I can't leave her alone for anything.

My flight into Ambrette filled me with suspicion. I just KNEW Celeste was going to be tangled up in something while I dealt with Skrelp's family. Upon making my way into the Fossil Lab my suspicions were confirmed as one of the scientists explained the robbery to me, and how Celeste went after him on the promise of getting the fossils restored. I wasted no time in surrendering mine while we made our way towards Glittering Cave. Genny dropped down and unfolded in front of the entrance while I jumped off, Boomer landing on my head.

"SCANNING. TARGET LOCATED." Genny said, stomping up to us. I sighed and nodded, taking out her pokeball.

"I was hoping she wouldn't be in there already. I wonder how she got over? Oh well, thanks Genny. You should rest for a bit." I said, recalling her. With a sigh, I marched right into the cave. I was already annoyed at the darkness, and no amount of squinting was going to help. Boomer made some light squeaking sounds, his wings shifting on my head. He began to make impatient sounds, and I realized he was guiding me. I started to follow his directions when I heard some yelling deep in the cave. I ran towards the sound, grabbing Sabrina's pokeball. I pressed the button without letting it go and she appeared in front of me, the light from her summoning illuminating the cave just enough for me to spot the passage I needed to go in. The cave was lit up again as Sabrina pulled out her wand, running ahead of me to light the way.

"Look, I need these. I did the work so I get to take them!" Celeste said as I burst into the room she was in. Sasha was beating her wings hard in front of her, looking angry but tired, as she stared down two people who were standing aggressively. From the goofy way they were dressed, and nearly identical, I knew these people were in a syndicate on-par with Team Plasma, which meant Celeste was in a lot of trouble.

"Come on, little girl, you don't need to be so difficult. Just give us the fossils and you can be on your way." Said a man, his orange hair bouncing. Celeste stood her ground and braced herself, holding something in one arm while using the other to grab a pokeball.

"How about no, you Team Galactic wannabe?" She said. I ran up to stand beside her as Sabrina charged in front of me, brandishing her wand.

"I don't know what's going on here, but you need to leave!" I said. Celeste turned to me and grinned, turning back to the battle in front of us as the pair called out a Zubat and a Houndour.

"We're not leaving without those fossils! Use Smog, Houndour!" Called the woman.

"Yeah, you are. Sabrina, use Light Screen!" I called. Sabrina began to spin her wand, her power glowing in front of it while Houndour made a gagging sound, releasing a sickly, green-colored gas. The Smog was held at bay by the Light Screen for a short time, but it began to seep through it.

Go Zubat! Use Wing Attack on Noibat!" Called the man.

"Sasha, set it up!" Celeste cried. Sasha's eyes glowed as she snapped her wings forward. When nothing happened, our opponents seemed to be stunned, Zubat stopping its charge.

"Sabrina, use Psybeam on Zubat!" I commanded. Sabrina leapt up just as Houndours attack reached her, her paw being nicked by the smog as she rose above it. A light purple glow enveloped her, and I knew there wasn't much time before she wouldn't be able to battle anymore. Fighting through the poison, Sabrina pointed her wand at Zubat, the multi-colored Psybeam hitting it straight on. Zubat screeched as it fell to the ground, instantly knocked out by my Braixen's attack.

Sabrina landed on the ground in front of Houndour and growled at it, brandishing her wand again. I thought she was bluffing, because I knew none of her attacks would be able to even touch Houndour if it had Flash Fire. Or so I thought. Her eyes glowed along with the flame on her wand, and rocks around Houndour began to float up. Houndour was scared and confused as the stones slammed into him, knocking him back. I was confused when he got back up, but Celeste began to clap.

"How neat! It's been a long time since I've seen Secret Power!" Celeste cried. I blinked at her for a moment, turning to my very smug-looking Braixen as she started to pant.

"I thought that was a rock type attack. I am forgetting, there's something special about Secret Power, right?" I asked, feeling relaxed. Celeste hummed as Sabrina retreated back to my side.

"So, it looks different depending where the pokemon is battling, and it can be used to make bases. People in Sinnoh prefer going underground, but in Hoenn there are so many great locations to choose from they just use Secret Power." Celeste said as Houndour stood up. Sabrina cried out as the poison wracked through her body, and I gritted my teeth as Houndour started to approach her with a growl. Sasha flew down and got between him and Sabrina, growling at him. The growl turned into a snicker as Sasha landed on Sabrina's head, folding her wings in front of her and smirking at Houndour. The fiery hound was confused for a brief moment before the wind picked up, the maelstrom becoming so fierce that visible blades of air sliced into Houndour. He cried out as the Razor Wind threw him into the air, uncerimoniously dropping him in front of his trainer.

With both pokemon down for the count, the pair quickly recalled them and gritted their teeth, running towards us. I pushed Celeste out of the way as they ran past us and down a tunnel. With a sigh, I pulled away from Celeste and smiled at our pokemon, walking over to hug Sabrina before I recalled her. I then turned to Celeste and stared at her arms curiously, confused by the sight of the stones in her arms.

"So, what do you have there? Are you a fossil nut or something?" I asked. Celeste shook her head as she shuffled, twisting her bag to put her treasures inside before settling it and grabbing a pokeball.

"No, I need these for a trade. Angie, light the way please!" She said, her Flaaffy appearing in front of her. Sasha settled on Celeste's head as the bauble on Angora's tail began to glow. They started to walk towards the cave entrance, and I tilted my head in confusion.

"Trade for what?" I asked as I followed them.

"So, don't get mad at me. Those guys are called Team Flare." She said slowly, wincing when I audibly flinched.

"Do I wanna know how you know that?" I asked her. Celeste turned and grinned sheepishly at me as we walked.

"Well, I met one when I went to get my fossil restored. He stole something from the fossil lab and he refused to give it back because he'd get kicked out of Team Flare if he went back empty-handed. So I kinda...made a deal with him where if I brought him a Plume Fossil or an Old Amber he'd give me the thing he stole. I found both, and decided he'd have no choice but to stick with the deal if I gave them to him." She said. My blood ran cold at her words, and I stopped in my tracks. Celeste and Angora stopped as they looked at me worriedly, while I stared at Celeste with wide eyes.

"Celeste….Celeste it doesn't work like that. He lied to you, there's no way he's going to keep his word. And even if he does, you're giving this group access to two really powerful pokemon. How could you do this?" I asked, stunned by her decision. Celeste shifted and put her forefingers together, flexing them against each other.

"Aldith, I knew you weren't going to like it but these guys aren't Team Plasma. They aren't the Reapers. I mean, come on we knocked out that pair's Zubat and Houndour without much effort. And the guy I met was bumbling and sad. Remember, I'm NOT a new trainer, and this isn't even my first time fighting a regional bad guy team." She said. I sighed as I thought about it. I had heard of Team Galactic when I was in Team Plasma, about how they looked really goofy but were scary competent on a level not dissimilar to ours. I closed my eyes and went deep into thought, reaching out for advice.

'Please, help me. What do I do?' I asked. I felt warmth well up inside of me as my guiding voice thought about my request.

'Forget about your past for a moment. What will you do knowing this has nothing to do with what you went through?' It asked. I bit my lip and crossed my arms.

"Aldith?" Celeste asked. I raised a finger at her, asking for some space to think. I mean, she had a point that these guys weren't much of a threat. I couldn't help but feel something was off about them though.

'I'm sorry. I really don't know. I can't think very clearly, it still stings. You can't just ask me to forget what happened to me and my best friend. I got hurt, people died. GOOD people.' I said, sniffling a bit. I felt a pair of arms encircle me, and cracked an eye open to see Celeste holding me. She said nothing, waiting for me to say the first word, but she still wanted me to know she was here.

'Yes, and it was partially your fault.' The voice said, making me freeze up. I mean, it wasn't wrong, but still.

'Ow.' I told it. I felt odd, like the voice was empathizing with me.

'Aldith, I understand how you feel more than you realize. What is important is to accept mistakes and learn from them. You did contribute to the disaster that was Team Plasma, but you also did everything you could to fix it. You almost gave your life to do so. Now, focus. Do you trust Celeste in her decision, and yourself to protect her if it backfires?' It told me. I breathed in deeply and unfolded my arms, hugging Celeste back.

'I do. Thank you—thank you.' I said, considering calling it out and its identity. I thought better of it because there were more important things to deal with right now. The voice seemed bemused, but did not volunteer anything as I sniffled and opened my eyes.

"Okay. I don't like it, but I trust you. As long as you know I will do whatever it takes to keep us safe." I told her. She smiled and nodded, hugging me quickly one more time before skipping to the exit.

Everything inside of me was screaming about this being a trap. That in the grand scheme of things this was going to be like Team Plasma and Unova all over again. It made it all the more difficult for me to make the fast-paced decisions I normally have no problem making. Everything about this situation told me it was no different, but it just couldn't be the same, right? I mean, these Team Flare guys were far less organized than Team Plasma ever was, and far more clumsy too. Sure, our pokemon weren't exactly the strongest, but it took more than one or two attacks to bring us down.

I just couldn't shake that something was off.


TBC

God this story is gonna be bogged down with characters. I had to look up Team Flare again for this part and I forgot all the admins. Also I forgot how awful Sabrina's moveset was here. I hope we can all agree on Secret Power.

So I guess I won't promise weekly updates, but I'll still be somewhat regular. The well hasn't dried up again but I just don't see a lot of time in my day to work on it.

Next chapter, we should get the fossils. I'll start work on it as soon as I rebuild their movesets. It won't take long. ^^

See you in 37!

POST EDIT: Oh my god I broke the most sacred rule of writing. I mixed up Their/There. Like, I know this ain't perfect by any means, but holy shit that physically hurt to reread the chapter and find that.