Chapter Text
… “*Inhale … Exhale* Time does go fast, huh.” Rei sat down on the pier. He didn't know what to do or if he should get up. It was his Fifteenth Birthday, and that still caught him off guard. His mind just stayed quiet. “Five years. Five Years I’ve stayed here and it still feels confusing. … How am I supposed to handle it all?” Rei looked out at the water. It seemed calm, and nothing looked like it could touch it. Then he heard wing flap and footsteps. He looked to see Professor Laventon, Captain Cyllene, Zisu, Beni, and his two Pokémon, Goggles and Takumi, walking towards him.
“Finally found you. You weren’t in your home, and we got a bit worried.”
“Sorry Professor. I … just needed some time to myself. I needed to process it all.” Rei allowed Goggles and Takumi to take their places on him.
Cyllene came up to him, close enough to not knock him off. “You have come a long way Rei. I’m proud to see you grow so much.”
“Haha, to think, it has only been five years since you came to us. And things have changed for the better. … I wonder if it would be the same with your sister you mentioned in that journal of yours.”
“I don’t know. My memory is … very hazy. So, it’s all to chance, I guess.” Rei started to hug Takumi, feeling himself getting a bit overwhelmed.
Cyllene looked at Rei, then back to Jubilife Village. “I feel we are getting to a point where our world is too big for us. I know I can’t stay long, but I know what Commander Kammado is discussing is dangerous territory.”
“What’s happening now?”
Cyllene looked away, feeling something was off. Zisu then came up; her face also felt off. “Kammado is speaking with one of those Ginkgo Guild Members, asking them about those strange Distortions. I tell you, this is getting dangerous. He wants a reason now to make the people stay in protection.”
“He’s trying to stop anymore disasters from happening. But, even I can tell this is far from protecting us.” Beni said as he also looked back at Julbilife.
Professor Laventon looked surprised at the comment. “Hearing that from you, the closest to Our Commander, makes me worry. I can’t help but wonder if we are truly safe with … that … in the sky.”
“Has Ingo found anything about the Rift?”
“No. I’m sorry Captain.” Rei shook his head. He looked at the Rift again. He had seen it many times as it was in the sky. … But something was different.
“Rei? Is everything”
“I don’t know. It’s” Rei stood up as he stared at the Rift. Then something came to him. “Remember how I told you all that Ingo was like me in a way. He has a Gift too. … Well, I just recalled that the day the Rift appeared, it felt like a warning.”
“You think something even more powerful than the Nobles is trying to break free?”
“I can’t tell. I just” Rei looked back to the adults, he felt awkward being the one who was the closest to all of it. He then looked back at the Rift, noticing something.
It seemed like the adults also saw it too. “TAKE COVER!” Cyllene pushed Rei to the ground, as the group did the same. Soon enough, they saw it. It looked like a shooting star, but it was Golden. They watched as the star hovered over the sea.
Then Rei heard it. A voice only he could hear. ‘She’s here. Help her out of the water. Remember her name is *****!’ Rei couldn’t hear the last part. He watched as the star disintegrated… into a girl. She was wearing a white top with some sort of design on it, blue shorts, and sandals. The weirdest part was that she had similar features to his own. She had his face and his hair. She then fell into the water.
Rei, without thinking, took off his uniform, leaving his undersuit, and jumped into the water. “REI!” He could hear everyone calling out to him as he began to swim.
Then, as he kept on swimming, he saw Oshawott swimming faster than him to the girl. “Oshawott! Wott! WOTT!” Rei didn’t need to be told twice as he took the girl from under her arms and swam back up with Oshawott in the lead.
*SPLASH*
“*INHALE COUGH COUGH COUGH*”
“HANG ON REI! I’M COMING FOR YOU!” Rei watched as Zisu got in and swam to him and the girl. As she got to them, she took the girl and began to swim back to shore. “*INHALE EXHALE* CYLLENE, GET PESSELLE QUICK!”
“ALREADY ON IT! YOU TWO STAY HERE!” Rei watched as Cyllene rushed off. Once getting to shore, he watched as Zisu placed the girl on the boardwalk.
Rei just stared at her, not knowing what was going on and why she looked like him. ‘… Was my dream actually my memories … or was it made up? But, she looks like me. It has to be her. … Why isn’t she waking up?’
Soon enough, Pesselle came … without Cyllene. “Where did Cyllene go?”
“Commander Kamado called her in saying that any other commitment she had would have to wait.”
“You have got to be kidding me. When we get her to up, I’m having a serious word with him.” Rei heard them all, but he wasn’t focusing on them. His focus was on the girl who was still not breathing.
He watched as Pesselle looked her over, but he kept cutting out her voice. ‘Come on. Please, wake up!’ He couldn’t stop staring at her. He could hear that part where Pesselle said that she wouldn’t make it. ‘NO! WHAT DO I DO? I …’ Rei looked at his hands, slowly realizing that he could do something. He placed his palm over her heart, his other hand on top, and then started to push and started counting. “One, two, three”
“Uh, Rei … what are you”
“Shh! Let’s watch.”
Rei kept on pushing and counting up to thirty, and then looked at Pesselle. “Open her mouth and give her two rescue breaths!” Pesselle did as he asked her. Once that was done, he did it again. He wiped off the water dripping from his hair. ‘Did I just turn on my Gift? … Oh, who cares! She needs me!’ He began pushing and counting again. Once he was done, something changed. Everyone watched as a symbol came from above her heart.
“What in the name of”
“Rei … could she be”
“… Pesselle, quick!” Pesselle nodded as she breathed into the girl’s mouth. Then the symbol glows. It flew up into the air and then back to her chest, making her glow.
After a second, it happened. “*INHALE COUGH COUGH COUGH*”
“Oh thank goodness, she’s okay.” Rei looked at her as she coughed up the water that should not be in her. He then saw something shining in the sand. He got up to grab it, seeing it looked otherworldly … but he recognized it. Soon enough, he heard Pesselle calling him back. “Rei, could you come back? Her eyes … they … look like yours.”
Rei walked over, wanting to see and talk to the girl. But then she started speaking. “Mmm … Neven ko? Sayiama makaticat?”
“Huh? Hang on. What are you saying? I … I can’t understand you. Please, do you speak Celestica?” Rei asked, trying to help her.
She kept hold of him, fixated on him as he was on her. “Zzz … Zianamgono? … Mstratrntiontwd crisdehmm?” The girl still kept talking, still not being understood. Then, she started to stare at his mark. A flash of gold came across her eyes, and she started to speak again. “Mmm … Zzz … Rrrr … Re … Rei?” Rei stared at her, confused and surprised.
???
“Mmm … My head hurts. … Oh great. It didn’t work. *Sigh* Okay, Dawn, calm yourself down and figure out what’s going on.” Dawn looked around, trying to figure out what was going on. But as she touched her arm, she felt something was wrong. “… I feel … cold? … I mean, I spent five years in Unova and adjusted to its climate after … No, don’t think about Ingo or Emmet. They said it was to protect Unova and save the world. They knew what they were doing and accepted that. Don’t blame yourself for what happened to them.” Dawn curled up into a ball, feeling her emotions getting the best of her. She pulled out a device and turned it on. The device had a picture of herself and a boy who looked just like her. “*Sigh* Lucas … where did you go? I can’t even find the Lake Guardians that would be able to help us fix the world. … As if there’s anything to fix now.” Dawn turned the device off and just kept on floating.
Then, a light came out of nowhere. “Dawn Fletcher, I am glad to see tho here.” Dawn looked to the light, not even caring to respond to the voice. “Or rather, tho were Dawn Murokoshi.”
“Don’t bring that up!” Dawn lashed out at the light, anger rising inside her. “… Dawn Murokoshi perished when she saw her Mother essentially be a shell of the Woman she was, and how she could never find Lucas Murokoshi, her Other Half. In her place came me, taken in by Gym Leader Drayden and a resistance group to stop Team Galactic! I know who you are! Your Arceus! … Why did you just sit back and watch us suffer? You could have helped save our world! I WOULDN’T HAVE LOST MY FAMILY! WHY DID YOU MAKE ME YOUR HERO WHEN I COULDN’T STOP HIM?!” Something inside Dawn snapped as she looked at Arceus in rage. She was angry, and she would tell the higher being so.
Then she started crying. Everything that she went through finally made her snap. “… I understand tho’s troubles. … And I should haveth been there for tho.”
“*Sigh* Then do what you need to do. Do it! Take the last thing of my world out of existence!”
“Tho does not understand. I am not here to extinguish tho’s flame yet … for tho is not the last thing of that timeline.” Dawn looked at Arceus, wondering what they meant. Then they showed an image of a boy who looked just like her. “That day when thos world lost all its color, something strange happened to thos brother. I took him and gave him another chance. A chance to fix everything.”
“… Time travel? But … that doesn’t … how?”
“This is real. There is one where you and your Brother save the world, but not from a threat that mysteriously disappeared before it could be dealt with. But, I am sending tho and thos brother to save the world, for good.” Arceus started to spin around her, glowing even brighter. Then a symbol came in front of her. “He’s going by the name of Rei and is missing his sister. I believe tho knows the name.”
“… You want me to become Akari … and save the world?”
“Indeed. You have grown more. You are stronger now. The mistake was made when Cynthia took Cyrus on when tho had proven over and over again that tho was strong enough. You are stronger now, tougher, thanks to the man who took you in as a Granddaughter. You and Rei are ready now. Will you accept this Gift … of Life?”
Dawn looked at the symbol and then at the image of Rei. She closed her eyes and then opened them. “If I can save one world, then I’ll do it. Just … give me some time. I want to … reinvent myself. I don’t want to be like my other personalities.”
“Of course. Here, you have all the time needed. However, I will need your phone. Be ready when I drop tho into the world.” Soon enough, Dawn allowed herself to close her eyes, knowing that this time, she would be able to save everyone.
???
“*INHALE COUGH COUGH COUGH*” She woke up to the sun and coughing up water. ‘Okay. I need to find Lucas … No. His name is Rei now. And your name is Akari. Akari Sho. Keep it together.’ Akari tried to get all the water out of her as she spotted a small Pokémon by her side. ‘I recognize you. You're an Oshawott!’
Her attention was then taken by a pink-haired female nurse. But Akari couldn’t understand her. “Ā, yokatta, kanojo wa daijōbuda.”
‘… Huh?’ Akari just stared at the woman, confused about why she could not understand her. ‘… Oh wait, she’s speaking Celestica right now. We made a universal language, and I have not kept up on my Celestica in a while. Way too much time being in Unova.’
While she was thinking that, she heard the woman speaking again, but to someone else. “Rei, modotte kite kureru? Kanojo no me wa… kimi no me to… nite iru.” That caught Akari’s attention.
She looked up to see Rei coming over with her phone, which looked different. “Mmm … Rei? … Rei, can’t you hear me?”
“E? Chottomatte. Nani o itteru no?… Zenzen rikaidekinai. Seresutika-go wa hanaseru?”
It became clear to Akari that she needed a way to communicate quickly. She tried talking again. “Ngh Rei, can’t you hear me? Have you forgotten our actual language?” Akari felt like giving up. Then she saw a gold tint in his eyes. Somehow, she felt that she could speak. “Mmm … Ngh … Rrr … Re … Rei?” Rei looked at her, shocked. She didn’t care about the adults around them and just took Rei into a hug. “FINALLY! I MADE IT BACK TO YOU!”
“Uh … I’m sorry. I’m still trying to figure everything out. … But, can you remind me on who you are?”
Akari smiled as she let go of Rei. Then the Oshawott jumped into her lap, just as a Pokémon she didn’t recognize landed in Rei’s lap. “I kind of figured you wouldn’t remember much. Rei, look at me. It’s me. Akari! You know, your Twin Sister!” Rei looked at her, surprised.
“… My … Twin Sister?”