Just some inside information here...I'm gonna be switching back and forth from the past to the future in this chapter at least three times. I KNOW the timeline might not be exactly like the game, but I did warn you that it was LOOSELY based on PMD2 (I just figured out what that means...not sure that's a good thing... *sweatdrops*)

Far away, across times and space, through one of the hidden passages that connect the future to the past, a Mudkip paces uneasily back and forth on the beach, torn between two halves of himself: what he was and what he wanted to be. He knew he was timid; he'd always known it, and, unfortunately, that fact had been shown numerous times. But despite that, deep in his heart the desire to become an explorer, discovering new lands, finding treasure, and rising through the ranks to one of the best of all time; stood strong. He knew he could do it...at least, he thought he could.

"Okay, Kippy. You can do this. Today is the day," he said quietly to himself, looking up the hill where Treasure Town stood, the first lights lit during the nighttime beginning to make their presences known. Beyond that was Wigglytuff's Guild, a world-class training facility for aspiring explorers eager to leave their mark on the world. Kippy had lost track of how many times he had tried to sign up; his nerves always got the best of him before he could even walk through the front door.

He was a coward. But today, he had high hopes that this time, he could find some courage tucked away in his young body. Today would be different. Why? Because he'd brought along a special treasure that, he hoped, would inspire him, encouraging him to achieve his goals.

A small piece of gray stone now sat in front of him, sitting in the dwindling rays of sunlight. The complex, white pattern engraved upon it shone brightly, reflecting the light and making the stone seem even more mysterious. This was Kippy's Relic Fragment, and it was his most prized possession.

Putting away the Relic Fragment in the small canvas bag he used to carry around his few belongings, he couldn't help but smile at the memories it brought back. His father had gotten it for him when he was newly hatched, and he could still remember when he used to run around the small forest close to their home and pretend that he was a great explorer, with the bag serving as his trusty Treasure Bag. While it was really just an ordinary knapsack, he had liked to pretend it was something more than that. He still sometimes did, to get him motivated.

Taking a deep breath, he steeled his will and began trekking up the hill. He passed by Treasure Town without really thinking about it; it wasn't until he was right in front of a large hole with a grate in front of it that his anxiety began to creep up on him.

"No! I have to steel my will today! I'm really going to do it this time!" Kippy said, filling himself with weak determination and stepping on the grate. Immediately, a loud voice called down from below. Two voices.

"Pokemon detected! Pokemon detected!"

"Whose footprint? Whose footprint?" Kippy cried out in surprise and quickly stepped back off the grate.

"That was shocking!" he exclaimed, before signing in disappointment. "I thought today was the day...but I can't do it. I'm such a coward." Taking out his Relic Fragment once again, he looked it over mournfully. "I thought bringing along my special treasure would inspire me..." Sighing, he made his way down to the beach again. There had been a violent storm earlier, but things should have quieted down by now. Kippy trudged down the path, wishing that today had been that different day.

Little did he know how different it was going to be.

Earlier that same day, back across time and space, Anima and Grovyle stood in a moderately sized clearing in one of the dismal, gray forests that filled the region. Final preparations were being made, and every now and then one of the two would fiddle with the Kangaskhan Statue nearby, taking out items they thought they would need and putting away those they didn't. It was a nervous habit more than anything else; one that put their shaky nerves at ease. While neither would easily admit it, they were a bit scared about what might happen across time. Dusknoir and his "Sableye Squad" (Anima had coined the term after her second encounter with them) would certainly not let them escape so easily. No, they would be followed, and to Anima and Grovyle it was only a matter of time until they put two and two together and realize that they were further along in their Time Gear search than they originally thought.

"Anima, can I talk to you for a minute? Alone?" Celebi chirped from the corner of the clearing. Anima looked up from the bag she was trying to organize.

"Sure, Celebi," she replied to the pink Pokemon. Handing the bag to Grovyle, she said, "Here. See if there's anything else we could possibly need. There's a good chance I forgot something again."

"I'm sure you did fine, but I'll check if you want me to," Grovyle said, not knowing what Celebi wanted but having a feeling in the pit of his stomach that he couldn't quite make out. Part of him knew what she wanted with his human friend, but it refused to divulge the information with the rest of him. Anima walked over to Celebi calmly, also having a feeling about what this was about but, unlike her partner, knowing what it was. She found it slightly humoring, but she had to wonder if she really had the time for this.

"I think I know what you're going to say," she said, a faint flicker of a smile dancing across her face.

"I'm going to say it anyways," Celebi replied. "You do realize that a Pokemon and a human can't possibly be together, right?" Anima had to cover her mouth with her hand for a minute, turning away so Celebi couldn't catch the amusement written all over her face. Holding back laughter, she said,

"Celebi, you know as well as I do that he's my best friend. As for anything more than that...I honestly can't say."

"Well, I just hope you know that out of the two of us right now, I'd be the better choice," Anima rolled her eyes.

"Sure, Celebi. I know that," she said, her voice thick with sarcasm. Celebi obviously caught onto that, because her next reply was indignant.

"I'm just making sure you know that so you don't wind up disappointed later on!" Anima had no idea what she was talking about, and unfortunately it showed on her face. Celebi's tone softened a bit.

"I'm only talking about the...species difference here," She said, somewhat awkwardly. "If you somehow managed to change into a Pokemon...well, you get it." Anima laughed; a hard, cold laugh that normally came on when she was trying to hide various emotions that she preferred to keep to herself.

"I'll keep that in mind, Celebi," she said. "I'll keep that in mind," More often than not, she wished she was a Pokemon. At least then she'd be able to partake in battles more often. She felt bad that Grovyle had to deal with most of it, while she was normally on the sidelines, using Wonder Orbs and Blast Seeds and stuff like that. Occasionally she'd get her hands on some Gravelrocks or Iron Thorns and she could be even more useful, often taking down enemies before they got within striking range. But unless that happened...she mainly had no choice but to stay out of the way.

As Anima headed back towards Grovyle, it dawned on her that Celebi might actually be jealous of her. A legendary Pokemon...jealous of a human? No way!

"What was that about?" Grovyle asked. Anima just shrugged.

"Celebi just wanted to sort something out..."

"Does it involve me?"

"Yes, and before you go any further, we don't have time for Twenty Questions,"

"All right, all right." Grovyle said, leading the way into the woods. Anima followed, with Celebi bringing up the rear.

It took a ridiculously long time to reach where the Passage of Time was hidden, but that seemed to be because this time, the mystery dungeons decided to throw them a monster house every other floor.

"I'm getting really sick of this," Grovyle said as the party was ambushed for the fifth time.

"At this rate we'll never make it..." Celebi moaned, quickly ducking out of the way as Anima hurled an Iron Thorn at the nearest Pokemon.

"Nice shot," Grovyle commented, taking it down with Leaf Blade.

"Um, is it just me, or are even more coming?" Celebi asked nervously, looking behind her to see that the passage they had arrived by was blocked. Anima looked around at the increasing numbers and dug around in her bag for a moment.

"Oh, forget this," She muttered darkly, throwing a Wonder Orb against the ground. The effect was instantaneous; every single Pokemon in the room had been petrified, unable to move. The three hurried out of the room before any other mobile Pokemon could find them.

After what seemed like a lot more effort than what should have been necessary, they finally made it to where the Passage of Time was located. Celebi made a few tweaks to it here and there, and soon enough it was ready.

"You two be careful, all right?" She asked. Anima and Grovyle both nodded once, a strangely solemn movement made even more so by the fact that they had done it at the exact same time. Celebi couldn't help but notice how Anima's hands were shaking at her sides...she was scared, if only a little. Grovyle's facial expression was impossible for Celebi to read, but she saw the concern towards Anima in his eyes. This was why she envied Anima; even though Celebi was a legendary Pokemon with amazing powers (and was shiny, on top of everything else), Anima had one thing that Celebi could never attain.

Grovyle's affections. Sure, he saw Celebi as a friend, but anything more than that was wishing for something that would never happen. Celebi sighed internally, but she knew that she shouldn't really mind. Anima and Grovyle had to be the best combination she'd ever seen...it was a simple "I've-got-your-back-and-you've-got-mine" relationship at first glance, but deep down it was something deeper. It was based on selfless determination and mutual trust going back for a long time, so long that Celebi wouldn't be surprised if they started reading the others' thoughts. In a way, they already could, through facial expressions and tones of voice.

"A-are you ready?" Anima asked, frustrated by the slight falter in her voice. Grovyle placed a reassuring hand over her own.

"We'll be fine," he promised, although he couldn't help but feel that these words were false comfort somehow. "I promise..." Anima closed her eyes in thought, trying to fight fear. When she opened them again, they were filled with steely determination.

"All right," she said slowly, all traces of fear gone. "Let's go," The two leaped into the Passage of Time, leaving Celebi on her own to fend for herself should trouble come along while her friends were away.

As soon as they entered the timestream, Anima knew that something was off. Neither she nor Grovyle had ever been time-traveling before, but an innate feeling told her something was not how it was supposed to be. To start off, it was dark, so dark that Anima could barely see a foot in front of her in any given direction. It was also terribly windy, and it was almost as if it was trying to pound her to death. Anima couldn't see Grovyle, but she knew that he was there with her, and he was close. The thought comforted her. At least she wasn't completely alone in the raging darkness, furious that something had decided to trespass upon its territory. A series of two flashes of light flashed in quick succession, vanishing as soon as they had appeared. It was then that Anima noticed something far away. The first was a shadowy figure that she couldn't make out and didn't bother trying to. It could have been Primal Dialga for all she knew, coming to finish them off himself. But Anima doubted this theory, and decided not to delve into it anymore, probably because of what she saw in that split second of light. A large projectile was careening from the shadowy figure right at them, and it only took a moment for Anima to process its intended impact point. Grovyle, her partner.

Anima's reaction was a mixture of pure reflex-which had been sped up to speeds that a normal human could never even think of attaining-and selfless instinct. Everything seemed to slow down to a crawl as Anima, giving no regard to her personal well-being, threw herself between the projectile and its target. The impact was stronger than she had imagined it would be, and the force of it was so great that it sent her flying back into Grovyle, who barely had enough time to grab her hand before she could drift any farther away.

"W-whoa!" Anima gasped, from surprise and pain. Agony coursed through her veins at lightning speed almost immediately after the initial shock of the blow had worn off.

"Are you-are you okay?" Grovyle asked, worried beyond any imagination. It vaguely occurred to him that he had let his guard drop upon entering the timestream, and that his partner may very well be paying for it with her life. Another series of flashes barely lit up the blackness surrounding them before vanishing again, but that was all the time Grovyle needed to see how bad of a shape Anima was in. Her blood was blossoming across her shirt like a lethal, crimson flower, and the sight of it made his heart ache. If he couldn't treat her soon enough, there was an excellent chance that she wouldn't make it, despite the supplies they had packed. And to treat her...he had to hold on long enough. If he lost her now, there was a more-than-good chance that he wouldn't be able to bring her back. But to his horror, he found that Anima's grip on his hand was slipping.

"No! Don't let go! Just a little longer...come on! Hang on!" He begged. It was extremely uncharacteristic for him to do so, but with his partner losing consciousness and a horrible wound sapping her life away, it seemed appropriate. He tightened his grip on Anima's hand, trying to compensate for the lack of strength on her part.

"I...I can't hold on..." Anima whispered, trying to keep her grip on Grovyle's hand. Despite their best efforts, a stray wind knocked them loose, and Anima was sent hurtling away from her best friend. The scream that followed was from both of them, one of desperation, one of pain, and both of fear that this was the last time they'd ever see their partner again.

"Waaaaaah!"

...Wow. Even I'll admit that's a little bit of a cliffhanger...if you don't know how the story goes, that is. I don't live off of reviews, but they help motivate me and help me improve, so if you could spare a little time that would be deeeeeply appreciated!

Until next time, see you later!