//------------------------------// // Chapter 43 // Story: Old Scars, New Chances // by Arcticbrony //------------------------------// The Everfree Forest was… surprisingly calm from what they had expected. All the ponies they had talked to before they left had told them tales about how unnatural that forest was, and stories about the horrors that it contained. But when they got there, it really only seemed like a regular forest. Perhaps the vegetation was a little thicker than normal, but other than that, nothing out of the ordinary. “According to Mary, it seemed like we would die within minutes of entering this place,” Vernus commented as they followed the path further into the forest. Zoey had talked to Mary about their idea to visit Arceus in hope of her getting healed the day before. She had been so ecstatic about the idea, about the fact that there was actually hope, hope that she could be healed, that it was a wonder she had managed to wait until the day after before they set off. She had woken everyone up incredibly early in the morning to get them ready for the trip though. “Perhaps Arceus and the other legendaries have calmed the place down?” Zoey suggested. If it had been nearly half as bad as Mary had said it was… well, she would just rather not think about it. “Since they set up their temple here I mean, it makes sense, right?” “Yeah, if the forest was dangerous then they would not get any visitors, like us!” Chii added with her upbeat voice. They had not planned to bring Chii along, but when she just sort of appeared along with them on the train, they had no choice but to bring her with them at that point. “That’s right, and Arceus did welcome visitors after all.” Vernus agreed with her. Chii's chipper attitude had infected most of the group, keeping their spirits high during the trip. Most of them. Ethan, on the other hand, was not too happy about where he was heading. He did not have any plans on joining Zoey and Vernus in the first place, but when they had asked him, almost begged him, to come along to help and support them… Well, how could he say “no” to something like that? Meeting the legendaries, the creators of everything he had known: of humans, Pokémon, and the planet they used called home… It was a chance that a lot of people would have taken in a heartbeat and rejoiced about such an opportunity. But Ethan was not most people, and the thought of meeting beings that were gods in the most sense of the word did not sit right with him. He was not scared of them, but he also had nothing he wanted to ask, nothing he wanted to discuss. He just wanted to live his little life the way that he wanted; he never truly cared about the bigger picture, like they and so many else did. No, he was content with having his friends and family. The legendaries, Arceus–they acted on others behalf, did what they decided to be right, and brought punishment on others. But when you only look at the big picture, it's easy to lose sight of the individual. And he could not help but think about, despite how many lives that had been improved by his decision, how many innocent that had been hurt by it at the same time. But if his friends, members of his family, needed to go see them, then he would support them in any way he could. Even if that meant joining them on the trip. “You know, you did not have to come if you really did not want to.” Zoey commented as she noticed the sullen look Ethan was sporting. He had been trying to hide it, but his mind had wandered too much for him to keep the facade up. “You know I could not do that, not when you two lovebirds asked me like that.” He just smiled back. This was an important moment for Zoey and Vernus, and he hoped with all that he had that they would help her. He saw no reason for them not to. In a way, it was a good thing that his disdain about their destination was so obvious, because the more Zoey had on her mind, the less time she would have to be nervous. “If you say so.” Zoey just sighed as she caught back up with Vernus who was leading their little group of four. “Is he still brooding?” The Leafeon commented, getting a nod from Zoey. “Yeah, I figured… Hey Chii, why don't you head over to Ethan and see if you can't cheer him up a little.” “Okay… why is Ethan feeling sad though?” Chii stopped just as she was about to jump off to ask her question. “We are going to go get Zoey help, should he not be happy?” “I’m sure that he is happy, sweetie.” Zoey reassured her. “It's just… complicated.” “It's always complicated,” Chii sighed out. Zoey wanted to give her a better answer, she just did not know how to explain it to her, mostly because she was not entirely sure herself. “No matter, I will make him happy again!” Chii declared before running over to Ethan, who was lagging a little behind the rest of them. “So… how are you feeling?” Vernus asked once Chii had tackled Ethan in the chest, effectively knocking him down. Her tactics for cheering people up were… unorthodox. “Is that why you send her away?” Zoey guessed, getting a nod from her lovely Leafeon. “Yeah, I figured… I don't know though.” She could finally talk now that Ethan and Chii were out of hearing range. She hated that they were now hiding so much from them, but she could not tell them what she and Vernus had done, she simply couldn't. “Hey, don't be like that.” Vernus gently nuzzled her. “Everything will be alright, just you wait and see. We will meet Arceus, he will heal you, and then we will start our own little family, just like you wanted.” Despite his comforting words, every step that they now took sent a small shiver down her spine. “But what if…” There were too many variables. They were asking a god for assistance. Zoey liked to think that they had managed to help a lot of lives, but she knew she had done her fair share of misdeeds too. What if he knew about them, what if he decided to just smite them at the spot when they arrived? “What if he knows what we have done?” Zoey almost started hyperventilating, when Vernus shocked her out of it, with a small kiss on her nose. “No, ‘what ifs’.” Vernus told her. “We decided on this, and you deserve to have your own family, to have that chance. You know that you do.” She had a hard time believing in his words, but the fact that he believed in her, it made it easier. “True, we are no saints, but no one in this world is truly innocent. We have done our fair share of mistakes, but that's not important right now.” His words rang true, and Zoey could feel her heart begin to calm down once again, her breathing returned to normal and the stiffness she had felt in her shoulders melted away. “You remember what we talked about yesterday?” He asked, getting a nod from Zoey. “Yeah.” It had been on her mind the whole time. “He may know everything, but he may also know nothing. All we have done, we have done for the good of our family… and if it comes to that, I got your back, no matter what.” “You sound like you would fight Arceus, if it came to that.” She could not help it, that thought brought a laugh to her lips. “You adorable idiot, you.” She swept him off his feet and held him against her chest. “I love you.” She sighed out. “Love you, too.” Vernus replied, while his legs helplessly fumbled, just a few inches above the ground. Zoey was bigger than him and could easily carry him around if she so chose. “But seriously, if you even try to fight Arceus, I will kill you.” She said, while still smiling happily. “I appreciate the thought, but let's not let it go that far.” “Yeah, that sounds like a plan… hey can you let me down? This feels weird.” He had nothing against Zoey carrying him when they were alone, but with Ethan and Chii as spectators, it made him feel really embarrassed. “Oh, sorry.” She apologized as she let him down. She knew how he wanted her to keep that for when they were in private, but he was just so huggable, she had to hold herself back most of the time. “I see that you two are enjoying yourself.” Zoey smiled and Vernus's blush deepened as Ethan's voice cut in. Looking back the two of them noticed that he and Chii had caught up once again. “Yeah, I guess we are.” Zoey giggled. And it seemed like Chii had done her job too, as Ethan seemed in a much better mood than before. “I'm still nervous… but I think that it will turn out okay in the end.” “Of course it will!” Chii cheered her on. “Arceus will fix everything… hey, is that the temple there?” She raised her paw to point in front of them, where the beginning of a gigantic construct could be seen. It was truly a sight to behold. There, in the middle of an otherwise dense forest, a temple like no other had been raised. The group stopped for a moment when it fully came into sight. Ethan was stunned by the building itself, and Chii, in her innocence, felt it the same. But for Zoey and Vernus, it was different. Not only was it the place where Zoey could be healed, where she could hopefully put that constant reminder of her past behind her, it was also where their gods lived. The beings that had created Pokémon, their old Earth, and pretty much everything else they had known… It was overwhelming as they tried to take it all in. “What are those?” As usual, Chii was the first one to recover and break the others out of their daze. It was easy to spot what she was pointing out though, standing before the entrance, was some figures that all of them recognized from legends by their iconic forms. Regice, Regirock and Registeel. “I guess this is it then.” Zoey swallowed as she took the lead, walking up to the golems. The group came to a halt a little while before the gatekeepers when they started uttering strange, beeping sounds between each other; it almost sounded like a computer, in a strange way. Then, before long had passed, Registeel stepped forward. “State your intent here.” It uttered in its robotic voice. The group shared a quick look between each other before Zoey stepped forward. “Um… hello?” She started, a little unsure, but her confidence quickly returned as she felt Vernus who took her side. “We are here to see Arceus, I… we wanted to ask him if he could heal me. I've tried everything else.” She was not sure what else to say, and hoped that the Regi was satisfied with that. Her uncertainty began to grow though as it stayed silent, and she was about to say something when it simply stepped aside. “Enter.” “Oh, thank you, thank you.” Zoey gushed and had to hold herself back from simply running past them and into the temple. “See, I told you there was nothing to worry about.” Vernus reassured her. “Now, let's go in.” They entered into a hall that almost seemed too big to be contained by the temple they had seen from the outside. “Greetings children,” a deep voice rumbled from ahead of them. “Please, come in.” The group paused as the voice echoed through the hall. “W-was that?” Vernus, just like the rest of the group seemed a little unsure. “I think it was,” Ethan answered. “Not getting cold feed now, are you?” “Cold feet or not, we can't turn back now.” Zoey stated as they slowly continued into the temple. The architecture was out of this world, and Ethan in particular, wished he had time to just stay there and admire it, at least for a little while. But they continued in the direction they had heard the voice coming from and before they knew it, there were standing face to face with the god himself. “Arceus!” Chii exclaimed as she jumped out of Zoey's arms and ran over to the god. “See, I told you he would help us!” She stated proudly, not faced at all by his presence. “You will help us, won't you?” “That depends largely on what you’ve come to ask of me,” Arceus answered. “Oh, right, well you see-” Chii started but was silenced as Zoey wrapped her arms around the little Skitty once more. “S-sorry about her, Lord Arceus, she can be a little excited at times.” Zoey excused Chii. “As for what we came to ask… I wanted to ask if you could heal me.” Zoey asked, gripping the sweater she always wore to cover the scars underneath, revealing some of it. “I… I want to start my own family, but am unable with how my body currently is… if it's not too much trouble that is” she quickly added at the end. Arceus stared at her for a moment, then nodded. “I have someone that can help... Mew, sweetie, can you come out here?” A few moments later, a pink blur flew into the room. “Hi daddy!” She said cheerfully. Arceus smiled. “Everyone, this is my daughter Mew.” “Hi!” Mew greeted happily. “H-hello, it’s nice to meet you.” Zoey still seemed a little nervous, though Vernus was still his usual self. “Hey there Mew, I'm Vernus” he greeted her with a simple nod. “Greetings.” Ethan added in before Chii broke loose from Zoey's grip once again. “Hi!” She beamed up at the new legendary. “I'm Chii, this is Zoey, Vernus and Ethan, they are just a little nervous!” She added in her chipper voice. “Nervous about little, old me?” Mew laughed. “That’s silly!” “No, I don’t think so. You look really fun and friendly.” Chii smiled. “I think it's your father instead… no offense.” She added with a quick wave to Arceus. “None taken,” Arceus grumbled. “Sorry, it’s just that none of us have ever seen a legendary before.” Ethan spoke. “But it is nice to meet you, Mew. Arceus said that maybe you could help heal Zoey here?” He asked, gesturing to the Zangoose in question. Mew flew over to Zoey, floating around the Zangoose and tracing her tail around her body. “Hmmm... yep! I can fix her!” “R-really?” Zoey stammered. “Oh thank you, thank you, thank you.” She almost felt like dancing in joy. Chii on the other hand, opted for another aproach and nearly flew up to Mew and latched onto her in a hug. “Yay! Now Zoey can have a family too!” Mew giggled and placed a hand on Zoey’s midsection, when she pulled her hand back, it was followed by a small pink bubble with thin lines running through it. “Hmm,” Mew reached into the bubble and pulled out a few damaged threads, tossing them away, she pulled a few more out of thin air and replaced them, With a nod, she pushed the bubble back into Zoey and patted her head. “There ya go!” Zoey almost immediately pulled up her sweater, revealing the scarred skin underneath and put one of her paws on her stomach. She could feel the change, it was subtle, but she was sure of it. Tears started welling up in her eyes. “T-thank you, so much,” she cried lightly. “You’re welcome!” Mew said happily. “If you want I can fix the scars too?” “I… you can do that?” Zoey looked down at herself before looking over to Vernus who just smiled gently at her. He said that he loved her, what she looked like did not matter, her scars did not matter to him… but they mattered to her. “I-if it's not too much to ask, I would rather forget about this part of my past.” She was tired of being reminded about that horrible part of her life every time she looked in the mirror. Mew nodded and charged up a Heal Pulse. “This might tickle a bit,” Mew informed her, rubbing her hands over Zoey’s scars and making new flesh and hair grow over the scar tissue. Zoey ran her paws over the newly grown fur, it had been so long she had almost forgotten what she used to look like, what it felt like. She honestly felt like a completely new Pokémon. “I can’t thank you enough for this.” Zoey said, going into a low bow. Vernus took her side and wrapped his tail around her. “I think she is just a little overwhelmed, but than again, so am I. Thank you, it means the world to us.” The Leafeon thanked Mew while trying to get Zoey to stand back up again. “Happy to help!” Mew said with a smile. Vernus did get Zoey to stand back up, but she was crying tears of joy so heavily she could not get out another word. “I think she needs some air,” Vernus smiled at Mew and Arceus. “I know it’s not much… but if we can ever do anything to repay you, you need only ask.” And with that, he led the sobbing Zangoose towards the exit, leaving Chii and Ethan alone with the legendaries. “Soon we will see small Eevees or Zangooses running around, it will be great!” Chii exclaimed with a grin so wide, it almost reached her ears. “Hey Ethan,” she said, looking up to the Lopunny. “Can I stay here and play with Mew?” She asked, catching poor Ethan completely off guard. “Umm… I…” He looked down at Chii before up at Mew and Arceus. “I’m sure they have a lot to do?” Ethan finally settled on, not quite sure what to answer. “But, if it’s okay with her, maybe you can come back and visit one day.” “Yay!” Mew cheered. Arceus sighed. “As if Pinkie Pie wasn’t enough.” He said under his breath. “I’d love to have you come over!” Mew said, hugging Chii. “Yay, it will be the best time ever!” Chii cheered alongside Mew. While Ethan sympathized with Arceus and could only shake his head. “I have to go now though… I think Zoey needs some company, it was nice meeting you, and you too, Arceus! And don’t worry, you’re not scary, people just need to get to know you.” She added at the last moment before racing out after Zoey and Vernus, only stopping at the entrance to wave back to Mew. “I have to say,” Ethan started. “I was honestly not too sure about what to think about you before I came here. And my view may be a little clouded since I’m a former human… but I think Chii is right, and after what both of you did for my family.” He let out a small sigh before smiling up at the god. “I think you really do mean well, despite what some people may think.” Arceus smiled. “Thank you, I know what many people think of me and what I’ve done, but I don’t regret it. I only hope that with time, more people can at least accept what I’ve done.” Ethan nodded. “I’m sure they will. But, then again. If you did the right thing, does it really matter what they think?” He said, a small grin lining his features. Arceus chuckled. “I suppose not.” “Thank you for everything, Lord Arceus, and you too, Miss Mew.” Ethan nodded to the both of them and was about to leave when a thought entered his head. “You have already done so much… but if it's alright, may I ask one small thing?” “Of course,” Arceus answered. “A friend of ours went missing a while ago. Jenny, she was taken by a poacher group as we tried to stop them… we think she has escaped, but she has not showed up yet, we have no idea where she is. Could you possible find out where she is?” Ethan asked. It had only been his own hubris and over thinking that had prevented him of considering the possibility of asking the legendaries for help considering Jenny before. But after what they did for his family, he no longer had any qualms about it. Arceus pulled his Mind Plate from his Pocket Dimension and closed his eyes. Once he located her, he opened them. “Ordinarily I’d Teleport her here, but she seems to be outside of your home. So I’d rather send you back there unless you had plans in Ponyville.” “W-what? She is back home? No, no we had no plans, and she may need help. Please send us back immediatly.” Arceus nodded and grabbed each of them with his power, including the ones outside. “Watch your step,” Arceus advised before twisting space and sending them all home. Confusion reigned supreme as the four of them appeared back in Neighagra Falls, in front of their home. Zoey and Vernus almost tripped as they landed, while Chii just straight up accepted her fate and gracefully fell over. “I feel dizzy.” A small complaint came from Chii. She had not taken the teleport well. “W-what happened!?” Vernus shouted out. Of course they were afraid and confused, they had no idea what had happened, only Ethan did, and he had other things to worry about. “Move!” Ethan shouted as he flew past the Leafeon. Because of the confusion, they had not noticed it before, but spots of blood littered the ground around them, fresh blood. It trailed out from the forest, and led up to their home and a figure that… “Jennie!” Ethan shouted out as he threw himself down next to Jenny who had collapsed just a few steps away from their door. Had Arceus not told him, Ethan may not have recognized her in her current state. Ethan put his paw on her throat and checked her breathing, that and her puls were stable, thankfully, she was just unconscious. Most of her fur was missing, and the few spots of it that remained did not look well. She had a number of bruises and scratches adoring her body, some of them looked new, possibly from running through the thick forest without her coat to protect her. While others were old and horribly discolored. “J-Jenny?” Chii's voice cut in with a gasp. But what was maybe the most shocking was her tails. Where there once had been six beautifully colored tails, there were now just two. “Vernus, run in and get everything ready!” Ethan commanded, and Vernus did not hesitate, sprinting past them and slamming the door open without stopping. “Don't worry, Jenny.” Ethan gently lifted the injured Vulpix up in his arms, small sounds of pain and discomfort coming from her mouth. “You made it… you are home again.”