Prologue
"How does that old fairy tale go again?" Celeste mused, crossing her legs and observing the strange world surrounding her. A realm of mirrors and darkness was not where she expected to end up.
Although, in hindsight, she should have seen it coming.
With a cheeky smile, she glanced at her companion, only to be promptly ignored.
She should have also seen that coming.
"I guess it has to start with 'once upon a time'," Celeste cleared her throat as if she was going to tell some grand tale. "Once upon a time, there was a fair princess in a castle. And then one day an evil florges gave her a poisoned applin and… hum… I guess a knight and a charizard saved the day in the end?"
Silence. It's hard to win a crowd of one.
"Well…" Celeste said, trying to maintain her train of thought. "What I'm trying to say here is that all of this," she circled her fingers in the air, gesturing to the chaotic surroundings, "was supposed to be the gran finale of my fairy tale, you know? I was going to be the princess in the castle and the big hero with the charizard." She sighed and slumped her shoulders. "Well, maybe not with a charizard, but you get it. The thing is, I'm out of ideas about how to be a hero, and I'm certainly no princess. I suppose, if anything, I'm the applin who couldn't sit still and ended up getting itself poisoned…"
Celeste paused for a moment, studying her companion's expression. The distant look, the fear—she felt those emotions too.
"… I mean, when you think about it, that has to be the literal worst. To find that one florges that knows toxic," she pressed on, feeling that the silence would only fuel her fear. "Although, if you really think about it, it's a clever move for a florges. Not many people expect that. Maybe I should try to get one on my team. Or maybe you should! It would work nicely with that togekiss of yours," Celeste smiled charmingly.
This felt like the end, yet she refused to let her facade crumble. Well, perhaps it didn't have to be the end… but damn, she was exhausted.
Exhausted and out of ideas.
"That's it," Celeste decided, refusing to dwell on their current predicament. "Once we escape from here, we're going to catch new pokémon. A florges for you and an applin for me. Heh. Aria is going to hate the applin."
"… Celeste," her companion said with anger and annoyance. "What the hell?"
Celeste pressed her lips together, nervously fidgeting with a lock of her dark brown hair. There must have been something right to say in this situation, but all she wanted was to find a way out. She needed a escape of any kind, even a metaphorical one.
"Maybe we only get me an applin?"
The person beside Celeste let out an annoyed huff. Being trapped together in this place was far from ideal. However, they had no choice but to cope as best they could.
"Look, you can get any pokémon you want," her companion said with a softening tone. "I'll even help you out, alright? But please, focus a little on helping me figure out a way—"
A sudden, piercing shriek reverberated through the distorted sky. Shockwaves rippled through the otherwise stagnant air, alerting them to imminent danger.
Celeste, a bundle of nerves at this point, edged closer to her companion. The monstrous being, their captor, let out another deafening roar. It was a king declaring their presence or a predator taunting its prey—either option seemed to lead to the same outcome.
Yet, all hope was not lost.
"Listen, I think I have a plan," Celeste said, springing up in a swift motion and extending a hand to her companion. "What do you say about running for our lives together?"
A small smile. An arched eyebrow. At this point, Celeste didn't expect a grand reaction, but pausing for a conversation seemed out of character for her companion.
"I thought you wanted to be the hero."
"I think I was pretty clear on my applin story." Celeste nervously glanced back, hoping they still had time. "Do you think Giratina eats applin?"
Sometimes, a second of silence feels like an eternity, and sometimes a seemingly trivial question means more than meets the eyes. Grey eyes met Celeste's hazel ones, but neither of them uttered a word for precious seconds.
"… why did you come along?" her companion finally asked.
"I'm pretty sure it was the other way round," Celeste snorted and finally looked away. Her face throbbed, her entire body ached… She was so, so tired. "You were the one who couldn't trust me to stay alone in the ruins, remember?"
"We don't have time for this…"
"Sooo… uh… run for our lives?"
As another otherworldly shriek echoed, they knew the monster drew near. There was nothing else to discuss. They needed to survive to argue, after all…
Why was there so much arguing, though? In another life, maybe they could've been friends… And yet before this morning, the two of them were acquittances at best. Now? Now they were butting heads in a hellhole together. Disaster like this can breed fierce enemies or the bestest of friends…
Somehow, she didn't think they'd be the bestest of anything…
Celeste shook her head and broke into a sprint. They could never outrun Giratina, and engaging in a fight would only make matters worse. Her only hope was to find a better hiding spot. That, or…
She clenched her teeth. A pair of bright yellow eyes peered at her from within her shadow. There was determination in them.
"No," Celeste thought with unwavering intensity, ensuring her emotions would be conveyed to her pokémon. Too much had already gone wrong. She would not put her friends at risk.
Desperate for an escape, Celeste scanned her surroundings. Her companion ran ahead with a more confident stride.
A warning cry pierced the air. "Watch out for the floor!" came the voice from ahead.
Celeste gasped. Something shifted. The ground disappeared beneath her. Up became down as she tumbled through the air, her body crashing into a chaotic mixture of mirrors and rocks.
"Please," she begged weakly, hoping anyone or anything would listen. Who would even, at this point?
She felt the urge to cry. In the end, she didn't get to save the world… This time, she really thought she would've. There were so many ifs…
Celeste exhaled, and for a brief moment, it felt as if her entire world froze. Her life flashed before her eyes…
How cliché.
In the distance, Giratina cried again, but even its roars vanished in time.
All Celeste could see now was the radiant midday sun casting shadows on the bustling port. That was Vermillion City, and she found herself there once again. So much younger… She vividly remembered that day, when she was a mere fourteen years old, feeling invincible with Aria by her side. Back then, she thought she could take on the entire world.
"That girl is in for a ride," the woman muttered, her words carried away by the wind, as she watched her younger self stride into town. "Good luck."
Notes: took me forever to gather the courage to publish something. This is my first fic and much like my main character, I'm starting big. It's my new year's resolution to get through to the end, so I really hope you like my Celeste and her friends. (There will be lots of familiar faces in this one).
Anyway, reviews are much much appreciated.
Update 05/06: Rewritten for improved narrative flow.
Update 05/10:
Hello new readers!
This story grew more than I'd initially planned, but I'm still having a blast writing. Still, I'm always happy when new people are interest in it and, as my writing develops, I get tempted to rewrite earlier chapters to attract more people.
I'm not doing that anytime soon, though.
I much rather look forward than back, and I'm really excited about what is to come. So instead of rewrites, I'm formally separating this fic into different arcs (or as I call them, books). I'm adding both a Summary for that Book as well as a "Previously" section detailing some key events. Those arcs were always there, and, while you might lose some of the story by skipping ahead, I do plan on trying to make it easier going forward. (Or at least referencing the chapters where certain events might have happened by the end of some chapters).
As most things I do with this fic, this is an experiment, so I hope it works out. Following are a list of the Books with chapter numbers. Summary and "Previously" will be at the beginning of each book.
Book One: Setting Off - Chapters 2-12
Book Two: Becoming a Trainer - Chapters 13-20
Book Three: The Snowflake Cup - Chapters 21-36
Book Four: Icefall - Chapters 37-51 (Tentative)
*Obs: Chapter numbers reflect the FFN numbers on the select chapter menu.
