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Volo carefully picked his way through the rubble as he ascended the stairs leading to the Temple of Sinnoh. Unease crawled through his veins as he was confronted by the physical remnants of that terrible clash with Dialga and Palkia. When he woke up in the middle of the Fieldlands, completely bereft of both belongings and memories, he never thought he’d end up being the only thing standing between two raging gods and all of humanity. If Akari hadn’t taught him about Pokémon battling, constantly testing his skills whenever their paths crossed in the wild… a shudder crawled down his spine. It didn’t bear thinking about.
The only reason he’d returned to the temple today was because Akari insisted she might’ve found something regarding the plates he’d been collecting over the past few months. He really admired her, to be completely honest with himself. The girl was young but full of determination and compassion, always willing to lend a hand to those in need, always willing to stand up for what was right. She had literally abandoned her post as a member of the Galaxy Team to protect him on that fateful day when the sky turned red. That was something he could never repay her for. He really, truly loved her, taken in by her kind heart and fiery spirit. He hoped she felt the same. Otherwise all of his embarrassing lessons about Hisuian courting rituals with Ginter would be pointless.
Akari sat atop one of the fallen pillars, swinging her legs as she tossed a Poké Ball in her hand. Something about her expression seemed… sad, almost. Did she, too, mourn the destruction of the temple? It would make sense — after all, she was from Hisui. She probably had much more of an emotional connection to the place than he did. “Akari, I’m here!” he called, waving his hand in greeting. “Sorry to keep you waiting! A few people down at the Galaxy camp wanted to make some purchases.”
Akari jumped down from her perch, smoothing out the thick fabric of her uniform as she put her Poké Ball away. “That’s alright,” she said, “I haven’t been waiting for long.” Perhaps it was just a trick of the light, but her smile seemed… different. It almost seemed sharper, colder, something calculated instead of genuine. He’d never seen such an expression on her before. “You’re right on time, in fact.”
Volo stopped a few paces away as she spoke, her melodic voice ringing out across the open space. “The temple lies in ruins now, reduced to nothing but rubble before the gods it was built to honour,” she observed, eyes roaming over the crumbling pedestals and cracked columns. She gestured towards the few pillars that remained standing, jagged and sharp where they were shattered by the clashing powers of Dialga and Palkia. “Look at how they dare to pierce into the heavens like spears… fitting, is it not?” She laughed, but the sound lacked any of its usual warmth. “Yes… I think this is a much better state for a temple built to honour Arceus above all.”
The pure vitriol in her voice as she spat out Arceus’ name sent a shiver down his spine. He’d never heard such hatred in her voice before. Even when she had defected from the Galaxy Team, viciously defending him against the people she once called friends, there had been no hatred in her heart. Anger and determination and sorrow, yes, but no hatred. But now… now there was a palpable antipathy lining her body, disgust visible in the narrowing of her eyes. “Akari…? What’s… what’s going on?” he asked, hating how small his voice sounded.
She giggled, something high-pitched and unsettling. “Oh, I’m sorry,” she apologised glibly with a careless wave of her hand. “I suppose you deserve to know why I really brought you here.” The merchant’s hands tightened around the straps of his bag with unease. Akari’s smile sharpened. “You see, Arceus sits high above the land, blind to the suffering of its most ardent worshippers. I begged for it to come and save us. I spent my entire childhood trying to call it down so that it could free the land from suffering. But do you know what Arceus did?” Her hand tightened into a fist, knuckles white from strain. “Nothing,” she spat. “Arceus did nothing, letting all of humanity rot in our own filth while it slept in the heavens above. So I decided — why worship it at all? Why worship a god that doesn’t care when I found something better, when I found a god that listened when I prayed?”
Volo swallowed, pulse roaring in his ears. What was she talking about? He cast his mind back, trying to figure out what deity she had turned to. There had been a statue in the Coronet Highlands, one she had visited often. What had she called it again? “Are you… talking about Giratina?” he asked.
Akari’s face brightened, softening into something familiar. It made Volo’s heart ache. “You remembered!” she said excitedly. “Yes! That is the god that answered my prayers. That is the only god in this region that cares for its devotees.” She rested a hand atop her chest, head bowed reverently. “Lord Giratina heard my pleas and directed me to free it from the shackles Arceus had placed upon it millenia ago. In exchange… it would help me tear the useless ruler from its throne. How could I ever say no?” There was a wild expression on her face, a cross between reverence and mania. “And so I did as my saviour directed, and we ascended to the temple to tear the heavens asunder. But… it didn’t work out as expected.” Volo forced himself to hold his ground as Akari snarled. “Lord Giratina had been weakened by Arceus, stripped of the powers it once wielded! And so… that’s where you come in.”
“Me?” he echoed, caught off-guard. “But I — I’m just a merchant! I’m just some amnesiac nobody! How could I possibly be involved in the affairs of the gods?”
“Ah, but you were gifted with a holy relic by Arceus, were you not?” she asked, eyes narrowing to mere slits. “You were chosen to spread its light across the land — a land you don’t belong in, the land I have tried so desperately to save.” The words stabbed through Volo’s heart. He knew he didn’t belong in Hisui — his fragmented memories didn’t match the history of this land, after all — but to hear someone he loved say it so casually… it hurt. It hurt. “And so I had you collect the physical manifestations of Arceus’ power, just as Lord Giratina directed. And oh, Volo…” Her smile softened into something utterly captivating. “You did everything I wanted and more. ”
He couldn’t help the way he softened at her praise, even though he now knew it was nothing more than a knife poised to rip out his throat. “I just… I just wanted to help, ” he said softly. It wasn’t as though he had set out to collect the plates. He didn’t even know what they were at first. The noble lords just kept… gifting them to him as thanks for easing their frenzies. His bag suddenly felt so much heavier with the knowledge Akari had set him on this path, putting him in situations that would lead to her desired outcome.
“And you did help,” she purred. “You helped more than you could ever imagine.” Her voice was smooth and warm, poisoned wine Volo had imbibed far too many times. “Eighteen plates said to be the fragments of the all-encompassing deity…” she murmured dreamily. “You carry with you seventeen of them. Did you ever wonder where the last one was?” Akari reached into her satchel. Volo had a sinking feeling he knew what she would show him. “Well — it’s right here!”
A dark purple plate sat in the palm of her hand, malicious energy seeping out of it in waves, curling up her arm like a lover. It slunk its way over her body, hissing like acid as it covered her entirely. Volo took a step forward, hand outstretched — though, to be honest, he didn’t know what he hoped to do — before uncontrolled laughter stopped him in his tracks. Akari didn’t seem to be in any pain. In fact, she sounded… joyous. It was as though everything she had ever wanted had finally come to pass and she no longer had to restrain herself. Slowly, the energy began to recede, revealing Akari had changed.
Golden bracelets shaped like ribs curled possessively around her wrists. A thick, matching circlet embedded with rubies sat proudly upon her brow, two short pieces at the front curving upward like horns. The piece of cloth binding her hair in a ponytail dissolved, letting her hair cascade down her back like a dark curtain. A sleeveless V-neck black dress covered her body, the hem jagged and frayed as it pooled around her legs, the front stopping above her knees while the back extended to her mid-calves. He could see that the inner lining of the dress was a dark, ominous crimson. A golden belt cinched around her waist, ruby ornaments dangling like droplets of blood from the bottom. Tarnished gold wrapped around her legs, ending in open-toed sandals. The energy that had once engulfed her body collected around her pale throat, coalescing into a black scarf that undulated as though it were alive, the ends tipped by red claws. Her eyes glittered with unrestrained mania as she was haloed by the setting sun, the sky bleeding orange and red behind her. It was awe-inspiring. It was horrifying.
Akari’s expression softened as she stared at Volo’s horrified face. “It’s okay, Volo,” she soothed gently. “I know it’s a little bit scary, but I’m the same Akari you know. You can trust me. Just… give me the rest of the plates.” Her eyes were filled with conviction as she spoke, truly believing her own words. “You’ve seen the horrors of this land with your very own eyes. If you give me the plates, I will cleanse this world of all suffering. Never again will children cry out from the arms of their dead parents. Never again will people be left to starve in the streets while others feast opulently, uncaring of the squalor surrounding them. Lord Giratina and I… we will save humanity. All you have to do…” She extended her hand to him, a mirror to when she reached out to protect him when everyone else had turned away. “…is give me the plates.”
Volo’s heart felt like it was breaking in two. “What, exactly, do you plan on doing with the plates? How will you and Giratina ‘fix’ this world?” he asked, fearing he knew the answer but praying he was wrong anyway. Akari was kind. Akari was protective. She always did what was right instead of what was easy so surely, surely —!
She smiled beatifically, reverently clutching the plate to her chest. “We will drag Arceus from the heavens and slay the failed god,” she sighed dreamily, tilting her face towards the sky. “Lord Giratina will ascend to its rightful place atop the throne and wipe the slate clean, and a new world free of strife will replace the terrible one we live in now.” She looked at Volo once more, her expression making his hair stand on end. “Doesn’t that sound wonderful?”
Akari spoke with terrifying conviction, certain of the righteousness of her path. “I don’t think it sounds wonderful at all,” he vehemently denied. “The world we live in is flawed, yes, but… how can you say you’re saving everyone when your plan will end with everyone dead? That’s not ‘saving’ anyone! That’s just mass murder!”
Just like that, her sweet expression crumbled away, revealing the disdain lying beneath. “I should’ve known an outsider like you wouldn’t understand,” she sneered, unclipping a Poké Ball from the back of her belt. “Well, I suppose it doesn’t matter,” she sighed, seeming completely unbothered. “No matter how far you’ve come in terms of Pokémon battling, you’re still nothing more than an ordinary merchant. It’ll be a simple matter to wrest those plates from your cold, dead hands.”
The words felt like ice flowing through his veins. She was willing to kill in pursuit of her so-called ‘perfect world?’ Had he truly been nothing more than a tool of convenience to her this entire time? It felt like the Akari he knew was nothing more than a mirage, a kind illusion shielding him from her true nature. He pulled out a Poké Ball, forcing his hands not to shake as he forced himself to stand in opposition to the girl he loved more than anything, still loved despite it all. “I may not be as adept a battler as you,” he said firmly, “but I will do everything in my power to protect this world. Even if it’s from you.” Even if it kills me.