Right, this is another chapter I thought of at the beginning, so the plot is really speeding up! I don't think there are many chapters left though… :( And yes, this is where it gets really cliché, so if you wanna stop reading now, I don't blame you.

Chapter 9 – Limestone Cavern

The waves could be heard crashing on the sand. Foamy white bubbles formed on the beach as they quickly turned a sandy brown as it was sucked back into the vast ocean. One big wave eventually reached Sparky, the freezing water instantly urging him to jump up. "Wah! That is freezing!" He gazed around his surroundings to find himself back at the beach at Treasure Town. "W-we made it! Haha, we made it back!" His celebration was quickly interrupted when he looked down to see… "Wha… Is that…" He couldn't say more as he was too astonished to see another Cyndaquil lying unconscious on the sand! "Th-that can't be me, right?" He reluctantly reached his paw out to try to wake it up, until someone pulled him back.

"St-stop! Don't touch him!"

Sparky looked back to see Grovyle looking at the Cyndaquil. "Who is that?!"

"It's you!"

"Wh-what?! How can that be me?!"

"Didn't you pay attention to what Celebi said? We were sent back too far into the past!"

"Wh-wha?! So that's me in the past?!"

"Ugh… urk…" They looked back to see Riolu slowly opening his eyes.

"Riolu!" They both ran up to him.

"Where… are we?" He asked, his vision was still blurry from waking up.

"We made it! We made it back to the past!"

"R-really?!"

"There's just one problem, though…" he pointed down to the unconscious Sparky.

"Th-that's… You?!"

"Yes. Me in the past."

"And we NEED to get out of here. Fast." Grovyle said.

"W-wait! Why can't we wake him up? We could get everyone's help! Even everyone at the guild!"

Grovyle sighed. "I know you wanna see all your friends, but you can't. This isn't just any old history. It's your own PERSONAL history. You can't change it."

"Why not?!"

"Because it would create a paradox! It'll make Temporal Tower collapse even faster! And right now, that's the last thing we need. C'mon, we need to find a new place to hide." Grovyle pulled them onto the path to the right, until they saw the past Riolu sulking down the path. He saw the present Riolu staring straight at him. Luckily, the sun was directly behind the present Riolu, so he was a silhouette from the past Riolu's perspective.

"H-hello? Who's there?" He cautiously said.

Riolu almost answered, until Grovyle pulled him into a conveniently placed nearby bush. The past Riolu tried peering into the bush, until the Krabbys blowing their bubbles to the sea caught his attention. He looked back and sighed. "I was probably just imagining it. My mind is all over the place." He continued walking down to the beach. When Grovyle was completely certain he was a safe distance away, he let Sparky and Riolu out.

"That… That was… Weird. Every word he said… Was exactly what I remembered! So… That whole time… That shadow… Was me?"

"You saw a shadow? Do you remember only one of that event happening?" Grovyle asked, his voice grew into a serious, deep tone.

"Wh-what?!" Riolu asked, confused.

Grovyle sighed. "I'll explain later." He looked back at the past Riolu.

"Ah!" He yelped. "Is that… an unconscious Pokemon?" He ran to the past Sparky.

Grovyle looked at Riolu to see he was acting mesmerized at the scene. He rolled his eyes and pulled him along the path. "Do any of you know a place where we can hide?"

"I… I think I know a place. We'd need to walk through Treasure Town first."

"That's fine as long as we lay low."

()()()()()

The three walked onto a large precipice. "Here we are." Riolu said. "Sharpedo Bluff."

"This doesn't look like a really obscure place." Grovyle said, looking back at the path. The plaza was not very far down the path.

"No. But this is." Riolu pulled a bush out to reveal a staircase leading down to a cave in the cliff. "I used to live down here before joining the guild. No one ever finds this place."

"And you swear you never came back here?"

"I promise." He said as he stepped down the stairs. Down in the cliff was a rather spacious cave overlooking the expansive sea.

"Wow." Both Grovyle and Sparky gasped with amazement.

"Yeah, it's only one room, but I get quite the view from here." Riolu said as he was setting up a couple of extra hay beds and a fireplace. "Now. Explain. Why can't we get anyone's help?"

Grovyle pulled his eyes off the view. "Right. This is the past. Your past. You can't change it. That's why I asked you if you remember multiple events of that time. Like if you remembered seeing a shadow and not."

"What? Like at the same time?" Riolu asked to see Grovyle nodding. "N-no, I only remember one thing happening at that time."

"Good. If you remembered multiple events, we created a paradox. But this time, it seemed fine. But we have to be careful not to create another paradox. Which is why you can't contact anyone at the guild."

"Wh-what?!"

"I'm sorry. But we can't. Like I said, this is your own personal history. You can't change it for anything. It's going to be hard holding the urge back to see your friends after a long time, I know. But you need to hold the temptation back. Can you do that?"

"… Yeah… I think I can."

"Good. So, we need to be more stealthy in stealing the Time Gears this time. Especially since we have these." He took the bag out with the decoy Time Gears.

"So… When we take the other Time Gears…"

"We put these gears in place."

"But… Will it keep time running in those places?"

"… No. It won't."

"How can you be okay with that?!"

"It's necessary! Maybe it'll help them understand that something's wrong with Temporal Tower anyway."

"But time will FREEZE. All the Pokemon will be living in a state of fear! You can't just let that happen!"

"I can if its temporary! When we set the Time Gears in Temporal Tower, time will restore everywhere, remember?"

"… Fine." Riolu reluctantly agreed. "There's one thing though. If it freezes time in the area, then the past Grovyle coming to steal the Time Gears will see time frozen in those areas. Won't that create a paradox?"

"It's fine. The past me saw the places frozen at the time, and I thought that since Temporal Tower was collapsing, time would be frozen nonetheless. What we need to be careful of, though, is the ones YOU two have visited. Which was…?"

"At Fogbound Lake and Quicksand Cave?"

"Right. We have to steal those AFTER you two have visited those, since we don't want time to freeze before you two get there. THAT would create a paradox." The two tried wrapping their heads around his explaining, but figured that they'd just stick with his plan. "… Well, the first one I took was in Limestone Cavern, so I think we should do that one first. We should steal the gears right before my past self to make everyone suspect HIM of freezing time instead of us. Now there's only one Ditto guarding that one, it shouldn't be too hard to steal."

"Ok, but how do you know all this?"

"I did all the research in the future with the human Sparky. I know all there is to learn about the Time Gears."

"Alright, but I think we should take a rest now. Can we do it tomorrow?" Riolu yawned with the setting sun behind him.

"Fine. We'll pick it up tomorrow."

"You know, with the amount of time I spent unconscious, I feel surprisingly sleepy." He actually felt relieved to be sleeping on this scratchy, hay bed at long last.

"That's time travel for ya." Grovyle jokingly said, admitting he didn't completely understand the concept himself.

()()()()()

When he was sure that everyone was asleep, Riolu quietly stood up and crept through the town, onto the crossroads. He saw the past versions of him and Sparky walking past. He stood behind them, and stared straight at them. Fight the urge. He thought to himself. Don't do it. He nearly succumbed to the temptation until he swiftly ran back to the cave, not wanting to jeopardize their mission.

()()()()()

Early in the next morning, Grovyle shook Sparky and Riolu awake. "Hey. C'mon wake up. We've gotta go."

"Ugh, alright, alright!" Riolu groaned as he sat up. "At least he's not as bad as Loudred." He muttered to Sparky.

"The Limestone Cavern is located past the Southern Jungle and in a place called Boulder Quarry. It's only guardian is a Ditto, so don't trust any strangers who try to stop you from exploring the place. This Ditto is clever and sly. Don't let it fool you. And don't make it seem like you're there to steal a Time Gear. Is that clear?"

"Yep. Don't worry, this'll be easy!" Riolu said, trying to bring some levity in their adventure. This may be important, but that doesn't mean we still can't have fun! He thought.

On the way out, they saw the past Sparky and Riolu walking down from the guild with a Bidoof. "Wah! Careful!" Riolu whispered, but it was nearly too late. The past Riolu was staring straight at him. He swiftly pulled the two of them into a nearby bush.

"Hm? Something wrong?" The Bidoof asked.

"Um, no I… just thought I saw something." The past Riolu continued walking, still looking back on himself.

When they were a safe distance away, the group dove out of the bush. "Nice quick actions pulling us into the bush." Grovyle commended Riolu.

"Heh. It was nothing." Riolu said, blushing slightly. "Oh, wait, I forgot something back at storage!" Riolu said, realizing he didn't pack any Oran Berries in the bag. "I'll go get it!" He dashed for the Kangaskhan Storage store.

"Be careful!" Grovyle yelled.

After some time, Riolu returned with several Oran Berries in his hands and he placed them in Sparky's bag. "Alright, let's go." They started walking on the path until they heard the past Riolu talking.

"Marill!" He said. "What's wrong?"

"I-I was just walking towards Mt. Bristle, until when I looked back, Drowsee and Azurill were gone! I-I'm really scared!"

"Don't worry, Marill! We'll catch that Drowzee, I promise! C'mon, Sparky!" Quickly, Grovyle pulled Sparky and Riolu back into the bush before their past selves could see them, and their past selves ran past.

Riolu jumped out. "I… It was our first real exploration at the guild together…" He stepped forward to follow, but looked back at Grovyle. He nodded and jumped back in the bush, and waited out until they were sure their past selves were a safe distance away.

()()()()()

They walked up to the entrance of the jungle. "Ok, the Boulder Quarry should be through here." Grovyle said.

"Ah, hello!" They turned to see a Bellossom walking towards them. Instantly, they knew something was wrong with this Pokemon. It had only black dots for eyes, with no light reflecting off it whatsoever.

"This is it. It's the Ditto." Grovyle whispered to them.

"A-are you sure?" Riolu asked. Sure, there IS something wrong with it, but, it looks pretty real to me!

"Are you an exploration team?" The "Bellossom" asked.

"Y-yes, we heard there was some treasure hidden in this jungle."

"Oh, well I'm afraid you won't find any treasure here. Countless other teams have tried, and each and every one of them have failed."

"Well, we'll just have to see for ourselves, then." Grovyle pushed past the "Bellosssom," and Sparky and Riolu followed close behind.

"I-it's useless!" It tried to discourage them. "You'll never find anything!"

"Trust me, I know what I'm doing." Grovyle said, using his Leaf Blade to cut through the dense shrubbery.

"Wow, that's some guardian." Riolu said, surprised the Ditto wasn't putting up much of a fight.

"Oh… Trust me… It gets worse."

()()()()()

After a couple hours of cutting through the thick jungle, they found themselves in a completely different environment, in a large mesa-like canyon.

"This is it… The Stone Quarry. Follow me. I know where the cave is." They were about to head into the quarry until they heard someone calling to them.

"Oh, hello!" They turned to see a Sentret bouncing on its tail towards them. Once again, it had the same eyes as the Bellossom. "You are an exploration team, right?"

This was getting exceedingly annoying to Grovyle now, having to pretend to not know what he was fighting with, but he rolled with it. "Yes we are." He calmly stated, "We figure there's some treasure in that cave."

"Oh, I'd turn back if I was you. I heard that dozens of other exploration teams have entered this quarry. But none have ever come back out." The "Sentret's" voice grew into an over-exaggerated "spooky" tone.

Grovyle nearly burst from his annoyance and anger, but held himself back. "Don't worry, we are professionals at this." He muttered through grated teeth and pushed past the Pokemon.

"That's what they all say." It said in a sort of mocking tone, causing Grovyle to roll his eyes. Riolu couldn't help but snicker to himself seeing Grovyle so annoyed.

They arrived at a fork in the path, splitting off into two paths. "Hmm…" Riolu said, rubbing his chin. "It could be down either one of these-"

"Don't bother." Grovyle interrupted him. "I know where it is." He walked toward the wall in between the fork in the path, and, surprisingly (and startlingly), he put his hand through the rock! From where his hand was in the rock, rays of blue light burst from where his hand was "touching" the rocks.

"Wh-whoa!" Riolu gasped in astonishment. "How did you know that was gonna happen?!"

"I told you, I've researched this place AND I've been here before!" He continued walking through the rocks. "C'mon! The Time Gear isn't too far!" His voice was still loud and coherent, despite being behind some "rocks."

Reluctantly, they crept towards the wall and walked through the rocks. "Whoa!" Riolu said, looking behind himself as he was walking through. "How is it doing that?!"

"I have no clue. Probably something that Ditto set up. C'mon, we're almost there!"

They arrived at a large room, with a large green treasure chest in the middle. "Woah… What is that?" Riolu stared at the chest.

"I-I don't know… Get back from it!"

"What? Why?"

"It could be a trap! Besides, we're here for the-" he stopped.

"What? We're here for the Time-" Grovyle pushed his hand onto his mouth.

Grovyle whispered into his ear. "That chest… Is the Ditto… Don't mention the - You know what – in front of it."

"What?! That's the Ditto?!" He looked at the chest, which, terrifyingly, grew some black eyes that stared straight at him. "Wah! I-it's alive!"

"It's the Ditto… just walk past it…" They sidestepped along the wall, keeping as far away from the chest as possible and ran when they got on the other side of it. "Hey… I can see it!"

Before they could run any farther, an Aerodactyl swept down and picked Riolu off the ground. "Wah! What is this?!" He looked up to see the stone bird, except… "It's the Ditto!" It then forcefully threw Riolu onto the ground, kicking up a large cloud of dust. Then it flew back into the cave. "… It… Ran away…?" Riolu tried getting up.

Before they could think any further, they saw a small mound of dirt moving towards them. Then it popped out of the ground and hit Sparky up in the air, revealing itself as a Dugtrio. "Aah! It transformed again?!" Riolu yelled in terror. The Dugtrio then used Magnitude, and the tremor shook and bounced the whole cave, leaving falling pebbles from the ceiling. "Aah! We have to find some way of attacking it!"

The Dugtrio fled it's way back into the cave and returned as a Dragonair. "There's no way of predicting what Pokemon he'll transform into!" Grovyle said, dodging the Twister it had just sent his way, leaving it traveling on its path, forcefully hitting on the wall. The impact made some pebbles fall from the ceiling.

Riolu looked up to see a large crack on the ceiling, that was quickly growing larger with each tremor it feels. "Hey look!" He pointed up at the crack.

Grovyle saw what he was planning and got ready for the next Pokemon to jump out at him, which was a Masquerain which flew straight towards him, and just barely missed him. "Sparky!" Grovyle pointed at the crack. Sparky nodded and waited for just the perfect moment when the Masquerain was positioned at just the right spot, and he used Flame Wheel on the crack, releasing a whole pile of boulders and rocks, crushing the Masquerain under it.

Riolu winced seeing it being crushed. "Is it…"

Grovyle cautiously stepped towards the Pokemon. It had transformed back into its original form, where it had scratches and bruises all over it, and fell unconscious. "… It's fine…" Grovyle said as he tried pulling it out.

"What are you doing?!"

"I need to put it out of sight! I don't want me in the past seeing it!" He then let the Ditto gently down at the side of the path, obscured behind a boulder.

"Aren't you gonna help it?"

"That's not what's important now!" He started running towards the Time Gear.

"It's gonna be frozen in time! Don't you wanna make him not live in even more pain and agony in that time? Please… Help it..."

Grovyle stopped on his tracks and sighed. "Fine. But make it quick."

Sparky took out a Reviver Seed and Oran Berry and gave it to Riolu. He fed them both to the weak Ditto. "It's still unconscious," Grovyle said, "but it'll be fine."

"… Thank you. Maybe you DO have actual feelings after all." Riolu said sarcastically.

Grovyle rolled his eyes and ran over to the Time Gear. "Ok, get ready for a loud, screechy noise." They both covered their ears as Grovyle took the Time Gear and replaced it with the decoy. A loud groaning sound shook the whole cave, now with pebbles falling all around them.

"I-it's gonna collapse!" Riolu yelped in surprise. "We need to get out of here!"

"Don't worry. Time will stop. So will the collapsing rocks." From the gear's pedestal, a wave of monochromatic colors swept through the whole cave, leaving the collapsing boulders suspended in the air. Everything in the cave remained frozen, except for the three of them. "… We're done here." Grovyle started walking out of the cave.

Riolu stopped to see the Ditto. It lost its light purple color, and was still unconscious. "… I'm sorry…" Riolu dashed out, following Sparky and Grovyle out of the frozen cave.

()()()()()

Back at the bluff, Riolu laid awake, troubled by his thoughts. He still had so many questions, and the memory of seeing the guild frozen on that cliff, the Ditto being frozen in time, and the fact that Grovyle was actually Sparky's partner in the past sent a whole flurry of questions and emotions flowing through his mind. After a couple hours, Riolu got out of the bed and walked outside. The full moon shined a bright moonlight onto the world. He could hear the faint sound of the ocean behind him.

"Can't sleep?" The voice made Riolu jump. He turned to see Grovyle peeking out of the staircase.

"Yeah."

"… I'm guessing you have a lot of questions for me."

"Yeah. There was never the right time."

"Alright. Well, you can start asking now." Grovyle said, leaning on a nearby tree.

"You were really Sparky's partner before?" Grovyle nodded. "What was he like? Was he the same?" Riolu asked.

"Mostly. It seems you've done a good job taking care of him. But I bet you couldn't-" he stopped. I shouldn't have said that. He thought. Oh, Arceus, I was trying to get on his good side!

"You bet I couldn't… What?" Riolu was starting to get angry.

"… No, it's nothing."

"No, what? I don't want you keeping any secrets."

"The Dimensional Scream."

"The… What?"

"The Dimensional Scream. It's a vision triggered whenever Sparky touches an object. It shows either the past or future of that object."

"W-wait, what?! The vision? Sparky has those!" He thought back when Sparky touched Drowzee, or the Groudon statue. "You know what that is?"

Grovyle was surprised to hear that Sparky could use the ability. "Yes. It could only be triggered if Sparky has a trusted partner to stand by. I guess after he was sent back here, you served as that partner… I'm sorry. I accused you of your friendship, and I said you couldn't make Sparky do the Dimensional Scream, and that Sparky didn't trust you more than me… I insulted you... You really do make a great partner for Sparky. He's lucky to have you as a friend."

All anger against Grovyle suddenly disappeared. Before Riolu could answer, he saw the sun rising in front of him. "Wow… Look at that!" The rising sun emitted a wave of orange and blue light in to the black sky, and narrow slivers of light from the sun shined through the clouds.

"You know… The first time I came here, I was so amazed to actually see color for the first time. It only strengthened my resolve to stop the world's paralysis."

"I can't imagine living in a world like that. I mean, I usually dismiss beautiful views like this, but, this proves that… The things we normally take for granted in this world, are actually the most beautiful things."

"There's really nothing quite like the things you see… And Riolu… There's something else… I never got the chance to tell you…"

"What is it?"

"Back in the future, when we were surrounded by the Sableye, and the Passage of Time was broken. We all had given up, even me! But you… You refused to give up… Even when we were in that bleak situation, you were quick in your thoughts, and you got us out of there. Thank you."

"No… Thank you…"

"What?"

"The only reason I was quick like that was because I had everyone with me! Before all this… I was really a big coward. It was only really Sparky that gave me the courage to join the guild… Without him… I'd be nothing…"

At that line, a sudden look of realization dawned upon Grovyle's face, which soon turned to deep sorrow. "… What? What's wrong?" Riolu asked.

"… It's nothing…" I can't tell him, he thought, it'd devastate him… He'd learn in time. He slowly sulked back down the cave.

Sorry for the short delay, I've actually finished this chapter for a while now, but there was just something about it that held me back from posting it. Maybe it was the fact that the crack on the ceiling was kinda a Deus ex machina, that solution really came out of nowhere. But now, I'm (kinda) proud with this one! Well, here's the chapterly quote from Doctor Who.

"I've seen many things, my friend. But you're right. Nothing quite as wonderful as the things you see."

The Doctor