A/N: Okay, so here's the next chapter of Escape From Darkness. I think this might be the longest chapter I've written so far for this story so that's kind of awesome! Again, not quite sure when I'm going to be updating this, I kinda just do it when I get in a writing mood.

Okay, hope you like it! Standard Disclaimers apply, I own nothing.

Chapter 14: Fogbound Lake

I dodged out of the way just as Groudon's massive claw came plummeting down to where I'd just been standing. My reaction time was slower than usual because of my injuries, but I was still quick enough to keep from being crushed.

Groudon roared again, its voice pounding against my eardrums painfully. He was obviously furious about our intentions of going to Fogbound Lake and he was in no mood to listen to us. He might not have been the real guardian, but he was sure acting like one.

I saw Torchic on the other side of the fresh gash in the cave floor that Groudon had made. She was looking back and forth between me and the monstrous Pokémon, probably wondering what she should be doing.

I tried to focus. In the heat of battle I had to make snap-decisions, and this had definitely turned into a battle.

"Torchic! Use Quick Attack!" I ordered as Groudon's attention was directed at me.

Immediately, Torchic snapped out of her daze and obeyed. Her body glowed with a white light as she sped towards the armoured back of the lake guardian, hitting one of his feet.

Groudon's eyes pinched closed in pain as the attack hit. But once they opened again they looked even angrier than they had before. He turned his attention to my partner below him, and lifted up the foot she had hit to attempt to step on her.

"Torchic, use Quick Attack to dodge!" I called to her.

Immediately her body lit up again as she sped away from Groudon's descending foot, which shook the whole cave when it hit the ground.

"Now, use Ember!"

Torchic turned around and used Ember against Groudon's plated back. I figured as long as Torchic could keep attacking from Groudon's blind spots, we could us that to our advantage.

Groudon then started to glow red as it reared its head back and let out an angry roar. Suddenly, Groudon raised one of its claws towards the sky before slamming it down on the ground.

Torchic and I were thrown off our feet. The ground cracked open underneath us, splitting into sections and popping out of place like puzzle pieces. I landed on my back and a scream escaped my lips. The slashes on my back erupted with pain, causing my body to freeze up.

I gasped in my breaths deeply as the pain started to subside. My eyes were blurry with unshed tears that I struggled to blink away. I cursed inwardly at how fragile I was.

"June!" Torchic called out in worry. She rushed over to my side as I fought to stand. "Are you alright?"

"I'll live, don't worry. We've got bigger problems right now." I brushed off. I had to force myself to keep going or we were done for.

"What did Groudon just do anyway?" Torchic asked.

I glanced over at Groudon's form. The jagged ground from his last attack was slowing down his assault towards us.

"I think he used Bulk Up first, which raised his attack and defence. But that last move was probably Earthquake." I explained.

"So now he's even stronger!?" Torchic asked frantically.

I forced myself to stand, ignoring the burning pain that encased my lower spine. We needed a strategy if we were going to take him down. But we needed to be quick about it, or else he would just use Bulk Up again and raise his defence even higher.

"Torchic, you're faster than he is. We've got to use that against him. I'll distract him. Meanwhile, dodge all his attacks and hit him from behind. If we can knock him down, we might be able to win." I told her.

"Right!" Torchic cheered, willpower sparking in her eyes.

I ran right while she went left. I jumped over the fissures and ragged rocks towards the back of the cave. If he thought I was going for the lake I'd be able to draw his attention away from Torchic.

It worked. Groudon focused his fierce yellow eyes on me and roared angrily. He put his claws together in front of him, and between them a ball of sparkling white light started to form. The move Ancient Power. He threw the ball towards me, which sped in my direction like a streak of lightning.

I ducked just in time, falling to the floor on my stomach as I did. The ball of light crashed into a wall just behind me, causing bits of rock to rain down around me.

"Torchic! Get up high and use Scratch!" I yelled from the cave floor.

From behind Groudon's massive form, I saw Torchic jump up on his tail and start to run up the length of his body. When she got to the top of his head, her talons blazed white as she raked them across Groudon's amber eyes.

Groudon shrieked in pain, shaking his head back and forth to shake Torchic off. She held on for as long as she could, but with the last shake of his head she lost her grip and went flying through the air.

"Torchic!" I yelled in panic. Ignoring the pain, I jumped up and ran forwards, my eyes never leaving Torchic the whole time. Just as she was starting to fall towards the ground, I used one of the stone fragments protruding from the earth as a springboard. I jumped up, holding my arms out as wide as I could. Torchic's body collided with my chest as I wrapped my arms around her protectively.

I landed in a crouch, my back screaming with pain. But as I looked at my uninjured partner, smiling up at me gratefully, I couldn't have cared less.

Groudon snarled primally, garnering our attention again. His eyes had scratch marks around them and his claws were glowing white like Torchic's had. He rushed forward, faster than I was expecting. I tried to dodge, but I was a second too late. His claw came crashing down next to us, sending us flying to the side.

I rolled as my body hit the cave floor. This Groudon was out of control and I didn't know if we could beat him. I knew he wasn't the real guardian of Fogbound Lake that I had researched in the future, but he was still putting up a good fight. But I had to wonder what he was doing here and where the real Guardian was.

Groudon was so much bigger than us and his moves were far more powerful. I looked down at Torchic and tightened my grip. If only there was something I could do to help. But I couldn't fight because I was a human; all I could do was call out orders and watch.

Was this a mistake? I knew Torchic said she wanted to help, but I knew she hadn't signed up for stuff like this. Fighting a legendary Pokémon was not something any normal Pokémon should ever attempt to do unless they had the proper experience, and Torchic certainly didn't.

But what could we do in this situation? How could we even the odds? The only one of Torchic's moves that seemed to be doing any damage was Ember but she couldn't use that forever. We couldn't run, but if we lost this fight…

I took a step back as Groudon advanced. My eyes were so trained on him that I almost missed the feeling of something underneath my foot. I looked down and lifted up my boot to see what I'd stepped on.

"A blast seed…" I recognized. It must have fallen out of my bag during the battle. I reached into the shoulder bag and pulled out a handful of them.

That's it.

"Torchic, let's try something new." I told her, a smile coming to my face at my new plan.

I showed her what was in my hand and she smiled too. She jumped down from my arms and turned to face our opponent. "You got it! Just tell me what to do!"

"Alright. Torchic, use Quick Attack around Groudon!"

Torchic followed my command, using her attack to run in circles around Groudon. Groudon was so busy trying to watch Torchic that he forgot about me. I took the 20-something blast seeds and threw them, so that they landed around the ground at Groudon's feet.

"Now Torchic, use Ember at Groudon's feet!"

Torchic immediately came to stand in front of me once again, before letting lose a barrage of flaming sparks towards the ground where I'd placed the blast seeds. Groudon turned back to us, just as the orange embers glowed brilliantly against the glossy surfaces of the seeds. And before he could react, the seeds burst into a frenzy of explosions.

Blast seeds were quite flammable after all. Tiny explosions went off all around Groudon, trapping him in a ring of fire. He lifted his large claws to shield his face from the heat of the flames as they continued to burst around him.

"Hey June, you got any of those blast seeds left?" Torchic asked.

I was about to deny her, but then I remembered the one I'd stepped on. I crouched down and swiped it from the stone floor before throwing it to Torchic, who caught it in her beak. She seemed to chew and then swallow it, before turning back towards the flaming mass that was Groudon.

She took a deep breath before releasing a burst of flame from her mouth directed at Groudon. The flames hit dead on, but they didn't stop there. The flames Torchic produced swirled around Groudon's form until he was wrapped in a cocoon of fire.

"Torchic, was that a new move?" I asked excitedly.

"I think it is! I was starting to feel funny again, like when I first learned Ember, so I thought that eating one of those seeds would speed up the process!"

"Awesome! That had to have been Fire Spin!" I said, getting pumped as we were starting to make a comeback.

Just then, the vortex of flames was ripped apart by Groudon's slashing claws. He swung his arms frantically, trying to rid himself of the dancing flames. Before long he'd shaken off all of the remaining fire, and leaned over towards the ground.

His right arm was supporting him against the ground, where he was breathing heavily from exhaustion. He was close to being defeated, but he still hadn't given up yet.

"Oh no, here we go again!" Torchic uttered as she got ready to fight once more.

But it in that moment of pause while Groudon was not attacking, I took the time to analyse the situation. Ever since the battle had started, Groudon hadn't spoken a word to us. He only roared and attacked us with brute strength. But he had yelled at us before the battle had broken out, so why had he morphed into a mindless, rage induced monster? Unless…

Of course. It all makes sense now. I was right all along, this is another trial. And the one behind it has to be the one pulling the strings. But that means of course, that this issn't the real Groudon.

"June?" Torchic questioned as I stepped past her. I walked slowly up to the tired Groudon and stood my ground.

His yellow eyes focused on me, and he let out his primal roar. But I didn't flinch away. I continued to stand my ground and stare at him. When his roar ended, I started to speak.

"You aren't going to hurt us." I said calmly. "Because that's not what you do."

Groudon growled at me menacingly, but I didn't stop. I needed to get through to him somehow. He had to be listening after all.

"I understand. I know that all you want, all you've ever wanted is to protect this place. But I know you're not violent. That's why when we were fighting, none of your attacks hit us directly. You were just trying to scare us off."

Groudon raised his claw above his head, readying his attack to cut me down.

"June! Get out of the way!' Torchic called as she attempted to get to me.

"Isn't that right?" I asked the creature, disregarding Torchic's warning.

Groudon's claw descended right above me, barreling down towards my head which I made no attempt to avoid.

"Uxie."

I felt a rush of air that blew my hair back. Groudon's claw had stopped, inches above my head. He stood frozen, like the statue we'd seen of him earlier. I stared up at him, as if time itself had stopped. But ever so slowly, his claw moved upwards. Groudon stood with his claws lowered at his sides, looking completely calm. He closed his big golden eyes, and then all of a sudden, he started to glow.

The light that came forth from his body blinded me momentarily. I closed my eyes against the light, but just as quickly as it had come, it was gone.

Torchic and I now stood in an empty cavern. The damage from the fight we'd endured was gone as well. The floor was healed of its cracks and the scorch marks from the fire had vanished.

Torchic came up to stand beside me. "June, I don't understand. What did you do?"

"I didn't do anything Torchic… I can't believe I didn't realize it sooner." I scolded myself. I couldn't believe it had taken me so long to figure it out.

"Didn't realize what? And where did Groudon go?" She asked.

"Don't you see Torchic? There was no Groudon. Just like the fog protected anyone from finding the lake, that Groudon protected anyone from going to the lake. It was all an illusion." I explained.

"But how did you know that? I thought you were going to get crushed!' Torchic huffed in frustration.

"There was never any danger Torchic." I assured her. "During the fight, didn't you notice that Groudon never actually hit us with any of its attacks? And when the battle started, he never said anything? It was because someone else was controlling him."

Torchic's frustration looked to be fading away as it dawned on her that I was right. She sighed in relief that the fight was over and that neither of us had gotten hurt.

"…You are very knowledgeable, human."

I recognized the voice and stood up straighter than before. It was the same deep voice that I'd heard during my Dimensional Scream about the drought stone. I knew now that there was only one being that could be the owner of that voice.

"Who said that!?" Torchic called out into the darkness. The cavern was empty except for us. But I knew from hanging around with Celebi that legendary Pokémon had special abilities like being able to speak without being seen.

"Like I said earlier, I am the Guardian here. Although since your friend there already knows of me, I'm sure she could have told you that." The disembodied voice said.

"Please," I begged, stepping forward and looking aimlessly around the cave. "We have traveled a very long way to get here. We've passed every trial you've thrown at us. We need to get to Fogbound Lake."

"I cannot allow that." The voice said.

"You have to!' I yelled at the empty walls. "I know why you're here, and I know what you're guarding. I know it's important that you protect it, but you need to let me explain. The fact that I know about all this should at least earn me a chance to be heard!"

"Just because you know my name and the secrets of my domain doesn't give you the right to anything. Although I do admit…I have never had a human visit this place before."

"I'm not just a human." I explained. "I come from a place far away from here, filled with darkness and despair. I know you protect the treasure of Fogbound Lake to keep the world in balance. But disaster is upon us, and if you don't listen to me, than everything is going to suffer the consequences!" I pleaded, trying to express the urgency of the situation.

"Why should I believe you?" The voice asked suspiciously.

"Because…" I trailed off. I knew what this being was capable of…but there was only one thing I could do to confirm what I claimed. "Because I can prove it."

The cave was silent for a moment. The air was still charged with tension, but I knew that the Guardian of Fogbound Lake was still there, considering his choices.

"Well…alright. I'll let you prove yourself then."

A blue light appeared in front of me. Torchic stood ready at my side, in case any danger were to threaten me. From the blue light, a silhouette formed, which faded sharply to a blue and yellow Pokémon that was floating in mid-air.

"Allow me to welcome you then." The Pokémon said. "I am Uxie, although apparently you already knew that."

Uxie was different than I imagined he would look. He had a blue body with a dome shaped head. His eyes were closed, even as he spoke, and he had a red jewel on his forehead and two more set in his twin tails.

"Uxie?" Torchic repeated, testing the name out.

"Yes. I am the Guardian of Fogbound Lake. I guard over something very special. Come…I will escort you to the lake and listen to what you have to say."

I swallowed dryly as I followed after him. Torchic and I made our way through the rest of the cave after Uxie, until we found ourselves outside. The sky was navy blue and twinkled with a million tiny stars. The ground was much softer outside of the cave, and the breeze was much cooler.

"Wow, it's become so dark outside!' Torchic chimed in as we walked.

We stopped at what appeared to be the edge of the ground. I heard the lapping of water and saw what I presumed to be the edge of the lake.

"It may be a little difficult to see at night, but…Behold! Fogbound Lake!" Uxie announced, turning to face the lake's surface.

Torchic and I stood on either side of Uxie and gazed out at the sight of the secret lake.

"Wow!" Torchic exclaimed, her eyes glittering with excitement.

My breath hitched in my throat at the sight of Fogbound Lake. The surface of the water reflected the night time sky, the images of stars and clouds mirrored twice over as the water met the atmosphere. Thousands of lights danced above the waters face of all different colors. I recognized the lights as Volbeat and Illumise. I had seen a lot of beautiful things since coming to the past, but this…there weren't enough words to describe how stunning this view was.

"This is incredible! Who'd expect to see such a big lake on a plateau so high up!?" Torchic cried out enthusiastically.

"Water constantly wells up from far below this place. It flows up so heavily, that it has long formed this enormous lake." Uxie explained. He turned back to face us, his eyes still closed. "Now cast your eyes to the glowing area at the lake's center."

I was taken off-guard by this statement, but before I could ask why, Torchic spoke up.

"Yes!" She said. "I see it! The blue-green radiance, right?"

"Why don't you take a closer look?" Uxie suggested.

Torchic and I stepped even further out. I peered out as far as I could, focusing on the light that Torchic had talked about.

I gasped when I saw it. It was glowing with a beautiful teal luminosity, and it had green lights floating around it as if it were showcasing itself. I knew exactly what it was the moment I laid eyes on it.

A Time Gear.

I felt my heart start to pound in my chest. It was stirring me up like nothing else ever had. I could barely contain my joy, relief, and overall excitement at finally finding the awe-inspiring relic that was the very first Time Gear!

"That's fantastic!" Torchic cheered. "But what is it?

"That is…a Time Gear." Uxie foretold.

"What!?" Torchic burst out. "Really and truly!? That's the Time Gear!?"

"Yes. It is the sole reason I am here." He explained. He turned towards me suddenly. "But then…you already knew that, didn't you?"

I was struck speechless. There was nothing I could say that would make him understand. Even if I told him the truth, and that I was here to take away the sole reason for his existence, what would that get me? Another fight with his Groudon illusion?

"Yes." I ended up saying.

I backed up to stand away from him. Torchic followed and stood by my side supportively.

"You know much about this place." Uxie said. "I can tell from the way you act. You knew I was here, along with the Time Gear."

"Yes." I confirmed.

"And yet no human has ever come here before you. And all those who trespass here have their memories taken away by me, in order to protect the Time Gear." Uxie continued. "So tell me…how did you come across the information you know? How can you prove what you say to be true?"

I took a deep breath to calm myself. I knew what I was about to do was risky, but it was the only way to get him to believe me. Because of the reason I was here, I needed him to see for himself what would become of this world if he chose not to have faith in me.

"I know that you have the ability to take people's memories." I told him, keeping my voice as steady as I could. "And I know that in order to have those psychic abilities, you have to be able to see memories too, right?"

Uxie floated there, listening to my claims. "It is true. I can watch the memories of others without having to take them away."

"Then that's my proof." I explained. "I'll show you my memories. That's how you'll know what I say to be true."

"Mm, interesting offer…" Uxie considered, flying closer towards me. "But how do you know, that I won't erase your memories the moment you let me into your mind?"

I gulped, but kept my breathing steady. "I don't." I admitted. "But that's a risk I'll have to take."

"June!" Torchic spoke up. "Are you sure that's a good idea? If you lose your memories than how are you going to make everything better?"

"Trust me Torchic." I assured her. "If there were another way I would take it, but this is my only option."

Uxie hovered in front of me, probably thinking about his options. His tails curved up to float on either side of him.

"Very well." Uxie agreed. "I will see for myself, if you speak the truth or not."

Uxie came up directly in front of me. I felt his tails touch against my temples, the cool surfaces of the red gems set in them hitting my senses. I took a deep breath to calm myself. Uxie kept his eyes closed in concentration. I kept my eyes open, before I felt his powers slip inside my mind.

My eyes snapped shut as my head started to pound. I felt him moving and looking around in my head, though my thoughts and feelings. It was like having someone crawl under my skin and take over my body. I could feel him watching my memories, like someone flipping through a scrapbook of every moment in my life.

I saw myself getting injured when I was little, my grandmother's face, the planetary investigation team and Grovyle. I saw the locations of the Time Gears, Celebi, Primal Dialga's henchmen, and I saw the accident that happened while we were time-traveling.

I felt hot tears slip down my face as I relived Grovyle drifting further and further away from me, desperately trying to get back to me. I wanted to scream out to him, but I had to remember that it wasn't real. It was just a memory. It was all just a memory.

I gasped sharply as the pain in my head spiked. I wasn't trying to resist Uxie's presence inside my mind, but to my surprise my Dimensional Scream was pushing against him. My own powers were fighting back against his, trying to lock him out. My abilities had always been out of my control, but never before had they acted on their own like this.

And then suddenly the connection was broken. I dropped to my knees and my tears continued to fall. I felt like my head was splitting in half, but Uxie looked even worse. He was gasping for breath and the gem on his forehead was glowing an angry red color. I was relieved that he hadn't taken my memories. I don't know what I would have done if he had. But the pain in my head from my powers fight was worsening.

"June! Are you alright!? Say something, please!" Torchic stammered as she stood beside me.

I wiped my tears away with the back of my hand. "I'm fine Torchic…it's just a headache."

"You…you have the Dimensional Scream ability?" Uxie asked as her gasped for air.

"I think you already know the answer to that." I told him.

"Oh my…" Uxie breathed as he struggled to catch his breath. "T-That…Then that was…"

"The future." I finished. I stood up, swaying slightly as my head was still aching. "I wouldn't be here…unless I had to be. I know you've protected the Time Gear for a long time now…but now you know that if you don't let me take it, everything and everyone in this world is done for."

"I…I understand." Uxie said, straightening himself up. "I had hoped this day would never come. I've spent so long protecting the Time Gear that it seems I forgot what its original purpose was for."

"What do you mean?" Torchic chimed in.

"The fail-safe." Uxie said. "If something were to happen to Temporal Tower, the Time Gears would be needed to save it. But it's been so long since they were a part of the tower, they've started to regulate time themselves for the surrounding areas. If I remove it, then time all around the lake will come to a standstill."

"I promise you," I spoke up. "That's only temporary. Once the tower is safe, time will return to normal everywhere. But if it's between a few weeks of time standing still for a few places, and a permanent paralysis of the planet, then I think we need to make that sacrifice." I reasoned.

Uxie sighed. "I believe you may be right. Although it goes against everything I stand for, I cannot deny the truth your memories held. If giving you this time gears will save our world from destruction, then I will comply."

I breathed a sigh of relief when he spoke those words. I knew that if I could just get him to believe me, then I'd be able to make him see reason. There was no need for a fight after all.

"A Time Gear, a Time Gear! Yay, you guys were right all along!"

We all turned to look back towards the clearing. Standing there, looking just as cheerful as he always did, was Wigglytuff.

"WOW, what an amazing view!" He said as he bounced over to the lake.

"And who might this be?" Uxie asked, obviously confused.

"Oh, this is Wigglytuff." Torchic explained. "He's a friend of ours."

"Nice to meet you! Friend, friend, friend!" He sang happily as he greeted Uxie. "I'm so delighted we came!"

"GUILDMASTER!"

Chatot then flew up behind us and hovered over Wigglytuff. "THERE you are! You shouldn't go running off ahead like that!"

"Oh relax Chatot!" Wigglytuff shrugged. "Look out there instead! It's so pretty!"

I heard a large crashing sound and looked out again at the lake.

A magnificent geyser of water had erupted from the center of the lake, where the time gear lay underneath the water. The pillar of water shot straight up into the air and was glowing with an array of colors. Brilliant shades of blue, pink, violet, and green swirled around the lake fountain while the Volbeat and Illumise danced around the spray.

One by one, I heard all of the guild members come filing up towards the edge of Fogbound Lake. They had probably followed after us after they'd defeated Team Skull. They all cooed and gasped at the beauty of the lake and I couldn't blame them one bit. I had thought the lake before was breathtaking but this…this was staggering.

"Each element of the lake is lovely on their own. But when they come together, they are the very vision of beauty." Uxie told me as I stared sadly at the display.

"It doesn't seem right." I admitted. "Taking the Time Gear will ruin this view forever…"

"It is a shame…" Uxie agreed. "But…nothing lasts forever. And if this is the last time such a sight will ever be seen, then I am glad that you and your friends were the ones to see it. Perhaps it can live on in all of your memories…assuming that you are able to prevent what I saw inside your mind."

I sighed and nodded my head solemnly. There was nothing I could do…I needed the Time Gear to save everyone. Destroying this view was a devastating loss, and once the time gear was in my possession the lives of the Pokémon that lived around here would be damaged as well. But there was no other way.

"Hey June?"

I recognized Torchic's voice. I listened to her, although I found myself unable to look away from view of the water.

"Are you taking in this view? It's so magical! I really am happy that I got to see this sight you and everyone else. I know you have to take the Time Gear…but I think everything will be okay anyways."

I let Torchic's words comfort me as I treasured every minute of this view. For the moment, everything was perfect. And after all the guild had done to support and protect me, I was happy to share this moment with them too. I would never forget this moment…for as long as I lived.

The guild members and I waited at the edge of Foggy Forest, anticipating Uxie's return. It was nearly dawn, but we were all still wide awake. The guild had stayed up all night to usher out the Pokémon that lived in the nearby area. Once the Time Gear was removed, they would be trapped in time if they were too close to the aftershock. They'd still be able to live here when time was at a standstill, but it would be much more difficult since nothing would grow or move anymore.

I had made sure to stay out of sight. The guild members had been doing a good job of what I'd asked of them so far. They were assuring everyone that time stopping in certain areas was fine because the time gears were being collected. They didn't go around telling people that a human was collecting them, but it was still hard for the Pokémon of this world to believe in such things like the planet becoming paralyzed.

"It's starting." Wigglytuff said.

We all looked towards the heart of the forest where the mountain of Fogbound Lake stood. And just as I focused my sight on it, the process was starting to begin. The land all around the lake, from the trees to the sky, was turning a bland, depressing, familiar grey colour. It spread like a virus to touch all of the surrounding area. Just the sight of it working its way through the forest filled me with a primitive terror. I started to shake so much I had to hug my arms around myself to keep them still. I tried to tell myself over and over that it was okay, that I still had time and that this was all necessary. But my fear refused to subside.

"It is done."

I stepped forwards and saw Uxie float out of the forest's edge. The grey terrain stopped just inside of the forest's border. In Uxie's small blue arms was the most beautiful thing I'd ever seen.

The sight of the Time Gear filled me with hope and wonder every time I saw it. This small, beautiful relic was the cure to my diseased future. This one little object was going to fix everything. Once I'd collected the other four that is.

Uxie floated towards me and extended his arms. "Please take care of it."

"I will. I promise." I told him.

I held out my hand, and Uxie placed the item in the center of my palm. My finger enclosed the edges of the artifact. I held it in front of my face and looked at it. It felt rough in my hands, but also mystical. I held it to my chest, and instantly I felt lighter. Just having it with me made me feel like everything really was going to be okay.

"You have earned my trust June." Uxie told me, drawing my attention back to him. "Not many would risk having another probe through their minds just to prove their honesty."

"Well I'm honored to have earned your trust." I told him honestly.

"A human…from a future of darkness, and with an ability as rare as the Dimensional Scream…" Uxie pondered. "I believe a greater force than we can contradict has set you on this path. I will do everything I can to help you achieve your ends."

"Thank you Uxie." I smiled at him. He startled me when he leaned in closer to me still.

"I do also hope that you find your friend." He whispered.

I blinked in confusion before smiling sadly at him. "Again, thank you." My heart ached as Grovyle flashed through my mind.

"Well then." He announced loud enough for the guild to hear. "I am off to worn my brethren of your plight. I assume you have heard of them as well?"

"Yes. Mespirit and Azelf. They're guardians as well." I confirmed.

"Then it seems that there is nothing more for me here." Uxie said. "I bid you all farewell, my new friends."

"Bye now! Friend! Friend! Friend!" Wigglytuff waved.

Uxie smiled a little before he turned his back to us and flew away into the newly grey sky. I watched him go for a moment before looking down at the Time Gear once again.

"You did it June!" Torchic cheered. "You got the Time Gear!"

"No Torchic." I crouched down to her height. I looked her in the eye and smiled sincerely, hope shining in every inch of my being. "We did it."

I turned back to the guild members. "Thank you all so much!"

"You're welcome June!" Wigglytuff said. "Chatot, if you will!"

"I'll hop to it Guildmaster!" Chatot responded. He turned back to the guild members. "Everyone! We're going back to the guild!"

"HOORAY!" They all cheered together.

I looked down at Torchic, beamed with genuine happiness now that our first journey was a success.

"Let's go."

A/N: There will be more. Until next time my lovely readers!