[X] My Assistant

[Umbrae Calamitas]

"Gaggle," Tuesday muttered in amusement. "Now that's a fitting term." She watched Jaima walk toward the group of boys, who stood defiantly together, watching him, even as their eyes grew nervous. Tuesday smirked lightly, before turning to face the small boy standing next to the tree, still clutching the waterlogged Zigzagoon to his chest.

Gazing at him when he wasn't terrified, she finally realized who he was. For a moment, she was stopped short by the stunning difference.

She didn't dare call him Thief anymore. He wasn't that now... yet. Maybe he wouldn't be.

Where the thief she knew was a large man that reminded her distinctly of a whale, with a horribly vindictive attitude when crossed, this young boy held little else but fear in his eyes, and something... perhaps a desire to prove his worth. But the way those boys had been laughing at him when he was in danger...

It was far too much like the way Tuesday had been treated at home.

She saw the boy flinch when she stepped closer, and she restrained the desire to sigh. She knew that look. One of utter fear and a complete distrust of humankind.

Kneeling down so as to be eye level with him (even though he wasn't much shorter than her), Tuesday offered him the kindest smile she could. To her surprise, despite what he had done to them in the future, it wasn't hard. Whatever he would or might be in the future, right here and now, he was just a child.

And Tuesday understood the way he felt. She knew why Jaima had asked her to speak with him. Of the both of them, she would better be able to connect to the boy.

The boy. Now, there was a place to start.

"What's your name, kiddo?" she asked, using the name her father had called her on occasion. It always made her feel close to him, and comfortable.

"Li-Lionel," the boy stammered nervously.

Tuesday smiled. "Lionel? Your name means lion. You must be very brave."

The boy looked down in embarrassment. "I'm not brave," he murmured.

"Of course you are," Tuesday assured him. She reached out gently and ran her fingers over the coarse fur of the Zigzagoon in his arms. "You were protecting this Zigzagoon." She smiled when Lionel didn't deny it. "Is he your pokemon?"

"No," he said softly. "Those boys were picking on him."

"So you saved him?"

"I... guess so."

Tuesday smiled. "See? You are brave. Only someone who was brave would have protected a pokemon, no matter the risk. That's what those boys don't understand. Pokemon should be treated with kindness, not controlled like slaves, or hurt."

"But I'm not old enough to have a pokemon. I'm only eight."

"You don't have to catch a pokemon to be close to them. They are our friends, with or without this." She touched the pokeball on her belt. Reaching into her bag, she pulled out a potion. She'd forgotten that she had any with her, but they would come in useful now. "We have to help and protect them, Lionel," she explained, "because that's how they learn to help and protect us. Let me show you."

Kneeling down beside Lionel, she gave him the potion, showing him how to use it. Smiling softly, he sprayed the medicine on the Zigzagoon, who had calmed considerably. After the medicine had been used in its entirety, the Zigzagoon shook its head experimentally, and then nuzzled Lionel's hand.

The boy giggled loudly, bringing a large smile to Tuesday's face.

She wasn't sure how but, as she watched the wide smile curl across Lionel's face, she knew that the thief was gone, and that everything was going to be fine.

This post has been edited by Umbrae Calamitas: Jun 1 2009, 11:20 PM

[Master Houndoom]

Jaima approached the group of boys, each of them eying him warily, all of them looking to see who would run first, but none of them willing to be the first to run. Jaima smiled a bit. Had he been so aware of what other people thought of him at that age?

Yes, came his inner Mercury voice, so strong that he felt a pang of renewed heartache. He swallowed past it and approached them.

"Hey, guys," he said casually, then motioned his head to the side, where Tuesday was talking to the boy. "What's going on here?"

No one spoke for a bit, then one, a boy who had two pokeballs on his belt, shrugged. "Nothin'."

Jaima raised his brow. "Looked like something to me. Didn't you hear that guy over there yelling for help?" He knew, of course, that they had, and had chosen to laugh at them. Let them dig their own holes, though.

"Yeah, well... he had no business being out here while we trained!" The same boy, either the leader or at least the most outspoken, crossed his arms defiantly. The rest crowded behind him.

"That his pokémon he's holding?"

The boy sneered. "He's not old enough to have a pokémon. Lionel's just a big pain!"

"Lionel, huh? And what's your name, kid?"

"I'm *not* a kid! I'm ten, not some eight year old baby!" The boy scowled and pulled a pokéball off of his belt. "And I can beat you! You have a fire type and an electric type! I got something that can beat them both!"

The boys behind him began to grow more confident, nodding and standing taller. Jaima raised his brows. "If I prove I can beat you, will you tell me your name?"

"If you can beat me, I'll tell you anything you want to know, jerkface!" He pulled a pokéball off his belt and tossed it. "Numel, go!"

Jaima pulled off his own poké, one of two that weren't yet decorated, and released Tsunami. Tsunami, while not a cruel mudkip, saw the numel and laughed.

"You have a mudkip?! How did you- Never mind! Geodude!" He pulled off the second ball and called his geodude as well. Jaima responded by releasing Grondir.

"Hey!" The boy was shaken, but persisted. "That's a grass type, he'll get burned!"

"Yes, you're right, but Tsunami will cover that. If I remember right, that's a fire and ground type. So she'll be twice as effective, plus Grondir can attack him. And they're both twice as effective against the geodude." He raised one brow, and the boy looked up defiantly. The other boys around him looked interested in the battle, and seemed to be admiring Jaima's pokémon, which looked a bit stronger than the boy's due to their training.

Finally, the boy sighed, recalling the pair. "These are my sisters. She's letting me use 'em while my treecko is sick. She'd be mad if I got 'em hurt."

Jaima nodded, choosing to leave his out, but motioned for them to stay at his feet. When they obeyed (Tsunami having to be told by Grondir what to do), the children whispered amongst themselves.

"My names Daniel."

Jaima crouched down, bringing himself eye level with the group. "Well, look, Daniel, I'm not trying to be a bully here. I just wanted to prove a point. No matter what tye advantage you might think you have, or," he smiled, pointing to himself, "how much bigger you are than everyone else, there's always going to be someone who's stronger or better." He looked each boy in the eye. "Lionel chose to protect that pokémon against the ones attacking him, and that makes him pretty brave. What if it was reversed? Would you want him to stand there and laugh while you were protecting someone?"

The boys shook their heads, ashamed.

"Think about that for a while, OK? Pokémon are cool and they can be strong in the right hands. But they're creatures, and they have feelings, just like you and me and Lionel and my sister over there."

Jaima stood and turned to see Tuesday making the boy laugh. He smiled. "Strength isn't how powerful you are sometimes. Sometimes it's just how kind you are to others."

He walked over to where Tuesday was, but before he got too far, a voice stopped him. "Hey, Mister!"

He turned to look, and all the boys were watching him intently. "You're pretty cool," called Daniel, just before smirking. "For an old guy!"

The boys giggled and ran toward Lionel. Jaima watched as the boy flinched, but Daniel put out his hand, and Lionel took it. "When you get your trainer's card, maybe you can catch one. Maybe even this one!" Jaima watched as the boys accepted Lionel into their group. Tuesday came and hugged him.

"Is it over? Can we go now..?"

Jaima didn't notice the world fading away. He didn't see Tuesday as he closed his eyes and hugged her back. He didn't see his pokémon fading into nothingness. But one boy, who turned to look at the strangers who talked a lot but had cool moves, watched wide eyes as the pair faded into oblivion, a reflection in glass, and then nothing.

Daniel turned. "Come on, Kei! I want to get some lunch!"

"Hey... did you see those strangers..?" Kei rushed back to his group, spooked. "Those two... they just..."

"Aw, they're cool. Come on!"

From the shadow of the treeline, Celebi smiled. When Kei saw the two disappear, it allowed the memory to remain even as Jaima and Tuesday went back to their moment in time. It would be a paradox: When everything changed, they wouldn't have had to move back, but it was a paradox that she, Dialga, and Lord Arceus could live with.

* * * * *

Three times now Time changed, fundamentally. The first was like a tearing of flesh, as the knowledge of capturing pokémon was erased. The second was like the splintering of bones, as a life was pulled far too early from the time stream to make the impact it was destined for. This was like... pulling apart a fabric to resew it correctly. It was still devastating, but it made things better in the end. Dialga smiled, and Celebi, leaning against him, took a well deserved rest.

[Umbrae Calamitas]

Tuesday blinked her eyes open, yawning softly. Blearily, she glanced at her surroundings. She was lying in the high grass in a field. She could hear Dante behind her, snoring softly. Tempest was curled up against her chest, snuggled into the folds of her shirt. Pushing herself to her feet slowly, so as not to wake the small rodent, Tuesday rubbed the leftover sands from her eyes.

As she began to grow accustomed to the sunlight, she heard Jaima stir.

Frowning, she said, "I don't remember this place."

He looked up at her, hair tousled. "What do you mean?"

"This isn't the place we went to sleep..." She broke off, vague memories flashing through her mind like shattered pieces of a mirror falling casually to the ground. "Wha-"

"Good morning!"

In Tuesday's defense, it was far too early to be fully conscious. She personally thought that she had every right to scream and leap nearly three feet in the air. Turning quickly, she saw before her a faerie-like pokemon, who was giggling as she floated in the air.

Tuesday blinked. "... Celebi?"

"Oh, good!" Celebi laughed. "You do remember! I was worried for a moment that I'd have to go through everything again."

"No, I..." Tuesday rubbed her head. "What happened?"

"You changed the past. Deeply, in fact. You altered the perspective of a group of children, who otherwise would have led unhealthy lives. By talking to Lionel about caring for pokemon and showing bravery, you kept him from turning into a heartless man. When Jaima spoke to the boys, he helped them to accept Lionel. This kept him from feeling the need to prove himself, thereby keeping him from desiring to steal the Time Crystal." She smiled. "And you kept the majority of those boys from turning into misfits, who would wreck havoc upon pokemon and humans alike."

Tuesday frowned. "We couldn't have changed all that much just by talking to a bunch of kids."

Celebi grinned. "I assure you, you did. True, there are still a great many humans out there with cruel intentions, but Team Rocket had about five fewer members thanks to your interference."

Team Rocket, Tuesday mused, but then said, "There were seven boys, plus Lionel."

Celebi nodded. "Yes. Before your interference, one of the boys was killed not two years after that day, when he was protecting a Sentret and her cubs from a flock of Beedrill, and no one would come to his aid." She looked at Jaima. "The other boy fell in love and started a family. He was less effected by your interference, as his path was already deeply set."

"So, the other boy?"

Celebi shook her head at Tuesday's ever-curious nature. "When he protected the Sentret and her cubs, he was aided by his group of friends. It was Lionel and his pokemon, however, which drove the Beedrill off. His most powerful pokemon being his Linoone." She grinned at Tuesday's happy smile. "Your memories aren't full, I imagine."

"Things are... blurry," Tuesday admitted, narrowing her eyes as though to better see the past. "I know what happened, but... it's like it was a fantasy."

"You changed the distant past, changing it so that Lionel never became a thief and never stole the Time Crystal. When that was successful, you were immediately transported back to the present. In essence, none of what you went through ever happened. It was like a dream." Her antennae wilted for a moment. "Or, at points, a nightmare."

Tuesday looked down at the still sleeping form of Tempest, at the same time that Jaima reached up and touched the two pokeballs that he had lost for a time. He looked at though he wanted to call them out, but was afraid that if he tried, he wouldn't be able.

"I'm going to take you back," Celebi said, interrupting Jaima's indecision.

Tuesday gave her a funny look. "I thought that was it, and everything was fine."

Celebi nodded. "There really isn't need," she admitted, "but I think I should. There are some things which we believe would be beneficial for you to know." She paused. "And there is a soul which should not be lost."

Tuesday looked down at her belt. "Wraith," she whispered.

Celebi nodded. "There is no need to take you back through the Old World," she admitted. "Flametail never attacked the town, because she was never kept from her nest. We will start at Littleroot, however."

"I'm not going to have to wear that stupid witch's outfit again, am I?" Tuesday asked.

The world around them began to turn white, and she heard Celebi giggle. "I thought you looked cute."

"Oh, shut up..."

~*~

They reappeared before a familiar stage, but they were standing further back from the crowd. A young girl was standing up on the platform, dressed in a hideous witch's outfit, complete with carrot-stick nose. She was bound, as Tuesday had been, but appeared to be quite frightened at her predicament.

Poor girl had wet her knickers.

"She's a witch!" the men were crying, brandishing their torches and pitchforks menacingly.

A man stepped up onto the stage, dressed in a snazzy uniform that the thief had been wearing. It fit this man better, though, as he wasn't nearly popping out of it. The man was tall, with a thick grey moustache and beard, as well as a head full of thick grey hair. He walked straight and tall, obviously a well-trained soldier, but, for some reason, he reminded Tuesday of a hound dog.

It was probably the drooping cheeks.

They watched as the events unfolded almost exactly as they had when Tuesday was standing up on the platform. The real general, however, seemed a bit more intelligent (he obviously had been doing this a long time), but also more understanding. In fact, it appeared that he wasn't so much a Witch Hunter, as he was someone trying to keep the peace.

The crowd bickered back and forth and they fought over whether the woman would float in a river, but then the psyduck farmer was called forth and determined that the woman weighed more than a psyduck and, therefore, wasn't a witch.

She was promptly released.

Tuesday shook her head at the exclamations of disappointment from some members of the crowd, who were obviously far too ready to burn someone. Had someone invented the idea of a barbeque, yet? That might forestall the desire to roast humans.

"That was a little close, Larissa."

Tuesday and Jaima turned, learning slightly around the corner to see the woman accused of being a witch walking beside the general. They glanced at each other curiously, before turning back to the scene.

"I know, Joseph, I know," Larissa replied, turning to face him. "I don't know what I'd do if you weren't her."

"Why, isn't it obvious?" he asked, smiling at her. "You would burn, my love." He caressed her cheek lightly with a hand.

Yuck! the still young and rather immature version of Tuesday's mind demanded. The other part, however, which admitted adamantly its love of the romantic era, gave a happy sigh, and received a kick.

"You're just going to have to stick around, then, my dear," Larissa replied. She pulled a small stick out of her cloak and held it daintily between her thumb and forefinger. "Ready, my love?"

"Always," he replied, kissing her softly on the lips.

With a smile, she tapped the thin stick to his nose lightly. There was a flash of white light and a thrumming sound, like a charge in the air. When Tuesday and Jaima had blinked away their momentary blindness, they saw a pure-black Espeon standing where the general had been just moments ago. As they watched, he hopped onto the back of a broomstick, upon which Larissa was sitting. With a smile at smile at the feline and a replying meow, the broom rose into the air and the two zoomed off into the night sky.

Tuesday blinked after them, as Jaima muttered, "Well, that's not something you see everyday."

Celebi giggled at their reaction, the sound calling their attention back. "Next," she said, as the white light began to surround them, "Rome."

~*~

When they reappeared this time, they were sitting amongst a crowd in the stands surrounding the Colosseum. Tuesday twitched at finding that she was nearly being sat on by another man. "Celebi, why isn't anyone freaking out about our sudden appearance?"

"Oh, don't worry about that," Celebi assured her. "We're outside of time at the moment. You can see everything that's going on, but you're not physically here." She grinned at Tuesday's awestruck look. "Think of it as something like Astral Projection."

Experimentally, Tuesday moved to touch the man sitting next to her, and waved her hand right through his head.

"Now that," she commented, "is disturbing."

"CHEAT!" someone screamed loudly, causing them to jump. Tuesday and Jaima whipped their heads around to see the familiar form of Aquillus standing in the center of the Colosseum. His opponent, an equally large man with a small army of fallen pokemon surrounding him, was pointing a finger accusingly at him. "There is no way you could have possibly defeated me! Even a hellhorse could not have stood a chance against the great power of the King of the Sea!"

Jaima, who had better eyes than Tuesday, picked out the creature that the man was talking about. "It's a Wartortle," he commented. "That would have easily beaten the Ponyta."

Tuesday hmmed thoughtfully. "So, the potion was still used."

"Lionel was smart," Celebi admitted. "He kept things generally the same, as far as Littleroot and Rome went. He probably would have succeeded,if not for you two and your equally strong knowledge of the modern world. And your faith in each other."

"So, it was the advisor who drugged the Ponyta."

"Yes, and he will be imprisoned, as Lionel was going to be. Minerva will, again, take his place."

"What about her?" Jaima asked, turning to Celebi. "Wouldn't having her in the past affect the time stream?"

"Normally, yes," Celebi admitted, "but there were circumstances that caused Minnie' interference to benefit the time stream." She bowed her head. "I can't go into great detail, but I can tell you that Minerva would not have survived in her own timeline. She came back to this time and replaced the girl who was originally the chef's servant, and eventual advisor to the emperor."

"What happened to the original girl?" Tuesday asked.

"She died," Celebi admitted, "through effects caused by a folding of both time and space. Because of the circumstances, it was impossible to manipulate time and go back and save her." She looked away. "As it was with your respective deaths."

Both Tuesday and Jaima went silent, each pondering those three attempts. Tuesday fingered the charged pokeball that contained Tempest, while Jaima held both Shadow and Mercury's pokeballs in his hands.

Celebi admitted, "Minerva's staying in the past was a choice made on her part, which kept time itself from unraveling. Her choice gave her a new chance at life, but also, as a greater prize, saved the world and time itself." She gave a wistful smile. "I'm not sure even she is aware of that."

They, like the rest of the crowd, watched from a distance as the emperor's advisor was taken into custody by the guards, and Aquillus was called up to the emperor's stands. Celebi's wings began to flutter as she rose into the air.

"There is one more thing to be done," she said. Tuesday let out a cry of surprise, as she and Jaima abruptly rose into the air. Celebi giggled. "Come on." The two were psychically pulled after Celebi, as the faerie pokemon flew over to where the emperor sat on his throne. They landed gracefully, invisible to all eyes.

Except Minerva's, Tuesday noted, catching the girl's quick, discrete glance in their direction.

"This creature cannot be allowed to exist within this world," the emperor was saying. "It is an abomination and must be destroyed!"

"If I might make a suggestion, sire?" Minerva asked, stepping forward.

"Of course, my new advisor," the emperor replied proudly.

Minerva bowed in gratitude. "If it should please you, sire, allow me to dispose of the beast. I can speak with the Fates and ask their forgiveness for this creature having ever been called to our world. Perhaps they will be certain that it never returns, if I offer them its soul in the proper fashion."

"Wonderful!" the emperor exclaimed. "This will keep us from suffering at the hands of the gods. Do as you will, my advisor. Nigellus, hand over the beast."

Begrudgingly, Aquillus handed over the stone pokeball to Minerva. She bowed gracefully to the emperor, before turning and walking out of the room.

Silently, Celebi, Jaima, and Tuesday followed.

When they had turned a corner, all pretenses faded and Minerva let out a delighted cry and hugged Celebi tightly. "Oh, I missed you!" she declared.

"I didn't miss you so much, Minnie," Celebi admitted, "since I only saw you about ten minutes after this."

Minerva pouted. "Celebi, that's not fair. You're not allowed to be omniscient around us puny mortals."

Celebi giggled. "Minerva, this is Jaima and Tuesday. You met them in an alternate timeline, which they fixed so it didn't have to occur." She grinned at Minerva's eyeroll. Tuesday gathered that this was a common joke between them. "Tuesday will be taking the Ponyta, as she has already promised it a home."

"Good," Minerva said, handing the pokeball over to Tuesday. "I was worried for a moment. I really didn't want them to kill it, but I couldn't think of any way to free it without being caught, until you showed up."

"Don't worry," Tuesday said, clipping the pokeball onto her belt, "Wraith will be safe with me."

Minerva smiled. "That's good to know." She turned back to Celebi. "You're leaving, then?"

"I have to get these two home," Celebi said. "They've had quite the adventure, and I think we all deserve a rest."

Minerva smiled. "Take one, then, but come and visit me."

"I will, Minnie, I will. Enjoy yourself."

And then the world faded to white, and they disappeared again.

~*~

When Tuesday opened her eyes, they were standing on a road next to a filthy sign that read "Welcome to Lenoilia City." Tuesday blinked.

"I think this should make up for all the time you could have been traveling," Celebi admitted, floating behind their heads. She was gazing past them, into the town, but also beyond it... beyond time. She shook her head softly. "There are many years left in misery, before this town can find peace again."

"Will it find peace?" Jaima asked.

Celebi looked at him for a moment. "If people want it badly enough," she admitted after a time. She looked between the both of them, seeing them as they were, and seeing them as they would be. She smiled. "I'm going to miss you two."

Tuesday grinned. "Me, too, Celebi," she said.

Jaima nodded. "This was quite an adventure."

"Someone should write a book about it," Tuesday admitted with mock-weariness.

"Well," Celebi said, "you changed a lot of things in the past." She grinned. "Some things stuck."

Tuesday frowned at her, and Jaima asked, "What do you mean?"

"Nothing," Celebi said, "just that the ring has passed to Mordor. Your journey is complete, Frodo. Sam."

"Wait a second!" Tuesday demanded, her face in utter pain from the smile spreading across from it. "Tell me that we weren't overheard by the Tolkien."

"Okay," Celebi said. "You weren't overheard by the Tolkien." Then, she flashed them a mischievous grin, and was gone.

Tuesday stared at the place where she had been but moments before. "I think... actually, I don't quite know what to think." She turned and looked at Jaima. "Which person do you suppose was Tolkien? I want to remember, so I know that I got to meet him. Sort of. The Tolkien. Oh my god..."

Jaima laughed at her, shaking his head from side to side. He put an arm around her shoulder as he began to walk into the town. After everything that they had been through, even the filthy state of the city seemed more cheerful than it had the first time around. Maybe it was because they had seen true horrors, horrors that they had never expected to bear witness to, much less be a part of. Maybe it was because they had faced trials and ages that no one else in this era could boast.

"Excuse me," someone said politely, nearly bumping to Tuesday when they rounded a corner. She stepped out of the way as she looked up at the man, catching sight of a large build and a face full of kindness and a deep familiarity.

The sound of running footsteps alerted Tuesday and Jaima, and they stepped out of the way as three young men raced after the first man.

"Hey, Lionel, wait up!" one of them yelled.

Tuesday and Jaima stared after the three men, as they caught up with the man who had, in one branch of choices, become a thief who stole Time itself. As they watched the four friends kidding with each other, both of them shared a smile. They knew why, at the moment, Lenoilia didn't look like a lost cause.

It was because they had been a part of something great, something terrible, something terrifyingly real, and despite all variants of possible outcomes, they had learned that Time had one consistency:

Hope was never truly lost.

This ends Return of the Lost. I hope you all had a good time reading it.

This post has been edited by Umbrae Calamitas: Jun 3 2009, 12:01 AM