Chapter 68

"You can't exist," Ilene told her, the first day she arrived at her private cabin deep within Mew lands. "When the airship crashed, it took my brother and father with it. There are no others."

Hayden nodded her agreement, since this was clearly true. There was something simplistic about the logic of a steel type. No reason to get emotional about the facts—they were true, if limited in their scope.

Strange just how little a legendary with powerful Unity could change over such an exceptionally long timeframe. Ilene looked basically identical to the way she remembered her. Some small part of her was terrified by it, but that part had contracted dramatically as she got to know Ilene.

"I don't exist." She held out her hand for Liz to land on, then brought her close to her chest. That was an unusual level of physical affection for the jirachi. But even perfect transformation couldn't completely change the person she was underneath. "Not in the ways important to you. But we will be good friends one day."

Ilene opened the door wide, then emerged into the moonlight of early evening. She carried no weapons, but no legendary ever needed to. Despite Hayden's growth, and the far earlier age, she suspected a conflict between them would not continue for very long.

"You speak with the confidence of one who already knows. Yet you are not Celebi. You've come from Mew House."

She stuck out her hand, grinning in a way that no proper jirachi ever would. "Caught me. But do you think maybe I could be things other than a mew right now? You didn't recognize me when we first met, and I'm told that interfering with time should be avoided."

Ilene caught her by the wrist, with her usually inescapable grip. She tugged her through the door so fast that Hayden could do little more than squeak in surprise.

It shut seconds later, slammed closed as quickly as it opened.

The space beyond was lit with candles, not electric lights. Even the mythicals hadn't channeled the power of electric types into machines this far back in time.

Beyond that, it looked little different from many of the fine spaces across Mew House. The style to some of her hanging tapestries and sculptures was different, favoring repeating shapes and geometric designs over landscapes and portraits of wild pokémon.

"I have never seen a mew take the form of my house. The Eldest insists it would be too difficult to learn with any speed. He will help—but only when he is satisfied with my service. He intends to keep more than my family's lands, doesn't he? He would keep me in labor too."

Hayden avoided her eyes as best she could. Having a body of steel did limit the pain from Ilene's intense grip. But if she kept up that force, she might start bending.

Rael floated Liz right off her shoulder, pinning her against the wall. He poked and prodded at her, with little regard for personal space. But she knew this kind of thing might happen. There were always risks to being around mythical pokémon.

She still wanted to be there. "I can't read the Eldest's intentions. But when we meet for the first time, you'll be part of his household."

She relaxed her grip, enough for Hayden to pull her arms free. Good thing she had Unity of her own—her arms weren't even bruised. "Why are you here, Mew? You wield the power of the extinct house. You must have good reason."

"Oh, yeah!" She took off, floating comfortably in Ilene's entryway. Or she tried. Liz was still trapped under Rael's intense pressure. No matter how free Hayden was, she couldn't go far from her daemon. "Well, uh—we're friends! Like I said. And you're one of the people I trust the most. I remember you didn't do anything for the first like… fifty years you lived in Mew lands. So I hoped you'd have a little free time to teach me."

She gestured, concentrating on an object from across the room. Instead of floating it over, the candlestick vanished from the shelf, reappearing in her grip. Frost condensed along its surface, making it uncomfortable to hold. Then the cold reached the flame, snuffing it out.

"You're really good at it, and I'm not. But if you wouldn't mind having someone over for a little while, I promise to be a good student."

Ilene was silent for a time, watching her with her usual perfect mask of neutrality. Even centuries in the past, she had already mastered that particular talent. "I never thought I would have the… opportunity… to see others of my kind." As she spoke, Rael finally released Liz, evidently satisfied with her transformation. "I would not have known your imitation, except for your daemon. That mismatch of sex suggests a male child who studied mew Unity with no ambition towards becoming the Eldest. She will reveal you to other legendaries as well."

Hayden shrugged absently, catching Liz out of the air in a brief, protective hug. "That's my failing more than hers. I haven't learned how to be male as diligently as I should have. She's not the one who has to change." Hayden landed in front of Ilene, still smiling. Maybe she should have designed a more representative jirachi, one that would have more of their emotional neutrality.

But she wasn't trying to be a perfect copy, she was trying to be herself. "Does that mean you'll teach me?"

Ilene took her wrist, then gently pried the candlestick free of her grip. "That depends, time traveler. Whether you will study your own powers more diligently in the years that follow. If the Eldest won't help me, you might do. You do have a certain… eagerness about you. When you're older, perhaps."

She nodded. "You say that like it's supposed to be hard for me to accept. It's not—I always thought you were prettier than me." She took Ilene's other hand with hers, with softness no real jirachi ever could. "Anyway, I don't accept. I'll help you even if you don't want to train me. I'd just—really like it if you would. Since we're friends."

That was enough to finally break through Ilene's perfect mask. She melted rapidly through anger, before settling into deep confusion. But Hayden already knew that would happen—she'd seen the same thing from Eleanor early in their relationship. Legendaries didn't expect kindness, only exchange.

"Friends," she eventually said. "In some future day, I'm friends with a troublemaker. You must be a little nightmare for all the nursemaids of Mew House. Too much Unity for a kitten with too little common sense."

She nodded proudly. "Everywhere I go. And everywhen, I guess."

"You've obviously come a very long way, troublemaker. We'll start with dinner. Then maybe we can review your fundamentals."

Hayden wasn't built to understand time—not like a celebi. With practice she could travel like one, see the flow of days backward and forward while keeping the context of her own linear existence separate. But it would never feel natural for her the way it did for Cody.

She didn't mind, though. Hayden would never need the same level of mastery over the flow when she had someone else to keep her from getting lost, or changing too much.

Her weakness persisted even when she was a celebi herself, taking on their wings and antennae along with their view forward through higher dimensional spaces. But that was fine—there were many good reasons to change, and only one of them was flying through time.

The treetops of Unova sunk low around them in the sunrise, seasoned with the morning perfume of wildflowers and pollen. Today's dress was a style she'd adopted from a future time, comically short, with leggings underneath that went from her toes all the way up.

She had more practice flying with that even mix of wings and psychic powers, enough to keep perfect pace with her companion. She didn't need to hold Cody's hand to match her flight, it was just nice to stay close to her.

"You could stay longer, Hadie. With your Unity, the Eldest won't be able to tell. You won't look that different in a decade."

The real celebi held her close, almost as close as Ilene did. That was fine with her, though. The world was less dangerous with someone holding her. "Are you saying that's what you did? You're… centuries older than me?"

"Not centuries. But I'm old enough to know better than you do. You could learn more, be stronger than you are. Going back to the families means facing all their dangers."

She shrugged, resting her head up against Cody's arm. Of course her girlfriend was wrong. She was younger as often as she was older—or going long stretches of her life without visits. Neither of them would be very happy about that.

"I want to obey the Eldest. I've already taken the long way. If I'm years older when I get there, he might get angry. Or suspicious." Besides, there was one person she couldn’t visit while she trained. One house was too secure, and his future was still unknown to her.

"If you say so. I can't tell you how to live your life." As she said it, she caressed the daemon she held in both arms. Not Sierra—that pokémon was tucked into Hayden's dress. Cody pressed the little daemon's head with two fingers, right against the base of her antennae.

Hayden gasped, her flight suddenly unsteady. Cody didn't hurt her—but she could get close, without ever going too far.

"Feels like you want to. I won't… refuse. If you take me somewhere else. If you bring Eleanor with us. I won't leave her behind."

Their camp was so close now—several heavy tents, tucked into the thickest trees. From the air their mismatched colored fabric was impossible to see. Only by knowing where to go could Hayden navigate her way there.

"Won't refuse," Sierra said, from right beside her chest. "That's not the same as wanting to, Kitten."

"Yeah. It's the Eldest. His patience… isn't forever. And I don't want to get so old I can't see Julian as an equal. I don't want to think about him like a kid brother… he's supposed to be Eldest one day."

That did it. Sierra floated out of her loose dress, returning to her person. Liz did the same, floating beside her as they landed. "Still talk like a kitten, Hadie. No imagination. They're always moving. No one is a point, they're a line, moving through their potential. However much or little they'll have. Even if he's aggressively uninteresting through the entire expanse."

Hayden rested both hands on her hips, defiant. "You think I should run away forever, like you? Make the Great Families hate me?"

Cody patted her head with one hand, avoiding putting too much pressure on her antennae. The impact was still strong enough to make her legs unsteady, losing all confidence. "I'm not trying to change time, Hadie. I don't want you to be someone you aren't. Just like you don't ask Sierra and I to stay in one time forever. That would kill us. I think it would kill you to be just one person."

She nodded tearfully. Without even meaning to, she was back to herself—pink ears, blue eyes, and a little dress with no more stupid shoes. She clung to Cody, both arms around her neck. "You'll get to visit again. The Eldest knew about you, he didn't make me… promise to hunt you or anything. Maybe you can visit me without hiding one day."

"That might not be in your time, Hadie. Might be your kittens, or theirs. But that's okay—if you wanted to fly into the future with me, you could. But you were always going to stay—you can't help being the cat you are. All those connections, all those lives. They anchor you, trap you in one part of time. But maybe that's okay, if the life you live there is worth it."

She nodded tearfully. "I didn't think so at first. But now—being mew isn't so bad."