Author's Note: This chapter's an utter monstrosity, in the sense that it's about as long as the first four chapters combined. That said, it was another very fun one, as there were lots of things to play with here. The most notable ones were me attempting to balance the extremely idealistic Grovyle seen in this episode with the grumpier Grovyle we see for most of the rest of the game, as well as trying to reason out some explanation as to how Dusknoir even knew about Icicle Forest in the first place. And speaking of whom, there's also a very special reveal in regards to Dusknoir here, too. Anyway, I've talked enough, so let's get to the actual chapter.

Chapter Twenty-Five: Restoration

Leaf wasn't sure what to think right now, and it was a feeling he didn't like.

They'd eventually recovered enough from their last fight to make their way down the other side of the mountain, and they'd mostly traveled in silence. Still, Leaf had glanced uncertainly Dusknoir every now and then. He'd almost seemed contemplative back there while they were resting. It was like something had just…happened to him, for lack of a better word, and Leaf didn't know what that something might be.

Had Leaf actually managed to get through to him? Honestly, he hadn't expected to open up like that, either. It was hard to imagine Dusknoir turning over a new leaf after everything he'd done. Still, there was a small part of Leaf, deep down, that really wanted to think that Dusknoir was at least considering what he'd said earlier.

Leaf shook his head when they finally arrived at a flat stretch of ground. They'd gone far enough now that they had to be catching up to Primal Dialga, provided he really had come all the way out here. They had to find out for sure—conveniently enough, there was a Snorunt waddling around up ahead of them. (Fortunately, he wasn't one of the ones they'd seen earlier; Leaf was still sore about that little prank.) Maybe he'd seen something, and Leaf broke his silence as he bounded over to the Ice-Type.

"Hey! You haven't seen anyone come by here lately, have you?"

Snorunt turned around and blinked at him. "Huh? Oh, yeah! There was a big old group just a little while ago. It was really weird!"

Leaf's breath caught in his throat. "Really? Did you get a good look at them? What exactly was weird about them?"

"Huh, there was a whole bunch of these…purple spiky things. Sableye, I think they're called." Snorunt paused, narrowing his eyes slightly as he mulled it over. "Oh, and there was this little pink one, too! Kinda weird-looking, but kinda cute, too… Never seen anything like her before."

Celebi. It had to be Celebi. But if she was with the Sableye, then—

"One last thing," Leaf said slowly. "Was that all of them? There wasn't another one with them? Did you see a large armored one, too?"

"Uh…not sure." Snorunt bobbed in his version of a shrug. "Sounds kinda tough, though. If it's out there, I wouldn't wanna follow it, you know?"

With that, he shrugged again, turned around, and waddled off in the direction that Leaf and Dusknoir had just come from. Leaf stared after him for a little while, heartbeat speeding up as his words sank in. Celebi had been caught. It seemed like an impossible situation, but if Snorunt was telling the truth, then it had actually happened.

And where would the Sableye be taking her, except to Primal Dialga? In that case, he had to be nearby, too. Either he'd gotten there already, before Snorunt had gotten the chance to see him, or he'd be on his way soon. Neither situation was good, but Leaf had to hope for the latter—

"Grovyle," Dusknoir finally said. "If we set out now, we may still be able to catch up with them. And if we can get there before Master Dialga does…we'll stand a better chance against him, too."

Leaf took a deep breath and nodded. "I know. Come on, then."

The only clear path forward led through an expanse of large spikes of ice. They almost resembled trees in a way, albeit unusual ones. Some of them even split up in multiple directions, almost like branches.

Leaf didn't have the time to stop and appreciate them, though. Interesting as they were, the thought of finding Celebi was all he could focus on at the moment. …Well, that and dodging the occasional shards of ice floating through the air. Having to swat them out of the way or step around them quickly started grating on him.

All of the wild Pokémon out here weren't helping matters, either. There were a good number of Weezing and Cacturne in the not-quite forest, and having to fight them frustrated Leaf to no end. He could decently fend off the occasional Gliscor, but he still didn't like relying on Dusknoir to help with so many of his disadvantages.

(Maybe he didn't want to mind. There was still a part of him saying that Dusknoir had cooperated with him for this long, so he should really appreciate it. And there was still that lingering sense of something from before. But Leaf quickly stuffed those thoughts aside and shook his head.)

He was broken out of his thoughts by the occasional odd cracking noise. Leaf glanced upwards; were those sparks on some of the ice "trees"? He blinked. The local Pokémon had gone out of their way to avoid them, now that he thought about it…

Leaf curiously glanced over at Dusknoir, who was eyeing the spikes intently. When he caught Leaf staring, Dusknoir merely shrugged. He felt uneasy again, but Leaf had no choice but to keep going.

Finally, they arrived in a large clearing. The giant icicles had mostly spaced out and only lined the edges of the path ahead of them. Still, Leaf looked around cautiously. There were plenty of places for the Sableye to hide if they were nearby, after all.

He jumped when there was another loud cracking sound. Had one of the icicles just snapped? No, it was the same sound as before…that electrical noise. Leaf knew better than that. Were these icicles doing that, too?

His eyes finally settled on a couple of icicles up ahead. There were orbs of light dancing around their edges, jagged and crackling even more than the others had. A few small sparks jumped from spike to spike and Leaf was on edge again. Something was off here, he could tell.

"Is there…something unusual about this area?" he said uncertainly.

"I would assume so," Dusknoir replied, shrugging. "I noticed that, too. …Watch yourself."

He nodded, carefully edging forward. Then, he thought he could make out a familiar pink shape in the distance. Leaf's eyes widened, and he darted ahead. There, crumpled up on the ground—it was undeniably Celebi.

"Celebi!" he shouted. "Are you all right? How did you get here? Are the Sableye still around? Where's—"

Celebi weakly turned her head to look at him. She was clearly struggling to move, and her eyes were only half open. There was an odd sort of glow around her, but Leaf didn't have time to wonder what that was about before she cut him off.

"Is…is that you, my dear?" she rasped out. "S-stay back… It's…"

"It's what?" Leaf cocked his head to the side. "What's wrong with you?"

"They…m-made a trap! Don't come any closer…"

"Hee hee! That's ENOUGH out of you!"

There was the faintest hint of a whisper before a loud rushing sound filled the area. Celebi shrieked as she was lifted upwards and slammed back into the ground face-first. The glowing around her intensified, jagged and bright green and purple, and Leaf thought there was something vaguely familiar about it.

Then his eyes fell on the strange rock lying a few feet away from her. Leaf knew he'd seen that before—an Odd Keystone. Finally, it sank in; it was the exact same thing that had happened to him back at the Sealed Ruins.

"Spiritomb! Let her go," he snarled as he ran forward. "I know that's you! Now come out here and—"

Leaf was cut off by another crackle of sparks, and a large wave of them coursed through his arm. Then another from the other side, and he howled in pain as the sparks intensified. He tried to struggle against them, but they were holding him in place. His arms had gone numb, and the sparks started to spread over the rest of his body.

"Hee hee! You FELL for it! You FELL for it!"

Spiritomb's face had risen out of the Odd Keystone, and they were smirking at him. Celebi weakly tried to crawl towards him, possibly hoping to push him out of the way of the sparks. It didn't take long for Spiritomb to notice this, though, and they quickly threw her aside. Celebi cried out in pain again as she skidded several feet backwards, and Spiritomb cackled at her.

"STAY back! We WON'T let you stop it!"

Grovyle grunted, trying and failing to at least get his legs to move. The sparks soon spread down to his feet, though, and he was almost entirely immobilized. What was going on? It was obviously a trap of some kind, but how was it doing this? What was the electricity doing to him? And why wasn't—

"Oh, Grovyle… You made it too easy, you know."

That was…that was Dusknoir's voice. Leaf weakly turned his head around, trying to ignore the increasing pain in his limbs. A satisfied smirk had spread over Dusknoir's stomach, and it only grew wider as he glanced between Leaf and Celebi. She was still staring at them in horror, eyes widening as her mouth moved wordlessly.

"What…do you mean?" Leaf panted.

"Please—I know you're smarter than that. This whole time…didn't you wonder why I would bother to tag along with you?"

"O-of course I did," he wheezed. "And I didn't like the suggestion when you made it. But I thought—I thought you just needed—"

"You thought I needed your help, yes," Dusknoir droned. "And it's true. I do need your help. You see…that new 'follower' of Master Dialga's…it's going to be you, Grovyle."

All he could manage was a weak, "W-what?"

"You see, these ice crystals here…" Dusknoir gestured around at them. "They're rather special. They have the power to destroy your mind, but leave your body intact. Once they do, I will take over your body, I will send you back, and I will stop Team Shadow from changing the past. I knew they wouldn't listen to me—so I needed you to do it. I also knew you'd never do that on your own, of course.

"And then I remembered this place. I investigated it once long ago at Master Dialga's request, and that was when I came across these crystals!"

A wave of dizziness coursed through Leaf as he tried to struggle against the sparks again. He supposed that explained some things—like how 'concerned' Dusknoir had been over his well-being. Of course he'd need Leaf in good condition if that was his plan. And of course he'd need to tag along and make sure that Leaf went where he wanted him to go, when he wanted.

The fights with the Sableye even made sense to a degree. Maybe they'd been planned out for the sake slowing Leaf down, giving them more time to find Celebi. But there was still one thing—

"When…did you…even h-have time to plan this, Dusknoir?!"

"Oh, there was plenty of time." Dusknoir wasn't even bothering to hide the amusement in his voice now. "Don't you remember? When we first got here, you were unconscious for quite a while. And the Sableye were already here; all I had to do was consult with them before you woke up. Then I laid down and waited until you did; you merely assumed you were the first one to regain consciousness."

It was true that there had been a Sableye nearby when Leaf had first awoken. So, then—even way back then—the plan had already been in motion. And he hadn't even stopped to consider that there could be a plan.

Well, Leaf had thought there was something off. He had wondered if maybe Dusknoir was planning to start something. But to have already had it in motion the whole time…

The sparks intensified again, and sharp spikes of pain wracked through his body. Leaf doubled over as the edges of his vision started to go white. How could he have—Celebi had told him to run—he could've at least avoided this part of it if he'd just listened to her—

No. He couldn't give up here; Leaf refused. There had to be something he could do.

"N-no, that can't be right," he gasped. "You—back there, didn't you think maybe—maybe something had changed?"

"…What are you talking about, Grovyle?"

"You know…" Leaf's back arched as another shower of sparks erupted from his body, but he went on. "When you asked me…if changing things was worth it…I know you were thinking about it then! I-if you were doubting things…"

There was a long pause, and Leaf's hearing started to ring. He thought maybe Dusknoir wasn't going to dignify that with a response. Maybe he wouldn't hear it if he did. But then, finally, there was a very weak response.

"No, you're wrong. You're foolish and naive and far too idealistic! It's infuriating. Of course I would never agree with you."

More sparks. Another flash of light across his vision. There was an unearthly howl of pain that Leaf barely recognized as his own voice. But—he had to keep trying—it was his only choice—

"No, I could…I could tell! I know you were… You h-had to be…"

He was getting increasingly numb, and his body had grown heavy. More icicles had erupted into sparks, and there were more beams of light shooting into him. Leaf struggled to keep his eyes open; he could barely see anything now, even if he wanted to.

Vaguely, he could hear shouting in the distance. More voices now; maybe the Sableye had finally come out. A roar of denial that almost sounded like Dusknoir was followed by a sob from Celebi's direction. Leaf's hearing went out completely after that; the ringing in his ears and the volume of the sparks had increased to such a point that everything else had faded.

Was this it, then? Was he really going to—

Leaf blinked. That was…strange. Suddenly, he was lying face down, and his front side was cold. He shouldn't be feeling anything if he was dead, really. (Well, sort of dead, anyway.) Hesitantly, he tried to move his claws; they were numb, but they worked. Then his arms, and…

Leaf hissed as another sharp pain went through his body. But the accompanying sparks were much lighter, and seemed to be coming from his own skin rather than further away. Why weren't they coming from the ice crystals anymore?

He blinked again, and his eyes finally started to cooperate. Leaf slowly raised his head and looked around. Celebi was slightly to his right, still under the hold of Spiritomb, but she was staring at him with wide, misty eyes. She'd clearly seen him move, and the tears of relief were quick to start falling.

"You're okay, you're okay," she whispered, chanting it in such a way that Leaf wondered if she was saying it partly to convince herself.

Leaf nodded, which promptly caused him to sputter and wince in pain. Slowly, he managed to drag himself around—cringing all the while—and look in the opposite direction. Dusknoir was slightly behind where Leaf had just been standing, huddled up in a large ball with his head in his hands. The Sableye had surrounded him (so they had been nearby, Leaf thought), but the occasional spark of energy from their leader's body caused them to yelp and back off.

"Did…did he…" Leaf croaked.

"…push you out of the way?" Celebi finished. "Yes. I don't know why, but…"

So it had worked, then? It took Leaf a few seconds process. He'd been right after all? Leaf had sensed something back at the mountain? It seemed surreal, but that must've been right.

Before he could speak up, however, the area suddenly went dark. The Sableye looked around frantically, and Dusknoir slowly raised his head to see what was going on. Then, it was followed up by a bright flash of light, and a giant, armored, purple figure was standing in the middle of the field. Leaf's eyes widened as he tried to crawl backwards; Primal Dialga had been on his way, then.

Dialga wildly looked between the assembled group before his eyes fell on Dusknoir. Then, he let out a furious snarl and whipped around, slamming his tail into the ghost. Celebi shrieked in surprise, Spiritomb yelped in fear, and the Sableye desperately tried to see if their master was all right. Dusknoir tried to brace himself as he backed away, but Dialga moved too quickly, ramming a massive claw into him.

Leaf cringed; he could hear several more blows, followed by deep, echoing roars of pain, but it was too much to watch. And yet he was too far away and too weak to do anything about it. He could hear Spiritomb shouting "That's IT! We're gonna LEAVE now!", followed by a gasp from Celebi. The Keystone scraped against the icy ground as they fled, but Celebi was in no shape to help either, even if she could move now—

Suddenly, everything was silent. Leaf slowly opened his eyes, trying to figure out what had happened. Primal Dialga was looking upwards at…something, and Leaf glanced towards the sky. There were blue-green waves of light glowing against the darkness. Auroras—but why now?

And then there was the gentlest brush of something against his skin. Wind; that was wind. Leaf's eyes widened; how could there be wind? Unless…maybe things were starting to change. And if that was true…had Claire succeeded back in the past by now?

Before he could think on it further, Leaf was distracted by another enraged roar from Primal Dialga. The dragon turned around and fled, apparently ignoring all the other Pokémon in the area. There was another hill rising in the distance, and Dialga moved towards it. He was almost in a trance-like state now, footsteps robotic and eyes unfocused. Dialga roared one more time, this one sounding almost pained, before he disappeared from view.

Leaf stared off in that direction before shakily turning to Celebi. He crawled over to her and managed to pull himself into a sitting position before extending a claw to her. She sat there for a few seconds, awkwardly trying to move her limbs around, before accepting Leaf's offer for help.

"Are…are you all right?" he said, voice still a bit raspy. "It'll probably…take a little while to move properly, but…"

"I-I'm fine, my dear," Celebi replied, though she cringed when she tried to bend her arm too sharply. "…Mostly, I think. But, more importantly…how are you?"

Leaf laughed weakly. "I've been better, honestly, but I'll get over it."

Celebi just sighed and shook her head. Then, her eyes flickered over to Dusknoir, and Leaf followed her gaze. He looked nearly as bad as Leaf felt, if not worse.

Dusknoir had been tossed aside into the wall of icicles, and a few had shattered around him; some had made it all the way to the ground, but others stuck out at awkward angles. He looked rather dazed, eye not focused on anything in particular, and he was covered in scrapes and bruises. One arm hung limply down at his side, and the other was resting over his stomach.

"Wheh… we're sorry, Lord Dusknoir," one of the Sableye whimpered. "We couldn't stop Master Dialga…"

"I-It's all right," Dusknoir wheezed. "I don't think…anyone could in his current state."

Leaf forced himself to stand up, and he took a few wobbly steps in Dusknoir's direction. He was closely followed by Celebi, though her attempt at flight wasn't much steadier. When Leaf finally reached Dusknoir, he paused and bit his lip. He wasn't sure what to say, but he had to say something.

"Well, I guess you saved me again," he finally said. "So, er…"

Dusknoir let out a weak, raspy laugh. "From a trap I set, yes. And the last time was just to trick you into thinking I cared."

Leaf awkwardly rubbed the back of his neck. Dusknoir had a point there, but…he'd still thrown away his entire plan. And Leaf wasn't entirely sure what that meant. While he knew what he wanted it to mean, he had to ask anyway.

"You do care, though, don't you? Now, at least."

"I…" Dusknoir sighed. "You were right, yes. When you spoke of having a purpose, you did it so earnestly that I couldn't help that seed of doubt. And you kept trying to convince me otherwise even after I'd set you up, and…I couldn't take any more of it."

Celebi smiled and shook her head. "Really, that was all it took? I figured you, of all Pokémon, would need more convincing than that!"

"Maybe before." He sighed again. "But whatever 'purpose' Master Dialga had given me was on such a small scale. It was something I clung to in order to convince myself I was doing something worthwhile. It was just an excuse for my own cowardice.

"If Claire succeeds, we'll all be gone, anyway—and I thought to myself, if I'm going to die, do I want it to be like this? Or do I at least want to die doing something important?" His eye finally settled on Leaf as he finished, "So, you see, I'd like to make my own mark on the world, if you'll let me."

Leaf smiled—an actual, genuine smile, which wasn't something he'd ever thought he'd offer to Dusknoir. But he nodded and said, "If you'll come along, then yes. I will take you."

"Then…then I suppose it's settled. We're going to stop Master Dialga before he…"

Dusknoir attempted to get up, but he crashed back to the ground almost immediately. Celebi frowned, hesitantly fluttering over to him and setting a hand on his back.

"Here… Let me see if I can do something about that, at least a little…"

She closed her eyes and hummed, and a pleasant chiming noise rang through the air. It was Heal Bell, Leaf realized. A few of the cuts and bruises decorating Dusknoir's body shrank a little, even if they didn't close all the way. He slowly pulled himself up again with a bit more energy this time, and he managed to keep himself afloat.

"I do feel somewhat better," he admitted. "Now then…shall we head after Master Dialga?"

"We probably should get going soon, but…what do you think he's after?" Leaf said with a frown. "You said you'd been here before."

"Well, Master Dialga mostly sent me to look for a Time Gear. He wanted to make sure they'd all been destroyed, and I never found any traces of them here. But…" Dusknoir glanced at Celebi. "You don't know if there's anything special about this area, do you? Anything that would attract Master Dialga's attention like that?"

"I don't know," Celebi said slowly. "Unless…I'd heard once, long ago, that there are multiple Passages of Time. It's possible that…" Her eyes widened. "If there's one here, Primal Dialga would surely sense it and try to use it."

"And if he goes through it in his current state, what do you think will happen?"

Dusknoir frowned. "That's provided he doesn't try to destroy it. I suppose it's still a possibility, though, and one we need to consider."

"Yes!" Celebi nodded. "Come along, dears—he went off that way! Towards the mountain back there! Let's hurry."

Well, hurry as well as they could, Leaf supposed. Still, it wasn't too far away, and the entire group managed to arrive at the base of the mountain soon enough. Even so, they had to stop and rest before going on, Leaf and Dusknoir in particular.

"I think," Dusknoir said as he leaned against a nearby rock, "Celebi, Grovyle, and I should go on alone. I appreciate all of you sticking with me, but…if too many of us go, it may only enrage Master Dialga further."

The Sableye looked between each other, frowning. Eventually, they nodded sadly and chorused, "Yes, Lord Dusknoir! We understand, wheh-heh…"

"All right, then. Thank you, and…in case I don't get to say it later, this may be goodbye. So—"

"Excuse me?! What exactly do you think you're doing?"

Dusknoir was cut off by a sudden voice. He glanced around in an attempt to figure out where it was coming from, and Leaf could make out a shape materializing nearby. If he looked closely, it seemed oddly like a Misdreavus. Wait—

It was Missy, and Dusknoir wilted under her glare. The Sableye jumped collectively and tried to hide behind each other with little success. The scene was almost comical, or it would have been if Leaf wasn't so confused.

"L-lady Missy!" one of the Sableye yelped.

Dusknoir's eye widened. "What are you doing here?"

"Really? Is that all you have to say?" Missy demanded. "I knew what the plan was—one of the Sableye told me about it! And then I come here to see how it's going and whether or not it succeeded, and I see you heading off with them?"

She bobbed her head in the direction of Leaf and Celebi, and Dusknoir awkwardly rubbed the back of his head.

"Well, you see…that is…" Dusknoir sighed, shoulders sagging as he went on. "Missy, surely you realize at this point that there's nothing we can do. History will be changed. So I would rather accept it than try uselessly to fight it."

"Of course I realize that!" Missy shouted, though Leaf noticed her eyes were watering. "But…if I'm going to die, don't you think I'd at least want to pick where and how I die? And that I'd maybe at least want to do so alongside you, Father?"

"She has a point there, you know," Leaf said, nodding. Then, he did a double-take as the last thing Missy had said registered on him. "W-wait, what did she call you?"

"Father? Yes, this useless, no-good father is mine." Missy shot Dusknoir a glare before turning back to Leaf. "Why would I have followed him for so long otherwise?"

"Well, I guess you have a point… I just thought… Didn't you say you didn't know what happened to your father?"

"No, I just said I never saw him, which was true," Missy huffed. "As soon as he started working for his precious Master Dialga, I was always the one left behind!"

Dusknoir sighed again, bringing a hand up to rest on top of her head. Missy flinched, but she didn't back away.

"I know I wasn't there for you as much as I should've been," he said, sounding genuinely apologetic. "I just thought that…if I could at least help you survive, then…"

Missy shook her head and closed her eyes. "Enough! We're not surviving anyway, so what does that even matter? Just let me come with you this time!"

"I think you should, Dusknoir," Celebi chimed in, grinning almost mischievously. "It would be good for both of you! Besides, I'd love to properly meet your daughter on the way up!"

"Eh… that would be nice," Dusknoir replied, his mouth markings curving up into an awkward smile. "If everyone's okay with that, then…?"

Leaf nodded, and Celebi was positively ecstatic with her cry of, "Certainly!"

"All right." Dusknoir nodded as well before turning back to the Sableye. "Well, then…I suppose now we're off!"

"Yes! Good luck, Lord Dusknoir, wheh-heh-heh!"

"Goodbye, Lady Missy!"

The Sableye's encouraging cries rang out as they turned towards the path before them. Grovyle took a deep breath as they started making their way up the trail. This was it; they were close to the end now. All they had to do was make sure everything came to pass, but they couldn't dawdle.

…But, out of the corner of his eye, Leaf saw a small flash of gold. It didn't seem to be any lingering sparks; it was too round and too light for that. Then, there was another one: a tiny but distinct golden ball of light had just emanated from his arm.

"My dear, are you coming?"

Leaf looked up when he heard Celebi's voice. Nodding, he quickly darted after her, trying to put the puzzling light out of his mind.

…He could only hope they had more time than he thought they did.

There was something about the march up the mountain that filled Leaf with both dread and anticipation. Everyone knew exactly what they were marching towards, after all. They also knew exactly how important it was. It was an odd mix, one that caused them all to mostly proceed in silence.

Still, every now and then, Leaf could hear Celebi chatter at Missy. He was…surprised, but oddly pleased, when the Misdreavus awkwardly attempted to return the conversation.

"So, Missy, dear—" Celebi cut herself off to launch a Magical Leaf at a Gliscor who had suddenly jumped out at her. "Sorry about that. Anyway, there's something a bit…familiar about you. You were the one who was with Claire a while back, right?"

Missy sighed. "Yes, I…I'm the one who ratted you all out. Sorry about that."

Leaf idly glanced over his shoulder. Missy did sound apologetic about that (at least a little), but he wasn't sure how to feel about it. On the other hand, Celebi seemed considerably less conflicted about the whole thing.

"Oh, no, you're helping us out now! And that's definitely a good thing."

"I guess so." Missy smiled hesitantly. "You know, are you always this…friendly?"

"Well, that's what everyone always—" she paused again, shooting an Ancient Power at a nearby Shedinja— "what they all said, anyway. Heh."

Dusknoir shook his head and sighed, and Leaf looked at him curiously.

"Maybe she could've had some proper friends besides all the Sableye if I hadn't…" he muttered.

Leaf had never been especially good at cheering people up—well, besides that one time with Claire back at Sharpedo Bluff, anyway. He wasn't sure how to respond to that… His own parents had taken reasonably good care of him while they'd been alive (as much as that was possible here, at least), but he'd never had any real friends until Claire's family had taken him in, either. So, Leaf supposed that was something he could understand.

"Well, I'm sure Celebi will do her best to make up for that while she can," he replied. "She's always been good at that."

A hesitant smile crossed Dusknoir's stomach as well. "I hope you're—ah, look out!"

An Aerodactyl had swooped around the corner up ahead of them, and she screeched as she dove towards Leaf. He stumbled backwards, arms raised in front of his face. Leaf wouldn't have time to dodge at this rate, let alone strike back—

Dusknoir quickly rammed his fist into Aerodactyl's wing, ice crystals forming in the webbing as the attack connected. She shrieked in pain as she tumbled backwards, and Leaf was able to scramble back to his feet. He dashed forward, boosting his speed with a Quick Attack, and crashed into Aerodactyl before swinging at her with a Leaf Blade. She finally crumpled to the ground, eyes unfocused, and Leaf sighed as he jumped back to the ground.

"…Thanks," he offered.

"That one, I can accept."

Was…that actually a hint of humor in Dusknoir's voice? It was strange to hear, even if Leaf had accepted that he was genuinely helping now. He paused, then smiled and nodded as he started walking again. And, out of the corner of his eye, Leaf swore he caught a proper smile from Dusknoir as well.

They'd made it a good ways up the mountain now, and Leaf paused to catch his breath. Everyone was starting to look a bit ragged, but they couldn't wait too long, not when they were so close to the top. They all had a few light nicks and bruises from the occasional fight they'd gotten into, and Dusknoir still hadn't healed properly from the beating Dialga had given him. Leaf frowned as he dug through the last couple things in his treasure bag; he barely had anything left in it, let alone any healing items.

But, speaking of Primal Dialga…

"You know," he commented, "if we haven't seen Dialga yet…do you think he's already reached the peak?"

"Most likely," Dusknoir agreed, frowning. "Master Dialga did have a head start on us… If he's not there already, then he must be close."

Missy and Celebi nodded. And, as if to confirm their suspicions, there was the faintest echo of a roar in the distance. That must've been Primal Dialga; it had to mean they were closing the gap, but it probably wasn't a good sign, either. Leaf quickly stood up, and Dusknoir hastily gestured to the others as he followed him.

"Quickly—while we still have a chance!"

Leaf barely watched where he was going as he dashed ahead. They were so close now, both to the peak and to their end. He knew—there was another flicker of light from his wrist. It might not matter for much longer. Leaf wasn't sure, but he did know that they couldn't risk it at this point.

"My dear, you must slow down!" Celebi shouted from behind him. "If you get hurt up there, then you won't be able to help Claire after all!"

"I know," he called back, trying to keep the frustration out of his voice. "But…but we…"

"We know," Dusknoir said quietly. "Just, please…watch yourself."

Leaf reluctantly nodded, slowing his pace enough that everyone could catch up with him. Still, he impatiently ducked and rolled around the ice-coated boulders dotting the path up ahead. Just a little further, and…

The four of them soon arrived on a large plateau, and Leaf skidded to a halt. There, at the far side, was Primal Dialga, hunched up and panting for air. And, on an icy pedestal in front of him, was a glowing Passage of Time. So there was another one after all.

Primal Dialga craned his neck around at the noise, and he let out a noise that was somewhere between a growl and a hiss. The ground shook as he turned to face them properly, heavy steps accompanied by more rumbling. All the while, the wind picked up, and Leaf struggled to keep himself steady.

He squinted; was that a faint hint of light in the distance? And it wasn't from the direction of the Passage of Time, either. He heard Celebi gasp behind him as another golden orb rose from his wrist, and Leaf turned around to look at the others. Celebi's arm had briefly flickered, and Dusknoir was staring at something on the palm of his hand. A small flash of light had just risen from it, and Missy's eyes widened as she faintly flickered as well.

And then Leaf realized what the light on the horizon was: the sun. His breath caught in his throat as Dialga roared again, and there was a deep pain and anguish in the noise. He had to know they were almost done now, and who knew how desperate that would make him?

"I-is this… Are we…" Missy choked out.

"It looks like they've done it," Dusknoir said, his voice oddly calm and—and almost resigned, Leaf thought. "History has been altered!"

"It's been…altered?" Celebi repeated faintly.

It had been; they'd succeeded. Claire had done it, Leaf thought, his breath speeding up and coming out in icy puffs around him. She must've been closer to Temporal Tower's summit than he'd thought—or maybe it had just taken this long to catch up with them. Either way, she'd won.

"We're close to the end now," he said. "But, until we're there—"

Dusknoir nodded. "Until then, we must do everything we can to stop Master Dialga!"

Missy nodded, eyes closed, as Dialga roared again. Celebi swallowed and steadied herself in the air. Leaf glanced at Dusknoir, then at Dialga. They just had to hold him off. That was it; just for a few last minutes. If they could distract him long enough, then history would stay on its new course.

"This is it! For the sake of everyone's future…one last fight!"

Celebi flashed him a grin. "I couldn't have put it better! Let's go!"

Dialga growled, swinging a flickering claw forward. Leaf rolled aside, dodging the Metal Claw just in time. He quickly tore into the ground, the icy patches making it difficult, but he had to try. Above him, he could hear a pair of Shadow Balls whizzing through the air, followed by a dull roar of pain from the giant dragon.

Claire, Felix—everyone—

Leaf burst out of the ground, chunks of ice and hard dirt bursting out around him as he slammed into Dialga's leg. The Dig combined with a Magical Leaf from Celebi did its job; Dialga staggered backwards, far from unconscious but still left gasping for air.

—grant us strength!

Leaf took a deep breath, ducking as Dialga started to recover. While he was shimmering more brightly now, Dialga didn't seem to notice. Instead, he hissed and launched an Ancient Power at the quartet. Leaf barely rolled aside, but Celebi shrieked as one of the stones struck her. Without hesitating, he skidded towards her, catching her as she fell from the air.

There was a large, sickly bruise on her stomach, but she nodded and shot him a weak smile nonetheless. She floated back into position, shooting off an Ancient Power of her own. Off to the side, Leaf could see Dusknoir helping Missy back into the air, and the two of them shot off another combined Shadow Ball.

More light was rising off all of them now, and the sunlight was getting brighter. Just a little bit longer… Leaf swallowed and glanced up at Primal Dialga. He was huge, and he was far more powerful than any of them individually. But with the numerical odds so stacked against him, Primal Dialga was starting to look worse for the wear. He sank to his knees, entire body shuddering. Maybe just a few more attacks, and—

Dialga let out an earth-shattering roar, and everything around Leaf slowed to a blur. Then, the very air seemed to crack, and Leaf staggered as the impact caught up with him. Roar of Time—Celebi and Missy flew backwards through the air, and Dusknoir had crashed to the ground. Leaf scrambled back to his feet; he couldn't stop now. Not yet.

Dialga was left vulnerable, staring at them with weak, half-open eyes. His breathing was haggard; he wouldn't be able to get up for a while. Dusknoir had gotten airborne again, and his gaze met Leaf's as the two recovered. Leaf nodded at him, and they turned towards Dialga.

They swung simultaneously—Ice Punch and Leaf Blade—with Dusknoir striking higher up and Dialga's neck and Leaf slicing his way across Dialga's body. There was a blast of Psybeam from the distance—Celebi had helped Missy get up at some point—and it struck Dialga square in the face. For a second there was silence; then, Dialga let out an undignified noise somewhere between a gasp and a wheeze, and he crumpled to the ground with wide, unfocused eyes.

No one moved until Celebi quietly asked, "Did…did we do it?"

Dialga remained still, and Leaf nodded. "I think so. Now we…just need to wait."

And it didn't take long. Golden light started shimmering off Dialga's body in larger and larger streaks. Dialga grew brighter until, suddenly, the light burst forth from his body. He disappeared in a flash, his massive silhouette leaving a flickering afterimage for a few seconds.

Then, there was another glow from Leaf's body, yellow orbs rising from seemingly random places, and he slowly glanced between the other three. Celebi, Dusknoir, and Missy were brighter now, too. Leaf swallowed; this was it, then. They were fading, slowly but all together.

His body felt heavy, and Leaf sank to his knees as he glanced over the edge of the plateau. At some point during that battle, the sun had risen completely, and the streaks of light glittering over the ice were nothing short of breathtaking. At least—at least they had this—

Celebi groaned as she sank to the ground beside him. Her eyes were only sort of half-open, and she rested a hand on his shoulder as she gazed out at the sunrise. It was the first one she'd ever seen, Leaf realized; he'd experienced many back in the past, but to her? Celebi had to be just as overwhelmed now as he'd been the first time.

"It's…beautiful, isn't it?" she rasped. "This is…a sunrise. I'm glad w-we all…get to see it together. I…"

"I know," Leaf replied, chest heavy as he tried to keep breathing. "Even now, I still think they're wonderful. Celebi…we couldn't have done any of this without you—"

The light from her body was stronger now, and she laughed weakly as her eyes started to water. "No, it was all you, my dear. You and Claire—"

And then she was gone, and Leaf failed to swallow the lump in his throat.

"F-father, it's so…bright," Missy wheezed. "Was it…always like this, back then?"

Dusknoir could manage little more than a nod at first. Maybe if he'd let her come along at some point, Missy could've experienced more than just this. Of course he was grateful that she was getting to see a sunrise at all. Still, there was something bitter about the fact that Missy was only getting to see her first one now.

Now, when they were all dying—no, ceasing to exist. But…they'd succeeded. They'd stopped Master Dialga, and the sunrise would exist for everyone else. And Dusknoir had finally done something right—no, two things. He'd ensured the suffering wouldn't extend to anyone else, and he'd finally given Missy at least some of the attention she deserved.

"Yes…it's warm, too, isn't it?" There were more orbs of light coming from her now, and from him, but he had to say it while he had the chance. "I'm…sorry."

"You stupid father." Missy laughed weakly. "You're here now, aren't you? Don't go out…looking like that."

He shakily raised a hand to her face, and she closed her eyes. Then, in one last flash of light, Missy vanished entirely, and Dusknoir was left with a deep pang of something he hadn't felt in a very long time.

Leaf was an odd sort of translucent now, and he was gasping for air. He turned around in a weak crawl—Dusknoir was still there. He'd hunched up over a particular spot in the ground, body shaking violently as he flickered unevenly. Leaf dragged himself towards the ghost, eyes focused on the ground in front of Dusknoir.

Missy was gone, too. Dusknoir had watched his daughter vanish, and it was just the two of them left. It was a matter of seconds now, but they were there.

"Dusknoir," he wheezed. "You're still here."

"Not for much longer, but…" Dusknoir's voice shook, but there was an almost longing look in his eye when he glanced over at Leaf. "Was this…the right thing? Was I worthwhile? Did I…have a purpose, in helping you?"

Leaf managed a nod. "Undoubtedly. You were brilliant. We all fulfilled our purpose…together. And I have no regrets."

"Neither do I, then."

Leaf reached out a shaky claw, and it just barely reached Dusknoir's extended hand before they both disappeared into bursts of light.

There was silence across the plateau, save the whistling of the newly-blowing wind. The sun beat down on the snow, glittering in the morning light. For a long stretch of time, the light shone down on an empty mountain—on an empty island and an empty world.

Then, faintly, there was an echo somewhere far beyond the vast mountain of ice. Something almost like the whisper of a voice, from a place unreachable to most.

"They do not deserve this. They were the ones to fix it; they found the solution. I shall…bring them back, even if it twists the laws I had established! Their problem was one they could fix—but this requires my power!"

Slowly, there was another flickering of light. A massive form came into being, blue and silver and calm—free of the pain caused by the broken reality he'd been tied to. Dialga blinked, surveying the area. The wind and light were not things he had felt in…a very long time. Hundreds of years, at least, if not longer.

Then, in front of him, four more figures slowly came into view. First, the tiny forms of a Misdreavus and a pink Celebi; then, that of a Grovyle and a Dusknoir. Ah, right; they'd all been fighting a little while ago, hadn't they? And Dusknoir—he'd been serving Dialga for so long, suffering due to Dialga's own insanity. Which in turn had hurt his Misdreavus daughter.

And Celebi and Grovyle—it was all thanks to them that this change had come to pass. They were the ones who had allowed history to change. And there was one other besides them; the human girl who ought to be there.

For a few seconds, there was the faint echo of laughter; Grovyle whipped around, staring wide-eyed at a particular spot behind him. There was a flickering figure there, the silhouette shifting rapidly between that of a human and a Meowth. And then it was gone, and Dialga could feel a faint tugging sensation in the back of his mind.

It was…something he needed to look into, Dialga supposed. He would do so after figuring out how, exactly, their timeline still existed. Perhaps…if he closed his eyes…Dialga could feel a faint trace of something familiar. Himself, looking through clear eyes, unclouded by the primal fear of ceasing to be, looking out over another Temporal Tower whose pinnacle was lit by five glowing Time Gears.

Another time, another universe. Still governed over by him, and similar to their own. And yet, it was different, split off from another point. Perhaps the 'other' him had something to do with that flickering presence—but no one besides Dialga and Grovyle had noticed it.

The others were starting to stir, and Dialga had to thank them.

Claire—Leaf knew he had seen Claire just now, or at the very least heard her. It had to have been her; who else could it have been? And yet…she wasn't there now, and there was a sting in his chest at her lack of presence.

If they were back…shouldn't she be there as well? It wasn't fair; Claire had been just as vital to restoring the planet as they all were. Did she not get to enjoy it as well?

But…why were they back? Leaf stared at his claws, slowly turning them over. He was seeing this, right? He was…really there, wasn't he?

Celebi groaned from her nearby place on the ground. "We're…alive? But how?"

"I do not know, but I suspect it was another being—one even stronger than me."

Leaf jumped higher than he cared to admit at the voice. Dialga was looming over them again, but his body had lost its purple tint; he'd been restored to his natural blue. And…he was calmer now, speaking to them normally instead of growling in pain and fury.

Dusknoir blinked. "Master Dialga, this wasn't your work?"

"No." Dialga shook his head. "Even I can only pull from things that already exist—or will exist, eventually. This…is beyond me."

"Well, whatever the reason," Celebi said, clapping her hands together, "we must all do our best to appreciate this second chance! We should see how this world has changed, and…do what we can to improve it!"

Leaf nodded, a small smile crossing his face. He was sure Claire was out there somewhere—she had to be if they were, too. And, wherever she was, he was determined to find her. Leaf would meet her again, and show her that he and Celebi were all right, and—

"Yes, we're going to do that," he agreed. "All of us, right?"

He looked from Celebi to Dusknoir to Missy, and then hesitantly up at Dialga. Everyone nodded in agreement, and Leaf took one more look at the sunlight streaming down on them from above. They had the dawn of a new day ahead of them, and it would not go to waste.

It would take time, but…they had time now. Things could be fixed—already had been fixed, and would be improved further. They could do it.

Leaf stood up, grin widening.

"Do you hear that, Claire? We did it! We're alive, because of you! And—and—you'll see how well we live now, someday!"

Behind him, Leaf could hear the laughter of all four of the others, but he found himself not minding at all.