Thank you to: RightHandofPalpatine, amandaalb4, Phoenix Keeper Avalon, EchidnaPower, awolflover2, JediMasterDraco, Kauris Azurai, dragonwolf12, ultimateCCC, MaxKnight1010101, thedarkpokemaster, thor94, Great and Volcanic Panic.

This early update is for you guys!

The Harbinger of Life
Chapter Eleven – Ends And Beginnings

Before he opened his eyes, Ash knew that he had gotten himself into another strange situation. He was laying on something very warm and very soft in a strange way, like it was there but not there at the same time. Slowly, he opened his bright brown eyes, the strange softness coming into sharp focus. He squinted with confusion, before realizing that it was fur.

He jerked up, looking around wildly when he realized that he was on Arceus' back. Sure, the boy wasn't unfamiliar with riding around on the backs of legendary pokemon, but this was a little bit different. If that wasn't strange enough, they were floating (at least, he assumed they were floating) in the middle of darkness. Everything was black in every direction Ash looked, even down.

"Where are we?"

"You wanted answers, did you not?" Arceus asked him, his voice calm and almost kind, like it had been when Ash saved him in the past. "About who you are?"

"Well, yeah," he slowly nodded, his body relaxing a bit as the boy realized that he wasn't actually in danger. "But I don't get where we are."

"It's a story that goes back much farther than you'd expect. Farther than you'll be able to understand. Back to the beginning," Arceus explained.

"To the beginning of what?"

"Everything."

Ash tilted his head slightly, and then jumped when an orb of light burst into existence, flying by them, or maybe they flew by it, he couldn't tell. More and more of the orbs kept appearing around them.

"The the beginning, there was only me," Arceus said. "Everything you see, everything you don't see. Everything and nothing at the same time." Sensing the boy's confusion, Arceus chuckled. "I grew tired of my dual existence and in-existence, and I created something to give me purpose, something to erase the nothingness."

Ash watched an oblong sphere appear before them, made of white light that slowly turned into a solid, bright pink. Cracks formed along the surface, and the sphere exploded, revealing a small, pink creature with short fur, a long tail, and pale blue eyes. "Mew," he whispered in awe.

"Yes," Arceus nodded his head. "The first of everything. Mew. We lived in nothingness together, before I decided to create something different for both of us." Swirling trails of pale blue energy circled around them before violently colliding with one another. Ash covered his eyes from the light, and when he opened them, he could only gape in shock. Where before there was nothing, he could now see glittering stars in the distance, and before him was a stone structure, a very familiar one.

"The Tree of Beginning." He leaned over a bit to look at it more closely, but jerked back when something rushed by him. A very small Dialga and Palkia flew by, chasing the miniature Giratina around.

"Using the genetic material that I gave Mew, I created all the others. Time, Space, and the world to balance it all. Though many have come to believe Giratina is something evil, it is far from the truth. I gave each of them a duty as I created my world. I could have controlled all of those things on my own, but I wished to be a part of this world, and bestowed the responsibility to others. The land, the sea, the skies, life, death... all of it."

The rocks from the Tree of Beginning began to expand, water rushing up to meet it, fighting fiercely over where one area ended and the next began. The atmosphere surrounded it, to bind the two to a set place. Legendary pokemon began appearing one after another, and Ash realized that Arceus must have been giving him the very brief, dumbed down version of the story.

Still, he was watching the creation of their world.

"Life will find a way, if you let it," Arceus told him as they flew over the mountains, watching trees and plants form. "That is exactly what I chose to do." Lugia burst from the seas and flew in a circle, three glowing eggs appearing and hatching into a tiny Articuno, Zapdos and Moltres. Ho-oh flew down to the earth, and in her wake, Suicune, Raikou and Entei appeared.

"Soon, life began to slip away from me. They were all tangible, all alive, and I was alive but yet I was not, so I chose to create a form from the same Mew who was my first friend." Ash watched as light and clouds twisted in front of them, warping and changing until Arceus' massive figure hovered not far from them. "I was no longer needed in the capacity I was before. So I joined them and, knowing that I would never be able to truly claim my former existence." A glowing white orb appeared above the other Arceus, splitting into several coloured ones that flew off in different directions. "I knew that bad things could happen though, and I would be giving up my omnipotence, so I wouldn't be as aware of it. I knew that I could become the problem."

The other Arceus suddenly moved, and Mew appeared, flying around it excitedly. "That didn't matter, for I finally belonged."

Lightning suddenly flashed, and Ash looked up to see Dialga and Palkia fighting above them. A loud crash from below drew the boy's attention down, only to see Groudon and Kyogre clashing. "Then began the warring. Others thought that because I gave up my omnipotence that they could be the one to rule all. I settled those matters quickly, but realized that even I had acted in anger at those times."

Flashes of light, exploding mountains and sizzling seas appeared before them.

"That is when I decided that this world could not be for us alone. Such as I served them for so long to make their lives better, they should serve others. Mew was the one to step forward and make this new change, not I. Using but only the powers of her own mind and a small bit of her own existence, she created another Mew. This young one, who would become the guardian of the Tree of Beginning, helped her create more. These different Mew adapted on their own over time, changing to the surroundings. The pokemon you know today did not always exist. Only we legendaries are the same. All others, including humans, were created over time."

Strange pokemon dove through the waters, climbed up through the trees and soared through the skies. Ash watched them in awe before frowning slightly. "This is...amazing." That was really an understatement, but he wasn't quite sure what else he was supposed to say. "I don't understand what this has to do with me though. Well, I do, it has to do with everyone, but... you know what I mean."

Arceus chuckled. "I do know. Life is a beautiful thing, yet, time and time again we fought over the world, even myself. Sometimes, the world fought back against us. Not only did the world need protecting from us, but we needed protecting from each other. So I set forth a destiny, one in which a creature would be chosen to be able to make a difference, to make the choices that we could not. This destiny found its way into humans, as you evolved over time from the same ancestors that psychic and fighting-types did."

"The Chosen One." Ash's shoulders slumped. "I was hoping Giratina was right but... I guess it was Shaymin and Darkrai that were. That's what I have to do. Help you guys no matter what. I don't have a choice in the matter."

"No." Arceus spoke so firmly, sounding almost insulted, that it startled him. "No. Communication and languages do not always stand the test of time. There is no true term in your language, or any language in existence today that truly describes the destiny I set forth. The simplest way is that you, and others before you, were given the ability to choose where our fates lie. Not in a sense where you can create things like I did, but in a sense where your choices make all the difference in the world."

There was a flash, and suddenly they were hovering over Michina Town. Ash inhaled sharply when he watched a younger Damos walk forward, holding out a hand to a younger Marcus. "Damos was just like you. His choices, though not purposely hurtful, would have led to my death, for not trusting his instincts and choosing to let in the darkness without even meaning to. Your choices led to my survival." The raven-haired boy grimaced as he watched himself kneeling on the stairs, arms shaking. He looked away as the other version of him lowered his arm and the ground beneath Damos and Marcus broke apart. "Choices are not easy, but they are your own."

"Why me though? I'm not like Damos. I don't think..." Ash shook his head and looked down at his bruised, shaking hands. "I don't think I can make choices like that again. Why did you choose me?"

"I did not," Arceus said simply as he flew up towards the blue sky. "It is true, the destiny touched you even before you were born, but it does not matter. The closest I can describe for what you are is not a Chosen One, but rather the One Who Chooses. They can choose to act in a positive light, a negative light, stay neutral, or stay ignorant. The choices are not easy, and they are rarely ever kind. Your own fate is no different. If he had rejected it, there would have been nothing I could have done. Others have in the past. The one who chose you, was you."

Ash narrowed his eyes slightly and then shook his head. "I don't understand. So, this destiny was mine, it just happened to hit me, but what makes me the Chosen One..." He trailed off, not really sure where he was going with the thought.

"It's the choices you make and the life you lead. It's the friends who believe in you. Your life is yours to live, Ash Ketchum. For what makes you the Chosen One, is you." Arceus nodded his head, and Ash's eyes began to feel heavy.

"What happening?"

"To get from my realm to yours is too much for your consciousness, so for now, you must sleep." His head nodded a few times, and Ash leaned against Arceus' strange fur. As he slowly fell back asleep, he realized that this is what it must have been like to sleep on clouds if that was at all possible.

...

"Pull!" Gary's voice echoed through the air as the pokemon heaved the pillar upward. Sheena and Brock were quick to move, grabbing Kevin's arms to drag him out from underneath it, seconds before it cracked in half and fell on where he had been.

Misty wasn't paying any attention to that. Instead, she was sitting at the edge of the ruined temple, her legs dangling precariously over the edge. Pikachu sat beside her, ears twitching as he looked up to the orange sky as the sun started to set.

"Misty?" Dawn walked over to the other girl, squatting down beside her. "I'm sure he's fine. None of them seem worried." She nodded towards Giratina, Palkia and Dialga, all of whom were standing together, also staring at the sky. They were what gave them the idea to wait and watch, rather than panic, in the first place.

"They're also gods," the redhead grumbled a bit, rubbing her arms to generate more warmth.

The younger girl was about to speak again when Pikachu suddenly sat up straight. Both girls got up quickly, staring towards the sky with eager eyes as the three legendary pokemon that were with them suddenly started moving.

Another bright flash blinded them briefly, and by the time they could see, Arceus had already appeared in front of them, a certain trainer pushing himself into a sitting position on his back. Ash said something to Arceus that they couldn't hear, and then jumped off his back when they were close enough to the ground, stumbling slightly but still managing to stay up.

"Pikapi!" Pikachu launched himself up into his trainers arms, nuzzling his face into the boy's jacket.

"Hey," Ash laughed towards the girls, squeezing the pokemon tightly.

Misty cleared her throat, and mustered up the single most unimpressed look that she possibly could. "That's it? You vanish on us, and when you show up again, all you can say is 'hey'?"

"Not to mention you showed up riding around another legendary pokemon," Dawn added, folding her arms across her chest.

Ash smiled sheepishly at the two girls, a smile that didn't exactly meet his eyes. Still, he hugged Dawn, and then Misty, clinging to her tightly while Pikachu balanced on his shoulder.

"Where did you go?" Brock asked, face twisting with both worry and relief. Gary came up to them as well, staring at Ash curiously.

"Arceus wanted to tell me a few things," Ash looked down. "Some things about me that I've been wondering."

Though Brock, Dawn and Misty instantly understood what he meant, Gary was still going to vocalize the question. He barely got the chance to open his mouth when the ground beneath them started to glow.

They all jerked back in shock, watching a wave of light pass over the ground, recreating everything that had been destroyed. It even traveled up their legs, making all of the little cuts and bruises disappear. The buildings, the mountains, the trees and everything else rebuilt themselves before their very eyes. Many of the pokemon that had fled the area earlier began to return, all flocking towards where Arceus floated, watching the world below him.

"History cannot be changed," Arceus spoke suddenly, turning his head towards them. "Wounds can be healed though. I apologize for what I have done."

"No," Sheena shook her head, walking towards the edge of the temple. She fell to her knees before him. "No, we're the ones who need to apologize."

"For what your ancestors have done? A child cannot control the actions of their parents before they were born." Arceus turned to the three other legendary pokemon. "My children, I am sorry to you as well. You have all done wonderfully at keeping our world safe."

Soft coos that didn't seem to fit such large creatures echoed through the air as Dialga, Palkia and Giratina flew into the air, surrounding Arceus without an ounce of distrust in their bodies.

Sheena rose to her feet again, clasping a hand over her heart. Kevin walked up to her side, putting a hand on her shoulder. She sighed as she watched the grass begin to turn yellow, the leaves falling away from the trees. "We will pay for our sins either way."

"No, young one." Arceus shook his head. "Your home is not doomed. This is simply what is meant to happen in winter. It will flourish again, should you all treat the land properly. Work hard, and it will not fall into decay again. The Jewel of Life was meant to start you on a path this way, not to keep it as is."

"You mean, Marcus was worried about giving you back the Jewel of Life, but there was no need to worry?" Ash asked, frowning at the thought.

"That depends on everyone who lives here and uses the land. I will not be the one ensuring the survival of everything here anymore, but I know you will flourish."

"Life finds a way," the raven-haired boy muttered, earning a curious look from his girlfriend. He just smiled at her and shook his head.

"That, it does," Arceus agreed, having heard him despite how quietly he spoke. "And now I remember, that I too am a part of it."

Giratina moved first, flying down towards the water and creating a portal, flying through just before it froze over. Palkia and Dialga flew in opposite directions, vanishing into rips of pink and blue in the sky. Arceus nodded towards them all before turning and flying away from them. "There is so much to heal, but we will all do it together."

Gary stepped up beside Dawn, Brock beside Misty, and Ash between the two girls as they stared at the sky, a cool breeze gently blowing their hair and genuine smiles on their faces. Sheena and Kevin stood close to them, and the seven of them watched as Arceus vanished again.

Sheena took a deep breath, her shoulders slumping a bit as she turned to look at them. "I don't understand what happened, but thank you."

"I don't think we'd be able to really explain everything," Brock shook his head with a sigh.

"We were with Damos, in the past," Dawn spoke reluctantly.

As she launched into the story of what really happened, Ash dropped his hand to his side, frowning a bit when it made contact with something in his once empty pocket. Reaching inside, he flinched when he pulled out two golden cuffs. They were slightly cracked, but he could still feel the negative energy flowing through them. He was about to turn and throw them off the edge of the temple, but stopped himself. Someone could still easily find them.

"Kevin," he said, speaking quietly while everyone else was talking to Sheena. When the blond man looked at him, Ash held the cuffs out to him. "Damos made this. They're... horrible. They block a person's Aura, but they were still his. I think you should keep them here. Hide them." Ash shook his head. "Damos didn't deserve what happened to him."

Kevin took the cuffs, staring at them before closing his hand around them and nodding his head. "We'll keep them safe. If you don't mind me asking, what did happen to Damos. Your friend said he wasn't what we thought."

Ash looked off at where Arceus had vanished, "He died trying to save him."

"Hmm. Well, at least we know he was a hero, and that everything is right again."

"Yeah." Ash's eyes turned to the ground. "It is."

...

Dawn pushed the meat that was in her hearty helping of stew around, scooping up a bit of it half-heartedly. Her eyes flickered up from the bowl, looking at Brock, to Gary, then Misty, and finally Ash. Everyone was acting in similar ways, staring at their food or eating it slowly. The pokemon had all gone with Nurse Joy, needing a lot of rest and recuperation.

It didn't feel like they had just saved the world.

She dropped her spoon with a loud clatter, drawing everyone's attention towards her. The young girl shook her head and looked towards them. "I can't eat. I just keep thinking about it. What Marcus did to Arcus, and those poor pokemon."

"Pokemon?" Ash repeated, staring at her blankly. He hadn't touched his food at all.

"The Silver Water, remember? It was a mix of normal metals including mercury, but he..." Gary shook his head. "He used steel-type pokemon too. Brock and I saw it." The brunet suddenly growled and slammed his fist into the table, shaking all of their bowls. "I'm glad he's dead. He deserved it and more."

Ash flinched and stared down at his stew again. In everything that had happened, he completely forgot about his brief discovery of what the Silver Water was made of.

"We met someone like that before, someone here," Misty spoke up, her voice uncommonly quiet. "The G-Men arrested him."

"That's it?" Gary growled angrily.

Dawn nodded her head in firm agreement, and was about to vocalize it as well.

"No." The sharp word from Ash drew everyone's attention. He was staring down at his bowl, not bothering to even look up at them. "No one deserves to die."

"So what, they're supposed to sit behind bars for a few years then get out on good behaviour?" The other boy from Pallet scowled at him.

"I never said that. They should be punished, but don't say anyone deserves to die."

"Really? What then? What do you suggest is a good enough punishment for murdering dozens of—?"

"I don't know!" Ash burst out, standing up and spilling his stew in the process. He glared at Gary fiercely. "I don't know what the right thing is! I just know that no one should die!" He turned around and stormed away, up the stairs towards their rooms.

"Oh Mew," Gary ran a hand through his hair, shoulders slumping. "I just hit a sore spot, didn't I?"

"Looks like it," Brock said with a nod of his head, frowning.

"Should we go apologize?" Dawn suggested guilty.

"I'll go," Misty stood up, carefully pushing in her chair. She was quick to follow the same route Ash had taken earlier.

Dawn was about to get up, but Brock gently grabbed her arm and shook his head. "Leave them be. Whatever happened, he's much more likely to tell her alone."

She sat down, but the blue-haired girl didn't like it at all. Looking back down at her stew, she grimaced at the chunks and then pushed the bowl away from her.

...

"Ash?" Misty peaked inside the room he shared with Brock. It was dark, and it took a moment for her eyes to adjust, but she finally spotted him laying on his bed, facing the wall. Closing the door behind her, she walked slowly with a hand out in front of her, stopping when she came into contact with a physical barrier.

She sighed and sat down, her back pressed against the shield. "You don't have to hide. You can talk about whatever you want. I'll listen. You don't have to be alone." For a moment, everything was quiet, and then she heard the squeak of the bed as Ash moved. She stumbled back a bit as the barrier vanished, but caught herself, looking up as Ash sat on the side of the bed. The first thing that caught her attention was the fact that his eyes were red and watery, but she chose not to comment on it. Instead, she got up, sitting beside him so that their arms were pressed against each other and waited.

"I killed them," Ash finally said. "Marcus and Damos. Both of them."

"What?" Whatever she had been expecting, it wasn't that.

"I tried to keep the metal off of Arceus and I tried to keep where they were fighting in one piece but I couldn't and..." He choked on his words. "I couldn't... I wasn't strong enough. I chose Arceus. The ledge broke and..."

"Oh Ash," she reached out, wrapping her arms around him and tugging him close, letting him rest his head on her shoulder. "It wasn't your fault. Arceus... saving him was the right thing."

"If it was Brock or Dawn or Gary or Pikachu or Ria, I don't...I don't know what I would have done." He suddenly inhaled sharply and looked up at her. "I couldn't if it was you. I couldn't pick him, even if it was the right thing. I don't... I don't know what type of person that makes me."

Misty breathed in and out, retaining that information with a bit of shock. She hugged him tightly, resting her cheek on the top of his head as he wrapped his arms around her waist, his shoulders shaking. "You won't have to. I promise." She could have went on about how he was a good person, because she knew Ash Ketchum and while he might have been a little jerk at times, he was nearly as good as a person could get. Instead of talking, them just sat in their silent embrace.

Some wounds couldn't be healed with band-aids, but sometimes the best way to start was just by being there.

...

Brock peered inside of his room, a small smile spreading across his face when he saw Ash and Misty sleeping haphazardly side by side. They were both peaceful though, and that was what mattered. Looking back, he glanced from one side of him to the next, he watched Gary and Dawn both staring at him curiously, leaning against their own doors.

"They're okay for now. Asleep."

Dawn nodded her head and shifted a bit uncomfortably. "I... is it selfish that I kind of want to wake her up?"

It took Brock a moment to realize just why Dawn would want to do that. He pressed his lips together, brow furrowing slightly before he looked at Gary. "Do you have two beds in your room?"

"Yeah, why?"

"Because no one should be alone after this. Dawn can stay in here." It wasn't just for Dawn though. He would have just went into the room that the girls shared the night before, but a part of him didn't want to be alone either. It made him feel slightly pathetic in a way.

Gary looked a bit surprised by the request before a very small smile appeared on his face and he nodded. "Yeah. You can stay in the spare bed. Like you said, no one should be alone." Though the teenager didn't admit anything, it was enough for Brock to know that he felt the same way. They were all disturbed about what happened, all a bit frightened.

As Dawn went into her room to get her things, Brock walked into his to grab his bag. He stared at his two friends, frowning a bit when he realized that they had both been crying at some point of time. Passing Dawn on the way out, he put a hand on her shoulder and said, "If you wake up and don't want to bother them, you can always come and wake me up, alright?"

"Thanks," she smiled at him gratefully before dropping her bag onto the floor and climbing into the bed. Brock just smiled and closed the door behind him, walking to the other room.

Gary was busy writing something down in a book while Brock got himself situated in the other bed. The teenage frowned and hummed slightly before looking at him. "How do you do it?"

"Do what?"

"Live through all of this? I know it's not the first time." His viridian eyes were almost pleading for an answer that the young man honestly wasn't sure of.

Shrugging a bit, Brock pulled the blankets up over him and said, "You can't on your own. That's why we push on together."

...

A single day of recuperation really wasn't enough, considering all of them slept through half of it. Yet, here they were, backpacks ready and standing in front of a transit that would go to the next city, the opposite direction of where most of them were heading.

Gary had decided the day before that he would stick with Ash, Brock and Dawn until they reached the next town, since it was close to where he was meeting up with Professor Rowan again. For now though, he just stood awkwardly, not really sure what to do with himself.

"Call us as soon as you get home," Dawn demanded, hugging Misty tightly and looking close to tears.

Misty laughed and returned the embrace. "You'll be in the middle of the woods. Lost, if you give Ash the map." The boy in question rolled his eyes at her.

"Right, right," the blue-haired girl jumped a bit on the spot. "We'll call you when we get to the next Pokemon Center. Promise!"

"Yeah, you take care of yourself," Brock added, clasping a hand on the redhead's shoulder. "And I guess we'll see you at the Sinnoh League Conference. It'll come faster than you think."

"Especially with how busy the gym is going to be," Misty groaned and nodded her head. She suddenly looked towards Gary, and said, "I'm going to visit Delia after I check up on the gym. I'll tell your grandfather that you say hi, and that you're playing nice with others."

Gary snorted with amusement and shook his head. "I'm not sure he'd believe you, but I'll hold you to that." He then watched as Misty turned to Ash, a bit curious when she poked his chest roughly.

"You. You stop jumping off of cliffs and onto the backs of legendary pokemon and getting into fights with pokemon poachers and using yourself as a target for training! There's more I could add to that, but I'm not missing this bus again."

"I promise nothing," Ash replied. Still, he grinned a bit, reaching out and tugging the girl towards him in a tight hug that she returned, despite the fact that she was grumbling under her breath. The brown-eyed boy muttered something quietly, and Misty laughed. She backed up a bit, grinned at Pikachu, who jumped from Ash's shoulder to her own and nuzzled her cheek. Ria, who had been standing silently beside her trainer, jumped up into her arms.

"You take care of this idiot," she said playfully to the two pokemon, giving them one last pat and hug before setting them down. They stood side by side, and at the same time, gave the same mocking salute.

"Traitors," Ash mumbled, but he still held onto the girl's hand until she had to let go to climb onto the bus.

They all watched as Misty moved to the back of the bus and stared waving to them. Dawn threw her hand into the air enthusiastically, and soon all of them, including Gary, followed suit as the vehicle pulled away from the curb.

Gary moved up beside Ash, who was the last to stop waving as the transit drove out of sight. When the other boy finally dropped his hand, the brunet asked, "So, what now?" Dawn and Brock both looked over at them curiously.

Ash's brow furrowed slightly before he looked at Pikachu as the pokemon climbed up onto his shoulder, smiling brightly. Ria jumped up onto the other one and pumped her fist excitedly. The boy looked towards the ground and a small smile appeared on his face. Looking up, Ash looked at him and said, "Guess that's what we gotta figure out, right? After all," he looked up towards the sky, that small smile still on his face, "we control our own destinies."

Gary stared at him for a moment and then nodded his head. Dawn looked up towards Brock with a smile on her face, and the young man chuckled a bit. Ash scratched Pikachu behind the ear and grinned at Ria, before he started walking ahead, everyone else following him, on towards the next adventure.

-The End-

Written by: Skylight Sparkle

Edited by: CLAVUS