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Back in town, the Big Arms Inc. boys hurriedly brought Arceus inside the museum, and contacted a hospital.
No need to say, the hospital was flabbergasted, but still did his job very competently, and with the promise of secrecy.
With this additional help, Arceus' recovery was now just a question of time.

After a while, Arceus had enough forces to take some walks in the museum, to recover the habit of being normally mobile.
The Big Arms Inc. boys sometimes went with him, but Bill and Al, as Divine Guards, had the privilege of coming to all walks, and they'd trade it for nothing in the world.

During these walks, Al, who could now float all by his own and enjoyed it a lot, eagerly asked all the questions he could think of about all the gods and their duties, and Arceus answered gladly to all of them, explaining how he created the universe and how from it were born the other gods, and then the mortals, talking of the other gods like Darkrai, lord of nightmares, or Rayquaza, he who roamed the stratosphere... Until Al, one day, dared to ask the question:
"What was the Great Schism?"
Arceus became somber.
"The Great Schism... It was our greatest failure. As I told you, in the ancient times, mortals worshipped us, and we gave them our help and our power. But with time, we grew proud, and started to ask for more and more. At first, they obeyed without discussing, and it encouraged us to go even further. And one day... I dared to demand a living sacrifice."
The two Guards gasped in horror.
"It was the final straw. Those who once worshipped and served us, now saw us for the tyrants and monsters we were becoming, and revolted. We just left for another dimension, thinking that they would never be able to fend by themselves, and beg for us to come back."
The Creator shook ruefully his head.
"Foolishness. Mortals managed to thrive, while we stagnated in our arrogance. With time, we became for mortals nothing but myths. And with time, we finally opened our eyes and realized we were in the wrong. We decided that we had to come back, but this time as equals, not as superiors. Fifty years ago, we crossed back the frontier of dimensions. Alas, I fell inside the polluted, corrupted lake of Lostole. The foul mixture stole my power, weakening me disastrously. For fifty years, I could do nothing but feel my power being sapped away, unable of healing my wounds, dying slowly but surely... Until fate came to my rescue a few days ago, when I felt the presence of one who received the blessing of the Guard."
"Me?" realized Bill.
"Yes. I knew that if someone touched the water, he'd absorb my corrupted power and purify the lake, freeing me from the threat. I contacted you by the dreampath, and... well, you know the rest."
A silence came.
Bill finally broke it.
"If it's your power I absorbed, why didn't it work when I tried to use it on you?"
"Because you barely began to absorb it. At the moment, it still was majorly mine corrupted. It couldn't work on me for my body, my very being, rejected it."
"Began?"
"Now that it is within your body, it began changing to fit you, to become truly yours. I suspect that once it is done, then you would be able to use it on me."
Bill understood.
"And now?" asked Al.
"Now, I still need rest. Once I will have fully recovered, I will try and find my brethren. There has been no trace of them in these fifty years, and I worry."
He hesitated.
"You already did so much for me, and I loathe to ask more of you, for it reminds me of those accursed days... But..."
"Say no more!" smiled Al. "You can count on me!"
"On me too," said Bill. "And I'm pretty sure on my friends too. Well, unless we've got more important contracts," he added wryly.
Arceus chuckled.

FINALLY, the first arc of the Big Arms Inc. is over!
That took too long!
Next arc, some slice of life for the boys, and a surprise!

Art by  hikaze : https://twitter.com/HikazeDragon
Original here: https://twitter.com/HikazeDragon/st.....60454550253570
Bill and Al © me
Mega-Swampert, Arceus and Mega-Gengar © Game Freaks