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Chapter 68: Starlight

     "According to you, Marlaina was the Chikorita that took care of Soljeki when Ray was killed, am I right?" Staraptor inquired.

     "Correct," Ailfresi nodded back as the sky darkened in the absence of the sun.  "She and Andy looked after Soljeki until I appeared... as my younger, more clueless self, of course.  If this Chikorita really is Marlaina as I believe, then it's almost a sure bet that Andy is in their den home right now in the middle of the plains at the sanctuary's center."

     Rayshana's breaths were still somewhat heavy from her earlier sprint, but much more controlled, now.  "Reunions put aside...  With respect, Misty, why did you dart off on us like that?  Arceus knows what could've leapt out and grabbed you!"

     "Remember, Ray, this is a sanctuary, not a hell hole," Ailfresi calmly reminded the Flareon.  "..for now anyways.  I don't think there's any danger around."

     "'Think' doesn't mean there isn't.  Just because you know you will exist in the future doesn't mean you can be reckless.  You taught me that, yourself," Rayshana scolded back.  "Also, you didn't answer my question, Misty."

     Ailfresi bowed his head apologetically.  "I'm sorry for the fright, but when I saw Soljeki's spirit taking off into the forest, I couldn't just sit around.  I had to follow her."

     Rayshana's tail twitched.  "You saw her?"

     "Yeah.  She was standing right next to me when you were comforting me," Ailfresi explained.  "Didn't you see her?"

     Only you can, Kamejaski's voice suddenly echoed through his mind.  Your friends do not possess your abilities.

     Rayshana's answer confirmed his spiritual friend's explanation.  "Misty, it was just us three; you, me, and Staraptor.  There was no one else."

     "I see...  Maybe seeing her is another unique ability of mine," he concluded, turning his mind's attention towards his invisible, wise friend, even if she was being a bit on the secretive side.  What more can I do that you're not telling me?

     I'll explain everything in tonight's dream, provided that your travel partners wish to get some sleep sometime tonight.

     Sleep?  How could he have forgotten?  Here it was late dusk, with the sky's light rapidly fading, and they were still in the forest, exposed to any elements the dark night may bring!  "We should find some shelter to rest for the night."

     "What about Marlaina?" Rayshana suddenly inquired, sitting next to the unconscious grass-type.  "We can't just leave her here."

     "What about the den in the fields?" Staraptor suggested.  "Isn't that her and Andy's home?"

     The flying type brought up an excellent point.  They had to find Marlaina a safe and cozy place to rest, as did they, themselves.  What better way to knock down two birds with one stone than to take Marlaina to her home and ask to spend the night.  However, this idea also brought up a possible, yet obvious problem.  "It's appealing, but how do we know that Andy will take us in?  Besides, we don't even know if that very den even exists at the current time."

     "Like we have a choice?"  Rayshana scoffed, staring up at the starless sky now almost completely depleted of any traces of sunlight.  "Soon, we'll lose all light and become next-to-blind in this forest.  Besides, didn't they take you in when you magically appeared from nowhere?"

     She has a point.  Maybe their kind and open nature came from living in the sanctuary for so long.  Ailfresi was now convinced.  "You're right.  Lets move, then."

     "One problem," Staraptor interrupted.  "Which way do we go to get out of this forest?"

     Ailfresi twitched a half-puzzled, half-amused ear.  "You mean you can't simply fly up and check our surroundings from above the treetops like a true flying-type?"

     "Funny, but I'm being serious.  It's too dark to distinguish anything at a distance, especially for a bird pokemon like myself.  We don't have eyes that easily adjust to lack of light like you Eevee-evolutions do."

     Ailfresi looked around the many trees surrounding them nervously.  They all looked the same.  Not even the mountain tops could be used as any sort of landmark, as they were covered by the thick canopy of rich leaves.  The lack of light also did little to assist them.  When he slammed to Marlaina, he must have lost all sense of direction.

     Wait, that's it!  Ailfresi turned to look at Marlaina's limp form as Rayshana was about to grasp her scruff with her teeth.  "Leave her be!" he burst out, quickly blocking the Flareon.

     "Leave her?" she twitched her ears in a mixture of confusion and irritation.  "I though we agreed we weren't going to abandon her here."

     "Of course we won't," he quickly tried to explain.  "I just need to regain my sense of direction."  He studied the Chikorita's body position carefully in comparison to the disturbed grass splayed awkwardly around.  Judging from those grass-patterns, she must of been knocked to the ground where she was, which means that her back is facing the trees right over...  He looked up towards the direction he believed to be undiscovered forest territory.  All at once, many things began to click together in his mind as he recognized the layout of trees from his chase after Soljeki's spiritual form.  ...there, he concluded.  "We go that way," he gestured with his tail confidently.

     "How do you know?" Rayshana questioned him, unsure of his path of choice.

     "Gut feeling," he replied back.  Besides, maybe that's where Sunny was trying to lead me to begin with...

     "We'll need more than a gut feeling to reach safe shelter."

     Ailfresi smiled with a flicker of humor in his eyes as he glanced back at the Flareon.  "Would you rather sit around all night, waiting for a magic wand to suddenly wave us in the right direction?"

     Rayshana let out a long, drowsy yawn before she quietly replied, "When you put it that way, I guess there isn't any other choice."

     Staraptor nodded, silently agreeing to the plan, even if it was a bit ludicrous.

     In moments, the three pokemon were padding through the forest, following nothing more than Ailfresi's lone instinct as a guide.  By now, the light had almost all but disappeared.  Not even so much as the moon's normally bright glow was able to shine through the thick canopy.

     Suddenly, Ailfresi picked up a familiar aroma, a stale scent which he instantly recognized.  Marlaina.  She must have been by her earlier, possibly during late morning.  If they followed this scent to its earliest origin, it would be easier than cake to find the den... if it existed.  But this was no time for doubts.

     Then, before he had any time to put the idea into motion, a small, yet hard mass slammed into him, knocking him off his paws as he heard a furious squeal pierce the air over him.  Ailfresi quickly knocked the attacker off of him, instinctively hardened his tail into a steel-hard, fierce white aura which illuminated the darkened area around them.  What the light revealed was not that of an enemy, but rather another old friend.  "Andy?!"  The fire-mouse's young age struck him for a loop.  He knew that they'd be a little young during this time period, but nothing like this.  He couldn't have been more than five months old at most, being so small and completely absent of any scars or roughed up fur as the rodent was.

     The Cyndaquil seemed to intensify his gaze on the ice-type when he heard his own name mentioned.  "How do you know me?" the fire-type rodent demanded in a hostile tone.

     The Glaceon kept his tail aglow and positioned defensively in front of him.  "Long story.  We-"

     Andy interrupted him before he could finish.  "You can talk stories later.  What have you done to my friend?!"

     Ailfresi shuddered nervously.  He sure is jumpy.  Then again, if I was in his situation, I'd be jumpy, too.  "I'm sorry," he began, bowing his head apologetically.  "I wasn't looking where I was going and collided with her in this forest.  We're new, you see."  He still couldn't get over just how young the Cyndaquil seemed to be.  Now that he actually paid some mind to it, Marlaina harbored the same young-like qualities; small and a flawless short-furred coat.

     "Hand Marlaina over, first, before you talk any further."

     Rayshana approached the Cyndaquil with Marlaina still hanging unconsciously from her mouth.  In a gentle manner, the Flareon lowered the Chikorita to the ground and released her, stepping back next to Ailfresi once finished.

     "Marly!"  Andy quickly leaned over the grass-type, greatly concerned as his tiny chest heaved in and out with anxious breaths.  Only when he noticed the slow rise and fall of Marlaina's own did he calm down, relief flooding through eyes.  "Thank goodness, she's still alive."  The fire-type rodent turned his attention back to the visitors and asked, "You said you are new here.  What exactly are you here for?"

     Before Ailfresi could reply, Rayshana stepped forward.  "In short, a place to raise my kits safely."

     "How did you hear of this place?"

     "Dreadscar directed us here, claiming that this sanctuary would fit our needs," Ailfresi answered back calmly.

     Andy said nothing for a while as he studied the three new pokemon.  His hostility seemed to fade after a moment, replaced instead by an acute sense of curiosity.  Then, the rodent nodded approvingly.  "You seem legit.  I'm sorry about my earlier aggressiveness.  We're just not used to visitors here."

     "Andy?" a feminine voice suddenly peeped.  Beside the Cyndaquil, Marlaina was beginning to come around.  "Who are you talking to?"

     "Newcomers."

     "Visitors?" she mumbled as she sat up, shaking off her soreness.  "But we never have visitors aside from Alakazam."

     So he's here already, too, Ailfresi silently observed.  Though he only knew Alakazam briefly, he knew that he was very knowledgeable and showed a bit of interest in him when he first appeared in this world.

     "They found you," Andy interrupted the Glaceon's thoughts.  "Do you remember anything about what happened?"

     Marlaina took a moment, searching her memory for clues.  "I remember padding through the forest, picking some berries for our dinner when...  Something big hit me...  I... don't remember anything after that."

     Ailfresi giggled nervously.  "Heheh.  That might have been me.  Sorry about that."

     "Yeah.  He's not usually so clumsy like that," Rayshana snickered humorously.

     "Gee, thanks, Ray."

     Even Staraptor couldn't hold back his own "input."  "I have to say, that was pretty clumsy if I do say so myself."

     Ailfresi lowered his head in embarrassment, drawing circles with a lone claw of his forepaw in the ground.  "I guess you're right," he admitted in defeat.

     Andy spoke up again.  "Well, as you already know, I'm Andy, and this lovely Chikorita here next to me is Marlaina.  We've lived here for a couple months as orphans.  You have names, don't you?"

     Orphans?!  The news was a complete shock to him.  He never once thought of Andy and Marlaina as orphans.  They're barely out of kit-stage at best, yet they already seem to know their way around this area...  Alakazam must have been looking after them.

     Rayshana and Staraptor both seemed to get the same idea, but they said nothing about it.

     Ailfresi cleared his throat.  "Right.  I'm-"

     "My name is Rayshana," the Flareon quickly interrupted, glancing at the Glaceon as she continued.  "This here is Mist.  He's my mate."

     The ice-type resisted the urge to widen his eyes with surprise.  Great Arceus, do you want to dig a hole for us? he died to blurt out.  However, he decided to stay, unsure of how it would all play out and what the Flareon was planning.

     Staraptor bowed towards the two young pokemon after Rayshana finished her introduction.  "I lack any fancy name.  Most simply call me Staraptor.  If I may, I have one request on the behalf of my friends."

     Andy nodded.  "Go ahead."

     "We've been traveling all day and well... As you can see, it's dark, now, and we need a place to settle down and rest.  Do you have any shelter we can use for the duration of the night?  I'm aware that this may be a bit soon, seeing as we just met, but Ray needs the rest more than any of us, as she's bearing kits."

     "Of course!" Andy agreed cheerfully.  "We live in a den not far from here in the middle of some open fields.  We can accommodate some guests for one night.  What do you think, Marly?"

     "You don't really think that I'd say no, do you?  It'll be nice to have newcomers over for the night," the Chikorita replied just as equally enthused as her fire-type friend.

     Staraptor bowed gratefully.  "Thank you both."

     In mere moments, they were walking among the plains.  The sky was dark, now, absent of nothing more than the endless sea tiny, glimmering stars.  Their glow, when joined by the efforts of the full-moon hanging high up like a decorative, white ornament, provided the dismal amount of light they required to see the thick, healthy grass which they padded through.

     "It's a lot easier to see when the treetops aren't filtering out all of that light," Rayshana observed drowsily.

     "No kidding."

     Andy snickered quietly, apparently failing at his attempt to hide his own laughter.

     Marlaina shoved the Cyndaquil playfully, turning to the tired travelers.  "Don't mind him.  I think a Totodile bit a fair chunk of his brain out when he was born and ate it for breakfast."

     Andy shoved the grass-type back in a similar manner.  "Yes, and Chikoritas fly, I suppose."

     Ailfresi watched the two young pokemon play-quarrel with envious eyes.  They're so young, they can still be as careless as they want, without regard as to what could happen.  Their hearts are so pure... untouched by the disaster which is destined to plague this sanctuary.  Ailfresi sighed sympathetically as he turned and took a long peer at the forest bordering the plains.  To think that their care-free lives will change so abruptly soon...

     "Misty!  You coming, or what?"

     Ailfresi turned back to find Rayshana at the mouth of a familiar opening.  The den.  There was no question.  Yet another piece of the puzzle was falling into place, a mystery coming closer and closer to being solved one tiny kit-step at a time.  Rayshana and himself, now known as the "Mist" figure which he once dreaded, had now arrived at the very heart of the sanctuary.  Perhaps that's why Rayshana decided to 'claim' me as her mate.  It's risky, but perhaps it was an accurate judgment.  The Glaceon smiled warmly as his thoughts trailed towards his memory of his special flower which would soon be born.  After all, it will be my responsibility to look after Sunny.  Forgetting the still abundant number of missing puzzle pieces to the mystery which he so desperately wished to solve, he padded towards the den home.

     When he entered the underground enclosure, warm memories flooded back to him.  He still clearly recalled the day when he and Soljeki came to rest for the first time together since evolving.  He looked to the side of the den entrance to find Rayshana already settled on a neat and very familiar pillow of hay

     "You okay?" Rayshana muttered in a low whisper.  "You seem lost in thought."

     Ailfresi nodded as he joined the pregnant Flareon, laying down beside her in a protective manner.  "Just old memories," he replied back in a whisper, making sure no one else heard.  "Sunny and I slept in this very spot the day after we evolved."

     Rayshana smiled, giving the ice-type a ginger lick across the forehead.  "It won't be long, you know."

     Ailfresi looked at the swollen belly, anxious for that magical moment to arrive, but disappointed that it wouldn't be here for another two and a half agonizing months.  "Yes, it will be.  You've still got a while."

     "But it'll be worth the wait.  You should know that."

     The Glaceon rested his head across Rayshana's mane.  "I do," he replied back with a yawn.  He never paid any attention to it until now, but he was exhausted.  The journey had taken so much out of him, he felt he could sleep for all of the two and a half months which separated him from his one true love.

     "G'night, Misty."

     He half-consciously grunted in reply as he gave in to the gripping drowsiness.

     "Took you long enough."

     The familiar voice of his spiritual guide instantly told him where he was.  When Ailfresi opened his eyes, he was right.  Kamejaski was hovering over him as she stared at the Glaceon with a glint of humor in her eyes.  "Geeze, didn't your mother ever teach you patience?"

     "Plenty of it, actually," the Jolteon replied back with a smirk.  "I may be stubborn at times, but I couldn't walk the stars without it.  How do you feel?"

     He was about to say tired, but to his surprise, he didn't feel that way upon closer self-examination.  In fact, he felt alive with energy that he hadn't felt since before the journey to the sanctuary.  "I feel like I could lift a Snorlax, actually."

     "Good, because tonight marks our first training session."

     Ailfresi instantly recalled the vision he had of Sylvana and Soljeki.  "Let me guess...  The whole 'crystal communication' thing, right?"

     "Correct.  Though, it's actually called the 'Cosmic Continuum Link,' a skill which every star-walker must learn."

     "Star-walker?  What's that?  Is that what I am?"

     Kamejaski nodded as she explained.  "In simple words, a star-walker is a pokemon whom possesses a strong link with the power of the stars.  In more complex words, there are various traits and abilities which define a star-walker, as the connection itself isn't the lone definition.  One must be capable of reaching into the outer expanses of their conscience and binding themselves with the essence of our ancient ancestors.  Doing this allows one to influence fate itself, and guide the inhabitants of the twin dimensions."

     "Influence?  You mean change time itself?  Isn't that a lot of power for just one individual?  A greedy pokemon could easily twist things into chaos like that, couldn't they?"

     "That has never happened, and never will."

     Ailfresi raised a suspicious eyebrow.  "How can you be so sure?"

     Kamejaski sighed as though a burden was placed upon her.  "It is difficult to put in mere words.  Even humans, who have always had their own ideas for how time and space co-exist, can't come close to how they truly function, much less their origin.  You see, individuals with star-walker abilities are chosen solely by our ancient ancestors, themselves.  This is the lone fail-safe that keeps any foul hearts from obtaining such power.  They are pure and untouched spirits, more pure than even a newborn kit.  They were the first and only ones discover the secret behind our being and, most importantly, weave their essences within the sturdy, yet delicate balance of space and time, something we've come to simply call, 'The Balance.'"

     "Then how are these 'ancestors' so sure in their choices?  How can they pick and choose so easily?  Do they actually determine who is kind and who is cruel?"

     "Again, words alone can't describe it, but I'll do my best.  The truth is that there is no true 'past,' 'present,' or 'future.'  There is only one singular timeline which tells and foretells any and all events that have ever occurred and ever will occur.  Our ancestors know who to choose because they know who they will choose."

     Ailfresi tilted his head.  He echoed the only thought that came to mind over the confusing puzzle.  "Everything's predetermined?"

     "Yes and no."

     Ailfresi stared back with a stupefied expression.  "Could you speak a language that I can actually understand?  I'm not getting any of this.  How can time be both predetermined and not?  I always believed that we lead our own paths, not had them laid before us."

     "As I said, it is difficult to put in mere words.  The power of the stars, as I told you before when you were killed, is the backbone of existence itself.  Everything that exists; you, me, Soljeki, our thoughts and ideas, our planet, everything that we know, learn, and ever will learn are all essentially nothing more or less than stardust.  It is the unique and mysterious way that all of this stardust has come together that allows time and space to exist at all.  It is through the development of this process that has molded everything into a sturdy balance, one that can mend itself when damage is inflicted, similar to how our immune systems fight off infections, or when our bodies heal an injury we've suffered.  This is essentially what a star-walker's true role is.  We are that healing force.  It is our duty to protect this balance with out very existence.  Without it, nothing will exist at all, just as without the ability to heal, our bodies could not cope and would thus die off."

     Ailfresi's confused eyes remained fixed on the moldy-green Jolteon.  "I think I'm sorta getting it.  It might explain why Dialga emphasized my importance when we met.  Yet, I still don't understand how everything is 'predetermined and not.'"

     "Each individual, star-walkers or not, lead their own paths.  Their paths are determined by their own decisions.  These decisions, alone, carve their own destiny, the very role which they play in The Balance, significant or not.  Even evil beings are usually harmless to The Balance, as the most they do is kill out of cold blood."

     Ailfresi growled deeply.  "You act like that's a good thing."

     "Your personal ties with Rayshana is understandable, but such a view will not allow you to understand how to serve The Balance well.  Evil ones, while still shunned upon even by those fused with The Balance, itself, pose no true threat when they inflict mere physical harm in the dimension which they live in.  The true threats are those that somehow stumble across the power of the stars and threaten it from within, usually by targeting the element of time, the most delicate element of all for obvious reasons."

     "Delicate?  But from what you said earlier, time is something that is absolute."

     "It is, but even it can be manipulated by the power of the stars.  Time's greatest defense is its flexibility.  What happens at an earlier point in time will affect the future thereafter and vise-versa.  A prime example which you can relate to is your own experience with being time-warped.  You appeared here in the past, yet everything you do seemingly 'solidifies' what will happen in the coming future.  Time has long since adapted to your destiny, or 'role' since the moment it was created.  This is time's flexibility.  However, when one attempts to meddle with time's inner workings, the entire time-space continuum will come crashing down, and with it, so will our existences.  In fact, this can apply to any one of the many elements which make up The Balance.  They are all fragile, with time being the most vulnerable, as it determines everything else."

     It's just as my older version once said before I was warped, 'In time, you will learn that there are a great many elements that are fragile.  Always have been, and always will be.  One of these elements are being threatened as we speak.  It is both the most delicate and the most sturdy one of them all.'  He instinctively knew that Kamejaski's explanation had to have been what the words must have meant.  There was no question about it.  "I think I'm beginning to understand.  I'm still a bit confused over how everything in the past, present, and future is already known, though.  If that's really the case, then why not attack the problem directly?"

     Kamejaski smiled.  "That's what we are doing.  That's why you're here, and that's why your training is so important.  After all, a clueless kit won't be able to fix everything."

     Ailfresi nodded, half embarrassed.  "I guess you're right, though I'm not that clueless."

     "You might be if you over-value your bonds."

     The Glaceon quickly turned cold again at the remark.  "Watch it...  That's my family you're talking about, even if they're not biological!  You may find them dispensable, but I'll do everything in my power to protect them, and you can bet your existence on that!"

     Much to Ailfresi's surprise, the Jolteon nodded back approvingly and, more shockingly, repeated a very familiar phrase.  "Good.  You are following the most important principle of a star-walker, and that's to follow your heart, whatever the scenario may be.  That is the first lesson you needed to learn, and you've already mastered it.  Now then, are you ready for your next one in the Cosmic Continuum Link that I referred to earlier?"

     Much of what he learned and experienced over the course of the past few minutes really shook the way he viewed the world around him, with many confusing gaps still left to fill.  It was made clear by both Dialga and his older form that something was going to threaten the balance of time in the future.  The only question that remained was what it was, and how exactly it would come to pose this threat.  As he was, Ailfresi couldn't possibly begin to ponder over how this would unfold.  He could only follow Kamejaski's instruction, and prepare for the presumed "doomsday" which everything could very well come to an end.