help you, but this place is powerful. Our mother spared little in the way of making this home for you all." Suicune said looking back to the pillars and the soft glow that they still held, wondering now if they were glowing so steadily because they were giving power to Thomas.

'It could explain why Thomas is still awake. I image that when he finally does rest, he may sleep for a day or more non stop.' Radara said softly, before looking back to Thomas. 'You should at least go sit by Rebecca so that she feels better when she wakes up.'

"You're right. I should be there for her. It can't be easy on her... or any of you knowing that I should have died in that fall. I'm sorry... for all of this, I should have been more careful." Thomas said softly, Suicune just nuzzling his cheek a bit more before using a ribbon to lift his face a bit and give his cheek a nice big caring lick of a kiss.

"All that matters right now is that you are safe my son. You have not left this day, and if I have my way, you will be here for many many lives to come. Go to her side for now, comfort her." Suicune smiled as she looked to a doorway, pointing down it with her ribbons. "I shall mark your place in the history and you may return later. As you said, it will take you days to recover, and you will have time to read more, and then more later when we return here."

Knowing that he really should, Thomas got up slowly and started for the doorway. It didn't take long to find Rebecca down the hall in a bedroom by herself. It wasn't hard to find her, the watchers rarely cared much for an overly large amount of privacy and so the doors only had curtains. A quick look into the room though quickly revealed why Suicune had placed in the room she was in.

An image of his face, but older was there on a crystalline end table, along with a few other things that were also in his "image". Clearly there was a collection of things that his mother had made for each of them to try and make each room feel more welcoming and it clearly had an effect to help comfort Rebecca who Thomas finally noticed was holding a small old stuffed doll, one that looked a bit like him.

He slowly moved up and carefully leaned over and gave a small smile as he looked it over, finally realizing that it was meant to be him and he could even tell who made it. Latios always did enjoy making things for his personal sister Latias, because Latias always wanted to have things to remember her family with. And then as always, Latias always gave those things away to friends and other family which usually annoyed Latios because he knew he would have to make another later on to give Latias to replace the one she gave away.

The thought of it amused Thomas still, but he knew why he did it. Latias kind of enjoyed making things and he learned all sorts of tricks by watching the people of Atlo Mare, their home that they never really left. Even more, people left Latias and Latios all sorts of tribute all the time and so Latios always had something to craft with.

The Oath once again crept into his head though thinking back as he looked it over the doll. Every watcher had their own reasons for joining in the fight during the War of Legend. Even those like Thomas... or rather Soular, the man he was before who never liked to fight found his own reasons to fight and those reasons were family. During the war, they all had their roles and his bloodline could have easily chosen to help protect others and keep them safe, but he choose to head right for the front lines.

It was the first time in any of his lives that he choose to try and fight first and he did it for Suicune and Latias, the two sisters he felt closest with beside Radara. Cobalion had even come ready to beg for his help that day to ask him to try talking to Suicune to save her, but Soular's mind was long since made up when he found out what was going. It was even the one and only time that Soular had ever never argued about being asked to fly. Latios was more then eager to give both him and Radara passage right into the den where the the thing that was taking over some of the legendaries and twisting the minds of thousands of men and woman to his cause was nesting.

Together, at their mother's side with over a dozen more of his brothers and sisters and probably the weakest fighter among them all, Soular and Radara both prepared to do their part in what was to come. Although Thomas rarely ever liked to recall the events of those days, he couldn't help but think back now. He had personally talked Suicune back into her own mind, and even helped hold back Lugia who had also been corrupted. It wasn't easy, but it was what had to be done.

He was there, right at his mother's side that day when Arceus pinned the thing that was taking them over and twisting the minds of everyone it could to try and take over the world. He easily recalled how pained it sounded when Arceus asked all of her children for some of her power back so that she could seal the evil that threatened them all. She could have killed it by asking for power, but she had to save her children and instead sealed it away severing the hold it had over so many without killing them, but at such a great cost.

Soular himself had lost a hand and broken his legs that day. Radara had worn herself out to the point of near paranoia from mental strain with only cuts and stretches, but it was toll on her none the less and he could feel her pain and fear. At the end of the day though, he knew that he got off lightly in comparison to his elder brothers and sister, much less their mother.

The power that Arceus had to take from the other legendary pokemon and some even from the god-children to seal it away, power that would take generations for them to recover. This left them all weakened and in danger, but the god-children were still mostly fine.

In their weakened states however, the legendaries could only focus on their worldly takes, keeping the world functioning properly. Doing that alone though left unable to truly defend themselves, a problem that would still be a problem until the current times. Sure they were all recovering over time and many were still strong enough to defend their homes against the common things. Still, groups of pokemon and especially groups of humans working together, either as a group looking for an equal share of all things, or even worse under the command of a single leader who takes control by any number of means could over power them and capture them.

Knowing that their older brothers and sister needed help to protect themselves when they were at their weakest, the god-children all met is private and a decision was made, one that all of them agreed upon. It took them all a few weeks to agree upon the words, but thinking back now, maybe Radara was right.

He was never a real fighter, at least until before he was forced to become one. He came out of worse than any of his other brothers or sisters during the fight that sealed away the evil that started the War of Legend. His brothers and sister all had to help defend and protect him more than once during the battle, but even then he still lost most of his left hand and broke his legs. He did however manage to talk sense back into Suicune though, and even convinced Latias that she needed to run while under the influence of the evil that took her mind.

Sure, he couldn't talk Lugia down into a peaceful state, but he had at least managed to break total control of the evil's influence over her and managed to help restrain her allowing Arceus and Tahu to properly seal the thing. He was a poor fighter, but his words, those were used to great effect. And when the god-children all agreed that they wanted to put their desires into words, many quickly named Soular to be the scribe of their words. Sure, he had help. Zini loved words after all was fascinated by languages in general and Illustri was great at bringing ideas together with a small flair.

Thinking back now, maybe it was Soular who really did most of the work on their vow, of bringing together the words that would express their desires to their elder brothers and sisters. He felt as strongly about protecting his family from what happened about anyone else, maybe even more so. Soular knew he was fighter, he was still recovering from the battle was working with just one hand for the rest of that life time.

Everyone just kept looking to him during that time though, to his words and ideas on how to say what they wanted. It took several days for a final draft to be written up and then another day for them to all memorize it properly and have the confidence for everyone to speak it. Recalling more clearly how it played out, it really was just as important for him as it was for any of his personal brothers and sisters, and just maybe it really was his hand that put in the most effort.

Thomas just stayed leaning over Rebecca some and the doll that she was holding thinking about it all. Slowly standing up again, he looked around and found a chair, moving it over and just sitting next to the bed to wait for Rebecca to wake up. He didn't have to wait too long, the soft sound of him just moving the chair seemed to stir Rebecca as she started to wake, and opened her eyes. She quickly smiled looking to Thomas as he just shook his head a bit. "Sorry, didn't mean to wake you." He said softly, leaning forward a bit rubbing her ears a bit, Rebecca quickly leaning into his hand for a few, and then getting up.

'Are you okay? I hope you slept well. I know you don't sleep well in chairs and I can't image that it was with those injuries.' Rebecca asked as she got up fully, stumbling some from still being sleepy. It took her a moment, but she got herself up and was all too happy when Thomas helped ease her into his lap, just wrapping his arms gently around her shoulders and chest to hold her.

"I didn't get much sleep last night, but I'm fine." He said just holding her carefully. In the hours that she slept, he still felt sore but he could still tell that he was better off then he was before. "I'm sorry, I know I should let you as soon as I feel, but this place would have rejected you, and then I when I finally got in here, I couldn't stop myself from reading my history."

'You act like you need to read it. Is that really your entire history, your life's story?' Rebecca asked so happy that he was paying attention to her now, but also feeling his aura and how it was confused a bit, but seemed so much larger and calmer here. Even more, she could tell that Thomas felt almost like this really was a home for him.

"Maybe I do. Its not, well maybe it is my history on that wall, but its not my life story. Its the story of what I am, of how my kind grew. We use to be only be known as the god-children, but we later chose to the name of Watchers of Arceus, to help protect her when she couldn't protect herself." He said, looking up as Radara walked in.

'I can leave you two alone here if you want, but if your not sleeping Thomas, then you at least need something to eat. Suicune helped Sarah make oran and mixed berry pancakes, mago, pinap, and hondew muffins, ham, eggs, and even some spicy sausage curry.' Even before Radara speaking, Rebecca's stomach quickly growling and Thomas's followed suit.

"I guess that's a yes. Seems like an excessive breakfast though." Thomas said, Radara nodding.

'With your bag broken, its too hard to fit everything in one bag and still carry everything. Sarah decided that it was just better to use up some of the food to make room for other things until we get you a new one. Two weeks of moderate rations for two people and roughly ten pokemon do take a lot of space after all. We decided that since we have to stay here until you are able to leave safely, we may as well enjoy a full meal all the time while here, maybe treat it like it is a home after all. There's a large kitchen and dining space on the other side of the main chamber, but just take your time and don't push yourself.' Radara explained, leaving them be, only to stop and turn towards Rebecca. 'Enjoy the curry Rebecca, Mewtwo seems to taken to well enjoying spicy foods and was the one who asked for curry. He's taste tested and spiced it well.'

Once Radara left though and Rebecca watched her walk down the hall by tracking her aura, she turned to looked back up to Thomas. 'Are you sure you're okay? Its not healthy to not sleep.'

"I tried, but I just couldn't. I'm still not tired right now, well not tired like not sleeping. I'm sore and stiff from the fall, and my lungs a bit... well a lot of me hurts a bit right now, but I think this place is caring for me. My mother really did build a true haven for my and siblings, the watchers here." Thomas said as he patted her hips and then let her go, encouraging her to stand.

She quickly did and then turned to help him up, being careful as she took his arm to walk with him slowly back down the hall. "I'll be fine as long as I stay here for a day or two. I really am sorry for scaring you." He said again as he walked with her, Rebecca just wrapping her tail around his waist as much as she could, and holding onto his arm as she walked with him at his pace.

'Just please don't leave me.' She said, a bit of worry in her voice, still not sure just how bad his injuries were, but his aura at least comforted her telling her that he really was recovering if slowly. Thomas just help to reassure her further though by gently leaning his head to hers, and even rubbing her chin a bit with his free hand.

"I'm not... Radara and Suicune won't let anything keep us apart." Thomas gave a small smile, just walking with her. He did his best to try not to look at the mural, but even then it was hard and he still sneak a few glances as he walked past, only to feel a psychic hand on his head, knowing that Radara was telling him to eat first.

Finally reaching the kitchen, both of them just looked on in awe at the massive space. Dozens of crystalline tables and all kinds of chairs and more were one side, with space for even what would have the been the largest of the watchers to sit comfortably and eat, all beside an ancient but massive kitchen space that included a spring and several massive berry bushes.

"Well, its old, without modern tools, but you could easily still eat like a king here." Thomas said in a bit of awe, Rebecca just looking on as well, everyone else already there and gathered around one of the largest tables.

"Well, come and eat my son." Suicune smiled, quickly to him and inviting him. "Don't make us wait. Come, sit and enjoy."