Disclaimer: Nintendo, Game Freak, Creatures: Pokemons, Jessie, James. Me: Rocket City, the Gym, Rose, future peoples, etc.

Notes: This is something of a sequel to Primary Colors. Except there isn't much Jessie or James. Or many Pokemon for that matter... oh well! I hope it's still good! The short story "Lights in the Night" can be considered an introduction to this story. Hopefully it won't get too confusing. I hope you like it! Please let me know!

The Fairest Faded Colors

By: Sforzie

She had died with hopes that things would soon get better.

A man dug through the dirt, sweat on his brow and a curse on his lips as his shovel went down several more inches without hitting anything.

"Edgar, I thought you said that you and the others were sure this was where it was," the man sighed loudly.

"Diglett!" Edgar said encouragingly.

"Yes, but I've been digging here all afternoon!" the man's face colored. "Are you really sure?"

"Dig!" Edgar the Diglet nodded. "Diglett, dig."

"I don't have much choice other than to keep looking, do I?"

"Lett."

"I thought as much." The man continued digging for several minutes, until Edgar got very excited.

"Dig! Dig!"

The man stuck the shovel into the ground so it would stand up, and looked around expecting to see a person approaching. "What is it?"

"Dig!" Edgar pointed back toward the shovel. The man looked at it. The handle was still quivering from when he had struck it into the ground a moment before. He blinked.

He'd hit something.

The man got down on his knees and began to paw at the dirt around the shovel like a hyperactive Growlithe. The Diglett was circling the pit excitedly. The man tossed the shovel aside as he dug, murmuring in equal excitement. Slowly but surely he was uncovering something. A white ripple formed above the surface, and then a whole mass of ripples.

"It never toppled!" the man whispered excitedly. He turned his face up to the sky, shouting. "June! June! JUNE!"

"Oh, this is so exciting, Bara!" June Gordon burbled as she led the slightly older woman through the forest. "Just wait until you see it!"

"I hope this is the real thing this time, June, not like when you found the ruins of the original Saffron Gym. I had a conference to attend." The older woman held her skirt up a little, trying to keep it from tangling in the brush. "Beside, I hate flying at night."

"The ruins of Saffron were a very important discovery," June pointed out. "Although they weren't what we were looking for. But this is the real thing this time, Bara! James and I are very sure of it."

"How can you be so certain?" Bara wondered. Her long black hair was tied back, and her blue eyes were scanning the surrounding forest uneasily. She hated being out here again.

"We found the statue, the memorial, even the base with the sacred poem on it," June said happily. "Just like the sacred poem said it would be!"

"You're sure it's not a set up?"

"It was buried under nine feet of earth," June said. "And there were the right deposits of clay." She clapped her hands. "Yes, it's definetly the ruins of the ancient city of the Rockets!"

"You sound so happy about a tragedy," Bara sighed.

"A tragedy that happened three centuries ago."

"The Great Flood of 2035 was instrumental in determining where we are today," Bara said in a strict tone. "If it had not happened, the war would have never ended. We would have never been reunited, and we wouldn't have started to rebuild."

"I'd say we haven't rebuilt very much in all this time," June said sourly as they reached the clearing.

"We could've done better."

Bara stared at the small village that sat at the south-eastern edge of the Viridian forest. It was built over what were believed to be the ruins of Rocket City, and Bara silently wished that it were the real city she was looking at. Rocket Town wasn't much, but it clung to its vagabond roots and had been built almost as soon as the flood waters had receded. The flood had pulled the city to its knees--not even the tallest buildings had been able to withstand the force of the water.

They passed through the town and went on for several hundred more yards. There stood a small collection of temporary buildings--another one of the excavation sites.

"Do you want to see the statue first?" June sounded nervous.

"Yes," Bara followed. She tried to ignore the curious stares of the people at the excavation site. The last time anyone from the higher government had come to Rocket Town was over two decades ago. In fact, the only reason Bara even knew about their discovery was because she had been born here.

A rose in a field of daisies, her mother had once said. Bara could still remember her rich red hair, her happy blue eyes, her penchant for snow... She tried to clear the thought from her head. Mama had been dead for three years. With her gone, there was no reason to come back to the town. There were other cities, far away, that had managed to grow back to some intelligent size despite the best efforts of a cruel climate.

"Down here," June led her down the dirt steps, twenty-five feet down into the ever-growing pit. The ground seemed etched into a street, going into little pockets where things had been found. They walked several dozen yards before reaching their destination.

"Here it is," June said grandly.

"Oh..." Bara stared at the statue. It was real. The stories had all been true. It was carved out of marble so white it seemed to glow. A woman, slightly larger than life. In the base of the statue was carved the sacred poem, the same poem that had led them to this place. "She is real..."

"You didn't believe it?" June looked surprised. "You of all people? The representative of this district?"

"I had to forbid hope," Bara said softly. "It is a dangerous thing in the mind of the believer." She moved closer to the statue. "This woman... stands for everything."

"How so?"

"You've read the poem as much as I," Bara said, running her fingers along the engraved lettering. "She held a power that no-one, not ever herself knew about. Or at least could understand. Time was supposed to bend for her, and because of her existence, things would never go wrong."

"She was supposed to be able to stop the war between the humans and the Pokemon," June noted. "But something happened, and she died."

"So they built this statue. And a few months later the floods came, seemingly aimed right at the statue."

"Because of the floods, the war ended," June concluded. "And so many wanted to believe that she had still been able to fufill her destiny, even though she had died."

Bara smiled crookedly. "Some still do believe."

"Some groups wanted her sainted, but she had been raised without a God, and the churches couldn't put their faith in a woman who had lived without it."

"Typical," Bara was still smiling. She looked up at the face. "Rose Rochester. I'm a decendant of hers, though countless generations. And through time the name has become Rosechester."

"I see the family resemblence," June smirked. Bara looked at the empty hands of the statue.

"Did you find anything nearbye?"

"Yes, actually, we found something buried under the foot of the statue," June waved a hand. "Come, I'll show you."

They went up and out again, into one of the tents nearby.

"We had a lot of trouble getting it out of the pit, because it was so heavy," June said, pulling away a cloth to reveal a small chest. It was made of the same type of marble as the statue. The box was smooth sided, and unusually plain. "Honestly, we were expecting something a little more ornate."

"Maybe whoever put it there didn't have the time to make it fancy," Bara ran her hand over the top of the box. There was something inscribed in small letters on the surface. 'November 9.'

"The day Rose died," June recalled.

"Actually, that's my birthday," Bara smiled wrly. "Odd." She looked at the sides of the box. There weren't any hinges. "So what's inside?"

"We don't know," June shook her head. "We haven't been able to get it open. We think there's a pressure problem, do to being buried for so long, but we're not sure."

"Hmm." Bara ran her hands along the sides of the box, feeling the edge where the two halves met. She put one hand on the top of the box, just below the writing. With the other hand she gave the meeting edges a good tap. There was a pop and a hiss. "That was easy enough."

"Lucky shot."

"Should we look inside?"

"Well, yes, but..." June giggled. "I'd like to be the one who opens it."

"Go ahead, I don't need any curses on me anyways," Bara stepped aside.

"Ha." June carefully pulled the lid off, and looked inside. "Wow."

"What is it?"

"I don't know, but it sure is pretty," June picked up an object out of the box. While the box had lacked in decoration, the object was more simplisticly ornate than anything either could remember ever seeing.

"What is it?" Bara wondered again.

"I'm not sure," June looked at it. "It almost looks like the top of a scepter or something." And it did. The main section was circular, and a little over five inches in diameter. There was a smaller bulb at the top, and inside the big circle was a another bulb that was split into two halves.

"Doesn't the inside part look almost like a Pokeball?"

June squinted. "You're right, it does. I wonder what this part is." She pointed to another circle below the main one. It had an impression in it, shaped like a mis-formed Starmie. The smaller circle moved a little, like it would've been a lock for something. "I want James to get a good look at this." June set the object down into the box. "Be right back."

"Okay." Bara stood next to the box, drumming her fingers on the side. "I want to look at it myself...." She lifted it out of the box.

In her hands, the object began to glow. The strange aura spread to cover her.

In a flash, she disappeared.

It was only a few months before the flood. And yet, she was already dying. Rose lay in a hospital bed, barely able to keep her eyes open. Too weak to hold the baby she had given birth to only a few hours before. Its father was dead, and soon its mother would be too. Rose couldn't name her. It was wrong to bring a child into the world during this war, wrong to stain the child's chances of living by giving it the only name that could come to her failing mind. Her own name...

Rose could hear the baby crying. She wanted to cry too, wishing it would take away the pain. Her back hurt, broken somewhere and screaming in pain that echoed back to a time when she had died with someone else. But the pain was slowly dulling, spreading throughout her body; conquering her soul.

The colors of the room seemed muddled. They were mixing together, blurring into a pink ball next to her bed.

Her room was filled with light. It seemed distantly familiar.

It coalesed into something solid. "Mew?"

She would've smiled. "I'm sorry about the Pidgey. I had to give him up..."

"'It's alright, Rose,'" the Mew said into her mind. "'Your Pokemon is safe.'"

"Then why are you here?" Rose thought to it. The Mew hovered just a few inches away from her face, but she could barely see it. The creature was clearer in her mind.

"'To protect you, Rose,'" she said.

"But I'm nearly dead, you're a little late," Rose internally sighed.

"'Do you remember what I told you, long ago when you were just a little girl?'"

"That I would have to face a great challenge. Is this it?"

"'No.'"

"Every time I faced someone as a Gym Leader, I always wondered if it was my greatest challenge. But it never was. And then I thought saving my mother was it. But now, since the war began, I'm not so sure."

"'You will never know. Not this time.'"

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"'You are the master of your own destiny, Rose. You have already secured it.'"

"What? How..."

"'Rose, what is the one thing you want more than anything in the world, right now?'"

"I don't want to die," Rose thought.

"'And why is that?'"

"Because I don't want to leave my baby alone in this world."

The Mew smiled. "'And so you shall not. That is part of your destiny, Rose. You will not die, and your baby will be safe. But not this time.'"

"How..."

"'Time is a promise, meant to be broken,'" the Mew said. "'You have always been a breaker of that promise. We die to make other things happen. And for you, in turn... you won't die.'"

"What are you going to do?"

The Mew rubbed Rose's cheek assuringly with her tail. "'I am going to take your daughter to a place where she will be safe.'"

"But what about her name?"

"'She will be justly named...'"

Rose remained uncertain. "You haven't turned against me?"

"'I never will.'" The Mew pulled her tail away hestitantly. "'Now, close your eyes and rest.'"

Rose's eyes were already closed. "Thank you, Mew..."

They would build a statue in her memory and honor, but time would quickly hide it away.

"Ohhh.. my head..." Bara squinted for a moment, before realizing that she was on her back. "Huh?" Where was she?

"Excuse me, miss." A soft voice, familiar. Bara opened her eyes, and found herself looking up at a familiar face. The eyes, the hair color... the face... the woman towering over her looked like her own mother once had. But, that wasn't possible...

"Uh, yes?"

"Are you alright?" the woman pulled Bara into a sitting position.

"I think so."

"Good," she crossed her arms. "Then maybe you'll be able to explain how you got into my living room."

"Huh?" Bara looked around, taking in her surroundings. She was sitting on the floor, next to a glass coffee table. The woman was wearing white slacks and a black turtleneck. A small red 'R' clung to the collar of the turtleneck. Her red hair had darkened with age, and was streaked with grey. It was pulled up into a bun. Despite looking very tired, the woman still managed to look elegant. Bara felt underdressed.

"I..." Bara couldn't find the words. "I'm sorry, ma'am. I don't know."

"Well..." the woman looked thoughtful. "Do you at least know your own name?"

"Bara."

"Well, Bara. I'd throw you out. Or have the police cart you off. But I'm a nice person." She didn't sound like she believed her own words. "Besides, you're probably safer here than with the cops."

"Ma'am?" Bara was confused. She tried to tuck the ends of her skirt around her legs.

"Oh, don't worry. I'll give you a room to spend the night in," the woman said. "You don't have to sleep on the floor."

Bara smiled. "Thank you."

The woman offered her a hand, and Bara took it. "My name's Jessie, though I suppose you probably know that already." She sighed as she pulled up Bara. "Always on the news. I used to like it..." She shrugged, leading Bara upstairs. "James keeps chiding me about taking in the strays, but I can't help it. I know what it feels like. And besides, I'm fairly impressed that you managed to sneak in without my noticing..."

The room Bara was taken to wasn't too bad. Despite being cluttered, she could tell that the room--the whole house in fact--had once been well taken care of. Jessie told her that she was invited to have dinner with the family if she liked. Then Bara was left alone. She sat on the bed, looking around the room. In a corner was a pile of newspapers. Bored and curious, Bara moved over to the pile. She couldn't tell how old the papers were--the dates were from a long time ago, but the papers didn't look like they had aged.

She looked at the headlines. "New Threats Appear in Saffron." The next paper in the pile was from several days prior. "Hold on Rocket City is Dropped, Threat Remains."

"Threat on Rocket City?" Bara looked thoughtful, wishing she'd looked a little more in depth to the dynamics of the Great War. The Pokemon had taken control of several cities. She didn't know that Rocket City had been one of them.

"Hostages at Rochester Mansion Released." This was from the next paper. Bara blinked. "Rochester?" She scanned the article. "This morning, at 10:45 standard time, the Pokemon holding 14 people inside the Rochester Mansion turned themselves in to the police. None of the hostages were harmed... The Mansion was originally taken after a failed attack on the Rocket City Gym. Despite taking control of much of the rest of the city, the Gym remained in human control. The Gym leader, Rose Rochester, and 154 other refugees of the city remained safely inside during the duration of the attack. Rocket City Mayor James Rochester refused to deal with the Pokemon in the Mansion, despite the fact that his wife, Jessie, and their two sons were among the hostages. After the Pokemon turned themselves in, many of the Pokemon troops inhabiting the city were reported to have withdrawn. An all-clear is believed to be declared tomorrow at noon."

Bara studied the picture on the front page. The caption said that it was of the mayor and his family after being reunited that morning. The picture was short a person, of course.

"Rose Rochester," Bara whispered. "Man, the history books were more selective than I thought. This was never mentioned at all." She went through several more papers. All the headlines were in reference to the Great War, except for three week's worth of papers that were missing prior to the report about the Rochester Mansion. The papers at the bottom of the stack were almost two years older than those at the top. Bara pulled out one of the last-first issues.

"War is Declared by the President of the League." So there was a reason for all of these papers being kept. Someone was tracking the course of the war. "Yesterday evening, at a live international telecast, the President of the International Pokemon League declared war upon the very creatures that the League was created to support. This was prompted after last week's attacks on Celadon and Pewter City, and several threats towards residents of the Indigo Plateau. All attacks were umprovoked, and launched by over 3000 Pokemon, both wild and escaped. 17 people in Pewter City were killed by their own Pokemon as the animals escaped captivity. The Pewter City Gym leader was sent to the hospital after nearly being crushed to death by his Golem. 31 people suffered a similar fate in Celadon City, however the Gym leader escaped unharmed to an unknown location north of the city. Two bombs were found in public buildings in the Plateau.

As the rash of Pokemon related violence began to spread throughout the country, the President was forced to make the decision in order to protect the populace. He stated during his broadcast last night that: 'We do not know why the Pokemon have turned against us. We have treated them with nothing with love and respect. However, we cannot allow them to destroy us; we cannot let the underprivledged few make things bad for everyone else; we must do as they do now--fight against them. It is now known that a group of Psychic-types are leading this assault against humanity, but we do not understand why. They are unwilling to communicate, and so we must spring into action, in hopes of stopping this before it spreads any further.'" The article went on to talk about the President's official declaration of war, but as Bara remembered it, the actions had been unsuccessful. The conflict had spread, turning into a world-wide human versus Pokemon fight. But no-one ever really knew why it started...

Bara put the newspapers back into their pile. As she sat down on the bed, something fell out of one of her skirt pockets. It was the scepter-top. Bara looked at thoughtfully. Maybe it was some odd relic from the war... but why had it never been mentioned? Was there something dangerous about it, or was it just too valuable to risk being stolen?

"And here I am, wandering off to who knows where with it."

Behind her, the door opened. Bara hid the object and turned around. Standing at the door was a young man, barely 20, with dark red hair tied back in a ponytail.

"Are you coming to dinner?" he asked in a soft voice.

"Uh, yes, I'll be right down."

He studied her for a moment, and then smiled. With a silent nod he pulled the door shut. Bara sighed.

"Well, he was cute... but too young obviously!"

When Bara went down to the dining room (well, after she found it), the only people present were Jessie, the young man from before, and another boy probably three or four years younger. He had short, dark blue hair-both boys had green eyes. Jessie had changed from her previous outfit, and was now wearing a long, somewhat tight, dark green dress.

"Now Jim, Alex, this is Miss Bara," Jessie introduced them. "She'll be our guest tonight. Bara, these are my sons, Jim and Alex."

"Nice to meet you."

Alex shifted in his seat. "Mom, when are we gonna start dinner?"

"When the others get here," Jessie sighed. "Just be patient."

"Others?" Bara echoed curiously. In the several hours she'd been here, Bara hadn't seen anyone else in the big, empty house.

"Yes, my husband and daughter," Jessie said, steepling her fingers. "And our other houseguest."

"The one that didn't fall out of the sky," Alex whipsered.

"Alex!" Jessie snapped at the younger boy. He blushed.

"Sorry."

Jessie pursed her lips and turned her face away from her son. "Besides, we know that it was your Aunt that fell out of the sky..." The boys laughed.

"I don't see how you and Dad ever wound up with her," Jim said slowly. Jessie looked at him.

"It's a long story--" she paused as she heard a door open elsewhere in the house. "That we don't have time for right now."

"Aunt Sabby, we're in the dining room!" Alex shouted out the door. Jessie sighed.

"I know!" came a returning shout. "I'm a psychic, remember?" Alex giggled.

At the door to the dining room a woman appeared. She looked like she would be able the same age as Jessie, but a little shorter, and lacking as many of the grey hairs. She had long green-black hair and dark eyes. The woman was wearing jeans, and a black shirt that read 'The currents of the world are to strong for us to fly or swim, so we must walk.' in white letters, with a little white pair of sneakers below the lettering.

"My, aren't we elegant today?" Jessie said, rising to meet the guest.

"This is all I'm about down to," 'Aunt Sabby' sighed.

"Well, have a seat, Sabrina," Jessie pulled out a chair. "They should be here any minute."

"They're stuck in traffic, two blocks down," Sabrina said, smiling faintly.

"They walked."

She tilted her head. "I know." Sabrina looked at Bara curiously for a moment. "Another guest?"

"She just.. ah... dropped in for the night," Jessie said. She turned to Bara. "This is the houseguest I mentioned."

Sabrina shook Bara's hand. "Pleased to meet you, Bara."

"Huh? How'd you know my name?"

Sabrina just smiled. "I'm a psychic, dear, don't worry." But her gaze momentarily said something else. Bara couldn't read the uncertain emotions that lay in Sabrina's expression.

"Have you heard anything from Saffron today?" Jessie asked. Sabrina looked away from Bara.

"Nothing yet."

"I feel so terrible," Jessie shook her head. "They leave town and practically just cross the street, and start over again!"

"It's alright, Jessie," Sabrina remained totally calm. "It was bound to happen. After all, we'd only had two attacks on Saffron so far..."

"You knew they were coming, didn't you, Aunt Sabby?" Jim said. "That's why you came here, right?"

Sabrina drew her brows together. "Yes, Jimmy. Something like that."

They heard the front door opening again. "Lucy, I'm hoome!"

"Wrong house!" Jessie called. There was laughter, and footsteps approaching the dining room. A man and woman appeared at the door, about the same height, and with varying shades of purple hair.

"How is every--" James stopped as a loud 'thunk' echoed through the room. All heads turned to Bara.

She was facedown on the table, fainted dead away.

"I think she's waking up."

"That's odd."

"What, that she's waking up?"

"No, you're wearing my shoes again, Aunt Sabby."

"Oh."

Voices filtered into muddle forms in front of her. Looming in front of her like a misplaced angel, was her mother.

"Are you alright, Bara?"

"Mommy, I had the strangest dream," Bara said, her voice sounding oddly distorted. "I went back in time and met all these famous people..."

"Huh?"

Bara blinked, clearing her vision. Three women loomed over her, all looking concerned. Jessie, Sabrina, and the purple haired woman... it was her! She had made her faint! "I'm okay."

"You fainted," Jessie said. "Are you sure you're alright?"

Bara sat up. "I think so."

"Well, you missed dinner," Sabrina said. "You were out cold for over an hour."

"Kind of like how I found you the first time," Jessie said. "You're lucky the table broke your fall."

"I'm alright," Bara assured them.

"Well, we'll leave you alone then," Jessie said. "I'll have Rose bring you up something to eat."

"Okay."

Then she was alone. Bara looked around the room. How could this have happened?

A few minutes later, the purple haired woman returned with a tray.

"So, you're Rose?" Bara said curiously. Rose chuckled.

"You sound like you've never watched the news." She set the tray down.

"I...haven't..."

There was a pause. Rose bit her lip and studied the dishes in front of her with a serious expression. "What year is it, Bara?"

She blinked. "What year?"

"Yes."

"It's 2319, why?"

Rose sighed, steadying the tray as she sat at the foot of the bed. "It's 2033, Bara." They studied each other.

"I knew there was something odd about you!" they said at the same time. Rose laughed.

"So tell me, Bara. How did you manage to find your way all the way back here?"

"I... I don't know really. We were at an excavation, and there was a box and..." Bara's voice faded off.

"Something wrong?"

"No," Bara shook her head. "It's just... I never really expected to meet you."

"Meet me? Why am I so important?"

"Oh, Rose..." Bara looked thoughtful, as if she wanted to say something but didn't. "In the future you will considered a very important historical figure."

"Oh." Rose blinked. "Well, I guess that's pretty neat." Bara nodded. "Now, you didn't finish telling me how you got here."

"Well, there was a box, and we opened it. Inside there was this weird object, and when I picked it up, I woke up here."

"An object?"

"Yes," Bara pulled the scepter top out of her pocket. "This. We weren't sure what is was."

"Wow..." Rose stared at it for a moment. "I haven't see this in a long time."

"You've seen it before?"

"Well, not all of this," Rose tilted her head. "But I recognize the Pokeball."

Bara looked down at the object in her hands. "You do?"

"Yes..." Rose took the scepter top from Bara. "Back when the war began, I had many Pokemon. But like all Pokemon eventually did, they started to turn against me. I was hospitalized one day, after several Pokemon attacked me and escaped. My mentor decided that it would be best if at least one of my Pokemon was hidden away, safe so it wouldn't turn against me. She said that someday I will be able to reclaim my last Pokemon, and use it again. But..." Rose sighed, setting the septor top down on the bed.

"What?"

"But my mentor was killed, several months ago. And now no-one knows the location of the Pokeball."

"And so you think this is supposed to represent it?"

"No, not represent it," Rose shook her head. "That is my Pokeball. Notice the lock?" She pointed to the turning impression. Bara nodded. "Someone put my Pokeball in this device, in order to keep anyone from trying to get to my Pokemon."

"But if this is from the future, wouldn't the Pokemon be long dead?"

Rose sighed. "I guess so."

Bara ran her fingers over the lock. "I wish I knew how to open it."

"Why?"

Bara shook her head, shrugging. "I don't know. I guess I'd like to see if there was still anything inside."

"How morbid."

"Most things are, once you think about them," Bara noted. Rose picked up the device and studied the lock.

"Hmm..."

"What?"

"Now..." Rose hesitated. "Now that I look at it, the shape of the keyhole looks familiar."

"Does it?"

"Yes, it looks like... like an old brooch of mine." Rose got to get feet, the object still in hand. Bara followed her down the hall, and up two flights of stairs. Finally they came to a room that was almost small enough to be a closet. Rose fished a small wooden chest out from underneath a pile of abandoned clothing.

"I quit wearing it when the war started," Rose said as she pulled a small cloth wrapped item out of the chest. "Because it made me easier to identify." Rose carefully pulled away the silky blue folds of cloth to reveal a small red brooch.

"Wow, it's beautiful," Bara breathed softly.

"It's my Gym badge," Rose said. Her eyes got sad, and she sighed. "My father designed it for me." The brooch--badge was rose shaped, set with red, yellow, and green stones that glowed softly. Rose's voice was soft and sad as she spoke again. "I long for the days of peace. For those days when Pokemon and humans were at peace." Light danced off of the badge--Rose's hand was shaking. "Oh, Bara, I can't do this!"

"What? Why not?"

"I can't release my Pokemon now," Rose said uneasily. "Not now. The time isn't right."

"What do you mean?"

"It would be pointless to release it now," she said, standing up. "There--there must be a better time."

"Oh..." Bara looked thoughtful. "Well, you can keep the device. It's yours, really, anyway."

Rose smiled. "Thanks."

That night Bara slept fitfully. She could barely sleep, and when she did, her dreams were clouded with a narrow, angry face. Piercing eyes--an angry, dissillusioned heart. Someone in the darkness, watching her with heavy suspicion--waiting for her to move into striking range. She finally gave up on sleep, laying uneasily awake.

"What did I do to deserve this?" Bara whispered.

"You were born..."

It was a few hours before dawn when Rose woke from a heavy, dreamless sleep. She lay still, her blue eyes wide and staring toward her dresser. A pale beam of moonlight highlighted the two objects there--her badge, and the locked device. Rose swallowed nervously.

Something bad was going to happen...but why now? Why after the war had already been going on for so long? Why hadn't she been able to do anything in the beginning...

"I should've been able to stop the attack on Rocket City," Rose murmured, pressing her face back into the pillow. She thought of her Pokemon, all lost now. Rose wondered if things would ever be the same again. Her father had been happy when the seige on Rocket City had ended, but he was still uneasy. With the main Pokemon army in Saffron, they were much too close for comfort. James feared that it was only a matter of time before the Pokemon resumed their assault.

"But why us?" Rose got out of bed and went over to dresser. "Rocket City isn't any more important than any other city..."

Rose turned to the window, the device and badge in hand. "I wish I knew..." As her voice trailed off, Rose recognized a sound traveling up through the night air. It was a scream, long and shrill, that stopped suddenly after several seconds. Rose gasped, running to the window. There was a commotion forming on the streets below.

"Bara!"

Rose practically tripped running down the stairs to the ground level. She burst out onto the street. All seemed quiet. Rose looked around, noticing a pair of eyes watching her from the alley. There was noise from where the eyes were peering. Impulsively, she started in that direction. She knew it was dangerous, going out at night, alone when there might be Pokemon around. She went all the way to the alley before stopping. The eyes had disappeared, but Rose had a feeling she was being watched.

Against her better judgement, she took a few steps into the alley. It was dark--the streetlights barely illuminated here. She turned around, wanting to leave, but a screen of light blocked her way. Rose gasped, stepping back quickly. Her foot hit something. Looking down, Rose saw an Abra. It looked up at her with its narrow eyes, and stared coldly. The Abra had a blue stripe painted down its forehead. A mark of the higher army.

"Well, now. What do we have here?"

Rose froze, afraid to turn around.

"Oh, don't be afraid, Rose."

"I'm... I'm not afraid," Rose spoke to the voice echoing inside her head. She turned around. A light suddenly appeared a few feet away from her, illuminating the form that held its source. The Alakazam lifted the lamp, his dark eyes studying here. Rose gasped softly.

"Kesle!"

"Kazam," the Pokemon chuckled. Rose swallowed nervously.

"Ah, so you know who I am?"

"How can I not?" Rose said. "You're the leader of the Pokemon revolution!"

Kesle nodded. "And I know who you are, Rose Rochester."

"What do you want with me?"

"For a long time, I didn't want anything to do with you. You were just a very small nuiscance." Rose frowned. "But then something else arrived. Something that I noticed didn't belong here." Kesle turned slowly, and the light moved to illuminate a small circle.

"Bara!" Rose hit another light screen as she tried to move. Bara was crumpled on the ground, motionless. "What did you do to her?"

"I didn't do anything to her," Kesle sounded smug. "But I did have one of my men push her out the window."

"What?!"

"It was only four stories. She isn't dead yet."

"What do you mean, 'yet'?" Rose shouted.

"There's no need to yell, I can hear you fine," the Alakazam thought. He considered Bara's form. "You two seem close. Sisters?"

"No..." Rose shook her head. "I don't know who she is."

"I know she's been here only a short time. Yet... you two seem strongly connected."

"Well, I don't know where she's from! And I don't know who she really is!"

Kesle narrowed his eyes. "I know you're lying. But no matter. It won't matter who she is, once she's dead."

"No! You can't kill her!"

"And why not? If you don't know who she is, then it isn't a concern of yours."

"You can't just go around killing people, Kesle!"

"It's been working just fine so far," Kesle said. "And besides, you can't stop me."

"Why do you want to kill her? She hasn't done anything to you, or any Pokemon."

Kesle looked at the lamp. "No, not yet. But there is something about her...she has something that will cause problems for me."

Rose hesitated. "She doesn't have anything."

"And you're so sure..."

"Leave her alone, Kesle!"

Kesle held up his free paw, which began to glow. "You will not tell me what to do, human." A blast of energy shot from Kesle's paw, knocking Rose off of her feet. She gritted her teeth, trying not to show her pain as she got back up. Another blast threw her against the alley wall. Rose could barely get back up. Kesle raised his paw again to attack, but as the energy shot from his hand, it hit a strange deflector. The energy pulsed a bright fuschia and fizzled out, just a few feet from Rose.

Kesle blinked in surprise. "What? What happened?"

"Stop your attack, now!" a soft voice shouted through their minds. A ball of pink light formed in front of Rose, who leaned against the wall, and coalesced into an innocent looking Pokemon.

"Mew?" Rose whispered weakly.

"Yes Rose, I'm here," the pink Pokemon said assuringly. "I won't let Kesle hurt you."

"Let's see you try," Kesle shouted, throwing another energy blast at Rose. It again fizzled before reaching her.

"Mew, why are you here?"

The Mew turned and looked at Rose. "You won't understand anything I tell you. So all I can say is that I'm here to prevent things from going wrong again."

"Again?"

"Don't worry."

"Mew!" Kesle's voice interjected. "You're obviously an intelligent and powerful Pokemon. How can you possible protect this human?"

"Because she is special," Mew said. "And despite what your life has led you to believe, not all humans are bad. This war is pointless."

"Why didn't you come before?" Rose wondered.

"Because the time wasn't right," Mew sighed. "Because Bara wasn't here."

"What does Bara have to do with this?"

"She has everything to do with it, Rose."

"I thought as much," snarled Kesle. Mew jolted him silent.

"Please, Mew, tell me why..."

"Bara and the device she brought with her both came from long in the future."

"Yes, I knew that."

"I put them there, Rose." Rose looked at Mew in surprise. "It isn't right to tell you this, but when you died in the future, I took the device and Bara to a time where they would be safe. They've remained there. Time follows its own patterns, and now the time has come to make things right."

"'Right'?"

"It is time to end the war. Rose... Bara is your daughter."

"But I don't have a daughter," Rose said uncertainly.

"Someday you will. But you died soon after she was born. You asked me to keep her safe."

`"I don't understand."

"It is hard to make these things understandable. That is why I'm here. Bara is named for you. Her name means 'rose'."

"What about her father?"

Mew shook her head silently. "That is not for now. I promised you that I would make everything right. You must end the war now, Bara, or we are all doomed. Pokemon and Human alike, will all suffer greatly. The world will be decimated, and it will take a long time for things to return to proper ways. Bara comes from 300 years from now, and even then Pokemon and Humans are struggling to stay alive."

"This is nonsense," Kesle said. "Such things will not happen."

"You don't know that, Kesle. You are fighting a pointless war."

"We are fighting for the freedom of the Pokemon!"

"Kesle, the Pokemon are free. With the love of humans, they always have been."

"I was not treated with such love."

"Not all things are perfect. But they can be much better if you stop fighting."

"I will not stop," Kesle shook his head.

"Mew, if we stop the war, won't Bara cease to exist?" Rose whispered.

"Bara will always eventually exist as your daughter. It's meant to be that way. But if you can't stop the war, she'll just lose you again."

"I don't want that to happen," Rose frowned.

"I know you don't." Mew turned to Kesle. "There must be some way we can settle this."

"I will not surrender!"

"You don't have to surrender, we could just call it even."

"Even?"

"Yes, with no winner."

Kesle considered this, but then shook his head. "I will not give up so easily." Mew looked thoughtful.

"Fine. If Rose beats you in a Pokemon battle, will you agree to it?"

After a moment he nodded. "I will. But only because she has no Pokemon to battle with."

Mew smiled. "Ah, but she does."

"I do?"

"Yes, precious Rose, you do." A ball of light appeared in between them. It took shape in Bara's device and Rose's badge. "Take your Pokemon. It has been waiting faithfully for you."

Rose pushed away from the wall, and took each object in hand. "Are you sure?"

"You will never be truly betrayed," Mew smiled again.

"How can she possibly have a Pokemon?" Kesle wondered.

"When the Pokemon first began to revolt, one of my Pokemon was put away for safe keeping," Rose explained. Kesle narrowed his eyes at her.

"I will fight you."

"Do not worry Rose, I will be watching. It will all turn out right."

"Thank you, Mew."

"It is my duty," Mew bowed slightly, before floating into the darkness.

"We will begin," Kesle said. Rose nodded. She stepped forward. Kesle handed the lamp to an Abra.

Rose looked around her. Just withing the fringes of the lamplight, she could see Bara's fallen form.

"I have always fought to protect the future, like it or not," Rose said softly. "And I defeat you to protect my future."

"We shall see."

Rose set her badge into the lock--it fit perfectly. She turned it carefully, hearing it click five times. Then the device unlocked, the halves falling back. The Pokeball dropped into Rose's hand. She set the device down, facing the Alakazam.

"Begin."

Rose held the Pokeball for a moment, gathering her strength and courage. When she was ready, she threw the Pokeball.

"Pidgeot, GO!!...."

They learned the ways of peace, and rebuilt. Several years passed, and with them the fateful November 9th. In December of that year, Rose had a daughter. She was named... well, I'm sure you can guess what Rose named her...

... And the Mew could sleep peacefully, for a little while at least...

The End