The Past. The future. Does it matter? Oh, you have no idea.
{~(?)~}
"Whoa! Timeout 'Mary Sue', we've been in this cave for no more than a day and you expect me to believe you and your friends with these weird abilities were going on adventures fighting modern-day legends? What a load of bull. And what the heck does it have to do with us anyways?"
"I've never said it did...mmm...but then again..."
"I don't have time for this..." Annoyed by the answer, the Mightyena in stealth gear gets up and walks out of the cave. Because of her ability to walk on her hind legs, you could barely hear her footsteps so it was rather anti-climactic.
"I thought it was cool!" The peppy Meowstic said bouncing up and down in excitement, eager to hear more. Alongside him was a Pidgey who seem just as equally excited. They almost seemed like twins. The Patrat on the other hand had a sceptical look on his face.
"What did you mean by 'Then again'? Was there some meaning behind that or were you just toying with her? Because if you were, I could get behind it."
(Smiles) "You're sharp. It's no wonder your business keeps afloat these days."
"You know it," The Patrat snickered at the compliment before tipping his hat in respect. His relaxed demeanor could tell even the most clueless Pokemon that he's been around. There was no way of getting around him without already being three steps ahead.
"Yes, it's true. I'm telling you this for a reason, but just to be safe, I want to wait another day or two before I tell you why it's so important."
"What, you don't trust us?" The Meowstic's expression was unchanged while bouncing all over the cave with the Pidgey following along.
"Yeah, and what makes you think we'll be here any longer than we have now?" The Patrat said in a curious tone.
"It's best for me to be cautious, besides the Neddal Region authorities have a routine patrol. I brought you guys here right before it started so it'll be another 5 days to a week before you all can safely leave.
"You're kidding!" The Mightyena yelled from outside the cave before storming back in.
"I wish I was, but I'm sure you've seen it for yourself out there."
The Mightyena groaned before flopping against a rock in the corner of the cave. "Ugh, he's actually right. They're everywhere."
The Patrat glances towards the cave entrance before shaking his head, sighing heavily. "Great, now what?"
"Wanna hear more of the story?"
"YES! YES!" The Meowstic and Pidgey said simultaneously, grinning from ear to ear. The Patrat nods while the Mightyena rolls her eyes and shrugs before hurling pebbles across the mouth of the cave.
"Alright, let's continue."
The Tale of Twin Hearts
(Chapter 3) The Truth
[Page 1]
"Sooo, let me get this straight. The world is falling apart because Time and Space are unbalanced..."
"Yes."
"...And it's unbalanced because of a huge fight two Pokemon...
"That is correct."
"...Aaaand those two Pokemon happen to be my friends, Liloxi and Lave here..."
"Precisely!"
"...WHAT!?" Miya said, shaking her head profusely. "I'm sorry Ma'am-"
"Elizabeth," Moltres said cutting Miya off before she could continue. "It's Elizabeth. Stop calling me 'Ma'am' or 'Moltres', it sounds too generic."
"Oh, well, I'm sorry Elizabeth, but I HIGHLY doubt my friends over here could have anything to do with Time and Space falling apart. They haven't seen each other in years."
"Oh, I'm certain it was them. That fight started and ended that same day five years ago, yesterday. I'll never forget it..."
"5 years ago? Wasn't that the same time we were separated?" I whispered to Lave, recalling the time my mother took me away from Lave. It was the worse day of my life. It was also the day she decided I needed to be strong than I was.
"Yeah, right after weird Pokemon handed us something."
"What are you on about, Des, speak up. What weird Pokemon is it that you speak of?" she said, hearing us.
"Uh, the Pokemon we saw years back looked like a star with tags on its body, but one of the tags on him was red, right Lilo?"
"Oh, yeah, yeah!" I said, too focused on the fact that Lave called me by my nickname. I haven't heard him call me that in years. "He was yellow and white with marking under his eyes."
Stunned, Elizabeth stared at us in silence, frantically looking between me and Lave with her beak wide open before slumping down on her throne. After a minute of silence, Elizabeth exited her throne and walked onto the edge of her bridge-like room. "Good lord, brother, what have you gotten yourself into..."
Confused, we approached her. With her eyes fixed on the sunset on the horizon, she held he head down as if she was ashamed of something. "You two. You aren't really Fiola and Des, are you?"
"We've been trying to tell you that from the start!" I said, annoyed that it took her that long to figure it out. "My name is Liloxi and this is Lave. We've been friends since we were born nearly at the same time, only an hour apart. That was 10 years ago. We just recently reunited with each other yesterday."
"That was a mistake," Elizabeth said bluntly, without looking at any of us. "Tell me, do you know what a Guardian is, Liloxi?"
"Uh, not entirely. I know Lave said you all are appointed by something called High Guardian and Overseers."
"That's right, but do you know what we really do?"
"No, I don't," I said, embarrassed.
"I won't bore you with the answer, but we guardians have a duty of protecting the Pokemon World by guarding and regulating our assigned location. However...If what you say is true about the Pokemon that visited you, then you two just so happen to have the Lights of the previous High Guardians, Fiola and Des, The Regulators of Time and Space."
Everyone looked Lave and I, completely shocked at what they heard, including the Ariados who just so happened to still be here (I wonder what happened to him wanting to fight us...). Looking around, I shrugged but Lave, on the other hand, was speechless. His face was a mix of awe and terror as he stood there with his mouth open. Not getting what the big deal was, I spoke up.
"Alright, cool, we have someone else's light in us. I don't see what the problem is."
Turning her head, Elizabeth gave me the same look she did when I accidentally asked who Fiola was out loud; like I was stupid. Again, what I said probably was stupid.
"Liloxi, was it? Listen to my words carefully. High Guardians, when harmonized with their partner, have the power to regulate the flow of nature itself. Because you two found each other unharmonized, well, let's just say the world is breaking even faster than it should.
"Oh," I said, finally understanding. "Then how do we fix this?"
"Easy, by harmonizing your light with your friend here," She said, pointing at Lave. "Go on. Activate Overflow and connect your light with theirs"
"Heh, about that," I said nervously, "None of us knows how to go into Overflow. We just learned about it last night."
"...You must be joking. None of you know how to use Overflow?"
Everyone shook their heads, including the Ariados.
"Goodness, we might actually be doomed..." She said, sighing heavily. With a look of disappointment, Elizabeth looked out towards the setting sun once again. After a moment of her staring at the sight and us looking at each other, Elizabeth suddenly gasped and flapped her wings frantically.
"Wait! Wait! I remember something! There's another way!"
Without giving us the time to ask questions, Elizabeth shouted "MAY! GET OVER HERE! QUICKLY!". In a flash, a shadow zipped across the bridge. On sight of it, Pumpkin nearly jumped out of his fur before trying to make a run for it, only for Miya to grab his tail again and collapse onto the ground (No seriously, she's strong). It was no wonder we couldn't hear what was coming as we watched a large Skarmory perch itself on the edge of the bridge, next to Elizabeth. With a bow, the Skarmory fanned its wings dignified way, lowering its head to reveal its beautiful metal-like hair kept neatly with a pure gold band and a metal bun in the back. On her back, however, was a large metal feather in a sheath, fastened by a strap, almost like a sword. As it fixated its posture, I noticed it had a Jewel-encrusted ring on one of its toes sporting an insignia of two interlocking tiaras, similar to the ones above Elizabeth's head during Overflow.
"You called, Ma'lady?", The Skarmory said, their voice proper, light, and whimsical, almost like a cloud. Despite how light it was, there was also a large hint of confidence with a "go-to" attitude mixed in there. I'm sure if the right Pokemon told her to do something, I'm sure she would do it without hesitation.
"Please, for the last time, dear, it's Elizabeth. Just Elizabeth."
"I'm sorry, but I'm bonded by oath to address you by 'Ma'lady' or 'Your Majesty' and nothing more," The Skarmory said, without a hint of letting up.
"Yes...and I hate it," Elizabeth said, shaking her head, before turning to us. "This here is May, my Royal Knight. She will be the one to take you to your next destination.
"Wait what, we never said anything about going anywhere?" Pumpkin said, to which Elizabeth gave him an annoyed look. That alone was enough for him to shut up.
"There's no need for discussion. You see that place over there?" Elizabeth pointed out over the bridge, towards the sunset. Walking over and just barely getting over the edge without falling, I noticed her pointing to a large meadow in the far distance. From what I saw, the place looked like it was covered in flowers with no end in sight. "That place is where you'll meet a couple named "August and Meowth". I know my brother may have taught you what Overflow is, but they will teach you how to unlock it. I'll have May fly you over to them. It's your best option."
"We'll take it!" Miya said smiling.
"But aren't Skarmory's wings sharp? I rather not get diced up," Lave said, folding his arms. His angstiness was annoying me. I wish I knew what happened for him to act like this.
"Don't worry, dears, I am extremely careful and precise when flying. This isn't the first time I've transported Pokemon and it won't be my last. Hop on!"
Without delay, we got on the back of the Skarmory, carefully keeping any limbs away from her wings. Getting situated, we suddenly heard a voice that we nearly forgot about until now. Looking back, we noticed the Ariados from earlier was still there with his limbs crossed, not happy about being ignored.
"Hey, what about me?"
"What about you," Lave said in a sassy tone. "Don't you live here?"
"Yeah? And? Look doll, It won't be much of a home if the world falls apart. B'sides, I got kicked out of this place. You four got me into this mess so I'm comin' with ya.
"I don't think that's possible, sir," May said in a polite tone. "You're a bit too heavy for me to fly properly."
"Then what I'm s'posed to do now!?"
"You know..." Miya reached under her scarf and pulled out a badge. Carefully she tossed it over to the Ariados. "While I was digging in the bag earlier for the letter, there were extra badges and a note about them in there as well. You might not be able to go with us, but if want to, you can keep the badge and be part of our team, Team Silver. That way, you'll have a home at the guild and we can call you to join us in some missions. How does that sound?
"Tck. Team Silver, what a niche name. Y'all better be glad I know how to use this thing. I've watched explorers do it," Ariados grumble, inspecting the badge. "Alright, alright, I'll join. But the next time you guys come back, I'ma join you on that mission. You owe me that much."
"Sure thing!" Miya said, nodding to him.
"By the way, the name's Pete. See that everyone's sharin'"
"Good to know, but uh, can we go now?" Pumpkin said impatiently.
"Yes sir, we can!" May said, preparing to take off.
"Hold on! I can't believe I'm doing this, but, take this with you."
Reluctantly, Elizabeth ran over to her throne. With a slight struggle, she pulled something out from behind it with her beak before returning to us. Holding it out, Miya grabbed what looked like a large shadowy orb from her beak and held it up to her face.
"What is this?"
"It's a Spatial Orb. Guard it with your life. If your friends here end up unsuccessfully learning how to use Overflow, Let's just say this is a failsafe."
"Will do!" Miya said, hold on to it.
"But Ma'Lady, I must ask, aren't you joining us?" May asked.
"I wish I could, but I must see Chatot. I fear my brother might be in trouble. Keep them safe, May."
"Yes Ma'lady!" She said before jetting off towards the sunset.