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Hello, this chapter mainly revolves around Cerci, so you'll know it'll be the only good part of the book. Kudos for those of you who have read this this far.
This is kind of a filler, unless you are genuinely interested as to how these Druids were recruited in the other world. Surely, though, it couldn't be that interesting.
Now I know I've made out every character from before to be important or play some part in the plot or something, but these newer Druids are more of miscellaneous space-fillers. Don't get too attached. They're not going to be redshirts, either, though.
On a side note, any characters you want dead by the end of the book? Just asking.
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This wasn't a particularly good day for Cerci. While everybody had their "hello"s and "welcome back"s, there was also some bad news. Eros didn't hesitate to show her the papers depicting the war plans, and considering that the Marquis de Magus was there, there was surely trouble brewing. Might the Marquis have also escaped, considering his powers? And was Articuno really dead? Could the army really destroy all of Morono? And what would happen to all those Pokemon on the island? Even worse, what weapons could Utopia have in store...?
Cerci was pacing the perimeter of the fort, using the catwalks to survey the ever-waving ocean. The moon was high in the sky, yet it could still be seen simultaneously with the ocean. She didn't really need to sleep as much as she did. She never knew why. Even as a kid, she would stay up all night, playing with toys until four in the morn. She sat on the trim for once, resting as she looked out to the sea. Gee, the fort sure was quiet...
Maybe she needs to recruit some more Druids. After all, if they are going to defend the world from anything significant, they're going to need more than a few people and Pokemon. This was meant to be an academy, after all. She could remember the days where the fort was brimming with activity, making itself almost like a college. People would we walking about nearly every hour of the day, with a multitude of services and classes being held throughout. And the day that they were almost out of space for all the new recruits, when she was about 50, they just dug another level underground. With former architects and the power of magic, the place really came along well. And to think, this was all simply a shell for the Equilibrium...
She had already inserted the third stone. The machine made everything almost feel at balance, fueled by the eternal sin or whatever from the humanity stones. The machine did well to keep the balance, but it itself did not keep the peace. It couldn't differentiate between peace and chaos, as it had no sentience. Rather, it was up to the Druids to keep the world from fighting. That was their sole purpose, besides helping others in need. That always gave her a tingly feeling, making somebody else smile. How cheap, it made her sick.
She looked around the empty sea, then the inside of the fort. The stars were clear in the sky, making this night less than dark. She remembered the classes she would hold in the waters, teaching people to have faith in the fact that they could breathe water for the first time. Some of the Mudkip in the water eventually picked up what was going on and had a good time playing with the humans, but she never told anybody. They were rarely permitted to use their powers outside the fort, none the less discuss it with non-magical creatures. Surely, if she told anybody, they would have to stop. And, after all, she enjoyed the little time she spent outside the fort.
How would she go about finding more Druids? She never had any real experience with people, save Eros. The few weeks she spent studying this world surely wouldn't give her as much insight as to persuasion, none the less making people give up their former lives. She'd have to do this textbook style. Literally. She had read forwards and back a scripture dedicated purely to recruiting Druids. There was not much to read based on the world outside the fort; After all, people generally got to experience it first hand. Not the instructors or high enchantresses, though. She was one of the strongest protectors of the fort. After all, some people in the world hate balance. Nobody would lose without drastic disadvantage.
She decided upon going out and recruiting more Druids tomorrow morning. She would have to make sure everybody was able to handle themselves, which might be a challenge. Which reminded her, she needed to make sure Hank stayed a Dratini for the night, which wouldn't be too much work, as the sun would rise soon. That way, she could still transform for tomorrow, as she could rest beforehand. Boy, did she love tormenting Hank...
"Alright, ladies. And Sicily. Line up, I have some announcements to make."
It was early in the morning, and Cerci had woken everybody up so she could make a few statements. Nobody was pleased at having their sleep cut short, but that didn't stop them from gathering near one of the walls. Cerci was the only one who stood out, as she was dictating this meeting. "First off, where the hell is Hank? He should be off of his lazy ass by now."
Eros spoke up, "Uh, when I found him this morning, he was still a Dratini... And he thought he was really a Dratini. Like, from birth and all. Is it that thing where you give up too much of your mind to the transformation and all?" Damn. That backfired. Nobody was allowed to transform anybody else while they were asleep. She never really knew why, and she did it every so often to mess with people. It had to do something with high suggestibility when you sleep. "But hey, he's moving around pretty good now. Still not perfect though."
Cerci was unmoving as she stared at Eros. In turn, he simply looked to his shoes. "Is that so? Well, there's not really a cure for that. Transforming back won't help him, either. You're just going to have to help him remember."
"Not that I'm questioning you, but why can't you?"
"Because," she announced with a grin, "I'm going out to recruit more Druids."
Everybody looked at Cerci in confusion, save Sicily, who stood stern. Dusk asked, "But why?"
"Because it would help in the long run. Especially if there's going to be a war."
Eros continued, "So who's side are we on?"
"I'm guessing it's going to be the Utopians versus the Pokemon from that island. And we aren't picking sides. We are going to try to peacefully persuade them to stop, no matter how difficult it may be. Do you understand? We are not fighting for the Pokemon. We are not fighting for the humans. We are not fighting. Understand?" Eros nodded, as did everybody else. "Good. Now, I'm not going to be gone for long.
"While I am gone, however, one of you twits will need to be in charge. For that, I'm choosing Eros."
Xerxes exclaimed, "Aw, why can't I be leader or something?"
Cerci, retorting in the most offensive manner possible, shouted, "Any of you who would like Xerxes as leader and representative, raise your hand."
Almost nobody raised their hand, save Eros. Surely, Eros was far from the perfect Druid, but he was likely the most trustworthy and honest person there. After all, very few of those in the fort are charismatic enough to keep everybody from conflicting and as one group. Eros wasn't exactly the best candidate in the world, but he was far from the worst. Everybody simply let this slide and accepted Eros as their leader, at least for now.
"Good. Now that that's settled, I've got some recruiting to do. I'm sure you can handle yourselves. Tally-ho." Cerci left immediately, leaving that as her only goodby. She rarely had to say goodby, so she wasn't as gifted at leaving as she wished to be. The group simply dissolved from their line formation and congregated around Eros, who was trying to decide how to provide food, as the Baroness' children were hungry, and they didn't have as many rations left as they desired.
As for Cerci, she managed to push the gate open and closed by herself, taking but a few minutes before making it out. She looked about in the forest, making sure that nobody was watching her; Then, she pulled out a small yellow orb from the inner linings of her cloak. She raised it in the air and focused a small bit of energy, attuned to a very specific function, and released a beacon from it. Moments later, the fabled Celebi appeared at her side, holding a similar orb.
The tiny time-traveler spoke, "Again? What is it this time?" She spoke not with anger, but with the tone of a long-time friend. "You owe me big time, you know."
"I know, but I don't want to leave them alone for so long. Plus, if you knew what was going on..."
"What's going on? Can't you tell me?"
"Pphhhhh. I know you want to change time and all, but... I don't think time travel is a viable solution."
"Gah, fine. I'll leave it to you." Celebi looked around and continued with, "So, what do you need? I'm a little tight on time right now." Celebi wasn't really tight on time. She was just kind of a bitch.
The relationship between the two is... Complicated. Initially, in Cerci's world, she rarely asked anything of Celebi. The only reason they met was because Celebi was curious about what was going on in Fort Alpine and broke in. She was quickly pushed out by Cerci, only to have used her powers to get back in nearly effortlessly. Cerci, intrigued by this, started sharing a few stories with Celebi, who told stories of her time travel. Eventually, they were friend on some level, and they agreed to assist each other with their powers when they needed it: Cerci would create mystical items for Celebi, while Celebi would let her jump through time a bit every so often. It was mutual, although it could be seen that Cerci was on the better end of the deal; And yet, Celebi was ever intrigued by Cerci, and they acted as more of friends than anything else.
But alas, as Cerci entered this world, she forgot that Celebi wouldn't remember her, and inevitably had a hard time contacting her. She would create beacons for contacting her, only to find that she wouldn't respond; Eventually, however, she got fed up and came anyways. It was difficult forging the relationship, but Cerci's insight into Celebi's personal feelings and preferences was able to maintain just enough trust to commit to the same deal she made with her before, and she was soon to be friends again. Even Celebi couldn't know of the other dimension, and the very fact of it bothered her to no end, so she was always a tad jealous of Cerci.
"I just want to get to somewhere quickly."
"Is that it? That's why you called me here?"
"Oh, hush, I have something important to tell you on the way." Generally, Cerci refrained from detailing her information as important; That way, when she did say that the information was important, you knew that she meant it. "It's about what caused all that death and stuff in the future."
Celebi simply nodded and exerted her magical force on the world around her; Within seconds, the world appeared grey and inanimate. Cerci simply nodded and led Celebi through the forest.
Celebi asked, "So, where are you going?"
"Oh, just Snowpoint, the nearest city. Need to do some recruiting."
"Ah, Snowpoint. Not aptly named, is it? Not a speck of snow there. Just a bunch of dead trees."
"Yeah, but they celebrate winter pretty nicely. Plus, they have the ice gym. Odd place, it is. I'm just going people hunting."
"Ha. People hunting. But really, why are you going there?"
Cerci looked away for a second, then said, "I need some more people back at the fort. Can't really help the world alone, can you?"
Celebi simply nodded. Despite her abilities to manipulate time and her status as one of the legends, she was a terrible conversationalist. She looked about a bit, admiring the few leaves suspended in mid-air. Surely, she must've grown bored by her powers by now, and yet, she still shows interest in the tiniest details of the world.
"Cerci, you'll owe me big time when this is over. I don't know why you'd go around making boats and stalking that weird Eros boy, but this is a lot of effort on my end."
"I know, I know. It's not like I won't pay you back."
Celebi looked around once more, making sure not to disturb the world too much as they traveled. She continued the conversation about two hours later with, "So, what caused that death and stuff? You said you had something important to tell me."
"And I do." Having taken one of the small notes Eros stole, Cerci revealed this evidence to Celebi, who, after opening it and inspecting it for a bit, suddenly widened her eyes in amazement. "Thing is, some kingdom is trying to start a war. And on top of that, I smell mages."
Celebi read over the note again, looking to Cerci as she finished it a second time. "I don't believe it! They really ARE going to war! And to think, this was such a peaceful land. Oh, how miserable it will become once it's destroyed..."
Cerci, taken slightly aback by Celebi's apathy to the fate of Morono, replied with, "And not just Morono. You see, they also plan to take that small island to the west."
"The one without the humans?"
"It would seem so. They don't want survivors, as I've heard."
"Well, that's simply terrible, isn't it?" Celebi seemed a tad more concerned, although she still kept her cool. "My. And they won't even see it coming."
"Which is terrible." The city of Snowpoint drew close, as the city, frozen in time, cast its barren trees about, lifeless and ominous by its very nature. These trees were few and far between, but could visibly mark the Snowpoint area. "I do hope I can persuade you to help us avoid this conflict..."
Celebi shot a dirty look at Cerci, alienating her much more than before. "I don't believe that mercy should belong to those wretched humans. I'd say the world would be better without them."
"Celebi, many people and Pokemon will die if we fight them. There's too many lives on the line-"
"Look, Cerci, I know how idealistic you like to be, but these people will have it coming to them. They are worth nothing to this world. Nobody's going to miss them."
"But-"
"But nothing. I've done my duty." And so she has, for she and Cerci stood but a few meters from the tree line separating the city from the wild. In the city, people stood still, frozen in time as the two looked upon the denizens. "And you have yours. And please don't call me for another day or so. I have some plans to do."
"Please tell me you aren't involving yourself with this 'war'. It's not going to happen. I promise."
"Oh, but it is." Celebi looked almost hostile, although not in a provoking way. "And I'm not just going to let the island stand there, waiting like sitting Psyducks. I'm telling them about the army. And I promise you, they will be prepared."
"Ohhhh... Please don't..." Celebi gave a sharp glance. Cerci knew Celebi was going to do something like this. She's have no sympathy for the humans. Why should she? For all she knew, they were a race of savages that wanted her kind dead. "Don't you trust me?" Cerci was dead serious.
"I don't. This is way above you. You can play your part, and I can play mine. Just don't come crying to me when the humans and the Pokemon inevitably kill each other." Celebi switched to a rather playful tone for her last sentence, adding, "And, not that I'm rooting for anyone, but I think the Pokemon are going to win."
Cerci simply took this in. Surely, this could only end up in a war. Now, though, it wasn't going to be one-sided. If Celebi is as persuasive as she is powerful, there's going to be an army of Pokemon ready across the land. And who's to say what the Mages will play in this?
Celebi snapped her fingers, returning time to its normal flow; And, in an instance, she disappeared.