Chapter 13

Dusknoir's Secret

(Notice the chapter number... Mwahahaha!)

I was finally awake. It was slow going- Summer said that I would start mumbling and then fall back asleep, but I finally managed to open my eyes.

The first thing that I saw filled me with terror. Timothy was on his back, he was wrapped in gauze, and he wasn't moving. I tried to get over to him, to make sure he was ok, but pain streaked through my body. I let out a small moan. Tim's eyes snapped open and he was at my side in a moment. His arm was in a cast, his chest was burned, but he was happy to see me awake.

"You're alive... you're alive..." he said, tears filling up his eyes. He patted me on my cheek with his good paw.

"Wh-what happened...?" I croaked. I cleared my throat and then repeated, "What happened to Grovyle?"

"We don't know. Dusknoir went after him, and we haven't heard about either since."

"Wait, how long have I been out?" I said, trying to get up. It hurt a lot, and I nearly shouted in pain.

"Please, Alex. Don't move too much... you're still in bad shape... It's been a little less than a week since the fight."

"We need to get out there and find Grovyle and Dusknoir," I said, attempting a third try to get up. It hurt like crazy, but I managed to get up. Timothy shook his head.

"Alex, I don't think that you understand the severity of your situation. Alex, you zeroed out. Marowak was able to save you though,"

"Wait, are you trying to say that I died?" I said.

Tim nodded. "You lost a lot of blood, and you're still pretty weak. You left like half of it back at the lake,"

"How is Azelf?"

"He's fine," Chimecho said as she entered the room. She smiled sweetly and said, "Welcome back Alex. I see you're strong enough to get up. Are you ready for some visitors?"

I smiled and nodded.

"Everyone! She's awake!" Chimecho yelled as high as her shrill lungs would allow. I felt a faint rumble as the just about the entire guild pushed their way into the room. The guild, along with some other teams. Team Kokoro, was only one of about 10 waiting to say hi to me.

After everyone was gone, I was surprisingly tired. I laid down and fell asleep again...

When I was awakened, I tried to hobble out to the main hall. I failed miserably. I went back to my bed and awaited news.

"Why is everyone else allowed to go out there? I'm not the only one who battled, you know..."

I waited about 30 minutes before everyone returned. They were not alone. Dusknoir had come back, and he had a confession.

"Alex, I am going to need you to listen closely to me," he said. We were the only ones in the room. "Well, the thing is, is that I knew Grovyle from before all of this. Furthermore, we are both Pokemon from the future."

I was silent, trying to digest this. I swallowed.

"Grovyle is a wanted outlaw in the future, along with some other Pokemon and Humans. Grovyle came to this time to escape punishment. Once here, he hit upon an utterly catastrophic plan. He planned to steal the Time Gears to cause the Planet's Paralysis."

"What is that?" I asked. It sounded serious.

"It would be nothing less than the complete ruin of the world. In a paralyzed world, no winds blow, the sun never rises or sets, the seasons never change..." Dusknoir stopped for a few seconds, and then resumed, "It is catastrophic... a calamity..."

"It sounds horrible. What kind of sick Pokemon would want that?"

"Grovyle, obviously. But we have hit upon a plan of our own. We are going to wait for Grovyle at the Crystal Lake. We believe that Grovyle will probably try to come back to the lake to get the Time Gear, and that is when we will capture him."

"What will you do after that?" I asked.

"I believe that I must return home to my own time with Grovyle the Thief."

"Oh..." I said. Dusknoir was going to go home...

"Well, Uxie, Mesprit, Azelf and I will be heading out soon. I will say good-bye once we get back,"

I nodded, but didn't say anything else. Dusknoir bid me farewell and left. Timothy, Summer, and Quinton came in and asked me what I thought of it all.

"I'm bummed out that sir Dusknoir is going home," I said. I laid down again while the other three talked. Chimecho came in and brought me some dinner. I hadn't even realized how hungry I was. I ate ravenously, and then nearly fell asleep.

"I'll probably get fat now," I said tiredly.

"You'll be back out there in no time, Alex. You'll burn it all off like fat off of an over-weight black Vulpix," Quinton said. He was fairing pretty well considering he had several sprained and bruised joints and bones. He and Summer were allowed to go train in Marowak's Dojo, but not go out exploring quite yet.

I fell asleep, quite content. And that was pretty much how the next week passed. Sleeping, eating, talking, and after several days, Chimecho said I could walk around the lower floor of the guild. I disregarded her and walked around both floors of the guild. I frequently came to bother her at her Team Assembly just to annoy her. I mean it's not like there were very many other teams who used the Assembly. That's when I realized something.

"Hey, Chimecho? Could Myuki and Sikyatavo still go out and do jobs and stuff?"

"Well, I suppose they could," She replied. She was turning red with frustration. I knew it would be best to make myself hidden before she exploded like Wigglytuff.

We finally got the news- Grovyle had been captured. Dusknoir was still a few hours away, but he had promised to come to treasure town to have is final farewells. I felt sad, and I longed for Chimecho to let me go into town to let me say goodbye.

At first she flat out refused. I started wearing on her, and eventually she said, "You know what? Fine! You can go, or come, or whatever! But don't blame me if something bad happens to you because you didn't listen to me!"

"Nothing bad will happen to me," I said coolly, but feeling over-whelming joy bubble up within me. I hugged Chimecho's skirt and then went back to my room. It wasn't long until we received word that Dusknoir's time travel portal had been opened in the main square. Everyone in the guild went down to the square to see what was happening.

I could only stare at the hole. It seemed to swirl and go on forever, with twisting black, green, blue, and finally into deep lavender.

We were told to stay away from it by officer Magnizone.

"Even if you touch it, you will be sent into the future, so stay back," he repeated every several seconds. Team Kokoro had been hanging out around Treasure Town, so they were there too. They seemed to like Spinda's Cafe a lot.

Eventually we received word that Dusknoir was here. He was not alone- he had Grovyle and an entire troop of Sableye. Grovyle was not pleased at being bound and muzzled. I almost felt sorry for him. He seemed tired, he was bruised in several places, and it seemed as if his burned arm had received no treatment. For the first time, I noticed some of the scales on his side were darker than the rest. It was probably just a birth-mark though.

"Everyone, Grovyle the thief has been captured!" Dusknoir said. A cheer went up from the assembled Pokemon.

"But, I have a sad piece of news for you. I must return to the future from which I came,"

Several sad cries came out from Bidoof, Chatot, and several other Pokemon. Someone asked, "How far into the future are you? Will we ever see you again?"

Dusknoir shook his head, saying, "I am truly sorry. I have no idea how far into your future I dwell, but I promise that I will try to find Treasure Town and visit you. But beside that, Grovyle will no longer steal your Time Gears,"

At this point Grovyle tried to say something. His muzzle prevented him from opening it, and the ropes cut into his skin. I looked at Tim. He seemed to have one emotion at this point. Hatred towards Grovyle for what he had done to me.

"Sableye, if you may," Dusknoir said. They all grabbed a hold of Grovyle who was struggling at this point, and heaved him into the Dimensional Hole. There was an indescribable sound as he went through. One by one, each of the Sableye jumped in, too. Dusknoir turned as if to leave. He turned one final time and said, "This is... Wait, I'm sorry. There are two Pokemon who I need to come up here,"

My heart clenched. I wondered if he meant Tim and me.

"Alex and Timothy, would you please come up here?" He said. We both walked up to Dusknoir.

"So, this is good-bye then?" I asked, tears starting to fill my eyes. Tim's eyes were getting shiny too.

"Well, I suppose it is..." He said slowly, and then faster, "Or is it?"

"Huh?" I said, surprised. What did he mean?

The moment this thought had passes, the jagged line in the middle of his body opened up to reveal a mouth. Tim shrunk back, unsure of what to do next. Dusknoir laughed. It wasn't a funny ha-ha laugh. It was sinister, and it made the fur on the back of my neck bristle.

"It is too soon for good-byes!" He shouted. He lunged for me. I felt his hand wrap around my hair and he yanked up. I yelped in pain. I heard Tim shout and I saw he was on top of Dusknoir. The famous explorer stumbled back, and we fell into the Dimensional hole. Dusknoir released me and I turned to look behind us. The entire town was approaching the dimensional hole, and then the entire scene flickered like a flipped off TV screen. The swirling colors were dizzying me. I turned and saw Tim floating, cast away like a forgotten rag doll. After that, there seemed to be more black than green, blue and purple. Then I guess I passed out again. I could still hear Dusknoir's laugh.