Hark was still having trouble containing his laughter at her comment, but he still managed to calm down with a smile and a soft “hey” to Zeke.
“If it reassures you, I’ve been to be a lot worse off. About a year ago, I was barely keeping myself alive and abusing of the fact that I couldn’t die through ordinary means. It wasn’t exactly the nicest thing.”
It didn’t reassure the champion, instead she got a worried look on her face, making her look incredibly similar to her alternate before she brushed her bangs out of her face.
“Uh, not really. You’re okay now though, right?”
Triton was looking up at Hark, mirroring Rebecca’s worried look. Zeke, on the other hand, was curious. The last immortals he heard of were Arceus, Mew and the other gods.
… Moisturizer? Hark was doing no better than Zeke, not knowing and not caring what a Dratini was at the moment.
Of all the things to ask, she had to go with moisturizer?!
“I’m afraid I don’t use a moisturizer other than for my hands, and, when I do, It’s a cream, oil mix that I make myself unless I find a better one in stores. The rest is just genetics. I’m… not exactly the type you’d casually meet down the street, if I may. My cells are in a constant regeneration cycle, keeping me young and beautiful,” he chuckled.
“So my secret is not in my moisturizer, it’s in my DNA.”
Rebecca looked disappointed, softly sighing and closing her eyes.
“Nuts, so much for that idea.”
“Ah, shut it, Zeke. It’s not that funny.”
The Zekrom shorted again before gently nudging her cheek, giving the impression that he was grinning.
If the first comment didn’t get much of a reaction, the second one had him stopping mid-scratch, and he looked at Rebecca before bursting into incomprehensible laughter.
And it took a while to die down so he could explain himself.
“Miss, I’ve lived five thousand years and I’ve seen nothing of the sort. Some are more durable, some are so fragile, you wonder why they don’t keel over the moment they stand. You’re just more delicate, which is not a bad thing.”
The champion mimicked Hark’s stop, her eyes wide and surprised.
“…Tell me what kind of moisturizer you use?”
That caused Zeke to crack up and let out growling laughter, Rebecca giving him a look and simply said,
“Yeah yeah, laugh it up, y’overgrown Dratini.”
Her face was pink in embarrassment while Zeke snorted in amusement.
Somehow, it was both strange and familiar as the Vaporeon settled on his lap, the Wurmple none too happy of the arrangement, and, with an indignant chirp, went to Hark’s shoulder and, with one last chitter, rolled himself up for another nap while he began to pet Triton.
… The young one needed a name, didn’t he? But what?
Eh, he’d wait a little longer. Certainly when he had Rebecca who was coming back from her impromptu nuzzle session.
“It’s time like these that make me wonder who’s the real master,” he chuckled as he scratched Triton behind the ear. “Us "more intelligent” beings or the ones who still obey their instincts. Liked the nuzzle session?“
Triton let out a soft trilling nose, almost a purr, as his tail flopped lazily in contentment. Rebecca softly snorted with a smile.
“I like to think that they are, honestly. We can protect ‘em all we like but when it comes down to it, it’s them who have the powers that protect us.”
“Yeah, I did. Zeke’s always careful with me. Though the first time he tried, he nearly squished me. I can’t really blame him though, the last time he had a trainer, the last time he was awakened even, it was just about a millennia ago, people were a lot more durable back then.”
Rebecca gently scratched under the Legendary’s chin, causing him to make a happy growling sound.
The look on Rebecca’s and Zeke’s face was one that had Hark chuckling, which turned into laughter when the young human was grabbed by the legendary. Those two.
And while he lowered his ears because she was indeed a little loud, he smiled. He smiled as the Emerald returned to him before two rhythmic pulses and leaving, making the Wurmple struggle in the air for a moment before landing in Hark’s hands, now chirping in indignation.
…Well.
He looked to Triton with a chuckle and said, “It’s times like these where I wonder if we’re all weird.”
Triton gave Hark a look that clearly said ‘You think?’ before trotting over and plopping against Hark’s lap, his finned tail flopping on the ground behind the other.
Rebecca put her headphones back on once Zeke got his fill of nuzzles, softly snorting.
“Affectionate, lazy bum.”
Zeke let out a similar snort, causing the champion to roll her eyes.
The first response she’d get was a nod, but that was until she got to the comparison. To the fact that it would be easier for her to have somewhat of a base to set it on.
How…?
He scrambled up to retrieve the pokedex and communicator along with his bag before sitting back down and making sure that the download was complete before comparing the pokemons to his own deities. It was going to be complicated but…
“…Ah! There we go.”
The first page that came up was a winged creature next to two pokemon, a four-legged one whose name was Dialga and another named Palkia.
“The winged creature would be Solaris, the sun god. He is our Guardian of Time and Space and can eat the very fabric of time and space. Not exactly kind, either, but that was because of a dream. Many… ideals in my world ended up being… wrong, to say the least.”
Under Solaris was a vapory creature comparable to Hark, but with a more ghostlike appearance and a huge, fire based creature. Next to them were Giratina and Heatran respectively.
"Mephiles and Iblis, halves of Solaris. Iblis represents the light of the sun, Mephiles its shadows. Both are equally dangerous, and get their strengths from destruction or cunning, respectively. Both are equally dangerous.”
Another three way combination, although this time, it included two on his side as well.
“Dark Gaia and Light Gaia, pretty much the equal to Kyogre and Groudon as they are the Guardians of the planet, but they also fight in the same manner that Kyogre and Groudon do. Dark Gaia splits the planet once it’s gathered enough energy, and Light Gaia puts it back to sleep.
"Now for Chaos…”
The pink pokemon with a long tail came to a slight surprise, but he only smiled when he saw the name.
“Now that is a most apt comparison. Chaos is the source of all life and death in my world, and the origin point for many, many things. Mew is definitely the one that goes well with that,” he chuckled before powering the communicator down and handing Rebecca her ‘Dex. “I’m not Mew, though. That was my predecessor. I’m the… second Mew. Nowhere near as powerful, but still second in line.
"… Was that easy to understand?”
Rebecca and Zeke listened carefully, both giving each other a look of awe before they nodded in tandem, Rebecca taking back her ‘Dex and putting it in her pocket.
“Yeah, I understand completely! Thank you for coming up with all that on the fly, I appreciate it so much.”
“Dear Arceus, now I’m interested in the gods of your world. This ‘Solaris’ one sounds rather mean but Chaos sounds kind. Well, as kind as a god called ‘Chaos’ can be, I mean. Zeke, don’t you dare-”
The champion let out a squeak when the Zekrom gently tugged off her headphones, revealing the scarring once more. Rebecca grumbled before gently swatting at Zeke’s leg to make him let go. They dropped onto her lap just as the Dragon-Electric type put his head against Rebecca’s and nuzzled a bit. Even if she couldn’t hear herself saying it, she softly sighed and spoke, hoping she wasn’t being loud.
“Dammit, Zeke. If you wanted a hug, you should’ve just said so.”
If there was one thing he appreciated when it came to Rebecca alternates, it was that they were honest. Honest in their language and honest in their way of being. They never found a reason to lie to themselves, or hide from themselves.
And for someone who found it necessary to hide and lie, it was quite the relief along with a blessing. A blessing to able to share such simple moments in the company of those who knew how to make them.
That was why Hark returned the hug with a “you’re welcome”, and a “yes, it’s safe” when she reached for the gem, chuckling at the squeal of disappointment the Wurmple gave when the gem stopped spinning and gently rested in her hands. But it wasn’t worth the laughter he gave at her statement.
“Not exactly. In your hands, these gems become nothing more than a tool, in some way. It can’t respond to you because the energy that governs it, Chaos Energy, does not exist in this world. So, in this world, in anyone’s hands, it would just be a power source. In my world, though, they’re a lot more… active, I guess? They have a sort of mind of their own, although they obey their controller. There’s an even bigger one called the Master Emerald, and there is seven Chaos Emeralds. They contain nothing more than energy to a certain extent. And the seven Chaos… well… You could say that they’re an extension of myself.”
He gave an awkward smile.
“I see. That makes sense, I guess.”
Both Rebecca and Zeke listened in rapt attention, the giant Legendary sniffing at the glowing gem in the champion’s hands before flopping backwards to get Triton off his back. Rebecca softly chuckled at Zeke’s antics before turning back to Hark, nodding.
“As a comparison, would you say you’re kind of like Arceus or Kyogre for your world?”
“Using comparisons can help me understand better.”
She adjusted her headphones subconsciously, Zeke coming back up to listen to Hark.
Hark couldn’t help the chuckle and the smile at that. Seemed like the boy had been unable to handle the truth. The fear that had been given was just enough for maybe, maybe reconsideration of his actions and, hopefully change.
Or he’d run because he’d thought that nothing was worse than the fate Hark offered. Win-win really.
“Well that didn’t last long, did it? Smaller, probably looked like some kind of monster, and he already confesses to everything. Haven’t lost my touch, it seems.”
He returned Triton’s nuzzle with one of its own before smiling to Rebecca, holding out the spinning cyan gem that had appeared earlier, the Wurmple seeming to have a ball with the fast that it wouldn’t stop rotating.
“And I’m fine. Used a bit more Energy than I have to teleport out of here later on, but that’s why this one is here. It’s called a Chaos Emerald. You can hold it, if you want.”
“…Thank you.”
Her voice was soft as she hugged him again, her appreciation for Hark’s actions clear in her voice. She pulled away and looked at the… Chaos Emerald, was it?
“It’s… It’s really pretty… It’s safe to touch, right…?”
The champion was understandably cautious, as the last time she touched an artifact, she got Zeke in all his lazy, protective glory.
Rebecca cautiously touched the gem before gently cupping it in her hands, blinking in surprise.
“…Should I take the fact that I haven’t been blasted back as a sign that it likes me?”
He knew that. He already knew this was another alternate of his daughter, and he could only smile as she presented herself.
But that was until the hug, the hug and the fact that all gathered to him, making him feel both uncomfortable and warm. He wasn’t used to this much affection, and it showed in the fact that he didn’t return the hug.
He still answered, though, not moving away from the hug.
“It’s alright. And you don’t. Falling to his level would solve nothing. He needs to be taught a lesson. I hope he has.”
And even when the officer came, he didn’t move, only frowning.
“What’s going on?”
Rebecca pulled back just a bit to sign something else to the officer with both hands before answering the question just as the officer walked back down the path towards Undella.
“He turned himself in and admitted everything, it seems. They sent an officer to make sure everything was okay over here. I just told her that everything’s fine.”
Triton nuzzled Hark once more before trotting over to Zeke and hopping up on the Legendary’s back.
Laughter was the first sound that would find Rebecca as Hark got licked again, going to pet the one of Zeke’s horns before his ears turned, catching the words and only chuckling more.
“It’s Hark, and I’m not sure if it’s something I can teach you. There are many things I went through to even pulled this little stunt off, and half of them are horrors you never want to go through. I think I’m right in saying that you believe in trust and justice? I… I sometimes don’t. I’m willing to give whoever proves me wrong the benefit of the doubt, but a world that’s either black or white is not one I believe in. I was…”
He stopped and looked at the grown for a moment.
“While I wasn’t raised into it from moment I could understand the world, I am of… N’s group. Led to believe that the world is a cruel place, and had her eyes opened in the most violent of ways. If Zekrom is the Pokemon of ideals and you associate with it… I associate with Reshiram, the pokemon of truth. Yes, I have ideals, but most are… realistic. Down to earth. I don’t dream much.”
Before looking back to her, smile strained.
“What happened there was… A combination of disgust, anger, and complete and utter mortification. Combined with the swirl of my past which is, in and of itself, a horror to witness, let alone live, I’ll let you guess what happens when all of that just come boiling right out.”
“Hark… I’m Rebecca.”
Rebecca quietly listened to Hark’s speech before moving Triton off her lap and pulling Hark into a warm hug.
“I’m sorry I asked. It’s just that he’s rude and horrible and I didn’t want to sink to his level just to get him to leave.”
Triton softly trilleed, nuzzling Hark’s side as Zeke gave him an affectionate nudge.
“I was all ready to have Triton use an Ice Beam on him too. I’ve got a wagon near the orchard that I was gonna use to wheel him to- ?”
Rebecca looked over to the officer who was standing on the end of the path, the officer signing something to her. The champion signed something in return with one hand, holding up an ‘a-okay’ sign at the end.
Back in the Game 
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