The scene shifted to the girl who had left the meeting room moments earlier. She walked alone through a corridor of crimson crystal, her footsteps echoing softly against the gleaming walls. The crystalline structure hummed faintly around her, as if the very building were alive with latent energy.
She made her way toward the archive room—a vast chamber filled with towering shelves that stretched up toward a ceiling lost in shadow. Countless books, scrolls, and data crystals were packed tightly into their designated places, organized with meticulous precision.
She began searching for the museum's location files, her fingers tracing the spines of old records. But as she reached for a particular volume, she felt something approaching. A familiar presence. Her instincts screamed a warning a second too late.
She spun around.
A girl with long, reddish-black hair streaked with purple came flying toward her, a rose-shaped hairpin glinting in the crystal light. Her red eyes sparkled with mischief, and her face was split in a wide, gleeful grin. She wore the same academic uniform as the first girl—but where the first was composed, this one radiated pure chaotic energy.
Instinct took over. The first girl—Vera—teleported on the spot, dissolving into shimmering light and reappearing several feet away.
But the other girl was faster.
Arms wrapped around Vera's neck from behind. A warm, clinging embrace that Vera knew all too well.
"Roxanne!" Vera's face flushed a deep crimson, half from embarrassment and half from exasperation. "I've told you a thousand times—*don't do that*!"
Roxanne giggled, pressing her cheek against Vera's shoulder. "But you like it, don't you, Senior Vera?"
Vera's eye twitched. She grabbed Roxanne's arm, intending to throw her to the floor in a proper reprimand—
*Pop.*
Roxanne teleported again, reappearing a few feet away with her hands clasped behind her back and an innocent smile that fooled absolutely no one.
"As always," Roxanne said cheerfully, "Senior is still no fun when it comes to joking around."
Vera took a slow, deliberate breath, forcing her irritation down. Her face cooled back to its usual composed expression. "You know we're in the middle of a mission. We need to be serious." She smoothed down her uniform and fixed Roxanne with a steady look. "Did you get the information?"
Roxanne's playful demeanor shifted subtly. Her eyes sharpened. "I did. And I got some extra intel on top of that."
Vera's eyebrows rose. "What did you find?"
Roxanne leaned against one of the bookshelves, ticking points off on her fingers. "The museum is heavily guarded. Police presence is substantial, and there are multiple agents on-site. Approach routes are being monitored with extreme precision." She paused, her expression growing more serious. "The safest way in is to enter like ordinary visitors. We can't use Alcrypna—the Nexus Sapphire's domain is blocking it."
Vera let out a long, frustrated sigh. "Haaaah…" She pinched the bridge of her nose. "That artifact is such a hassle. Of all things, it had to block Alcrypna. It's supposed to be stored in a warp box—how is its effect this powerful from containment?"
A new voice cut in from behind one of the towering shelves.
"Looks like we've been wrong from the start."
A third girl emerged from the shadows between the bookcases. She had short, dark green hair cut in a sharp wolf style that framed angular features. Her eyes were a striking blue-tinged green, sharp and analytical. She wore the same academy uniform as Vera and Roxanne, but her blazer was a deep forest green instead of the standard colors. In her hand, she carried a sleek black briefcase.
"Yo, Allen," Roxanne greeted, waving casually. "Did you finally beat Keith?"
Allen's expression soured instantly, as if Roxanne had just offered her something foul. "Don't mention that name again. I don't know how, but… I've never won. Not once."
Vera interjected before the conversation could derail further. "Allen. What did you mean—'we've been wrong'?"
Allen's demeanor shifted to business mode. She set the black briefcase on a nearby table and opened it with a soft *click*. Inside was a small blue disc—a Blue Ray data cylinder, its surface gleaming with stored information.
"I just finished analyzing some data I retrieved from the academy," Allen said, holding up the cylinder.
Vera's eyes narrowed. "Wait. Isn't that the environmental observation class's Blue Ray? Why did you bring it here?"
Allen's lips curved into a faint, knowing smile. "You'll see."
She held the cylinder between her palms and activated her esper ability. The Blue Ray hummed, projecting a shimmering holographic display into the air above the table. Footage began to play—surveillance recordings of the museum and its surroundings.
Vera leaned in, then froze.
The footage was *wrong*.
She had reviewed these same recordings yesterday. They had shown standard activity: guards making rounds, workers preparing exhibits, the usual flow of personnel. But this footage was different. There were people walking in patterns she didn't recognize. Objects in places they shouldn't be. Subtle shifts that shouldn't exist.
"That's not right," Vera said, her voice low. "Yesterday, when we merged the histories, the changes were supposed to be stable. That was hours ago. Why has it changed again?" She grabbed Allen's shoulders, her grip tightening unconsciously. "You pulled this from the most recent timeline, didn't you?"
Allen didn't flinch. "That's the strange part," she said quietly. "It seems another timeline has become connected to ours."
Vera's hands tightened further. "Another timeline? How? We only merged *two* timelines. There shouldn't be a third."
Allen met her gaze steadily. "You know how merging timelines works. Merging timelines means merging histories. And history is just a sequence of events. Events are *stories*." She paused, letting the implication sink in. "When we merged the two timelines, we combined everything into one. And when stories combine… some parts get rewritten."
Vera's knuckles went white. "Then *how* is there another one?"
For the first time, Allen's composure cracked slightly. She looked away, frustration flickering across her features. "That's the part I don't understand. It just… appeared. Another timeline, connected to ours without warning or explanation."
Vera's legs gave out. She sank to the crystalline floor, her hands falling limply to her sides. Her carefully constructed plan—the one she had been refining since the meeting—crumbled into dust in her mind. All that preparation. All that strategizing. Rendered obsolete by something none of them could have predicted.
Roxanne knelt beside her, her usual playfulness replaced by quiet concern. "Senior…"
Vera stared at the floor, her reflection staring back at her from the polished crystal. "We need a new plan," she said, her voice hollow. "From scratch."
---
Meanwhile, across the city, Kyle stood before the Ariestal Museum.
The building was massive—a sprawling structure of glass and steel that seemed to catch the late afternoon light like a jewel. Its facade was adorned with abstract reliefs depicting legendary Pokémon and ancient artifacts, hinting at the treasures within. Kyle tilted his head back, taking in the full scale of it.
"Man, this building is huge," he murmured, genuine awe coloring his voice. "I wonder how long it took to build something like this."
"Char!" Delta, his Charmander, stood beside him with matching wonder, its tail flame flickering brighter in excitement.
Kyle grinned down at his partner, then strode toward the museum's main entrance. The glass doors loomed ahead, promising the wonders of the exhibition inside.
He was halfway to the doors when a guard stepped into his path. The man was tall, broad-shouldered, wearing a security uniform with an official-looking badge clipped to his chest. His expression was polite but firm.
"Hey there," the guard said, raising a hand. "Museum's still closed for preparations. You can't enter just yet."
Kyle stopped, his grin softening into an easy smile. "Ah, got it. I'll wait, then." He glanced back at the building, then turned to leave. But before he walked away, he paused. "Hey, what time does the exhibition start?"
The guard checked a small tablet on his wrist. "Eight o'clock tonight."
Kyle looked at his own watch. 4:00 PM.
Four hours.
He sighed, shoving his hands into his jacket pockets. "Four more hours, huh?" He looked down at Delta Charmander, who tilted its head curiously. "Looks like we've got some time to kill, buddy."
"Char," Delta agreed, settling onto Kyle's shoulder with a contented chirp.
Kyle started walking back down the museum's front path, the grand building looming behind him. His mind wandered to what the exhibition might hold—artifacts, relics, perhaps even something truly extraordinary. But for now, there was nothing to do but wait.
The afternoon sun cast long shadows across the city as he disappeared into the streets of Ariestal, the countdown to eight o'clock already ticking in his head.