Nina laid on the floor and stared at the projection on the dod ceiling in awe. “This is incredible isn’t it, Tini?” She said, referring to the sea of stars that the two were now gaping at.
“Tiin~” Tini was less impressed since starry night skies were a common sight out in the Safari Zone. But to see them zood in and in such high fidelity was still impressive nonetheless.
“I don’t recognise any of the constellations. Maybe we should find so docuntaries on astronomy and give it a watch one day.”
“Tiin.”
In her past life, Miles did not dabble in astronomy too much. He was interested, but astral physicists and their obsession with advanced mathematical theories made the subject an extrely dry read. So he preferred to watch docuntaries about space instead.
Nina looked intently at the starry projection, trying and failing to identify any of the known constellations of her past world, not that she knew many of them to begin with. “I wonder… Am I just in a different dinsion entirely or is my old Earth still out there sowhere, waiting to be discovered in a few more eons.”
“That one kinda looks like a sword don’t you think?”
Tini tried to discern what his partner was pointing at but ultimately gave up and simply moved in closer to nuzzle against Nina’s face, eliciting giggles from the girl.
The two were currently alone in the observatory. She had been unable to sleep because of Beverly’s snoring, sothing that Nina had not expected when she agreed to share a room with the girl. Even Tini had begged to sleep in his Ball for the night. So It was a good thing that Bill had explicitly permitted them free access to the observatory.
“Probably should have brought a blanket, but it’s really nice here huh, Tini?”
“Tiin~” echoed the Dragon as he began singing a soothing lullaby. Tini’s singing skills have truly improved by leaps and bounds after being trained by Daisy.
Nina giggled softly. “Tini~ If you sing like that you’re going to make
fall asleep.” Her partner simply rubbed against her in lieu of a response and the hypnotic tune slowly lulled Nina to sleep…
***
Nina awoke to the feeling of sothing soft being draped across her. The little girl stirred and endeavored to look around, eyes still blurry from residual sleep.
“Tini…?” Nina mumbled as she rubbed at her eyes, feeling the blanket which had been draped across her at so point.
“Oh my… I’m so sorry dear, I didn’t an to wake you,” said a feminine voice.
The presence of a stranger jolted Nina wide awake as she slowly sat up to look towards the source.
The woman could only be described as a goddess of light; her wavy platinum blonde hair, blue eyes, pale skin, and white nightgown was almost glowing even in the dimly lit observatory.
Nina would have almost mistaken the lady for a ghost were it not for the burgundy shawl she had draped over her shoulders to ground her presence as a human.
The woman giggled at the sleepy looking girl in front of her, her voice tinkling in Nina’s ears like little bell chis. “Hello, I don’t believe we’ve t. My na is Hikari, Bill’s wife. You must be Nina? My husband spoke highly of you.”
Nina sat up straighter after hearing the introduction and wiped so of the residual drool from her mouth. “Oh, hello ma’am. Sorry about this, I might have accidentally fallen asleep.”
The sounds of bell chis rang out once more with Hikari’s laughter. “It’s quite alright, dear. I find this place to be soothing as well. I co everyti I have trouble sleeping. Sotis, I too fall asleep, only to find myself back in my bedroom after my husband carried
back.”
Nina wracked her brain for any information she could rember about Bill’s wife. “I rember reading that her family was the primary investor in her husband’s ventures, but not much else is known about Hikari herself aside from the fact that she was a prolific socialite and avid philanthropist.” Not having much to work with, Nina decided to simply make conversation.
“That’s nice. Bill must be a very loving husband.”
The woman chuckled. “Indeed, ours was an arranged marriage but he has devoted nothing but love and kindness to
over the years. Of that, I am thankful.”
“Tiin…” At this point their conversation seed to have aroused the sleeping Tini as well.
Nina laid Tini on her lap and gently caressed the Dragon back to sleep, whispering comforting words in his ears all the while.
“I can see that the bond between you and your Dratini is strong,” comnted Hikari. “It’s no wonder that my husband and the Ancestor took an interest in you.”
It took a while for Nina to process Hikari’s words, her brain hasn’t fully woken up yet. “Yeah, I’m quite… Wait, what do you an by Ancestor?”
Hikari flashed her a knowing smile. “Oh? You’ve t the Ancestor have you not? I can sense w’s presence on you.”
Nina had to hold herself back from reaching towards her necklace on instinct as she glared at Hikari warily. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
But instead of being offended, the woman simply gave her an approving nod. “Good, a girl with a pure heart and good intentions. It is no wonder w deigned to appear before you. You need not worry, dear. I myself have a special connection to the Ancestor as well.”
“You’ve t w?” Nina asked, still refusing to confirm her association with the Mythical Pokemon.
Hikari looked up at the starry projection in reminiscence, her face was the very picture of nostalgia. “A long ti ago, yes. I did not et w per se, at least not in person. The Ancestor appeared in my mind during a very troubleso incident and provided
with solace. And even after everything had settled, the connection remained and I have been able to sense w’s presence ever since.”
“Why would w show up in your mind but not in person?” The girl asked in return, since she knew for a fact that w was a deft teleporter. In her mind, Nina was also cursing Futaba who had previously assured her that the gemstone was not detectable.
Hikari gave a wry smile. “It was a complicated situation. To be frank, I don’t even know how it happened myself. The mories surrounding that incident are a little foggy.”
She then proceeded to tell an absurd story about how she had accidentally been turned into a w due to an experint gone awry. It was so absurd that Nina actually believed her, because reality was like that sotis. Even the best fiction writers are incapable of fully capturing the absurdity of human nature.
“That… sounds like quite an experience,” said a flabbergasted Nina, eliciting laughs from Hikari.
“It does, doesn’t it? But like I said, I don’t rember much of what happened. Only that I t w in my mind. So to answer your question, I don’t really know why the Ancestor did not show up in person, perhaps the existence of two ws at the sa instance would constitute a paradox? Who knows, really.”
Nina nodded. It sounded as plausible an explanation as any. All things related to Legends and Myths tend to be that way. Especially in this wacky world not entirely governed by the laws of science.
“Do you think that other people would be able to sense this thing as well?” Nina asked as she pulled out the little w Gem pendant she was wearing. “This is probably a mistake, but I might as well take a leap of faith here and try to gather a bit more information.”
Besides, Nina could feel that Hikari was telling the truth and that she ant no ill will. “So sort of instinct or intuition? I have a feeling that this has sothing to do with the gemstone. It would make sense that I’d be able to read Hikari who is similarly touched by w.”
Hikari gasped at the sight of the gem and reached out with her long elegant fingers. “May I?” She asked before holding w’s Gem between her fingers.
“This is sothing left behind by the Ancestor alright.”
“Do you recognise it?” Nina asked, with a hopeful gaze at the woman.
Hikari shook her head. “Unfortunately, no. But I can sense a strong connection to the Ancestor through the gem.”
“Do you know any way for
to find out what it is? w gifted it to
but disappeared soon after without elaborating.”
Hikari humd. “Perhaps my husband might be able to analyze it with so of his equipnt. But I would advise against it, I have a feeling that this gemstone is ant to be by your side.”
Nina nodded. The woman’s words that ran counter to her husband’s interest had cented Nina’s feeling that she was indeed not a bad person. “I think so too. I feel antsy everyti I try to get away from it. Though I don’t know if this is necessarily a good thing or not.”
Hikari smiled and gently caressed Nina’s hair in assurance. “The Ancestor is not a malicious entity. So you can be assured that their intentions, whatever it may be, should be pure and benign.”
Nina sighed. “Sotis even the best intentions can lead to terrible consequences. Do you think that others connected to w might be able to sense the gemstone as well?”
She was mainly thinking about Giovanni and all the other evil researchers that were complicit in the creation of wtwo. If all those touched by w gain a sensitivity to its presence then there was a chance that Nina might be in danger.
“Probably,” responded the ambiguous woman. Hikari herself was also unsure about w’s Gem and its workings. “If so, whatever encounters co your way, it should largely be beneficial. I an it did lead my husband to you, no?”
Nina frowned. “Are you saying that Bill’s presence on the bus that day was no re coincidence?”
Hikari shook her head. “On the contrary, what if it was a coincidence? One that conveniently led to the two of you getting to know each other. And another that led to our eting tonight, under the stars, all because we coincidentally weren’t able to sleep at the sa ti.”
“So basically, it’s a plot device. One that leads to the eting of pivotal characters?” Nina did not like the implications surrounding that. “All I want is to explore the world. And naturally there’ll be excitent surrounding that but I’m not sure if I want to beco like a vanquisher of evil and savior of worlds or sothing.”
“Maybe I’m supposed to hand this to you? That would make sense. I’m just a courier ant to deliver this gemstone to the intended recipient,” said the apprehensive Nina, trying to offload the macguffin that now felt to her like carrying a volatile Electrode around.
Hikari simply laughed in response, either amused by Nina’s apprehension or thought the girl was joking. “Oh Nina, you’re such a cutie. No, I don't think that would be wise. Whatever it is, I’m certain that it was intended for you. Otherwise the attraction I feel towards it would be a different kind.”
Nina frowned, but she knew that Hikari was right sohow. “So what now? Do I track w down with the gem? Is this just another convoluted ga of tag to it? Or perhaps
seeking it out is exactly what w wants and I should avoid playing into its hands. If it really is so sort of macguffin, then I suppose trouble will co finding
even if I actively try to avoid it.”
The girl sighed and temporarily resigned herself to her fate. She was tempted to just throw the gemstone into the ocean. The only problem was, she knew that w’s Gem would make its way back to her sohow. She did not know how, but she knew it would. So in effect, Nina was stuck with it.
Nina groaned and just laid back down on the floor to stare absentmindedly at the stars. “Why can’t life just be simple?” She thought. “I knew it was coming, but I suppose this is just reckoning for all the blessings I’ve received so far…”
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