BAMBOO AND CHERRY TREES (Part 2)

The air was frosty, biting at his wings. Snowflakes filled the air, swirling around in his small wake. And all around him, there was that essence of Shadows. It darkened the hearts of Pokemon and humans alike, overtaking the mind by sharpening pain and giving the body demonic strength. He was flying into one of the last battles, but didn't hesitate. Celebi pressed on.

A piercing roar rang out over the mountaintop. One of them had spotted him. Before long, there were two responses, similar in power and tone. He had to break through before they reached him.

Celebi's constant companion, a laboratory supercomputer called Fiji, spoke within his mind. "Suicune is closing in, at four o'clock."

"Right." He spotted a cave and ducked into that to continue upward with some protection.

However, it didn't last. Suicune came straight for him. Celebi darted higher, almost touching the rocky ceiling, in order to continue his path to the peak. In a momentary glance, he saw the tangled and wretched red-violet mane that limped along the beast's back. Suicune had once been known as the purifying North Wind. As one of the oldest of the Shadow infection, her mind was a mess of base instincts and hatred. She recognized no one as any more than Shadow or non-Shadow, and few people would recognize her.

Celebi sent a burst of Magical Leaf at her. For a moment, he felt an urge to stop and battle her. That wouldn't be safe. If he gave in to hostility, the essence would be able to invade his mind, taking him over much as it had nearly everyone else. He had resisted it so far and stayed whole. In the extra moments Suicune spent trying to dodge the unerring leaves, he burst through the barrier.

The Shadow essence vanished from around him. He took a moment to relax and calm his racing heart. Although he had stuck to doing just tiny changes to the past, the alternate history of the Shadow Pokemon continued to gain strength. Things grew worse every time he returned home; now even humans were becoming Shadows.

At this point, something big had to be changed. If Celebi's guard fell, he knew that he would pose a risk to all time. He had a promising plan, but it was more drastic than he liked to do alone. In order to make the right big change, he wanted to consult with someone who knew more about the inner workings of Time itself.

Now that he was past the barrier, it was only a short distance to Spear Pillar. It was a large flat stone square, an odd thing to find on a mountaintop. Uneven rubble indicated that there had been stone columns at one point, but those were gone. Instead, there were three powerful Pokemon holding their grounds.

One had a long neck with a large body low to the ground. Another was large all around, but the crests coming off his head were streamlined. And flying around them, there was the third, a large black creature that seemed otherworldly.

The one with the long neck, Dialga, nodded to him. "Celebi! Wonderful to see you well."

With a sense of relief coming over him, Celebi smiled. "Hello Dialga. I have something I want to ask you about."

Before they could continue, Giratina paused in his pacing flight and brought his enormous head next to the much smaller Pokemon. "You! This is all your fault!"

Celebi's mouth went dry and his heart started pounding. These Pokemon were giants, having existed since the beginnings of everything. And here he was, just a small fairy Pokemon that any one of them could have smashed flat. He had been afraid of this ever since he decided on coming to Mount Coronet.

"Calm down," Palkia chided Giratina. "We can't lose the shield after all this effort."

"And I'm sure Celebi hasn't done anything about this," Dialga added in defense.

"That's precisely the problem," Giratina growled, causing a shiver in Celebi's wings. "You messed up my balance by empowering so many alternate histories. The Shadows shouldn't be in as many dimensions as they are. They should just be restricted to a little fraction of time and space. And once you get infected, you pestilent time traveler, then that screws over the entirety of reality."

"That's why you should be helping him now," a different voice said. Arceus came down, but from where wasn't easily apparently. This was the first time Celebi had encountered the Creator Pokemon as well. At first glance, he seemed as beautiful as he had imagined. But past that initial impression, Arceus' eyes were weary and his body was bony.

"I thought you were working on banishing the Shadow essence," Palkia said.

The strange golden halo that encircled him seemed to be wilted, Celebi noticed. And the way he lowered his head spoke of deep sorrow. "This place is not stable. It will completely untangle shortly, perhaps as soon as Celebi here leaves."

"I'm sorry," he said, bowing his head.

"It is a sad and broken world as it is, so it will not be much of a loss." Arceus stopped in front of him. "Now, explain the entirety of your plan."

"The entire thing? Shouldn't you know some of it at least?"

"Go ahead and tell us."

Celebi nodded. "All right. As the Shadows began increasing in my time, this one, I put more effort into finding out if there was anything I could do about it. The information was surprisingly hard to find; the source of this epidemic was excellent at concealing itself. With some information taken from earlier time points, I was able to pin it down.

"Somewhere in the transition between the twentieth and twenty-first centuries, a group by the name of Cipher appeared in the Orre region. They initially used psychological stress and breakdowns to develop Shadow Pokemon. The process took weeks or months to complete, depending on how strong they made the state. Looking for a faster process, they researched into concentrated drugs to alter the chemical construction of the brain; Lugia was almost always one of the first Shadows created exclusively through the drug program. Then someone made the breakthrough of creating a virus that mimicked the drug's chemical alteration.

"From this point on, the Shadows became easier to produce and harder to purify. Each year sharpened that technology until the virus crossed the line to pandemic. Cipher lost all control over the Shadows and, in nearly all cases, erased all data that could prove they were responsible. I'm finding that the line between manufactured virus and pandemic virus keeps moving backwards from my perspective. It moves to earlier times, for most of you.

"However, the beginning of Cipher is practically set into one twenty-five year period. In this period, the Shadows are much easier to purify. I believe if that purification process is made even easier during that time period, Cipher will find it less profitable and more risky. Hopefully, they will cease development before the Shadow virus comes into existence."

"How do you intend on making it easier?" Dialga asked. "As I recall, it took months while they were in a brink state and the Trainers pretty much had to rely on luck to get past the final lock."

"The luck factor can be taken out," Celebi said. "The final hurdle was overcome by the Pokemon remembering something of their old life and coming back to their true identity. And there is a subset of temporal technology that allows for that to be done through computers. A Memory Mirror program can analyze the memory storage of any being and scan backwards in time for references and highlights. Basically, it's like throwing a camera onto your old memories, even those you can't remember well. The problem is, the technology level required to create a Memory Mirror is much higher than that reached in the twenty-first level."

"So you need to get a futuristic artifact in that time era," Palkia said.

"That's one part of the problem," Celebi admitted. "The other part of the problem is that in the time period of Cipher, Orre is a desert."

"What's the problem with that?" Giratina asked.

"He needs a forest to be in peak condition," Dialga stated. "The desert would ultimately work against him, like how being restricted to one dimension worked against you."

"Fine." He backed off a few feet.

Feeling less pressured, Celebi took a deep breath before continuing. "Before I became a time traveler, I worked with my parents on a time compression technique that produced a twenty-year-old forest in twenty minutes. It didn't work perfectly, but we came close. I would have to use the time compression to grow a forest prior to the time of Cipher, so that it is established by the time I need it. Also, I don't have the equipment to make either the Memory Mirror or the compression machine. I need to figure out how to get to a time where I can make them."

"I can't help you there," Dialga said. "I only travel time in one direction."

"You need Giratina's help for that," Palkia added, much to Celebi's dread.

"I don't want to help some little fly who caused this much chaos," Giratina grumbled.

"He has the capacity to fix this chaos," Arceus pointed out. "And we don't want either of you to be infected by the Shadow essence. Do you have the technological know-how to carry out this plan?"

"No." He sighed. "Fine, I'll look for a dimension both those things are functional in." He drifted back out into a circling pace.

"His mind is connected to all other dimensions that he exists in," Arceus explained. "And he can view dimensions that he's not in. But he mostly watches."

"Is it going to be okay to make that big of a change to history, though?" Celebi asked. "I don't want to fix one problem, but cause a worse one in the process. I've already done that, to my regret."

"What do you know of this case?" Arceus asked. "You know that Cipher began at some point, that they produced artificially-induced Shadow states, and that Lugia was nearly always the first to become a Shadow by the use of drugs alone. Therefore, these three points of history must remain intact, or something worse may come out of your efforts."

"I hate doing that to Lugia, though," Celebi replied sadly. "He generally seems like a good guy whenever I run into a true version of him. He doesn't deserve to go through that."

Arceus bowed his head. "It is a case where you must choose the path of least evil. It is a terrible thing to do; trust me, I know this deep in my heart."

Giratina stopped again. "Okay, I've found one that's suitable. The Shadow essence is not as dense, but still present."

"And now you both must leave," Arceus said. "Do not grieve us, for we await your success in other worlds."

Celebi bowed again. "Thank you so much. I won't let a world like yours continue."

They nodded in approval. Then Giratina moved himself and Celebi out of the corrupted world.

-+-

Celebi and Giratina appeared in a desert at night. A building made up of a geodesic dome sat in front of them. Smaller domes spread off in later additions. "Here is where you'll find your equipment," Giratina said, sounding notably kinder. "You have some work to do, but there is someone there to help you."

"So you change genders too, huh?" Celebi asked.

The ghost dragon nodded. "As far as I can tell, I have one overmind connected to many minds across dimensions. My body is different from place to place. Good luck." She flew off.

Celebi checked over himself. He was still sky blue, which was okay but he preferred the times when he was green. Then he approached the building. The landscape all around him was still, but not lifeless. What life was there, though, seemed to be corrupted. In response to this, the building wasn't all that pretty from the outside. But there was a metal plaque by the front door with an intriguing notice on it.

"'Ilex Space-Time Laboratory'? My parents' lab?"

"It might not be," Fiji said. "But it is remarkably similar."

"Don't get your hopes up too far," he said to himself, then pulled open the door by telekinesis.

Once the door shut, a red light came on. It was a small hallway between two heavy duty doors. A laser swept over the room, scanning him several times. Once this lab's computer was satisfied that he did not have any potential problems, the inner door opened.

Celebi was assaulted by a bizarre feeling of familiarity and unfamiliarity. This was his true home. Maybe. Or it wasn't. One moment, it felt right. The next moment, something seemed off. Then it was a completely strange place, which ran right back into home again. His head started to feel dizzy.

"Excuse me," a woman said. "I'm Dr. Jane Ilex and… you're a free Pokemon?"

His heart jumped as he spun around in mid-air. "Mother?"

She had dark green hair that tumbled down to her mid-back in uneven waves. And she gave him the same kind of mental dissonance, of being and not-being his mother. Clasping the necklace she wore, Jane said, "I'm sorry, but I don't have any children. I think."

"Oh, it's okay," he replied in embarrassment. His heart wanted to clasp to the possibility, but, "You're like her, though… in another place and an alternate dimension." His antennae trembled at that. It was crushing to admit this; he wasn't home yet.

Jane came closer to him and stroked his head. "I'm not sure about having a Pokemon for a child. But I wouldn't mind considering you family. It seems like so long since I've met another not touched by Shadow."

"I know how that is. Mo… Jane, I need your help. I have a plan for fixing the Shadow problem in the past. It, it will likely change this history, maybe even erase it completely. But it will get rid of the Shadows across many dimensions. I need the technology of this lab to do it."

For a moment, she was afraid. Potentially erasing history like that was a deterrent in most cases. But then she nodded. "All right. Fiji says I'm the only one left, so if it gets rid of the Shadows in the past, I'm okay with that."

"Wait, you have Fiji too?" Celebi asked.

"It is only logical," the one in his head said.

At the end of that thought, Jane's computer stated, "I sense a resonance from within this Celebi. It seems that he may have a link to this laboratory in some other reality."

"A lab almost identical to this was my home, before I began time traveling," he told them.

"Then you should know about our functions," Jane said. "What do we need to do?"

-+-

Jane showed him a computer array of time rings, processors, fans, and other gizmos that looked like it could fit into an oil drum. "This is my most current build of a complete Memory Mirror device. You'd have to find some way to disguise it if you're taking it into the past."

"We could make it look like a large rock," Celebi suggested. "But we'd need to make it look important enough that no one messes with it."

"There's also the problem of powering the Mirror. The region you showed me has no civilized development. If you tried to connect to an established power grid, it would be impossible to hide."

"I've considered that. There is a volcano in the region which could have geothermal hot spots. Then again, I don't want to put a forest I need for my powers near a live volcano."

Jane smiled. "I do have something that could help. Follow me." She went to a nearby door and opened up a warehouse.

Inside, there were crates, steel shelving, and a giant thick-trunked tree. It had spotted white bark and broad spreads of leaves. For some reason, there were two hollows in the tree. One was near the base, and could have been explained as exposed roots over lost ground. But the other was in the middle of the trunk, some four stories off the ground. The top hollow could have held a small house inside.

Celebi sensed no connection to it. "You have a false tree?"

"It's a solar generator station," the scientist explained. "When the Ilex family started this lab centuries ago, we used a grove of tree generators to power our experiments. I had to make a new solar array when Shadow thugs destroyed the trees, but I remade this one in hopes of being able to use it. They're resistant to erosion and it did take a lot to bring them down."

"It looks normal enough," Celebi said in awe. "That's amazing. Since I'm growing a forest anyhow, no one will think a thing of this generator."

"And it will help support the compression growth. If we can make some hyperspace data transformers that can carry their load into the past, which I'm sure is simple enough, you'll be able to take all the supplies in one go."

"Good, because I'm still not that great at targeting specific timelines when heading to the future. We've got a lot of work to do; what do you need me to work on?"

Jane thought. "You work on the transformers, since you're experienced with time travel technology. I'll adjust the Memory Mirror, and then we can work on the compression growth supplies."

-+-

The development of electronic storage and transfer of physical objects had been a major breakthrough for human civilization. First it was items like bottles, small devices, papers, and other such things that could be destructed into an electronic signal, then reconstructed elsewhere exactly as they had been before. Then it was living beings, mostly Pokemon, which were put through the storage process by way of the Pokeball. The process hadn't come easily; there were records of a terrible massacre of thousands of helpless Pokemon in PC Storage thanks to an accident caused by a frightened Pikachu. And the technology grew tremendously. During Celebi's time, entire buildings could be zapped into a data storage device no bigger than a pen, then placed elsewhere in the world with little to no trouble.

One problem with this kind of transfer was when there were no cables or satellite links to send the stored item or being on. Such as if one needed to move people, Pokemon, and things to a base on another planet, or from a distant space station. Or theoretically, through time, space, and dimension. For this situation, hyperspace data transformers had been invented. They were highly secure; once the stored objects were placed in the transformer, they could not be taken out until docked in an appropriate matter constructor. The objects could not be damaged nor destroyed.

Celebi looked over the sixth transformer he had made for this project. Oddly enough, the Ilex lab's design for them looked much like a light green flute. And it could be played like one, albeit a high-pitched instrument. That design was part of the way it worked, though. The six of them whistled in unison, holding the components for the Orre forest.

Nearby, Jane was checking a list they had made of what was needed for the project. It was the third time she had done so today. "You should have everything you need now," she said, sounding a little disappointed.

"Yeah. Thanks for all your help. This should help choke the Shadow infection's early development." He flew a little closer to her. "I'm sorry I have to leave you alone again." And even moreso for undoing her dimension.

At first, she looked at him with a bit of longing, as if she would ask him not to leave. Her expression hardened with some difficulty. "You… you had best go now that you're ready. The Shadow plague destroyed everyone around me. And it destroyed any hope I might have had in having a child of my own."

"Mom, you were able to, at least once."

She half smiled with a tear threatening to come through. "Yes, I suppose so." She kissed his forehead. "So, somewhere you are my son."

"Or daughter," Celebi added. "I'm not really sure right now."

"You did say that. I hope you find your way back home. Maybe I will be there, in a way."

"That could be." He had to say goodbye somehow, but didn't want to. "I love you, mom."

"I love you too, my dear child."

He smiled, then nodded. Fiji linked up to the six transformers and moved them backwards through time once again.

-+-

She was green again, thankfully, when she appeared in the vast sandy bleakness of the Orre desert. There were no Pokemon nor humans about. To the east, a volcano was a blurry bump on the horizon. "Fiji, check the surrounding geography to make sure we have the right place for the project."

"We are at a sufficient altitude, distance, and location from the Orre volcanic hotspots to avoid lava flows," the computer reported. "The underground water reservoirs are deep, but will be suitable once linked to the project's cycle."

It was lonely now that it was just her and Fiji again. Better to keep busy so she didn't dwell on that. "All right then. Let's set up."

After arranging the battery-powered docking stations for the transformers, she retrieved the generator, several large spools of wiring, and the Memory Mirror. Jane had made a convincing looking boulder out of the device, except for the faint green glow that appeared when it was empowered. But that was part of the trick. They had to make the humans and Pokemon think the Memory Mirror was some sacred rock. If it glowed, it was that much more convincing.

Jane had also given the Mirror a circular cobblestone platform to sit on. Part of it was for the look, but most of it was for the power connections to the Mirror and the electronic components for the time compression forest. As the platform was split into twelve wedges, Celebi wired up each wedge, then arranged them into a ring. She placed the Mirror stone in the center, attaching it with hidden connections. Then she placed the generator some distance south of the Mirror. If it was too close, it would interfere with the program's tasks.

Looking over the arrangement, she knew the next part would be a problem. She had to connect the generator to the equipment, then bury the wires sufficiently deep enough that humans wouldn't discover them until after Cipher had come and gone. "Fiji, have you found some Pokemon capable of assisting us?"

"Yes, I have located a band of Sandshrew living a mile west of here at a small oasis. They have noticed the generator and a few are coming to investigate."

"Oh good. I hope they're cooperative."

After waiting a few minutes, three of the sandy beasts popped out of the ground. "See, I told you it was a tree," one of them said proudly.

"It can't be a tree," another countered, although staring at the generator. "It's got holes in it and it ain't connected to the ground."

"It's not exactly a tree," Celebi said. "But I'm going to use it to put a forest here."

"Really?"

"Now look here, you… weird Poklemon," the doubter stated, shaking his claws at her. "Put a forest, here? That's ridiculous! It'll never grow."

"It will too," she argued. "At least, it would if I didn't have an obstacle in my path."

"What's the problem, miss? the third asked in a gentle manner.

Celebi pointed to the spools. "See those ropes? I need to put them underground to connect that big rock thing over there to that big tree thing." She winced a bit at the terminology, but they likely wouldn't understand 'connect the computer array to the power generator with the electrical cables'. "I can't dig through this sand easily."

"We can do that," he boasted. "We're the three best diggers of the whole desert."

She smiled, trying not to laugh at the three Sandshrews' prides. "Really? Would you please help me, then? They need to go deep, so the roots of the forest won't touch them."

"Sure enough," the doubter said. "I just want to see you try to grow that forest. What do you say, guys?"

They agreed, so Celebi went to connect the cables to the array. The Sandshrew trio took to their job after some discussion. One went ahead to dig the tunnel, the second came in behind to drag the cable through, and the third closed the tunnel behind. While they did that, she went to the generator and prepared it. She was able to hook it up once they came through.

With the sun out, the Memory Mirror began to show faint green lines. Fiji communicated with that computer, setting it to run automatically until it broke down. That would take centuries to occur, giving them plenty of time to counter Cipher's efforts. Then Celebi brought out the rest of her supplies from the transformers. Chemical 'bombs' that would dig into the sand and transform it from nonviable sand to livable soil. Large flat blocks of seeded topsoil to start things off with. Concentrated water that would give the area a boosted humidity until things stabilized. A large area bioshield which attached to the cobblestone base to form a temporary enclosed environment. A collection of three hundred Pokemon eggs, thrice that amount of microbug and arachnid eggs, and twice that amount of algae, fungi, and bacterial molds.

The three Sandshrews came up on the platform to watch her arrange things. "What's all that for?" one asked.

"An entire ecosystem in the making," she said. Then she added in explanation, "Forests don't just grow on their own, you know."

"I still think you're wasting your time," the doubter stated. "But now you're just wasting potential life with those eggs."

"I am not. I've done this kind of thing before." Not entirely successfully, but Jane had grown a small garden in her time. That was with a far more toxic environment than this sandy desert. "You should stay on here with me so you don't get caught in the process."

Once everything was in place, and her three helpers safely out of the time compression zone, Celebi activated the hidden machinery via telekinesis. The bioshield appeared first, covering a half mile radius around them with a transparent peach colored forcefield. Time compression went into effect as tall grasses sprang up all around them.

"We have to start simple," Celebi explained. "If the grasses don't grow, neither will the forest."

Unseen, the conversion bombs were working on the topsoil. The numerous eggs hatched, releasing a full food chain into the growth area. Those inside did not see outside of the compression zone. At the edges, they only found an impassible peach colored barrier. As the animals established themselves, the trees began to sprout. Quick growing softwoods appeared first, although a few hardwood trees were in the mix. The water trapped inside the bioshield formed its own pattern of scarce rain, but abundant springs. A creek soon appeared around the Memory Mirror's platform. As planned for, it would help regulate the temperature of the electronics.

"There is a forest in there!" one of the Sandshrew said excitedly.

"It's an illusion," the doubter countered.

The compression ran for a full hour, giving them a sixty-year-old forest when the bioshield went down. "The natural water tables have been reached and tapped," Fiji reported. "This forest should be stable."

"Are you gonna call that an illusion?" one of the Sandshrew asked the doubter.

"It shouldn't be," he said, dumbfounded.

-+-

After checking on the forest's health, Celebi found herself to be worn out. She went to sleep in one of the oak trees. None of the Pokemon she had released into the forest for the compression would think of eating her. And if they recognized how her aura matched the forest's, they wouldn't think of bothering her either.

When she woke up, she saw one of the Sandshrews holding onto a transformer. He glanced around, then dug into the ground. Startled, she looked for the other five. They were stolen as well.

"Where are the six of them?" Celebi asked, in a mild state of panic. "We won't need them unless we have to move equipment again, but we shouldn't just leave powerful anachronisms lying about in the open."

"They are underground, but we cannot access them at this point in time," Fiji answered. "I can also sense the six transformers at various other points in time. All at this place, there are two between now and Cipher's beginnings, and four prior to the virus. And there is potential for other positions after the virus becomes a threat and incurable by the Memory Mirror."

"Then let's get to those points in time and retrieve them. Let's try it in chronological order."

"That would be wisest." The computer transported them to the first signal.

-+-

There was a group around the Memory Mirror, three young humans and four Pokemon. The transformer was being played with like a musical instrument by the boy. "It sounds a bit different," he said. "The tune's a bit higher than my other flute because it's smaller."

The two girls gasped and the four Pokemon seemed intrigued or awed by her appearance. "You summoned a cute Pokemon!" one of the girls said, smiling.

"I did?" he asked, turning around.

"Hi," she said, coming closer to the boy. "I'm Celebi."

"Did you like my music so much that you came here to listen?"

Based on the way the girls laughed, she decided to answer, "To tell the truth, I didn't hear your song much. That belongs to me; I lost it some time ago and came looking for it."

"Oh. Well, here you go." He handed the transformer over. "What kind of flute is it anyhow?"

"It's..." should she really tell him that it was a hyperspace data transformer? "It's a Time Flute, something I made to help me out. But a little prankster stole them from me, scattering them outside of my notice. If you find another one, would you please return it too? Just play it here and I'll know where in time you are."

"I haven't seen any others like it, but I'll do that if I find one."

"All right, thank you."

"Celebi, why's this forest in the Orre desert?" the second girl said. "Cause forests aren't supposed to grow in deserts, but this one does."

Deciding to stick with half-truths as they wouldn't understand the actual truth, she answered, "It's here because of this place. And I need it to be here. I can't tell you why, but it's very important that the forest and all this be here. Otherwise, I can't do the work that needs to be done."

"And why does that Relic Stone make people happy?"

"It's not the Stone," the other girl said.

So they were calling it the Relic Stone. "Actually, it is the Relic Stone," Celebi told them. "When you gaze into it, it causes you to remember times when you were happy."

"Can you do that too?" the boy asked. "Make people remember things?"

"That is one of the functions I copied off myself," Fiji said.

"I can," she answered, as they wouldn't hear her computer. And because it wouldn't be affected by the rock facing, "I can find even deeper memories if there is need for them. There are some curses where happy memories will clear your heart."

"So you make sure people can always come here if they can't find you."

"That's right. I must go now. Take care."

-+-

As soon as Celebi appeared to the second Flute signal, there was a squeak from an interrupted note and a Pokeball flying at her. She managed to escape the grasp of the energy easily. "Hey, what was that for?"

A teenaged boy with orangish-pink hair stood before her, a Pikachu by his side. "I'm Eagun," he said proudly. "And I intend on becoming a Master Pokemon Trainer. And you're going to help me."

The way he said it irritated her. "May I have the Time Flute back?" she asked, trying to be patient.

He clasped the green transformer to his chest. "I don't think so. I got it so that I can control you."

She shook her head. "It doesn't work that way. The Flute is an important component to my plans. I need to have it back so that nothing goes wrong."

"But you'll do what I say in order to get it back, right?"

"That might work better if you didn't tell me that was your plan."

He opened his mouth to counter her, then shut it. "Oh."

Celebi flew up to Eagun. "Look, I'm in the middle of something vital to the safety of my home in the future. There are far more dangerous people who, if they get hold of one of those Flutes, will threaten all of history. I can't stop what I'm doing for the pride of one person."

His face showed a conflict of being hurt, angry, and confused. "But you have all the time in the world, because you can travel through time."

"I have almost no time when I don't know when the true threat begins. If you happen to live long enough to see it emerge here, you'll appreciate my refusal to work with you now."

"She's being real serious about this," the Pikachu commented.

"But how am I supposed to be a master Trainer if I don't have powerful Pokemon?" he asked.

"I don't think power matters. What matters is that your Pokemon are happy and thankful for your efforts. Taking a Pokemon that obviously doesn't want to go with you won't get you anywhere."

"All right, if you're going to be such a blunt pest about it." He held out the Time Flute. "You don't have to beat the point into my head."

"You never know with someone you've just met." She took the Flute from Eagun. "I'm sorry that I can't work with you, but it really is important to me." Celebi twitched her antennae, letting Fiji know to teleport them to the next Flute's location in time.

-+-

There was quite a crowd when Celebi appeared next. Two were humans, the girl playing the Flute and the boy trying to be impartial when he was clearly impressed by her playing. With them were five Pokemon, one of them who immediately got her attention: Suicune as a Shadow. She wasn't nearly the crazed beast from the future; her violet mane was, for the most part, clean and unknotted. But she had a thick aura of Shadow around her and her eyes clearly viewed anything around her as an enemy. Suicune pawed at the ground and made her oval crest shine.

Quickly, Celebi dropped behind the Relic Stone to avoid getting struck by Aurora Beam. Some of her intelligence remained, she thought with her heart racing. That wasn't always a good thing, though.

"Suicune," the boy said sharply. He got a low growl in response.

As Celebi came back out, she noted that Raikou and Entei were there, but not as Shadows. Raikou stepped closer to Suicune. A spark from his jagged whiskers jumped out at her unintentionally, causing her to snap at him with her teeth. Nearby, Entei sat with an Espeon and Umbreon. "We are sorry that she would do that to you, even in her current state of mind," Entei related in the way Pokemon spoke only to each other.

"It's fine," Celebi replied. "I've seen worse cases."

The girl stopped playing the Time Flute and giggled nervously. "Oops, I got carried away. I had the weirdest feeling that I was playing to a sci-fi movie soundtrack, like we were in the future or something."

The human pair introduced themselves as Rui and Wes. The latter caused some worry to Celebi. She recalled his name popping up in some of her research into Cipher, but not enough that she remembered who he was specifically. That, and he seemed a bit distant from the three beasts. It seemed that the only reason he was standing near Entei was because the Espeon and Umbreon were there.

And the way Wes spoke of Suicune was more like an annoying problem, not like a caring concern. "We were able to clear the other two with some difficulty, but nothing seems to work for her. There were a few other slow ones, but not like this.

On the other hand, pink-haired Rui seemed wholeheartedly attached to them. "Raikou and Entei are doing their best to help out, but she doesn't seem to recognize them anymore. It's so very sad. Then we heard that you might be able to open her heart even in this state."

Fiji interrupted her worried thoughts with, "Once the Memory Mirror program is actively hunting through Suicune's memory, she will not be able to concentrate enough to attack you."

'But we have to get her there first,' Celebi thought. She flew closer to Suicune and said, "I can do that. This might take a little time." She then silently instructed Fiji to begin the operation.

As she approached, Suicune snarled, getting another rebuking spark from Raikou. Once the Memory Mirror program began running, she stopped and looked at Celebi in a daze. Celebi was tempted to watch the Mirror and see what it would find. But that would be intruding on someone else's mind without permission, she thought, so tried to ignore the images flashing just outside of her notice. Behind her, the Relic Stone hummed and glowed in resonance. So this part of the plan was working.

Celebi touched Suicune on the nose. "Remember yourself."

A thought of water passed into her mind, then the Shadow aura around Suicune dissipated. As an odd breeze moved in from the north, the great beast closed her eyes and smiled. "That was..." she opened them again and looked around. "But what... where is this? My mind is blurry."

Entei barked happily while Raikou nipped brotherly at her ear. "It'll clear in time. You're well now."

Celebi smiled. It was a little disappointing that she would always enter someone else's story at just one point, only to disappear and never know the rest. However, as happy as these three were, it was a good point to their stories.

Hopping in a little closer to Suicune, Rui was grinning. "Great! We're making really good progress; we'll have all the Shadows cured soon."

"There's still others out there," Wes stated, keeping his expectations practical.

Hearing his voice, Suicune stepped back and lowered her stance. "It was you; you tricked us."

Celebi remembered then what she had read about Wes. He was the one who captured or kidnapped most of the Pokemon who became Shadows in this first wave. Shaken up, Celebi asked him, "Why are you doing this, Wes?"

"Doing what?" he asked, although he had a good idea of what.

"Helping out the Shadows now. They don't entirely trust you."

He paused for a moment, adjusting the mirrored goggles that sat on top of his head. "It's... some old bird changed my mind about the whole deal."

"Ho-oh threatened to smash his family jewels, if you know what I mean," the Umbreon spoke up. He got paw-smacked by the Espeon for revealing that.

This caused the three beasts to laugh. "Honestly?" Suicune asked. "She's hard to get angry, but dangerous when she chooses to be."

Celebi tried to keep from laughing herself, as it would be easier for the humans to tell what they were talking about. "All right, so long as you're doing the right thing. May I have my Time Flute back?"

"Sure," Rui said, handing it over. "But would you stay with us? It would help a lot."

She shook her head. "No, sorry. I can't stay in this time period too long."

"We don't want Cipher having any access to her," Wes pointed out. "But if we find another one of those Flutes, we can call her back."

"Of course," Celebi responded.

-+-

The next time it was Rui and Wes again. The Umbreon and Espeon were back, but they were busy this time. Using their respective powers in union, they were attempting to keep a Shadow Tyranitaur under control. Rui wasn't as absorbed in playing the Flute this time; while she had been not as worried near Suicune, this large green Pokemon made her nervous. And little wonder why: this one had a thick aura of Shadow, almost as bad as what Celebi had raced through in the future.

Wes had a surface calm, like his soul was clad in steel. "Afternoon," he said. "This one is almost too violent to handle normally. Cipher's scientists said that this Tyranitaur was a new advancement in their technology."

Advancement? Celebi's heart skipped a beat, but then Fiji spoke up. "While its aura is more concentrated than that we saw around Suicune, it is not due to a virus." It explained what was different.

"Oh good," she said quietly. When the others gave her odd looks, she spoke up, "This one has been purified, then re-infected with the Shadow curse. Possibly more than once, from the feel of things."

"Why is that good?" Rui asked.

She put a hand to her cheek, then addressed them seriously. "Don't mention this to others, but there is a possibility that, in some future time, the Shadow 'curse' can be turned into a virus, which becomes a plague. As you cure the Shadows of this time, the much worse variant of Shadow Pokemon is becoming unlikely. I was worried that they had already made progress to the viral stage."

The girl smiled at her companion. "See? We're doing a great thing."

"I know," he said, but perhaps more to please her than acknowledging their efforts. "Can you still cure this one, Celebi?"

"Sure thing." She moved closer to the dinosaur, then looked to the two below. "You'll need to lessen your hold on him so I can do this."

"Be careful," the Espeon said, as the pair lessened their powers.

Fiji had some difficult making contact with the Tyranitaur's mind initially. Although it wouldn't be nearly as infectious, Celebi mentally recited a mantra to keep calm so the aura didn't touch her. Coming alert again, the Tyranitaur noticed her. He tried to bite her, but the computer broke through his mental defenses and ran the Memory Mirror program.

It took more time to get him to recognize his old memories, but his aura cleared away just the same. The Tyranitaur glanced around at them nervously. "Y-you're taking me back, aren't you? Please don't... please just let me be." After his plea, he hung his head.

"What's the matter?" Rui asked sweetly, coming up to him and patting his side (getting a wince for a response). "You're all better now."

"He's afraid," Celebi explained. "I wouldn't use him in a battle for a long time. Still, you might want to leave him out for a while to assure him of your good intentions."

"All right," Wes said, but his stance and tone hinted that he wouldn't think of using a frightened Pokemon in battle, no matter how strong it was. He thought they were weak.

'Am I imagining that?' she thought, disheartened that he would feel that way.

"I am afraid not," Fiji stated. "Your empathy is growing more sensitive."

After thanking Rui for returning a second Time Flute, Celebi told Wes, "Well I hope this is an improvement from what you were."

"What?" Rui asked, confused, but Celebi had Fiji teleport them away.

-+-

For the fifth Time Flute, the notes were noticeably of lower quality. Celebi saw Wes look down at the Flute, almost in a mood to throw it on the ground. After a muttering curse, he grumbled, "How does she make it look so easy?"

"Wes?" Celebi asked, glancing around. His Espeon and Umbreon were there, but it was just the three of them. "Where's Rui?"

He seemed a little startled, but recovered quickly. "She went back home under police protection," he explained. "We found all of the Shadow Pokemon in Cipher's database and cured most of them. She took the Tyranitaur with her, but most of the others, we sent back if we could find the previous Trainers." He shrugged. "Well, except for Entei, Suicune, and Raikou. I freed them to go home with Ho-oh."

"What about Cipher's members?"

"Found some, lost some. The international police have custody of the two ringleaders, Evice and Nascour, but they never found the scientist Ein. And nobody found my former boss, Gonzap."

She noted that he only had three Pokeballs on his belt now. "So what about you and your Pokemon?"

When he looked at them, he was genuinely concerned about them. "We're going to go somewhere and stay low for a while. I'd happily disappear off the maps, or become someone else. I've fixed what I messed up, so I don't want to deal with this **** anymore."

Celebi could tell that he wanted to say something, but she couldn't tell what. Then again, she felt jealous in that he could just walk away at this point. For her mistake, she was going to be stuck without a permanent home for a long time to come. "At least you fixed things."

Wes clenched his fist, then relaxed it. The steel defense he had before wasn't as calm or as solid this day. "I think I know why you and the other legendary Pokemon as special, different from the others. You can see the truth no matter how we try to hide it. People are talking about me like some vagabond hero, like I've been doing good all along. And the regular Pokemon, most of them are just as mindless about thanking me. They all just see what they want to see. But not you, or Ho-oh. Or even the three dogs or cats, or whatever they are. You all can see that I'm just some loser meekly going through with his punishment. You've hardly been around me, but you know that's true."

Had she been right to speak to him like she did last time? She had lashed out in a mild disgust at his lack of caring. Maybe that had just been on the surface as well?

Some inner turmoil he was still living with showed through his expression, although he was trying hard to remain cool and collected. "Well now I'm going to go off and live a quiet life, so I don't have to get involved in any of that again. And I'll be good now, like all of you probably wanted. But if I may ask, could you do one last thing for me?"

"What do you have in mind?"

He took the Pokeball of the Pokemon he didn't have out yet. "I kind of lied a while back. Lied to everybody, even Rui. They think we've healed all the Shadow Pokemon. And we did get all of the ones that were on Ein's database. But there is this one left, which Ein didn't record. I... it's this one that broke through my greedy blindness." He released it.

It was a Shadow Togetic, one that was badly off. It wasn't that her aura was strong; Suicune's had been stronger. The Togetic herself was made physically ill by being a Shadow. She had a few red patches, like slowly healing scars, all along her white body. And she was a young Pokemon too.

"Most of the others I've been able to help by battling them," he explained. "But I don't want to put her through that. I just have this feeling that she won't respond well, even if it does cure her. I had to revert back to being a thief in order to get this Time Flute, but I knew I had to do it. So if you could take care of her."

She nodded. "All right." Fiji activated the Memory Mirror and in short order, the Togetic was healed. However, her happiness was short lived. She felt terrified upon seeing the others around her and crouched down low to the ground, murmuring.

"I know what it takes to raise a Pokemon like her," Wes said. "Obviously, I've got two of them. But I didn't care about what happened to the Pokemon I snagged. It was good money and I had some protection. Then I ran into a couple of the Cipher scientists who had her as a Togepi. They didn't want to turn her into a Shadow as she was, so they were raising her to evolve and then turn into a Shadow. At that point, I asked them what the heck, why would you take the effort to make a Pokemon happy and then turn it into a battle-crazed beast? They said it was all in the name of science, and power. I couldn't see the logic behind that, but I couldn't do much at first. I mean, what kind of guy would I be if I was making a fuss about a little Togepi? But she just wouldn't leave my mind. I had to do something. So I did." He shrugged. "Only I got caught by Ho-oh after I blew up the team base and she cornered me into rescuing all the other Shadow Pokemon. I just wanted to use the Snag Machine to get this Togepi, then leave this hellhole for good."

"I don't think it's a bad thing to be concerned about any Pokemon in danger," Celebi said.

"I wasn't going to get mistaken for some pansy. But then I didn't want to do nothing either."

The Togetic lifted her head to look back at Wes. She cooed, "I don't want to cause trouble."

For a second, the corner of his mouth turned up in a half-smile at her. But then he caught himself and tried to look impassive again. "So that's how it is. I didn't tell anybody about her existence, even when it surprised me that she was missing from Ein's list. Not even Rui knew. I know she would have squealed over her and thought she was just adorable, but I didn't want her getting any funny ideas. She helped out on the way, but she deserves a lot better than me. Anyhow, I pulled what few strings I have left in the underworld once Rui left to find out where the Togepi or Togetic had gone. Then I find out that the reason she's not in the database was that in shutting down his lab, Ein was making plans to set up shop elsewhere. People were starting to notice their lab. While he searched for a new base, he made Togetic into an exhibition sample of what he can do. I managed to track down the delivery person before she got back to him."

"Ein didn't take her himself?"

"Yeah. He wouldn't want to get caught with a Shadow Pokemon on hand, so the messenger's instructions were to either meet him for the trade back or show her to potential investors who could break him out of jail."

"Makes sense, if he has a henchman he can trust." Celebi smiled at him. "But you got her in the end."

"I did. So, that's all." He handed her the Time Flute. "I hope you don't mind me asking, but why are you doing this? I can't see how this helps you."

"Do you want to see a future overrun by Shadow Pokemon?"

"No."

"Me either."

-+-

'This is the last one,' Celebi thought. Then she could leave things to run on their own. So far, it seemed to be working. Although a few had escaped, Cipher had suffered for its crimes. It was already looking much better for the future.

There was a woman here with her Skarmory. She wore a white lab coat with canvas pants. A bit of an odd combination, but she seemed proud of her workplace. She put down the Flute. "So it is true. I suppose you'll be wanting your Flute back."

"Yes please." She took it as offered. "Thank you."

"If I could though... I'd like your opinion on something. I'm not sure that you could understand it, but I thought I would try."

"I have no intention of using time travel for anyone else," she stated. "But if it's anything else, I'll consider it."

"I thought so. Anyhow, this doesn't have anything to do with time travel. It has to do with your power to cure Shadow Pokemon." She waved Celebi over to a notebook computer, which she had set up on a small wooden stand. "My lab has been working on a device to make the purification process more efficient. Could you look at our plans and analyze them, if possible?"

Another technology for purification? Celebi was thrilled. "Sure, let me take a look." she hovered in front of the computer, quickly figuring out the older interface to look over the plans.

It was a modification of the Storage technology, making use of the Pokeball's ability to transform Pokemon into electronic data. Her purification chamber did the same kind of thing as the biochemicals that Cipher used, only in reverse. Added to that, healthy Pokemon could be placed in the chamber as well; they would enhance the positive feelings trying to break through the Shadow's closed heart. With some experimentation, it was possible to have a balance of healthy Pokemon and Shadow Pokemon that could break through the toughest of barriers, like those even stronger than the Tyranitaur or Suicune had held.

But not the viral Shadows. Fortunately, that wasn't an issue at this time. 'Fiji, what do you think? It looks pretty impressive.'

"It should be functional as designed," the computer stated. "The healed Pokemon may experience a longer disorientation period if left in the Chamber too long after healing, but the company of other Pokemon will help in that as much as they help in the process. Also, it would seem that this machine would require greater maintenance and input than our method with the, as they call it, Relic Stone. The Memory Mirror set-up, being attached to the arboreal power grid, can run on its own for centuries without any modifications by us. But this Chamber set up should help our goal."

Celebi related most of what she had been thinking, and Fiji's thoughts. "But the end goal is the same; we need to make Cipher's Shadow Pokemon project too costly and risky to continue. Since this speeds up the whole process of purification, that will put pressure on them to search for some other method of profit."

"That's true, provided their primary goal in the Shadows is making money. It seems to be that way." She smiled. "I wasn't expecting you to be able to understand this technology, but some of my colleagues thought you may."

She laughed. "I'm from the future. I've seen computer systems far beyond yours. But thank you for making this. It should discourage them more."

Just then, a voice seemed to drift into her mind from far away. 'Celebi? Would you come here?'

"It is Lugia," Fiji reported. "I cannot be certain, but he does not seem to be a Shadow yet."

'I'll be there in a bit,' she telepathically called back. Then she looked at the scientist. "I hope your project goes off without a hitch. I'm sorry, but I have to go meet up with someone else. Good luck."

"You too," she called back as Fiji teleported Celebi closer to Lugia.

She arrived at an island dominated by a large metal building. Immediately, she sensed the Shadow Pokemon within the lab. Lugia was also present, as his stormy aura was impossible to miss. Traces of the Shadow influence showed, but how much affected his mind?

"This is an active Cipher laboratory," Fiji warned her. "We cannot get caught here. He seems to be alone for the moment."

"I'll be careful," she said quietly. She tugged out a window by telekinesis, removed the screen, then flew inside.

And immediately had to dodge a sparkling ball of psychic energy, which then broke the window she had carefully come through. Lugia was chained to a support column, two cuffs around his feet and one around his neck. Despite that, he was trying to spread his wings in the square room, standing up to emphasize his size. Once he recognized her, the hatred in his violet eyes defused into guilt. "Oh ****, I'm sorry Celebi. I called you and didn't even think twice before attacking." He crouched to a sitting position and brought his wings to his sides. Shaking his head, he looked down. "I even called you into a dangerous place without thinking about it. I don't know what's gotten into me; I've been such a fool lately."

"He is not a Shadow yet," Fiji stated. "But he is undergoing their drug treatment, which is unbalancing his emotional control."

Then she had to be careful. Still, she felt her insides squirm as she realized that she couldn't do anything to really help Lugia even as she saw him suffer. "It's all right. I might be a little foolish in coming to visit you here. But you asked for me so…" she wanted to say that she wouldn't abandon a friend, except that she mostly likely would in a short time.

Lugia looked back to her, then spoke sadly, "So I guess it was right."

"What was?"

"I've had this feeling that what's happening cannot be altered. My children were captured. You know, Articuno, Zapdos, and Moltres. Ho-oh told me where to find the Cipher organization, but I went in more forcefully than she did and was captured for my troubles. I tried to evade capture, but then I had a premonition of the future." He looked up at the window, the only one in the room. "Of many futures, actually. A dark aura lies just ahead of me, one of madness and pain. I could escape it. I could get my children out of it, with some effort. But because fate is cruel, the brightest future lies through the dark aura. If I try to escape now," he sighed, "it is uncertain, but it threatens to become a monstrous terror."

Celebi nodded. "I know how cruel it can be, as I'm a servant of fate."

"The conflict in your heart only confirms my vision. Do you know what I can do to bring out the brightest future? If you can tell that kind of thing."

She wished she had something profound to tell him. Or even something ridiculous that would make sense when the choice was needed. But there was nothing. When she had been researching the Shadows, she had tried to ignore how constant Lugia's Shadow state occurred. "I can't even be sure of that. But I'm trying to make the creation of Shadow Pokemon too expensive and risky, with the purification simple, in order to discourage Cipher's efforts. They're trying to counter me by using drugs to mess up your brain chemistry, as that would be an easier way for them."

Lugia focused inwardly for a moment, considering this information. "Is that what the business with the needles is? I didn't know why my self-control suddenly grew ineffective, or why I've been moody all the time."

"They're trying to make you focus on the negatives and despair. The earliest records of Shadow Pokemon are centuries ago, during a siege of a fortified city where Saffron of Kanto is now. After months of starvation and hopelessness, a small group of Pokemon went berserk and slaughtered everyone in the city. They nearly destroyed the besieging army as well; psychics who survived the incident said they had strange dark auras that clouded their judgment."

He nodded. "I remember hearing of that. Then, even if we agree that it's unavoidable, I should fight it for as long as I can hold out." He moved one of his legs, causing the chains to clatter. "They make that difficult to do. I can't even feel my family's presence, although they must be near by."

"I saw to it that Suicune was healed, and reunited with her brothers. That was a moment of pure joy, and they even stayed with someone they didn't entirely trust to get there. It should happen to you." She thought about the scientist with her Purification Chamber. "It will happen; the pieces are in place. There will be darkness, but you see the light of hope in the future."

"I do," he said, cheering up a little. "But to make them wary of trying this again, I will struggle. If I can manage to imprint it into my brain before it corrupts, I will make them suffer for trying to control me and my family like this."

"Great! Then," a noise in a nearby hallway interrupted them.

"That's them," Lugia said. "You'd best leave before they capture you too. It would be terrifying knowing that a Shadow version of you is running about."

"You don't know how scary that would be," she said. "I will see you again."

-+-

When they returned to the future, things were quiet. Oddly quiet, though. Something seemed missing. Celebi drifted along, looking at Goldenrod. "Fiji, how are things now?"

"I sense no Shadow presence in the immediate vicinity."

"And how far is that?"

"A hundred miles."

He chuckled. "Good." He glanced into the windows of a store. "Now if I can just stop turning pink randomly… wait a second. That can't be good."

Inside the store, he could see six customers looking through racks of clothes. Four Pokemon wandered around the store as well. However, they were absolutely still. None of them even so much as breathed.

His antennae hummed as Fiji examined the situation. "Celebi, my analysis brought up a new article concerning artifacts known as Time Gears."

Gears? "Why do I have the feeling that this is going to be messy?"