Pokemon Max

Ch. 30 Once and Future Thing

Ch. 30 Once and Future Thing

Okay, here's the thing. If you're thinking I'm a wimp for crying, you try being stuck in an apocalypse where you don't know where anyone you love is and you don't have a house to go to.

With that being said, I shall continue with what happened.

---

I sat there bent over and quietly sobbing. I didn't feel like doing anything. I don't know how long I sat there. All I know is I moved when a rock struck the ground right beside me. I stood up and turned around in a flash.

"Hey, kid! Beat it! Gosh, you kids just think you can do whatever you want."

I turned and walked off. As I traveled, I felt my sorrow change. My thoughts began spinning violently. 

This is insane. I don't understand how this happened.

Look at all of this. It's hopeless. What is anyone going to do?

This just happened, and it's...it's...

It's all my fault.

As my footsteps quickened, I left my walk and quickly accelerated to a run, a sprint. I didn't know where I was going. It was instinct. Determination.

I have to fix this.

Turning the corner onto an old, broken down street, I ran past the houses until I saw the one I was looking for. Thankfully, there were still lights in there. Thank the doc for that, I thought to myself.

I came to the door and knocked on it. Then I thought she might not open it for just anyone. So I knocked out a series of taps I knew she would recognize. It took a little bit, but I heard shuffling, and the door opened a crack, than was hastily thrown open. 

Doc looked at me, and her eyes widened. First she didn't do anything. Then she began to speak quickly. "Get in, now! Go!" She reached out and pulled me inside, and, after carefully peeking down the street, closed the door.

She immediately spun around. "Who are you? If this is another clone of Todd sent by those suckers..."

"Doc! It's me! Trust me!"

"Well sorry, but I don't. I haven't had much to trust lately. You'll have to prove you're the real Todd, which is impossible."

"Come on, don't I look convincing?"

She gave me a dead stare.

"You know only me could be this charming and handsome." I say, pretending like I didn't have dirty jeans and some stains from crying still on me, or like I had just run nearly a mile at a heavy run to get here.

Her eyes widened again. "It...it is you. But...but you...I don't understand."

I sighed. "Ugh, you're telling me. What with all the explosions, and the other me, and the apocalyptic present."

She stops. "Wait, are you saying, you came from an alternate timeline?"

I shrug. "Uh...mayyyyybbbbeeeeee?"

She launches into one of her full on geek modes. "Of course, that makes sense! It would explain the lack of knowledge of this time you seem to display, and your even being here in the first place."

"Whoa whoa whoa whoa whoa," I interrupt, "why wouldn't I be here? What's going on, where is the me of this world?"

She stops abruptly, and swallows hard. She simply takes me out through the back of the house to a small corner of her yard. I gasp. Lying on the ground are three stones. Each has a name engraved. Names I recognize. Harper Lane and Adrian Sabel. I swallow and stare at my feet. I look to the last stone.

Todd Raker.

I turned to her. "Doc, how did this happen?"

She didn't look up at me, but began speaking softly.

"A while ago, you and your team there formed. It was a struggle, but you managed all right. You were all improving and doing great. Then came that day. A clone of you came in. We didn't figure it out until you showed me the evidence. When you went to fight him..."

She looks at me straight on. "None of you made it out of there." She sighs, turning her eyes to the ground again. "Not one."

"What about..." I begin to say, until remembering what I did.

"What, Todd?"

I look back to the stones, knowing there is one less than there could have been. "Nothing. Nothing at all.

-Later-

I finally speak up. "Doc, we need to get me out of here."

"Yes, I know, but you cannot return to your own time. It's hopeless."

"No, it isn't." I say determined. I turn to her. "Doc, listen. I made this timeline by changing the past before. I know what I need to do to make it normal. I can do this."

She looks me in the eyes. Then she speaks up. "All right. But how will we get you there?"

"Do you know about a Pokemon named Celebi?"

She thinks, and replies, "Vaguely. What about it?"

I turn to the window. "I know where I need to go."

-Much later-

To wrap things up quickly, I managed to find Celebi's location, and convince it to help us. As I stood before the time portal, I turned to this timeline's Doc.

"Thanks for everything. I'm...I'm sorry you have to go."

"Todd, I will still exist. This timeline will as well. When you revert the past to it's normal state, this timeline will become a parallel universe. It will likely be the same as your's until a decision in your world is made that is different than in this one. But for now, this timeline should revert to peace."

"Awesome." I turn to go, but Doc calls out again.

"Todd!"

"Yeah?"

She smiles. "Go get her."

I don't really understand what she means, but I head into the portal. It's time to fix things.

---

I arrive in the past. I find  modern myself there, and give him a very quick rundown on the situation. Once that's cleared up, I return to the present.

I appear in regular time, and I can see from the now blue sky that all is normal. I smile as I walk out after thanking Celebi. This all turned out all right.

-Meanwhile-

Two soldiers stand outside the small cave. As the teen left, one attempted to stand. The other pulled him down. "No. It's not orders."

The first soldier grunts, and they turn to the cave entrance. They rush inside, and before the creature is able to react, it is shot with a dart and thrown into a net. The two soldiers grin at each other. "Sir," The second speaks into his comm set, "the package is obtained."

-Several years later in a different universe-

Doc stood from her chair. She smiled at the thought of what had happened to her several years before on this day. She walked over to the pictures on her wall. A group of children. She smiled. All six. She thought, All six are all right. 

-To be continued-

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