"We found you curled up whispering to yourself in the woods." Reginae states glumly. "You're really lucky your Pokeballs fell out of your bag. I was able to release myself, although I admit it took a while to figure out how to force the mechanism open from the inside. Huh. Guess I can bother you whenever I want."

I clench up a bit but say nothing. We're out to the far west of town, sitting in this nice scenic area overlooking the Sprout Tower. Serene as it is, no one ever seems to come here. In fact, I doubt anyone knows the little alcove behind the trees exists.

"Well?" D'spinas offers.

"Well what?" Ten asks. "What kind of response are you trying to evoke here, exactly?"

"A response. She hasn't said a word this whole time." D'spinas snaps back.

"You need to be a little more sympathetic." Ten tells her, drawing up towards her face. Unfortunately she towers over him. I watch with a detached amusement, my own limbs too numb from what I've seen to interfere.

"I don't take orders from the ball owl."

"Overgrown wasp!"

The screaming hurts my ears. I clench up a bit again, withdrawing into my sleeves like a child.

"Both of you are being extremely obnoxious." Chiaroscuro says, buckteeth bared. "We're not going to solve anything like this."

"We aren't solving anything, period! We're just sitting here with a traumatized child in the woods who we're expected to take orders from. Do you really consider her a leader of any kind? Our safety, our liberties, our lives... all in the hands of someone who has been hot and cold, cruel and silent, this entire time. She is not fit to possess us."

Ten's wing glows a bright white and before D'spinas can react, there's a long, hot gash down her side. She barely winces at the pain as an ugly discolored soup that must be blood oozes from it. "Never say that about Ashley."

"She's just watching." she breathes. "I could kill you right now and she wouldn't blink."

I can't move.

All of my muscles are numb from the emotional stress. I can't even cry, my tears dried after who knows how long. All I remember doing is numbly getting up earlier, saying nothing, and sitting back here.

All of them.

You already killed all of them.

Morty is dead.

He's dead.

The entire universe is dead and it's your fault.

I stagger upwards. "Ten."

Ten's eyes flash with righteous fury as he looks up towards me. "I told her. I told her you weren't going to-"

"Ten, she's-"

No.

Ashley, no, you're not allowed to give up now!

There's another voice in my head, a familiar one, although I can't place it. A sensation flows through me like summertime and sweet wind over New Bark. Is this what it feels like to my Pokemon when I flash?

The new presence gives me the courage to speak. "I'm sorry. Truth be told, this team... it was not our first."

Sunny and Chiaroscuro look surprised, but the others are still staring intently. Ten looks ecstatic. "Ashley, your eyes... they're bright gold!"

I continue, ignoring him, although a smile plays at my lips. "I've already experienced so many things. I have been in love. I have won countless battles. I have sewn together a family of foxes, I have taken down those who would seek to destroy us, I have found the few on this earth I am proud to call my people, my team. I have powered through most of Johto... but all of that was taken from me."

"Taken?" Reginae asks. His eyes are fearful. In them, illuminated, are my own golden irises.

"The whole world was taken. It was destroyed by a malevolent being known as Red, and Celebi returned me to this point in time to try to save this world, although as I've learned... it is not the original, nor is it a perfect replica. All the people I cared about there are dead and gone. My entire team was murdered and then wiped from existence." Even with Celebi's strength, I choke on this. "We're sorry. It's been hard to cope."

Sunny chirps, "Well, then we'll have to do better! We're going to be the best team ever, right?" She looks around for support and finds none.

Slowly, D'spinas bends down. She bows before me, antennae twitching, her blood still oozing onto the ground. I reach out and press my hand near the cut. While it doesn't heal completely, it appears to be clotting at an accelerated pace.

Chiaroscuro mumbles a hasty "Yes ma'am" before fainting.

Reginae steps forwards and looks at me intently. "You're... you're a Goldeneye?"

Without any input from my own mind, my body kneels down. A voice speaks through it that is not my own. "Take care of her."

Reginae doesn't nod. The two of us lock eyes until the golden light fades from his eyes.

"Ashley!" yells Ten, tackling me in a ball of feathers and joy. "What was that?"

"No idea." I say. "Well, um... we should get moving?"

"Wait, you're just going to leave it with that?!" Reginae yells.

"I don't want to talk about it. Can we just consider the whole thing over?" I ask.

"But-"

D'spinas knocks Reginae on the head with one of her drills. "We're done," she states.

Reginae sighs. "Yeah, I can't say I didn't see that coming. Well, where off to next?"
"Azalea Town. That's where we'll find our next gym." I tell them.

"If you're a Celebi... golden... what's it?"

"Goldeneye." states Ten.

"Yes. That was my second guess. Can you tell us what's going to happen in the future?"

"Once we get there, the town will be in panic over Team Rocket cutting off the tails of a slew of completely innocent and oblivious Slowpokes. Town hero Kurt will attempt to jump into the well and save them but will injure his back, leaving us to stop them."

"You really know that?" Sunny says, in awe.
"That's just what happened last time. Honestly, I'm hoping that's what's going to happen because every deviation in the timeline leads me further away from home." I shrug, picking up the pace towards Route 32. The lanterns on either side inform us that we're into the route, and we pass where we caught Sunny down into the heart of it. My team surrounds me on all sides, perhaps united by some form of pity or maybe a shared goal. Regardless, we function as one unit, at least to a greater extent than before.

D'spinas's scar seems to have healed itself fully at this point. She stares back at me with a look of solemn gratitude before extending her drills towards a nearby trainer who so happens to be swiftly approaching.

"Your Pokemon look super tough! You think we could have a match?" The young girl appears to be a camper of some sort as well as a trainer. She releases her one Pokemon, a wide-eyed Clefairy.

I nod and D'spinas steps forwards, seizing the moment and rounding on this new opponent with the look of a predator. Her drills are powerful as well as swift, keeping up the pressure as the Clefairy attempts to dodge hits from Fury Attack. Eventually, one hits right in the heart and the Clefairy falls back, turning to retreat. A dozen Poison Stings hit it in the back as it turns and it hits the ground with a thud.

"O-oh. So sorry. You must be an ace trainer or something! Will Lissa be alright?" she asks, withdrawing the Clefairy.

"The needles are my least concentrated venom," D'spinas says.

"She'll be fine." I translate to the trainer.

"I wouldn't want to hurt someone's tiny pet," D'spinas mutters snidely as we walk away.

"Wow, that's really rude. That tiny pet is going to grow into a Clefable someday! Those things are terrifying."

The smell of the ocean is strong on my nose as we pass near the piers. "Right. Reginae, Sunny, you get these guys."

"What? There's like six of them!" Reginae yells. "I kind of value my life here!"

Fisherman turn as soon as I put a foot onto the boardwalk. "They don't have anything but Magikarps," I predict.

Reginae rolls his eyes. "Yeah, right. Celebi or not, there's no way anyone is stupid enough to-"

He shuts up as soon as ten Magikarp fall against his face. From the center of the fish pile, sharp leaves emerge from the interior of the pile and send the fish flying back into the water. Sunny pulls one off and drags it in herself with a broad grin.

"You're such a hero! I'm so lucky I get to train with you, Reginae." she says, pressing against him.

"Well, um... don't... don't think about it too much. I'm just trying to level you up so we have two grass types with grass moves for Union Cave." He steps away.

"Yeah! Between the both of us, no one stands a chance!" She draws up against him again.

"Sunny, we're two grass types. Almost any Pokemon Trainer with any type variation could floor us."

"No one, Reginae. No one."

"Speaking of no one, is no one a bit unnerved by that?" Chiaroscuro asks, staring straight ahead.
"By what?" I ask.

"We're at Union Cave." Ten says.

"I hate this place so much." I groan, staring up at the ugly walls with disgust. The rocky exterior is cut only by a single hole. I'm standing now where Chomper's grave would have been. I step off it and Chiaroscuro moves forwards, standing over it. My heart beats painfully fast in my chest.
"What happened?" asks Chiaroscuro.

"This is where my first two casualties happened," I tell them glumly.

"Not this time." Ten promises.

"You're better equipped." Reginae reasons. "For once in this region, a grass type starter might actually come in handy."

"And me!" Sunny chirrups. "I can be useful too! I want to help!"

"You'll have your shot." I assure her. "You just learned PoisonPowder, right?"

"Spam it as much as possible." I say. "Best thing you can do."

She nods.

"Ready?" I ask, my heart pounding.

Their silent agreement is all the validation I need.

I take one step into the darkness and the cave swallows me whole.