Chapter 59: Butterfly Effect

~10 minutes before Rika called Geeta~

Penny, Arven and Penny's Sylveon were at the end of a hallway, peeking out to the next which had two men standing guard in front of a glass door which appeared to have adults in lab coats walking around.

"So what's the plan?" Arven asked.

"Well, now that you're here, I have to think about it," Penny pulled her phone from her pocket and started tapping away quietly. Arven tilted his head as Penny remained silent.

Penny remained silent for a while.

"...Well..?" Arven asked.

"Hold on a second…" Penny pulled what looked like an electronic leash from her jacket pocket. "I have a camera inside of this leash that can be put on Sylveon. I've got one of two plans. Plan A, and Plan B. Plan A is letting Sylveon distract them, and we slip in. Plan B is that we distract them and let Sylveon slip in."

"Wait," Arven said. "With plan B, wouldn't we get in trouble since the guards would see us?"

"We would. But we'll be in much more trouble if we're caught inside of the lab rather than just wandering in the hallway. Whereas if we distract them ourselves and run in the hallway, we'll probably get, at most, a slap-on-the-wrist level punishment. And after we let Sylveon in, she'll hide perfectly because of how small she is.

"But if Sylveon gets caught…"

"Then we're in big trouble. They can trace the leash I put on Sylveon to this phone easily."

"Right… So will Sylveon go and steal the Herba Mystica?"

"Yeah..."

"And you're sure that this'll work?"

"Positive."

"You're positive you're positive."

"Yes."

Arven sighed.

"Sorry- I just… really, really need that Herba Mystica. I'm willing to get in trouble for it."

"Really?" Penny said. "Luckily for us, there's two. We can share."

"Right…"

Penny glanced back to her phone. "So, which plan do you prefer? Plan A, or Plan B?"

"Let's do Plan B. I'll distract the guards by running by them."

"You'll get in trouble, though."

"It's fine," Arven said with a smile. "You said it would only be a slap on the wrist level punishment. I can take that."

"All right. Just gimme a second to set Sylveon up…"

Penny crouched and put the leash on Sylveon's neck. Then, she pulled out a earpiece communicator and put it on the fairy type's ear. Penny then placed another earpiece on her own ear.

"Okay." Penny said. "I'll meet you at the school's front entrance after you get lectured."

Penny and Arven shared a nod. Arven then started sprinting, running past the two guards who immediately noticed him and shouted, 'Hey!'

Penny motioned with two fingers for Sylveon to get moving to slip inside the scientist room doors that automatically opened up for the fairy type once she approached.

Penny then spun and ran off herself, getting out of the hallway leading to the secret laboratory. She ran up the stairs until she went back to the first floor, and kept sprinting until she saw the front doors of the school. After opening them, she leaned her back against the school walls and slid onto the floor to sit down. She pulled at her ear piece, seeing Sylveon's point of view.

What she saw on her phone were a bunch of desks and tables lined up in rows- there was a scientist in front of every desk- they were sitting down doing some research, Penny assumed. Standing in front of the desks was what made Penny's eyebrows raise- it was her homeroom teacher and Biology Teacher, Jacq. He had hexagon shaped glasses, tanned skin and purple hair. He had a purple shirt under a lab coat, and a phone in his shirt's pocket.

The reason why he was there wasn't important- what was more important were two things: The Herba Mystica, and the schematics for a special Invoker. She had looked into the information about this armor when she hacked into the system not long ago for information.

It had turned out that the scientists had found the schematics for this type of armor in Hoenn, after the crisis from a team called 'The Crimson Foundation.' Penny had no clue who or what the Crimson foundation was all about…but it didn't matter.

What mattered was that this invoker would be perfect for what she was planning to do next to bring down Team Star. This Prime Invoker has special abilities. One of which that was incredibly useful: It had the power to Tera fuse with multiple Pokémon at once.

That power would be more than necessary for what she was going to do next.

"Sylveon, I need you to find those Prime Invoker schematics first. They should be somewhere there. Get going," Penny said.

As Sylveon moved, Penny overheard a scientist talking.

"Why would you think that it came from another timeline? Do you know how ridiculous that sounds?" A scientist was yelling.

"I mean…" Penny heard Jacq's voice. "There hasn't ever been a Herba Mystica that has the exact same DNA as another herba mystica that we've found. Herba Mystica are a special and rare plant…at least that's what the Violet book says… There's only a few in the world. What I said was just a wild guess!"

Penny raised one eyebrow but shook her head. That wasn't her problem right now. The main problem was getting those schematics before Arven showed up.

The sound of a loud beep noise rang out in the lab, and everyone in the room suddenly gasped. The lights went out, and Sylveon nearly leapt with fright.

The entire room erupted with the scientists talking, asking questions like 'What's going on,' and 'why did the lights go out,' and 'Another blackout?'

Suddenly, the sound of TV static came, and caught the attention of Sylveon, causing Penny to see what the commotion was about. There was a large monitor in front of all of the scientists- one that Penny was surprised she hadn't noticed sooner. The static on the TV faded, and Penny raised her eyebrows when she saw a single woman in a lab coat that appeared. She had accessories on her hair which were striped orange and brown. She had a fur lab coat on over what looked to be an outfit from prehistoric times. A crop top that looked to be made of brown fur, and short pants made of the same fabric. She had what looked like bones around her neck as a necklace.

She had a face that looked…kind of identical to Arven's. The moment that thought came to her mind, Penny instinctively pressed a button on her phone to take a picture of the professor... maybe this was Arven's relative?

"Who is this person..?" One of the scientists asked.

"Is this person some sort of hacker?" Another scientist said.

Jacq adjusted his glasses. "Who are you?" He asked.

The woman began to speak.

"Before I begin talking," The woman said, "I will say this: This is a recording. Any questions you may have cannot and will not be answered at this moment. I realize that none of you recognize me. And that is to be expected, for I come from a different timeline, different from yours."

The gasps that came from the crowd of scientists were fast, coming one after another like dominos. In that instant- Penny's eyes widened. Everyone's attention was on this woman. Now would be the perfect time to grab the schematics.

"Sylveon, don't stand around and watch, just find the schematics!" Penny cried. Sylveon nodded and started rushing to find it.

Meanwhile, she could still listen in.

"As far as we know," Sada continued, "There are only two timelines. The one I'm from… I will call it the Scarlet timeline. As for yours… we will call it… the Violet timeline. The second Herba mystica, the one that is an exact replica of the one you all hold…is from my timeline."

"So I was right?!" Jacq cried, sounding kind of excited. "Wow! That was a total guess…"

"Both timelines are parallel, but very different. The timeline I come from…has a tragic ending. One of which is that your timeline is very close to coming to."

Meanwhile, Sylveon found a cabinet that was filled to the brim with papers. She started using her paws to try to pull. After pulling the cabinet, Sylveon began searching.

"You might be wondering if what I am saying is true or not." Sada said. "And so, I will tell you another thing. I am a time traveler, and I use a time traveling device that sends me to the past. But only to the past. I have used it multiple times and edited this recording countless times so that it can be completely perfect. . You are about to say, 'If you're a time traveler, and you're trying to make a perfect recording, what am I about to say right now?'"

"Wha-?!" Jacq's startled voice gave Penny shivers. Just then, Sylveon managed to find a file that said TOP SECRET printed on it with red ink. Sylveon opened the file with her paws, and found the schematics for the Prime Invoker. Penny then quickly took a picture.

"Now- I want you to find the Herba Mystica…" Penny said. "it should be somewhere around here… Start looking!"

Sylveon hopped off of the cabinet and began looking.

"Doctor Smith," Sada said, "You're about to say, 'That was only a coincidence. You guessed what he was about to say, and guessed correctly- so what?"

The one who was previously lecturing Jacq, who was apparently named Doctor Smith, widened his eyes in shock.

"I will say it again:" Sada continued. "I've gone back in time multiple times. Countless times. All to prevent the bad future that awaits this timeline. . I want you to tell Rika to call Geeta, and tell her the existance of a second timeline, and tell her that there is a singular invader coming right now."

"What do you mean, invader?!" Jacq cried.

"Please remember that this is a recording, and I cannot answer your questions," Sada said. "Tell her that there is a person, a force of which she has never seen before, has found her way into this timeline. As for the rest of you. Do not worry about the two Herba Mystica. There is no need to research them. What you must do now is research why it is that we have multiple timelines. Jacq. After reporting to Rika, I want you to call her a second time once I send you a message that will come in approximately 30 minutes from now. It is absolutely paramount that you do what I say exactly as I say it."

"Uh…O-Okay..!" Jacq said.

As Sylveon kept moving, she found a glass container on an empty desk holding a pair of glowing green herba mystica. Hopping onto the desk, Sylveon widened her eyes and used the move Psychic to lift the glass container. Grabbing onto the Herba mystica with her mouth, Sylveon leapt off of the platform, and started to hide, waiting for Penny's next command.

But Penny was too shocked to say a word.

"One of you is about to ask," Sada said, "Why is it that we're taking orders from this woman'? I will remind you: I am a messenger from the future, warning you of what will happen next. Heed my words or face certain doom. I have one final message For the one who watches over and leads the Stars: You are a crucial part of our plan. Find the truth."

Penny tilted her head. What was she trying to say? 'For the one who watches over...and leads the stars…' Who did she mean by that?

The stars…

Penny closed her eyes and started to think.

The stars…

She gasped.

Was this Sada person talking about Her?! Did she know that she was there?!

"S-Sylveon…" A wash of fear ran down Penny's spine. "Uh- Start moving. Get out of there. N-Now..!"

Sylveon began moving.

"Farewell," Sada said. The TV turned off.

Penny moved her hand to her chest, trying to calm herself down with deep breaths. That was terrifying.

"Finally got them off my back..!" Arven's voice made Penny yelp with fear. Arven's eyes widened as he waved his hands. "What's wrong? Are you all right?"

"I'm- I'm fine-... I'm fine.." Penny said. "It's just-...Give me a moment.."

If she ever got caught, she could risk being suspended, or worse, expelled. That would have been awful. That fear was overwhelming her- and she needed to just breathe.

"Are you okay..?" Arven asked. "What happened?"

Penny looked at Arven. Where was she going to begin..?

"Is Sylveon coming with the Herba Mystica?" Arven asked.

"Y-Yeah. One for both of us."

"Awesome. Thank you so much." Arven grabbed Penny's hands. "You have no idea how much this means to me. Thank you so much."

Penny began to blush.

"Uh-..!" Penny pulled her hands away, and Arven tilted his head.

"What's wrong? I'm sorry. I didn't mean to scare you-"

"No- no- you're fine!" Penny cried. "I-... my heart's just...racing..."

After a while, Penny was able to catch her breath after a deep sigh.

"Ugh, I hate that I have to wait for your Sylveon... I hope she's coming quickly." Arven moaned. Penny nodded.

Truth be told, Penny had way too many things on her mind to even think about what Arven was talking about. What was that professor talking about...?

Speaking of that professor- maybe she was related to Arven in some way. Penny went to find the photograph on her phone.

"A-Arven-" Penny said, "Can I ask you something? Do you know who this person is?"

Penny showed Arven the picture of Professor Sada.

Arven tilted his head.

"Who's that?" He asked.

Professor Sada and Turo watched the reactions of the scientists inside of the secret lab of Uva Academy.

"The recording sent to Naranja- I mean…" Sada paused. "Uva Academy… has been sent, Penny should have received the message as planned, and we have successfully distracted them long enough for Penny's Sylveon to get both the schematics and the Herba Mystica."

"Telling them to investigate the timeline is a good enough distraction. The scientists will never reach the truth." Turo said. He crossed his arms. "This is still...nerve-wracking." He continued.

"This is the first time we've come this far without our plans going wrong," Sada said. "I am nervous as well. Our goal will be achieved. It is not a matter of if, only when."

Turo and Sada nodded to one another, and turned their heads to watch the monitor that switched its view over to Nemona.

"In five minutes…the 'invader' from your timeline will come for her," Turo said.

Nemona was sighing to herself, staring at the sky as she lay flat on her back. She was waiting for Geeta to finish her call, and she felt a bit bored. She heard footsteps, and then raised her body. She looked ahead of her, noticing that Geeta wasn't coming from where she left. After tilting her head from confusion for a brief moment, she turned around.

There was a person in a black hooded cloak approaching her. Nemona raised her eyebrows.

"Okay- there's either one of two things going on here.." Nemona said. "Either it's you, Geeta, trying to pull a prank…or…" Nemona stood up, and then pumped her fists in excitement, smiling wide as the mysterious person approached her. "Or- you're a strong trainer waiting for a battle! I really hope it's the latter! Or, maybe- it's bo-"

The mysterious figure's hand moved like a flash, lunging and grabbing Nemona by the neck quickly. Nemona's eyes widened, grabbing her attacker by the wrist as she was being lifted above the ground.

"What…are you-... Doing..!? Stop…!" Nemona shouted. "You're-...you're hurting me..!"

Two lights, red and blue, shined in the shadow that loomed over where the hooded person's face would be. A cold and visible breath of air came from where their mouth would be.

It reminded her of Aeon. His eyes were the same way- and he breathed cold, visible air like this… was this Aeon!?

"Listen to me," The mysterious person said. The moment the hooded figure spoke, her eyes widened in sheer terror.

She knew exactly who it was- and it wasn't Aeon.

"I want to make one thing clear to you. I hate you," The person said. "I hate everything about you. How blissfully unaware you are. How naive you are. How simple you are. Even now, you don't understand… but I will make it painfully clear for you."

The mysterious figure placed their free hand on their hood and flung off the entire robe with one swing. The moment Nemona saw the person's face- she felt so disturbed that she felt nauseous.

The person choking her…. was in fact Geeta. But she looked different.

She looked paler than before. She had a scar that ran across her cheek. The sleeves of her shirt were ripped apart into shreds- the remaining pieces of the cloth hung around her arms, which looked so pale it was as though they were dipped into sand. One of her eyes was blue, and the other, red.

The malevolent person with Geeta's face tightened their grip.

"What happened to you..!?" Nemona cried. "Geeta..!?"

"Did you really think that I forgave you? That I let go of all of that hatred I had for you? I never stopped trying to surpass you. I did everything I could to surpass you- even if it led me to the path of darkness. And now... it's time for me to finally make you suffer."

The scarred Geeta tightened her grip on Nemona, and she cried out in pain.

"Put her down."

Nemona heard a second voice, another Geeta's voice, coming from behind her. Doing her best to turn her head once her attacker loosened her grip, she saw…

Geeta. except this Geeta looked just like the same Geeta she spoke to moments ago.

She had a black, dark type aura emanating from her body from Kinggambit's power being given to her by her invoker armor which she was now clad in. The sheathed katana she held in her hand trembled- not with fear…but with anger.

"There you are," The malevolent second Geeta said.

"Put. Her. Down." Geeta said. "And if you know Kingambit as much as I do, you know why he's shaking right now."

The dark Geeta smirked. "I could care less what he's feeling. I care more about what you're feeling."

Nemona was thrown to the side like a rag doll. Once Nemona fell onto her back, she began coughing loudly, then looked up at the Evil Geeta.

"Why-...Why are there two Geetas?!" Nemona cried.

"It's going to be a lot to take in. But just nod along and listen:" Geeta said. "She's from a parallel timeline- dubbed the Scarlet Timeline."

"What..!?" Nemona no idea where to begin with what she was just told.

"That's right-" Nemona's Geeta continued, "Rika told me everything. About how you invaded this timeline somehow."

"And yet you aren't surprised in the slightest that I exist," The evil Geeta said.

Both Geetas approached each other and began circling one another.

"Of course." The good Geeta said. "I was so close… so close to becoming just like you."

A hideously vile smirk slithered its way onto the Evil Geeta's face. "It's still not too late. It's never too late for you to fall. Nemona's still right there. And you still hate her. That's the one thing we have in common, and it's the one thing you know will lead to your downfall."

"Stop."

"Aw, what's wrong? Are you angry because I'm right?"

The Good Geeta started gritting her teeth. "It's because what you're saying is blatantly false- I don't hate her."

"Blatantly false? You're denying what you really feel."

Good Geeta clenched her fists in rage.

"I heard about your story from a little birdy," Evil Geeta said, "and it was laughable. You think overcame your anger? You really think your feelings would just up and disappear like smoke?"

"You laugh...at my moment of weakness...?!"

"It was pathetic. It's almost as pathetic as the fact that you haven't even challenged her yet with your newfound power!" Evil Geeta pointed a finger at Nemona.

That was when she started to cry. Nemona fell to her knees and began sobbing.

"Why would you say that?!" Nemona shouted. "Why are you talking like that..!? The Geeta I know would never-"

"I could quench your curiosity...and tell you what I sacrificed to become what I am today…" Evil Geeta said. "But Instead, I'll give you a cliffhanger, and leave you to put two and two together until I eventually tell you the whole story…"

Evil Geeta looked straight into the eyes of her good counterpart, as though she was about to delight in the reaction that was coming. "My mental downfall truly began...when I watched and allowed the Kai of my timeline…. to pass away."

"What?!" Nemona shouted.

Time felt like it stopped for the Good Geeta. The only thing she could hear at that moment was a loud, high pitched noise that went on like a phone would when you left it on after the other person left the call. While she stood, wide-eyed, she could faintly hear the voices of her evil counterpart and Nemona.

"That's right." Evil Geeta said. Her voice was muffled over the high pitch noise. "I stood by and did nothing as he was destroyed by a singular boy, wielding the power that I now wield. I would have used my power to defeat the Nemona in my timeline...but she lost the will to fight after everything that had happened."

Good Geeta began clenching her fists as hard as she possibly could.

"...Why would you do that!?" Nemona shouted.

"That's just the tip of the iceberg. You have no idea what I'm capable of."

The ringing in the good Geeta's ears stopped.

"HOW...!" The enraged voice of Good Geeta caused both Nemona and her evil counterpart to turn to her. "HOW DARE YOU..!" The dark aura radiating around Good Geeta's body exploded with rage. "HOW COULD YOU?!"

The enraged good Geeta's eyes started shining red with dark type energy. Every step she took advancing toward her evil self crushed the ground beneath her heel and caused the earth to shake.

"You knew that you were capable of horrible actions…" Evil Geeta said, "But you never expected this, did you? That's right. I let him die. That same boy that you're responsible for looking after as an adult. The one boy you could have even called your protégé. Not only that, but I also let the entire world fall to Paradox Pokémon. I watched it all burn."

"YOU MONSTER! THAT'S IT..!"

Nemona had never seen Geeta this angry before. It was horrifying.

"What're you going to do to me?" Evil Geeta said.

"I'm... I'm going to..." Good Geeta said. "I'm going to KILL YOU!"

Good Geeta came face to face with her evil self, and Evil Geeta grinned in delight before letting out a maniacal laugh, it sounded as though she heard the funniest joke she's ever heard in her life… but it was fueled by the delight of Nemona's despair and her counterpart's rage. It was a laughter that could come only from a depraved, mentally ill person who could only feel joy when someone else was suffering.

"Go on then, Try and kill me! If you think I deserve death, then go ahead and try!" Evil Geeta cried. "But just know... with my level of power, it won't be easy...!" Electricity and fighting type energy Radiated from Evil Geeta's body.

Author's note: I'm practicing writing in a way that will leave enough clues for you, the reader, to figure out what's really going on... Let me know your theories as to what's going on!

Also, for those of you who don't know, the mentioning of 'The Crimson Foundation' is a reference to a previous story of mine, from Pokémon Colossal Showdown 2: Dynamaxed. If you know, you know. If not- don't worry about it. It's a nod to the previous story- they're both TECHNICALLY part of the same series but treat them like separate stories.