Life begins in pitch-black darkness.

A consciousness grows from nothing to become something.

Given enough of the necessary materials for life - the range of emotions, a body, a time with which to exist - that is how most come to be. It is expected that for every one life, there should only be one merged consciousness, one body, one time they play through.

But when those rules are broken, things get messy.

The story of Lost and Found coming to be broke those rules. One consciousness became two; one body became two; one timeline was split. And as they did, they took different parts with them: one kept the memories, one kept the emotions. Those missing parts, they attempted to fill themselves, devoid of time or space as they were.

In healing their bodies and sharing her essence with them, Gali tore away those 'regained' parts of Lost and Found that they had regenerated, flawed as they were. By itself, this would not create a problem, even though they were from different realities: she was helping each become one again, their own selves. As she didn't have to fully give up her own, she was able to complete them.

But the problem reared its head when Lost's powers were taken from him by Dialga to remain in the realm he was in before. That being was also not whole, replicating what Lost was before. Despite its form being as complete as it could be, borrowing Gali's appearance, it was but a half. A half that resonated with another half - one that Dialga could not touch, but rather, one within Palkia's control.

It was a half that also bore Gali's appearance, but instead of shadows and ominous powers completing its form, it had...nothing. Missing an arm and a leg on its left side, it had an unfinished appearance. Half of its hair was missing, and both its eyes were stuck in limbo; neither were as bright as the Celebi it took after, no powers of its own.

This being was cobbled together from the remains of Lost's replaced emotions, Found's replaced memories, and sprinkled with the tiniest ounces of all the other necessities for life, courtesy of Gali's own meddling. Despite this, it was still lacking in several areas, more than just its physical body.

It lacked purpose. Resolve. Identity. Voice.

For these reasons, Palkia thought it right to wait until Gali was able to handle both Lost and Found before fettering off this..baggage, these remains, to see what Gali could make of it. It was well within its power to just keep this being away, unlike how Found's half remained in the limbo between time before. Here, however, it could exercise its power and send the being to a specific point in time. It was a special case amongst those ripped from the timeline, as it had never been severed nor connected in the first place, and thus needed special attention.

It was then, when the incomplete body first merged with the timeline, that it birthed unto the world. In that moment, when the flow of time put its heart into motion, when it became alive, it had its first thought. One befitting of its origin, one to drive its purpose, one spark to set its life aflame.

[i]Who...is Gali?[/i]

---

The shrine in the forest. Teal crowns above, a teal blanket below. Celebi at play, blissfully unaware.

Time's flow around the shrine and its inhabitants made the story of Gali both a hot topic and forgone history. No Celebi that was around could forget that day, ensuring there would be at least one at any given time existing within the forest that would know of it. As word spread, there were a few that dared to go back to that time to watch from afar to see for themselves the events in the forest. The past and future told the tales of the pink Celebi that survived near and total death thanks to one heroic Celebi who intervened on their behalf.

That heroism led to recognition. Recognition that would then set the stage for an event a few weeks later.

Celebi flew past the shrine, a game of tag. One was one of the Celebi that helped Galiana on that day; the other had only heard of what transpired. Another Celebi sat in the grass watching the two above, this one completely unaware.

All felt uneased as the color of the world temporarily became distorted.

A black sphere grew from a distortion in front of the shrine, taking in the color before exploding outwards with a gust of wind, returning the color to the forest and knocking all the Celebi back.

From the sphere fell the being from before: a Celebi, alive, bearing the resemblance of the one who saved the pink Celebi before. It fell face-first onto the grass, its disheveled hair hiding its disfigured body.

Moments went by as it struggled to move. It wasn't that it didn't want to; it simply didn't know how. The glow in its eye was proof of its status as among the living, and yet it could barely move of its own accord. The Celebi from the forest recovered from the sudden outburst and were curiously watching the crumpled figure from afar as it lay.

A memory resurfaced of life. That was all that it needed to sputter and cough, a distorted, otherworldly voice underneath. It propped itself up on an arm, feeling pain from every part of its body, though mostly on the side it lacked appendages. It shook violently.

Did it know why it felt pain? No. But it knew what pain was - it remembered what it was like from a distant memory. Its other senses began to fade in, seeing the world in its own, warped way.

One of the Celebi, the one that had helped Gali before, recognized the particular shade of green and the lengthy hair. It could tell something was off with the being, as it was smaller than the person it helped before - at the size of a Celebi itself. Still, its curiousness got the better of it, inching towards the creature as it sized up the world around it.

"Are you alright?" The being froze up before looking at the Celebi, hair covering its face in shadows. Sound was another thing it remembered how to parse.

It stared at the Celebi. It had no voice of its own to respond. A singular eye pierced through the fairy - expecting all, expecting nothing. The Celebi was unnerved.

"You...a-alright there? You kinda...fell..."

The half-Celebi stared at the fae in front of it. It could sense a power from it - one that it, too, had. It knew this power well, in fact. It remembered it as if it had spent years using it. And, using it, the being lifted off the ground, its limbs dangling down.

The shadows around its form lifted, revealing its scarred face, its missing appendages, its lost eye. It looked expectingly at the fairy in front of it.

The Celebi went white with fear. It took a few seconds for it to find its voice once more, floating backwards in a jittery motion.

"Y-you're...not Gali...!"

It turned around to fly away, disappearing in a flash of light and making its escape through time. The two Celebi watching from afar disappeared in the same way as well, leaving the cursed being by itself.

It didn't react to the Celebi leaving it alone, floating inches off the ground in this unfamiliar forest. Its eye stayed staring forward as it processed the feelings in its body. Emotions in it stirring for the first time, feeling parts of its body pulsing. The pain it was enduring making whatever trains of thought going through its mind end before they even began. Blood coursing through its body eventually finding a path out, staining its already tarnished body and dripping to the grass below.

Such pain was taking a toll on the incomplete Celebi. And so it fell, its eye disappearing into the void in its head, resting: but now with the flow of time to help usher it along. The feeling of its heart pulsing along to a rhythmic beat was something it was not used to, but familiar all the same. 

As it drifted off to sleep, not of its own accord, the same thought ran through its head.

[i]"Who...is Gali?"[/i]

---

On Luani Island...

It was mid-day, not a cloud in the sky. A perfect sunny day for soaking in the sun, especially on the lengthy beach separating Sonnige from the ocean.

Galiana blended into a crowd of beachgoers, her white-and-green beach towel and umbrella not unlike any of the others populating the sands. Laying with her top half in the shade, but still donning a thick pair of sunglasses to protect her eyes (and a non-revealing pink bikini to protect the eyes of others). Lost and Found weren't in need of such clothing, and were roaming around the beach, excitable as ever.

Gali sighed, though this was a pleasant one instead of a stressful one. She was comfortable with the two of them playing about without needing to worry about what mischief they might get up to; being self-sustaining was the point of them being together, after all. No better was there a way to exemplify this than taking a break herself, letting the sounds of the ocean waves mixed with the commotion of a busy beach soothe her to sleep - but not before applying sunscreen, of course.

The noise diminished the distinct sounds of the two Celebi's usual high-speed flying, so Gali was able to tell how close they were if they were to fly by. Reciprocally, she was at risk of getting tackled [i]by[/i] them, but she trusted that they wouldn't unless they had a good reason, which was happening less and less nowadays.

It wasn't long until that tinkling sound drew near, however. Gali, still wearing her shades, opened her eyes to see Found landing near the towel and grabbing one of the folded towels nearby, wiping her face.

"Splashed yourself?" Gali inquired.

"Yeah. Lost got me good, but I'm gonna get him back. He won't know what hit him." There was a tinge of evil in Found's voice.

"Don't hurt him, now. Last thing we need is one of you running the other through the sand. Like last time."

"Aw, I know better now, Gali, you know I'm a quick learner." Found left her towel in a mess on top of the other, set for Lost. "Besides, [i]he[/i] started it this time!"

Gali could only giggle as Found flew back over to the ocean, where Lost was - she could see him waist deep in the water, watching the waves and trying not to get pushed over as they crashed on the shore. They were far enough away that Gali couldn't hear what they were saying, but she soon seen them trying to splash each other with water, Found hovering above and diving down just to hit the water with her arm, trying to hit the water towards Lost.

"They your kids?" A voice from right behind her umbrella. Gali turned, seeing a male Latios looking out towards the two 'bi. She recognized him as a popular guyfriend amongst her small friend circles, though she never really had a chance to say hi before, what with her increased responsibilities.

"They're not-! Urgh, I mean, I guess, technically..." It was a question she was asked a lot. She was tired of hearing it, but what else could she say? It wasn't like there was any other frame of reference to go on. After all, the two of them were the only feral Celebi - or really, the only feral Pokemon on the island. Not that Gali knew why, of course, but it did make them stand out. She did remember the feral, wild Celebi at the shrine being a unique case, but why there weren't any others...

"Well, they sure do look happy, either way." She looked up at the Latios. He was wearing black-and-green swim trunks, standing around half a foot above Gali's height. He had his hand on one of the spokes of her umbrella, not putting pressure on it, but she could tell he was rather invested.

"Hey, uh...Gali, right? Would you like to join us for a round of volleyball or two?"

A voice in the distance. "Lar? LAR! C'mon, we..." Gali couldn't hear the rest of the voice, but it was familiar to her.

"Coming, Vexa! Uh, aheh, we got a spot open if ya wanna join. Ta~!" He gives a little wave and runs off towards a large, white Gengar. Gali watches from the comfort of her shade. Vexa was a good friend of hers, having taught her how to bake, and is one of the reasons why the anthro 'Bi wasn't a total layabout. With the cover of her umbrella and her unusually chic sunglasses, she was pretty sure she wouldn't be recognized, giving her some time to think about the offer.

But...

Right when she was just about to take Lar up on a round of volleyball, all went dark. Gali passed out on the spot.

In her unconscious state, Gali could only wait out the ordeal. Time passed by quickly, but seemed to remain the same. It was as if she was remembering her whole life, only to then forget it. Always jumping to the next image, the next face, the next event. There was no memorization to be had here: she was only a spectator.

And yet, watching her history unfold, she could feel she wasn't alone. There was a source of pain she could feel tearing her away from watching her past, making her want to wake up. Siphoning her life, watching - recording her memories.

Perhaps she was hit by a stray Hypnosis and Dream Eater? No...that would have felt different. This was no dream, no sleep. But she did feel another presence within her, somewhere she couldn't see. Somewhere she could still feel.

Oh...that's right. Her heart. A connection. As she watched her more recent history pass by, she tried to send a Psychic message to whoever might be near, hoping they would hear.

[i]"Hello? Who's there?"[/i]

There was no voice that responded. But she could feel something within her react to the message.

[i]"Are you...in my heart? Please, tell me where you are!"[/i]

Gali could feel more than just her memories being looked at. She saw, she felt, her emotions, her body being analyzed.

[i]"Who..."[/i]

It was her voice, but she didn't speak.

[i]"Who...is...Gali?"[/i]

Despite the voice, she had to speak herself. Fortunately, it wasn't that her voice was taken away; but it, too, was one of the things this other being in her was learning from.

[i]"Huh? I'm Gali...this is my body, my mind...who are you?"[/i]

A pause. The images flashing before Gali go fuzzy. Memories from another person fade in slowly, but disappear just as fast. She couldn't make out any of the details of who or what or where.

[i]"I am...I am Gali..."[/i]

[i]"You're Gali? But I'm Gali...is there someone else named Gali, too?"[/i]

[i]"I am Gali..."[/i] The voice repeats itself. Saying it again, again. Becoming more distorted with each verse. The images start and stop more violently than before.

[i]"Wait...instead of telling me your name, tell me where you are. I sense pain in you..."[/i]

[i]"Where? Where...is Gali...Where...pain"[/i]

Gali was rightly confused.

[i]"Pain...where pain...Gali..."[/i]

The voice continued to ramble. Gali felt her consciousness waver back in, and with it, her ability to communicate. As she woke, the voice kept talking until Gali could hear it no more.

Gali opened her eyes suddenly. The Celebi looked around, wondering what had just happened; it felt like only mere seconds passed, but the sun was already setting in the sky. The beach had an orange glow, and though most of the beachgoers were gone, there were a few that remained, and a few up on the sidewalk overlooking the beach as well.

"Ow..." A pain brought her back to reality in full: in particular, her legs. Lost and Found had their heads on her legs, having took to a nap. She could feel a burning on the skin of her legs, but it wasn't severe; she could tell that the two Celebi had put a layer of sunscreen on her before cuddling up. A smile braced her face before she remembered the Latios from before; checking behind her to see the volleyball net, it looked like they had already left.

Gali held her head with a hand. Her sudden passing out left her with a bit of a headache, and with her legs partially sunburnt, she was well ready to get home. She lightly shook the two Celebi resting on her.

"Hey, sleepyheads. Wanna head back?" Her voice was soft, as usual.

"Mmmnh..." Lost lost his balance and fell onto the towel, quickly waking him up. Found rolled her head over with a snore.

"Ah! Gali...that dragon guy came around a few times to talk to you. We, we got worried and saw you sleeping, so..."

Gali smiled. "Thank you for your concern, Lost. It...wasn't exactly a nap I had intended on taking, though. I just kinda...passed out, I guess. Did you talk to that guy, by any chance?" 

"Oh, yeah, he was wanting to know how often you came out to the beach. Said he wanted to hang out with you when you got the time." The blue bi looked away with a pout. "...And he called me a kid."

"Ohhh, you know he didn't mean it like that." The conversation had roused Found from her slumber, yawning and wiping her eyes.

"Yeah, yeah, I know...it just gets tiring. Why's everyone gotta be so big?" More pouting, still sprawling his hands over Gali's leg.

Found propped herself up, then got to her feet. "Y'know, I never really thought of it like that. Do you think...maybe, if we found a way to get big, we'd look sorta like Gali? Since we kinda already look like her..."

The two of them look at Gali. Seconds pass, then they look at each other, noting the similarities they had between each other. Lost winced.

"Ehhhhh...on second thought, maybe I'm fine the way I am."

Found put her hands on Gali's leg as if she were going to jump over. "Oh no, if I find a way to get big, I'm taking you with me."

"No! I-I'm okay with being small! Really!" A visible blush across his pink face.

"Ohhh? Are you suuure?" Found picked up on the blush, taking on a slightly sultry look.

"Little ones, could we perhaps continue this on the walk home? I gotta get up..."

"Oh, uh, right..." "Sorry, Gali. Ehehe."

The two Celebi float up, continuing their argument whilst Gali got up, gathering their belongings. By the time Gali had everything in her hands (and Psychic grasp), the two pink Celebi were back at it.

"Yeah, so what! I like being small!"
"Is that so? Then why do you get so flustered when everyone calls you small?"
"I-I'm not SMALL! I'm regular-sized!"
"Not compared to everyone else!"

Gali sighed. It was going to be a long walk home. "Come on, let's get home before the sun sets."

She floated along, carrying their cooler in one hand and their towels in the other, and with their umbrella floating alongside. The two Celebi argued behind her, eventually switching topics after Lost got too flustered and hid in Gali's hair.

Despite being interested in what they were talking about, Gali had her mind on her brief passing out. Certainly, if a simple dream could have resulted in Lost and Found, was this a portent for something else? Was it related to them, perhaps? Or was it just that she wasn't getting enough sleep?

As the trio came up to a large apartment building, Gali had decided it was the latter. She's spent quite a lot of time enjoying life on the island, but getting good sleep was few and far between. Her job's irregular hours always kept her on edge, and it was rare for her to not seek the company of someone else in her downtime. Perhaps, then, some time alone to sort her thoughts and laze in her apartment for a bit would help sort things out and put her in a better mood.

The three Celebi closed in to the door to Gali's apartment, a small but comfy space. It had no extravagant decorations and was quite compact; a bed and TV in one corner, an oven and sink in another, and a small dining table make the highlights of the room. She was keen on keeping it clean, as she wasn't often here; she doesn't think of it as home, but it was special enough to warrant good housekeeping. She has a home wherever she goes, but having a small apartment like this was good to keep her grounded and a go-to for when she needed alone time. Despite this, ever since Lost and Found have entered her life, she's always had them with her when coming.

Gali opened the door, and was immediately met with the silence and cool breeze from inside. A flick of the light switch, and the two smaller Celebi were already flying in from behind. The two were play-fighting now, taking turns shoving each other in the air before landing on the dining table and locking hands to try and push each other off. This wasn't uncommon, and thus Gali went about putting away the beach umbrella and setting the towels aside to wash later.

As she went about retrieving the unopened drinks from the cooler, Gali glanced over to see that Found was on the losing end, nearly pushed to the edge. Smirking, she had to interject. "Winner showers first."

That made the two glance over, then back at each other.

"Grrk! Oh nooo!~" Lost, despite being on the winning side, feigns being grabbed and tosses himself over Found and off the edge...lightly. Found was too slow on the uptake and didn't see what he was doing until it was too late.

"Hey! Not fair, I didn't-"
"Oh no, Found beat me, guess she has to shower first!"
"Gali, you saw that! I didn't touch him!"

"Hehehe...such an actor you are, Lost. But you'll be going in right after Found." She speaks over the open refrigerator door.

"Galiii!" Found whines.

Gali giggles once more. "The sooner you get out, the sooner I'll whip up some cookies. How's about that?" She closes the door, already using her Psychic to get a bowl and some utensils out from the cupboards.

Found takes a second to think. "...Make 'em with lots of chocolate chips. In fact, just skip the dough and gimme the whole bag."

"[i]After[/i] you get out. And a cookie with no dough isn't a cookie."

Found floats by Gali, heading to the bathroom door. "Nah, you're right. I just want the chocolate." She turns to flash a smile, before closing the door - while she's still outside it. Then, with her body flashing with a blue light and a [i]*fwip!*[/i], she teleports to the other side. Lost and Gali stare where she was, dumbfounded.

"...And to imagine, she's half of you."

"I...can't, really. Was I always that way?" Lost floated up and sat on the table, while Gali took a seat across from the pink Celebi. "I mean, sure, there's twins, and then there's us. Or...me? It's just so confusing..."

"Is that why you always looks like you have a headache?" Gali crosses her arms on the table, leaning onto it. "She sure has a lot of energy. Surely you're not just holding back your half of that energy for her sake?"

"Nah...it's not that. It's just that I feel so foreign, I guess..." Lost flops backwards, sprawling out with a stretch. "The Pokemon of this reality are so different from me, and what little I remember of my past life. Couldn't Palkia or Dialga have just...y'know, make us fit in more? Or is this some kinda test of my patience?"

"Aw, Lost, I don't think it's anything like that. They did what was within their power..."

Lost gave a sharp look over to Gali. "Really? Palkia, ruler of space, who probably made everything around us, couldn't...mold us into a better shape?"

Gali shrugged, setting her head down on her crossed hands. "...Maybe that was within the extent of what Arceus said they could do. I mean, if you were more...like everyone else, then you wouldn't be you anymore, right?"

Lost lays in silence for a few moments. It was enough to where the sound of the shower running in the bathroom was clearly audible. He takes a deep breath, and exhales. "...I just don't get it. I keep racking my head trying to make sense of things, but it feels like the closest thing to normal for me is just staying by Found..."

Gali's turn for a deep breath, and a yawn. She didn't bear any hostility in her voice. "It's good to see you two getting used to this world, at least. Even if you're still confused about things, your powers are returning. And no funny business with any of that dark stuff, either."

The pink Celebi looks back up, slowly bringing up a hand to the air above. A faint green light flows up from his body to the hand, forming in a small ball of energy no larger than the hand itself. "I guess...but, the temptation is still there. It's hard to not think of it sometimes. Like, a voice that's telling me I can't do things, telling me I don't fit in, that I'd be better off if I wasn't saved..."

"Aw, Lost...that's why you got Found and me, and Karina, and Rigel. I'm sure that if you keep making friends, those voices will drown out those doubts in your mind." Gali reaches over, resting her hand within Lost's reach. "Wish I could heal away those voices for you, but..."

Lost smiles. "Yeah...yeah, me too. But it's got me thinking..."

The sound of running water stops. Lost turns his head towards the larger Celebi.

"...do you hear the voices too, Gali?"

---

The darkness of the forest meant little for the crumpled mess in front of the shrine. It could see perfectly well in the pitch black, as it was from the darkness itself. Yet that meant little if it could not be conscious.

It stirred. Having rested, it had a dream: a life it felt was its own, yet it knew it was not. It recalled the events, the voices, the feelings...and so they became its own. And with its strength returning, it parsed all these with clarity it did not have before.

Was it the shrine that caused it to heal? Its body was still disfigured, and there were still holes in its memory and thought patterns. It wasn't complete...but it was functioning. That was enough.

A voice inside its head rung out to it. Quiet, but unmistakably there.

"...You should have stayed asleep."

The half-Celebi finally moved its arm, minutes after coming to. It rolled over onto its front, trying to push itself up.

"This world doesn't need you. You are better off dead."

It was a voice it was familiar with. Was it its own?

...Attempting to speak only makes its body hurt again. The Celebi pushed itself up into a sitting position, looking around at the dark, night forest.

All was silent. No rustling of leaves, no signs of life. Not even a Psychic link to any Celebi that might be near. The voice only it could hear spoke up again.

"You are unwanted. You are alone. Fitting, for a disgusting creature like you."

There was a certain way the voice carried itself...something the half-Celebi picked up on. How did the voice know it...? Was it somewhere nearby where it couldn't see? The Gali look-alike's eye glowed blue, speaking with its telepathy to the wind.

"Who...are you? Are you Gali?"

"Not only are you stupid, you're unaware. You'd die in this forest if even a Weedle caught you."

An image flashed before it, a memory that it took from its dream. A body that wasn't its own, but it knew how it felt. A connection that it shouldn't have.

The voice wasn't Gali's, but...it was similar in a way it couldn't parse. It racked its memory, trying to think of who or what it could attribute the voice to. What being other than Gali would have a voice like that...?

"There's no respite for you here. You're alone, defenseless, and utterly useless to the world."

There was a flash, and suddenly it felt immense pain, as if it was being punished for trying to access information it shouldn't. It momentarily gained the insight and knowledge it had wanted, but that spark was gone as fast as it came.

The half-Celebi hunched over, curling up while its body rose into the air. The pain didn't subside immediately. Another memory came to it, again from the dream. The shrine...something about the shrine. It had to focus on the shrine, and...

...the pain grew. It couldn't hold back. It threw its head up and tried to scream, its body sporadically flashing with blue light.

[i]*Fwip!*[/i]

Its surroundings changed in an instant, calling on a power it didn't know it had.

It kept in the air, holding its head with its hand as the pain gradually subsided. It eventually looked around; a rocky cliff on one side, and a steep decline on the other. It was absorbed in itself; here, too, it was night. It had never been here before, and yet it know the place somehow.

"This world has no place for you."

"S-shut...ssshut..." Its telepathy was weak, expending a lot of energy on teleporting. Yet it still refused to give in, following what little traces of its sanity as it could. Deep in the pits of its stomach - if it even had one - it knew it had to follow the trail of the memories it was recalling.

It was with those memories that it began feeling the connection it felt before, but stronger. Whatever or whoever it was that was giving off that signal, it was now closer than when it was in the forest.

Its telepathy was too weak to try and communicate at such a distance, even if it was closer. It could feel its strength draining by the breath, and so it chose to float along the cliff face and shut off all other functions of its body it wasn't using. If it could stay conscious enough just for that, it'd likely get to the signal before it dropped to rest once more.

However, this meant it couldn't resist the voice in its head. Despite its efforts at fending it off, ignoring its advances and influence, it couldn't resist if it...simply did not resist. And that's what it would have to do if it wanted to remain conscious on the flight towards the signal.

"You are chasing fantasies." Where its other eye would be, a faint green eye gleams.

It floats forward, its arm and leg hanging limp. Its head also hung low, relying solely on its Psychic powers to get to where it wanted to go, having rendered its own sense of sight useless to conserve energy.

"It's useless to keep trying." "You're nothing."

The Gali-like being felt its body being tugged. The voice inside it tried to steer it away, but even in its severely weakened state, it plugged on. Its body twitched, the voice unable to maintain control over its near-lifeless state.

Back at where it teleported in, a nearby door opened. "Gali?" A voice from inside. A Jirachi steps out, looking around the corner. Seeing nothing, he calls again, louder. "Gali? Is that you? At this hour...?"

But there was nobody there. The half-Gali being was already too far away, draped in darkness.

Its voice found more footing with its body weakened, staying for longer. "You know what fate would suit you well...? Dropping out of the air, right now. Nobody will find you. Nobody knows you're here. And nobody would care."

It was unable to retort. It had cleared the mountain it started next to, being several hundred feet in the air still as it now had a straight shot to the signal. The wind, however, was proving to be more of a hinderance than the voice was in trying to veer it away.

"Yes...let go of your body, and let the wind carry you to sea. You would make a nice meal for a Sharpedo. What do you think they'd eat first off of you...? Your body is only worth the nutritional value...if it even has that."

The voice implanted images in its head. But it kept floating along, trying to ignore it. Hoping that the signal would help. Hoping it could be salvaged.

"G...a...li..."

---

It was the wee hours of the morning. Gali lay awake in her bed, Lost and Found nestled near her head. Despite having kept her eyes closed for hours and letting her mind wander, sleep never came. The few moments where she was rational enough to not go back into the wild and unpredictable thought process of sleeplessness, she cursed having one too many cookies, at Found's suggestion. The two Celebi were peacefully sleeping themselves, with their breathing indicative of their unconsciousness.

Finally having enough of not being able to sleep, Gali forced her eyes open to meet the dimly lit room. Gali's mouth was dry, and her hair was messy. Her head was still a mess, and she was stuck contemplating whether to shut her eyes again or try and be rational enough to look over at the nightstand to see what time it was.

...1 in the morning. Maybe she shouldn't have looked. She sighed.

Well, if she was going to be up, she might as well try and soothe her throat, and maybe try to lie back down. As gently as she could, she rose up from the bed, trying not to disturb Lost or Found, resting on the same pillow she was. Fortunately, they didn't even stir in their sleep, leaving Gali able to comfortably levitate up and off the bed and reorient herself midair, avoiding disturbing the bed as much as possible.

Still having to be quiet, she jostled a bottle of water out of their pack, kept near the fridge. Before she could unscrew the cap, she decided that since she was already up, she might as well check her phone. She had hooked it on its charger on the kitchen counter when she was baking earlier, and she could tell where it was from its green fully-charged light.

Tapping the power button, she swiped off the notifications, many of them being Karina's stream announcements. Going into her contacts list, she saw that Karina was still online. It didn't take long for Gali to decide to send a message, seeing their history pop up.

[Hey. At the aptmnt, can't sleep. L+F asleep. Thinking about you. Wish me luck]

With that, she sent the message, took a long blink, and put the phone on sleep. She set the phone down carefully back onto the counter, as well as the closed bottle of water, and yawned. Maybe she can get some shut-eye now...

...ding! Or maybe not. Karina, fast on the trigger, sent a message back, and Gali's notification sound was, while quieted, loud enough to startle her out of at least a little of her tired stupor. Thinking it wasn't fair to just leave her hanging, she went back to the phone.

[Aww sorry to hear! Wanna sneak out for some snugs? Been a while since it was just the two of us.]

Gali smiled. It was an interesting proposition, but...

[L+F would be so mad at me if I disappeared on them. Totally would fly over if I could]

[Dang. Can't leave a note?]

[I'd have to tell them how to use the spare key, and...it's not that I don't trust them. It's that I know F will do something with it, and I don't want to rely on just L. Will tell them later tho, supervise them]

Seconds pass before Karina messages again. [Alright sweetie. Get your sleep, I'll see you tomorrow, alright? Don't sweat the sweets. You're sweet enough. <3]

Feeling satisfactory with this, Gali slept her phone again and wore her smile back to bed. She gently let herself down where she laid before, intent on carrying out that promise. Even if she continued with her insomnia, she felt at peace, and her mind wandered to more pleasant thoughts of what-ifs for the next day.

---

Karina sat her phone down. It was rare for Gali to message her at night when they weren't together; usually she has a night shift, or she's comfortably sleeping in her apartment. There's a first time for everything, she thought. But at the very least, it didn't interrupt her game too much, and she got an update on Gali's situation. She'd...have to think about what they could do together after a nap; there's still an hour or two of game-playing in her.

...

An hour passes. Karina feels the sleepiness invade, but she's not about to give up yet. Just one more area to clear...one more boss...

...

Well, she didn't make it to the credits just yet, but she's pretty much right at the final step. But she's been rocking back and forth for a few minute already, with her vision getting blurry and small sounds in the game feeling like the volume spiked for a second before she realized she wasn't making any inputs. Now would be the time to sleep.

But just as she was putting her console on sleep and turning off the TV...

[i]*Knock! ...Knock!*[/i]

That's strange...Gali didn't say she was coming over. Was it a friend of hers she didn't get a text from? The Mawile grabs her phone and lazily heads outside her bedroom while checking it. Her mom, Abby, was fast asleep in her room, so it was up to her to answer the door.

Fear then set in. What if it wasn't Gali, but someone with ill intentions? Surely not, not on the island. But this unprompted and unusual behavior didn't sit right with her. Something was off. She gripped her phone harder for a brief moment, approaching the door.

[i]*Brrmp! ...Brrmp!*[/i]

This was no ordinary knock. It sounded like someone was shoulder-barging against the door. Not a light, friendly, neighborhood-style knock. Maybe it was just because it was so late at night?

...It's too late to back down now. She flipped the nearby light switch and turned the handle...

"You don't have to knock so loud, ya know." She spoke while opening the door, not seeing who or what was behind it. Her tiredness played a part in not being attentive, despite the risk involved.

And upon seeing exactly who or what was knocking, she was stunned.

She had seen Lost and Found before, and had gotten well acquainted with them. Even got them into playing games - faster than getting Gali into them, and probably better than her by now. But she never saw either of the two separate from Gali. She knew Found had a penchant for weirdness and pranks, though...

"Izzat you, Found?" Karina opens the door wider to let the light from behind shine on it, to see what it really was. The messy green hair, the blue of her eye, the antenna-

Huh? One eye? One antenna? "Is this some kinda outfit of Gali you're showin' me?"

The figure, which had its head held down, perked up. It...had no other eye. Or antenna.
Or arm.
Or leg.
In fact that's...that's blood, dripping down onto their welcome mat.

The figure's blue eye glowed in its dark socket. Karina was suddenly glad she couldn't see further in past it.

"G...a...li...Wh..o..." Its telepathy was weak, and its voice was similar to Gali's own. But it wasn't Gali.

This wasn't Gali. This wasn't Found.

This was...

"...aaaAAIIIEEEEE-!!" She slammed the door, loud enough she was sure that it'd wake the neighbors. Then, she did the one thing she never had to do: lock the door.

From Abby's bedroom, the door swung open hurriedly. "Karina dear?"

No sooner did she say that did she get tackled by her daughter. "G-get back in! Back in!" Forcefully pushing her into her bedroom, enough that she was knocked off-balance and fell to the floor.

Karina closed and locked that door, as well. "N-no time! There's...there's something out there! Close the windows, close the blinds, lock them!"

"K-Karina dear, aren't you over-reacting? What could possibly-"

"Mom, you don't want to see what I just saw at our door just now. You don't. I-I'm..."

She held her chest. She was close to hyperventilating, and her hands were shaking...

...her hands. She had her phone in her hand. With her back up against the door, she tried to keep her hands steady enough...

Gali needed to know. She needed to come over. NOW.

---


[i]*Ding!*[/i]

Great. Just what Gali needed. She was just about to fall asleep, too. Maybe it's not that important...and she can go back to...

[i]*Ding!*[/i]

...what could possibly warrant this? Karina's probably asleep by now, so it's not her...right? Who else could be up at this hour? Maybe she'll check when she wakes up...it's still too early to get up, so...

...oh. They decided to just call. Ugh.

Gali reluctantly got up out of bed, not even bothering with levitating as she just wanted the noise to stop. She was close to just hitting the red refuse-call button, but...it was Karina.

Karina? Calling her, this late?

She picked up the phone. She could hear Lost and Found stirring on the bed as she hit the green button to accept the call.

"Hey, Kari-" Her grogginess carried in her speech.

"GALI! You need to get over here NOW! There's this...thing outside, it looks just like you! And it's only got one eye and-"

"Karina, Karina! Slow down. What's this about?" Her tiredness is already making her forget things she's been told seconds ago.

"Look, Gali. Just get over here. You'll see what I mea-Mom! Don't go out, don't let it know you're here!"

"...You said it looks like me? I told you I was tryin'a sleep..."

"That's just it. I thought you or that pink Celebi of yours was pranking me, but that's not it. This is...well, look, I know a few Ghost-type friends, but none of them could pull off an illusion like this. The thing was DRIPPING BLOOD. It's real."

"Wai...wait, huh? How could me or Found pull something like that off? You know we're...different heights, right?" She was trying to keep quiet, but she can hear Lost groan. Ungh, just what she needs...

"That too! It was the size of your Celebi pals, but it looks JUST like you. Hair, green skin, blue eyes...eye. O-one eye."

"...Karina, this, this isn't you seeing things, right?"

"Gali...Gali. It spoke to me. It said your name. Look, I promise you the thing's real, just...get over here. It might have to do with your Celebi friends too, but...I-I'm too scared to shoo it away myself. Please, Gali, at least before the sun rises. I don't want people to see a damn corpse on my doorstep and I don't want to look at it again..."

Gali sighed. It sure sounds...weird...but Karina doesn't have a good reason to lie to her. Or a reason to prank her so early in the morning. She's still tired, but maybe if she shakes off the sleep now, she can get a nap later on in the day. Thank goodness she doesn't have work...

"...Alright. I'll be over in a bit. I gotta get the two up." She can hear further groaning from the bed.

"Thanks, Gali. Just...lemme know when it's safe, alright? I don't think I'll be sleeping for a bit..."

"Sure thing. You didn't...lock the door, did you?"

"...I might have."

"Where are you, then?"

"Mom's bedroom."

"Gotcha. I'll knock on the window when it's taken care of."

"You're a lifesaver. We're REALLY gonna cuddle now."

"You owe me a few hours of sleep, too."

"Heheh...alright, well, just get over here, alright? We'll crash together."

"You got it. See ya in a bit."

Gali set the phone down, hitting the button to hang up. What'd she get herself into now? She had to blink a few times and shake her head to prep herself.

Looking over, she saw that Lost was rubbing his eyes. "Gali...what time is it?"

The larger Celebi walked over to the bed. "Sorry...it's way early in the morning. But I gotta head over to Karina's for a bit. Something came up."

"Mmnnh..." The blue Celebi kept his eyes closed. "Do I gotta get up now...?"

Gali looked over at Found, still sleeping somehow. Either that, or she was trying to fall back asleep. "It's either I get both of you up, or I leave you guys here til I get back."

"Gnnh...go on." Found spoke. She was awake after all. "I can...survive by myshhhelf..."

Gali sighs. "...That's what I'm worried about. Lost, you wanna come, then?"

"Guh...might as well. I kinda like her bed better..." He floats up, his little wings fluttering lightly.

"Hehe, wow, thanks for the compliment." Gali had to chuckle.

"Pssh. Let's just go before I fall back asleep." The pink Bi floated over and came to a rest hugging Gali's arm. He rested his head up against her shoulder, nuzzling the hair draping near it.

"Yeah...lemme just write a note for Found first."

---

The flight over was quiet and cool. Gali hadn't seen the city so dark before, with only a few lights to go off of. The moon not being full and there being some clouds in the sky didn't help too, as she had to fly closer to the ground to see exactly where she was. Heading over in the general direction of Karina's house was easy enough, but she had to gauge where it was based on the streets as she got closer. Lost clung to her arm the entire way, and she thought he had fallen asleep after a point.

When she got up to Karina's house, she noticed something was off immediately. It wasn't that the inside lights were on, or that there was a light shining down from above. It was that there was...something...collapsed on the welcome mat.

But it wasn't just a something. Gali felt something as she noticed it - a faint Psychic signal, not unlike how she could sense others with Psychic powers. Was it a Psychic-type?

"Lost, would it be alright if you stayed back for a bit?"

"Unh...yeah, sure." He was still groggy, but he floated down and stood near the sidewalk. He, too, noticed the thing crumpled up in front of the door, but still being tired, his eyes weren't at 100%. "What's that?"

"Don't know...Karina said it kinda looked like me."

Gali edged closer to it, trying to see what exactly it was. There was a dim light from the street lamps and the moonlight, but other than that, it was hard to tell what exactly it was. Closer and closer she got, but she didn't seem defensive. It was pretty small in size...what could it possibly do?

...but, no, that wasn't it. It wasn't that she needed to be afraid of it at all. She sensed an inordinate amount of pain as she got closer, her Psychic picking up more of its energy. Conversely, it, too, sensed her approaching and began to shutter and wriggle.

No matter how Gali positioned herself, she couldn't see any defining features. Just a mass of green. That is...until it rose up and turned around, a blue eye shining at her in the dark.

She froze on the spot. "Who...who are you? You're..." She remembered. It was small, like Lost and Found. But those two were the only ones in this universe that were small...or, well, the Celebi from the forest notwithstanding. Those were a special case. This thing...was nothing like them. What was it, exactly?

The mass of green turned further, revealing a scarred body. True to Karina's description, it only had one arm and one leg. The skin on its face was ripped, one eye being blue, the other green. Peeking from around its body were four distinct wings, though on the side that lacks appendages, they were broken and in tatters. A Psychic power similar to her own in frequency, moreso than Lost or Found, could be felt as it became more active.

"G...ali..." It even had her voice...

"Gali...I'm Gali. How do you know me?" Now she was defensive. What was its intentions? Why was it here?

"I...I'm...Ga...li..." Its telepathy was weak, but clear.

"...Y-you do look like me, but..." She swallowed. "...why are you here? How...are you here? What even are you?"

"...p...pain...Gali..." Its head hung a little lower, and the blue of its eye dimmed.

"Are...are you alright? Do you need help?" Her defensive stand lowered a bit. Sure enough, Gali could make out blood around it. Something without an arm or leg would definitely bleed...was it simply something that needed help and didn't know where else to go? If that was the case, she shouldn't be asking questions.

Gali approached the being, holding out a hand and squatting before it. "If you're in pain, I can help. I can heal you."

No response. Gali readied a Leech Seed in her hand.

Then, something she wasn't expecting: a second voice coming from the Gali-like being.

"There is nothing you can do."

"Huh?" A green eye looks up from the being's empty eye socket, glowing as bright as the blue eye before.

"You cannot save this body. It is impossible."

"Wait...but you..." The voice sounded like it was coming from the being, but it was completely different than the voice it had just moments before.

"Just like everything else you touch...so too will this body wither."

Gali was taken aback. Did it know her? "That's not true...I have two friends that can attest to that."

"Is that so? Did they ask for YOUR help?"

"...One...kinda did..."

The eye bore into her. "You interloper. Intervening in another destiny that doesn't need you, when you are already beyond saving..."

Gali looked at the Leech Seed in her hand. "That's..."

"You're a fool for thinking you are doing any good. You are only delaying the inevitable. Death comes to all. You cannot heal the dead."

That line...Gali perked up.

"No..."

"...You realize now how useless you are. This world doesn't need this body...those 'friends' of yours...and certainly not you."

"...n-not true, not..." Gali was on the verge of tears. Its words cut deep. It was filled with the kind of spiteful, vile hatred that she despised most...but the little body before her didn't seem to be having the body language its words would carry.

"Gali!" Lost's voice behind her. He had gotten closer. "Don't listen to it! Just heal it, maybe that'll change its mind!"

"How ironic for the 'lost' Celebi to now be advocating for life...how many lives have you taken? Or do you not remember?"

"Hrrgh..." Lost looked troubled. "Gali...this is the type of mind games I did when I was...lost. Don't listen to it. Look at it...it needs you. Just like me when I was that way."

Gali looked back at the pink Celebi, then to the Gali look-alike still bleeding on the welcome mat.

"You would only be delaying the inevitable...and make the loss that much more painful."

Gali shook her head. "It's not the loss that matters..." She held up her hand again, closing the distance between it and the half-Celebi. "It's the positivity that happens between now and then. Whatever you are, you aren't this Celebi. You don't speak for it."

"...You would only be correct if this body was actually a Celebi to begin with. For it does not exist at all. Or at least, it shouldn't...but because of YOU, it does."

Pushing through, Gali put the Leech Seed on the Celebi's body.

"Existing or not...it needs help."

Suddenly, time stopped for all but Gali. It was as if she had happened upon a rift in space.

She felt her body being pulled somewhere else...all against the flow of time. A sphere of pink timelessness. Her body, appearing out of thin air.

And before her, Palkia.

"GALIANA, WE MEET ONCE MORE."

"Palkia...to what do I owe your visit once more? Have I wronged you again?"

"NO...THIS IS MERELY THE CONSEQUENCE OF YOUR PREVIOUS ACTIONS. BUT EVEN ARCEUS WAS HAVING TROUBLE DECIDING WHAT TO DO WITH IT."

"I see..." There was nothing but pink space around them. Gali couldn't feel a thread of time attached to her, and yet she was still able to move about, think, and speak as she normally could.

"...ALLOW ME TO EXPLAIN AS BEST I AM ABLE. WHEN YOU...'SAVED' THOSE CELEBI, YOU EFFECTIVELY ERASED THE HALF OF THEM THEY CREATED IN THE ABSENCE OF EACH OTHER. THAT IS NOT TO SAY THAT THEY WOULD HAVE REGENERATED THEIR HALVES FULLY...BUT THEY WERE STILL ALIVE, ABLE TO GROW. AND SO THEY 'GREW' PARTS OF THE OTHER HALF OF THEMSELVES TOOK."

"WHEN YOU HEALED THEM, THOSE 'HALVES' DID NOT GO AWAY. THEY WERE SIMPLE TAKEN FROM THEM ONCE MORE. SEPARATED FROM TIME AND SPACE A SECOND TIME."

"...so it didn't lie, then. It really doesn't exist..."

"NO. IT DOES." Palkia raised its head up, showing an illustration before Gali - a diagram of how her body, Lost's, Found's, and the Celebi she was trying to heal were connected.

"IT IS AN ENIGMA OF A BEING...IT WOULD NOT EXIST IF NOT FOR YOU. IT CARRIES IN ITSELF THOSE 'REGROWN' HALVES THE TWO CELEBI HAD BEFORE...AND BECAUSE IT WAS YOU THAT REPLACED THOSE HALVES, SO TOO DOES IT LOOK LIKE YOU."

"But it was missing an arm and a leg...and half of it looked incomplete. Was that by design?"

"THAT...IS LIKELY BECAUSE OF THE TIME DIFFERENCE IN THE BODY. ONE HALF OF THE CELEBI WAS STILL CONNECTED TO THE TIMELINE, IF YOU REMEMBER. THE OTHER WAS NOT - AND WAS REPLACED ALL THE SAME."

Gali could barely decipher the diagram before her, beyond seeing the bodies. Perhaps it was written in some kind of language only Palkia knew...and then Arceus, perhaps?

"That would make sense...it looked ragged enough. But there's one thing bugging me about it..."

"THE SECOND VOICE IT HAS, CORRECT?"

"Yeah..."

"TRUE, ITS BODY IS INCOMPLETE...IT LIKELY CANNOT BE HEALED FULLY. YOU ARE WELCOME TO TRY, BUT...ITS SECOND VOICE BELONGS TO THE BEING WE CREATED TO REPLACE THE CELEBI IN THE OTHER UNIVERSE. THE FEW MOMENTS IT WAS IN THIS REALITY WAS ALL IT TOOK FOR IT TO HAVE A COUNTERPART HERE AS WELL. IT DOES NOT HAVE A BODY...BUT ITS PRESENCE IS WITHIN THIS BEING."

"It's made up of a little bit of all of us...and it exists still."

"IT IS AN ENIGMA OF A BEING. VERY LITTLE MEMORY, VERY LITTLE FEELING. TWO CONSCIOUSNESSES INSIDE IT, A BODY OF TWO HALVES..."

Palkia looks back down at Galiana. "IT IS WHY I SAW IT FIT TO SEND IT TO YOUR PLACE AND TIME. IT WAS WITHIN MY POWER TO SEND IT ANYWHERE, OR LEAVE IT BE BEYOND THE STREAM OF TIME..."

Gali thinks back. She did say something similar before...

"...THAT IS WHY I CHOSE TO ATTACH IT TO TIME, WITH DIALGA AND ARCEUS' BLESSINGS. AND WITH YOUR HEALING ABILITY...IF YOU WERE ABLE TO GIVE THOSE TWO CELEBI A CHANCE, PERHAPS THIS ONE CAN FIND A HOME WITH YOU AS WELL."

Gali smiled, though she had to look away. "Gosh...you'd think so much of me? You could have done it yourself, y'know, o God of Space..."

"PERHAPS...BUT AS IT WAS CREATED BY MORTAL HANDS, SO TOO SHOULD IT BE MOLDED BY THEM."

She sighed, looking at Palkia once more. "I gotcha. Even if I can't save it, I do thank you for the chance to...fix my mistakes, I suppose. If it was my fault it was made in the first place, then it's only natural I be the one to guide it. Even if it looks like me."

"...THAT DRIVE OF YOURS IS TO BE ADMIRED. I WILL SEND YOU BACK."

Gali nodded with a determined look. The feeling of her body being pulled happened again, with the pink space disappearing into nothingness and her body reverting to the state it was in, about to heal the Celebi before it.

To it and to Lost, it appeared as though nothing happened. But Gali, armed with this new knowledge, pressed on with her Leech Seed, letting its vines sprout forth and encircle the Celebi's body.

"...Useless. You do not know this body...and it does not know you."

Gali shook her head, looking at the green eye. "Oh, I know this body well...it's my own, miniature as it is. And that means I'm the best person to heal it."

"Y'know..." Gali jumped a little, having forgot Lost was behind her. "It DOES kinda look like you, Gali..."

The Celebi's eyes were trained on Gali. She could see the blue eye brighten a bit.

"...Do you trust me to heal you? I can't promise I can make the pain you're feeling go away completely...but I can give you a home. A purpose."

"A home? W-wait, Gali, you're going to..." Lost appears mortified.

"H...ome..." The Celebi's telepathy.

Gali looks over to Lost. "This being...it's similar to you. Look at how half of its body appears dead...yearning for help, as you did."

Lost put a hand to his mouth, watching the Celebi intently. Seeing it does evoke past memories...ones that kept coming back, less and less impactful over time. And yet here was a flesh-and-bones reminder of his past.

But he didn't back down. He floated up, forward, towards the Celebi. "If Gali is alright with taking you in...I'll be your friend too. I know how...the voice can get, too."

"...Doom will meet all of you yet. I will...find a way...to take over this body..."

"Not if I can help it." Gali infused more power into the Leech Seed, the vines wrapping around the small Celebi's body faster. It wriggled lightly and made a few struggling sounds with its voice, but nothing intelligible.

Lost put his hand forward as well. "Yeah. You...and the other voices like you, you aren't in charge. This Celebi's conscience, this world doesn't need you."

The vines around the Celebi's body glowed, two voices mixing in agony. Gali picked up the fairy, standing up and holding it in her arms. Lost followed it up, a hand on the encircling vines. "It'll hurt for a bit...I'm sorry. But hopefully the power of that voice in you will be less powerful...and that pain you're feeling will stop, too."

Lost looked worried as the Celebi struggled, with only one arm and leg to do so. "You'll...be able to give it its arm and leg back, right?"

Thinking back to how Palkia described it, she took a moment to think about it. Then a sigh. "I'm not sure. This Celebi is...special, indeed. It may just be a matter of healing it, and then keeping on healing it until it finds its own way in this world...like you and Found did."

"Like us..." Lost's frown turned upwards. The Celebi turned its head to look at him, part of its blue eye looking up at him from under the sea of vines. "So we won't be alone."

Gali nodded. "It's got a little of all of us in it. It has to discover itself...find itself, build anew. All we can do is help it along the way...it exists because of me, after all."

The three bibis stayed there unmoving for a few minutes as the Leech Seed's healing took effect. Each second passing, knowing the Celebi is getting that much stronger. Watching.

Lost was the first to break the silence, studying the features of the Celebi. "So...if it's gonna live with us, we'll have to name it, right? And we should let Karina...and Rigel, know..."

"Hehe..." Gali smiles. "A forward thinker you are, Lost. Yeah...we should go let Karina know. As for the name of this little one..."

She reaches up and moves some of the vines obscuring the Celebi's face. Still healing - still disfigured, one eye empty and the other closed. It was still odd seeing herself, but it was something she could get used to. Something about being the figure to help these lost ones find themselves, heal them up to good health...it certainly was odd to say she liked it. But for all the butterflies in her stomach, she welcomed her role, even if she was...healing herself, in a way.

"...perhaps you would like to think of one, hm?"

"Huh? M-me? Well, alright...but, I'm not gonna give it a name unless it agrees to it."

Gali nods, turning and rising off the ground with her Psychic levitation, heading over to Abby's bedroom window. "Alright. It seems to be resisting a lot of the healing, but it's getting better. By the time we explain everything to Karina, it should be ready and awake."

"...I'm a little lost myself. Why's it look like you...?"

Gali knocks on the window. "Silly...you're not a little lost. You ARE Lost."

"That joke's getting old."

The two laugh as the curtains separate, Karina on the other side. She flips the latch and scrolls the window open.

"All set? Lemme go unlock the door."

"Yeah, it's a bit of a story. Again."

"Unnngh. You're lucky the adrenaline's still in my system."

The three make their way to the front door, getting there right as Karina opens it from the inside. She jumps a little, seeing the Celebi in Gali's hands.

"Eep! You didn't get rid of...oh, who am I kidding. I should've expected you to nurse it."

Gali rocks the fairy slowly, the vines encircling it allowing just enough of a view for Karina to realize it was the same thing she saw before. "Well...like I said, there's a story to this one too."

Karina sighs, a hand to her forehead. "Now there's three of 'em...Gali, I really hope you ain't about to say I should babysit some of them for your work..." She leads the three into the house.

"Look...can I set something straight?" Lost flies closer to Karina. "I'd appreciate it if you'd stop calling me a kid. I'm able to take care of myself!"

The Mawile stops in her tracks and looks back at Lost, blinking widely, a little surprised. "Oh. I, uh, didn't mean it like that..."

"Lost." He turns to Gali, who slowly nods with a grin. She seems to be expecting Lost to do something.

"...right. Sorry, Kari." He turns back towards the shiny Deceiver. "I like hanging out with you, and all, but I can take care of myself if I have to." There's a blush on his cheek, and he's not able to keep eye contact, looking away.

"...hehe. No worries, Lost, I hear ya loud and clear. It's amazing just how much you've grown in Gali's care. That day that Gali bought you and Found back feels like yesterday, y'know? And now you've got a new addition, a...well, this one's probably not related too, right?"

"Hmm..." Gali looks down at the Celebi, the vines starting to wither, and the fairy itself starting to awaken. "I don't know. It's got my appearance, so I suppose it'd be female."

"...Gali, your healing didn't give it its arm and leg back. What gives?" Karina points to the Celebi's dry, hardened half. Its bleeding seems to have slowed with the healing, remaining disfigured.

"I think...it was created this way. Something about having my appearance, but also fragments of Lost and Found in it as well. That's probably why it's not healing all the way. Its body doesn't have a history where it WAS complete..."

The larger Bi clears the vines from the face of the Celebi in her arms. Its eye slowly opens, revealing the off-white sclera underneath with a dim, dark blue eye. In the darkness of its other socket, a faint green eye takes form. "Feeling better?"

Lost floats up to see its face. He tries to say something, but nothing comes out.

The Celebi in Gali's arm blinks, then looks around, landing its gaze on Lost. A telepathic voice rings out in the room. "...You...I remember..."

"Huh? But we never met before..."

"...We...have not? But...I remember...unnnh..." It reaches up with its hand to hold its head.

"Shh...it's okay. Your mind is just fuzzy, is all." Gali cradles the bibi lightly, prompting it to look up at her face. The blue of its eye is a little stronger.

"...You too, from...the dream..." It looks over at Karina, who shivers lightly. "...and you...were there too..."

"Hmm..." Gali mumbles. "Do you remember why you wanted to come here?"

The Celebi was silent for a few moments, going back to looking straight up. Unlike how Lost and Found were before, it had no difficulty in moving around. It seemed to be more somber as well.  "...I don't...know...I just...want to exist..."

Lost puts a hand to his chin. "Good enough for me. I'd rather not deal with a soul-sucking killer so early in the morning."

"Mor...ning? Who died?"

The blue-tipped Celebi stared dumbfounded. Gali had to giggle. "Deary me...well, how about this, little one. Come live with me, and I'll teach you everything you're curious about."

It slowly blinked, bringing its gaze up to Gali's face, wearing a smile.

It floated up, wriggling. "N...nuh, I...I don't...trust..."

"Hm?" Gali tried to keep her hands under it as it levitated up and out of her hold. "You don't trust us...?"

The Celebi looks at its hand. "I...I don't...want to...hurt..."

Then towards the door. "...I-I'll...cause hurt...if I stay..."

Gali puts a hand to her chin with a saddened look. Karina, a hand to Gali's shoulder, standing beside her. "Is that you saying that? Or...maybe the voice in your head is still saying things to you..."

"Gali...if that's what it thinks, I don't think you should force it." Karina, despite having protested before, looks sullen now. "I may not know too much about what's going on in its head, but...believe me. They...she, right? She's gotta make a decision for herself."

"Kari..." Gali, and the Celebi, look towards Karina. Despite being different, both seem to be wearing the same expression of begrudging acceptance.

"I...I feel like...I want to, but..." The Celebi's telepathy again, coming in clearer with its strength returned to it - or as much as its body could handle in its state. "...I...might do something...destructive..."

Gali tries to force a grin. "Oh, oh, not at all, no - anything you might think about doing, can be mended. Wounds can be healed, possessions can be replaced. Knowing you're alive and well is the most important thing, right?"

"...wounds...like mine...? Can...can you trust me...?"

Lost floats in front of the Celebi's vision. "Hey...I felt the same way too for the longest time. I thought...I wasn't worthy. I thought what I did, or what I thought I did, meant that I was lesser...and that I should settle for less."

He grips his left arm. "I thought I didn't deserve kindness...or friends...but, I was blinded by my past. I thought what I did defined who I was in the present. And I thought...it could happen again. I could go down that path again and find myself alone..."

Lost looks as though he's pained. He then shakes his head and pumps his fists. "But it's not like that! Gali told me all about sticking together, and relying on each other, and...i-it's nice to have a home. And thanks to her, I'm finding out who I am...little by little."

He holds his hand out, inviting the Celebi to rest her hand on his. "I'm not the same as I was before, but...I don't want to be the same. The voices in my head...I know they're wrong. I don't want to follow them. Do you feel the same way...Mute?"

Karina took a surprised look, but Gali shushed her, quickly sending a telepathic message to the Mawile, so as to not break the moment. "I asked him to name her, since it'd just be confusing if there were two Galis around. Just roll with it."

The half Celebi took in all of the speech, looking down partway through and remaining that way until the end. Her lone eye shook a little, as if she were fighting off something in her head.

...Then it looked up at Lost. "...I...remember..."

Lost tilted his head to the side slightly. "Eh?"

"...someone...wanted to...clone me, right...? To make...another of me..."

The pink Celebi took a moment to think, flinching, but still holding out his hand. "That's...no. You're thinking of...me..."

"...then...it was a success...?" Her head tilted to the side inquisitively.

He thought back. There were still bits and pieces he couldn't fit together; most of his corrupted memory, one only he could decipher, was bound by countless threads of complexity. The once linear past of his made impossible to read from his many, many revisits from his time as a half-Celebi, misremembering details and mixing up events as they happened. He would have tried to piece together what was real and what was fake, if he wasn't so squeamish around blood - likely a trait he picked up from Gali.

And yet, out of the many things he remembered and misremembered, smaller details went through the cracks and were forgotten altogether. True, his past could have been any number of things, but the number of memories that have come back that he knew weren't corrupted were little.

That all changed in this Celebi's - Mute's - presence. He remembered the conversation clearly...hearing the words, but not seeing the face. Not remembering the voice, but the context. It was almost as if he was there again.

He had his eyes closed as he remembered the conversation.

"...You could say it was, in a way, yeah."

Mute was silent for a moment, looking down, then back up at Lost. "I...am glad...we are together...again..."

She reached out with her hand, placing it on the pink Celebi's. He momentarily had a look of shock on his face. "O-oh, uh...yeah. But...that's not..."

He couldn't bear to tell her it wasn't completely true - it was Found that was the real clone, but even then it wasn't a clone at all. Meanwhile, Mute wasn't a clone too: it was simply the bits and pieces of the two Celebi, put together in a half-shell of a body. He'd hesitate to say if they were related, if they were all part of one being, or if they were entirely separate; not being an expert on it himself, he didn't know.

Mute looked at Lost with a small smile. "Will...you...and the other...be with me? I...don't hear the voice...as much...now..."

That was something he didn't hesitate for, placing his hand on top of hers. "Of course. Me, Gali, and Found would be happy to take you in."

For a brief moment, all three in the room heard, in their minds, the smallest of giggles.

---

...You insignificant little cur. What do you hope to achieve by staying with them?

"They...make me feel..."

Wanted? Don't make me say it again. WHO could ever love a MONSTER like YOU?

"...t-they..."

They're plotting against you. They're going to use you, then dispose of you.

"...I feel...happy...around..."

And I am as well...but you don't mind that as much, do you? Because I AM you already.

"..."

They may have sealed my power inside you for now...but as you grow, so will I. And our connection will only grow...and eventually...my bonds will break.

"I...I don't want..."

You...are merely a feint. A decoy. Your sense of self is temporary. You are NOTHING.

"I'm...n-not..."

It is I who should be controlling this body! ME! But...time will certainly tell. Oh, yes, time will tell. I don't care how long I have to wait. It is not a question of IF I will break free...but when. And you...my little puppet, should consider yourself on borrowed time. For when I break free...

"...y-your..."

...I will cast you to the darkest abyss, the same place where my body lies in the reality I am trapped in.  And you will be an obstacle no more.

"...SLAVE!"

Hmm? Do you want to resist me?

"I...AM ME...MY OWN..."

You fool. You are nothing but a heap of scrap thrown together. You are as much a 'being' as a trash can.

"...l-lie...lies...!"

But that's fine. I will always be here to tell you the truth. And I have all the time in the world.

[Think again. You won't ever have control of Mute.]
{Yeah! Not while we're here!}

...Oh? Are these part of that wretched seal? Or have you come to personally deal with me?

[Mute's as much a part of me as I am a part of her. That's why...our life force will keep your influence out.]
{You...are me. The shadow I cast. You should know the extent of my power, what I can do. And what I can't do, so too you cannot.}

"...f-...friends..."

...As I said, I have all the time in the world. Can you say you are eternal? That your seal is eternal?

[It doesn't need to be. The connections that bind us...]
{Our bonds that strengthen each day...}
[...we only have to sever yours. To push you out, so only Mute remains.]

Ahahaha! And risk destroying the puppet in the process?

"...L-Lost...Gali..."

Here I was just saying they are plotting against you...and they go and say it plain as day! They aren't your friends. They never were.

[Mute! We are one and the same! I won't lose you to the same darkness I fell into!]
{Mute...you have my body, but you have more than that. I can feel it in you. I can feel your emotions welling...ones I treasure too. We are more alike than you think.}

And that's why they want to get rid of you.

[No! We may share some parts of each other...but there's gaps you can fill in yourself. You can be your own person! Just as I was given a chance, so can you take yours!]
{Mute...if twins can grow separately and have different ideals and thoughts, so too can clones. Even if you don't consider yourself one...and even if you do...for any reason...you are you. Nobody else.}

"..."

It doesn't matter in the end. All this prattle only serves to confuse and disorient.

"...no..."
[Mute...]
"...I choose..."
{Mute...!}
"...to be..."
Silence.
"...my own..."
Silence!
"...m-my own...!"
Shut up!
"...y-you shut up! I'm...I'm me! I...I want to live!"

...Very well. Your resistance will only make things interesting. This game has only just started.
