CHAPTER ONE: ENTER NICOLE WARREN

The future was not as it should be. Nothing was the same. The land was bare, desolate, gray and dead. Boulders were suspended in mid-air. Night did not fall, nor did day come. The seasons never changed. No wind blew, no water ran. Everything was just… cold and silent and evil.

All this.. And yet, nobody rebelled? Nobody tried to fight back and fix this? Primal dialga was possibly the worst, strongest, most evil being there ever had been, holding their world in this horrible state. Some feared his strength. Others feared his followers. And even a few thought that he was good. They claimed that he was just doing this because he was trying to protect them.

Liars and fools.

It angered her, honestly. How they could be so stupid, so fearful?! There was no point living in this world. It was torture. Certainly, trying to stop this was dangerous. But if there was no point in living, what did it mater if you lost your life? If you didn't, or even did you might manage to make things better - at least for those who survived.

Nicole had had enough of this. She was being a hypocrite, thinking about how others were cowards and liars and sitting there, doing the same thing they were day after day, putting up with this. She was going to change things. Or at least, try.

Her best friend, luckily, felt the same way. Nikki didn't know what she would do without Grovyle. Their friendship was, admittedly, somewhat strange. A human and a pokemon never tended to get that close. But they shared the same ideas, and had become friends years ago because of this. And now they were going to make things right.

Their plan was dangerous. And… if they succeeded, made the future better… Nikki knew, and so did Grovyle, that they wouldn't get to see the world they had corrected. It was a sacrifice, though, that had to be made. They had already started their journey, figured out what had to be done, and now it was finally time to-

"Nicole?" The voice snapped her out of her thoughts. Her green eyes traveled to the owner of the voice, and a small, forced smile came over her freckled face. "We should probably get going," Grovyle continued. "We're likely getting either watched or followed, maybe both. We can't waste any time."

"Yeah." Nikki sighed in agreement, running a hand through red hair, its length the result of not getting cut in most likely her whole life. "You're right, Grovyle. We should get going." She nodded slightly for him to lead the way, and he did so. Years of practice let her move nearly as fast as the speedy pokemon, and she kept up with only slight difficulties.

Finally they reached their destination, and the teen couldn't help but swallow. Celebi had already opened the portal, and it looked… scary as hell. Yet… It was colorful. The sight was amazing, and she wondered whether, if they succeeded, the rest of the world would look that way instead of this morbid, dreary gray. Closing her eyes, she shook her head slightly, listening to the voices of Grovyle and Celebi without really paying attention to what they were saying. She already knew what they had to do, and besides, the two seemed to be almost flirting. She allowed herself to smirk slightly.

"Nikki~!" Her eyes opened again and she gasped, leaping back slightly. Celebi apparently had stopped flirting with Grovyle while she wasn't paying attention, and was now RIGHT in her face, grinning slightly. "You ready to go? You're acting kinda strange." She stated.

Nicole shook her head again. "No, I'm ready. I'm just a little nervous." She stated. A little? That was far from how Nikki felt. If they didn't do this right, they wouldn't save the future, they'd get caught, they'd get tortured and killed. If they did do this right, they'd… vanish. Neither sounded very great.

But she had already said these things were okay with her. And besides, two lives were nothing compared to the world.

"Don't worry." Grovyle said, and Nicole smiled slightly once more, nodding and wondering how the hell she could not worry as she walked over to stand next to him near the portal. She frowned, stiffening, looking around. What was that sound? Any sound, to be honest, wasn't good in a normally silent world. Grovyle and Nicole exchanged glances before turning back towards the portal, clasping hands. Nikki swallowed, closing her eyes tightly, and the two leapt into the vortex of colors and hope.

Nicole felt her stomach lurch dangerously. They were being pulled quickly through the portal, so quickly it made her dizzy, despite her closed eyes. She gasped, opening her eyes again, as now the portal was pitch black, bright lights and loud sounds crashing constantly, and her and Grovyle were getting thrown around harshly.

"Woah! Wo-wo-woah…!"

"Are… Are you okay?! No! Don't let go! Just a little longer…Come on! Hang on!"

"N-n-no! I can't… hold on…!"

"Waaaaah!"