Celeste's Tale

by Kirby Oak

At a young age, Celeste was struggling to be the Oracle of her people. After discovering a strange portal under an ancient shrine, she must find a way to get back to her village, if she can survive at all. This is her story.

A/N: This story is based on the interpretation of the Pokemon World as written by Fragmented Disillusionment, particularly his most recent story The Outcast. This story should be able to stand alone, however I recommend reading the Outcast either before or after (it's rather long, so you may want to do it after), if you haven't already. It will help clarify anything I didn't explain fully. I also recommend the rest of his stories for excellent quality and unique Pokemon fanfiction.

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The aging captain of the Worldship Issachar walked casually down the hallway to the airstrip, acknowledging the various crew who paid their respects as she passed. Very few of the formal gestures of military had survived from her naval days, but people still got out of the way and stood up a little straighter around the commander of a vessel. At nearly sixty, Aile's age was starting to show in the wrinkles under her eyes and the way her silver hair had lost its luster. Her sea-blue eyes were as bright as ever, though, and she was far from a fragile old woman. While much of the normal intraship travel was done using short-range teleportation pads, Aile still preferred to walk most distances, giving her a better sense of the status of her ship.

As she arrived at the airstrip, a crewman approached her, a young proto-human like most people who served aboard the ship. She was hardly phased by the man's canine features or his orange fur with its black stripes. Growlithe was not an uncommon pokemon to be augmented with for this sort of position. "It landed eighteen minutes ago, Captain Egro," he said in response to her request for a status report. "We brought someone out to translate, but it insisted on speaking to the firstborn. That, of course, wasn't possible, so we contacted you." He opened the door out to the airstrip, following behind the captain after she had gone through.

Aile smiled as she finally saw why everyone had been so uncertain about what they needed to do. Resting there in one of the empty spots usually reserved for aircraft was a large bird pokemon. It was smaller than a jet, but only barely, and its red, white and green wings would've spanned much wider than one if they had been opened. She had figured it was a legendary when she had gotten the message to come down personally, but she hadn't guessed it would've been Ho-oh. "You can return to your duties, Simmons, I'll take care of her myself." There was some hesitation from the growlithe, but a reassuring glance from the captain made him nod and leave her alone with the rainbow pokemon.

The bird opened one eye as she approached, but made no move toward or away from her, seeming content in her presence. "Hello, old friend," she said to it quietly, still smiling. "It's good to see you again, Mattle." She placed one hand on the Ho-oh's neck, closing her eyes and forming a telepathic link with her. Aile didn't usually have reason to form this sort of connection, but with the large bird not being psychic itself, this was the only way they could communicate.

"Aile, you're looking surprisingly well." The Ho-oh's telepathic voice wasn't quite what one would probably expect from it. In vast contrast to the screeching vocalizations it normally made, this voice sounded young and soft. It had a confidence to it, however, that made it clear she was as experienced as many other legendaries were.

The captain's eyes narrowed somewhat at this remark, and she stood up a little straighter. "Surprisingly? Were you expecting a decrepit old lady? I realize to you human life-spans must seem incredibly short, but we don't age that quickly."

Mattle laughed, a strange sound coming from a creature of such size. "I see you're as easy to fluster as ever, little Lugia." Aile looked around uncomfortably at this. There were very few people out there who knew what she had been decades ago, and even though she knew no one else here could've heard the Ho-oh, it still made her nervous to be called that. "Don't tell me you're still hiding your heritage, Aile. I would think the proliferation of genetic altering devices in preparation for the coming war would've made it less difficult to share your secret."

The woman shrugged. "It would be perfectly acceptable, I'm sure. People might actually think it makes me more respectable. They'd spread rumors about my powers and no member of the crew would dare step out of line. That's just it. My kind rejected me after I was forced to become human. I'm in no hurry to associate myself with them, especially when it gets me some sort of fearful respect that I haven't earned." Aile sighed, adjusting her uniform. "Look, it's not important. I've moved past it and I'm sure the lugia have long forgotten about me. You must've left your post at Realgam Tower for more than just dredging up my old memories, so perhaps we should be talking about that instead." She gave the Ho-oh an impatient stare, not about to accept any other response but an answer to her question.

The legendary nodded, equally aware of the need to get back to her priorities. Almost. "Hard to believe you're that same innocent little girl who barely knew how to clothe herself all those decades ago. Me leaving my post doesn't really mean much, however. It isn't as if Realgam can't hold without me. The infection didn't spread to as wide a population in Orre, since there simply wasn't the population density of people or pokemon, and the tower was designed to be a fortress as much as anything. Still, you're right about moving on to more important matters. I came here to speak with Celeste."

"She's not here," Aile responded, leaning against the folded wing of the bird. "One of the mew on the Joshua contacted her. Something about investigating a murder. She left a little too quickly for me to get any details out of her, but she looked pretty upset."

Mattle closed her eyes, letting out a soft sound that had no translation. Aile could feel the shift in her emotions, however, from that almost annoyingly wistful attitude she normally had around her to pure and simple grief. "So it's true…" the Ho-oh said sadly. "The Eldest really is dead."

"What?" Aile shouted, drawing the attention of some of the crewmen and almost breaking the connection with Ho-oh. She had known something big had happened on the Ephraim, as Prefect Edward's people had informed her to stand by for more information. It was almost impossible to believe that something could have happened to the Eldest, one of the oldest legendaries alive and leader of the mew. "This is terrible, Mattle. Without the Eldest, how are we ever going to win against the Exarchs? He was one of the most powerful pokemon in the world. It's amazing anyone could kill him, but it's even harder to believe anyone would. Who would take out such an important figure at a time like this?" The woman's own shock and grief were quickly turning to rage.

The bird remained calm, however, opening her eyes again and looking at her friend with something that almost seemed like pity. "I see you're still troubled by your temper as well. I'm not sure you'll like the answer I have for you, though. The rumor going around among the legendaries is that it was one of his own mew: an outspoken individual by the name of Logan."

This caught Aile's attention, and she had to double-check what Mattle had said. She had worked with Logan in the past. One of a handful of mew she'd met in her lifetime, and one of even fewer she'd met before they revealed themselves to the public in light of the Exarch threat. While she couldn't say she knew Logan personally, she did find it hard to believe she was a murderer. "The rumors must be mistaken, she's been vital in the war effort. Why would she throw everything upside down now?"

The Ho-oh seemed to be losing interest in this conversation, however, as it looked away. "The details are of no concern to me. I have my own charges and my own mission. If the rest of the planet falls, then I must hope one last bastion will be enough to return it to life. I can't possibly influence the whole picture, but I can keep one flame burning as long as possible." The bird stood up then, stretching its rainbow wings to their full width as it prepared to take off again. "If Celeste isn't here, then I must be returning. I'll try to contact her later, assuming it's not too late."

"Wait!" Aile called to the bird before it could break contact with her completely. "If it's something that important, then perhaps I can help. I might not be as young as you remember, but I wasn't made Captain of this ship for nothing." She stood up straighter, the casual attitude she had assumed during their conversation fading away. "If there is something that threatens any of the Earth strongholds, it's my duty to protect them. Besides, I'm sure I still owe you a favor or two." The woman broke her military attitude for a friendly smile, though kept the well-trained posture of a veteran.

Looking back, Mattle regarded her friend, deciding if she should accept her assistance. In the end, she couldn't say no to Aile, laying down next to her again. "Very well. I'm not sure if you'll be able to help, but I would certainly appreciate your presence. Will you leaving the ship for a few days disturb too much?"

Aile just grinned, taking out a radio. "Bridge, this is the captain. Tell flight control to set a course for Orre, best speed." She waited for confirmation before putting the radio away. "One legendary looking for another for help sounds like a pretty official matter. I'm sure no one would mind us moving out of position for a few days. Now, why did you need Celeste? Surely any of the firstborn would have worked. I think the… Jethro is out that way." She waved one of the crewmen over, informing him to get one of the bays set up for Mattle, despite the legendary's insistence that that wouldn't be necessary.

"It's a long story, about Celeste," Mattle answered, once they were more settled inside. "It has to do with a mutual friend of ours."

"Ah, one of your 'chosen ones' I presume?" the woman interrupted with a wry smile. It was no secret these days that there were certain humans who legendaries had become fond of and showed themselves to long before the war effort started. In some more primitive cultures people like this had become interwoven into legends and myths as chosen ones or heros of destiny. Nowadays, it wasn't uncommon to see a legendary, but their prevalence had allowed stories to come forward of people who had seen legendaries in their youth.

Aile could've sworn the Ho-oh rolled her eyes at the comment, but wasn't entirely sure it was possible. Her tone was clearly annoyed. "Don't start with that one now. Just because I decided to watch a few people that seemed interesting and decent, suddenly it makes people better than everyone else. I chose to watch them for exactly the reason that they don't think they're better." The large bird made a frustrated squawk of some sort which the captain couldn't help but smile a little wider at, though Mattle didn't notice. "Anyways, that's not important. The point is, someone I know was asking for help, and I figured Celeste would be willing to help and have the experience to do so."

"Well, whatever this issue is, I'm sure we have people on board who would be able to help. If not anyone here, someone somewhere. We can contact any of the worldships or quarantine zones." She had her doubts that anyone could really hold a candle to a first born with actual experience on the matter, but she wasn't about to lose all faith in her crew. "Is there any chance you'll tell me what the problem is before we actually get there? I'd like to get to work on the solution as soon as possible."

The Ho-oh shook her head. "I'd rather save the details for when we got there. I can tell you that it's about Celebi, though."

"Celebi?" the woman repeated in surprise, standing up as she considered this. "But Celebi haven't existed for thousands of years, if they existed at all. How can they have anything to do with this." She stared down at the ground, deep in thought. "And why's Celeste the person you wanted to go to with them involved?"

"Well now, that's quite the story," Mattle said, almost eagerly. "And I do love telling stories. Have I told the one about how Mewtwo tried to destroy the world?"

"You have, actually," Aile responded impatiently. "It's quite impressive how many interesting stories you know, but right now there's only one I want to hear. What's so special about Celeste?"

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Nearly two thousand years ago, there was a war between the regions of Kanto and Johto. History never recorded why they had been fighting, but it was likely one of the usual reasons that sparks conflict between neighboring powers. At any rate, it's not the cause of the war that concerns us, but rather its effects.

While there was conflict all along the border, one of the most historic battles took place in the kingdom of Rota. In the mountainous area of the north, it had little strategic value, except for an abundance of a mineral called celestone. Even in its raw form, it has an incredible capability for channeling and storing energy. Soldiers trained in using psionics and aura were able to use it to direct their abilities. However, it had a more important use: the capturing and taming of what we know of today as pokemon. It's what's still used today in pokeballs. In those days, only the most gifted could use it.

However, a tribe deep in the Ilex Forest had settled on a deposit of the rock as well. Over the years, they not only shaped it into jewelry and decorative sculptures, but had learned to use apricorns, which grew in abundance around their village, as a shell to enhance the stone's ability to contain living creatures. When Johto found out about the Azalea Tribe, they sent in troops, started digging mines and not-so-politely asked for these capsules to be made for them.

Celeste grew up with the military presence in her village, so used to it she never questioned it. Her father was a soldier, in fact. Her mother was an important member of the village. She was called the Oracle, and she was a spiritual leader of sorts. Their marriage was what ultimately eased tensions between the village and the soldiers who had been sent to occupy it. They had two daughters, of which Celeste was the oldest, named after the very celestone that had brought them together. Unfortunately, her father was called away to fight before he could see their youngest daughter Diana born, or to be there when his wife died during the birth.

At the age of nine and essentially an orphan, Celeste had to take up her mother's position as Oracle for the village. Of course, the village didn't expect too much from her at first. Her aunt took care of the both of them, teaching her about her heritage. She learned about all the previous generations of Oracles in her family, how they were able to receive and interpret messages from the spirits (that's what they thought legendaries were then) and how they braided one lock of hair and dyed it green to honor their most important spirit, the voice of the forest.

As Celeste grew up, however, things didn't seem quite right. Her sister was developing psychic abilities that were said to aid in helping lead the villagers souls in the right direction and facilitate communion with the spirits, but the best Celeste could do was understand the creatures of the forest. Despite being the Oracle, she never got any guidance from the spirits or divine inspiration. It was more than a little discouraging, especially as the villagers started looking to her more and more to help them. She was intelligent, so with her sister's help she was still able to guide them, but it didn't stop the people from noticing she hadn't given any prophesies or relayed any messages from the dead who resided in the spirit world.

While the village might've been losing faith in her, Celeste was even worse. She kept telling herself that she wasn't worthy enough yet, that she had to prove to the spirits she was ready to be Oracle. In the back of her mind, though, there was a growing doubt about the whole thing. Were there really spirits? Why hadn't they at least given her some sign, even to tell her she wasn't ready to be Oracle yet? These were the questions she asked as she knelt in front of the old stone shrine to the voice of the forest. It was a sacred monument that only the Oracle was allowed to visit, and despite doubting her ability to fit the role, she loved praying out here in the midst of nature, one of the few places she actually felt at peace.

Her prayers done and questions asked, she sat back against the shrine, looking out at the woods. "No word from the spirits again…" the teen muttered. With yet another failure in her duties, Celeste sighed and did what she always did: practiced her psionic abilities. She had been making progress with creating something called an Aura Sphere, a physical manifestation of a person's aura. It's a proven method for practicing concentration in developing psychics, though it was mostly replaced by bending metal in modern times, as having something physical to focus your energy on makes the process somewhat easier. Unfortunately, metal utensils weren't quite as common in the Azalea Tribe's village as they are in the 21st century, so she had to make do. Feeling her aura collect in her hands, she tried to force it out, tried to shape it into a ball. When she opened her eyes and looked down, she was surprised to find that she had actually succeeded. There, sitting in her hands was a round, bluish sphere of psionic energy.

Celeste was absolutely thrilled. Maybe this was a sign from one of the spirits, or even if it wasn't, at least she was getting better at using her psychic ability. All of her elation faded as she heard a strange voice in her head. "Psionics detected." The girl looked around, trying to figure out who had said that. It didn't sound like how she normally heard the animals talk. Could it be a spirit? But why didn't it show itself? And why did it say something so strange? "Psionic signature confirmed. Commencing teleport." She didn't have time to wonder about this message, suddenly getting pulled backwards, her eyes shutting on instinct as she felt the air sucked out of her lungs and wind rushing past her.

In less than a second, she was on solid ground again, sitting in the dark on a cold stone floor. "Where… Where am I?" she muttered, trying to peer through the dark. This became significantly easier as white crystals imbedded into the walls starting giving off a soft glow. Although some of the cave had collapsed at some point, directly in front of her was a large circular slab made of some strange stone or metal she had never seen before. It had a few rows of symbols that circled all the way around it, though none of them were familiar to her.

What she did understand was the voice that answered her. "This is intraplanetary transport station zero-three. Welcome. Please state your destination." The words were telepathic, so language wasn't an issue, but Celeste barely understood anything it was saying.

"My… destination?" she asked, still in shock at what was going on. She could only wonder at what /was/ going on. Maybe this was some sort of dream, she thought, though she hoped it was a vision. She made sure to look at every detail to write down later if it were either. Recording dreams and visions was an important part of training as Oracle. The moment she woke up each day, she was supposed to write down everything she could remember about her dreams. Then she'd have to interpret them later, often with Diana's help. "I just want to go home," she continued when she got no response from the strange voice.

At first, it seemed like it wasn't going to respond to that either. Then the stone slab in front of her seemed like it was starting to shimmer, reflecting a light that wasn't coming from the crystals. "Best destination match found. Warning, temporal discrepancy detected. Activating safety procedure." Suddenly, the pendant Celeste was wearing started levitating in front of her, pulling on her neck like it was being drawn toward the circular object in front of her. Not sure what else to do, she reached out and grabbed it to pull it back. This proved to be her mistake, as she felt a jolt of energy move through her, spreading a warmth across her body. She was completely paralyzed by the strange energy coursing through her. Then, there was a flash of red light, and she was gone.

The pendant still hovered in the air, however, flying toward the rippling surface. The polished blue crystal that was the centerpiece of the jewelry was glowing faintly. Just as it passed through the rock, a pink-furred creature appeared in the room, a mew. It flew straight into the rock, disappearing through it just as the pendant had. As the bulb of its tail finally vanished, the rippling faded, and the crystals once again went dark.

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The first thing Celeste felt was the cold, biting at her exposed skin and even filtering through her loose clothing. She had never felt anything like it before, the Ilex forest only getting the occasional snowfall, and only twice in all of her life. Shivering, she curled up to warm herself, realizing she was laying on a stone floor. Where was she?

"Ooh! You're thinking! Thank goodness…" She didn't recognize the voice, and despite being able to tell it was telepathic, it didn't sound like the voice she had heard from the shrine. In fact, it sounded much younger, like a little child or… "I was worried that I had put your mind together wrong."

The girl's eyes shot open, but were met with nothing but pink. As her vision cleared, though, she was able to make out shapes. An animal of some sort? "Hello there, little one. Do you think you could check to see if there's any blood coming out of my head? It's so cold…" Celeste had heard stories from a couple of the soldiers in her village about various injuries they had sustained. One had hurt his head quite badly and had described his whole body slowly going cold and weak. She'd been fascinated at the time, but now the story of survival sounded less exciting.

While she had expected the creature to answer, she didn't expect how it answered. "I don't see any blood, Celeste. The cold's because it's snowing outside and we're in some ruin with too many holes." The creature hadn't said anything out loud that Celeste had simply managed to interpret. It had actually spoke to her using its mind. And used her name.

She couldn't help backing away from the small monster, sitting up with some difficulty and leaning back against a pillar. Her whole body felt stiff and a little numb, though the latter at least was probably from the cold. "What are you?" The question slipped from her lips before she had a chance to figure it out for herself. While mew wasn't one of the primary spirits they prayed to, it had its place in the pantheon. "Wait, no, I recognize you. You're one of the oldest spirits there is, the Mother of Life."

The creature giggled, a response most would've considered inappropriate in the face of this girl who was slowly freezing to death. "Mother of Life? That's a silly name. I suppose it makes my mother the Grandmother of Life. She'll be so proud." The pink animal smirked, then floated up toward the ceiling, seemingly losing interest in Celeste.

Thinking the spirit was abandoning her to die, the girl started crying, holding out her hand weakly. "Mother, wait! I'm sorry if I've done something to offend you. I don't understand why you make jokes of your title, but I'll call you whatever you want. Please just, tell me one thing. You're said to be a wrathful spirit, but only when man betrays you, so please tell me what I've done to deserve this punishment." Her parents had told her the story of their ancestors, who had been given a gift by this very spirit. It gave some of its magic to help them create a city that floated on the water. They lived long productive lives, but grew greedy and turned on the Mother. It was said that at the beginning of the world, she gave birth to the first humans, monsters and animals, but she proved herself to be a master of life in more ways than that, taking it as easily as she had given it.

There was another legend, though, one known to more than just her tribe. Like any good mother, the spirit still loved humanity despite the way it had misbehaved, still protected them. Celeste's mother often told this story toward the end of her life, telling her how the spirit lived in the Tree of Beginning and would be able to watch over her father and return him home safely. Celeste no longer believed this one.

Flying right up to the girl's face (so fast she jerked back in surprise and hit her head on the pillar behind her), the creature looked suddenly serious, and Celeste was sure she could feel it staring right into her soul. "I didn't do this to you! I've only been watching you for a week. I just saw you go through the portal and followed you. If anything I tried to rescue you, but here you are accusing me of being wrathful. I think you need to adjust your personality, young lady. Now say you're sorry." The girl had barely made a sound before she was cut off by the pink spirit. "I forgive you! My name's Naomi, by the way. I'm no mother, at least not yet." She smiled before returning to her investigation of the ceiling.

Celeste could only watch in confusion. This creature was acting more like a child than an ancient and wise spirit. The young Oracle's head was swimming, though it was as much because her head was pounding and her eyes stung from the cold. Perhaps right now wasn't the best time to be worrying about a spirit who wasn't acting like a spirit. "Please, Mother, Naomi, whoever you are… It's too cold, I can feel my life draining. Please take me back home. I just wanted to go home…" She closed her eyes, a drowsiness overcoming her that she felt too weak to resist.

Right as she was about to let go, however, she felt a pressure on her legs and then a sudden warmth in front of her. Opening her eyes, she saw a different monster in front of her. This one had a long body, blue fur and a cream-colored underside. It also had fires burning on its head and lower body. "A quilava…" Celeste muttered weakly, trying to understand where it came from. Laying across her legs like it was, its fires were almost dangerously close, but the heat was doing her more good than harm, and seemed to avoid touching her despite the proximity.

"Don't speak," she heard the spirit say, though could no longer see it. "I am the quilava, don't worry." She nudged the girl's arm gently with her muzzle. "You need to conserve your energy. Talking will just let the heat out faster. Think whatever you want to say, I'll hear you."

Her lips curling into a smile, Celeste forced her hand up and onto the creature's back, safely between the two fires. "It's true then. You really are a spirit. I almost doubted it, but… changing shape, reading thoughts… I don't know why I ended up here, but at least you're here. You'll be able to guide my soul safely to your home. I'll see my mother again…" She started to close her eyes again, despite the warmth making her feel a little better.

"What're you talking about? Celeste? Celeste, wakeup!" The fire roared hotter, and this time Celeste felt its power, pain burning through even the numbness in her arm. She wouldn't be seriously injured, but it certainly kept her conscious.

Screaming out loud in pain, the girl looked at her burnt hand through her tears. "Spirit…" She wiped away the crystalizing tears with her good hand. "Spirit, I'm sorry. It's just so difficult to stay awake. I'm so tired for some reason, and there's nothing I can do feeling this weak. Maybe if I sleep for a little while, I'll be more able to help you later."

Naomi shook her head, sighing in such a way that Celeste could practically feel her frustration. "That's not how it works. Don't you know anything about… No, of course you don't, you're human. It's a wonder you survive at all without science or technology. Look, just trust me, going to sleep is a very bad idea right now, okay?" She stared up at the girl as seriously as she had ever looked, mouth open a little with the empty threat of more burns.

The Oracle nodded, knowing better than to disobey a spirit. Whatever reason the divine monster had for keeping her awake, it must've been a good one. "I'll do my best, Mo-Naomi… I'm not sure I can keep my eyes open much longer, though, so forgive me if I go against your wishes."

Rubbing against her, the creature did everything it could to keep her awake. "I understand that, Celeste. You just need to hold out a few more minutes. There are people coming. I'm not sure who, but they won't let you die here, I'm sure of it. Just hold on, they'll take you somewhere warm and safe." Celeste felt the warmth of the creature move away, forcing her eyes open wide enough to watch it.

"Where… Where are you going?" she coughed out, no longer aware enough to tell the difference between saying something and just thinking it. "Please, no… I need you, spirit… Whether you'll admit to being one or not… I'm scared… please don't leave me alone."

The quilava stopped, looking back with an expression of fear. After some of the longest few seconds of Celeste's life, it returned to her lap. "Very well… my child. I'll stay.You mustn't tell the people coming what I am, though. Only… Only certain people are allowed to see the spirits for what they truly are." She held up a paw as the girl started to respond, shaking her head and smiling. The mew in disguise then settled down and waited, fires blazing, for whoever their rescuers might be.

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Waking up to harsh white light and an amazingly soft bed, Celeste's first thought was that she had been taken to the spirit world after all. Then she felt the pain that still lingered in the tips of her fingers and toes, and especially her burnt hand. Where was she then? There were strange humming and buzzing noises all around her, but as much as she strained to identify them, they sounded like no animal she knew. While listening to them, though, she started to hear something else. After a moment, she recognized it as two people talking, but she couldn't make out what they were saying. It didn't sound like proper words at all in fact.

As she began to sit up, she noticed a door open, and the two people walked in. One was a man, the other a woman, both wearing matching outfits that Celeste didn't recognize but guessed were a little warmer than what she wore based on how thick they were and how much they covered. Not that it wasn't plenty warm for her inside and under the blankets, but after so long in the cold, a little more would have been appreciated. The woman immediately walked over to her, sitting on the bed next to her and helping support her. She said something in that language Celeste couldn't understand, though it sounded friendly enough. When she didn't respond, the woman repeated it, glancing at the man in a way that worried Celeste as much as it did him. She didn't know what they were saying, and she was too scared and confused to tell them even that much, not that they would understand her anymore than she did them.

The woman smiled and gave her a pat on the back a couple times, continuing to speak despite knowing she wouldn't respond. She took her hands carefully, lifting them up and examining them. Celeste couldn't help wincing a little as she looked at her own fingers, where there were patches of her skin that had become red or pale and were still numb with some stinging on the edges. Her right hand had been wrapped in some sort of rough cloth, over the burn she realized.

Celeste suddenly looked around worriedly. What had happened to the spirit? "Where's Naomi?" she asked the woman immediately, without thinking of course. The two people looked at her in surprise. Perhaps they had thought her a mute of some sort, or simply hadn't expected her to speak a different language. They didn't bother responding to her, however, talking to each other instead. As her head started to clear, though, the young Oracle realized she could hear something else. Whenever one of them spoke, she heard that something, like a whisper in the back of her mind. At first, she thought it might be Naomi speaking to her, but she knew the spirit could speak to her louder than that. Besides, the feeling was definitely only coming when one of these two spoke. She had been able to understand the creatures of her home for awhile now, maybe the same could apply to humans. That dim whisper in her head certainly sounded more understandable than the strange language they were speaking out loud. She just needed to focus and make it louder.

"…off it, Derek. The test chassis still has years until it'll even get a trial run. Besides, we've run every check we can, and they all say she's perfectly human. She even got frostbite out there." The woman held up Celeste's hands again, the girl realizing they were talking about her. She didn't pay attention to what they were actually saying, though, just excited by the fact she could tell what they were saying at all.

"Excuse me," Celeste interrupted, "do you think you could help me? I had a monster with me, with flames on its back. I really need to see her."

Again, all she got was blank stares. The man then said to the woman, "What's that language she's speaking anyways? Doesn't sound like any I've heard before. Something from the Middle-East? You recognize it, Maria?"

Celeste's face fell. They still didn't understand her, even though she could clearly tell what they were saying now. The animals had always been able to understand when she spoke to them like this. Wouldn't it be easier for people? It didn't make any sense to her, but she had never really understood her gifts all that well.

"Maybe the Beta Intelligence program would know," the woman, Maria, suggested. Celeste just watched in the confusion she had been in since waking up. Even being able to understand their language, she didn't know their strange terms, didn't understand why the man was focusing all his attention on the metal and glass box in front of him, touching it every so often.

"Possible, but we still don't have remote access. You'll have to take her down to talk to it in person."

"Wonderful. Well, I guess there's nothing for it. C'mon little mystery child. Maybe the computer can also tell us what a fifteen-year-old was doing at the top of Mt. Coronet without so much as a jacket." Maria held her by the arm gently, helping her up onto feet that were only a little less numb and painful than her hands.

It was at that moment Celeste noticed that she was no longer wearing the ceremonial robe she had worn to the shrine. Instead, she had some sort of thick undergarments on. It was admittedly much warmer than what she had been wearing, but it also failed to cover her in any modest way. The woman draped one of the blankets around her shoulders, and she quickly wrapped it around herself as much as she could, blushing brightly and feeling all the more vulnerable in this strange place she already didn't understand.

The woman seemed to notice this, because she gave the man a glare fiercer than any Celeste had ever seen. The man sighed, rolling his eyes. "Alright, fine, I'll let you two go ahead. I need to check on our other guest anyways." This piqued the young girl's attention at once, but he was gone before she even knew where he was going. She reluctantly let herself be led down long, square hallways, made of bright lights and metal. Looking into rooms only gave her glimpses of strange devices she didn't recognize, so eventually she kept her eyes on the metal squares that made up the floor. It wasn't until they stopped that she looked up.

There was a loud hum in the room they stopped in, seeming to come from a row of silver and black boxes bigger than a person, all with little colored lights that somehow turned on and off by themselves without any flame to light them. Directly in front of her was a large white circle, glowing softly and connected to the boxes by some sort of black rope. She of course didn't recognize it as a bank of computers hooked into a primitive holographic display. Which was why, when the AI appeared in front of her, the first thing she did was back away in shock, muttering, "A lost soul…"

The semi-transparent girl in front of her was no older than she was, with hair that was a lighter shade of brown than her own. Her eyes were also a bright green, seemingly glowing more brilliantly than the rest of her body, which didn't have much form below the neck. Just the shape of a body instead of actual skin and color and clothing. It's no wonder Celeste mistook her for a ghost.

The other girl started speaking to the woman, using the same language as her. This time Celeste couldn't figure out what she was saying. It seemed her ability to understand what people and pokemon were saying didn't extend to ones that weren't alive. She still heard what the woman was saying however. "We found her at the coordinates you gave us… I don't know what caused the readings, but we have a theory… Look, enough with the questions, Bit. I didn't come down here to satisfy your curiosity. I just need you to tell me what language she speaks." Maria looked at Celeste with a frown as the girl told her something. "She doesn't speak, though. Not often anyways, and we can't exactly tell her to."

Suddenly, the young Oracle had a decision to make. She wasn't sure why exactly they wanted her to speak, which was the main reason she didn't right away. What if… the ghost wanted to possess her and could only do it if she opened her mouth to let it in? There wasn't exactly much to lose at this point, however. It might even be worth it, assuming she wasn't possessed, to let them know she could understand them. "Here, see! I understand you, I'm speaking just like you wanted and please don't possess me!" She backed away, the absolute foreignness of her surroundings finally getting to her.

The woman was to her at once, though, trying to comfort her. "I… I don't think you can understand me, but please just relax. We're not going to hurt you, we just want to figure out what the hell is going on." The projected girl said something that caused Maria to turn her head back. "That can't be right, run the search again. I'm not going to call headquarters and tell them our intruder is speaking a dead language from a region a hundred miles away. It's bad enough they know she's just a teenaged girl." More words from the ghost, which didn't make the woman any happier. "That's what I said, but apparently a mew isn't a good enough explanation. Now please just stop talking and do your job. I swear, the next update to your program better make you an adult." Celeste hadn't known what a mew was, but with her translation came more than just words, it was feelings and ideas, and pictures. They were talking about the spirit! Worse than that, she saw a flash of the woman's memory, of Naomi trapped in a container, with lights and strange metallic instruments all around her.

The girl broke down completely, sobbing into the woman's arms, even though she was half the reason she was upset. "What is this place?" she shouted. "Why can't anyone understand me? Where's Naomi? Why would you hurt a spirit? Why… Why can't she defend herself?" Her voice got quieter with every question, knowing it was futile.

"Bit, I don't care what language she's speaking, just see if you can get it translated. Right now she's the only clue we have, since that legendary sure isn't talking."

Celeste's tears had mostly stopped by the time they had returned to her room. Her whole world had cracked, so she could forgive herself for a little emotion, but she was still the Oracle, and at some point she needed to act like it. She refused the woman's help in getting on the clothing they wore, even as she clearly got confused by the long pants and at first put the jacket on upside down. Eventually she gave in to letting Maria dress her. It wasn't as if her pride hadn't already been bruised by this whole ordeal.

The two people she had ended up with decided that she could use some more rest to recover from almost freezing to death. Celeste didn't do anything to resist this, laying in the soft bed for a few hours, but not sleeping. There was far too much on her mind, and too many strange noises she thought it safe, she got up. It took a bit of fumbling to get the door open, but once she did, she bolted down the hallway.

Minutes later, she was quite lost in the metal facility. Why would anyone build something that was so the same all over? Even if she wasn't lost, though, she wouldn't have known where the spirit was. It still seemed impossible to her that the Mother of Life was being held against her will, but that image she had gotten from the woman's mind was burned into her memory pretty well. What was it she had called Naomi? A mew? Very strange.

After some time wandering around, Celeste finally spotted a familiar symbol on the wall, then another one further down. This was the way to where Maria had summoned that ghost girl. Maybe the soul knew where Naomi was. After all, even lost souls were supposed to have connections to the spirit world. It was how a great deal of past Oracles had gained insights to guide her tribe.

As she made her way into the room, the girl wasn't there, though the boxes were still flashing in the same pattern that was well beyond Celeste's understanding. "H-Hello? Ghost… No, sorry that's disrespectful… What did she say your name was again? Buh… Buh… Bit, that's it! Bit, are you in here? I…" She stood up as tall as she could, trying to make herself look big and important. "I'm the Oracle of the Azalea tribe from the Forests of Ilex. I wish to commune with you!"

Despite how she was trying to act, Celeste stumbled back at the sight of the girl appearing again. The ghost yawned once and mumbled something. When Celeste didn't reply, the girl looked at her wrist then around the room in confusion. When her eyes settled on the young Oracle, she scanned the room again, almost nervous.

The living girl stepped forward, Bit's fear causing her own to fade. After all, if the ghost was afraid of her, then she likely wasn't in any danger from it. "It's alright, I'm not here to hurt you or anything. I just got a little lost in this place, but managed to find my way here. To be honest, I feel lost no matter where I am here. Nothing looks or feels or sounds right, no one understands me." She sighed, her expression losing its confidence until she finally turned around. "You don't even know what I'm saying."

"Yes… Yes I do…" The voice didn't sound any different than what the ghost girl had been saying earlier, not like the translations Celeste did with her gift. Bit was actually speaking her language. Though she supposed a ghost could speak any language it wanted if it really tried. Celeste didn't actually know anything about lost souls. "It's just that," the projected girl continued, her words hesitant, "I'm not sure I'm supposed to be talking to you."

This caused the girl to focus her sky-blue eyes back on the entity. "What's wrong with talking to me? You were willing to talk to the woman who brought me down here and she didn't seem like anything special." She folded her arms, eyes narrowing. What sort of disrespect was this ghost trying to show? Celeste was destined by birth to speak with spirits and departed souls, but this one was contemplating refusing. Sure, the girl had never had much confidence in her own abilities, but she still believed others should show the proper respect for her position.

"Maybe she doesn't seem like it to you, but she's the one in charge here. If she finds out I even activated for you, she'll probably shut me down for weeks. Luckily I'm not that bad at covering my tracks. If I talk to you too much, though, you might reveal what you learned and then…" The ghostly girl shivered, shaking her head. "I'm just… gonna do my best not to think about the process simulating those scenarios."

Celeste stared for a moment, not really understanding what the ghost was talking about. She managed to get one thing from it, though. "If you're so worried breaking whatever oath you were sworn to when you were bound to… this… thing, then why /did/ you start talking to me?" Stepping a little closer, she looked over the girl's face, since that was the only part of her that had a definite form to it. She was a little worried about this ghost. How had it come to be forced into service for these people? She wished she knew more about lost souls so she could help this one escape.

Bit smiled softly, holding out a hand, though of course couldn't actually touch Celeste. Her hand hovered near the green-dyed braid, staring at it before pulling away. Her expression changed to pity for a moment, though she quickly covered it up. "You were so upset earlier, I thought you could use someone you could actually talk to. You're so far from home… Do you even know where you are?"

Celeste shook her head, watching the ghost uncertainly. She was starting to get a little scared by how it was acting. "No, I don't… How do you know where I'm from, though? Or how to speak my language? You didn't seem to know earlier."

The other girl shrugged, apparently thinking it wasn't that big of a deal. "Well, once I had figured out what language you were speaking, all I had to do was download a database that contained translations for your language and rework it into a viable speech matrix. I had to guess at most of the pronunciations." Seeing the lost expression on Celeste's face, the projection laughed nervously. "Sorry, guess you don't really know what I'm talking about. It's not important anyways. I figured out where you're from because I recognized that braid of yours. Well, that coupled with your language and apparent heritage, but again I'm getting off track." She sighed, sitting down on the floor and motioning for Celeste to do the same.

Celeste complied, but not without hesitation, and not quietly. "Would you just tell me what's going on already? You're the only person who has sounded like they actually know anything, so I want answers! No more words I don't understand!"

Bit hushed her, gesturing urgently for her to quiet down. "Relax, Oracle. I will, it's just not something that will be easy to hear." She took a deep breath, entirely for show since she didn't need to breathe. It was more of an expression than an actual need for air anyways. "This is the Apex Technology Research Facility on Mt. Coronet in Sinnoh. It's also been over a thousand years since there was last an Oracle of the Azalea Tribe. Somehow, you've been transported across time and space."

It seemed sitting down had been a necessary precaution, as Celeste probably would've lost her footing and fallen after hearing that. She could barely even conceptualize a thousand years, let alone imagine skipping past them. They had always been warned about the Voice of the Forest sometimes taking people to another time, but no one had ever said anything about strange caves that could do the same thing. And now she was stranded in some other time. She broke down again, though not as much as she had before. Even with as horrible a situation as she was in, at least she knew what was going on now. "Al-Alright, fine, so… so I'm in the future. Maybe I'll get back." She looked intently at Bit, eyes red but determined. "There's… There's something more important than that. The reason I came down here. The creature that came with me. I'm not sure what things are like now, but the time I come from, spirits are important to us. I don't know what those people are doing to her, but I have to help get her away. Please, just… tell me how to find her. I promise they'll never know you helped me."

Bit hesitated a moment, but finally nodded. "I… I hate how they're treating the mew as much as you do. The EIA has no regard for anything that doesn't serve their own interests. I'm glad there's at least one human in the world that does, even if you were made a thousand years ago." The ghost smiled, even as Celeste gave her a confused look. Standing again, Bit held something up, which grew into a semitransparent map of the building. A little dotted path moved from one room to another. "This is how to get to the room they have the mew in. I don't have access to anything outside this room, though, so you'll be on your own for getting in. Also, you won't have access to this map, so you should probably try to memorize it now." The girl clearly felt guilty she couldn't do more, though Celeste didn't blame her. After all, it was these people who had confined her like this.

The Oracle took as much time as she felt comfortable sparing to study the map, remembering what turns she needed to take where. She didn't have the best memory in the world, but she had the mental discipline to hold something in her mind if she really tried. "Thanks, Bit. Hopefully someday when I'm older, I'll be able to figure out how to free you. No soul should get this sort of treatment." She held her hand to the girl, letting it get bathed in her light. It was too bad she couldn't really touch the ghost to reassure her. After a quick bow to Bit, Celeste left, running down the halls as quickly as she could while navigating the dark and unfamiliar passages. She managed to remember the route, though, and was soon faced with a locked door between her and Naomi.

It should have been locked, anyways, but as Celeste twisted the handle it opened with no resistance. It seemed with the spirit subdued, they had neglected to consider the Oracle a concern. Inside the room, Naomi had been trapped in some sort of cage. Whatever they had done to her, she looked like she was suffering, pressed flat to the floor with her eyes shut and whimpering. As the girl approached the cage, she regarded the creature with sadness. Spirit, mew, whatever it was, she couldn't stand to see it suffer like this. As she touched one of the bars criss-crossing all over the container, she felt a horrible pain surge through her, and she fell back like she had just been struck by lightning.

Her cries of pain caused the mew to open her eyes, regarding the girl weakly. She forced herself up, though it clearly took more effort than she should've been expending, ignoring Celeste's pleas that she should stay put. "The… The controls… use the controls…" She whispered into the girl's mind, obviously straining to get her message through in her weakness. Pointing to some sort of glass panel near the cage, she continued, "Touch that, it'll come up with a bunch of words. I know you can't understand them, but I'll walk you through it."

Half an hour later, Celeste was lifting the mew into her arms. Naomi was looking much better now that she was moving away from the electrified cage, and had seemed especially relieved when the electricity had been turned off, even before the cage was opened. "Now, we just need to get out of here and… maybe find a way back home."

The mew nodded, sitting up in Celeste's arms. "I… I think I know what did it. If you can… get us back to the ruins… I should be able to take us back."

The girl moved as quickly as she could back down to the room Bit was in. The room was completely dark, though, and no matter what she said, the ghost girl didn't appear on her platform.

"Could I help you with something?" Standing in the doorway was the woman, Maria, holding a strange black object that Celeste couldn't even compare to anything. The way she was holding it, though, got its meaning across pretty clearly. "Oh, my mistake, you don't understand me, do you? Well, Bit was working on a translation program, but unfortunately she's been… reassigned. Guess we'll just have to make do." She stuck the black thing out, pulling back a latch on it with a click. "Nothing personal, but you're apparently too smart for your own good."

There was a bang, a flash, then another bang as she felt air rush past her and get sucked out of her. It felt just like what had happened at the shrine when she ended up in that cage, only about a thousand times worse. When it finally ended, she felt herself thrust into the bitter cold again. It wasn't quite as bad, the clothes she had been given doing more to protect her than her own had.

She moaned lightly, sitting up. "What… What happened?" she asked aloud.

"Tele-Teleport. She was… trying to k-kill you," a weak voice answered, weaker even than when she was in the cage. She certainly looked in bad shape, though Celeste couldn't see any physical marks on her that she hadn't had a moment ago. "Not so good with… teleports. We should be near the ruins, though." The mew floated unsteadily out of Celeste's lap, though didn't get very far.

The Oracle stood up, catching the spirit and cradling it gently. "I think you need to rest. You've saved my life enough times the past couple days, I think it's my turn to protect you." With no protest from the pink creature, Celeste gently fitted her inside of the jacket she was wearing. It was somewhat uncomfortable having something pressing against her chest like that, but she imagined Naomi was pretty cosy.

With the mew telling her where to go, they eventually reached a large room toward the center of the old ruins. Most of it was in better shape than the rest of the place, this room seeming to have walls that didn't crumble as easily. What were they made of anyways? No, now wasn't the time to worry about that. Besides, there was something much more impressive in the center of the room. It was a large metal circle made up of three rings, with strange characters running around each of them.

The spirit wiggled her way out of Celeste's coat, floating in front of the dark ring. "This is it. Thank goodness they haven't found it yet. I was worried that… after all this time, something might've happened."

"What is it?"

"It's how we're going to get home. At least, hopefully." Naomi looked back, trying to seem reassuring. "I mean, I know what to do, I just have never done it before, so… I might not get it exactly right at first. Unfortunately, we don't have much choice…"

Celeste took a step back then, none too convinced that this was safe. She didn't object, though. The spirit knew about these objects more than she did, and it would hardly do to show distrust the Voice of the Forest was watching over them, however, since going from one place in time to another was its domain more than it was the Mother of Life's. "Just stay safe…" she offered pathetically, buttoning up her jacket. The cold penetrated even this deep into the ruins.

It seemed Naomi wasn't listening at this point, as she gave no response to Celeste's worries. She was just staring at the rings intently, slowly floating to the ground as her entire focus shifted to the object. Suddenly, they started moving, spinning around so that the symbols began to blur. The spinning was soon going in all directions, as the rings moved forward out of alignment and all around. They grew faster and faster until finally Celeste couldn't see them at all, though she could feel the wind they generated. Where they were standing, there was now an apparent hole in the air. The mew turned back to her, flying up into her arms again. "We need to go through the gate. I can't… guarantee we'll end up back to your home, but anywhere that isn't here is better than… well, here. With the cold and those people…"

The girl nodded. "Alright, Naomi, I understand. I'll admit I'm not very happy about it, but hopefully we'll be left in peace until you can figure out how to actually return me." She stepped forward, stopping again right in front of the hole, trying to peer into it.

"You won't be able to see anything. Just hold your breath, close your eyes, and walk."

Celeste did, stepping into the cold of the gate, hoping she'd find home on the other side.

(-o-)(-o-)(-o-)(-o-)(-o-)(-o-)(-o-)(-o-)(-o-)(-o-)

"You really do enjoy telling stories far too much, Mattle." Aile stood up, putting her uniform's jacket back on. They had just arrived over Realgam Tower and they were about to head down. "That was far too dramatic. Especially with that last part. I know that she couldn't have gotten home, otherwise A, she would've never met you and B, she wouldn't be serving on my ship."

Mattle chuckled in her odd way, waiting until Aile made contact again to respond. "Alright, I'll admit that I did add a little more tension than was necessary, but I still think a proper story is better than just giving you the facts. It helped pass the time, didn't it?"

"I suppose," Aile agreed after a moment of thought. "I just want the facts for what happened next, though. We're here, so there's no reason for a long story."

"Are you sure? We still need to fly down to the tower."

"I have faith you'll be able to get us down there quick enough." Patting Mattle on the back, she led the Ho-oh back out into the open. "Now hold still, I haven't ridden a pokemon in at least a decade."

The legendary obeyed, but glanced at the captain with a certain glint in her eye. "Of course, Aile. Wouldn't want you falling off and breaking one of those delicate human hips."

Aile just glared and dug her foot into Mattle's side a little harder than was necessary as she climbed up onto the bird's back. "Alright, whenever you're ready, they've cleared you for takeoff."

"You sure you don't want to change? Maybe put on some goggles at least so your eyes don't sting too much?"

"Just fly!"

The Rainbow Pokemon extended her wings then, showing just why her kind had been called that. When she took off, many of the crew working on the runway watched her with awe. Watched both of them really, as seeing their captain riding a legendary so confidently was as much of a spectacle as the legendary itself.

Once they were through the Worldship's shields, Aile leaned forward to both protect herself more from the wind and talk to Mattle. "Alright, now you can tell me where Celeste ended up. And I'll remind you we don't have long enough for a full story."

"Too be honest, I don't know what happened to her next," the Ho-oh cawed back. "The next I saw her she wasn't looking all that well. She still refuses to tell me what happened either. I think it has something to do with that Naomi. Something happened to her, because she didn't appear with her."

This worried Aile a little. She knew this wasn't exactly related to what happened, but they were still going to somewhere possibly associated with it. And any time a mew covered things up it meant no good. "Alright, I think I can infer how you met her then. And yes I'm saying that so you won't spend more time telling a story. I want a briefing as to what the situation here is."

"I think it would be better if the commander explained that situation. He knows the current tactical details and would be able to give you a much more thorough report. It's the soulphage victims, though. I can tell you that much."

"You said that the virus hadn't spread to as many people out here."

"It hasn't, but they seem to be congregating around a single point and it's making us nervous. Hold on, though, there might be a few of those flying infected before we reach the tower."

The flight down wasn't quite as bad as Mattle had predicted. The few soulphage victims they saw were easily dispatched by the Ho-oh's flame attacks. Not long after, they pierced the shield and could see Realgam Tower. The building was mostly self-contained, the shield just protection from the actual infected and not the infection itself. The landing pad at the top of the tower had been an arena for pokemon battling long ago, and the old traces of colorful paint and pokeball logos were just barely visible under rubble and equipment.

After a rigorous quarantine procedure that Aile knew was quite unnecessary, she was led into one of the control rooms, where a large screen was showing several views of the interior and exterior as well as a few tactical displays. "Captain Egro." The woman turned to face the man in charge, one of the many civilians who had been recruited and deemed capable for a command position. He didn't look happy at the moment.

She offered her hand anyways. "I don't believe we've been properly introduced. You're Commander…?"

"Wes."

"Wes?" She repeated, pulling her hand back.

"It's my name," he answered curtly.

"Commander Wes, then. What's the situation here?"

"Just Wes."

"Excuse me?"

He frowned, his eyes looking her over coldly. Was this really the person who Mattle had befriended? He looked older than the Captain, or at least had aged less gracefully. "Look, Captain, we may all be on the same side here, but I am not military. Sure, I may have an entry and a rank in some official record somewhere, but out here there's no such thing as chain of command. Everyone here is fighting for their own lives and no one else's. We haven't had the military's support before, and we don't need it now."

Aile was stunned by this little speech, but not for long. "For your information, I'm not here as a member of the military. I came here as a favor for Mattle, because she said that a friend of hers was in trouble. I don't care what you think of me or my uniform, I'm here to help."

Wes stared at her for several seconds of silence, not showing any change in emotion except for what Aile could have sworn was the slight twitch of a smile. "Very well, Captain. I can tell I'm no match for the stubbornness of a legendary." He motioned for her to follow him as he walked to a small office, standing in front of a screen. "We've noticed some strange movements from the shadow pokemon in the area in recent days. They've all surrounded this one area of the region." A satellite image came up of a small forested oasis, with infected pokemon crowding around it. "This is Agate Village."

"Why aren't the infected going in?"

"We believe it might be the same reason the villagers didn't evacuate. There's a statue in the middle of the forest there. Decades ago, it was discovered that this statue was somehow able to heal artificially created shadow pokemon." He switched the image to a similar shot, but there were less infected and they were further from the village. He then put the two images side by side. "Here's the problem. This image was taken yesterday. It seems it's getting weaker as more of the infected arrive. It's only a matter of time before they're-" His eyes widened as there was a flash of light on the current image of the forest. Whatever had happened, the infected suddenly started moving forward, no longer held back. "Crap, we need to get there. Now."

(-o-)(-o-)(-o-)(-o-)(-o-)(-o-)(-o-)(-o-)(-o-)(-o-)

Celeste sat up weakly, shielding her eyes from the sunlight that was streaming through the leaves above her. For a moment, she thought that Naomi had done it, that she was back home and perfectly safe. But she had never seen this stone platform before, in the forest. As she looked around, she noticed there was also a similarly built stone pillar at the center of the platform. Naomi was hovering around it frantically. "This isn't the Ilex Forest," Celeste muttered to her.

She shook her head, though barely spared her a glance. "No it's not. And we went the wrong direction. I don't understand it. Every thing was going so well and then it was like the gate rejected us. If it did that, though, why'd we get spat out here further in the future? Somewhere else entirely at that! Wait." Naomi looked around, her frantic movements just getting more exaggerated as true panic began to set in. "Not here, they can't be here."

"What? What are you talking about, Naomi? Who's here that shouldn't be here? Where is here even?"

The mew darted over to her, concentrating for a moment as she erected a large semi-transparent pink bubble around the small clearing they were in. "I… I don't know where specifically we are. I meant on Earth. Or, yes, they are right here too and that's not good either."

Celeste whined, her fear only fueling her frustration and impatience. "Tell me who!"

"The Exarchs!" Naomi shouted into her head, the name bringing with it a strange mix of emotions. Everything from anger and disgust to fear and even respect. "Or their followers at least. I think they're after this thing. From the looks of it, it's some sort of… Okay, I have no idea what it is, but it definitely wasn't meant to be used as a conduit for people, like we just did."

The girl could barely keep up with what the spirit was telling her. Not only was the information coming faster than she could completely handle, but she didn't understand what most of it meant. What was an Exarch anyways? And if it wasn't supposed to do what it did, why did it? She didn't ask her questions, though, not wanting to disturb the mew. It did worry her, though, the way Naomi was pushing herself when not five minutes ago she had barely been able to levitate on her own. "Maybe you should lay down," she said softly, reaching up to take the mew into her arms.

The creature didn't resist, though when Celeste tried to walk away from the pillar with her, she would float back out of her arms to stay close to it. After a couple tries, the girl gave up and just held her close to it. At least the mew wouldn't have to hold herself up. "What are you doing, anyways?"

The mew hadn't taken her eyes off the pillar for several minutes now. It was another minute before she even responded to Celeste. "I'm trying to fix it before they get here."

"Fix it? I thought you said that you didn't even know what it did."

"I don't," Naomi replied. "Not it's specific purpose, but I think I know the basics of how it goes together. Except… I'm not an engineer, so this isn't something that comes as easily for me." Although she never looked away from the pillar, Celeste could see the fear in her expression. How desperate she was right now. It wasn't a comfort to the girl, but she had faith in the spirit's abilities.

After at least ten minutes of waiting, though, it seemed she hadn't made any progress. At this point, Celeste had sat down, but she quickly stood when she noticed something moving in the trees. The creatures that emerged were nothing like she had ever seen. They looked like they might have been normal monsters, except that they weren't proportioned correctly. Some had limbs they shouldn't have and others were missing ones they should've. What was the worst was that their skin looked rotten, even to the point of falling off on some of them. The grotesque shapes were enough to make Celeste sick, and she had to go off to the side quickly to empty her stomach of the strange food she had had the night before.

As she returned to the mew, she had to keep her eyes downcast, the monstrosities surrounding the bubble that Naomi was maintaining. Their presence and contact with it seemed to be taking its toll on her, though, as she struggled to stay afloat without Celeste holding her.

"Naomi, are you close to getting it to work again? You really need to rest." Celeste cradled the mew as best she could, watching her with concern. Even if her power wasn't as great as the stories said, she still didn't want to see a spirit die. "Please, if there are any other spirits watching over us so far from home, listen to this plea. I am Oracle of the Azalea Tribe, but that no longer has meaning, so I ask simply as a humble child. If there's any spirit listening, help us. Help ward off these nightmares made real." She fell to her knees then, crying over the mew she held tightly.

Suddenly, Celeste felt intense heat. Looking back up, the vision outside the bubble was no longer a wall of horrible creatures, but a wall of fire. It burned the ones in front while the ones who were untouched backed up to remain so. It seemed that her prayer had been answered, as she looked toward the sky to see a large bird with feathers in a variety of colors. The way the dust that trailed behind it sparkled in the colors of the rainbow made it easy to identify. The Protector of the Skies had come to save them. As it descended, though, she could see that it wasn't alone. There were two people riding on it, a man and a woman, both wearing clothing that was far more complicated than even what those evil people had put on her.

As the bird came in to land next to them, Naomi created a hole in the bubble for them to pass through. She probably could've dropped it completely with the Ho-oh's flames, but she wanted to be safe. Once landed, the two humans rushed toward the girl and her guardian mew, though the man stopped part way, just staring at her.

"Are you alright?" the woman asked, touching her shoulder gently as she looked the both of them over. "My name's Aile. It's alright, you're safe now. Do you know if there were any other survivors from the village?"

Celeste looked up at her in confusion. "There was a village near here?" Her eyes looked down to the ground as she muttered a quick prayer. "May the spirits take them with open arms."

This response caught Aile off guard, mostly because she could only barely understand it with her psychic abilities, but Wes spoke up before she could question the girl further. "She's not from the village, Captain." He glanced at Mattle to confirm before continuing. "That's Celeste."

"That's not possible!" Aile called back, despite what the Ho-oh had told her earlier.

Celeste stood up, though, looking at the man with a little fear. "How… How can you know my name? This is supposed to be the far future!"

He just shook his head, smiling sadly. "I can't understand you, I'm afraid." Looking at him now, Celeste could tell that he'd been crying, though she had no idea what about. Was that his village Aile had asked about? She supposed it didn't matter if he didn't even know what she was saying.

"I can, though," the woman said. "You're gifted, I can feel it. Would it be easier to talk telepathically?"

The girl shook her head. "I don't… actually know how to. I mean, I've been instructed in how, but I've never been able to do it." She sighed, looking down at the mew in her arms and stroking her fur gently.

"What happened to her?" Aile asked, following her eyes.

"She's trying to fix this stone thing to get us out of here," Celeste explained to the woman, who relayed the message to the man.

"Fix the Relic Stone?" The man said, a look of shock on his face. "I thought it was just some monument to Celebi that had a few mystic qualities, not some… device that can be broken and fixed."

Celeste smiled weakly at this. She had thought similarly about her own shrine to Celebi. It seemed like so long ago that she had even discovered there was more to it, and it had sent her on this horrible adventure.

Noticing how much she was sweating, Aile held onto the mew for a minute while Celeste took off her snow survival gear. She was quick to take Naomi back, though, too worried about her to trust her in the hands of others.

A good forty-five minutes later and it was still no good. At this point, they were all quite warm from the fire that surrounded them. "She better hurry," the Ho-oh said to no one in particular. "I can keep this flame up for a few hours more, but this bubble isn't enough to protect all of you from the heat. Another half-hour and it'll be too dangerous to stay."

"That's it," Aile said in response, standing up and pulling out some sort of glass cylinder. "We're teleporting to my ship. The village is lost anyways, this one ruin isn't worth protecting. I'm sorry, Celeste, you'll have to find some other way to get back to your own time. Assuming we even survive the war."

"No!" Naomi shouted, the first thing she had said since the other three had arrived. There was a loud crack, and Aile looked down in horror as she saw that the contents of the cylinder had been shattered by the mew's psychic outburst.

The woman was suddenly right next to Celeste, looking down at Naomi. "You stupid mew, do you even know what that was?"

It seemed the sudden activity was too much for the mew, its shield dropping. The fire suddenly felt all the more real to the three humans, threatening to burn them even well in the center of the circle. "Doesn't matter… now you have to… let me finish."

Aile threw the cylinder to the ground in frustration. "Dammit, Naomi, I know you're in the wrong time, but that doesn't give you an excuse to risk all our lives for some piece of junk stone statue." The mew had fallen back into her trance, however, giving no response. "Screw it. We're leaving. Mattle, get ready to fly."

Grabbing her arm before she could get too far away, Celeste looked up at Aile. "What gives you the right to treat spirits like that, huh? If Naomi thinks we should stay, then she must have a good reason."

The captain sighed, holding her head. "Look, Celeste, I'm sorry but Naomi is the craziest mew I've ever worked with. I don't care what she says, there's no way she's in any shape to fix anything. Now we're leaving, and that's final." With emphasis on that last word, she took Celeste's arm roughly, dragging her over to the legendary bird.

Wes helped get her onto the pokemon's back, holding her in place despite her struggles. "This is for your own good," he muttered to her, though she wasn't listening.

"Let's go, Mattle," Aile called to her as she jumped on. "Before they figure out what we're doing."

It was too late, though. As they lifted off the ground, there were already flying infected waiting for them. Mattle blasted as many as she could, but more just kept coming. She had to stop her fire spin just to keep her attention on the flying ones. This of course meant the grounded ones were now free to advance on the Relic Stone.

They began to claw and tackle it, desperate to destroy it while they could. After a minute of this, however, Celeste heard in her head a soft "Got it." The pillar suddenly came to life, the various blocks of irregularly shaped stone it was was made of jutted out a foot each, slamming into several of the shadow pokemon. A green glow streamed out of the gaps between the rocks, and even from the air it was impossible to see what was causing the light.

"This is incredible!" Wes shouted from behind Celeste. "I've never seen the Relic Stone do anything like this before. We never even suspected."

"I'm not surprised," Aile called back. "There's so much mew technology hidden in the world, even they don't know about it all. Let's just hope that whatever this thing does, it'll help us get away from the voidspawn."

The stones started rotating around the center of the column, faster and faster until the glowing got as bright as any of them could stand. Even the disfigured creatures below were stunned, though it still hadn't done anything to actually harm them. It didn't get any less active from there, though, shooting out a beam of light toward the sky. It blew past them, but instead of disappearing out of sight or fading away, it just vanished a few feet above their heads. The spot they had last seen it started to shimmer like a muggy morning. Then it seemed like a small hole opened in the sky, bright light streaming in from nowhere.

"Is that what I think it is?" Wes asked.

Celeste certainly didn't know, simply watching the display with an open mouth. No wonder it had taken Naomi so long to fix. To take a stack of useless rocks and make it do all this was amazing.

Leaning forward a little to get a better look, Aile muttered something to the Ho-oh and glaned back at the mew. "It's exactly what you think, Wes. It's a time ripple. Isn't that correct, Naomi?"

She nodded slowly, her eyes still on the light. "I… I believe so… I've never actually seen one before, but from what I could tell working with the device, that's how it drew its power. It was running for who knows how many centuries, barely drawing power from a smaller one. I still don't know what it was really designed to do, but as Wes observed, its dormant state had an effect on shadow pokemon."

Wes frowned. He had never told her that information, which meant she had looked into his mind without permission, a fact he didn't like. It wasn't his main concern however. "Does that mean you can use it to purify the ones here?"

"Not exactly. There might've been a way, but Celeste and I were drawn here because of the time ripple. We fell through it, causing a surge in power that the device couldn't handle. Most of its functions are destroyed. All I managed to do was rework the power collection systems. They had a backup way of powering them for obvious reasons. Anyways, I redesigned them to expand the time ripple."

Celeste spoke up now, though she was having some difficulty following along. "If it doesn't work, Naomi, what are you going to do?"

The mew smiled up into the girl's worried face. "Oracle, I hope you'll forgive me. I fear I haven't made the best of idols to worship. I couldn't even return you home." She paused, taking a few deep breaths, somewhat raspy after how much she had gone through. "But I will not let you die!" The mew pushed off of Celeste's chest, both physically and telekinetically, so sudden the girl couldn't even react in time.

"Mother, no!" she shouted, returning to calling her by the name her people gave the spirit. The mew had already saved her life so many times over the past day. Why was she risking her life further?

The flying void spawn instantly began going for the pink legendary. She was going as fast as she could, but her weakness made it difficult to get past them. Luckily, as soon as one drew close it was hit by Mattle. With the Ho-oh's support, the mew easily made it all the way to the time ripple, flying through the opening without a glance black.

None of the creatures dared to follow, so instead returned their attentions to the legendary bird and her passengers. Mattle did her best to fight them off, with Aile eventually needing to back her up with what Celeste noticed looked very similar to what that woman had pointed at her when she rescued Naomi. Despite how weak each individual creature was, however, more kept coming, and they would eventually be overwhelmed.

"Stay away from them!" They all heard a voice shout, Naomi's voice, though it seemed much stronger than before. Moments later she burst from the time ripple, eyes glowing a dark cyan that matched the energy that seemed to to be swirling around her, wisps of light that faded if they drifted too far from her. The soulless creatures realized how much of a threat she was, but instead of running away, they tried again to attack her. "Very well," she said in response. "You shall all be vanquished, then." The strange aura of energy she had acquired grew brighter and surrounded her completely in a sphere. The void spawn weren't slowed by this display, despite even Wes feeling its power. Without warning, the sphere rapidly expanded, burning the shadow pokemon closest to Naomi, but not stopping there.

Mattle began flying up as fast as she could, the heat of whatever the mew had unleashed close behind them. Just as it seemed it was going to catch up, the light disappeared and the legendary bird turned back to give them all a look. The voidspawn had all been annihilated, but somehow everything else was untouched. "We didn't need to run at all," Wes said to no one in particular. "It only affected the shadow pokemon."

Whimpering, Celeste tugged on Aile's arm, shouting up to her. "We need to go down there. Naomi might need our help!"

The Relic Stone was a complete ruin as they landed in the artificial clearing. Instead of reforming itself into a pillar, the spinning stones had just fell to the ground wherever they had happened to be at the time. The time ripple was closed up too, though Celeste no longer cared about any of that. Naomi was lying on the ground, curled up and shivering. Floating over her was yet another surprise, none other than the Voice of the Forest herself, Celebi. Celeste was on her knees as soon as she had gotten off the Ho-oh, bowing her head. "Voice of the Forest, on behalf of the Azalea Tribe, my humble greetings. It is an honor to be in your presence."

The celebi looked back in confusion. "Azalea? I thought this was Orre. And… that language…" The legendary flew the short distance to Celeste, putting a cool hand to her head. "Good, so I haven't gotten the time wrong then. You've had quite the adventure. Horrible place to end up, though. I usually avoid this time as much as I can."

"Then why did you come here?" Aile asked, showing none of the same respect that Celeste did.

The sprite smiled up at her, flying back to the mew. "A good question, Captain. It's because of what she did. Violating a time ripple like that doesn't go unnoticed. She doesn't know the damage she could've caused."

The way this spirit spoke of Naomi didn't sit well with Celeste, who had spent so much time with her. She did something she had never thought she'd do, speak out against the most important spirit in their tribe. "She saved our lives! I don't care what you think of her. She risked her life for ours and now… now she's…" Celeste was crying now, moving forward and lifting the unconscious mew into her arms. "What's wrong with her?"

The celebi smiled down on her sympathetically. "She was exposed to too much of the energy from the time ripple. She isn't made of the same matter as the rest of the world anymore, so she's being pulled out of it. Yes, she looks fine, but it's more or less just an illusion. Her mind is slipping away."

It was then that Naomi opened her eyes weakly, looking up into Celeste's face. "I guess I succeeded then. Good, maybe I wouldn't make such a bad deity after all." She cried out in agony, though tried to keep up appearances. "Except they're usually immortal." Noticing the celebi, she frowned. "Should've known you'd show up eventually. All this hopping around time and messing with time ripples. Well, you're too late." She held up a paw weakly. "No, don't say it. Just tell me why you're here."

"I'm here to help guide you through your transition," she offered, moving closer to the mew and looking as reassuring as she could.

The mew laughed, a high pitched sound that was cut short by a coughing fit. "Stupid body failing. I didn't realize that celebi guided people to death. Thought they were pretty much just time." She sat up suddenly, sniffing at the celebi before laying back against Celeste's arm. "I… I know you from somewhere… You're the celebi that visited us in the arctic, aren't you."

She shook her head, though smiled knowingly. "We can discuss that later. Your transition is more important. You aren't dying, I'm afraid. If we don't do anything, your mind will be torn from this world and distorted beyond saving. It relies entirely on you, though. We made sure mew had our genes in them for if they ever did too much time traveling. It would naturally facilitate a change into one of us to protect their mind. You're a unique case, though. You exposed yourself to a time ripple, so the degeneration is happening faster than we planned for."

"Get to the point!" Naomi moaned, eyes wide as she tried to take all this information into a mind that was fading from existence.

"Right, sorry." The celebi took her hand, blue eyes meeting blue eyes. "Focus on me, use your own transformation to accelerate the process. I know you have no reason to trust me, but that's exactly what you need to do."

Naomi watched the celebi fearfully, not ready to give up her species despite the circumstances. Her body spasmed in pain as she fought to keep it, a battle against natural forces that didn't weaken, like she did each time. This was enough to convince her, as she pushed gently out of Celeste's arms, the celebi helping her up. "I've never turned into a legendary before. What if I don't have the strength to?"

The celebi took her other hand now, smiling at her. They looked like they were still talking, but had decided to do it privately, no longer transmitting to the small group watching them.

They couldn't hide what happened next, though. As Naomi started to smile and relax, she closed her eyes and the changes began immediately. Celeste watched in awe as the mew's fur started to recede into her body, skin underneath turning a light green. Her long tail seemed to slide into her body, which based on the mew's expression hadn't been pleasant. Her feet shrunk as two small wings grew from her back, body slowly changing proportions the whole time. Her head looked to have the most changes, growing larger and swept back. Her muzzle and ears both flattened, and she looked panicked at the loss of her senses. Then two antennae grew just above her eyes and she relaxed, though she still seemed a little tense as they twitched rapidly. When it was all over, there were two celebi floating there, almost indistinguishable other than one looking more confident than the other.

"Perfect," the first celebi said, speaking "out loud" once again. "She'll be alright now, but I'd rather not train her on how to use her new body here. It's not safe with the Exarchs coming. You probably won't see us again, so you-"

"Wait!" Naomi said, giving her a little glare before letting go of her hand and floating down to Celeste. "It's our responsibility to take Celeste back home. We certainly can't just leave her here like this. Except… I've been thinking. She has so much potential, she could be as good as any mew someday. The mew in our time won't see it, though. They rarely accept humans into our race. Here though. If the world's at war with the Exarchs, they must need the help."

Celeste was in shock, trying to wrap her mind around what the new celebi was saying. Her message was clear enough, but what she was preposing needed to be repeated. "You want me to… become a spirit like you? In order to do so, I won't be able to see my village, my family again, will I? I won't be able to move through time as a mew."

Naomi nodded sadly. "Unfortunately. You could go back and live out your normal life with the people you love, or you could have the secrets of the universe at your finger tips to explore and discover for as long as you want."

The girl pondered her decision with care. She had never really been satisfied in her life, but that was still the only life she truly knew. Everyone and everything she had any connection to was long gone by this time. She would be completely alone in the world. Would that really be a change, though? Sure no one had ever really tried to make her feel out of place, but it hadn't been easy to live up to all those expectations. Her position had kept her isolated from a young age. After everything she had seen, learning more about this future, even if she had to do it alone, seemed far more desirable than struggling alone to be what she couldn't. "Alright, Naomi," she answered confidently. "I accept your invitation to join the spirits as one of them. What do I need to do?"

"First you need to stop calling us spirits," Naomi responded with a sly smile. "The rest isn't really something you can do. I couldn't do it even if I was still a mew, so we'll need to take you to our Eldest. He's the most powerful mew there is." She turned to Mattle as she asked, "Do you know where he is these days? It's probably a different one after a thousand years of course."

The Ho-oh lowered her head, as did Aile and the other Celebi. "The current Eldest just died," Aile answered. "Killed by one of his own mew according to the rumors."

Naomi frowned, but didn't seem too deterred. "That's unfortunate. Very well, we'll just need to bring Celeste somewhere back in time far enough for him to change her and teach her. This will work out better anyways."

Celeste stood up at her prompting, walking a few steps away from the other three while the first celebi prepared to take them back. "Goodbye," she said to the two humans and the Ho-oh. "Perhaps we'll meet again sometime." Then, with a beautiful mix of sound and light, they were gone.

"Perhaps indeed," Aile said, smirking to Mattle. As she got on and prepared to return to Realgam, she whispered to the legendary bird, "So how did the rest of that story go?"

Mattle shook her head, taking off. "Some other time, old friend. There's a war to be fought."

(-o-)(-o-)(-o-)(-o-)(-o-)(-o-)(-o-)(-o-)(-o-)(-o-)

A few months later, four decades prior…

"Celeste… Celeste, wake up…" The voice was soft, but penetrated into Celeste's dreams.

The young mew blinked her eyes open, looking around curiously. It had sounded familiar, but it certainly hadn't been the Eldest's voice. Then she noticed the celebi floating over her and got out of bed at once. "Naomi!" she shouted, flying up to the time travel pokemon and hugging her as tightly as her short arms could.

The celebi giggled. "Well, aren't you an energetic kitten first thing in the morning. It's good to see you too." She gently separated herself from the mew, floating back down with her to the soft plant bed she had been sleeping on. Celeste was living in a small cavern the Eldest had made for her in a remote part of some jungle she had never heard of. She had a little stream all to herself, and every day there would be a collection of berries for her. "By the way, my name's Mara now."

"Why's that?" Celeste asked as she grabbed a few berries from her pile and offered some to the other legendary. "Naomi's such a pretty name."

Taking one of the berries, Mara ate it happily before responding. "It's not something I did lightly, Celeste. Being a celebi is so much different than being a mew. New body, new mindset. So, after a couple years, I decided to take a new name, too. There was a little more to it than that, but… I'm here to check on you! How long has it been since you last saw me?"

The mew was confused by this question at first. Wouldn't she know? Then she realized what Mara had said about already being a celebi for over two years. Of course she didn't know how much time had passed; she had been too busy jumping around time or whatnot. "Just a few months, but it's been amazing so far. I never realized the world was so… big!" She whimpered, pawing at the ground weakly. "A little… too big sometimes."

Mara smiled at this, patting her on the back. "You think that's bad? Imagine having all of time to deal with. Don't worry, you don't really have to imagine it. You'll get used to everything once you're older. Speaking of which, how's your training? You look like your growing pretty well."

Celeste nodded, though seemed a little less enthusiastic about being reminded of her training. "It… I've certainly learned how to do more than I did as a human. I've also learned that… everything I was taught as a human was wrong. No such thing as spirits looking down at us from the heavens. Just the stars and the moon." She sighed lightly for a moment, leaning against the celebi. "Sometimes I wish things were still simple. That humanity was still primitive, and there wasn't a whole universe to understand."

The young mew felt the other legendary's antennae touching her forehead gently, in a gesture she didn't quite understand but took to be comforting. "In many ways humans still are primitive. You got a taste of what's coming. They have such a short time to prepare for that, and they'll need all the help they can get. I know you'll be ready when it comes to that."

The kitten smiled at this. "The Eldest said something similar once. It's probably the nicest he's ever been to me. Usually he's so strict with my lessons. He's worse than my aunt ever was."

"He's the Eldest," Mara replied with a light giggle. "He's worse than everyone's aunt."

"You should stay, Mara. He'll be coming for another lesson later, and I bet he'd love to talk to someone who knew him when he was young. All he has really is me, Logan and David. We don't understand him, though, not like you would." Celeste looked up at her with hopeful eyes, wanting to help both the person who had saved her and the person who she had come to respect.

The celebi shook her head, though, antennae drooping. "Terah wouldn't want to see me. He's had enough trouble with celebi in his life, and all I'd be is a reminder of a past that he lost a long time ago." Mara closed her eyes, holding Celeste close for a moment. "Just remember your duty to him. He's the Eldest, he's there to protect you, but he still needs your protection. Take care of him for me."

Celeste watched as she was bathed in a soft blue glow, her friend preparing to travel through time. "I will, Mara," she promised before the celebi was gone and the cave was once again still.