Chapter 64

Warmth and light surrounded her, and suddenly Hayden was somewhere nice. Green grass rolled over gentle hills, with a river running smoothly into a clear blue lake.

Warm air drifted through her fur, melting the snow still clinging to her pale dress. Even in the presence of this divine creature, Hayden couldn't help but relax, stretching her body into an arc and extending her tail all the way out. Her hair, unbound by many transformations, stretched out too, forming an unruly curtain behind her.

Liz circled once around her shoulder, still protectively close. Even resistant to the terrible cold, there was still a dangerous pokémon beside them. If those extended even half as far as legend suggested, there was no defense Hayden could make against a determined attack. The mythical pokémon could erase all her memories, and she was effectively powerless to stop it.

"Good, the others are coming." Uxie bobbed gently up and down beside her, as though drawn along the same pleasant currents of air that encircled her. From the soft yellow and gray fur covering its body, she could only assume it enjoyed the conditions as much as she did. "They will only be a moment. You may wash yourself while you wait, if you like. But be warned—the grass beneath your feet is holy ground."

Hayden winced, lifting an inch into the air so her toes no longer touched the floor.

The pokémon beside her giggled, brushing past Liz as it flew. As with all of the Unified pokémon, it had no particular fear of physical contact, or aversion to touching her. "And perhaps you should. You smell like you have been traveling wild for some time. You should drink this when you are finished—or perhaps before you begin."

Something floated towards her—a glass, narrow and thin. Liquid filled it, with chunks of fruity pulp suspended in the sugary nectar. Hayden took it in one hand, inhaled.

She knew the smell instantly, though she had only experienced it once. It was among the most delicious things she had ever experienced. Though when she drank it, she had also been told— "The mews told me not to drink this stuff, honored one. I'm supposed to bear children, and I can't if I'm not…"

The liquid inside was cold to the touch, somehow. She couldn't say how.

"Drinking alone does not grow your Unity, kitten. Unity is the product of understanding—perspective of two that is one. Spirit and body are changed together to one soul. You have experienced it already, and so will not change greatly. You are yet young, child. Too young to possibly understand the full depth of your daemon's experience. She does not understand it herself."

Hayden held the glass to her lips, running two fingers carefully along the rim. "I will obey. But I would be happier if you told me why."

Liz pawed at her shoulder, trying to silence her. But she was too slow, the words were already out. It might be less respect than such an honored creature was due—but if she didn't ask, her silence would itself be a deception.

Uxie didn't strike her down. She kept her eyes fixed on the glass, viewing the pokémon only as a reflection. Would that make a difference if such a powerful legendary decided to kill her?

Uxie laughed in response, high and energetic and inhuman. "Of course, kitten. If you do not, you would not endure the presence of all three. Why do you think my siblings and I retreat so far from the domain of your kind? But you have come seeking. Do you want your answers or not?"

Hayden drank. Not quickly—this was among the sweetest things she had ever tasted. If the ancient gods demanded she drink it, Hayden was going to enjoy it.

She tossed the empty glass aside after a few seconds, grinning wide. "That's… just as good the second time."

"That is reassuring. I had no desire to see blood beside this pool. You may wish to hang your clothing on that tree there. It will be waiting for you when you are finished."

She stumbled towards it, hurrying to obey. One leg shrank faster than the other, and she stumbled sideways. She would've toppled over completely but caught herself in the air.

It's happening faster this time, Liz observed, bobbing up and down in the space beside her. I don't think you'll make it.

She abandoned her struggling after a few steps, lifting high enough to keep the dress off the ground. She was already so small that it no longer wanted to hold onto her shoulders anyway. All she had to do was float out the bottom, leaving all the smaller bits of cloth behind in the same moment.

There's less to change this time.

Even up in the air, she felt a sudden crushing as the world around her expanded, and she sank down into the middle. Her tail got even bigger, and fur stretched over pale skin. That helped, though she still covered her chest with one arm. Until that arm changed to a paw and became too short to practically cover much of anything.

"You act as though there is anything about you I do not already know," Uxie said, with the same patronizing amusement they always radiated. "But if it makes you feel better, keep the dress on. I know my siblings could use more joy in their lives. The kitten in human clothing!"

Liz caught her out of the air, nuzzling up against her. For a few seconds Hayden remained suspended there, relaxing against the familiar touch of one she trusted absolutely. She might not be used to her daemon's great size, but that was incidental. She still knew every inch of the kitten beside her, just as Liz knew her. In many ways, the pokémon changed quite a bit less than Hayden.

"Kitten of no season is here?" someone asked, nudging against her with a paw. Hayden looked up and found a creature floating there—blue this time, instead of yellow. Water dripped down its coat, as though it had been entirely submerged only seconds before.

"Hello sister. You've come a long way. And a long time—should one so young be flying along that axis without supervision?"

In all the monuments and sculptures to these creatures, one thing they never seemed was particularly large. Only now they were, several times her size and just as long.

With most pokémon, Hayden no longer cared about their physical size. She knew perfectly well how little that meant about their true strength. But in this case, the difference was both.

At least she didn't start to suffocate the instant the transformation finished, unlike last time. Hayden had already been flying before it even began, already employing the technique Lord Moonstone taught her.

"Probably not," Liz answered, keeping her head bowed respectfully. Hayden did the same, keeping close to the other cat.

There was some strength in numbers. With two of them together, at least she wouldn't need to feel completely alone.

You never are, silly. I'm always with you.

She nudged the other mew, expressing affection in the simplest way she knew. "We had good reason!"

"Kittens again," said a third voice. It was at once different from the others, and also similar. "You know what they're like, Uxie. Emotions wild and unrestrained. Feel it… their incredible joy, crushing terror, growing apprehension. The air is saturated, like moisture after a storm."

Hayden spun slowly in place, looking around at the three pokémon. They surrounded her, floating roughly equidistant. They were only inches away—yet at her size, that was out of reach, a comfortable distance for a kitten.

"I'm sorry," she pleaded, keeping her head down. "We haven't come to… ruin anything for you. Just to ask for help. Advice maybe, or… something."

It was the pink one that spoke again. Mesprit, if she remembered her legendary lore. There was something sharper in their voice, less compassionate than Azelf. Or maybe they just didn't want to put up with an emotional child disrupting the serene calm of this sacred place.

"Here is your advice. Wash first. You stink!"

That advice came with more than words—a sudden shove of force pushed against them both. It increased gradually enough that it didn't actually hurt her. But Hayden could no more resist it than she could change what her mew body looked like.

Instead of fighting she clung on to Liz, gripping as tightly as she could with all four paws. Whatever happened to them up here would be okay, if only they didn't get separated.

They landed with a splash a few seconds later, landing in clear, cold water.

It washed over them both, carrying away the grime of travel, the smoke of campfires, and the mud of sleeping in the nest.

Hayden turned on her back, spreading her tiny limbs and looking up. Dozens of shapes moved in the water around her—truly wild water-types, who had never known a human. Was the same true of these guardians?

Liz nudged her upward, and the two finally broke the surface, floating above the clear lake. Liz exhaled a gentle breath of flame, heating the air in front of them. Hayden didn't know how to do the same, but she didn't have to. She just floated close by, warming herself in the heat.

It worked, though it also puffed up her fur, expanding it until she had apparently doubled in size. The same thing happened to her daemon, but Liz was expecting it. She stretched out towards Hayden, waiting for her helpful human to brush her fur back under control.

Sorry Liz, Hayden thought, defeated. I'm right there with you.

What would Mom say if she saw me here? Hayden wondered, flying closer. Her family loved her dearly, they wanted to support her—yet their world was so radically different from her own. They could never even imagine being in this position. She was a pokémon, facing a trio of divine creatures with a thousand different ways to kill her.

What was she supposed to do now, give up?

"We know why you're here, of course," Uxie said, their eyes still closed. Maybe that was why they didn't giggle at her appearance like the other two. "We knew someone would be."

"Of course it would be a cat," Mesprit added. "None of your more interesting derivatives. Stem cells, undifferentiated, uncommitted."

"Universal," Azelf continued, from the end of that exact sentence. "Adaptable. She traveled here through space and time. What other could do both?"

Hayden looked nervously between them, eyes never fixing on any one of the creatures for too long. Particularly Uxie, though the reasons for that were obvious. Just because the powerful pokémon hadn’t made any sign of violence so far didn't mean they would stay friendly.

"It's about me being a… fake legendary," she said. "What did you call me…"

Uxie turned towards her. Their eyes remained closed, though they were the only one. The others watched her with continued interest, along with their amusement. "Child of no season. 'Fake' is an obvious lie. Look at yourself kitten, because I won't. If you were 'fake,' you would be poisoned by ambrosia, or crushed by the merciless weight of gravity. Do not waste our time with such expressions."

"The legendary pokémon seem… like they're willing to accept me," she finally said. "But Camael said I was the end of an old order. I don't exactly know what that means, but I trust him more than I trust the legendaries. What did he mean?"

Azelf floated directly up to her, reaching out with one paw. Hayden stiffened, preparing for something terrible to happen to her. But the touch was only a nudge. They could've attacked but didn't.

"He said so truly. The old families zealously guarded the mightiest souls for themselves. Their surviving heirs no longer even understand the significance of this pact, they only inherit it. After numberless generations, it finally failed. And here you are—the crack that breaks the ancient dam."

Hayden was quite comfortable interpreting their telepathy as simple words—but mentally, those words still brought the underlying emotions with them. There was no resentment in that pronouncement, no anger. The guardians didn't actually care if the world changed.

"If I'm just a crack, doesn't that mean—there's a flood behind me?"

Mesprit nodded eagerly. "You bet! Maybe they could've stopped it from happening, before you settled. They have stopped it before—many times. But Shaymin House lacked the influence. Their numbers were too few, and their eye on the young of their nation too tenuous. You had to be born there, because the greater families would've killed you before you could be born."

Her jaw tightened. Though she didn't say it, rebellion boiled in her mind. The Mew Family weren't like the others—they treated her with kindness!

"How many pretenders has their steward hunted?" Uxie asked. "How many dead children? More than you think. She takes no pleasure in her brutality—but she is still a killer. She told you so."

She drooped in the air, hanging vertically now. She didn't want to admit just how brutal Ilene could be—but she knew. She didn't just kill monsters that hunted children, she killed good people too. Did any other “pretenders” before Hayden really plan to lie and cheat Mew House? Or was that choice made by others in their life?

"Because you were the first, you are also the… pivot. You are the fulcrum upon which the world might be lifted. Or dropped," Uxie said.

"But no matter your choice, some will hate you. They will loathe you with such virulence that they will hunt you until you too are a killer. Or dead. Surrender is also a decision. But the world will still suffer its consequences."

"I would like to… know what decision I'm making," Hayden eventually said. "This sounds important. More important than anything I could ever do. Could I know my options before I decide?"

"You will," Uxie said. "We will show you, because we were there. Open your eyes and see."

She did.