Intentions

Thankfully, Charlie had kept his bag safe and sound after the incident with Arceus. It was the perfect place to put that letter in, especially since he didn’t want to talk about it until it was the right time.

Walking along, the smell of food made Mark realize how hungry he was, and once he realized it, he noticed that he wasn’t just hungry, he was starving. He guessed that’s what happens when you stay unconscious for 2 weeks without being able to consume anything.

Once they sat to eat, some other teams started asking Mark how he was. He took the chance to tell them that they should stay in the guild for just a bit longer to get any questions answered.

“My goodness…” That’s all Mark heard before a very familiar Grumpig got to him and held him as tight as an annoying parent would do. “I didn’t know you had woken up! How are you feeling?” Gren asked.

“I’m doing okay, Guildmaster. As okay as I can be after all of that, anyways.” He didn’t stop eating even with Gren in front. He was too hungry for that.

“So, what happened? You had us all so worried, and… I’ll be honest, never in my years of Guildmaster have I ever seen someone come back to life, much less in a way like you did.”

“That’s what I wanted to talk to you about. After we’re done here, I wanted to explain everything in front of the guild. Or, well, in front of the teams that want answers.”

“That sounds good to me. If you need anything else, just ask. I don’t know how you managed to do all you did, but I imagine it has been taxing, so if the two weeks weren’t enough, you just need to say the word, and I’ll give you days off.”

He smiled. The Guildmaster being as considerate and attentive as ever. “Heh. Thank you, Gren. I don’t think I’ll need it, but thanks for the offer.”

And so they left, leaving the team alone. The other two seemed to not have anything to say. Now all he needed to do was go down and tell the tale again… But that could wait a bit more, he needed to go for seconds first.

Eventually, the time came. It was surprising to see almost every team ready to hear him, with the only exceptions being a couple of teams that had to go on urgent missions, apparently. But the information would get to those sooner or later.

“Right… Here goes nothing.”

And those were another thirty minutes that he spent telling the same story. Looks were exchanged, questions were asked, answers were given. But at the end of it, he still felt like he hadn’t fully expressed himself.

“I wanted to apologize. For everything. It was because of me that this guild got in so much danger, and yet you all were there against Arceus. I don’t think I deserve it, honestly, but thank you. It means a lot more than you imagine.”

He didn’t expect a response, but Verm had a different idea. He got closer to him and Simon and pulled them close, hugging both, one with each arm. “If you say one more time that this was your fault, I’m personally going to lurk in your shadow and scare you when you least expect it.”

Mark smiled, returning the hug, but it wasn’t the end of it, apparently. The other members of the guild joined in one by one, until eventually both Simon and Mark were engulfed in a pile of Pokémon. It was enough to make Mark cry a bit. He felt really lucky to have stumbled upon them, they were friends, and good ones.

“Thank you all… Really…”

After a while, the group hug ended, and the teams got dispersed by Gren to do their missions. It was somewhat of a relief. The truth was out, and everyone accepted it. To say he was happy was an understatement, his tears of joy weren’t fully gone yet.

“Right, there is something I wanted to talk about with you three. Would you mind coming into my office?” Gren asked.

“Sure… There are also a couple things we wanted to mention too.”

It had been two weeks since the team stepped into their office. But something was different, a lot of the decorations and artifacts around the room were gone. Gren noticed them looking around.

“If you’re wondering where half my stuff is, I threw them away. They were all items related to Arceus, but after seeing what they’ve done, like killing another Legendary in the blink of an eye and, most importantly, killing one of the members of my guild, I’ve decided that they’re not a deity worth admiring.”

Mark agreed, even if nobody responded to them. As they sat in front of Gren’s desk, they started to speak.

“Why don’t you go first? What I wanted to ask can wait.”

Rachel stepped forward. She was nervous, considering the huge decision she was about to tell them. “So… I’m sorry, but I wanted to leave the guild.”

Gren’s expression immediately shifted to one of concern. “W-why? Did we do something wrong? Is working as a team not your thing? Because if it’s the latter, we can move things around so you work on your own.”

“No, it’s not that. I’m actually really happy in Team Timeless, it’s just… Well, after so much time doing this, I want to go out there and explore.”

“She already talked it out with us this morning.” Simon said. “It pains us to see her leave, but she already knows she can visit us whenever she wants.”

“Yeah, both of us support her decision.”

It took a moment for Gren to respond. “Well, okay. But the same way you can visit whenever, I’m also open to admit you in again if you ever decide to come back.” They got up their chair to approach her, stretching one of their paws to her. “It’s been an honor and a pleasure to work with you, Rachel.” Rachel hesitated, and instead of returning the handshake, she jumped to them.

She was struggling not to cry. “Thank you for accepting me. It means a lot.” As she let go, she looked a bit weary, but her smile returned quickly as she sat back.

“You okay?” Mark asked, only to receive a weak but confident nod in response.

“Do you want me to do the paperwork now, or do you want to stay for a bit before leaving?” Gren asked.

“I wanted to stay until Rose’s funeral. I owe it to both her and Simon to at least be there.”

“Wonderful. That was actually what I wanted to talk about.” Gren said. “Now that everything has somewhat returned to normal and Mark has woken up, I wanted to propose to you about having her funeral tomorrow. Charlie has done a great job conserving her body, so don’t worry about that.”

“Will it be in the guild?” Simon asked.

“It’s sadly not the first time we’ve lost a member before their retirement. There’s a space on the outskirts of the guild where we constructed what is essentially a small cemetery. So unless you prefer to have it happen somewhere else, it will.”

Simon thought about it, but he suddenly smiled a bit. “I think I have an idea, but I’d rather keep it secret until tomorrow. You’ll need my directions anyways.”

“It’s… a personal place, isn’t it?” Simon nodded. “Okay, we’ll do just that.”

There was silence for a bit, but Mark suddenly remembered the last thing he wanted to show.

“So uh… This morning, before Simon woke up, and before Verm talked to me, something happened. A small portal opened in front of me. A Pokémon I haven’t seen before gave me a letter and left without saying a word.” He got the folded paper out of his bag. “I wanted to read it, but I can’t understand it. I was hoping that you would know what it said, Guildmaster.”

“How didn’t you tell us about that?” Rachel said.

“The time just wasn’t right. And besides, no offense, but I doubt either of you could read this stuff either.”

“What kind of Pokémon gave this to you?” Gren asked.

“It was… small, a little bit taller than me and Simon, but not much. It was green, seemed to have wings, and a couple of antennae.”

That description was apparently enough for the Grumpig to narrow it down. “Celebi brought you this? Let me see.”

Mark handed them the letter, and they started to look at it. “Right, these are old sigils, not what we use right now, but translating is pretty simple if you understand how they work. This is what it says:”

As the messenger of the deities, it is an honor to write this letter.

We want to congratulate you for freeing us from the tyranny of Arceus. It may seem like an exaggeration to call it that, but there has been quite a big history behind the scenes. It is for this reason that we are glad that Dialga’s plan came to fruition.

It’s because of this, that we are now able to begin our preparations into a world of cooperation between humans and Pokémon. It won’t be easy, but our efforts will be worth it if we are able to achieve a better society.

As a reward, please take the medal attached to this letter. There is still someone close that hasn’t recovered their memories, this is our gift, a way to get them back. As well, we are offering said individual a way back to the human world. We are sorry to not be able to give you the same gift, Mark. Unfortunately, there isn’t much we can do with your original body being unavailable.

In any case, we are happy with your performance, as well as the ones from the members of your team. We couldn’t have done this without you, and for that we thank you. You may count with the blessings of the deities.

As Gren finished reading, it was clear who the letter was referring to. Mark looked at Simon, who seemed to be staring at the ground thoughtfully. Nobody said anything, letting him come to terms with everything.

“I… No.” He finally said. “I don’t want my memories back, and I don’t want to go back to the human world.”

“Simon, are you… Are you sure?” Mark said, putting a paw on his leg. It would hurt him a lot to see his partner leave, but he’d gladly put up with that if it meant he’d be happy.

“I am. What is left for me out there anyways? Everyone thinks I’m probably dead. And my memories… The only thing that would give me is more regret. Remembering how much we used to be together only to be taken away? I don’t want to relive that. I’m happy like this, I know the truth, that’s all that matters to me.” He looked back at Gren. “You can do what you want with that medal, I don’t want it.”

“Seems like you’ve made up your mind. I won’t protest, you know better than anyone what is best for you.” Gren said. “I’m really proud. Of all three of you.”

They weren’t the only one. Mark was speechless at Simon’s decision. What he said made sense, but there was still a feeling of surprise. He really preferred to live like this without any recollection of his past before being back in his realm. And about the memories, there was only one conclusion Mark could make. Simon trusted him. He trusted everything Mark had said until now, with not a single hint of hesitation.

He held Simon’s paw, who looked back at him. He was smiling, even after receiving such an opportunity and rejecting it, he was smiling. And even though Mark couldn’t get words out of his mouth, Simon could.

“I’m not leaving you behind.”