Chapter 5: Degeneration

Quinn watched his friend against the tree struggling to breathe. The stink of decay hung heavily over her, as her body struggled and faltered. Without hospital care, she would probably not last another night. As badly as Quinn wanted to, he didn't think he could bring her to a hospital. He wasn't entirely sure how his powers had worked the first time!

There are other Pokémon who can.

Quinn was not the only Celebi in existence, obviously. Maybe if he could get their attention, another one could help! I could go back to before the experiment and tell her to go home instead. Then she would never get irradiated in the first place.

Quinn didn't know if retrocausality really worked like that. For all he knew, this was the far future, and they would never see their own time again. Those questions could wait for after his best friend wasn't dying. Or… after the outcome was known.

"There's no human way to help you," Quinn finally said. "But maybe there's another kind of way. I'm going to go look for Pokémon to help."

She cracked one eye, watching him. Her reply wasn't even spoken out loud, but projected back to him in much the same way as he sent his words, along the connection he had already created. "You think you can find Xerneas in time? Will the deer listen to you?"

He shook his head once, and a flicker of his old amusement returned. "No way he's real! I don't mean myths, I'm looking for real Pokémon! Maybe I can get a real Celebi to notice me."

"Real," she whispered, out loud this time. "Sure, Quinn. I…" Then the sound stopped, returning to the faint thoughts in his head. "I want you to say goodbye before you go. In case I'm… not here when you get back."

"No." He floated right up to her, directly in front of her face. "This isn't goodbye, Avery. This is… hold on! For a little while."

His connection let him see other things, not just her direct thoughts. He felt her profound disappointment with him. She didn't say so, but Avery thought he was being a coward. He was running away so he wouldn't have to see her die. She didn't blame him for the accident, but she blamed him for this.

"No." He touched up against her cheek. "I don't know if I'm a real Celebi or not. But if I could bring us here, I can bring myself back to when you need me. I will find help, and I'll walk back into this clearing with them while you are still breathing. No matter how long it takes."

She tensed, apparently realizing that he had seen her thoughts. She touched his back with one hand, carefully avoiding those wings. He still needed those to stay airborne, after all. "If that's the plan, then… get out there. Fly off, so your future self doesn't run into you while you're leaving. That's where paradoxes come from, right?"

Among many other possibilities, yes. But somehow he didn't think she actually cared much about that. Now wasn't the time to get into a detailed explanation.

He floated away from her, before he could change his mind. He didn't leave that second though, because he had to find Sirius first. He floated over to the fox, keeping at eye level for him.

"Master?" The Braixen tilted his head to one side. "What do we do?"

Quinn pointed back at Avery. "Sirius, I… need to ask you to do something hard for me. But you've always been such a good Pokémon, I know you can do it now."

The fox looked serious, removing his trusty stick from his tail and gripping it firmly in one forepaw. "Whatever master needs, I can do. I won't fail."

Quinn faltered in the air. He nearly started crying, momentarily overwhelmed by the words. Not that he was the sort of person who was prone to tears. But maybe being a Pokémon was distorting his perception in that way too.

"I have to go looking for… help," he said, pointing backward at Avery. "I need to find another Celebi, so I can heal my friend. I won't be gone very long, but I need you to stay. Keep them both safe until I get back."

"Both…" he repeated. "Cat and master's female?"

Quinn smiled in spite of himself. Good thing Avery couldn't understand what this Pokémon was saying. She'd never been his female. If he couldn't fix this, maybe she never would be. "Yes. Find food if you can. Protect them from danger, because Avery can't move. She's stuck here, which means she needs someone to keep her safe."

"What about you?" The Pokémon reached with his other paw, nudging Quinn. "You are very small."

He was very small, and very vulnerable. If there were hostile wild Pokémon, they might treat him like a serious threat, when he didn't even know a single attack.

"They need you more than I do," he said. "If anything happens, I'll just fly away! I can do that now!"

The fox scratched under his chin with the stick, looking thoughtful. Finally, he nodded. "I do what master says. But after, master tells me why. Why fairy? Master should not be Grass. Grass burns."

Even the Pokémon was so much bigger than himself. But just like Avery, Quinn was brave enough to get close and touch his head. That fur was uncomfortably warm to the touch, at least there was no flame. He didn't burn.

"After, I will. Thank you, Sirius. I won't keep you waiting long."

Quinn didn't know where to go, any better than he had moments before. For all he knew, he would be flying out into the trees to get killed by dangerous Pokémon somewhere, and he would never see his friends again.

If that happened, he would deserve it more than Avery did.

Despite Sirius's warning, the forest did not seem so strange or frightening to him. The trees were tall and ancient, casting the floor below in shadow. It would be nicer to feel the sun on his skin, but this was nice too.

He couldn't be in danger here, his mind just wouldn't accept it.

Celebi are guardians of the forest. They belong up here. Now if he could just make for a convincing enough imitation of a real one, maybe he could get noticed.

If this was still Unova, that would make some things difficult. Everyone knew there was a Celebi out in Johto, but here?

It doesn't matter how long it takes. I'll fly back to her before it's too late, and help.

He would not think about any difficult questions in the meantime. Would she die and come back, or never die at all? If he tried to answer, the guilt might stop him long before he was able to help.

Flying did not wear out his feet the way walking did. There were muscles along his back where the wings connected, and maybe those would wear out. But far more than any of those, it was his focus he worried about. It took attention to keep Quinn in the air, deliberate intent to be where he was.

Shame he couldn't ask Avery about it—her entire field was about studying psychic powers and other things available to humans on the edge of ordinary ability. She had probably read and catalogued every piece of training material ever released by Gym Leaders or other people with the "Saffron mutation."

Interrogating her would have to wait for when she wasn't dying—all the more reason to look for help.

He wasn't sure how long he flew—long enough that the sun slowly tracked along the sky turning from bright yellow to faintly orange. He did his best to fly in one direction, though maybe that wouldn't even matter. He could extend his senses to find people hidden in the trees. After one brush against Avery's mind, he would recognize it instantly if he felt it again.

There were other Pokémon in the forest, of course. Many were quite a bit larger than himself, frightening Liepard and swarms of Galvantuala and other things.

Some didn't notice him at all, flying as he was through the trees at a height above where many Pokémon walked. Others did, but they offered only friendly greetings.

"Fairy is going somewhere!" said one large Yanma, changing direction to buzz along behind him. "Is it far? Is it safe?"

"I don't know," he answered. There was no time left to get caught up with the strangeness of his situation. He could understand the Pokémon, and he would use that knowledge for whatever benefit he could. "I'm looking for someone. Maybe you know where to find them?"

The Yanma looked thoughtful, tilting its head one way then twitching it back the other. Eventually, she did answer, her voice high and curious. "I know lots. What kind of bug are you looking for?"

He stopped in the air, facing the Bug-type. So long as he didn't let her see how intimidating this was, he should be fine… he hoped. He normally relied on Sirius to deal with wild Pokémon. "Like me? Another fairy?"

The bug tilted her head to one side, drooping a little in the air. "Never saw. Like you. Maybe others did. You want me to ask?"

There was no telling if she even understood what he was asking. He might be wasting time that Avery didn't have to waste. On the other hand, he'd been flying for a long time anyway, and it would be dark soon. He would need to rest.

Quinn landed on a nearby branch, then nodded. "If there are others you can ask. Can you find out and come back here to tell me? Anything like me… or anything just as weird!"

"For the fairy, I do," Yanma said. "Sound tired, you wait. Will be back." She turned, zipping away into the huge trees.

There was no telling where she'd gone after that. Was a Pokémon even intelligent enough to remember an instruction that long after he was gone? No one had trained this bug—he didn't even know what year it was.

A long way from when we left. He didn't know that for sure, but his instincts told him. The collider had taken decades to build, Aspertia wasn't that far from Blueberry. He had seen no hint of either one. How long ago had Unova been first settled, anyway?

He leaned sideways against the tree, finding a comfortable place to rest. Quinn was too desperate to be proud—he would have to trust the Pokémon, and hope for the best.

That stupid huge head was so heavy, and he'd been flying for such a long time. It wouldn't be that bad if he took a longer rest, would it?

The next thing Quinn knew was the sound of buzzing wings, and something jostling up against him on the branch. He opened both eyes, and nearly screamed—there was the huge face of a predator, about to rip him apart!

Its thoughts weren't angry, only… nervous? Worried? Despite its size, it felt more afraid of him than the other way around.

Then he remembered—he had smelled this bug before, and spoken with her too! He'd been waiting for her.

"Fairy, you're still here! I went far and asked many, I hope you are proud of me. Whole swarms went searching for you!"

He nodded, and took off. Not that he expected the bug to change its mind and eat him—but it was also a wild animal, not his best friend. It was more likely to attack him than Avery ever was. "I am very grateful," he said.

Keeping himself in the air was getting easier—or it was easier when he had something nearby to frighten him. "What did you find?"

The bug looked away from him. She drooped in the air a short distance, and her wings slowed. "Other bugs saw you in different places. But it was you, not a different fairy. Same one not what you needed."

"Yeah." His antennae slackened, and he started flying forward again, past her. "Thank you for trying, Yanma."

"Wait!" She chased behind him, keeping pace easily. But he still wasn't very fast, so it didn't seem to take her much effort. That probably meant he would be in serious trouble if something flying wanted to eat him—he wasn't fast enough to get away! "One found something. Kitten flying with… strange fairy. Stronger than you, I think! Big and important!"

Strange fairy. "Where?" It might be any number of ordinary Pokémon—but if there was even a small chance it was actually what he was hunting for…

"That way!" she pointed. "Not too far! Kitten was… bigger on the outside than the inside. Making fire. Smell for it?"

"Thank you, Yanma," he said, much more energetic this time. "If this works… I don't know how, but I'm going to find a way to make it up to you. One day."

The Yanma turned and watched him go with far greater enthusiasm. "Help your friend! Be careful with strange fairy when you go! Don't get hurt!"

Quinn didn't look back, leaning forward to focus on his rapid flight through the trees. Maybe asking Pokémon for help wasn't his best idea—but if he couldn't get some kind of intervention, Avery was dead for certain.

Please don't be some horrible monster that wants to kill me.