Pokemon Rangers: Frozen Fury

Chapter 44: Hope in the Past

Chapter 44

The light was intense, cutting into my eyes as if I stared straight at the sun. A ticklish sensation then filled me, and my overall body weight went from light to heavy all in an instant.

The ice shook, and completely disappeared under me. Feeling around, I noticed I was not on the cold surface,
but on a soft, thick carpet.

"Pichu! Tell Celebi to stay away." That voice- my voice sounded not too far from me. Where was I?

I blinked light from my eyes and saw I was in a huge room, and right near me was a very antique looking queen sized bed surrounded by glimmering blue curtains.

Hope.

I held my breath, unsteadily getting to my feet. I nearly forgot about my back being bruised up by Weavile, but it did not seem to hurt, did not seem to disrupt my breathing or cause me to fall back down in a miserable heap.

I ducked behind the bed, pulling the curtains up around me.

"Chu! Pi!" A familiar voice chirped near by, and before thinking, I ran out of my hiding place.

"Pichu!" I name caught in my voice, reaching down to the small Pokemon.

She did not turn around or twitch her ears in acknowledgement. Standing inches from my best friend, completely astonished, it slowly dawned on me that I was merely a ghost in this flashback Celebi whisked our bodies to.

I shivered, catching my breath and unceremoniously sitting back on the very soft mattress of the princess's royal bed.

"Pichu. Remember what I said." A glowing face peered in the doorway. She was gorgeous, and her soft blue eyes lit up the room. Her beauty glowed bright, and I caught my breath. Was that me? Or at least a very stunning super model version. I turned slightly to see a full body mirror. I saw my reflection- a girl with wind swept hair knotted and damp behind her, very unkempt. She looked warm almost, and thick coats didn't encase her- but a fur coat over a shirt with wool material and tough but flexible pants tucked into leather boots. My clothes and physical stature changed, but not my face and hair.

My lower lip quavered, and I felt the urge to bow to her. No way that was me. How could that be me?

"Chuuu..." Pichu drooped her ears, slowly nodding her head.

"Good. You need to stay safe." Hope sighed and scanned the room a last time. I sucked in a breath when her eyes landed on me.

Hope blinked once and looked away, opening her mouth to say something.

I was an idiot. I'm just here in her room- on her bed, so disrespectful- my next thoughts and her next words were cut short, when a small tremor shook the room.

"They're close. Pichu! I meant what I said. Stay away. I can't have you hurt in any way."

Hope didn't give it a second thought before turning to duck out of the doorway.

Pichu and I sort of sat there, thinking hard. I tried processing all of this, making sense out of this whole five minutes, when Pichu shook herself and ran out of the room. I frowned, making sure to keep on her tail.

These halls were cleaner, the floors lined with red carpeting. This was nothing like the faded, ice encrusted castle from the present.

It was almost hard to follow Pichu, sneaking looks at the paintings on the bright, perfect walls. If I got lost, who knows when I'd be sent back.

"Bi! Cele!" We passed a different doorway now, with a warm light and a cool flowery scent wafting into the hall.

"Chu! Piiii!" Pichu stopped and cried out to her, waving a puny arm.