A/N - Okay, WOW I'm sorry about the wait on this! You'd think that being finally out of school would give me more time to write - which it does - but damn if my brain doesn't want to work with me! I've been working on this chapter since... well, the last one went up; let me tell you, having an inability to focus for any period of time makes this really hard.

Anyway, I'm hoping to get back in to the swing of things in terms of writing, so HOPEFULLY you won't be waiting nearly as long for the next chapter. I hope not, anyway - I'm looking forward to this bit. There's not much more I can say besides apologizing for the wait again - and of course, please read and review. If there's something you think I dropped the ball on, or just to tell me what ya think, I'm ready to hear it. And without further ado, the Chapter awaits!


As was normal, Uxie was keeping a close guard on Fogbound Lake - news of the first stolen Time Gear had reached far enough for it to hear, and it only made sense that soon the thief would proceed to the lake. 'This thief will find that I am not so easy to overcome...' the lake guardian thought, looking out over the water as it always had.

A slight rustling sounded from behind the guardian, but it responded without even turning around. "So... you finally arrived." Uxie stated rather than asked, lifting its head slightly. The rustling stopped, then came the sound of an impressively light step. Uxie spread its senses, and 'saw' the intruding Pokémon - a Grovyle, with the oddest mixed sense of regret and determination in his mind.

"I'm sorry, but I've got a job to do. I'm taking the Time Gear, and I can't let you stop me." he said simply, the leaf-like blades on his arms extended for battle. Uxie calmly turned to face the Pokémon, a faint blue glow surrounding its form.

"You will not take anything, intruder. Whatever your mission, nothing warrants the theft of Time Gears - your efforts end here." A mere thought sent a wave of psychic energy towards the Grovyle, who easily leapt past it towards the guardian. Before it could even react, the Pokémon delivered an incredible slash to Uxie's body and sent it to the ground.

Grovyle shook his head, looking down at the motionless Legendary Pokémon. "I can't let anyone get in my way. I'm seeing this through to the end." He ran forward and dove into the lake, effortlessly snatching the glowing gear from its bottom, and leapt back onto shore. As the expected soundlessness of time grinding to a halt began to fill the area, Grovyle vanished into the shadow-covered entrance to the lake, with Uxie slung over his shoulder.

"… Two down, three to go."

Meanwhile, trekking through Amp Plains under the cover of a vicious thunderstorm, Team Legend was not far from the end of their self-assigned mission. The question remained, however, whether they were prepared for what lie ahead.

Amp Plains - Floor Sixteen

"Don't worry so much, Serita - we dealt with tougher things than Team Skull; whatever they can throw at us, we'll handle." Flare said confidently, heading through yet another cleared room of the dungeon. His partner started to say something, but he added "And besides - with that new move you picked up, 'Energy Ball' I think that disc said, you've been tearing things up. We can handle whatever comes our way!"

Serita shook her head with a sigh. "I know, Flare - but don't you think you're being a bit overconfident? I mean… what if Skull set something up? We should at least expect things to go wrong, so we're prepared." Behind her, Bruce was looking tense - more so than he had since they entered the dungeon. The Chikorita noticed, and asked "What is it, Bruce? Something wrong?"

In response the Machop slipped past her and caught up to Flare, holding out a hand to stop him from entering the next room. "Somethin' ain't right, here..." he muttered, taking a quick glance into the room ahead. He could see a surprising stash of items littering the floor: several berries, one or two of the strange candies called 'Gummis', and a single disc that they already knew held the technique for a new ability. "Don' that look... too easy?"

"… a little, yeah." Flare admitted, nodding. "But it's the only way we haven't checked on this floor - not like we have a choice, if it is a trap." He glanced back to make sure Serita was right with them and added "Alright... let's get this over with." At once they took a step into the room... and were immediately swarmed.

Pokémon seemed to appear from nowhere, and soon the team was outnumbered almost four to one. Flare turned around, only to see that a bulky Electabuzz was blocking the corridor behind them, arms crossed and sparking with electricity. "Alright... it was definitely a trap." the Chimchar muttered, turning again to face the swarm of hostile Pokémon. "C'mon team - let's do this!"

At the shout, the entire room burst into motion - the swarm surged toward them, and the team returned the favor with attacks of their own. A stream of fire from Flare burned and blackened a Dodrio, only for a blast of lightning to strike him to the ground. The attacker - a furious-looking Luxio - started to charge another attack, only to be struck down by a quick chop from Bruce.

"Git up, already - no sleepin' in a fight." the Machop said calmly, pulling Flare back up. Immediately he whirled around, grabbed an advancing Electrike, and sent it flying back into the hostile group. "Now I may be wrong, but this don' look like a fair fight." A Phanpy came rolling towards them out of the swarm, only to be thrown aside by a green orb of light courtesy of Serita.

"It's not." she snapped, leaves starting to swirl around her. "Let's finish this up, and get moving." The others nodded, moving so that they were all back-to-back in the middle of the group. Flames swirled into Flare's hands, and Bruce's fists gained an orange glow as he took a deep breath to focus. The swarm crept towards them with attacks of their own clearly charged up.

Flare smirked before shouting "Right then - hit 'em hard, and let's blow through this!" The next minute or so was a blur of action: Bruce delivered a vicious uppercut to a Luxio, sending it straight into the ceiling. At the same time, the storm of leaves around Serita flew outward and bit into any Pokémon reckless enough to get too close. All of this quickly thinned out the group of attackers, and several of the survivors seemed to think twice about continuing.

It took little more to make the remaining Pokémon flee, when they realized these three were not so easy to defeat. They left almost as abruptly as they'd arrived, leaving the trio panting from effort in the now deserted 'room'. Flare looked at his two teammates and let out a sigh. "Well... I'd say a few minutes to rest is in order. You guys agree?"

Amp Plains - Clearing

Flare poked his head out of the dungeon's 'exit', looking around to see an empty, rocky clearing ahead of them. Looking back at his team, he called them forward. "C'mon, guys - looks like we're clear!" He stepped into the lit clearing, followed closely by both of his teammates. A single raindrop struck his head, making him look up at the dark clouds filling the sky. "Ah, 'course - we've got a storm coming in."

Serita shook her head with a faint smile. "We make it out of that..." she began, gesturing back at the entrance to the dungeon. "… and you start complaining about the weather?"

At the question, Flare just shrugged. "Just making a note, sheesh." Something sparkled at the other side of the clearing, catching his eye. "Hey - what's over there?" Followed by his team, he started making his way over... just for lightning to flash, and a source-less, menacing voice echoed through the rocky area.

"How dare you trespass here..."

Immediately the trio started looking around for the voice's owner. Flare, with his eyes narrowed, called "Who are you - show yourself!" He was answered with a dark laugh, made only more worrying by the fact that they couldn't see the speaker.

"You want us to 'show ourselves'… so be it." Another flash of lightning obscured the trio's vision for a moment, and when it cleared they were surrounded. Seven Luxio, clearly a cut above the wild ones in the dungeon, had them boxed in; inside the circle the electric Pokémon formed, a large Luxray - clearly the leader of the group - had the team fixed with a glare. He took a single step forward, narrowed eyes focused on Flare before speaking. "You completely disregard the fact that this is our territory - in my tribe, that is not to go without punishment."

Bruce, the first of the three to realize there was a misunderstanding, pulled Flare back and stepped forward himself. "'Ey, now - looks like we ain't started off too great. We don' mean any harm, here-" His diplomatic attempt was cut short by a sharp growl from the Luxray, accompanied by a jolt of electricity just strong enough to knock him down.

"We will not be taken in by your tricks, intruders!" the Electric-type growled, his stance turning more aggressive than before, if it was possible. "Defend yourselves or not, this ends here!" A third flash of lightning struck almost on cue, and it seemed to be a signal of its own as the surrounding Luxio all became charged with electricity - whether the team wished it or not, this was a battle.

As if it were all planned, everyone burst into action at once. Flare quickly pulled out a seed from the bag slung over his shoulder - a red-cored Violent Seed - and tossed it to Bruce. "Words aren't solving this - we'll have to knock some sense into 'em." he said sharply, barely avoiding a charging Luxio. He immediately retaliated with a spray of fire, and at point-blank range the Electric-type didn't stand a chance - with its side blackened from the flame, it dropped to the ground.

Bruce nodded once, biting down on the energy-packed seed. "Yer right. This ain't gonna be easy... for them." he said simply, a faint red aura flaring around him for a second before vanishing. "Got a plan for us, boss?" the Machop added, barely avoiding another burst of electricity.

"The Luxray's their leader - drop him, the rest should back off." Flare said quietly, backing up towards the other two. "Bruce, you handle him; with your strength, he shouldn't take long. Serita and I'll keep them off ya." The two Pokémon nodded their understanding, determined looks on their faces. "Let's go!"

At first, it seemed the team's plan would work. Bruce quickly started to overpower the Luxray with his increased strength, driving him away from the group of Luxio and the rest of the team. At the same time, Flare and Serita were having no trouble fending off the evolved Electric Pokémon with bursts of flame and storms of leaves. In no time at all, it appeared that they'd won this battle - unfortunately, that was not so.

Flare cautiously walked up to the fallen Luxray, ready to react if he got back up to fight. "Look, we meant it - we weren't here to cause trouble. If you hadn't attacked us, we'd have been and gone before you knew it." he said as calmly as he could manage. "Someone stole an item from some friends of ours - we're just here to get it back."

For several seconds, the Luxray just looked at him from its position on the ground. Then the crack of thunder filled the rocky clearing, and Flare was sent flying back by a discharge of electricity. He collapsed to the ground almost ten feet away, quickly pulled back to his feet by Serita and Bruce. "The hell... is wrong with you?!" he snapped, only to have his anger change to worry when he saw that the Electric-type was absolutely wreathed in lightning.

"You will not best us... you will not leave here alive!" the Luxray snarled, launching a massive bolt of electricity towards the group. Time seemed to slow to a crawl as it carved a streak through the air, and the trio all braced for the strike... that never came. When the smoke cleared from the bolt's impact, there was a new arrival standing in front of them, arms crossed in front of him.

Serita was the first one to react. "D-Dusknoir?!" The ghost completely ignored her, instead drifting toward the group of Electric Pokémon. Luxray began charging another attack, but Dusknoir simply held up his hand for it to stop.

"I ask that you cease this fighting, now." he said calmly, as if there wasn't an angry tribe of Luxio ready to attack at any provocation. "There has clearly been some sort of misunderstanding. These three are trespassing, yes; but not out of malice, only ignorance. They meant your tribe no harm." Dusknoir's words seemed to actually get through to the Luxray as the flaring electricity faded from his body; the hostility in him didn't, however.

Dusknoir noticed this, and quickly continued. "It is understandable that you would react so harshly – I know what you have suffered through in the past, and clearly you would not give that a chance to repeat itself." He stopped for a moment, glancing back at the three Pokémon behind him. "However… these three pose no threat to an entire tribe. They would be incredibly foolhardy to attempt to take your territory – something they clearly are not. So I ask you again… clear your head, and cease this attack."

The Luxio's leader closed his eyes for a long moment before responding. "You say that they mean no harm… only trespassing through ignorance?" For a second none of them moved, then Luxray turned his back on them. "We will leave now. If you are gone before we return, this goes no further." A flash of lightning obscured everyone's sight, and somehow the Luxio and their leader vanished with it.

For almost a minute the area was silent, with the team simply glad to be alive. Then Flare had to break the silence. "Someone mind explaining what just happened!?" he snapped, looking up at Dusknoir in both confusion and frustration. "Maybe start with how you so conveniently dropped in like this?"

Bruce gave him a slightly disappointed look and Serita started to pull him aside, but Dusknoir waved it off. "No, he has every right to be irritated." the spectre began, turning back to them. "I do apologize for not arriving sooner, but I was unaware of your destination at first. To answer your original question of what happened… it was merely a series of unfortunate circumstances."

"The Luxio tribe you fought have long claimed Amp Plains as their own. They were not always so hostile; once, they were even welcoming to those with no ill intentions." he explained, letting out a sigh. "However, years ago they were taken by surprise, ambushed in an attempt to drive them from here. They survived the attack, but not without loss. Now, it is their nature to be suspicious and even hostile, or they risk the event repeating itself – something they simply cannot afford."

The three Pokémon were quiet for a moment when he was done. "Well… that explains their attack, and why they wouldn't listen to us." Serita said finally, looking up at Dusknoir. "And… thank you, Dusknoir, for coming in to help – they were definitely tougher than we were prepared for." she added, shooting a glare back at Flare with a clear message – 'I told you so!' The Chimchar huffed, but reluctantly nodded – he knew she was right, after all.

"No need to thank me – any decent Pokémon would do the same." Dusknoir predictably insisted, shaking his head. "As much as I would enjoy speaking further, I believe you are here for a purpose – retrieving an item, if I recall?"

Flare nodded quickly, darting over to the edge of the area. "Yeah, right – the Water Float that the Marill brothers wanted." he said, picking up the object on the ground – it looked nothing like what its name suggested, being a large band of gold with a blue gem set into it. "… sure this is the right thing?" he asked after a moment, holding it up.

"Yes, that is definitely the Water Float." Dusknoir confirmed, nodding his head. "With that, I believe your 'mission' is complete – of course, that leaves the question of why it is here in the first place." He turned around, now facing one of the large boulders that were scattered across the area. "Why don't you come and tell us… you sneaking rogues!"

To nobody's surprise, there was a brief silence followed by a familiar chuckle. "Chaw-haw… well, look at that, boys… we've been found out." Skuntank walked out from behind the rock, accompanied by his usual flying henchmen. "A shame – we were hoping you scrubs would get roughed up by the tribe, leavin' us to clean up. Luck just seems to be on your side, doesn't it?"

Flare started to move forward, but surprisingly enough Serita moved faster; she looked angry and ready for a fight, despite what they'd just been through. "Come on then, you three – you're always so eager to bring us down, and here we are! What are you waiting for?!" she taunted, standing between the two teams.

"Heh-heh… d'you think we're stupid, or somethin?" Zubat replied, shaking his 'head'. "If it were just you three, we'd toss ya like dolls! But ya add Dusknoir, here… we know better." As an afterthought, he turned to look at Skuntank for confirmation. "Ain't that right, Chief?"

The large Poison Pokémon nodded with a smirk, turning away from the group. "That's right, Zubat. Just keep in mind, 'Legend' – this ain't the end between you and us, got it?" Team Skull started towards the area's exit, and Serita moved to pursue them only for Dusknoir to stop her with one hand.

"They are not worth the effort." He said calmly, looking down at the Chikorita as the trio vanished into the dungeon. "If necessary, you can deal with them later. However, at the moment you have a delivery to make."

Flare nodded in agreement. "Yeah – they're low-life thugs, but Dusknoir's right. We'd better get going, before they try something else." With the agreement of the team, they all followed the brutish Skulls' path out of the area.

With the Water Float in hand, Team Legend quickly made their way back to Treasure Town, accompanied by Dusknoir the Explorer. It took little time to cross the distance, and when they presented the item to the Marill brothers it was insisted that they do something for the team. Of course, they refused – 'Seeing them happy was a reward of its own', to use Serita's own words. They were drawn into a brief conversation with the Kecleon Brothers and Dusknoir, and that was when a certain bit of information was revealed to the Team…

"Dusknoir, you don't know how helpful these two have been!" Gren boasted on the team's behalf, to Serita's mild embarrassment. "They've saved little Azurill before, and somehow pinpointed his kidnapper almost immediately."

Len nodded quickly, adding "It's like they were made to be Explorers!"

Flare and Serita shared a brief look before the Chikorita spoke up. "Um… actually, we have something to admit: we didn't exactly know who'd taken Azurill, back then." Everyone in the conversation turned to her in some confusion as she continued. "My partner… well, he saw it in a dream – it's the only way he could describe it."

While Gren and Len seemed to remain confused, Dusknoir appeared more interested. "A dream, you say? And… what form did this 'dream' take for you, if I might ask?" he asked, looking at Flare with interest. When the Chimchar hesitantly described the first vision to him, Dusknoir floated back a few inches in surprise. "My, my… I believe you should come with me, you two." He said after a moment, beckoning them to follow him out of the town.

Ultimately, the spectre led them to Treasure Town's beach – far away from any who might overhear. Flare, confused, asked "What's going on? Whatever this is, couldn't you just say it back in town?"

Dusknoir shook his head firmly. "No – this is something that the citizens of the town need not know about. You see, I know precisely why you have had these visions: they come from an ability, incredibly rare, known as the Dimensional Scream." Both Pokémon started to ask a question, but Dusknoir held up his hand. "No, allow me to finish."

"The Dimensional Scream was an ability once attributed exclusively to humans – long ago, when they still inhabited this world. It allowed the user to, through mere contact with objects, observe events yet to happen… or that already have." He explained, speaking directly to Flare. "It was found in some Pokémon as well, however those were rare cases even when considering the ability. Strangely, it only functioned… in the presence of a truly trusted partner."

Flare and Serita glanced at each other for just a moment, then quickly averted their gazes. 'Wow, this is… a tad awkward.' Flare thought idly, looking back to Dusknoir. "So… you're saying I can see the future?" he asked after a moment.

"In essence, yes. But it's strange… the ability hasn't been revealed in years." The Ghost type turned away for a moment in thought before glancing back. "By the way… it has just occurred to me that I've not even been introduced to you – I know your team, but not your names."

"Oh, right – I'm sorry, we've just been so busy so quickly… I'm Serita." The Chikorita replied quickly, gesturing first to herself then to Flare. "And that's Flare, my partner and leader of the team!" Dusknoir seemed to start at the Chimchar's name, and for just the merest fraction of a second, there seemed to be the glint of a smile in his eye.

Flare gave the ghost an odd look, but anything he would say was interrupted by Bidoof running out onto the beach. "Oh, golly – there you three are! Chatot's called everyone back to the Guild, yup. Time to hurry!" he blurted out quickly between gasps for breath.

"What's going on?" Serita nearly demanded, walking over to the tired Pokémon. "What's so important?"

Bidoof looked up at her, then to the rest of the small group. He took a deep breath to settle himself, then said with no small amount of worry in his voice "Another Time Gear's been taken – and it was from Fogbound Lake!"