Chapter 29 - Time at Lorelei's

The sound of rushed knocks echoed all around Celeste. They were low and urgent, but nothing could have woken the girl up that early. She shifted in her bed and fumbled for her blanket, hoping to cocoon herself away from the disturbance.

"A cocoon would be nice," her groggy mind decided, while she ignored the unusual coldness of the bed. "Do metapod dream of becoming butterfree?"

Celeste didn't find the blanket. Still, her body grew limp and her mind softer. Butterfree took flight around her, and she felt she could fly after them.

So she jumped toward the sky.

And then she fell right back into reality as the knocking reverberated once more.

"Delia," the girl muttered, her sleepy words barely coherent. "Door."

There was no answer from her roommate, and the knocks grew faster and louder. Her mind, momentarily shifting gears, remembered she had been slowly trying to help her slowpoke learn psychic type moves. Maybe he learned enough to get the door for her?

"Pat." She called her pokémon out, but once more sleep claimed her, words dying out before she could even form a sentence.

The knocking thundered again. This time, there was anger in the sound, causing Celeste to clutch the bed linen. But something was wrong. Her fingers failed to find the soft fabric of her bed and instead were met with wet, coarse grains that slipped through her grip.

Scared, the girl took a long deep breath and the crispy morning air filled her lungs. There was a faint scent in there, elusive and yet familiar. It carried the earthy and humid fragrance of rainforests and storms looming on the horizon.

What was the word for that again?

Desperate to escape into another tangent, Celeste's mind tried drifting away somewhere else. Maybe to a rainy Sunday afternoon or a meadow where she could fly with the butterfree.

The universe had other plans, however.

"Celeste, I know you are awake. Open the door." To her astonishment, it was Lorelei who spoke, followed by the ever-persistent banging on the door.

Her friend's voice was finally enough to make her fully alert. With caution, Celeste sprang up and opened her eyes, taking in her surroundings. It shouldn't have surprised her that she wasn't in her room at the pokémon centre, nor that she had butterfree in her stomach. Yet, for a moment, all she could do was stare in silent disbelief.

She found herself seated in a garden, with small white flowers shaped like hourglasses scattered all around her. The sun had yet to rise, but faint rays of light peered in from in between the storm clouds. A chilly wind brushed against her back, carrying fallen leaves over to the nearby house, which she immediately recognised as Lorelei's.

Still trying to understand what had happened, Celeste's gaze finally rested on a small creature that was looking back at her. His body was made of cracked stone and his eyes beamed with curiosity.

"Oh…" Celeste said, her voice barely audible through Lorelei's angry knocking. "Hey geodude."

—*—*—

"Is this a dream?" Celeste asked the pokémon in front of her. The geodude seemed more ragged than usual, yet there was an innocence in his gaze. He didn't respond, and instead simply shrugged his rocky shoulders. "You usually talk to me in my dreams," she paused, contemplating the odds of encountering another cracked geodude. "And in my dreams, you have a funny voice."

The rock-type remained quiet, with only Lorelei's insistent knocking interrupting the silence. For a moment, Celeste had no idea what to say or think about this situation, so she simply sighed.

"That is Lori's house." She tried talking to the pokémon again, her voice barely a whisper. "Is that where I'm supposed to go?"

Celeste wasn't sure if this was a dream or not. Lately, her dreams had been strange, and she often woke up to nightmares she couldn't remember. Yet, this one felt too real to be just a dream.

If only the geodude could help…

He couldn't, however. The pokémon just stared at her in silence, before shrugging once more and plodding away as quietly as he had come. Celeste slumped her shoulders in defeat and, once the cracked geodude vanished, she decided her one course of action was to look for Lorelei.

The girl carefully stepped away from the delicate flowers and onto the stony path that encircled the house, leading her toward the front door. She couldn't help but notice the closed blinds in the windows were losing their colours and that the garden was being overtaken by ivy. It was strange, but Celeste could swear that only a few days ago she had been gushing about the care that had been put in this place.

As Celeste turned the corner towards the source of the knocking, she felt relieved. It was indeed Lorelei who was calling out to her. However, like everything else, something seemed off.

Lorelei's unmistakable red hair was, as usual, tied into a sloppy ponytail, but it was longer than Celeste remembered. Her clothes were more formal and her voice tired and impatient.

"If you don't open this door right now, I'll break in," she said, pounding on the door once more. "And since this is still my house, I'll make you pay for the damage."

Celeste frowned. The way Lorelei was speaking… she had never talked to her like this before. It felt as if something had shifted in their relationship.

"I'm here," Celeste finally said, but Lorelei ignored her and instead kicked the door loudly, trying to make a point. Before anyone could do anything else, the doorknob slowly turned and clicked, and the door flung open.

The girl's heart skipped a beat when she saw a woman, appearing to be in her mid to late twenties, emerge from inside the house. She had dark brown hair, tied into a messy bun on top of her head, and deep hazel eyes, made darker by the large circles underneath them. An unassuming smile graced her lips as she leaned against the door frame. She was wearing a bathrobe with visible coffee stains on her chest and sweatpants, as well as psyduck printed socks… The socks felt strangely familiar to Celeste; she could swear she had a pair just like that.

"I was sleeping," the unfamiliar woman said, causing Celeste to cringe. It felt as though she was hearing a recording of her own voice. "Seriously, Lori, it's too early for this."

"I know you weren't," Lorelei said, shooting one angry look towards the other woman and making her way inside. "Come on, Celeste, this is my house. The least you could do is let me in."

Celeste looked at her friend in confusion. "What…" she started saying, but when the other woman shrugged and let Lorelei in, the realisation finally sunk in.

The person at the door… somehow, that was Celeste herself.

—*—*—

Celeste wanted to scream and maybe wake herself up.

Because this had to be a dream.

For what felt like an eternity, she stood frozen at the door, grappling with disbelief. And then she decided she was definitely going to scream.

So she screamed from the top of her lungs… and no one heard her.

She was invisible.

Neither Lorelei nor the uncanny older Celeste could see or hear her. This didn't need to be a bad thing, however. She didn't want to confront her doppelgänger, and invisibility granted her enough freedom to slip unnoticed inside the house.

As soon as she stepped inside, she tripped over a pile of books, causing them to tumble and scatter around the doorway. Surprisingly, no one turned their attention towards her, which brought a sigh of relief from her lips.

The girl settled on her knees and noticed a newspaper by her side. She must have dropped it there along with the books. Her eyes quickly shifted to the top of the page, searching for a date.

May 15th, but the year was blurred.

Celeste groaned as she picked the newspaper up. It was The Bolthound, a tabloid from Galar that often pretended to do investigative journalism. Even though she wasn't taking it seriously, she couldn't help but be drawn to the cover story. The title read The Reaper of Abundance, and the article detailed a pokémon attack in a remote village in the Crown Tundra, of all places.

With curiosity, the girl skimmed through the piece. It seemed Champion Leon, whoever that was, had ventured to the Crown Tundra in pursuit of a creature with a peculiar crown mounted on a ghostly steed. This creature had been terrorising villagers and ravaging the few crops grown in the frozen terrain. According to the article, this was the latest incident in a series of pokémon attacks, and Leon, along with his charizard, had successfully evacuated most of the villagers and sealed off access to the area. The article then delved into the broader issue, discussing how the escalating situation, which had originated in Kanto, was getting worse. Finally, it questioned the effectiveness of the Indigo League's efforts and whether Galar should join in the task-force organised by Johto's Champion, Lance.

Celeste placed the newspaper back on the floor with a sigh. She didn't know about any Champion Leon, but if this was some sort of future, she was happy enough there wasn't any Champion Lyra of Galar in sight. That would have sucked.

Carefully, she stood up to look around the room. There were piles of books everywhere, notes with strange equations written in her own handwriting affixed to the walls, and coffee mugs littering every available surface. The place was a mess, and nothing like Lori's cosy home.

The thought of her friend brought Celeste's attention back to the two women, who were nowhere to be found. For a moment, the girl panicked, afraid she had lost them. However, the aroma of freshly brewed coffee drifting from the kitchen provided her with a clue to their whereabouts.

"Here you go." As she entered the kitchen, Celeste saw the woman that looked like herself pouring coffee into a small plastic cup. "Sorry, I need to wash the mugs."

Lorelei looked more relaxed and less angry as she sat by the kitchen table, reaching for a fruit from the large bowl in the centre. However, her expression shifted to annoyance as her gaze fell upon a plate filled with water and with a wine bottle placed inside.

"No more shouting to wake me up?" the older Celeste teased. She placed the plastic cup beside Lorelei and settled down next to her, spinning the liquid inside her own cup. "You even woke Pat up. Do you know how hard that is? It's way too early for him."

Celeste shivered at the mention of her slowpoke. With each passing moment, the situation seemed to grow more surreal. Lorelei, however, appeared less amused. She adjusted her glasses and continued staring at the wine bottle, clearly unsure how to phrase the inevitable question.

"I'm not drinking early in the morning," the maybe, probably older version of Celeste preemptively said. "In fact, I'm not allowed to drink at all. I'm trying to thaw the wine and hide in the fridge before it gets frozen again, so hopefully I can have a glass tonight."

Lorelei raised an eyebrow. "You are trying to thaw wine?"

"I made a breakthrough the other day and decided to celebrate with a drink… or a few. I got drunk and some of my pokémon got angry," the woman laughed while sipping her coffee. She then gestured to the wine bottle. "That is her revenge."

"Tales."

The younger girl jumped when she heard the sound behind her and quickly turned around, only to gasp at the pokémon she saw. It had lush, pale blue fur, a flowy curly crest and nine long tails that danced in the air with an ethereal quality. It would be very easy to get lost in the pokémon's beauty, but it was her big blue eyes and the look of pride that really caught young Celeste's attention. The face was a little different, more elongated and mature, but the trainer would recognise her Powder anywhere in the world.

She took a tentative step forward while she heard her counterpart laugh. "Speaking of the devil."

Powder, the ninetales, snorted a flurry of ice. She looked exactly as she did when she was a small vulpix, and Celeste's chest tightened with a mix of pride, fear and excitement. Her little Powder would grow up someday.

Her eyes darted back to the woman who looked like her…

No.

Her eyes darted to the woman that she would become. Powder wasn't the only one who would grow up, and that scared her even more.

"I'm glad someone here acts like a responsible adult," Lorelei sighed, her gaze shifting towards the ninetales. "Any chance you can convince your trainer to come back home? Three months is more than enough for a holiday."

The ninetales expressed her disbelief with a snort and gracefully approached the two women. She positioned her front legs on the edge of the table and gently nuzzled the wine bottle, causing both the wine and the water beneath it to freeze instantaneously.

"Trust me, all of my pokémon are trying their best to be as annoying as possible, so I'll leave," the older Celeste said, looking over at Powder. The ninetales, her eyes gleaming with satisfaction, glanced one last time at the frozen bottle before curling up beside her trainer, resting her head on her lap. "And then they turn around and act cute, so I can't complain too much. Can you believe Aria used Bite on my tablet the other day just to make me stop reading and go to sleep? Of course, the rotom inside went flying around in a spiral and it took me hours to find it." She lazily pointed at the coffee machine. "It refused to go back into the broken tablet, though. So now it lives in your coffee machine and tries to piss Aria off by giving me insane amounts of coffee."

"I can see you are living a very healthy life," Lorelei said, rolling her eyes. She finally took her coffee, and, after examining it for a moment, drank it. "Not bad." She smiled at the coffee machine, who blinked in response. "You can take it back home with us."

"Not dropping it, huh?" the older Celeste said, leaning back in her chair. "So, who sent you here, anyway?"

Lorelei tilted her head. "Can't I be worried about you? I've been trying to call, but you never pick up. None of the texts we sent you are being delivered, and your emails keep bouncing back."

"Might have lost my phone…" the other woman said, tucking a loose strand of hair behind her ears. Lorelei narrowed her eyes at her in response. "It's, uh… probably at the bottom of the ocean somewhere."

"Celeste!" the red-head yelled.

"Don't worry, I told the rotom inside to get out before—"

Lorelei's expression twisted into an angry frown, causing the older Celeste to pause. She pressed her lips together and shifted her gaze to the door, avoiding her friend's piercing crimson eyes.

"I'm making progress with my research," she said in a quiet voice.

Lorelei shook her head. "You are not a researcher… and you know we need your help back in Kanto."

Meeting her friend's gaze, the older Celeste grew defiant. "We, huh? Are you going to tell me who send you?"

Lorelei sighed. "Who do you think?"

"Delia?"

Lorelei simply raised an eyebrow. "She is also worried about you. Thinks you are running away from your responsibilities."

Celeste's future self rolled her eyes. "That sounds just like Delia," she said sarcastically. "Did she also put on a cape and looked brooding when she told you that?"

"Come on, you know that is not fair," Lori said, with frustration growing in her voice.

The other woman grinned with a glint in her eyes. "He is blaming you, isn't he? Let me guess." She switched her voice to a lower, more masculine tone, clearly trying to mimic someone else. "You lent her the house, now you bring her back." She ran a hand through her hair. "I'm not going because I'm too afraid something on ice island will hurt my birds."

Lorelei tried to suppress a laugh. "He is my boss, Cee."

"Oh, is he now?"

The younger Celeste, who was intently watching the conversation, groaned. She was growing increasingly frustrated as they continued discussing this mysterious person. There was too much context missing.

"So, you mentioned making a breakthrough?" Lorelei finally asked. The woman in front of her responded with a grin, sharing a knowing look with the ninetales who left the kitchen with an eye-roll.

"I was studying physics," the older Celeste said. "But then I stumbled upon this old book." As she spoke, Powder returned, holding the book in her mouth. "I only picked it up because I noticed my mom's name on it. Turns out she wrote the new preface, but after reading her bit, I got curious."

Lorelei picked the book up. "The legends of time and space," she read out loud, frowning. "Celeste, messing with legends was what started… Please tell me you are not—"

"I'm going to find Dialga!" the woman interrupted her friend and puffed her chest with determination. "It can help, I'm sure of it."

"You wanna find Dialga?" Lorelei gasped, her voice filled with disbelief. "You're actually planning to go out there and track down a god?"

The older Celeste pouted. "Hey, nobody bats an eye when Cynthia crashes a temple in search of whatever."

"Cynthia dabbles in archaeology," Lorelei continued, putting the cup back on the table. "I don't think she's ever…" She shook her head. "You know what? Why don't you talk to her? I'm sure she will tell you how insane you sound right now."

"You are assuming Cynthia would want to talk to me in the first place," Celeste said with bitterness.

"I don't see why she wouldn't."

"Come on," the older Celeste raised her fingers to count off her reasons. "I'm reckless, unable to listen to anyone, totally irresponsible, childish as hell, and, oh yeah, the reason the world is fucked." She let out a defeated sigh, waving all five fingers. "The mighty Sinnoh Champion should've known Diantha gossips, and I know her since we were children, so I got dibs."

Young Celeste's interest piqued at the mention of Diantha, but they kept arguing about this Cynthia person. Growing tired of her confusion, the girl reached for the book on the table, not giving a care if she got caught. She started flipping through its pages and noticed the preface had indeed been written by her mother. After that, she found the table of contents.

The book was divided into three parts, and she ran her fingers through the titles.

Part One: Palkia, master of space.

Part Two: Dialga, master of time.

Part Three: ?, the other side.

Celeste frowned at the last title, but before she check the actual contents of the book, she felt someone's cold, dry fingers over her own. In one swift motion, they forced the book shut.

When she looked up, it was as if she was staring in a mirror.

"You are not supposed to be here," the older Celeste said, as the surrounding room faded away.

—*—*—

The world had turned dark. The messy house, Lorelei and Powder, they had all disappeared, only Celeste remained.

Both of them.

The teenager stumbled, falling onto her back. When she looked up, secretly wishing no one would be there, her eyes met her older self's.

She looked tired, the bags under her eyes even bigger and more pronounced. Her outfit had changed to black jeans, a shirt, and a long, flowy dark green vest. It was nice to see her future self had at least tried to look put together, but Celeste wasn't entirely convinced. Her counterpart's left eye was all swollen and black, and her gaze was… broken, twisted and lost.

"You… I… Have we been punched?" the young girl couldn't help herself but ask.

The older woman's lips twitched, amused by her younger self, but she made no effort to interact. Her attention shifted to something else. "That memory wasn't hers."

Before Celeste could discover who her older self was talking to, the scent of impending rain filled the air. Still, she could not remember the word for that, but she tried very hard to. Remembering a word should be the least of her concerns, but she felt a strong need for this small victory.

And then, a bright green light glimmered into existence.

"I told you there'd be consequences if you chose this path," a shrill voice spoke from within the light. The sound was melodic and calming as the rustling of leaves, and yet Celeste felt a sense of danger.

"You did," the older Celeste said, her voice devoid of emotion. "But this is as much your responsibility as it is mine." With each word, she moved further into the enveloping darkness. "Deal with it, Celebi."

The creature in the light… a pokémon? It huffed loudly, like a child about to throw a tantrum. However, as soon as the other Celeste vanished, it quieted down and its glow dimmed.

"Celebi…" young Celeste muttered, still unsure if she had heard of it before. One thing was certain, though—she had never seen a pokémon quite like that. Its head resembled a large bulb, adorned with a pair of twitching antennas. Its body was pixie-like, complete with small bug wings on its back. Maybe it was some sort of grass fairy type, or perhaps a bug?

The creature, having noticed her, jerked its antennas with curiosity. For a moment, it gazed at the girl with its large blue eyes, until it finally flew closer.

"I'm sorry. I didn't expect this to happen," Celebi said, placing its small hand on her cheek.

As the creature spoke, the world slowed down, and its green light shimmered again, this time much brighter than before.

"I don't understand…" the girl finally said, but as the light grew in intensity, she closed her eyes, and her mind became softer.

Celebi's voice filled her thoughts with a sense of comfort and fear. "It won't matter when morning comes." Celeste wanted to ask questions, but the words were just out of reach. A fog took over her head and her body became limp. "Just… follow the path that had been laid down for you," the creature finished.

And at last, the girl finally fell asleep again.

And then she gasped as she flung her eyes open.

She was in her bed at the pokémon centre. It was still early morning, and the window beside her was rattling with the wind. Celeste slowly got up, trying really hard to remember the dream she was having.

Once she reached the window, she saw a storm was brewing, with dark clouds rolling in from the ocean. She took a deep breath in and smelled the humid soil.

"Petrichor," Celeste murmured with satisfaction and relief. She had always loved the smell of the ground when it rained.

The girl slowly closed the window, careful not to wake Delia or the pokémon up. With a gentle click, the room was silent again, so Celeste made her way back to bed. Lingering visions of the bright green light were still vivid in her mind, but the dream she was having had long since slipped away beyond her reach.


A/N:

This is a chapter I've been wanting to get to for a long time! It was supposed to be done a few days ago, but I was travelling so I ignored it completely. Anyway, I hope it works out. Next week we are back into reality with Celeste battling on the semi-final of the snowflake cup!

Edit: Also, sometimes I try to make some art when I'm writing. While I'm not the best artist in the world, I decided to also post it (made a deviant art account, also PokeGhosty :) )

NEXT CHAPTER: The Snowflake Cup: Semi-Finals