**Re-uploaded with edits for grammar and deleted words**
Hello again everyone! I've got an almost double length chapter for you today, and I'm pleased to announce that I am once again collaborating with What Lies Beyond. If you haven't, please check out her work, it's the best I've seen on this site.
She provided the characters of Caleb, Frost, and one other who is not named in this story.
Rocker on: Joshua can't go back. Tobias can because of his grandfather. Alejandra can because her mind never had to adapt to a change before. The Alakazam might show up, but the story is moving away from the forest rapidly. As for Joshua, you'll have to wait and see. On the topic of girls I don't agree with you but let's not pursue this further for the same reasons as the religion argument. I do kinda have a catchphrase. "Hello again everyone" is how I start all my author's notes. In person I love to argue, but online there's no winning because it easily devolves into Ad Hominem attacks.
Overrated Fiction: Dealt with in PM. In short Joshua is the way he is to be a foil to Tobias.
On with the story!
By the time we reached the wooden walls I was freezing. The night air chilled me to the bone, helped along by the water still dripping from me. Alejandra got up as she saw us approach. "Tobias, are you ok? You're shivering quite a bit." She called out.
"He fell in the river." Ramiro said.
"I'm fine, just a bit cold." I said, cutting off Alejandra's response.
She sighed, seemingly exasperated. "Come over here and let me help you."
I complied, walking up to her as she watched me. I had a feeling that she had an ulterior motive for this. Ramiro had headed off somewhere unseen. "So, now what?" I asked.
"Oh, sorry." She said, as if snapping out of a trance. She closed her eyes for a moment, exhaling, and heat began to radiate out of her. "Come on, get in closer." She said.
I moved towards her, stopping a foot or so away. We both sat down, the warmth she provided warding off the cold. "You and my dad were talking about me, weren't you?" She asked.
"What? No." I said, too quickly.
"Liar. What was it?"
I sighed. Hope for the best, Ramiro had said. It seemed there was nothing else to do but take the risk. "I hope what we talked about never matters." I said. "Because I've figured it out."
Our eyes met, and remained. Her eyes were this dark blue, almost black, a glimmer of light like fire hidden deep inside. "What is it then?" She said, softly.
In that moment, all doubts vanished from my mind. "You love me. And I love you." I said.
She smiled, still staring into my eyes. "I was wondering how long it would take. I'm glad you realized it quickly."
"I'm just confused how you knew my feelings before I did." I said.
Her smile broadened, my pulse quickening. "Call it intuition. Just know that I'll always be there for you." I felt a pang in my heart, but I ignored it. I had to have hope.
I awoke the next morning, a soothing warmth coursing through my body. I opened my eyes to see Alejandra's head resting on my chest. She must have ended up using me as a pillow. The sun was only just peeking over the horizon, brilliant hues painting the sky.
There was a sudden spike in heat as Alejandra awoke with a start. I winced slightly. Too much heat wouldn't do me much good, being part plant.
"Good morning." I said, as she rolled off of me and onto the ground.
"Damn, you woke up before me." She said. "Was looking forward to poking you."
"Could you not?" I asked, already knowing the answer.
"Of course I could, but I won't." She said.
"Good morning, you two." Ramiro said, stepping into the enclosed area from outside the wall. "I called in some favors, and I have potential locations for four different legendary pokemon."
"Kalos is a large region, you should be able to find your help without needing to leave." So we were on Kalos. I had only a rough idea as to the geography of the region, I had never paid enough attention in class. "Safest bet is Zygarde. It's been confirmed to be in a cave system to the north east. It never seems to move from one spot. Latias and Latios were seen with a trainer visiting the region. They won't be hard to find but will be near impossible to approach. Lastly, there was an unconfirmed Ho-oh sighting in the north. I wouldn't put much stock in that though."
"Thank you so much." I said. "For everything."
Ramiro shook his head. "No need to thank me, I just want to see you, both of you, find happiness."
"Papà, I- I'll miss you." Alejandra said.
"I'll miss you too. Just promise me you'll come back to visit once it's over."
"I will. I love you, papà."
Ramiro closed his eyes, a tear running down his cheeks. "I love you more than anything. Goodbye, mi hija."
We left then, Ramiro watching us go. Alejandra spent more time looking backwards than forwards until he was out of sight. "So which do we try and convince?" She asked, at length.
"I think we go for the trainer, if we can get two we at once then I'll be able to go back sooner." I said.
Alejandra nodded. "Sounds like a plan. The first step should be to get out of the forest, find a town. We need to figure out where the trainer is." We walked on for nearly an hour before it happened.
Alejandra stopped abruptly, standing perfectly still. "Shh." She whispered, causing me to stop as well, and listen.
"We must be careful, Cal'le-Sa, if she is there then we might cause a time paradox, you know you she can't see you for at least twenty three years." A female voice said.
"Do you need to keep reminding me? I know already." A man responded.
I looked over at Alejandra. "They're headed our way." I whispered. "What should we do?"
She began to respond, too late. Two figures emerged from behind a bush, stopping as they moved towards us.
The first, an Absol with strikingly blue fur, the color of a glacier, stopped short when it saw us. Tufts of fur reminiscent of mega-evolution stuck out of it's back. The other, a man in a long hooded coat, also stopped. His face was obscured by shadows from both the hood and the exceptionally thick piece of canopy above us.
A thought struck me. "You two were talking." I said. "That's not normal."
The man glared at me. "That's none of your business."
The Absol was giving me a strange look. "Something is off about this one."
The man's gaze changed, from anger to concentration. "You're right. You weren't always like this, were you?" He asked.
"How'd you know?" I asked, choosing my words carefully. I had no clue how people would react to what had happen to me.
"I've met another pokemon who used to be human. He had this sense of desperation I also see in your eyes. I helped him, maybe I can help you?" He said, taking a knee, and looking me in the eye. I heard Alejandra breath in sharply.
He was obviously not human, at least not completely. Yellowish fur covered his face, contrasting with hazel-brown eyes. "You're a hybrid." I said, stating the obvious. I had only ever seen one before, a vagrant I had spied walking past our house one time.
He inclined his head. "That I am. It's why I can talk to you. I wasn't always like this, I know what it's like to be trapped in a body that isn't really yours. So please, let me help you." He had an intensity in his voice that hadn't been there before, his eyes hard.
I glanced over at Alejandra. "You're in this with me, what do you think?" I asked her.
"He seems genuine." She said. "But it's up to you in the end. Whatever you choose, I'll follow your lead."
I looked back at the man. "We'll need all the help we can get, I think."
He seemed to relax, exhaling slightly. "Now, why don't you tell me your story then."
"My name is Tobias." I said. "I woke up as an eevee about a week and a half ago. Someone else was changed as well, a guy who bullied me quite a lot actually. I tried to help him but he became bitter and attacked me. I defeated him, not realizing how close I was to a moss stone, and evolved. I wandered for a bit before I met Alejandra, who was able to lead me to Mesprit. Mesprit told me that I would be able to go back if I found two other legendaries to get the attention of Arceus, but only because of something my Grandfather did who knows how many years ago. We were going to find a trainer in the region who has both Latios and Latias with him." I skipped a lot, but some of what I said I hadn't even told Alejandra yet.
The man listened intently the whole time. "I guess I should introduce myself then. My name is Caleb. I'm a hybrid between a human and growlithe, although I was born as a normal human. My story is too long to be told right now, but suffice to say I've been traveling for a long time now. My friend here is Fer'ost, or Frost. She doesn't like to use human names, so bear with her. She calls me Cah'le-Sa"
Alejandra spoke next. "I guess it's my turn. I am Alejandra. I was born and raised in these woods. My dad is a once-human, like Tobias. He tried to raise me as human as he could. I met Tobias five days ago now, and, well…" She visibly blushed.
Frost looked us over. "My story is much the same as Ca'le-Sa. I wandered for many years by his side." She said, looking over at me. "I will call you To'vai'rhan-tal."
Caleb stood up, towering over us. "Let's get a move on, there's a place I want to stop along the way." He said.
The four of us set out, Caleb taking the lead. I walked side by side with Alejandra, Frost slightly ahead of us.
"So Frost, how long have you known Caleb for?" Alejandra asked.
"About forty years now." Frosty said. "He's not matured at all since we first met."
"What? You're the one who never acts their age." Caleb said.
"Nyeh!" Frost retorted, sticking out her tongue then giggling audibly as if to prove his point .
"Forty years?" Alejandra asked. "How is that possible, neither of you look that old."
"Time travel and a bit of help from legendaries go a long way." Caleb said.
Time travel? Now this was getting interesting. "You two certainly seem to have quite the story to tell. I'd love to hear it eventually." I said.
Caleb was silent for a minute. "To be honest I don't know where I would begin, there's so much to say."
We had reached a point where the ground began to slope upward rather rapidly. A look to the right showed the cliffs towering above. This must be a way up, I realized, resolving to never speak of my gravity-aided descent.
Time wore on, and the ground evened out once we reached the summit, the sun directly above us. We had fallen into an awkward silence, just walking, the crunch of twigs beneath Caleb's boots drowning out the sounds of the forest.
Caleb stopped, suddenly. "I'd forgotten this would be here. Tobias, you might want to see this."
I walked up next to him, seeing before me the unnaturally still pool I had seen soon after my arrival. "I've been here before." I said. "The pool showed me my human form."
"That's not exactly what it does, the pool shows you your soul's reflection as opposed to your body." Frost said from behind me. "Ale'jan'hai-tal. It took me some time to figure out you enough to give a name, but I've got it now. Ale'jan'hai-tal and To'vai'rhan-tal."
"The same suffix?" Caleb asked. "Doesn't that normally imply bloodline?"
Frost shook her head. "Not when a name is given to a human, but it is preferable to avoid. I tried to work around it, but I always came back to the same place."
I walked up to the mirroring waters, stomaching a yelp. There, in the waters, was me, both of me. My human body as well as this one, occupying the same space.
Alejandra joined my by the water's edge. Her reflection also had both forms. She looked at my reflection, eyes lingering. "Was it always like that?" She asked, voice soft.
"No." I said, my mouth dry all of a sudden.
"Remember," She said. "No matter what happens, I'll be there to share your fate."
Ramiro's words came to me once again. I hoped I would never have to leave her.
"I know." I said.
Caleb and Frost joined us by the water. Both of them reflected their bodies as they were. "If you had looked in before you got revenge, what do you think you would have seen?" Frost asked Caleb.
"I don't know." He said with a sigh. "And I think that helping Jacob was the turning point, not my revenge. Let's get a move on, this isn't what we're here for, and it's not far now."
Once again we set out, the sun now halfway down the sky. "So Jacob was the other person like me that you helped?" I asked.
"Is, was, will be." Caleb said. "He won't be born for another 5 or 6 years by my count, but it's still in my past. He was in a lot of trouble, the same person who did this to me turned him into an eevee. His mind would have broken if he hadn't gotten help."
"Was he able to become human again?" Alejandra asked.
Frost shook her head. "No. He was able to come to terms with it though, after he fell in love with another like him."
My heart was heavy in my chest. I didn't want to let my feelings for Alejandra stop me from seeing my mom again. Family was more important. Humanity was more important. The image of my twin reflections came to me, but I forced it away. No, that wasn't who I was. Even still, I couldn't fully ignore what I had seen.
"Caleb, I don't think it's here. We would have passed it already." Frost said, glancing around the woods.
He looked up at the forest canopy above us, putting his hands on the back of his head. "I guess I was being too optimistic. There's still twenty three years until I can see her safely again, anyways. I'm not sure what I wanted." He turned to Alejandra and me. "We'll camp here for the night, and head off early in the morning. If we're quick we can reach a town in two or three days, and figure out where that trainer is."
"Thank you for agreeing to help us." Alejandra said.
"Don't mention it." Caleb replied, sitting down, his back to a tree.
Alejandra and I laid down next to each other. "Are you still thinking about your reflection?" She asked, quietly.
"Yeah." I admitted, closing my eyes. "I'm worried that when I'm back things won't be the same."
"That's a good way to think about it, when, not if. Look, don't worry about what might go wrong. You're going to see your mother again. I know it." She said, placing her paw on mine.
I sighed. "Thank you for that. I think that's just what I needed to hear."
"All I want is for you to be happy." She said. "I love you, you know that?"
"I love you too." I said, eyes still closed.