Hands of Fate-Chapter 24

Chapter 24

What was the point of coming here if you were just going to run away at the last minute, huh?

Celebi had followed Touko until she dropped to her knees atop one of the island's many high cliffs, her hands covering most of her face. "Can you at least try to sympathize me for just a minute?" The brunette asked in a muffled, broken whisper. "I almost murdered my father and the rest of my family just so I could get the guy! Do you have any idea how horrible I feel right now!?"

First of all, The Time Travel Pokémon said in a slightly annoyed voice. As I recall, you had no problem killing the man that killed your br-

"Don't you dare bring that up again!" Touko snapped, shooting Celebi a deadly glare. "That's a completely different matter!"

Second of all, you and I both know you didn't travel back in time just so you could be with that man. Didn't you say that you did it to prevent the world from slipping into the anarchy and discord you saw back there?

"I know what I said." She whispered, dropping her hands onto her lap. "It's just that, sometimes, it feels like my wish to be with him is the only reason I...almost..."

And another thing, Celebi was highly irritated at this point. Believe it or not, I personally don't like that time has been altered so drastically because you wished to change the past!

"I never made that wish; I already told you that. It was Dialga-"

Don't pass all the blame onto him! Are you honestly trying to tell me that there wasn't a small part of you who really wanted the past to change?

Touko's hands balled into fists. "I..."

I don't mean to be so brash, but I know you know it's the truth! You were the one who wished to change history. You were the one who's wish Dialga decided to grant. You were the one who captured me. You were the one I took back in time to change the past! And you were the one who didn't have the necessary resolve to undo this so-called mistake of a life! If there was anyone to blame for screwing up time, it would be YOU!

"SHUT UP!"

The human girl's shriek of an order made Celebi promptly refrain from saying anymore. The small legendary took a few deep breaths to calm herself before trying to talk again. I-

"You know what? You're right."

Celebi's head tilted to one side, her mouth pursing into a curious frown. Come again?

"You're right." Touko repeated, her voice returning to a whisper. "You're absolutely right. My wish changed history. My actions caused the deaths of my friends and family, turned Unova into a war zone, and turned the man I love into that hateful tyrant who can't trust anyone anymore. All of this is no one's fault but mine."

Celebi immediately felt bad for how she had lashed out at Touko. I-I didn't mean it like that...

"But you did, and you're right about everything." Touko pulled Celebi's ball out of her bag and stood up. "Not only did I screw everything up, I held you against your will and forced you to take me back to the past, just to watch me fail to fix everything! I used you for my own selfish desires," Her grip on the Premier Ball loosened and it fell to the ground. "And your usefulness has run its course."

Celebi was very confused and somewhat fearful. What are you-

"I have no want or need for you anymore so you can just leave YOU USELESS TOOL!"

SMASH!

The world had fallen silent after Touko completely shattered the Premier Ball with the bottom of her boot. Her jaw tightly clenching, Touko extended her arm, pointed her finger to nothing in particular, and issued her final order to the Pokémon she just relinquished ownership over: "Go."

Though Celebi knew Touko was speaking from a broken heart, she was still upset from how her former Trainer had released her. With a deep breath and a flourish of her arm, the Time Travel Pokémon used the residual amount of temporal energy she had left over to open up another portal a few feet away. For your sake, She softly said before entering the portal. I hope you find peace and happiness in the future you've chosen.

A few moments after the portal disappeared, a cross between a sob and deranged chuckle burst through Touko's lips. "You really don't get it, do you?" She hoarsely said, just how insane she felt and sounded showing in the small smile curving her lips. "I have no future."

Tears coming to her eyes once again, she stooped down beside her bag. "He was right." She whispered as she pulled out a long, thick piece of rope that had one end tied into a big loop. "Even if I had done the deed, there's absolutely no way I can live with myself anymore." She loosened the noose so that it was big enough to slip over her head. "After all I've done, and what I almost did...I deserve to di-"

Snap.

Every muscle in Touko's body went rigid and her breathing stopped when her ears registered the sound of a twig snapping beneath someone's foot. Slowly, she turned her head and saw the someone who made the noise standing a few feet away from her.

Tall, lean yet muscular body. Long, bushy hair held in a low ponytail. Mouth slightly agape. Scarred face blank and emotionless. Wide, dazed eyes staring straightforward. Though it was not one of the people she expected it to be, there was no way she wouldn't have recognized who had followed her.

It was N.

With a small breath of air, he took a step forward.

"Stay back!" Touko completely turned her body around to face him, her arms extended and holding out the noose. Though the gesture was meant to be threatening, it was anything but. N paused only very briefly before continuing his approach. Now knowing the limp rope was a lame threat, she dropped it and quickly reached for her bag. "I said stay back!" She warned him again, brandishing the dagger she'd taken from him before.

This made N stop dead in his tracks. "W-wait," He muttered as if trying to find his voice, his eyes moving back and forth from Touko's face to the knife in her hands. "There's no need for this. Put that away."

"Give me one good reason why I should." Touko growled, hiding how fearful and confused she was with the N from her timeline's presence.

Emerald eyes blinked a few times. "Because I'm not going to hurt you?"

"Like I'll believe that!" She scoffed, straightening her arms even more. "You sentenced me to death, remember?"

N flinched back. "I didn't- I mean I did- but I-" Unable to say what he wanted to say, he shook his head and slowly raised his hands in a sign of peace. "I promise that I won't hurt you. You have to believe me."

A tiny, hopeful part of her mind wanted to believe him, no doubt about that. However, this small hope was dwarfed by comparison to the rational part of her mind, the part that remembered how much he hated her and wanted to kill her.

All this meant nothing compared to the alarm Touko felt when she realized N held in his hand the object she'd dropped earlier from her hand.

And that it had been used.

"What have you done...?"

N wore a look of puzzlement. He turned his head slightly and, noticing the object in his hand, his eyes widened in sudden recognition. He snapped his head back around. "This isn't- I mean- Let me explain-"

"What have you done?" Eyes wide with terror, Touko started walking backwards. "What have you done?" She dropped the dagger and held her shaking arms close to her chest. "What have you do-?!"

Having forgotten where her back was facing as she walked, the ground gave out beneath her heel, gravity's hand grabbed hold of her body and, without so much as a squeak, Touko fell off the edge of the cliff.

------------

The torrential ocean currents crashed against the craggy rocks clustered at the base of one of the island's many cliffs, spelling certain doom for anyone unfortunate enough to fall from the cliff's great height. Fortunately for Touko, a tree root jutting out of the cliff's side near the top stopped her descent into the watery grave.

Unfortunately for Touko, a tree root jutting out of the cliff's side near the top stopped her descent into the watery grave.

Just let go. Just let go. The brunette told herself, her breaths as choppy as the waves beneath her as she dangled by her two hands from the root. I wanted to die, remember? Just not by his hands! I couldn't bear it if he did it! This is the lesser of two evils. Just let go. Just let go. Just. Let. G-

"A-are you alright?!"

Touko snapped her head up, tearing her wide eyes away from what awaited her below and focusing them on above her. She saw N's upper body peaking over the edge, his expression one of panic and fear. "Here!" He called out, reaching his hand down until his fingers were just a hair away from the root she clung to. "Grab on!"

"Why should I?!" The brunette cried out, cringing away from the rescue offer. "So you can have the honor and pleasure of killing me yourseCreak!Aah!"

The dead tree root shifted, causing a few pebbles to loosen from the rock wall and fall into the raging waters below. Fear threatening to devour her whole and paralyzing her, she tightly closed her teary eyes and made the conscious effort to unwind her fingers from around the only thing keeping her from falling too. Just let go just let go just let go justletgojustletgojustletg-

"Touko."

Her eyes snapped wide open. This had been the first time in ages that she heard N address her by her first name in this lifetime. Slowly, meekly, she craned her neck to look back up at him.

"Take. My. Hand." He spoke in a clear, unwavering voice filled not with the commanding authority of a king, but with the gentle plead of genuine concern. How worried he sounded, plus the panicked yet determined look on his eye, made it seem that N truly wasn't going to let Touko fall.

It also made her remember something she knew to be true about him from both lifetimes: N is not a liar.

Humoring the spark of hope in her heart, Touko gulped and carefully inched closer to N's outstretched hand. When she was close enough, she unwound her right hand from the root and-

Creeaak! "A-AH!" The root jerked a few inches, threatening to totally free itself from the cliff side at any given moment. Dangling from only one hand now, Touko's arm and body limply swayed in the wind. "I c-can't..." She whimpered, more fearful tears coming to her eyes.

"Yes, you can." N encouraged, extending his arm more and clinging his other hand to the cliff's edge for support. "Just reach a little further. I know you can do it, Touko."

It was hard to believe how sure of Touko's abilities N sounded. Breathing was enough of a strenuous task because of her broken ribs, so lifting her arm back up over her head proved to be a chore, too. Jolts of pain originating from the side of her chest shocking through her with every movement of her arm, she gritted her teeth and inched her hand closer to N's. She reached closer and closer and closer, the tips of their fingers lightly touching-

CRACK!

Everything happened in a blur. The root completely gave way. Her hand slipped away from his. She started falling again. He pushed himself forward. His hand locked around her wrist while hers simultaneously grabbed his. Both released their grips on the cliff side and root to grab each other's arms. The tree root plummeted through the air and landed in the water with a loud splash!

"It's okay, I got you." N said reassuringly, keeping his hold around her arm firm and steady. "Keep holding on and I'll pull you up. Just hold on..."

With a few strained grunts and the combined effort of Touko using her feet to climb up the wall, N was able to lift the petite girl back over the edge and placing her feet back onto solid ground. Both teens were hunched over and panting heavily, sweat coating their faces. Touko had one hand on her knee and the other over her rapidly beating heart as she tried to catch her breath and recover from the near-death experience when she suddenly felt N's hands on her shoulders.

Here it comes, Touko thought, closing her eyes and bracing herself. This is the end. I just hope it won't hurt too mu-

She didn't think of anything else when he turned her up and pressed his lips to hers.

Touko's eyes snapped open as wide as can be. To say she was surprised was a massive understatement. In fact, there wasn't a word in her vocabulary powerful enough to describe how utterly bewildered she was from the sudden action. He's...kissing me? Intentionally??

The kiss only lasted for a few seconds before N ended it. Almost instantly afterwards, he took her head in both his hands and pulled in for another, deeper kiss. Touko was so in shock that she didn't even flinch as N forced her lips to open and entered his tongue into her mouth. She felt his warm tongue hungrily entwine and swirl around hers for a full good minute until he slowly pulled away, removing it from inside her. He licked his lips, enjoying the taste of her so much his mouth pulled up in a small, devilish smirk.

As quickly as it came, though, his grin was replaced by an aghast grimace. His emerald eyes shining with the beginnings of tears, he wrapped one of his arms around her back and moved his other hand to the back of her head, entwining his fingers in her long brown hair as he pulled her close and pressed her face to his chest. "I'm sorry, Touko," He whispered. "I'm so sorry..."

Touko had remained completely blank and unresponsive from the first kiss up til now, when she felt N's chest heaving with small sobs and his arms tighten around her. Though she couldn't believe it, the way he sounded and acted made it seem and feel like the N holding her in his arms...was the original N. "How...?"

------------

The tunnel of swirling, wobbling bluish-green light came to an end and practically spat the young man out before vanishing without a trace. N laid on his back in the sand, his chest rising and falling with each shallow breath he took, trying yet spectacularly failing to make sense of the visions that had entered his mind as he traveled through the vortex and filled it to the brim. These strange visions swirled around his head and, as far as he could tell, seemed to encompass an entire lifetime.

But not just any lifetime. Though the events were somewhat different, they were visions of his lifetime.

Slowly, carefully, N sat up, massaged his temple, and tried to gather his bearings. Everything around the island looked exactly the same, however there wasn't a single cloud in the starry night sky above, stormy or otherwise. What...happened?

"...I can't..."

A voice on the wind caught his attention. It came from somewhere behind a tall rock formation to his far right. Faintly recognizing the distant voice, N stealthily tiptoed across the sand, pressed his body against the rock, and took a peek at what was behind it.

The moment he saw Touko standing near the front of a tent a few meters away, every muscle in N's body stiffened. He was reminded of her actions before she vanished: The last words she said to him. Her self-loathing smile. Her broken sobs. The woeful look in her cerulean eyes that tore his heart apart...

None of that could compare to the abysmal pit of horror and shame her shiny wet eyes expressed now.

"I can't...!" N heard Touko repeat, her voice and face reflecting the ever deepening appall and terror in her eyes. If seeing her look so distraught before had hurt him, seeing her now made N feel like he was slowly, painfully dying inside.

What is it? Even though he hadn't been detected, N could hear Celebi's voice in his head clear as day as the lithe green Pokémon flew closer to Touko. Can't what?

"I can't do it!" She mournfully wailed. "I can't kill them again!!"

Hands covering her tear-stained face, Touko turned and clumsily staggered away, Celebi closely following after. For reasons unknown, N felt the all-consuming need to follow the forlorn brunette. He began striding towards where she stood moments before, unsure of what he should say or do once he caught up to her. 'Can't kill them again'? He mused as he walked. Kill who, again?

The toe of his shoe bumped into something, and N turned his head down to see a metallic object lying on the ground before him. At a first glance, the object looked like a small gun, but when he stooped down and held it in his hands, the young man discovered that it was a gun of some sorts. The tip of a needle protruded from the end of its long, shiny silver barrel. At the other end, a glass vial filled with a clear liquid had been snugly inserted into its shaft. Upon closer inspection, the vial had a small label that bore the inscription: 'PKRS'.

Confused and highly suspicious of what an injection gun loaded with a vial of Pokérus was doing here, N carefully and quietly lifted the tent's tarp flap and peered inside. In the limited amount of light, he saw a brunette woman sound asleep near the back of the tent, and a man with short brown hair sleeping closest to its only entrance/exit. In-between the two adults was a small girl with long brown hair, a silver locket hanging from around her neck.

N's mind was abruptly assaulted with more visions, making him cringe and hold his forehead. An aged photograph? A letter...addressed to me? Unable to make any sense of his discombobulated thoughts, N looked back at the little girl, carefully examining her face because it seemed so familiar. What...does all of this mean...?

Suddenly, N's thoughts sorted themselves out and everything clicked into place. He understood the meaning behind why these visions were different alterations of his life. He understood that he had traveled through time to ten years in the past. He understood that the little girl asleep inside the tent was, in fact, Touko when she was a child. He understood why Touko had ordered Celebi to take her back to this specific moment in time. He understood the meaning behind what he heard her say.

Most of all, he understood the grim truth of what she intended and failed to do, and what he now needed to do.

N quietly crawled and knelt down inside the small tent, the injection gun held firmly in his hand. Unwarily, his eyes fell upon Touko's younger self. A lock of her hair was laying across her face, making her nose twitch in discomfort. Delicately, he reached over and pulled the pesky hair back behind her ear. Sympathy - plus a small, easily ignored twinge of awkwardness - entering and filling up his heart, N cautiously leaned as close as he could, without risking waking anyone, to young Touko's ear.

"You're...going to start going through a lot of tough times soon," He gently whispered to the sleeping child. "You'll live through much more than not many want to experience in a lifetime within the space of a few years. You'll lose many important, precious things in your life and experience years of darkness, but remember that it won't always be that way. It will take time, but you'll have sunlight in your life again. You'll have many wonderful friends who will always be there for you, and eventually, you will find one who loves and accepts you for all that you are, whom you will love and accept back all the same. You'll find...me."

Young Touko fidgeted slightly in her sleep. "Nnn..."

A tiny smile played on N's lips. He softly stroked her hair and whispered one last thing. "Never give up, and never lose hope. Always remember this...Touko."

Still using utmost caution, the young King from the future leaned back up and focused his attention on the only other man inside the tent, his smile disappearing. With a deep breath to steel his nerves, he held the injection gun's needle tip against Touko's father's neck. "It has to be this way," He looked away and closed his eyes. "I'm so sorry."

A finger flexed. A trigger pulled. A soft click. A vial emptied.

The deed done.

------------

"How...?" Touko muttered under her breath, slowly breaking out of her dumbfounded and bewildered state. "How can this be...?"

"I remember." N stated. "I remember the life I used to have. I remember getting Zorua as a child. I remember how he became my best friend and taught me to be my own person. I remember how afraid you looked when I told you who I really was. I remember you yelling at me to not touch you anymore. I remember how short your hair used to be. I remember jumping off the tower to save you, and telling you that you were so precious and important to me that I'd never let you fall."

His hug loosened slightly, but remained intact. "I remember being apart from you for three years, and how truly unhappy I was to be away from you. I remember that moment in the rain when I first kissed you. I remember every word of your letter. I remember how you almost died to protect me. I remember the song your locket plays."

He said each recollection with more surety than the one before. "I remember those months I spent by your side in the hospital. I remember seeing you walk again. I remember throwing that noose and wheelchair into the ocean. I remember cutting your hair. I remember each and every curve of your scars. I remember asking you to marry me, and how elated I was when you accepted. I remember...how much I love you. I remember you, Touko."

She couldn't explain it, nor did she want to, but what she believed to be impossible had happened. N - the real N - had returned.

"But the one thing I remember most," His voice had taken on a somber tone. "Is how cruel and heartless I was toward you in this life. I called you a liar. You were telling me the truth the entire time, and I wouldn't believe any of it. I always put my trust in the wrong person, never in you. I had half a mind to leave you stranded in the rain to let you freeze to death. My touch brought you pain and agony. I deliberately used that against you. I wanted you to be punished. I...held you back and...allowed him to kill your brother..."

Feeling Touko's body stiffen, N pulled her even closer. "Touko, I'm so sorry. I'm so, so sorry. Please forgive me."

She could hear him start to cry again. It was truly heart-wrenching to listen to, so she moved her hands to soothingly rub his back. "Oh, N..."

A few more minutes past before he removed his arms from around her. "I felt so guilty for hurting you like this," He whispered, his eyes downcast and his mouth set in a firm line. "I realized what you came to the past to do. I wanted some way to redeem myself for everything I did to you in this lifetime. So I, I..."

"You did what I couldn't do." Touko finished, lightly placing her hand on his shaking fist. "You found the resolve to change the past and break the curse. You...made things right."

N slightly lifted his head, meeting his green eyes with her blue ones in a shared gaze of understanding of what had been done.

Touko was unable to look N in the eye without being hit with a wave of guilt. She raised her hand to his face and gently ran her fingers along his scar. He held back a moan and shuddered at the delicate touch of her fingers, now understanding how she must have experienced when their roles were reversed.

"Wait," He murmured, pulling away from her and wearing a look of panic. "I-is it safe to- I mean- Doesn't this-"

The corners of Touko's mouth pulled up in a small smile. "It's alright," She softly cooed, resting her palm against his cheek. "It doesn't hurt anymore."

He breathed a small sigh of relief, his own mouth forming a smile, too. "Well, if that's the case..."

Without warning, N took Touko's chin and pulled her in for another kiss. Thankfully, both teens were prepared this time, so this kiss was much more enjoyable and satisfying. Her hand had snaked its way around to the back of his neck and his arms encircled around her again, tightly hugging her back and sides to bring her clos-

"Aah!" She loudly yelped as a sharp, stabbing pain shot through her, crippling her. N immediately snapped his eyes open, broke the kiss, and loosened his hug. "What's wrong?"

She answered him with whimpering gasps, her body swaying slightly before her knees gave out and she fell against his chest, the pain having sapped her of her strength though she remained conscious. N, very concerned and confused, noticed that one of her hands was tightly clutching the side of her shirt. Nervously and shyly, he pulled her hand away and lifted her shirt up her body.

He stopped lifting just below her bra line when he discovered the source of her suffering was a large, ugly, swollen red and purple mark on the side of her ribcage.

Swiftly yet carefully, N lifted Touko off the ground and carried her bridal style. "You're gonna be alright," He whispered as he started walking further inland. "I'll take you to the nearest hospital, where we'll find someone to fix you up. Hold on til then, Touko."

Though it was endearing to see how much he cared for her, Touko knew that she and N were in a state of denial, that they were both avoiding talking about what N had done because it was a very sensitive topic. "N...I-"

Tha-thump.

Touko's eyes went wide with shock from the sudden odd sensation that had swept over her. Before she could say anything, though, N abruptly halted, his eyes as wide as hers. "I feel...strange." He quietly muttered.

Shaking the feeling off, he took another step forward. However, as the heel of his foot touched the ground, his knees suddenly gave out. With a small gasp, he felt himself falling forward, unable to catch himself as Touko tumbled out of his arms and both landed on the ground. He heard Touko give out a small cry of pain, wanting to rush to her side and comfort her. His legs, however, were completely unresponsive and felt...tingly; similar to the strange feeling he had a moment ago. Becoming more confused by the second, he looked down.

Confusion turned to fear when N saw that his lower body was coated in a pale yellow light, and that his feet were completely see-through. "W-what's happening??"

"C-Celebi told me about this," Touko tensely said, the same light coating her lower body and her feet also becoming transparent. "She said, if the past gets radically changed, those from the future...will cease to exist."

N's emerald eyes grew wider. The light coating both of them steadily moved up their bodies. "We're...dying?"

"No, not dying. Our existences are simply...being erased and rewritten to adjust to the future created by the changed past." A tiny, rueful smile spread across her lips. "It worked, N. We're going to become our original selves again. Isn't that great?"

The full-fledged gravity of what had been done to ensure their return to the original timeline engulfed her soul with immense guilt, making her voice crack and her tears freely spill from her eyes. Each passing moment, the light grew stronger and more of their bodies vanished into thin air. Mustering his strength, N used his arms to crawl the short distance between himself and Touko. All feeling in his fingers was gone as he wrapped his arms around her once again and pulled her vanishing body close to his.

"Did we do the right thing?" Touko asked.

N pulled away a little to look her right in the eye and say in confidence, "Yes. I'm sure we did."

Both sharing small smiles, N placed a loving kiss on Touko's forehead. "I love you, Touko."

"I love you, N." She whispered back, her eyelids sliding shut. "See you...back home..."

The blindingly bright yellow light completely engulfed the pair of lovers. A second later, it faded away.

Leaving behind absolutely no trace that anyone was ever there.