Yes, I'm nuts. I've absolutely lost it. It also seems I can't abide by my own rules. I've gone and started another fic! gah! Illusory Love is currently on hold in my head, I kinda got tired of writing it.

This is a rewrite for Khalia, who wrote this first but decided to get rid of it. I've improved it and all that good stuff. Enjoy, ok? Please.

Disclaimer: Yugioh and Pokemon aren't mine. Heck, even the plot isn't mine.

Crossing Paths: Second Edition

Gifts

"Thanks Nurse Joy for everything!" A girl with fuchsia colored hair in a long braid called, waving to the head nurse of the Pokemon Center on Mystic Mountain.

"It was nothing, Neko! Come back soon!" Nurse Joy called back. Neko waved again and turned to the path in front of her. She could go one of two ways, one way towards the next town, and the other way straight into the Mystic's Forest. The girl shrugged and turned to the Pokemon on her back, a fluffy-tailed Pikachu named Fox.

"What do you think, Fox? Which way should we go?"

The Pikachu with the oddly shaped tail (for a Pikachu; most Pikachu had a lightening shaped tail, this one's tail was fluffed out like a fox's.) stared at the fork in the road for a moment, before pointing towards the left, and the Forest.

"Ok, then, we'll go that way. Civilization can wait a few days for this trainer."

Neko Birch was a Pokemon trainer. But she was no ordinary trainer. She was a trainer with a curse. It happened a few days after she got Fox as her first Pokemon. She was walking through the Viridian Forest when a sudden rainstorm hit. Looking for shelter, she found a surprisingly well kept but abandoned cabin. Well, like every new trainer, she was curious and decided to look around her temporary lodgings. Neko had found a beautiful necklace in a box in the only bedroom. It had a red leather strap with a paw print charm of a Persian hanging off it. When she first laid eyes on it, she had to try it on. It just felt right, in some weird way. Though, as soon as she tried it on, the clasp disappeared and she hasn't been able to take it off since. Also, whenever Neko is in danger, she turns into a Persian. There was one time where she was chased by a flock of Spearow. They had cornered her, and Fox was exhausted. It was an amazing transformation.

Flashback-----

Neko was panting hard. She had run as fast as she could, and she still couldn't outrun the flock. With her back against a tree, she kept Fox protected with her arms around him and squeezed her eyes shut, and waited for pecks of about 20 pissed birds.

Instead of the pain from an attacking Spearow, she felt an odd pins and needles sensation all over her body. Looking down, she saw tan fur sprout like grass everywhere. Next, she heard some cracks and pops of bones growing and reshaping. Surprisingly, this didn't hurt. Unable to stand, she fell to all fours. She acutely noticed her ears moving from the sides of her head to the top. A few more adjustments here and there, and finally at the end, was fully grown and powerful Persian where Neko had stood. This Persian had the same choker on that Neko had.

'What the?' Neko thought. Soon, the Persian began to attack the Spearow, which completely surprised them. But it wasn't Neko attacking the birds, it was something else entirely.

'What's going on?!?! I'm not doing this, so who is?'

Finally, the last Spearow had flown away. Neko finally had control of her body back. But, she hadn't turned back into a human just yet.

'Why aren't I a human again? Don't tell me I'm stuck like this, that this cursed necklace turns me into a Persian for the rest of my life!'

'Merow…'

'Huh?' Neko heard a meow, but not from around her surroundings, but from inside her mind. The girl turned cat closed her eyes, and she saw another Persian, facing what seemed to be her mental self. They stood in some sort of space, no visible walls or floor, yet there was something to stand on, which Neko was grateful for.

The Persian began to talk. "Hello."

"Umm…Hi? Just who are you?"

"I am…a guardian."

"What?"

"My mistress, a hundred years ago, was my trainer. I was to guard her whenever there was danger, and she would take care of me. We became closer than Pokemon and Trainer not long after we met. But she became sickly one day, and the other humans would not let me see her. I could not guard her against this. I knew she had died, but the other humans would not tell me so. I guess I believed that more than the facts. My spirit was locked into her favorite necklace, as she said it reminded her of me. I waited for the day when the other humans would let me see mistress again. You look so much like mistress. Let me guard you, please."

The Persian's plea hit home in Neko's heart. How could she say no?

"Yes, you may." Neko opened her arms to the large cat, "Come here." The Persian happily came, and it enjoyed the embrace and petting it received. "Question," Neko started, "When do I change back into a human?"

"You're already back in human form. You might want to put back on those silly things called clothes though."

The girl froze in fear and anticipated embarrassment.

"Crap!"

End Flashback-----

Ever since then, Neko had been able to use each ability the Persian had, and at extreme times, become a full Persian to protect herself. It was a useful ability.

The Trainer and Pokemon walked into the forest and quickly lost themselves. They weren't worried; they had done the same thing many times and had made it out relatively unharmed. The feeling that permeated this forest so thoroughly captivated both. There was something special just ready to burst out. It placed Neko in an anxious position, like a kid about to ride a roller coaster for the first time; excited and scared witless all at once.

They had been wandering for three or four hours-you lost track of time so easily here-when something rustled in the brush. Neko spun towards the movement and crouched, ready for whatever was there. A little more sound, and a blue head popped out.

Neko's eyes went wide, "A Dratini!" She grinned, knowing exactly wheat she wanted to do. "Fox, you up for a battle?"

The mouse Pokemon gave a confident yes, "Pika!"

"Alright then, Fox, let's go! Quick attack!"

The Dratini never knew what hit it. Neko threw the Pokeball and the dragon Pokemon gave little resistance. "Yahoo! I caught a Dratini!" Fox jumped for joy. The girl shrank the Pokeball and attached it to her belt. "C'mon Fox, wanna go see if there's anymore Pokemon out there for us?"

"Pi, Pikachu!" Fox seemed as excited as his trainer did.

Both wandered the forest some more, coming across lots of bug Pokemon, some different mouse types, and a few pissed off Beedril and Spearow. The sense of excitement and special-ness Neko felt when they entered the forest only grew stronger with time. The forest grew thicker and thicker with plant life as they walked. The trees were especially thick towards the west, the direction that they were walking. The two struggled through a pair of closely placed trees and stumbled onto clear meadow.

This meadow had nothing special in its physical features, but the only two occupants of this meadow were what made it exceptional.

There were two Pokemon in the exact center of the meadow, and they were looking right at Neko and Fox.

Neko had no idea what these two Pokemon were. She pulled out her Pokedex and pointed it at the two.

The first she pointed at was a tall, light and dark purple Pokemon, and it had a long tail. It was vaguely human shaped, and it had three fingers.

"Mewtwo. A psychic Pokemon. Little is known about this Pokemon. Trainers are warned to stay away from this Pokemon at all costs."

Neko's blood froze at that comment. Her dad, professor Birch, had told that if she ever heard that comment from her 'dex, to get away from that Pokemon as fast as possible. The scared girl could already feel her curse's magic activating, in anticipation of danger. Slowly, in fear of what she might get, she pointed her 'dex towards the second Pokemon. This Pokemon was light green and yellow, with large blue eyes. It was also very small, and was flying around in small, tight circles.

"Celebi. A light Pokemon. Legends say this Pokemon can travel through time. One ancient tale tells of it coming from another world. "

Neko, in spite of her fear was curious why such an innocent Pokemon was with one so seemingly dangerous. No matter, she wasn't going to ignore the warning her Dad's Pokedex gave her. She turned to run away, Fox at her heels, when she found she couldn't move her legs.

"Come," A deep voice resonated within her head. Her curse guardian, the Persian, was pissed at the mental intrusion, but couldn't do anything about it. Neko was drawn by Mewtwo's psychic abilities towards him. "You…" He whispered again in her mind. He circled her, looking over every inch of her. Fox was behind her a few feet, growling at the forceful examination of his trainer. Mewtwo spared a glance at the brave Pikachu. "Do not worry, fellow Pokemon, I do not intend to harm your Trainer." Fox narrowed his brown eyes, but stopped growling. Mewtwo returned to Neko. "Your name is Neko, is it not? Celebi told me you would be coming today." The yellow bee-like Pokemon flew over to Neko and grinned at her. Celebi then giggled and flew a few tight circles like an acrobat in the air around her. "You have a gift, I can sense it. It is a powerful gift, which can make you so much stronger if trained right. However, this gift cannot be tapped here. It's not for here. Not for this world. Did you know the legend of Celebi is a long one? Most of it tells of Celebi's travels through time. But there's one story, at the very beginning at the legend. It's a very ancient story, which says that Celebi was not part of this world. These legends are true. Celebi is not from here. Your gift is not from here as well. To be realized, you need to leave this world. Celebi will take you there." The genetically altered Pokemon said all this while keeping Neko perfectly still, making her absorb all of this information. She struggled against the psychic Pokemon's powerful disable attack, but to no avail. Mewtwo could do whatever he wanted with her.

"I can hear Her voice. A voice of so much power, so much more than mine." He mused, facing Neko again. "One from hot sands and feats of great magic. She calls, 'Mewet biaw…' "Kitten mine…" She needs you, Neko. You must go." Mewtwo was uncharacteristically desperate, though Neko didn't know it.

The cat cursed trainer no longer felt so scared. Instead, she felt more compelled to help, and curious. Who was calling her?

"O-Ok, I'll go." She stuttered, summoning up her courage.

Mewtwo released Neko and stepped away. Fox, no longer held back by the threat of Mewtwo, bounded up to his master's shoulder. A glow around Celebi drew their attention. The soft, gold light grew to encompass Neko and Fox.

"Good luck, Neko Birch." Mewtwo said as all went black.

Love it, like it, hate it? Review please. Not all credit goes to me, though. Khalia gets some too!