Author's note: Forgive me that this one's late, I got rocked by assignments and tests. Hope you enjoy!

Chapter 90: Unpredictable Timeline

"Everything turned out fine, in the end." Sada said, sighing to herself as she watched on at the giant monitor in front of her. Everyone involved in the fight near Uva Academy were now walking toward the Academy together.

"Although, there's one thing that bothers me," Turo said, crossing his arms. "It's the anomalies in this timeline. Something caused everything to shift. There's something that happened in the past that we haven't seen yet, something we missed that changed the entire timeline."

"That's true," Sada said. "The biggest anomaly lies with Penny. Out of the three major teammates Kai will gain, Penny's story is arguably the most distorted. Second place goes to Geeta's story."

"That is correct." Turo said. "We need anomalies to happen in order to win, but despite that, it's tempting to reset the timeline, just in case."

"It's very easy to attempt to find the perfect timeline that will lead to our perfect victory," Sada said, "But sometimes the perfect road doesn't exist. Sometimes, we need to be understanding that unpredictable things may happen. The mere fact that I'm here in this timeline is an anomaly in itself, and naturally, will cause problems."

Turo sighed.

"It's easy to point at the academy being set ablaze as the single thing that turned everything around," Turo said, "But there's something more to it. Something must have happened before Penny decided to act on her catastrophic plan to bust a hole into the academy to get rid of her bully."

"What makes things so difficult is that we do not have cameras in Penny's house," Sada said. "I have a feeling that whatever wasn't supposed to happen in the original timeline, happened in that house. It could have been anything,"

"And we have no clue what it is. This is what frustrates me and stops me from suggesting we reset the timeline. Until we know what happened inside her house, we can't replicate it, in case it's to our advantage. We have to think about it further. What about Penny had changed from the previous timeline?"

"She became more daring," Sada said.

"Yes. But why?" Turo asked. "I feel like a student would if they had an answer for a question that was on the tip of their tongue."

"We need more information." Sada said. "For now, we shouldn't think on this-"

"No," Turo said. "We need to figure this out now. That way we can replicate the situation in case we fail, if it turns out to be to our advantage." Turo motioned with his hand at the monitor, showing all of Team Star in the Director's office with Director Clavell. "We have time to think on it now. They're discussing the future of Team Star. It's very likely we already know how this will end, like it always does: Team Star will become an official club at the academy.

"We don't know that. This timeline has already been unpredictable." Sada said, pressing a button on the keyboard in front of them. The moment she pressed the button, the sound of Clavell's voice came out.

"That is why I decided," Clavell said, "To make Team Star an official Club."

The look on all of Team Star's faces were of surprise and joy.

"Really!?" Eri said. "I'm so ha-"

Turo turned off the audio with a push of a button.

"...I stand corrected." Sada said.

"We must know what had happened to change everything for the sake of the future, in case things fall apart."

"Fine." Sada said. "The answer lies in the past. Let us think about the difference between the current timeline, and this one."

"The major one is Penny." Turo said. "Arven has achieved his goal rather swimmingly, despite his road being slightly affected by Aeon's existence."

"Nemona's was changed slightly as well," Sada said. "Kai hasn't gotten many badges thus far, Geeta's timeline changed drastically upon learning that Nemona held back. We learned how to repeat that by simply telling Geeta that Nemona had held back."

"So, the only real anomaly is Penny. And from what we've already spoken about, the major contributor to the changes we see now is because of her spike in confidence," Turo replied.

"In the original timeline, Penny had refused to show her face until the very end. That remains to be true, for Penny hadn't shown herself until the end of her saga with Team Star..."

""Incorrect." Turo said. "In this timeline, Penny had shown her face more than once, when Kai fought against Team Star's Atticus."

"Ah."

"This means her boost in confidence must have happened before the events with Kai.."

"...We're back to where we started," Sada said. "This is why we need more informai-"

"No. No- I feel it, I can feel that we're at the verge of a breakthrough," Turo said, raising his voice. "We're almost there. I can feel it!"

Sada frowned, then nodded, noticing the emotion on her ally's face. "I understand," She said.

"Something boosted her confidence. Think, Sada. What could have happened that boosted her confidence at such a short-"

Turo's eyes widened as he thought back to Kai, and how his confidence rose. It all began when he learned to use a technique:

Flow.

Turo gasped at the top of his lungs, and Sada's eyes widened.

"I understand now." Turo said. "At some point, Penny had awoken to Flow!"

"What!?" Sada cried. "That-"

"It explains her boost in confidence." Turo said. Emotion carried his voice, causing him to speak faster. "Penny may not have even realized it- otherwise she would have used that technique in her final battle...!"

Sada remained silent. She crossed her arms and raised a finger to her lower lip and stared at the ground.

"Flow is something that only began to exist as soon as I entered this timeline," Sada said. "With how fickle this timeline has been. Perhaps it became that pebble that was moved an inch to change this one. Penny being the very first to awaken to the full power of Flow wasn't something that had happened in any timeline."

"The real question is," Turo said," how do we use this to our advantage? How can we replicate this in the future?"

"I don't think we can," Sada said. "There's no foreseeable way we can force Flow into others. It is an entirely personal awakening."

"So, we can only chalk this up to luck?" Turo said.

"...I suppose so. We can only manipulate this timeline so much. This may mean that this timeline is one of a kind, a one-in-one-million chance that something may happen. That being said, we do not know if this hypothesis is correct. It may have not been Flow at all that changed this timeline. In fact, we may never know."

Turo crossed her arms and sighed.

"That being said," Sada continued, "we can't put Flow off the table in regard to Penny's boost in confidence. It's the most likely thing that is responsible."

"This technique… Flow…" Turo put his hand on his chin and rubbed it. "Despite the amount of time we spent trying to create the perfect timeline… we still don't understand it completely. I apologize. Emotion has pushed me to bring up ludicrous concepts."

"Do not blame yourself," Sada said. "This hypothesis is very useful. If we can figure out how to replicate it, this could come to our advantage."

"But what if we cannot?" Turo said. He clenched his fists. "What if...this is the only chance we ever have?"

"What?"

"Think of it, Sada. We've lost count on how many times we've attempted this. This has never happened before. We don't know how to replicate it, and if we cannot, this could be our only chance of attempting to gain our perfect victory."

Sada placed a hand on Turo's shoulder.

"I understand how you feel," Sada said, "But we can always try again. We have all the time in the world so long as we go back to the past."

"If we don't-"

"This is unlike you. Perhaps you should take the time for a maintenance," Sada said. "If we say something along those lines to Kai when the final battle inevitably comes, that will only make him more nervous. And it will make you nervous."

"...You're right," Turo said. He sighed. "We've entered a domino effect that had started a long time ago. Perhaps my panicking was also a part of this timeline's 'plan'. Despite Geeta saying that we were like puppeteers pulling their strings, the real thing that pulls everyone's strings is now the flow of time itself..." Turo sighed once again. "I would like to see how Nemona and Geeta are doing, now."

Sada pushed a button on the keyboard, and the monitor changed cameras, showing a birds-eye view of Geeta and Nemona, who were having a stare off while standing in the Champion's battlefield at the roof of the Pokémon league building. They were both wearing invoker armor.

Geeta was clad in the armor she wore when she tera fused with Kingambit, and Nemona stood next to her Lycanroc.

"Ah, I almost forgot. They're going to battle," Turo said.

"Let's see how it goes," Sada said.

A cold wind blew past Geeta and Nemona, who stood at opposite ends of the Pokémon battlefield.

Nemona's smile was wide, while Geeta looked focused.

"I've been waiting for this," Nemona said, placing a hand on Lycanroc's head. "You have no idea how excited me and Lycanroc are."

On Geeta's sides were two Katanas, one that Kingambit had transformed into, and the other, more mechanized one was Geeta Rojo's katana.

"I'm happy you're excited," Geeta said, "I'm frankly kind of nervous. I'm unsure as to how my power measures up to yours."

"How could you say that? You're El Diabla Azul! The strongest trainer in the world!"

Geeta smiled. "If it's one thing I want you to never change, it's your brimming positivity, Nemona."

"Thanks- I don't plan on changing!" Nemona grinned. Her hand came off of Lycanroc as she pulled a tera orb from her pocket. She crushed it, and a pillar of light rose from the ground below her feet. Geeta watched as the pillar faded, revealing Nemona, wearing her cape and knuckles.

"You told me earlier that you unlocked the second form of Flow, yes?" Geeta said.

"Yeah," Nemona said, "But I'm not pulling it out yet, I don't wanna rush things.."

Nemona entered a battle stance.

"I see," Geeta said, smiling. "Hey, this brings back memories, doesn't it?"

"It does!" Nemona said. "I remembered the times when I tried over and over and over again to beat you. No matter how hard I tried, I just couldn't! I remember how far I came. You remember that time when you beat me in less than a second the first time?"

"Yeah," Geeta said, smiling. Then, suddenly, her smile faded away as her look turned serious. "Fortunately for you, history is about to repeat itself."

"Huh?"

Geeta crossed her arms, touching both of her katanas with each hand. Blue electricity began sparking around the champion before a burst of blue aura radiated around her.

Geeta's hair turned blue as it flowed upward like an ocean wave. The mechanical katana began glowing red as though it were heating up.

Nemona's eyes widened in sheer shock, as for a split second, a large red lightning bolt sparked out from Geeta's back, shaped like a single wing that sparked with blue electricity.

"Rojo!?" Nemona cried.

That was when Nemona blinked.

When Nemona opened her eyes, Geeta was gone. But something was wrong- something had happened. Her entire body felt as though it were cut one thousand times- and had just now felt overwhelming pain. As Nemona slowly fell to her knees, feeling the immense weight of her invoker, she let out a gasp, as though she had held her breath for a long time. Just then, her body finally hit the floor. A tiny cloud of dust flew up above her back when she did..

Nemona heard the sound of two katanas being sheathed from behind her.

"Next time, you should go all out from the start," Geeta's voice came from behind the young trainer.

"...Ugh…You're..so…awesome…" Nemona groaned. She looked up, seeing Geeta had crouched down in front of her. Geeta smiled a gentle smile, like one she would give to a younger sibling.

"We can go another round if you'd like." Geeta said.

"Yaaaaaaay…" Nemona groaned. She coughed loudly in pain "Can…you teach me how to do that…?"

"No." Geeta said. "Then you'll beat me."

"Aw maaaannn…" Nemona said. "But if I beat you… you'll come back stronger again…"

"Good point," Geeta said. "But I'd like to hold onto this feeling of victory while I still have it."

Both girls laughed.

"I also want to say...thank you," Geeta said. "My level of strength came because of you. So thank you."

"I wanna…Thank…you… too. You're…the coolest…most…awesome…trainer…ever."

Geeta smiled brightly. "I'm glad that no matter what, you still remain my number one fan."

"...You're…dang…right..!"

Both girls laughed again.

Penny and Clavell were in the Director's room together. There was no one else around. Clavell sighed.

"You do realize I still have to punish you in some way," Clavell said, "For what happened?"

"I understand," Penny said, lowering her head. "Give me any punishment you want."

"I thought of it as we made our way back into the Academy," Clavell said. "And I now know how I will punish you. As of today, I will be rescinding Lilith's expulsion. When she returns, I want you to have a conversation with her."

Penny's eyes widened with shock.

"What!?" She cried. "Are you- are you serious!? Do you have any idea what she'll do to me?!"

"I think you will be surprised." Clavell said.

"Please-" Penny said. "I- I can do any other punishment- anything but that. Please."

"Is it truly a proper punishment if it is something you want to happen?"

Penny said nothing for a while, then sighed.

"You are free to leave." Clavell said. "I will call you when I am able to set up the meeting."

Penny turned and walked away, hanging her head low. As she opened the door in front of her, she saw Arven, Kai, and Aeon standing in front of the door waiting. Penny looked up at them and nearly gasped with fright.

"There she is," Arven said.

"Hello, Penny," Aeon said. "We were waiting for you."

"Waiting... for me?" Penny said.

"It was Kai's idea, he wanted to tell you something." Arven said.

"Yeah," Aeon said, "and you wanted to-"

Arven elbowed Aeon's side, and Aeon sighed.

Kai walked over to Penny and stared her in the face. For a while, the two stared at each other, as though tension had built between the two of them.

Suddenly, Kai hugged Penny so quickly that her glasses nearly fell off of her face.

"Thank you... so much..." Kai said. "For creating Team Star. Thank you."

"I-...uh-...you're welcome...?" Penny said. "It-It wasn't just me who made it."

"But you were the one who started the whole thing- so thank you. I owe so much to you."

"Okay-... I'm thankful that you're thankful...but-uh..you're squeezing me too tight..." Penny said. Kai pulled away.

"Sorry- sorry!" Kai said.

"Kai's used to hugging Aeon really hard," Arven said. "It's cause Aeon's a robot, so he can take i-"

"ARVEN!" Aeon shouted.

"What?" Arven said. "Oh. OH-"

"WHY DID YOU TELL HER?!" Aeon shouted.

"My bad!"

"UGHHH," Aeon groaned.

"Oh..." Penny said. "...I... am really confused."

"If you want me to explain I can," Aeon said. "Although I planned on telling her on my own time, until SOMEONE decided to say something." Aeon said with a huff.

Arven scratched the back of his head. "My bad, my bad.." He said.

Penny's head lowered to the point that her eyes were covered by shadow. "What do you mean by 'planning to tell me on your own time? For all you know, this may be the last time you ever see me."

"Well, Kai has another proposition with you."

"Yeah-" Kai said. "Can you join us on our journey?"

Penny lifted her head so that her perplexed eyes could be seen. "...What?" Penny said.

"Can. You. Join. Us. On Our-"

"I heard you," Penny grumbled.

"Aeon was the one who suggested it, he wanted someone with a brain to come with us," Arven said.

"No I didn't!" Aeon said.

"Okay- he didn't. But it so sounds like something he'd say, right?"

"Arven, I will hit you!" Aeon cried, glaring at his taller brother.

"Yeah, no you won't," Arven said. Aeon pulled out his toy hammer and started whacking Arven's head over and over again. The squeak noise came out over and over again as Arven continued to talk. "It's just that, we saw you were all gloomy and thought that you should come out and have some fun with us."

"You mean you saw that she was all gloomy!" Aeon groaned.

"Yeah, gotta agree there," Kai said. "You were the first one who suggested it, Arven."

Arven pushed on Aeon's head so that his toy hammer couldn't reach him.

"Yeah yeah," Arven said. "Anyway, why not join us? It'll be fun. Think about it."

"..Before I do that, I want to talk to my team." Penny said. "I was going to do that anyway."

"Okay." Arven said.

"AAAAARVEEEEEEEEENNNNNNNN!" Aeon cried as Arven continued pushing Aeon away. Penny turned and walked away as Kai began laughing.

Those three are a lot of fun, she thought. It would be nice to join them. She walked off into the hallway until she saw the entire Team Star group all waiting. One of them noticed her walking, and the rest turned their heads to her.

"Boss!" Eri said. Seeing Eri's massive body running up to her gave Penny a scare- but when Eri hugged her- she suddenly felt very warm. She couldn't help but hug Eri back. "This is amazing- we're- we're finally going to make a difference in the world..!" Eri began tearing up as she pulled away.

"Yeah, and it's all thanks to you," Mela said.

"Guys..." Penny said. "I... I want to apologize."

"For what?" Giacomo said.

"For...trying to end team star."

"Something tells me that you knew deep in your heart, that even if you had beaten all of us, that Team star would not have fallen." Atticus said, crossing his arms. "Especially if you knew the rules. You knew you couldn't end Team Star with your own hands. You were only trying to calm the beast known as guilt in your mind."

"Yeah, what he said," Ortega said.

"...Yeah." Penny said, smiling a bit. "I'm sorry for...not showing myself. I wanted to show myself to you guys for the longest time."

"Well, you're here now," Mela said, nodding and smiling.

Penny smiled wide.

"So..."

Penny spun around upon hearing Arven's voice. She saw Arven standing in front of Kai and Aeon. "You going to go with them?" Arven asked.

"Huh?" Ortega said.

"What's going on?" Eri asked.

Penny turned to Arven, placed a hand over her chest and sighed.

"I'm being asked to join them on an adventure," Penny said. "But...I don't know who to choose-"

"Go with them!" Ortega said.

"Yeah." Giacomo said.

"We can handle ourselves on our own," Atticus said. "We'll make the club the best it can be."

"Team star will be here forever," Mela said. "That journey those guys are having will only happen once."

"Y-Yeah.." Eri said, sniffling. "And when your journey ends.. you can come back home. Back with us."

Penny turned to her Team Star group and shared a nod with them.

"You guys...make me so proud," She said. She smiled as a tear of joy fell from her eye.

The members of Team Star smiled at her.

Penny turned around to Arven, Aeon and Kai.

"Well.." Penny said. "Let's go."

Author's note: I hope you enjoyed this one! My finals are going to be coming soon, so the next chapter may or may not be late, depending if I have time or not.

Take care!