Chapter 3: Transformation Time
Okay, everyone! We're all going down the Super Fun Happy Slide! Apparently, the Super Fun Happy Slide wasn't so much fun for Ash, Blossom, Bubbles, Buttercup, Calista, Pikachu, Baltoy and the other woman. Each were screaming their lungs out. They hoped the bottom arrived soon so that they could catch their breaths. With a flash of light, the bottom was reached. Ash and Blossom flew far after exiting and landed hard on the stone floor while the rest fell onto...a sponge? That's the biggest sponge we've all seen. Sure, everyone else gets to land on something bouncy while the only boy for who knows how far takes a digger to his back with Blossom on top. "That wasn't so bad," Bubbles sighed in relief. Pikachu looked to where Ash landed, finding Blossom on top. Did those two have more momentum than the rest? Pikachu came over to Ash and Blossom to find an interesting surprise: Blossom and Ash's lips met. Ash was shocked to see Blossom and feel her kiss. Blossom stirred, removing her lips from his. Was that an accidental smooch? Did Ash have sudden feelings for Blossom? Or was it the other way around? Blossom's cheeks blossomed red.
"You okay?" Ash asked. Blossom's response was her digging his head from the ground and laying another, more embracing kiss. Was this for keeping her from harm? Was this out of fear from that long slide? Whatever it was, she wasn't about to release such soft lips. Buttercup begged to differ... rather violently.
"That's enough, Blossom!" she argued as she pulled the ponytail, hurting Blossom's scalp. Despite the painful tugging, she refused to let Ash's head and lips go as she and Ash were pulled up to a seating position.
"Stop it!" Calista begged Buttercup and Blossom to hold their fighting. That's when she realized her Baltoy had something to break them apart, regardless of Blossom's heartwarming wish. "Baltoy, use Confusion!" Baltoy got it's eyes, then body to glow a sky blue and coated the three in the struggle. The three were separated before being lowered on to their feet. Bubbles huffed in relief that the three were safely broken apart.
"Thanks a lot, Calista," she praised. Calista bobbed her head before finding hieroglyphics on a wall. To her, this was the discovery she had looked for. Different drawings depicted a unique history.
"This is it! Drawings from the ancient civilization!" Ash and the other girls got to where Calista ran up, observing the hieroglyphics.
"Drawings from...what civilization?" Blossom questioned.
"From the Baltoy Civilization back in ancient times! And it looks like the technology back then was super advanced." A civilization that was way ahead of their own time. Could they have used this technology to protect the artifacts?
"Fascinating!" Bubbles awed. Ash turned to the hooded woman with a question.
"Excuse me, but do you know where the greatest artifact is?" he asked. The woman darted her head and finger to a pile of rocks.
"Over there," she replied. Everyone turned to the pile. Was this really where the artifact laid?
"It's just a pile of rocks." There should be a reason.
"There was an earthquake not too long and it caused the rocks to fall upon the magic wheel. Sadly, my Baltoy was caught up in it and now is trapped underneath the pile." Was that the reason she called Calista? To use her Baltoy to free her Baltoy?
"Hey, nothing like a little Powerpuff muscle to help get the weight off your back," Buttercup offered. "Ash, gimme a hand!"
"Okay!" he accepted as they got to the pile. Buttercup tried to push and Ash pulled but the rock wasn't giving an inch. "It won't budge!" Both surrendered.
"Maybe transformed, this wouldn't be a problem." Maybe Blossom and Bubbles would like to pitch in.
"Calista, perhaps you can use your Baltoy to move the rocks," the woman suggested. "Provided you use the right ability." What could she use? Quickly, she knew what Baltoy could use to move the rocks.
"Of course!" she figured out. "Hey, Ash, Buttercup, you might wanna move for this!" Ash and Buttercup bailed from the pile and returned to the rest. Cleared, Calista was ready. "Baltoy, once more with Confusion." Baltoy used Confusion to move every boulder without trying to damage the giant artifact. It placed the boulders a safe distance from the artifact...and another Baltoy. Seeing that Baltoy, the woman raced to check on that Pokémon.
"Baltoy!" She raced on to the artifact, a giant stone circle with markings, and clasped the Baltoy. "Are you okay, Baltoy?" Baltoy weakly moaned, rattled with all those rocks on top of it. "I know it's been hard on you. Take a good rest." Baltoy morphed into a ray of red light as it zipped into a red/white ball. The woman stood back up as the rest reach the circle.
"This is the artifact?" Bubbles guessed.
"Yes!"
"But wait!" Calista remembered as she pulled her book from her bag. "This book says that it's still yet to be dug into and discovered."
"That's true. I have the same book." Ash and the girls were flabbergasted to learn that she had the same book Calista held, only dusty and worn. "Yes, it's because of this book that I was able to finally obtain the greatest treasure in the universe through the magical power of this artifact. I have searched for this place for a long time. My mother and father stubbornly wanted me to give up my dream of archeology for their selfish desires to study medicine." To be a doctor... This sounded familiar.
"Isn't that what's going on with your parents, Calista?" Blossom recalled. Calista nodded, knowing Blossom had been paying attention.
"During my journeys away, I began to do research on the Baltoy Civilization without much success until I searched on these mountains to see if there was a lead on how to inherit the Civilization's studies and the greatest treasure. It had taken me years to unearth the discoveries." Quite the dedication. Even Calista felt that her efforts weren't in vain.
"But still, you did find the ruins to the civilization's artifacts to further understand," she pointed out.
"Perhaps. Calista, I can tell you that the greatest treasure isn't exactly buried beneath soil. In fact, it's what everyone has. I heard about the ancient ruins and believe what we all want to know about this historic civilization, but I've only scratched the surface. I want you to finish uncovering all the Baltoy Civilization wanted us to understand." Calista knew she had a daunting task, insisted by a stranger who called her.
"I know now what I'm gonna do," she figured out as she gazed at her book. Wait...her book she had! "Hold on! I know this book came out a couple of months ago so I know it's totally brand new!" The girls had a double-take on the books, knowing how new Calista's book looked and how beat up the other woman's book looked.
"Hey, you're right!" Bubbles realized.
"How's her's still hot off the press and yours is so old?" Ash asked. The woman just laughed.
"It's because I've used it since I obtained the book and used it every time for a long time," she responded. No one had a clue with what she just told. "Don't you worry about the details, Calista. Have Baltoy do Rapid Spin on the magic wheel. On that, all your answers will unravel." Calista seemed nervous about having her Baltoy do the stunt. That's when a rumble shook the ground. Ash and Buttercup knelt to keep their feet steady when a drilling vehicle burrowed down to the ruin below. The yellow vehicle rolled to a stop. Laughter. Then, voices.
"See, James," a voice of an adult woman billowed. "I knew we would be able to follow the twerps to their hiding spot!" The vehicle opened up to show a trio with villainous sneers. One was a female with wavy blood-red hair. She wore a white mid-drift shirt with a red 'R' on it, white skirt and black thigh-high boots. One was a male with dampened blue hair. He donned a white uniform with that same red 'R' on it. The smallest was not a human but a cat with a gold oval coin wedged in its forehead.
"Yes, but they look like they need some extra company," the male offered.
"Present company accepted!" the cat declared. Ash and Pikachu did not approve of the new company.
"Team Rocket!" Ash bellowed in anger. "What are you up to this time?!" The girls realized that he did not like this group, yet wondered why.
"Who are these guys?" Bubbles wondered. Ash needed to clarify, even the other two behind them.
"Team Rocket goes around the world to steal other people's Pokémon." Thieves, one's which cannot escape.
"That may be true except for today," the redhead snickered. "It's the treasure that's in these ruins. Meowth?" The cat whipped out a remote control.
"One Baltoy..." it meowed. A claw came out of the vehicle. "...Coming right up!" The claw extended out and snagged Calista's Baltoy. They lied. "And now for the treasure!" The drill was replaced with different digging tools like a shovel, pickaxe and a rake. They weren't aware that the treasure wasn't even buried to begin with.
"Stop now!" the woman on the magic wheel bellowed. "If you damage the magic wheel, the power in the artifact will be lost forever!" The vehicle's chassis had to be thick because they didn't acknowledge a word she said and rolled toward the magic circle.
"They're not listening!" Calista cried out. Blossom stood forth, ready to demolish this "tank."
"Time you get out of that vehicle and face punishment!" she roared. "Girls, time to transform!" No choice, Bubbles and Buttercup had to act. They did their transformation dance. "Hyper...Blossom!"
"Rolling...Bubbles!" Bubbles chanted.
"Powered...Buttercup!" Buttercup shouted. All three of them transformed into their superhero outfits. Ash, Calista and the woman were stunned to see the girls be superheroes...but even Ash had to point out something with Buttercup.
"We're thankful that you're superheroes but Buttercup, you don't look good in that skirt," he suggested. Buttercup sighed at the opinion.
"See, at least someone agrees with me about wearing some silly looking skirt~!" Blossom wanted to stay on the course at hand.
"Let's stop Team Rocket and get Baltoy free!" she ordered. The three flew at Team Rocket where Blossom whipped out a Yo-Yo. "Shooting Yo-Yo!" She flung it, breaking the claw holding Baltoy who retreated back to Calista's side.
"They got Baltoy!" the blue-haired whined. The redhead wasn't phased.
"We still have the tools, don't forget!" she presumed. They rolled on but Bubbles was about to put them in their place.
"Sticky Bubbles!" she summoned as she wove her wand, dispersing many bubbles which hit the treads of the vehicle. They stopped rolling as the bubbles were now glue on their tires.
"We're stuck!" Meowth realized. To Buttercup, they were open for a barrage and the rocks from before would be perfect ammunition.
"Here's my version of a hailstorm!" she grinned loudly as she swung her hammer, crushing the boulders into tons of smaller rocks flying at the immobile car, pelting dents, breaking the digging tools and weakening the chassis. The hood was sheered off, exposing Team Rocket. The three were going to pay for trying to ruin a powerful artifact.
"Pikachu, let's finish this with Thunderbolt!" he commanded. Pikachu fired a heavy stream of lightning that nailed Team Rocket who couldn't do a thing. The tank exploded and they were flying out of the tree.
"Team Rocket's blasting off so soon!" they screamed as they flew out of the mountain. Unfortunately, they had no control. Ash, Calista and the woman were grateful that the Powerpuff Girls aided them against someone like Team Rocket.
"That was awesome!" Calista cheered as Ash and Buttercup exchanged a fist-bump and Bubbles petted Pikachu for his help. Then came Blossom using her Yo-Yo and hoisting a surprised Ash to her who can't let a good thing like kissing him go. Maybe this was her way to say thanks for assisting. Calista and the woman were eating this scene up much to the chagrins of Bubbles and Buttercup. The woman wanted to return to the task at hand.
"Now that the distraction is out-of-the-way, let's try to have Baltoy do Rapid Spin on the magic wheel," she instructed. Calista was ready.
"Right. You ready, Baltoy?" Baltoy was ready to go as it hovered to the center of the wheel and spun like a top. Lights from the markings glow eerily, nerves forming on all but the woman.
"Could this be?" Blossom wondered. "Baltoy's Path?"
"I feel so afraid!" Calista shuttered. The woman walked on to the wheel as a pillar of light rose. As she entered, everyone wondered what she was doing. As she turned, her hood flew off her head, exposing long red hair. Bubbles saw the hair, looking very familiar.
"Wait a second," she figured. "You can't be...?" That's when she removed the sunglasses she worn.
"Yes!" she accepted. "I can tell you now. My name is Calista!" But if she's Calista, what about the Calista right here? "I am you, Calista...from the future!" It was impossible for anyone to believe. Then again, Ken did invent a teleporter so it's not really that farfetched to understand.
"So this whole time, we've been with Calista from two time periods?" Ash guessed.
"Yes, I apologize to all of you for tricking you. I can tell you that this is what the Baltoy Civilization bequeathed to us: a time machine!" What's with all these science fiction items becoming science fact? "You see, the greatest treasure in the universe is time. I have spent many years, my life at most to understand what this civilization gave us. Because of this, I have not long before my time ends." She's dying? "Calista, I want you to finish what I've started. I came to you as an encouragement to follow your dream. Our time was short, but memorable." Present Calista ran up the steps to the edge of the cylinder of light and to Future Calista.
"Don't go!" Present Calista pleaded. "Please, teach me how to continue the research!" Future Calista shook her head...for good reason.
"I cannot. The same person cannot exist in the same time period for long." A time paradox?
"But if you're me in the future, how can I change it knowing that you're here?" A scoff from Future Calista was a sign of comfort.
"You came to the Kiri Kiri Mountains with courage. You've already started to change the future. Remember that your courage and dreams will help change the future I live in...and don't forget the song." Oh, boy. Here we go again with the song.
"Listen...listen to what I say!" Present Calista started.
"Pass, pass on through as you travel Baltoy's Path!" Future Calista chimed in.
"Go on ahead will you ever make it back!" Blossom joined.
"Though you may be afraid to pass on through," Bubbles jumped. "Pass, pass you must, Baltoy's Path waits for you! Pass, pass on through on Baltoy's-" Suddenly, Future Calista vanished, stunning Present Calista in fear. Everyone watch in surprise.
"Wait!" she yelled. She's gone...and the light dimmed down to nothing. A few seconds later, Baltoy returned, dizzy from spinning and fell. Hopefully, it doesn't throw up. "Baltoy! You okay?" Baltoy muttered it's condition, saying it would recover. "Can you believe it, Baltoy? With courage, and friends...we changed the future!" Was that a good thing or a bad thing? What did the future look like in the first place. Blossom held Ash's hand, watching it all unfold as Calista stood on the wheel. "Future me, thank you so!" All acknowledged the accomplishment of helping Calista with a possible brighter future.
"I guess time is a treasure we cannot waste," Buttercup studied. Even Pikachu agreed to the assumption.
("No we cannot!") he squeaked. Using the hole Team Rocket created, Ash and the girls crawled out of the tree...which the fog had lifted and daylight was ending.
"Hey, the fog!" Blossom noticed as she, Bubbles and Buttercup were back in their normal clothes. She helped Ash out before they helped the rest from the hole.
"Evening already," she noticed. "We had an adventure." She came over to Ash and hugged him. "How can I ever thank you all for helping me and Baltoy?" Ash was a little embarrassed with the ordeal...that he was being helped by girls with a girl.
"Hey, we all learned something on this journey," Bubbles summarized.
"Yeah, I guess so. From now on, I'm gonna work hard to follow my dream and make it a realization." Ash and the girls understood Calista's dream.
"Same goes for me, too," he confidently smiled. Blossom was interested with what Ash's dream held.
"Really?" she intriguingly wondered. "What's your dream?"
"My dream is to be a Pokémon Master." Calista sensed the overwhelming confidence from Ash, believing his dream to be true.
"And you'll become one," she encouraged. "I know." She stuck out a pinkie finger to Ash. "Here's to a promise." Ash knew that linking pinkie fingers was a way to believe in each other and linked his pinkie in the process.
"You got it!" A pinkie swear complete, Calista waived goodbye to her new friends. Viewing the sunset, Ash and the girls needed to get off the mountains.
"Calista said that Rubello City's to the North," Bubbles addressed. "So, we need to go this way!" She pointed to the north thanks to the setting sun's place. It had taken the group an hour, Ash hoping to be with his friends again. Getting off the mountain, he'd expected to see them. No sign.
"Are they waiting in the next city?" he assumed. Pikachu was just as concerned about Ash's friends. After all, they're his friends in the same fashion.
"We won't know until we actually reach Rubello," Buttercup hoped. Ash knew Buttercup was being truthful but he couldn't help it. That's when a beep from Blossom's belt alerted the group. The girls were rather dumbfounded. Blossom answered by opening her foundation case. On the mirror was actually a screen and a man who looked a bit like Ken was on it.
"Blossom!" he called out. Blossom figured out who this was.
"Professor?" she gasped. "How did you find us?"
"Remember, when you use your Power Belts to transform, we can find you wherever you go. Though across dimensions wasn't really expected." Still, that's some awesome accomplishment to contact the girls. "But the reason I'm calling is because Mojo and our woodland friend, Fuzzy, have been feuding and may need you to clear things up. New Townsville's in a heap of destruction." The girls began to understand the situation unfolding. However, a problem arose.
"We wish we could help but we're stuck in this world," Bubbles delivered the bad news.
"No problem! You see, I knew my son would delve into science fiction and create a prototype. I have the finished invention." He created the same thing? It even looked the same. What gives? "Unlike the prototype, this is voice activated and won't respond to anyone but me or Kenny." The girls could get going on home in New Townsville. "So when you're ready." Blossom wasn't ready. If it meant going away from Ash, she would want to stay. Duty as a Powerpuff Girl? Girlfriend to Ash?
"I'll come," Ash offered. The girls were befuddled. Ash actually volunteering to help the girls with the problems in New Townsville?
"Ash, we can't!" Bubbles denied. "You have to get to Rubello and back with your friends!" Blossom was touched. Instead of the Catch-22 that she didn't want to live with, Ash provided a potential win-win.
"Wait a second, Bubbles!" she answered. "The professor can bring him back here when we're done. He and Pikachu can come with us." Buttercup's mind didn't agree with Blossom's.
"Blossom, no!" she refused. "Look, I get that you like Ash but why do you wanna drag him into our situation?" Ash would quickly reply to that problem.
"Aren't you exhausted battling Team Rocket?" he referred. "Besides, I've got more Pokémon than just Pikachu. You need my help as much as I needed yours." He's right. The girls were still reeling after Mojo defeated them and they can't be at full strength coming back.
"Okay, but when this is over, you're coming right back here," Bubbles demanded. Ash nodded before Blossom acknowledged the professor.
"Ready!" she snapped to her communicator. A short while later, the portal opened. Professor's product seemed to work. All entered the portal, ready to tackle the fight between Mojo and Fuzzy.
TO BE CONTINUED...
