Through Time and Space

by Galadriadhar

You and I, we never see each other. Except when we do. Even then, it is just to right imbalances in nature. I think it's wrong. I'm going to change it.

This fanfiction, "Through Time and Space," was an unfinished story in November of 2014. Much like "Living," I decided I wanted to finish it.

Unfortunately, I do not recall the driving force behind this. I simply remember that I wanted to write a story that paired Dialga and Palkia together. "Through Time and Space" is the result.

THROUGH TIME AND SPACE

You and I, we never see each other.

Except when we do.

Even then, it is just to right imbalances in nature.

I think it's wrong.

I'm going to change it.

---

Confounded snow, I mutter, flicking some of the white stuff off of my foot. I have never liked snow. I keep it in the summer season in my dimension. I have heard, though, that you love snow. I suppose I had better get used to it. After all, I am heading to your dimension.

I lower my head, close my eyes, and chant the words that allow me to enter your dimension. Open sesame! I always feel foolish saying that. Arceus has a strange sense of humor, that is for sure. Ah, well. That is life, I suppose.

What a sap. Ever since she fell for Giratina, nothing has been the same. Ideals that once were upheld with the greatest reverence now fall by the wayside. Once, Arceus would take me to task for visiting you. I guess that is one benefit of the change.

I am still waiting for the portal to your dimension to open. I mutter the words again. Open sesame. The portal opens slowly, almost reluctantly. Can a portal be reluctant? I think that is something I have to ask you. You are the Legend of Space, after all. Maybe you have some ideas. I do not know.

The portal is still opening. It is very strange. Not only is it seeming to open reluctantly, a horrible ripping sound starts accompanying the opening of the portal. I wonder what is wrong.

Finally, the portal is open enough that I can squeeze through. I have to squeeze tightly, as I have a large bulk. If I remember correctly, I am larger than you are. Maybe not. I do not remember. As soon as my back left foot comes through into your realm, the portal shuts with alarming speed.

I begin to worry. Are you okay? Are you injured? I remember, after you battled with Cyrus, your portals suffered. What is wrong?

I start to run, a giant tortoise racing to the rescue. That is how I feel, anyway. Your dimension is milky and foggy. That is not a good sign, either. I have heard that you generally keep your dimension looking like a winter scene, with children, evergreen trees, and stars in the sky. The children are, of course, your creations, your holograms, for lack of a better term. I do not even really know what a hologram is.

A strangled sob echoes through the fog. I am not sure where it came from, but I run in the general direction that it came from. At least, I assume this is where it came from. I hope so.

Suddenly, I crash to the ground. I look back, craning my neck to look past my bulk. I tripped over a large wall of snow. Well, large is a relative term. A human would find it large. I find it small and slightly annoying. And, not only that, I did not even break any of the wall. It must be very solid, very packed snow. I imagine it is easy for you to do, having control of space and all of that.

Then I realize that the sobbing is closer. I watch as the fog tears and shreds away, revealing you sitting in the snow, with three children climbing on you. Two of them, actually, are climbing on you. The other is sitting next to your head, patting you consolingly.

One of the children looks my way and shrieks. I shake my head, trying to clear the sudden cloud that obscures my brain. Children shrieking apparently does that to me.

You look over to me, alerted by the child's shriek. I am impressed with your ability to shrug off the piercing tones. You then take the shrieking child in your hand and gently brush its head. I cannot tell between male and female children. It is a failure, unfortunately, but I have never really liked humans. Thankfully, the shrieking calms down. Perhaps it would be more appropriate to say that the child calms down. Its little mouth closes, its eyes close, and, for some reason beyond me, it begins making little snorting noises. Maybe this child is asleep. I know sleeping because of boredom, but the child didn't seem bored.

"What is it, Dialga?" Your voice is clogged, almost nasally. It is not quite something I ever thought would apply, that description. We are Legends, after all. We are above such things as clogged noses. Do I even have a nose?

Uhhhh… Now that the moment has come, I am not actually sure what is going through my head. Why did I come here? Oh, that is right. I wanted to see you. But you seem unhappy.

You give a hollow laugh. "You, Dialga, wanted to see me? You, the high and mighty Legend of Time, wanted to see the lowly Legend of Space? You have never come to see me for social matters."

I move my head back and forth. I am confused, and I feel unable to think. Looking at you is clouding my mind even more than the child's shriek. Uh… I know. Sorry about that, Palkia.

You roll your eyes. "I don't know if I should let you stay, Dialga. Any moment now, Arceus will be coming to discuss the recent ripples in the space fabric."

I suddenly realize that I am still lying on the ground. The snow is pushed up around my sides, and I assume I made a crater in the snow when my bulk fell. Instinctually, I ask, How long have you been waiting?

You shrug. "I don't know, Dialga. You're the one in charge of time." I narrow my eyes but then see that your eyes are sparkling. Are you going to cry again? No, you were joking with me.

How long, Palkia? I ask again. I know you keep time, too.

You look away from me, fixing your gaze on an evergreen tree covered with snow. One of the children that had been climbing you is now climbing the tree. I catch a small flicker of worry in your eyes as you watch the child. You really do care about your holograms. Illusions? No, that demeans them.

"A few minutes. That's all." You blink a couple of times. I know you well enough by now.

You have been waiting longer. Here, allow me to find out. Thankfully, I can use Roar of Time on the ground. I close my eyes and bellow, YOU HAVE BEEN WAITING FOR TEN HOURS, THIRTY MINUTES, AND TWENTY FOUR SECONDS!

You purse your mouth into a nice, beautiful line. What? What was that thought?

"Yes… I suppose so. But Arceus will be here any moment. You had better leave, Dialga."

I believe you know, like I know, that she has forgotten. You may as well accept it. Arceus is never late, Palkia.

A fresh tear wells up in your left eye. It is the only eye I can see. It makes the sparkle go away that was there, and magnifies the deep red and black of your eye to a marvelous degree, much like the crystals Diancie wears. I am very confused now. These thoughts are very concerning, confusing. Confusing is more appropriate I believe.

"I know, Dialga. I just… hoped she hadn't forgotten."

I sense I have been on the ground long enough for my body to go numb from the cold. It is an interesting sensation. It is one I have never felt before. Something, though, tells me that the numbness is the least of my worries.

What else is concerning you, Palkia? I ask. Something tinges my voice. I have never heard it in my voice before. Where have I heard it?

You turn to me, and I see that both of your eyes are wet with tears. I tilt my head questioningly. I was right, but I still want to know.

"Dialga… Do you remember Cynthia? Do you remember Drake?"

I look up into the foggy sky, thinking. If I recall correctly, both of those names belong to humans. Hmmm… Oh, yes! I remember! It was in Arceus' voice at the Meeting right after she got together with Giratina.

Was Cynthia that human female who wore black? Was Drake that human male who wore…. blue? If so, then I do remember them.

You nod and swallow visibly. It seems like you cannot speak. "I realized something, Dialga." But you can. I was wrong.

What did you realize?

"They will die someday. They were the only humans I liked. They were the only ones I was friends with. Isn't that sad?"

I shrug with some difficulty. It is hard to shrug while lying on the ground. I have never been friends with humans. No, that is wrong. I was friends with Cynthia and Drake. But we have known that friendships with humans could not last, Palkia. That is the reason we never tried to know any humans.

You sniff, with a nose that I do not know if you have. "I know, Dialga. It's hard, though, when they helped you out of a tight spot. Sorry…" you say, quickly backtracking. "That question was rather accusatory. It is sad, but I shouldn't take it out on you."

I did not notice, I say. Thinking back on it, I do realize that your question of the sadness of the event was slightly bitter and steely. I suppose I chalked it up to your type. No, that is me. I am the Steel type. For being the Legend of Time, I think I have one of the worst memories of any of the Legends.

"I suppose that's okay," you mutter.

Did I offend you, Palkia? I hope not. The thought of offending you is rather concerning to me. I do not know why. It just is.

"No," you sigh. I believe you are contradicting yourself, but I keep it to myself. I would not be able to stand seeing you get angry and upset.

You set the sleeping child down. At least, I hope it is sleeping. As much as I despise humans, I seem to have grown somewhat attached to your little friends in the time I have been here in your dimension. You pat its head, and the child by your head pats your head in return.

"I know we didn't want to get friendly with humans, Dialga. I know that they die, and we simply exist. But I didn't realize the costs at the moment I met Cynthia and Drake." You sniff again, and wipe your hand across your eyes. I have never seen a gesture or action like that before. I wonder if it is a human one.

In the moment, we often are less than smart, I agree. It was the wrong thing to say.

"Are you calling me stupid?!" you yell, leaping to your feet. The child by your head has to grip your neck to stay on. The child on the tree falls off, thankfully into a deep snowdrift. The sleeping child is unaffected.

No, I was not, Palkia. I chose the wrong words.

Just as quickly, you fall to the ground. The child on you is looking rather shaken up. "I know, I know," you say quietly. "I'm sorry, Dialga. It was a bad reaction."

Looking at what I said, I see I should have known you would react like that. You have used your claws on lesser words. I am lucky that your mood is so volatile.

It is all fine, Palkia. I think about what I said and realize that it was not smart of me to say what I had said. I know you well enough.

You chuckle. I have never heard a chuckle, but as what I hear you do is not a full laugh, I assume it is a chuckle. "How can you know me so well?" Your mood shifts again. "I just… I just wish Cynthia and Drake didn't have to pass on."

I nod. This is also hard to do when you are lying on the ground. I will need to remember this. I understand. I feel sorrow at that thought, and I wish I could use my powers to lengthen their time. You perk up, but I have to keep speaking. I cannot do that, though. It is an affront to nature, Palkia. We are all given our own time on the world we inhabit. Not even I, the Legend of Time, can change that without serious repercussions.

You sag. I watch as you wipe your eyes again, and I wish I could use my powers to lengthen Cynthia and Drake's life spans. I do not know where the wish came from, but it came from somewhere.

"I know," you say. Your voice is staggered. I believe you are about to cry again. I do not want that, though.

I will tell you this, though, I say, hoping to stop the tears. I believe I can convince Giratina to let us visit them in his realm. Would you like that?

You brighten up immediately, lingering tears falling and never reappearing. "You mean it?"

I nod. Your reaction fills me with joy. I wonder why. Of course, Palkia. Giratina owes me a favor.

You leap to your feet, lift my head, and touch your mouth to mine. The contact lasts only a moment, but that single moment is enough to make me see why all these strange thoughts have been coming.

"Thank you, Dialga! Thank you so much!"

Perhaps the thing that happened to Arceus is happening to all of us. I know, watching you, that you do not feel what I feel, but that the contact between mouths you initiated was the result of great joy. I wish that it were because you felt the same way about me as I feel about you.

"Come on, Dialga! Let's go!"

Very well. Let me get up first.

And while it is not what I would like, it is a wonderful start.