27. In Which Twig and Celebi Have a Chat

Twig didn’t remember collapsing into an exhausted mess in an empty home that evening, nor did she expect to sleep so troubled and lightly that she woke up countless times that night. Upon waking at the first hint of sunrise, however, she jolted upright with the realization that her selfishly stewing in her depressive mood meant that Darkrai was on the move and had free range of her friends without her warning them of his returned memories. He could easily convince them that he was still friendly and stab them in the back. Kip already knew not to trust him, but the Future Trio were the ones most at risk. She needed to warn them. She made it to their home in record time and pounded on the front door in terror at what she might find the longer it went unanswered.

Celebi pulled open the door with an irritable glare. “What is it?” she hissed. “It’s barely noon, you— Oh! Twig! Hello, dear!”

“Where’s Dusknoir and Grovyle?” She puffed, still out of breath from her cross-country sprint. “Are they okay?”

“Those two idiots are fine. They’re sleeping in after trying to beat each other in a drinking competition last night. It was honestly a little impressive.” She sighed, shaking her head fondly, then perked up. “Oh! Ark stopped by a little while ago. He seemed rather shaken up. Is he alright?” 

“I’m sure he’s fine. Look, if you’re all fine, I-I really should go and—”

Celebi caught her by the elbow as she turned, tutting. “No, no, you’re not leaving so soon. You’ve got something on your mind. Spill your guts, sweetie.”

“Celebi, I can’t, I—”

“If it’s Ark you’re worried about, I peeked ahead a little bit and made sure he’s not getting himself into any trouble. Sorry to spoil things, but he’s just going to sulk in the forest for the next few hours. Now, come on, tell me what’s on your mind.” She struck a cutesy pose. “You’ve had your heart-to-hearts with Dusknoir and Grovyle, so now it’s my turn to be a confidante. Let it out.”

Twig hesitated. If Darkrai hadn’t done anything to any of them— even stopped by without having harmed anyone at all— and was slated to just sulk in the forest for a while, was she right to be in such a panic? After a heartbeat of consideration, she decided she was. He was probably plotting his next move before enacting it. She should warn Celebi about his memories returning.

She opened her mouth to explain. The petite Legend spoke over her. “I already know he remembers everything, by the way.”

Her jaw fell open. “You— what?”

“I’m very sensitive to temporal distortions, you know. It comes with the territory of existing all across time and space simultaneously. I know my stuff! So when I see someone who’s scattered across time in some way or another, I can tell immediately. It’s a bit like seeing double… or triple, in your case, dear. It’s a little funny seeing a human, charmander, and charmeleon all wrapped up in one person!” She giggled. “That’s how I recognized you back in the Dark Future as a charmander. And it’s how I knew Ark wasn’t someone we had to ostracize. And it’s how I knew he remembered. He’s all put back together again instead of being two darkrais standing just off-center of each other.” She hummed sadly. “Speaking of, have you told anyone about you remembering bits of your own past?”

Her voice came out a pitiful, nervous squeak. “You knew?”

“Of course I knew, silly! It’s hard not to know when that little human is a step away from you when she used to be yards away before! I’ve been worried sick about you. Have you told anyone? Has my teasing been helping distract from the icky parts? Oh, my heart has been breaking for you, poor thing. And you’re so determined to be tough about stuff that you really should be mushy and sad about! That’s not any good.” 

“Celebi—”

She set her hands on her hips, leaning in with a huff. “Why, you should’ve seen Grovyle when he thought he lost you. He was a wreck about it, and he let himself be a wreck about it. And he was still saving the world as he did it! It’s okay to cry once in a while, you goofball. Grovyle was sobbing on the regular! Let yourself grieve! Honestly, I don’t know what all went down in your past, but it’s obvious that you’re struggling with it—”

“Celebi. I can’t— I need to think. You said Darkrai wasn’t going to act, did you? He wasn’t— wasn’t going to try something? Anything?”

“No, dear. You really don’t need to worry about that. I looked pretty far ahead, too. Especially when you didn’t turn up soon enough after him. I might be pretty, but I’m practical, too.” 

“If he’s not… If there’s nothing to worry about, I need to take some time to think. You’ll, uh… You’ll keep what you know about me remembering my past secret, right? From Grovyle?”

She tilted her head, blinking owlishly. “Why not Dusknoir as well?”

“He already—”

“He knows?! I never thought in a hundred lifetimes that I’d see the day that Twig confided in Dusknoir of all people! My goodness! I didn’t dream of—”

“Celebi!”

“Oh. No, I won’t say a word, dear. You can trust me.”

“Good. I… I need to go. Arceus, I have so much to think about. Ugh, my head…”

She nodded solemnly. “Stay safe, will you? Get some rest.”

“Goodbye, Celebi.”

With that, Twig turned and started the trek home with a significantly slowed pace. She tried to sift through all that Celebi told her in her dizzying way— that she had always known what Twig remembered, that Ark’s memories were back but Darkrai wasn’t doing anything about it— during the initial confrontation in her home, he had seemed angry enough to flay her alive for what she’d done, but now he was just moping? It didn’t make any sense, but it gave her time to think. 

Try as she might, she couldn’t ignore the odd sense that someone was trailing after her in the dappled shadows of the forest like a certain person always would in the marketplace.