Chapter Text
The climb up the stairs is long. The two of them really should have expected that given Arceus' love for dramatics. Perhaps it is just dramatic by nature of being The God of Everything. Still annoying regardless, Giratina thinks as the stairs go by under Akari's feet. It is glad they can float in origin form; the six legs and hefty bulk of the altered form would have made this journey even worse.
By the time the duo get to the top of the stairs they have seemingly exited the atmosphere, though this is Arceus' doing so who knows if that is the truth. If Giratina's aura that they control is enough to make their appearance fluctuate without trying, then Arceus' mere existence is enough to bend reality itself.
They arrive on a platform, it has some glowing yippie, more glowing symbols, that Giratina knows are familiar in the same way that flute and its tune were. They glare at the floor as if it will make the floor speak its secrets, if only it wins the staring contest.
The platform is surrounded by the same aurora that the stairs are but that is not what finally catches Giratina's attention from the symbols. What catches its attention is the stars and moon appear even closer than they were before, and in awe Giratina floats up to see if she can touch them.
They don't get too far as Akari, Dawn, laughs at them and something...
..Clicks.
See Arceus created time and space; it itself predates both. So in this place that is a piece of them, time isn't linear, and Giratina is able to see what Akari was talking about earlier. It sees their meeting in Sinnoh as well as what it has already experienced in Hisui. It is like they blinked and then suddenly memories just slotted into place, as if they'd always been there.
Before it can inform Akari of this change something in the air shifts and Akari glances around. It is not a bad shift per say, more like the feeling that someone is patiently waiting for your attention. Like eyes on you but without the judgement, ha.
The duo turns around to see where there was once empty space, Arceus now stands, slightly menacingly.
It stares at them unblinkingly for a moment before Akari's phone vibrates from her pouch. As she takes it out it starts to glow with a bright, yellow-tinted light. The glow condenses until Akari is holding a small glowing ball of light. Arceus and all its glowing is gonna be the death of Giratina, for the love of distortion. Giratina just barely restrains themself from a fondly frustrated eye roll. It senses more than hears a laugh from Arceus at its suffering, the asshole.
"This thingy-" she aggressively shakes the glowing ball of light. "-looks like the balms the prof made for when I calmed the nobles!" Akari exclaims, finally breaking the silence that had hung heavy ever since Arceus first appeared. She is right though from what it remembers from watching those fights in the shadows.
Before the two can continue, and with about as much emotion as Arceus ever seems to have, it rears up on its hind legs and bellows a challenge-cry. Seems they want to test the duo's abilities before anything else. Giratina is just fine with that, though it worries about Akari.
Arceus starts by summoning meteors, because of course it does. Akari rolls to one side while Giratina floats quickly backwards toward the other.
Akari does not have Giratina in a pokéball so if it faints it is simply out of the fight. Unless Akari can physically make her way over to them and revive them. Which is vanishingly unlikely given both Arceus' aggression and that, like all pokémon, Giratina shrinks down so small the eye can't see it when it faints.
So this will end up being a test of both their abilities to dodge and to work together. Giratina is just glad Arceus knows them well enough that it didn't even ask them to sit out of this test. They promised themselves that they'd help Akari and by distortion they are going to do so.
Arceus widens their stance from the previous neutral, to one that screams 'I am attacking now, prepare' which sends all kinds of flags off in Giratina's mind. Most of them simply being 'Shit.'
Arceus then emits an entire wall of energy that Giratina quickly phases through, putting them decently close to it. They take the opportunity to try and get a hit in with Shadow Ball. However, it soars right through where Arceus used to be. Well, Fuck. That's gonna be a problem. The thought is interrupted by Akari throwing a few of the balms at Arceus from where it has reappeared causing it to stagger for just a moment.
The ground under Giratina starts to glow an angry red and it backs up. The place where it was standing gets hit by a meteor and the resulting explosion clips one of its upper tendrils; It winces.
Things repeat like that for a minute, Arceus using its meteors and walls of light as the two of them try to not get hit while Akari throws the balms and Giratina fires its attacks. Then something changes, Arceus rears up and uses its signature move: Judgement.
The laser-like projectiles lock on to both of them and without speaking they move in different directions. Giratina twisting midair to the left and Akari rolling to the right. They just keep rolling as the Judgement's keep firing, it's all they can do, just keep from taking damage. There will be opportunities to do damage later if they get through this.
They are maybe a fourth of the way through this fight-test when Arceus itself starts glowing red. It teleports across the arena, which itself starts to mirror the red glow. Except, of course, where Arceus floats. Well the only way is forward, if they want to avoid that attack anyway.
As they are running towards Arceus someone beats them to the punch, not literally unfortunately. Palkia, having decided this test was worth their attention, apparently, swacks Arceus with her Aqua Tail. This unfortunately does not call off their current attack. As Palkia keeps the pressure on Arceus, and with no time to be shocked, Akari and Giratina keep moving toward the safe spot next to the two battling gods.
The giant area energy attack just barely misses the duo as they catch their breath behind Palkia. Does Giratina need to breathe? Irrelevant!
If Arceus feels anything about Palkia joining them it certainly doesn't say or do anything about it. Nope! It's too busy firing off judgements. Which now divides into three to track all of them, great. Back to the defensive. Giratina is half tempted to turn into it's altered form for the higher defenses if this keeps up.
Arceus then vanishes once again, this time appearing behind the three, shattering a hole in space to make its entrance, and attempts to run them down surrounded by purple energy. Palkia is the only one who doesn't manage to get out of the way in time.
Luckily for her, there's another new face to throw up a Protect, which Arceus bounces off. Dialga joins the party! 'Great the whole gang's here', Giratina thinks only slightly sarcastically. It is glad for its siblings' help, even if it's starting to think a love of dramatics runs in the family with how over the top all of their entrances have been.
Once again, Arceus shows no reaction to another joining their test.
Now it uses illusions, Giratina hopes it's an illusion anyway, to create four of itself, each with their own little glowing orbs. The band on its back glows, snaps, writhes, bends, as it uses its power. Akari inhales sharply and Giratina just barely hears her mutter "Found where G gets it from" huh? What's that supposed to mean?
Before they can ask she continues, "Find the real one and hit her! If she finishes charging that attack, than we won't be able to avoid it! At all!" She yells to the rest of them. Of course even with four on their side that ends up being easier said than done. But they do manage. Giratina's Shadow Ball working as a projectile of their own. Palkia's Aqua tail hitting two or more of the illusions at once. Dialga's..... Giratina isn't sure what move Dialga's using but it gets the job done they suppose.
And so it continues, the three Gods and their, very smug, human fighting against one, much more powerful, God. Slowly but surely Arceus weakens. When it starts clearly flagging Akari throws the last balm. And with that Arceus stops attacking and returns to a neutral stance. "Are we done? Did we win?"Akari voices what they're all thinking.
"ᴛʜᴏᴜ ʜᴀꜱ ᴅᴏɴᴇ ᴡᴇʟʟ ᴛᴏ ꜰʀᴇᴇ ᴍɪɴᴇ ᴏᴡɴ" ("You have done well to free those who are important to me") Arceus projects to them all. Even with telepathy having no volume, as it isn't spoken aloud, it somehow manages to sound loud. Giratina flinches both from the fact Arceus is clearly talking about them and also because it's loud. Oh good, we're talking about this now. It wonders if Arceus is just talking about Akari freeing it from Volo, or if they are including Akari calming its siblings and the nobles. Knowing Arceus it won't get an answer but it's some combination of all of the above
"ᴜɴꜰʟᴀɢɢɪɴɢ ᴅᴇᴠᴏᴛɪᴏɴ ᴛᴏ ᴀ ɢᴏᴀʟ ꜱʜᴀʟᴛ ꜱᴇᴇ ɪᴛ ᴛʜʀᴏᴜɢʜ..." ("[Those with] Unyielding/unending devotion to a task will see it to the end") Well that was one way to describe Akari's frankly frighting determination once she set her mind on something. Not that Giratina's complaining. It is very amusing when they aren't on the receiving end of it anyway
"ꜱᴏ ʜᴀꜱ ᴛʜᴏᴜ ᴘʀᴏᴠᴇɴ ʙʏ ᴛʜɪɴᴇ ᴀᴄᴛɪᴏɴꜱ. ᴍᴜᴄʜ ᴀꜱ ᴛʜᴇ ᴀɴᴄɪᴇɴᴛ ʜᴇʀᴏ ᴏɴᴄᴇ ᴅɪᴅ. ʜᴇ ᴀɴᴅ ᴛʜᴇ ᴘᴏᴋᴇᴍᴏɴ ᴡʜᴏ ᴡᴀʟᴋᴇᴅ ʙᴇꜱɪᴅᴇ ʜɪᴍ." ("So you have proven yourself by your actions. Similar to how the ancient hero once did. He and the pokemon that walked beside him") Giratina did not remember that hero. It was not involved in that hero's journey whatsoever. But the way Arceus spoke so highly of him, and the fact his pokémon were blessed, spoke all that needed to be.
If it was unusual for it and its siblings to take a favorite human, then it was damn near unheard of for Arceus to do the same.
"ᴛᴏ ꜱᴇᴇ ꜱᴜᴄʜ ᴛʀᴜᴛʜꜱ ᴘʀᴏᴠᴇɴ ᴀɴᴇᴡ, ʙᴇʏᴏɴᴅ ᴛʜᴇ ʙᴏᴜɴᴅꜱ ᴏꜰ ᴛɪᴍᴇ ᴀɴᴅ ꜱᴘᴀᴄᴇ, ʙʀɪɴɢᴇᴛʜ ᴊᴏʏ ᴛᴏ ᴍᴇ." ("To see such things proven again, beyond the bounds of time and space, brings joy to me.") It kneels down, drawing it's four legs underneath it so it did not tower over Akari and continues. "ᴡʜᴀᴛ ᴡᴏᴜʟᴅ ᴛʜᴏᴜ ᴀꜱᴋᴇᴛʜ ɴᴏᴡ ᴛʜᴀᴛ ᴛʜᴇᴇ ʜᴀꜱᴛ ᴅᴏɴᴇ mine ᴛᴀꜱᴋꜱ?" ("What would you ask of me now that you have finished my tasks?")
"What I really want is to go back to my home with these three goobers." She settles a hand on Giratina from where it floats beside her. The three snort in unison, though it is dimmed from the usual bright amusement this human always pulls out of them. "But I don't think it's possible to take them with me." She lowered her head, slate hair almost falling out of her navy blue Headkerchief. Arceus mirrored her movement and bowed her head. "ᴛʜᴏᴜ ʙᴇ ʀɪɢʜᴛ ɪ ᴄᴀɴɴᴏᴛ ꜱᴜꜰꜰᴇʀ ᴛʜᴀᴛ ᴛʜᴇᴇ ꜱʜᴏᴜʟᴅ ʙʀɪɴɢ ᴍɪɴᴇ ᴄʀᴏꜱꜱ ᴛɪᴍᴇ ᴀɴᴅ ꜱᴘᴀᴄᴇ" ("You are right. I cannot allow you to bring my companions across Time and Space")
The air itself seemed to let out a sad sigh as Akari takes out the Ultra Ball and Origin Ball that were a second home to the Gods of Time and Space. She gently sets them down next to her. She always carried the pokeballs even if the Gods were not in them. She liked to call them her "Uno reverse cards". Whatever that meant.
Giratina curls its serpentine body around Akari in a rough approximation of a hug. Palkia places their hand on top of Akari's shoulder, or well her back as their hand is quite a bit bigger than Akari's shoulder. The size difference between them would be funny in another situation, and Dialga tucks her head under his chin.
When Akari speaks again it is with the same steely determination as when she asked Giratina to accompany her. "Guess I'll just have to track you all down and befriend you in my time!" Giratina has no doubt that she'll do exactly that and it is looking forward to seeing that. Because if the memories this place has given them serve it correctly, then Dawn has yet to catch Palkia and Dialga in Sinnoh, only meeting them once at Spear Pillar before Giratina appeared.
Amusement flows from Arceus and if it could it would be smiling, "ɪ ᴀᴍ ɢʟᴀᴅ ɪ ᴄʜᴏᴏꜱᴇ ᴛʜᴇᴇ ᴛᴏ ᴄᴀʟʟ ꜰᴏʀ ᴀɪᴅ." (I am glad I chose you to come help.) It stands up with new energy. Giratina finds this wildly unfair, it is still recovering its energy
"ᴀꜱ ᴛʜᴏᴜ ᴡᴀʟᴋᴇꜱᴛ ᴏɴ ᴛʜɪɴᴇ ᴏᴡɴ ᴘᴀᴛʜ...ʙᴀᴄᴋ ᴛᴏ ᴛʜɪɴᴇ ʜᴏᴍᴇ ᴡɪᴛʜ ᴛʜᴇ ʜɪꜱᴜɪᴀɴ ᴘᴏᴋᴇᴍᴏɴ ᴛʜᴏᴜ ʜᴀꜱ-" ("As you walk on your own path... back to where you came with the Hisuian pokemon you have-") Yes! Akari gets to go home! Giratina thought, ignoring the twinge of sadness in its chest. "ᴜᴘᴏɴ ᴛʜᴇᴇ... ᴀɴᴅ ᴜᴘᴏɴ ᴛʜɪꜱ ᴄʀᴇᴀᴛɪᴏɴ ᴡʜᴇʀᴇ ᴛʜᴏᴜ ᴅᴡᴇʟʟᴇꜱᴛ...ɪ ʙᴇꜱᴛᴏᴡ ᴍʏ ʙʟᴇꜱꜱɪɴɢ. ᴍᴀʏ ᴛʜᴇᴇ ᴀʟᴡᴀʏꜱ ꜰɪɴᴅ ᴡʜᴀᴛ ᴛʜɪɴᴇ ꜱᴇᴀʀᴄʜ ꜰᴏʀ ᴀɴᴅ ᴇᴠᴇʀʏ ᴘᴀᴛʜ ʟᴇᴀᴅ ᴛʜᴏᴜ ʜᴏᴍᴇ" ("On you and on this world where you live I bestow my blessing. May you always find what you search for and every path lead you home") Akari jumps for joy. She gets to bring her Typhlosion C4 with her, which is the only pokémon she brought with her, for some reason.
Akari's phone suddenly speaks in an automated voice from her pouch,
You received the Legend Plate from Arceus!
Mission completed: Fight God and Win
Arceus' golden band brand glows, twists, bends, and ẁ̸̝ả̶̖͈͆r̵̘͂ṕ̵͕̖ș̷͛ (warps) with various disturbing sounds, as does the reality around them as they use their control over the universe to fulfill Akari's wish. A swirling portal of various shades of purple, and blue, so different to the ones Giratina use, opens in front of Akari.
She turns back, a bittersweet expression on her face, and waves at everyone before running through said portal, shouting "I'll find you, and that's a threat!" It's now the quartet's trio's turn to wear the bittersweet expressions. Arceus cannot make facial expressions much to its annoyance and the others eternal teasing.
and for a second the only sound is that of the two balls breaking where they sit on the "ground." Though the four Gods pay it no mind. Perhaps because they don't want to think about what it means.
The three turn to face Arceus and Giratina shakily questions,"W̷̝̑͑́ȩ̴͇̫̊̂̈ w̵̭̣͒i̴̢̜̒͝l̷̝̑͜l̴̳̲̓͒ ṣ̵̿e̸̺̪̔ȅ̶̡̺ ̷̦̆̃h̶̗͒e̸̲̓̽r̵̤̍̋ ̴̛̲̆a̴̹̪̿̇g̴̮̓a̶͍̙̓í̶̼͝n̶̨͖͋,̸͖͋͘ ̶̟͋̈́r̶̬͇̊i̶̠͌͌ḡ̸̘h̷͍͂ť̵̨̔?̷̨̨͐" ("We will see her again, right?") It twists nervously, impossibly, e̶̤̹̰͍͋n̸̳͔̐́d̵̳̝͉̈͛̌̊̓l̸̛̄̈̽͜e̶͍̲̼̦̥͠s̷̭̩̣͑̃̄ͅs̵͇̺͈̄l̵̩̬̙̰̳̽̐́y̷͈͓̞͋̍͂ (endlessly), in the air, its form flickering more than usual. Arceus sends them reassurance, and looks out over the arena. "ɪ ᴡᴏᴜʟᴅ ɴᴏᴛ ꜱᴜꜰꜰᴇʀ ᴛʜᴀᴛ ᴛʜᴇᴇ ʙᴇ ꜱᴇᴘᴀʀᴀᴛᴇᴅ ꜰʀᴏᴍ ᴛʜɪɴᴇ ᴄᴏᴍᴘᴀɴɪᴏɴ ꜰᴏʀᴇᴠᴇʀ, ᴏɴ ᴛʜᴀᴛ ᴛʜᴏᴜ ʜᴀᴠᴇ ᴍʏ ᴡᴏʀᴅ" (I would not allow you to be separated from your friend forever, on that you have my word)
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The day Dawn disappears is awful for everyone. One minute she is in her pajamas her pokemon roaming around the house and yet they can do nothing to stop it, talking to her mom about learning to cook, the next she isn't there anymore. No footsteps to signal she walked away, just there one moment, and gone the next.
While the league goes to look for Dawn, Professor Rowan agrees to watch over her pokémon. Who are surprisingly, mostly, calm.
Her Infernape, Vulcan, is understandably the most upset when he is called back to his pokéball from inside Dawn's room. He has been with her the longest and knows the kind of trouble she can get herself into. But he still remembers his time with Rowan, and how he trusted him. So as upset as he is, he comes back to his ball with little actual fight.
Rowan is just glad that Giratina, Apophis, as Dawn had nicknamed it, was already in its Dusk Ball. Those eyes....they haunt his nightmares enough as it is. He hadn't thought Dawn was serious when she said she had caught what was basically the God of Dimensions. So he told her sarcastically she could research it herself. When she showed him Apophis later... to say it frightened him would be a mild understatement.
As soon as the professor gets back to his lab he lets Dawn's pokémon out of their balls and onto a well cared for forested plot behind his lab. This area and the lab itself is made for free roaming pokémon for his studies, so they'll fit right in until Dawn is located. He has no doubt she will be located. Everyone is looking for her. The current champion can't just go missing without a manhunt.
He watches from the doorway as instead of scattering and going their separate ways, Dawn's pokémon all stick together and head to the shade of a large tree. He shivers as he feels Giratina's red eyes pass over him.
Dawn must have fostered friendships not only between herself and her pokémon, but between each of the pokémon themselves for them to stick together like that. He smiles sadly and walks away leaving the pokémon to their own devices. And also so he doesn't have to feel those eyes on him again
As soon as Giratina is free from the Dusk Ball it spins around to face the other pokémon as if it has been struck with knowledge. In a way it has. Memories of Hisui are ancient; it had forgotten them until now. Dawn's disappearance had reminded them. Spiritomb, Kishin, seeing its expression, suggests they have this conversation in the shade. "This is going to take a while," it says. Giratina starts explaining Hisui to all of Dawn's other pokémon. After all they have a while until she gets back, they spent quite a bit in Hisui after all, and this time they know she'll be back.
Arceus has never been one to lie after all
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In the end, it only takes 4 months, nearly half a year, for Dawn to come back. And like her departure, it is not spectacular, especially in this world filled to the brim with Gods. Gods who have a habit of involving everyday people in their antics.
One second Giratina is half asleep and curled around the trunk of a tree, in altered form for comfort, and the next it can feel Dawn, no longer the alias of Akari, plop down on its back right below its golden spines.
It purrs, so loud that it's sure that it will wake Dawn's other pokémon that still sleep in the nap pile they formed around it a while ago. Yet they don't wake, surprisingly. It feels more than hears Dawn's quiet laughter on its back from where she lays. "Yeah nice to be back too" she tiredly pats the spine closest to her. "But now we gotta go get the others like I promised" She yawns and it makes Giratina yawn as well.
Its mouth is a mess of too many teeth where they shouldn't be Did they even have teeth a minute ago and they constantly shifted around and changed color. If one looked hard enough they could see the empty, swirling, skies of the Distortion World reflected in their mouth. "Yeah but first, nap." Dawn laughs and it's finally a fully happy one.
Now the space-time-distortion continuum is fixed, everyone is where and when they should be. They have all the time and space in the world now.
There is only the future and it seems quite bright.
Not because of Arceus and its glowing this time around, Thank Fuck