-Blessed by Divinity: Eternity-

Unexpected Help

Quickly, I stood up out of my seat, reaching for Dragonite's pokeball. My face changed to a grimace as I focused on the man stood a few feet away from me. I stared into his eyes, daring him to take another step forward.

"One more step and I'll send you back to whatever hellhole you came crawling out of."

Lysandre stood unfazed by what I said. He could keep up the act for as long as wanted but we both knew he was no match for me anymore.

He let out a short breath, raising his hands defensively. May stood up from her seat, standing beside me as the two of us stared down Lysandre.

"I'm not here to cause trouble. We both know I can't match up to you anymore, Aaron."

I wasn't buying it for a second. Lysandre had built a terrorist organisation on lies and deceiving the people of Kalos into trusting him. He was used to this, lying didn't faze him in the slightest.

"Oh yeah? Prove it."

Lysandre sighed deeply, a little annoyed that I wasn't so trusting but then again, you couldn't blame me. "If I was here to cause trouble, I wouldn't be here right now. I'd be working with Team Galactic and you wouldn't even know I was here."

"What are you doing here then?

"Look, Aaron, I'm not here because I want to be. I'm just doing what I need to."

I furrowed my brow, unsure what he meant. I looked to May who was just as confused before turning my attention back to the man stood before me. I stayed silent, waiting for him to continue.

"I know what happened on Stark Mountain. I'm here to offer my help to Arcanine."

"What? Am I supposed to believe that? How do you even know what happened back there?"

Lysandre's face scrunched a little, frustrated that I wasn't so forgiving of him. "Hmph, you still haven't changed from all those years ago. You still are that same naive trainer."

"You do realise you're not in a position to be speaking so highly of yourself. You better start explaining before I send you packing, again-"

"Darkrai showed itself to me and I'm sure you've already met. If it was up to me, I wouldn't be here, but that pokemon convinced me otherwise. Once again, I'm offering you my help, Aaron."

Then it clicked. I thought back to me second meeting with the nightmare pokemon, remembering that it had told me all about what I'd be seeing, though in a different way. Darkrai had taken the appearance of Lysandre and at the time I didn't understand why, but now I did.

"So you're using this as some way to redeem yourself for what you did five years ago in Kalos?"

Lysandre was silent. I seemed to hit the nail on the head, seeing that he wasn't going to answer the question directly. He turned away from me for a moment, looking out of the glass window behind May and I.

"I guess I am and that cannot be helped. After our battle my eyes were opened, even if it had to be you who showed me the right way." He paused for a moment before continuing, "so what's it going to be Aaron?"

Hesitantly, I looked over to May who simply shrugged. I wasn't too surprised, after all she didn't even know who this man was. I turned to Lysandre, his steel gaze still the same as ever. Slowly, I reached for Arcanine's pokeball, calling him out.

As he emerged from his pokeball, he looked over to Lysandre before turning to me. He quickly grasped the situation, his tail wagging ever so slightly.

"Lay one finger on him and I'll make sure you feel it a thousand times over."

---

"This is Pastoria City? I didn't know there was a festival going on."

Red, Dawn and I had finally arrived at our destination. Three days had passed since Aaron made contact with us, more specifically Dawn. I had to admit I was more than surprised when he reached out to us, feeling a little left out when he didn't choose to talk to me first. I quickly pushed those thoughts aside, realising that Aaron wouldn't have thought of it in that way.

The sun had just past its peak, now on the slow descent through the sky. Few clouds lined the skies, the forecast looking clear for the next few days. If that was anything to go by, things would be looking a little better than they had been the past week or so.

"Yeah, I didn't know there was a festival either." Dawn answered, also a little confused. "Looks like we got here just in time then."

The three of us made our way through the city's gates, stopping by the pokemon center beforehand. Aaron mentioned that we should meet by the entrance to the Great Marsh, a place I was somewhat familiar with. As a Sinnoh native, I knew a fair amount about this region, knowing that the Great Marsh is what usually attracts trainers from around the world.

"Guys! You made it!"

A familiar voice rang out in front of us and as I looked up, my eyes met a pair of two amethyst irises just ahead. Aaron's deep coloured eyes pierced through the afternoon sunlight, glowing ever so slightly under the bright sun, his wine tinted hair flowing under the gentle breeze.

By his side was stood a girl I wasn't familiar with. She had medium length mahogany brown hair that fell just past her ears, her cerulean blue eyes glowing with vibrance under the sunlight.

Now that I was seeing this again, I couldn't help but realise that Aaron had a knack for attracting all sorts of people, namely those of the opposite gender. Of course, it was nothing to feel threatened by but it was always something that played in the back of my mind every now and then. Additionally, I wasn't even sure that Aaron was aware of this.

"No fucking way! May, it's been so long!"

Dawn rushed from my side, running over to the brunette who mirrored her excitement. The two girls pulled each other into a deep embrace as if they were two long lost sisters who were meeting for the first time. While they were distracted in their own conversation, dragging Red along with them, I was left alone with Aaron.

"Elaine, uh, I didn't mean to, you know, disappear like that. Sometimes I can't help it."

As Aaron sheepishly tried to explain himself, I could only smile. I wouldn't ever ask something so impossible of him but seeing how he was now warmed my heart. Slowly, I shook my head, showing that he didn't need to explain himself at all, "You don't have to say all that, I know you'll always do just fine. It can't be easy being the Chosen One and all that."

Aaron looked up from his feet and when he saw that I wasn't mad in any way, his lips curled into a smile. I could tell he ignored the extra comment not wanting it to play too much on his mind. 

But it was true. Every day he was burdened with something that he never asked to be apart of but naturally, there was a reason why it was always Aaron who came out on top. I guessed that it was this in particular that sometimes made me feel like I was in the way, like I was holding him back sometimes. Yet, ever since I had arrived back in Sinnoh, I strived to prove that I wasn't someone who would get in his way and I felt I was proving myself little by little.

"Aaron, what happened back there? In Veilstone? You kind of disappeared again."

 Dawn turned her attention to the two of us, looking over to Aaron. His face was relaxed and I started to suspect if anything even happened in the first place. He looked to the blunette, his amethyst eyes clear as the night sky. Whatever happened back there must have been hard to talk about because Aaron didn't seem like talking any time soon.

"Uhh, never mind that. Tonight the Millennium Comet is going to be visible and there's going to be a meteor shower!"

I turned to May who seemed to sense the tense atmosphere. Her attempt to lift the mood worked, the five of us agreeing to spend this time together as our one night off from Team Galactic.

I just hoped Aaron wouldn't stress himself out with all this stuff because the last thing we needed was for him to burn out.