Work Text:
He took a deep breath in, he was almost there.
Time didn’t work properly in the Distortion World, what could seem like an hour just sitting around could set you back fifteen years in the Material World. It could also put you just a few minutes forward from when you entered, and it all depends on how good you were at navigating it.
And Volo was very good at navigating it.
After his little… stint… with Akari at the Spear Pillar, he had decided to live in the Distortion World for the time being. Giratina was kinder than the legends gave aeir credit, even after he failed to bring up his end of their bargain, aei allowed him to stay with aeir.
“Volo, you must think about what you are trying to do. To change the past by affecting the future…”
He looked up at aeir, aeir eyes burning into his own. He tried to keep it up, to ignore the encroaching fogginess in his mind, to show aeir that he could match aeir power. Aei laughed, he finally turned away, gripping his head.
“You lasted longer than last time. Good. It does not mean that I will simply let you go.”
He scoffed, folding his arms over his chest. “I have thought about what I’m trying to do.” Aei narrowed aeir eyes at him, disappearing in a cloud of smoke only to reappear as something more akin to that of a human.
She became a mirror to him. A mirror that, the longer a normal person looked at her, seemed… off. Her pupils were too thin, her mouth too long. Her skin was fair, porcelain-like, but had the sheen of plastic. But she was a replica of him. Of course she was, he had spent far too long in this plane for it to not have affected him. He knew it, which is why he had to execute his plan now.
“What shall you do if someone more perceptive than your average mortal approaches you? How will you explain your appearance? Your skin? Your face?” She spoke, her voice echoing throughout the empty space. In a swift moment she reached out to him, a shadowy claw pushing his hair back from his eye. “Your eye. ”
He clasped a hand over the empty eye socket she had revealed, and he jerked away. “They won’t find out. I’ll stop them before they can.”
“How? By killing them? You would attack the girl who did her best to bring you back from your self-imposed brink?” Her voice was calm and collected, but Volo could feel the anger within her start to bubble. “The mere child who stood in your way? What is your plan?”
He stuttered for but a moment. “I’m not going to harm her! If I wanted her dead, I would have done so at the Temple. I am simply… going to change things. So that she never came to Hisui in the first place.”
“And then?”
“And then I will finish what I set out to do. She left the Plates with the Galaxy Team, I will simply take them back and summon The Creator.”
He was sure this plan would work. He would summon The Creator, he would remake the world. All his pain— no, all everyone’s pain— would be erased, and Giratina could be freed from her endless prison.
“You are aware you may not be able to return to this place? The period in which you are entering is volatile, farther out of my control than you are used to. I will not be able to come to your side without dire consequences.”
He was quiet. He knew that wherever Akari was from was much, much different than the home he knew. He knew that the Almighty Ones themselves looked upon those people as worthy enough to stand before them. Or maybe it was just her. “...I know.”
She stared at him, he could feel her eyes boring into his very soul, judging him just like she did upon their first meeting. Emotionless as always, though he could have sworn she smiled, she walked to face him. She grabbed his face again, gentler this time, leaning in close. “I will allow this, on one condition.”
“That is?”
Without warning, she pressed a shadowy finger into his empty eye socket, and he felt a strange coldness swirl inside his body, threatening to consume him from the inside. “You will be my eye upon the Unbending World. At any point, if I feel you are threatening to unravel the lines of fate, or you are in dire danger, I will step in.”
Giratina removed her finger, and returned to her true form. Volo blinked, his depth perception restored. “I don’t understand why you even took my offer if you know how things will end up.”
“I said unravel the lines of fate, not change their course. I cannot see where you will be at the end, but I can tell if things are going awry. You will understand this soon enough. Are you prepared?”
He rolled his eyes, nodding. No matter how hard he tried, he doubted he would ever understand The Almighty Ones. But it wouldn’t make a difference in the end. “I’m ready.”
And with that, he took a step off the edge, falling into the endless expanse of Distortion. As he felt his body warp, he felt a familiar presence in the back of his mind speak two solitary words before everything went dark.
“Good luck.”
When Volo came to, he was not expecting his body to ache as bad as it did. Then again, he also wasn’t expecting to have been dropped off at the top of a surprisingly sturdy pine tree.
“Heeeeeey! Mister dude! Are you okay!” A voice called from below.
Volo groaned, sitting up on the branch he was now perched on. Looking down, he saw two kids looking up at him. The one who called up to him was a scrawny, blond-haired boy with an orange and white striped jacket and a green scarf. The other kid standing next to him was a black-haired girl dressed in all pink, with a white scarf and beanie. She seemed… familiar, but from where he sat he couldn’t tell why.
“Uh. Y-” He started, clearing his throat. He hoped his Common was as good as he remembered. “Yes, I am fine!”
He watched the two kids talk to eachother in whispers, occasionally glancing up to look at Volo. Two Pokemon sat at their side, a Piplup and a Chimchar. He grimaced, shouting back down to the children. “Excuse me! Can you tell me where I am?”
“A tree? Duh?” The boy responded, earning a whack on the arm by the girl.
“You’re… well, yes you’re in a tree, but this is Lake Verity! In the Sinnoh Region!”
He paused. The Sinnoh region? …Ah, yes. When Dialga and Palkia were revealed to be two separate entities, Kamado of the Galaxy Team was the one to bring up the concept of renaming Hisui to Sinnoh in their honour. He never quite understood the need for change, but it wouldn’t matter when he was done.
“Are you… stuck up there?” The girl yelled. “Do you need help?”
“No I should be-” He began, reaching for his bag, when a noise from the entrance of the forest startled him.
“Hey, are you kids alright?”
He would recognize that voice anywhere. Looking over from his treetop perch, he saw Commander Kamado himself, though he had gone awfully gray since the last time they met. He was tailed by a young boy in a red cap that looked awfully similar to Rei’s, and…
Volo’s breath hitched in his throat and he nearly fell off the tree in surprise. At first glance, he thought Giratina had somehow managed to follow him here, but he quickly realised that was not the case.
She was tall, probably not as tall as him, but close. Her blonde hair was down to her ankles, and she wore a long, black coat with an all-too-familiar hematite clasp. Either her familiarity was some sort of twisted coincidence, or…
…Volo would rather not think about that. He would also rather not think about the way her bangs covered her left eye just like his and Cogita’s. Or the way she stared at him, even from a distance her eyes piercing his own.
“Oh, hey, Professor Rowan! Yeah, we’re all good here!” The boy called to Kamad— No, he called him Rowan, didn’t he? Maybe Kamado’s… son? Or even grandson? Just how far in the future was he?
“We found a guy in a tree!” The girl piped in.
The man named Rowan looked up at Volo, who looked right back. “Yeah, we can see that.” He sighed.
“Are you okay, sir?” The woman who he tried not to see resemblance in called up.
“Yes!” Volo replied, reaching around into his satchel. He was about to pull one of his Pokeballs out, but he was stopped when the branch he was sitting on creaked as he shifted. “Hm. Maybe not!”
The woman gave a chuckle and pulled a small red ball out of her coat, from what looked like a belt with five others attached to it. She threw it, a bright blue light dancing out of it and hitting the ground, releasing…
Oh, Almighty Giratina, you’re kidding me. Volo hissed to himself as a Togekiss trilled happily, looking between the woman and him. Okay. Just a coincidence. Anyone could have a Togekiss.
He watched the woman chat with her Togekiss for a second, before it trilled once more and flew up to where he sat.
“Just climb on Lucy, she’ll help you come down!” The woman yelled up. Volo silently rolled his eyes, and in one quick jump was standing upright on the Togekiss. She looked quite surprised, but didn’t hesitate to fly back down to the ground. He hopped off the Pokemon and gave her a thankful pat before she returned to her human’s side.
“Um. Thank you for helping me get down.” He said, picking his words carefully. He… didn’t remember being this tall. Maybe his time in the Distortion World affected him more than he thought.
He noticed the way that each of them stared at him, he could feel their unease just from the way their breathing got disturbed from its natural rhythm. The woman studied his face for a moment, her brow furrowing slightly before she simply smiled and held out her hand. “No problem. My name is Cynthia.”
…Cynthia.
“I am V— ” He stopped. On one hand, it really wouldn’t matter if they knew his name when he remade the world. On the other, he wasn’t sure just how much these people would have known of him and his endeavors back in Hisui. He shook her hand, something about its warmth felt almost eerie. “…Ethos. My name is Ethos.”
“Ethos, huh? Interesting name, but then again, you did fall from the sky only but a moment prior.” Rowan said, his gruff voice almost a perfect match for who Volo could only assume his ancestor was.
“I- I am sorry, my Common is not that good, did I hear you right?” He said, turning to the professor.
The boy who looked like an exact replica of Rei nodded, gripping the strap of his bag. “Yeah, you kinda… fell through this weird hole in the sky. They’ve been popping up all over Sinnoh lately, but you’re the first one to come through one.”
“You’re not from the Sinnoh region, are you?” The blond boy from earlier said, Volo shooting a glance his way.
“I am not.” He said, studying the young boy’s face. This boy felt… familiar, though he wasn’t sure why. He definitely did not share characteristics like the others, but something about him was strange. It seemed like the boy thought so too, with how oddly he stared at Volo.
“Where are you from, Mister Ethos?” The girl behind him walked forward, Volo finally getting a good… look at…
… her.
She was young, couldn’t have been more than twelve. Her face was softer, her eyes brighter. But she looked so similar… Maybe a sibling? He could have sworn Akari mentioning a sister at one point…
“…A place… not so far from here, I believe.” He said, slowly and carefully. Even if they did not recognize his name, they must recognize Hisui. “I was actually, ah… looking for someone.”
Cynthia suddenly reached out and touched his arm. “Are you from the clans?” She whispered, her face quite serious.
“I— Um—“ How did he even respond? Was being from the clans bad in this day and age?
For some reason, the look Cynthia gave him was comforting. He sighed, what he was saying wasn’t technically untrue , but it wasn’t exactly the full truth either. “Yes, I am.”
She smiled at him, giving his arm a little pat. “First time out, huh? Weird, you look about as old as I am. That’s fine though, we’ll all keep your secret.”
He nodded, giving her a small smile. “Oh, but as for the reason for my visit… Do any of you have an idea of where I might find a girl named Akari?”
Everyone was silent, staring at him. He felt odd, he hasn’t had this many eyes on him since he told Laventon where Akari could find Giratina.
“Uhhh… depends. Are you a friend of my moms’…?”
He turned, looking at the slate-haired girl with wide eyes. Mom’s? There is no way he misjudged his navigation that far, Akari was only sixteen last time he saw her. For her to be old enough to have a child around this girl’s age… She’d have to be at least in her 30s!
He knew he may have been off by a month or two, that was his plan , but there was no way he could have overshot it by fifteen years.
“…Yes?”
The girl rolled her eyes, scoffing. “Ugh, of course… ” She must have noticed his confused look, because she immediately looked at him apologetically. “Sorry, I’m not upset at you! Mama Hana just keeps forgetting to tell people I don’t use my first name anymore…”
Volo blinked, watching as she stepped forward and held her hand out, smiling. “Hi! My name is Akari, but you can call me Dawn!”
…Oh it’s even worse than he thought.
After taking the walk back to Twinleaf Town—a small, rural town just southeast of Jubilife City, apparently—the group decided to take a break at Ak- Dawn ’s house. Cynthia had to leave, she had some sort of vaguely important business to attend to, so the rest of them were currently sitting at the kitchen table.
“You say you’re a historian? Well that’s mighty interesting, I don't remember Haname ever mentioning you…” Johanna, one of Dawn’s moms, said as she made everyone tea.
“Er… It is because we were friends a very long time ago. We recently got back in touch.” Volo said, sneaking glances over to Dawn, who was in the middle of a tickle fight with the blond boy, who Volo learned was named Barry. “Though, I will say, I looked a lot different when we were younger… I don’t know if she has any photographs… I hope she doesn’t.”
“Is that why… ah. I see, I see!” She smiled, “Dawn told me you were asking about her… oh, wait, don’t tell me! Haname wanted Dawn to have a proper guide, is that it?”
With that, Dawn immediately butted into the conversation. “A guide?! Wait, like… like a guide guide?”
“Well it would be rude to call him a babysitter!” Johanna laughed, and looked at Rowan. “What do you say, Professor? Think she’s ready?”
Rowan rubbed his chin—the exact same way Kamado did—and thought before he turned to Barry, Dawn, and the Rei lookalike.
“It looks like you three have already gotten acquainted with the Pokemon you have—“ The Chimchar, Piplup, and Turtwig who had been sitting together on the table all cried in unison “—and it seems like they are all quite happy as well. Lucas, do you still have those Pokédexes I asked you to bring?”
The boy, Lucas, nodded, pulling two strange devices out of his bag, setting them on the table. “Here they are, Professor.”
Rowan smiled and nodded, handing both Barry and Dawn one. They both went starry eyed in excitement, Dawn standing up and nearly bowling her mother over in a hug.
“Ahhhh thank you, thank you, thank you!!” She laughed, jumping up and down.
“I’m going to go tell my parents! Meet me at the signpost, I’ll fine you if you’re late!” Barry shouted as he ran out the door.
“It was nice to meet you, Ethos.” Lucas said as he and Rowan packed their things up. “Dawn, we’ll see you in Jubilife!”
Volo nodded and watched as they left, leaving only him, Dawn, and her mother. “I’m going to go get my badge case!!” Dawn said, running off down the hall.
Volo was about to take a step after her, but he was stopped by Johanna, who had grabbed him by the wrist. “Excuse me, Mr. Ethos? Can we have a little… chat? Just the two of us?”
He hesitated for a moment, but nodded, sitting back down at the table. She offered him a cup of tea, which he gladly sipped at.
Her smiling demeanor faded for a more serious one, making Volo a little… uneasy.
“I don’t know who you are. I don’t know why you look like a near replica of Miss Cynthia. I don’t know why Haname asked you to watch over Akari without consulting me first. But what I do know is if you even so much as think about hurting my daughter I will find you. And it will not be pretty.”
He nodded, slowly. “I understand, ma’am.”
She looked at him, her eyes boring into his. He could even feel Giratina’s eye twitch at the pressure. She held this for a moment, before she leaned back and smiled again. “Good! Just remember you are under no obligation to help her with her gym challenge. She’s twelve now, so she should be able to hold her own in that regard, but she still needs someone to protect her while on her journey. Her bag is packed and there should be one for you, too, if you want.”
Volo blinked in surprise. “Did you.. know I was coming?”
She laughed and shook her head, “No, silly. Me and Haname always knew that one day Dawn would want to go on a journey with Barry, but we still wanted an experienced adult to go with them. I love Barry to bits and pieces, but I swear that boy is more reckless than anyone I’ve ever met…”
“Okay, I’m ready! Let’s go, Mister Ethos!” Dawn laughed, picking up a white bag from the closet. “Oh, yeah, come here!”
He walked over to where she was standing, greeted with a bag that was all-too-familiar, right down to the worn Ginkgo Guild emblem on the side.
“I know you have your own bag already, but it’s way too small, so this one should work for you! It’s a family heirloom though, so be careful!” Dawn smiled, cheerfully.
Johanna followed, watching the two of them prepare. “We always kept this bag prepped just in case. Allergy medication, potions, bedding, extra clothes, gause, first aid… everything you can think someone who’s in too much of a rush to prepare properly would need.”
He gently slipped it on, fitting as perfectly as it had the last day he had it. It was a little lighter than he remembered, but he never was good at packing. He felt a tear come to his eye, which he quickly blinked away. “It’s perfect.”
Dawn clapped happily and grabbed him by the wrist. “Come on, no time to waste! Bye, Mama Jo! I promise I’ll call!”
And with that, the two of them were out of the door. Volo felt disoriented, to say the least. He came here with the intention to stop Akari in any way possible, but he didn’t intend to go seemingly three years into her past. But maybe… maybe this would work out. Maybe him being her ‘guide’ would help him stop her from ever going to Hisui in the first place.
For all his worrying about the future, he sure is good at missing the obvious hints from the past.