A Spirit's Journey (Pokemon Watty Awards 2014 3rd Place Winner: Adventure)

Chapter 37: Till Death do us Part

                 Chapter 37: Till Death do us Part

We walked in silence, passing many of the windows which showed scenes from around the world. I waited, expecting Arceus to speak what was on his mind any second, though I could guess what it was. He wanted to know about my involvement with Darkrai and whether he had to amend his judgment. That seemed most likely. So, it was to my surprise when he instead said, “Beautiful, aren’t they?”

I looked over at him. “Excuse me?”

He nodded to the windows. “These. They show me direct views of anyplace I wish to see in all of my creation. It gives me great satisfaction to see my work spread out before me. It all fits together so nicely. Take gravity, for instance. I wouldn’t wonder if you barely spared it a thought in your everyday life, but if the force of gravity was only a fraction of a fraction of a percent off of what it is now, this entire world would collapse in on itself.”

“Ah…” I said, not exactly sure where this conversation was headed. Plus, the idea of the world ending was kind of disconcerting, especially when a being who was perfectly capable of causing it was the one talking about it. I cleared my throat. “You…wanted to talk about something?” Arceus nodded. I waited a moment, expecting him to begin. “And…what would that be?”

Arceus cleared his throat. “You realize you have just played a vital role in an attempt to overthrow my control of the universe, correct?”

I scowled and looked at the ground. “Yes” I said, shortly adding, “…sir,” to give a tone of respect.

“But I take it from your actions that it was not your choice to play this role, correct?” he asked gently.

“No…sir.”

“Then please, explain exactly how you became wrapped up in all this.”

I looked up to meet his gaze, defiance in my eyes. “It was during the battle with Giratina’s lieutenants. Charon was about to consume Rio and kill him. Everyone else was locked in combat. I was the only one with a chance to save him, but I couldn’t because I was too weakened from my previous battles. Then, Darkrai appeared again and offered me unrestricted use of his power if I would make a deal with him: for as long as I used his powers, he would be allowed to take over my body. Well, you saw the results of that. I fought it as best I could, but I was too late to stop him from getting almost everyone… But I did it to save Rio, and Rio is still alive. I do not regret my actions and I will not apologize for them!”

At first I thought I had come on a bit too strong. Arceus’ expression was unreadable. Was he going to blast me into dust? I couldn’t tell, but I felt uneasy. I broke my gaze, looking toward the ground again.

“Is that so?” Arceus said, “Well, I don’t have any reason to fault you for it, so I wouldn’t expect you to apologize.”

I blinked in surprise and looked up sharply. “What?” I exclaimed. “I…I mean, I’m not complaining, it’s just that it would seem that sort of thing would bother you.”