In the wide emptiness of the cosmos, a small building was floating. It was nothing more than a little barrack made of stones, almost looking like some sort of chapel...
Outside, a bright, shiny star was parked, as you would park a motorscooter or a motorboat. It was standing in front of some stone stairs that lead up to the building's only entrance.
Inside, there was only one, hexagonal room that was illuminated by several bright orbs that were attached to the walls. In the middle of the room, a round pool filled with a clear liquid was standing.
Two figures were standing above the pool and peered inside. One of them was a young boy with unruly, brown hair and a white toga. He was obviously some sort of angel, since he had a pair of white, feathered wings on his back. Next to him, a tiny girl with dragonfly wings was hovering, surrounded by a blue ball of light.
The fairy and the angel boy smiled at each other, then the boy made a sweeping gesture across the pool, and suddenly, the image of a sleeping boy appeared in it.
"Dear, kind-hearted Shinji..." Navi smiled. "Sleep tight. The next day will bring you more fortune."
"Maybe he'll finally ask Rei or Asuka for a date, what do you think?" Pit smirked.
"That would be nice indeed," the fairy nodded. "I just hope there won't be another Angel attack... that would ruin his whole day..."
"If that should happen, I'm there to keep an eye on him!" Pit grinned. "After all, I'm his guardian angel. And I will do my best to keep any harm from him."
"As well as I will try to bring him every good luck he can get," Navi said. "It is my job as his Fortune Fairy, after all."
"That's right," Pit nodded. "We have to make sure that Shinji's life will be a happy one. True, it might be hard, but we can do it."
"I just wish he still had his mother..." Navi sighed. "And his father is never there for him. If it wasn't for Misato and his friends, he would have nobody..."
"Well, Misato isn't exactly a perfect role model... but she does her best in her job as his guardian. You have to admire her, she manages to keep on eye on both Shinji and Asuka, in addition to her job... and her pet penguin."
"If only she wouldn't keep such a close eye on her cans of Yebisu..." Navi grumbled.
They were both surprised, when suddenly, a green, impish figure flitted into the room. They recognized it as a Pokémon with a big head and gentle eyes.
"Celebi!" Pit smiled up at his friend. "What brings you here?"
"Dire news, my friends..." the time traveling Pokémon said in a grim voice. "And they are regarding your young protege, Shinji Ikari."
"What?" Navi was worried immediately. "What could be so bad? What's wrong with our Shinji?"
"Is it because of us?" Pit wondered. "Is the council disappointed with our work? Tell them we can work even harder, we..."
"That's not it!" Celebi quickly said. "You are doing great, but the sad thing is, it won't do anything good. You see..." He sighed. "Shinji... is already doomed."
Both the Fortune Fairy and the Guardian Angel were stunned. "Wh-what makes you say this?" Pit finally murmured.
"I wish it would be different..." Celebi whispered. "But I consulted Dialga this morning and... he confirmed what I already glimpsed in the timestream. A horrible fate is awaiting everyone on Shinji's homeworld, and there is nothing that can be done to prevent it."
"But... surely it can't be that horrible..." Navi shuddered. "Will he die?"
"He won't die," Celebi told her. "But he could very well die, it would spare him the pain of being the only living human in a desolate world... the only AWARE human..."
"You're talking as if... all of this has already happened," Pit said with disbelief. "Isn't there anything we can do to prevent this?"
"You have to remember that I can see the future," Celebi said. "Be thankful that you haven't seen the horrors I witnessed... it will be worse than any Angel attack before."
"Why did you come here, then?" Navi sobbed. "If there is no way to save him... why tell us at all? Oh Shinji..." While she never met the boy in person, she got to know him over the past few weeks, closer and more personal than his own father would ever be able to. And she learned to adore the silent, gentle boy with the kind heart. She sniffed. "It's just not fair."
"My official reason for being here is that you are being transferred to a new working place," Celebi sighed. "For another human boy on another world... a world that is not doomed."
"That can't be!" Pit shouted. "I won't stand this! What did Palutena say about this? She can't just accept the death of billions of humans just because..."
"You know the rules..." Celebi sadly said. "We can guide the residents of all worlds into the right direction, but we cannot interfere directly... there has to be some sort of all-powerful deity who has already sealed their fate. And against fate, we're powerless..."
"Isn't there... isn't there ANYTHING we can do?" Navi asked desperately. "ANYTHING?"
"Navi, no..." Celebi murmured. "You don't know what you're asking..."
"Please, Celebi!" she begged. "You are one of the time travellers... you are Dialga's assistant! You HAVE to know if there is a way to save him. Do you... do you really want to sacrifice his life, just because of... of FATE?"
Celebi suddenly got very nervous. "Well... actually... no, I can't... but then again, what if... No, no, it can't be done! That would be unjustifiable!"
"Celebi..." Pit said urgently. "If there's a way of saving Shinji, then tell us already! We still can decide if it's wrong to do it or not!"
The legendary Pokémon sighed. "All right, all right, you win! Oh boy... well, where do I start? Okay, I... I visited Master Hand not too long ago."
"The guardian of all champions?" Navi asked with awe.
Celebi nodded. "Yes, the very same! Well, and you might remember his report about champions from various worlds just disappearing into thin air..."
"Of course we remember!" Pit shouted. "It was all in the Skyworld News. But what does that have to do with..."
"I'm getting there," Celebi told the impatient angel. "See, it is very, very important for the balance of world that these beings, may they be on the side of light or shadow, are being found as fast as possible. Of course, Dialga and I can put them back in the same place of time in which they have vanished, but the longer they stay away, the more the balance of their homeworld will be threatened, and therefore, the balance of the whole multiverse. Therefore, Master Hand talked to me in private and he... he told me of a daring plan he has."
"What plan?" Navi asked.
Celebi took a deep breath. "He told me that it might be possible... to temporarily replace the heroes... with substitute champions, so to speak. Residents of other worlds that can fill the gap in their respective worlds, so the balance will be maintained. Of course, they won't know what to do at first, but... as long as they have the missing champions' powers and abilities, they should be able to do the job."
"You're not suggesting..." Pit gasped.
"I'm not suggesting anything," Celebi said. "But Master Hand himself told me that it is possible to put Shinji in the place of such a missing hero. As the boy is heavily tied to fate, he would be the perfect candidate for the job."
"You mean Shinji could be saved... and all he has to do is to be the replacement of one of the missing champions?" Navi asked.
"That was Master Hand's idea," Celebi nodded. "Actually, that's the main reason why I came here. He said we could never tell this to the council, you see? They would never have agreed to that plan. And I must say, I'm not too happy about it, either. But as long as Master Hand approves, the decision is up to you two... you are Shinji's guardians, after all."
"Which champion will he replace, should we decide to do it?" Pit asked hesitantly.
"I can't answer that question," Celebi told her. "Master Hand himself knows the secret of choosing a champion, even if it's just a replacement. It could be anyone, on any world where there's a champion missing. Shinji has to take over his role completely... or her role! Yes, Shinji could even become the replacement for a female champion. He also might have to become a member of a completely different species."
"Well, I know there's no way I will abandon Shinji," Navi said resolutely. "I'm for it!"
Celebi nodded grimly. "Very well... what about you, Pit?"
"I don't know..." the young angel scratched his head. "Navi, have you considered that Shinji will be a stranger on a strange world? He has to take over the life of someone he never met before, and we can't even tell him what's going on. He will be confused. And we don't even know what will happen to him if Master Hand finds the missing champions."
"I don't care!" Navi shouted. "It's still better than being the last human on Earth!" She sighed. "Still, it would be nice if at least a few of his friends could be saved as well..."
"I was afraid you'd say that..." Celebi sighed. "To tell you the truth, even his friends Asuka and Rei are strongly tied to fate, and maybe even a few of the others... but you aren't their guardians, you know? You can't speak for them. All you could do is to request that I speak with their guardians and..."
"Okay!" Pit said.
Celebi blinked. "Excuse me?"
"I hereby request that you go and ask the guardians of Asuka, Rei and everyone else that might be considered. As long as you do that, I'll be willing to put Shinji into his new role, whatever it may be. The chance that they meet each other are very slim, but still..."
"As long as there's hope, there's light!" Navi smiled. "An old saying of the Great Deku Tree."
"Palutena used to say that, too," Pit smiled.
"Okay, okay, I'll go and ask them," Celebi groaned. "You guys are going to kill me with this, you know that? All right, I'll go and inform Master Hand, and afterwards, I'll inform the other guardians. But you two better continue to do your job, you got that?"
Pit gave him the thumbs up and smirked. "You can count on us, buddy!"
And while Shinji Ikari peacefully slept, he was still guarded by two beings that might just not only have saved his life, but also those of several other people he knew...
And Shinji couldn't know that when he woke up, he would be in a very different place, in a different body, for a completely different task. And he also wouldn't know how he barely managed to dodge the cruel fate that was in store for him and his friends...
Read the comments on this episode
See other episodes by Shritistrang
(Posted Mon, 31 Dec 2007 13:13)
Questions? Problems? Suggestions?
Send a mail to addventure@bast-enterprises.de
or use the contact form.
らんま1/2 © Rumiko Takahashi
All other series and their characters are © by their respective creators or owners. No claims of ownership of these characters are implied by the authors of this Addventure, or should be inferred.
The Anime Addventure is a non-profit site.