A trainer, standing at a PC. Fiddling with the controls. A list of names.

"So I just do this, and..." A button is hit. There's a pause as it records data.

The trainer pulls the plug on the PC, then immediately plugs it back in, awaiting at the controls for it to boot up.

After the screen lights back up, he goes back to checking it. There's a pause as he comes to a realization.

"...Wait. Where's..." He frantically shifts through the various menus. Nothing seems to sate him.

"Where's...?" One less name on the list.

"M-my...my..." He checks his belt. Then the computer again.

"My shiny Celebi! NOOOO!"

- - -

Nothing could encapsulate the joy of being free. Flying through the trees without a care. But this pink Celebi was more than just a free spirit; it was one that stood out amongst its peers. None had the coloration it had, which led it to become somewhat of an outlier.

Its friends amongst the fae saw it as special, a diva of the woods. It was...

someone they couldn't think they could associate with. Chief among the doubts its appearance sowed was that its coloration would let it stand out against the trees. If someone with an evil mind were to wander in the forest, it couldn't hide in the canopy or in the bushes: the pink would give its position away.

"No, you go...see if he'll go away."

One such intruder was before their shrine. Humans were creatures they were taught to avoid at all costs. Being invisible in their presence wasn't enough, they had to escape, get away, hide. Jump through time, if they must. But this one held a ball...something that drew the Celebi folk near.

The pink Celebi watched from afar, hiding behind a tall tree, invisible. It was alone in its spot. A curious power, it noticed, as a Celebi went to investigate the ball, only to show itself. Then, seconds later, it was as if the human had approached the shrine again. Placing the ball on the steps of the shrine, it glowing, a Celebi approaching. The pink Celebi watched it all unfold. Time, after time.

What was happening...? What was this human's goal?

Still it remained, Celebi after Celebi floating down, appearing, disappearing. Reappearing amongst the trees. The pink Celebi watched everything carefully, noticing where its Celebi friends were. Sensing their Psychic power, watching for slight movements. Still the human stood there, placing the ball on the shrine.

It had enough.

The pink Celebi went to its friends.

"Wha- hey! Don't get near us, he'll see us all!"

"N-no, it's not that! I...I'll go down. Just...watch for me, okay?"

"You're crazy..." "No, let them..." "When will he go away...?"

So the Celebi went down, blocking its friends from following it. None did.

Nothing could encapsulate the joy on the human's face once the Celebi made itself known.

- - -

Splitting apart. Data and reality, intertwining.

The Celebi, amongst the void. A faint blue glow from everywhere, suggesting it was still inside its datascape. Streams of numbers in long columns all around, progressing. It breathed yet.

A glitch. Some of the numbers break apart in their streams. The blue is replaced with red. The image of the Celebi distorts. Morphs. It attempts to scream, holding its head. It felt...as if the world was collapsing on it.

It disappeared into a new void. It couldn't tell where it was, or why.

Time was progressing. Space had stopped.

Coming to the edge of reality, it couldn't go as it was. Its body would be lost, but its soul, its conscience would remain somewhere. A ghost without being a ghost could not exist, so it had to live.

Its body being pulled in so many different directions at once, it couldn't help but scream. Scream in this soundless void, until it was torn in two. Broken in half, but with its halves being unequal. Taking different things with them, as each half was plunged in darkness: one with time and without space, and one with space and without time.

Each thrown their separate ways, each separating from reality.

- - -

The shiny Celebi trekked with its trainer. With him, it saw many sights of the world beyond its forest. Cities, plains, oceans - it was mesmerized by all that it saw. So many different species inhabited the world, so many humans that survived despite it all. So many...how did it manage to hide from all of them in that forest?

It fought alongside its trainer, lending its power to him. It was not adverse to fighting, but found itself liking it for the sport. It liked the competitive aspect, if it could prove itself to be better. Better than the Celebi it was yesterday; perhaps, good enough for its friends back home to praise it. But it had to put in the work, staying by its trainer all the while.

It was witness to its trainer's exploits, even when he wasn't travelling the world.

One of the trainer's pastimes, as the Celebi found out, was breeding and hatching the eggs of his various Pokemon. Riding along with him, a basket full of eggs...it liked the wind blowing through its hair. Watching the joy of life every time those eggs cracked open. And from each, a Cyndaquil, soon to be released so that its population may increase in the world.

Such an endeavor was not lost on the Celebi. It recognized the scarcity of life, its trainer's attachment towards this species. And so their connection was imprinted onto its heart, its soul soothed by his commitment.

- - -

One half, still finding that time is passing. Trapped in an endless void.

It couldn't...feel, could it? No, it was feeling...something...

If it wasn't feeling, then the lack of feeling was just as convincing. What was it like to feel again...? How would it feel now?

Pain...yes, that's right. It was in pain. The world begun to take shape around it. Whatever little inlet of space it had landed on after being flung from its proper space, it shaped with its memories. The memories of...pain...

...pain...that never really started, until it realized its existence. It was different. And that human...showed it that its differences didn't matter...right? That it could be its own...

But it was incomplete. It lacked the answers to the questions it had. Filled only by one overarching answer that slowly grew to fill in the gaps. One answer to everything it lacked, acting as though it were its other half. Bringing completeness to its form.

With this new feeling spurring on its thoughts and memories, they began to warp. And as they warped, so did its surroundings. Darker, more sinister. Retelling its story over and over, until it became morbid. It was all it could do, here, where nothing else remained.

As it plunged into its darkness, it never stopped to think. Never hesitated. Those restraints, those hopes for a brighter future...were left in its other half.

- - -

A bright light.

The Celebi emerged from a cave, atop the hat of its trainer.

Ruins of buildings entered its vision. It had seen buildings before, but these were merely scraps. Hints that man had lived here before, but nature was reclaiming the space right back. What made them leave? Was it just...this one?

The trainer entered another cave. Adorned with similar visuals to the eroding craft outside, but more complete. A house...? No, it was more elaborate. Like it were made for some sort of ritual. More humans, inside, inspecting. A bygone era, a scent that spoke of the history left here. The Celebi could feel an ominous power at work. It perked up, looking around, as if it heard a noise it couldn't locate.

Even with its powers over time, it couldn't help but wonder what this place was like before.
Such mysterious architecture, compared to the ones the humans lived in now.
Could an answer it had not been seeking at all lay at rest here?
As it pondered, its trainer helped a nearby human solve a puzzle.
Perhaps by design, as the last block fell into place, a hole opened below and swallowed the two.
Everything became black once more.

Mysterious messages written in a language it knew how to decipher...even though it knew not why or how it could understand them in the first place.

A ringing in its head, speaking of an unknown connection.

They escaped an onslaught of creatures, staring at them with their bright white eyes. The Celebi couldn't bear to look at them.

Later they returned, with the Celebi keeping its wits about them.
In another cave, another puzzle awaited.
Giving its trainer's hair a tug, it resisted. Something about this place scared it.
He trudged on, clicking the pieces into place.
Thrown into darkness once more.

Another message it understood. Another familiar feeling, as if time were converging on its position. Not a power it could harness, but one it simply felt the magnitude of. An immense pressure it couldn't fathom.

The trainer was unphased by it all, continuing his journey around the area. A third cave.

What did the sounds mean? What...really, was the meaning of this place?
As more chambers were entered, the Celebi had more questions.
The eyes on the walls...were they watching them?
Everywhere it looked...surrounding them.
Restrained from running, it could only go forward.

Its mind was made a mess trying to comprehend it all. The pink Celebi lay silently on its trainer's head, staring into nothingness. It barely noticed going into the fourth cave. Pre-occupied, it was, in figuring out for itself this ruin's mysteries.

- - -

Darkness. Consciousness, but without form.

The half of the Celebi forced away from time, retaining its emotions but not its memory. Stuck in the abyss where time did not flow.

It survives, but only because if time passes, it would cease. Its barely-working mind couldn't keep track of time, couldn't remember who it was. Couldn't understand why it was here.

If time was passing it by, it wonders what it could feel. It certainly remembers how to feel, it remembers...joy, but...where? Certainly there was no joy to be found where it was currently at. In fact, it did feel quite a lot like pain. But with no time for its blood to pump, no time for its nerves to flare, it could not feel.

It couldn't move. Not without time. But then how could it think? It was...there...but what prevents it from fading completely? Its own time powers wouldn't be enough, not without a timestream it was connected to.

Could it even say it had an existence? In such a dark and lonely place, it had no buffer against the negative thoughts that began to invade. It wanted to feel, it wanted to know...but here in this timeless void, it couldn't do either. Even if it had its other half, it would be just as trapped.

With no sound, no sight, nothing to feel...it could feel itself slipping into a dreamlike state. A conscious dream, where the difference between reality and fiction could not be easily told. Not that it minded; even a conscious dream would be one where it could at least pretend time was flowing. It could at least indulge in the illusion of color and fantasy of what its past life could have been like.

And at the end of those dreams, if it could even tell the difference between when they ended and began again, it fervently wished to open its eye to see its forest once more.

- - - 

A tower reaching high into the sky.

The Celebi heard legends of this place, as its trainer had found out. Home to a legendary bird, it originally left the tower in search of a human with a pure heart, never to return. But along the trainer's journey, they had heard about a mysterious shaking at the tower. Having been granted entry to the tower with a bell the trainer had found along their journey, they made the trek up the floors.

Still plagued by questions, the Celebi could hardly contain its excitement. Were it fortunate enough to meet this Pokemon, would it be granted eternal happiness? Though the legends don't say whether it hides itself from Pokemon, perhaps it would share in its abilities. Even if it were to catch sight of it, that would make for a good story for its Celebi friends at home. Maybe even enough for it to gain the respect of the few that didn't believe it.

The trainer steps onto the roof after a long time spent inside the tower. The light was blinding at first, a distinct orange tint in the sky. They could see far off into the horizon; trees, mountains, other cities they've been to. The Celebi hadn't been this far up, and this would be another moment it would remember.

A shriek from the sky makes the pink Celebi refocus. Up above, a gigantic bird descends onto the top of the tower. Each flap of its wings assaults them with color beyond all compare. It hovers, feet above the tower's roof, staring in the direction of the trainer.

"Celebi, go!" Words it heard a thousand times before. Was it really going to fight this legendary beast itself? Sure, it was strong, but enough to match its might? Still, it did as it was ordered.

It flapped its tiny fairy wings, floating in front. It could feel each wingbeat of the rainbow bird threaten to push its tiny body away, and the winds at the top of the tower weren't helping.

Another shriek. The battle had started in full.

But just then, a telepathic voice reaches the Celebi. "Eons have passed since I, Ho-oh, have recognized a human as being worthy of my presence, and this one chooses to fight. So be it!"

It reached back out. "Truth be told, I wasn't expecting to fight...are you sure about this? Just seeing you is enough, right?"

"Hmm...this is definitely a surprise. Your trainer wishes to fight, but you question even that. And a Celebi, of all things, is his first choice for battle. You should take it in stride that your trainer chose you first!"

A smile crept onto the pink fairy's face. "Then fight I shall! The blessing of happiness is enough, but now's my chance to prove myself!"

A blue flame formed on the bird's wings. "That's the spirit! But don't expect me to hold back, forest dweller! Do not confuse your own acts with your trainer's!"

From that point on, things were a blur...as the flames engulfed the Celebi. Forever etched into its memory was the sight of Ho-oh's magnificent form, and the searing pain right before passing out.

- - -

Its trainer had begun to travel even more. Battling more, getting stronger. The Celebi was not deterred by its loss, but it couldn't help but think it wasn't healed fully. There was something...off about it, ever since that battle. But it shook off such a feeling, determined to show it was strong. So it fought, and grew.

A snow-capped mountain, scaled entirely from the inside. The caves were fraught with a frightful assortment of Pokemon that even its trainer relied on his other Pokemon, just to ensure he wouldn't wipe out on any one of the beasts inside.

And at long, grueling last, a light. The top of the mountain at last! It was cold, but it was outside, and a pleasant sight as the Pokemon had all but disappeared. The Celebi shivered, feeling the strong, cold wind blow against it. Snow was also falling, having coated everything white. A scenic view, were it not for the blizzard blowing, but a triumph nonetheless.

But one more challenge awaited. A single figure stood off in the distance, at the absolute peak.

A Pikachu on its shoulder. How strong of a bond they must share to be up here, having fought the same journey as they did.

Wordlessly, the trainer turned, and the Pikachu leapt from their shoulder, ready for battle.

Testing their bond, the Celebi needn't hear its trainer to know what must have been done. It leapt off his head, already preparing its first attack.

The sight of the Pikachu readying its Thunderbolt with its trainer's face obscured by the snow was one the Celebi would remember for ages to come.

- - -

Everything happens for a reason. Or so the Celebi thought.

Its two torn forms, kept alive by the Ho-oh's still-burning flame. The happiness it was promised, gone. It didn't know what hurt more, the Sacred Fire it was struck with...

...or its trainer's next move. One that it remembers fondly.

"You're special. One of a kind."

Sitting at a table inside a Pokemon Center, the trainer sits with its pink Celebi standing on the table in front of it. It seems all too happy to be praised as such.

"That's why...I'm going to clone you."

It looked surprised. Cloning? Does that mean what it think it means?

"You are special, for sure. But there's...only one of you. And I'd love to show you off to the world, but...I don't want to lose you just for that."

The Celebi still looked afraid. "Relax. It's all something I can do, and at the end of the day, there'll be another you! I mean, sure, I haven't done it before, but I've heard how it works..."

It shook its head, being defensive in its body language. "Aw, nothing's gonna happen to you. You don't need to worry a single bit. All you gotta do is head back into your ball and I'll take care of the rest."

Begrudgingly, it agreed. It hadn't been in its ball for a long time...so confining, even though it had all of the necessities it desired. It much preferred the open air...

It wasn't long before it felt itself being torn from space, implanted into the digital landscape of the computer. It had no idea what was going on, what was happening. All it had was the assurance of its trainer.

It thought of the encounter with the Ho-oh. Was this...going to lead to happiness?

...the last thought it had, before all went wrong.

- - -

The burns. The bonds. The sorrow.

Both were connected by their past, but one kept more power than the other. One was able to shape its landscape to its warped, incomplete mind's content, while the other suffered in its own timeless prison.

One kept replaying its life on repeat, never improving, taking on more cynical and extreme views as its became unhinged and unstable. One held fast to the hope of a future, even though it would lead to its death. Each stuck in a state of living, no matter how one looks at it. Both tormented by the creeping darkness.

Until a hand reaches forward...

- - -

Stirring. Three figures on a bed, one tossing about, making noise.

A shiny Celebi, its upper body blue, opened its eyes suddenly. It jerked upright, breathing heavily and looking around. After a few moments, it calmed, though it had noticed it was in a cold sweat. Looking at its hands. Its...two hands. Breathing. Feeling - even if it was feeling tired. Its heartbeat.

It wrapped its arms around itself, hunching over. Its antennae drooped down, a tear forming in its eye.

"...*hic*..."

It knew it wasn't alone now. The dream fades, and its reality set in. It was with...itself. And the hand that pulled it out of its despair.

Looking over, on the dimly lit bed, it saw that very hand. ...but its drowsiness was too strong. It couldn't muster the energy to cry now.

It closed its eyes once more, blinking the tears away, crawling over to where the hand was. Feeling, without seeing, until it came upon the hand. Then, it lifted the hand up and over its body, feeling the weight push it down on the sheets. The hand curled up, gently stroking over the Celebi's head.

As sleep beckoned it once more, the warmness in its heart returned. Shivering, but with life. Content that even if were in another reality, another time...that, even if its happiness now wasn't eternal, that it could feel being happy once again.

- - -

Beyond time, in that dreamlike land...

Lost's memories still played. Repeating the motions, playing the story over and over. Though it no longer invades dreams, the remnants of the Celebi lived on. A dark being, made from what Lost and Found had gained after they had split. The few feelings that were regained, the memories it barely remembered. What it thought it had before, now the only things it had.

Reformed into one being, it still acted the same as the lost Celebi it was. Its dark body made it impossible to see, a black fire alight on what would be considered its skin. The only light from its body, now most decidedly not among the living nor the dead, was its green irises.

No light in this reality could make it show its true form. Where it was, no light could even reach it in the first place. In its fictional landscape, where the gods decreed it need exist, it was alone.

Yet its connections to Lost and Found existed. Separated by space and time, for a brief moment, it could sense their presence. With their own minds overwhelmed at their own shortcomings, their individual darkness separate from this dark being's own, they barely noticed its presence.

For it stood five feet tall, with four wings, and two antennae sprouting from its head in the shape of a heart.
