Author's Note: And here we go, back to a slightly longer chapter. Anyway, this was interesting to write for a couple of reasons...the biggest one being the new Dimensional Holes. That was quite fun to work out, and, yes, they're supposed to similar to the Distortion World in main-series canon.

Chapter Thirteen: Further Developments

This was brilliant—it was perfect. It was so much better than Darkrai could've asked for.

The idea of time travel was appealing, of course. Darkrai was sure there dozens of ways he could use that. But Giratina giving him the opportunity to create his own space was simple and easy, while also being quite practical—and immediately so.

He'd been with Giratina for nearly a full day now, practicing the new formula over and over. So far, they'd gone uninterrupted. That was exactly what Darkrai expected. He'd knocked Iris out with an extra-strong shot of Hypnosis, and then Darkrai had applied it to the rest of Team Shadow, just to be sure. They were already sleeping, but he didn't want to risk them waking up too early.

It was tempting to give them nightmares, too, while he was at it. There had been something itching within Darkrai for a while now; he could feel his species' power inside him ever since he'd awoken near Shimmer Desert. But after joining Team Shadow, he hadn't been able to use it. It was like holding his breath for an extended period of time, and he could barely stand it.

But they had those feathers—gifts from someone named Cresselia—which would supposedly prevent that. Darkrai wouldn't waste his energy on something that wasn't going to work. Besides, would that make it too obvious what was happening? He didn't want to risk it.

Just knocking them out for a day or two would be fine. They didn't go to the Guild every day, after all. Sometimes they took breaks to lounge around on the beach, or go to Spinda's Café, or visit other friends. With everything Team Shadow did, nobody would find their lack of presence in any specific area to be immediately strange.

So that was what he'd done, and it gave Darkrai plenty of time to study up on what Giratina was doing. With the day's efforts, they'd managed to greatly stabilize Giratina's new hypothesis. Finally, they were getting close; just a little bit longer, and they'd be able to create their own perfect dimensions.

"I think this should do it," Giratina muttered. "If we just change this variable here a little more…"

He took a deep breath and closed his eyes. Then, a Dimensional Hole slowly whirred to life behind the large dragon. Darkrai peered around him, and Giratina eagerly turned around to see their results.

So far, it seemed to be holding up. They waited for several seconds, and the portal remained open. The dungeon inside was just as bizarre as the ones Giratina had previously created—though, to be fair, many dungeons were strange anyway. Still, this one had some odd floating platforms and chunks missing from the ground, much like the others ones did.

Otherwise, it seemed mostly stable. It stayed there in front of them, without instantly vanishing like many others did. And, even after a few minutes, the Dimensional Hole remained intact.

"You've done it," Darkrai said approvingly. "Shall we head inside and see what it's like?"

"We have," Giratina replied breathlessly. "Yes, let's; come with me!"

For such a bulky creature, Giratina was surprisingly graceful when he lifted himself into the air. He didn't look like he should be able to fly at all, but he got airborne with little effort. After he dove into the portal, Darkrai curiously followed him.

The Dimensional Hole spun around them as they entered, and Darkrai's vision was clouded by bright flashing lights. They arrived safely, though; they were in their dungeon, and the entrance stayed open behind them. Darkrai was shaken at first, but he stabilized himself soon enough and glanced around.

The air was…stifling. It was still and quiet; there wasn't even any wind. The silence was unnatural; it was almost like time didn't move around them.

As Darkrai got a closer look, he could tell that the dungeon was less a dungeon and more just an…endless space of sorts. Purplish clouds spread out in the distance around them, and large chunks of ground floated in the 'air' like islands. Some of them didn't line up properly; they were higher or lower than the others nearby. There were even a few that turned sideways like walls.

"What a strange place," Darkrai murmured. "And yet…it's almost calming in a way."

"Look—look at this, Darkrai!"

Giratina's excitement was obvious in his voice. So far, Darkrai had paid little attention to his companion, instead focused on their surroundings. But now, when he turned his eyes to Giratina, the reason for his shift in demeanor was clear.

His form was sleeker now; he was longer and more slender. Giratina's wings had split into three pieces each, and his legs were smaller and more pointed. There were various other small changes in his appearance—yet it was clearly still Giratina. In his excitement, Giratina flew through the air in a circle, marveling at his new shape.

"It's my natural form," he explained. "I haven't been able to access it in centuries! Not without special items, at least—and it never lasts for long. But here—here—!"

Giratina did another twirl, and Darkrai had to suppress a chuckle. It was almost ridiculous to watch. He had to wonder what caused the change, but if it gave Giratina a benefit like this, he wouldn't complain. Anything that motivated him to keep doing this was good for Darkrai, too.

Once Giratina had calmed down, Darkrai prompted, "What do you think is so special about this place?"

"Well, if I had to guess…" Giratina hummed in thought. "Given that we're using a mix of temporal and spatial properties, I assume this is a dimension wholly unlike ours, Dialga's, or Palkia's. It runs opposite to all of them at once, much like how the universe was before Arceus stabilized it."

"I see," Darkrai murmured, idly rubbing his chin. "And you lost your true form because of that?"

Giratina nodded. "I would assume so, yes. I was…well, 'created' during that time, so I was fit for those properties. Once things calmed down, I had to adapt. Well, Dialga and Palkia were there, too, but…I suppose they were more 'stable' than I was, due to their stronger focuses. As for this space itself…"

He glanced around again, and Darkrai did as well. It really was incredible, for a variety of reasons. To think something like this could be created with just a little alteration was truly mind-blowing.

"Well, perhaps time and space are both off here," Giratina finally suggested. "The spatial distortions are obvious enough, but with how still it is, maybe time isn't flowing here, either. Or perhaps at a much slower rate than it does in the 'real' world."

"Yes, that would make sense," Darkrai agreed.

It had so many possibilities if it was true, though. Darkrai felt his breath speed up as he contemplated it. Being able to create individual 'pockets' was already immensely useful—if he felt like using his species' abilities, doing it in his own personal areas meant he wouldn't be found right away. And having near-infinite time would not only allow him to inflict it for much longer, it also meant he had much more time to sit back and watch, too.

Yes, yes…this was perfect. Darkrai just needed to remember everything they'd gone over today. Then he could create his own spaces and use them however he liked. He'd make his own dungeons, use them to practice his powers to his heart's content, and—

"I suppose we should leave now, though." Giratina sighed. "If we stay too long, we run the risk of Dialga or Palkia noticing us—or worse, Arceus."

Oh. Oh, that was a risk, wasn't it? Perhaps Darkrai would have to figure out a way to limit them, or make them less noticeable. But now that he knew how to do it, he had somewhere to start. Surely he could go from there, right?

"Ah, yes, you're right," Darkrai said reluctantly. "But what about your form?"

"I will miss it, but…" He sighed again. "Now that I know how to do this, I can access it at any time. I'll just have to do so in short bursts to avoid detection. Besides…we've proven this can be done, and isn't that an accomplishment on its own?"

So Giratina had wanted to stop there all along. He had just wanted to prove it and leave it. (Well, 'leave it' for the most part, but still…) That didn't matter, though; he'd given Darkrai everything he needed. Darkrai just had to play along for now, and he could do more eventually.

Darkrai nodded. "Yes, indeed; I'm proud of us."

That was true, at least. Darkrai was pleased with everything they'd done. The only difference was that he wanted to do more.

As they departed through the Dimensional Hole, Darkrai decided to keep silent on that for now. He'd be showing off plenty later.