"Now, the time has come."

Platinum's paws were shaking uncontrollably. Tears plucked at her eyes, despite the warm late-summer breeze in the air. It smelled good, the spice of berries and the warmth of Dusknoir's goodbye aches both in equal parts. Her yellow eyes were fixated firmly on the plump ghost Pokémon in front of her as Sterling stood at her side. He appeared so nonchalant and soft-spoken, but she knew that his leaving stung just as terribly.

I don't want him to go.

Regrets fluttered into her mind. She hurt just remembering how cruel and cold she was to Dusknoir throughout the time they've known each other. The sting of insults rung clearly in her mind, and she knew that she should have been tenfold softer- just a bit kinder.

Platinum quietly watched as the two sableye accompanying Dusknoir draw close to the tied-up Grovyle and pushed the grass Pokémon in with their violet claws. Grovyle released another muffled cry as he quickly disappeared in the fluttering blacks and blues of the twisting, seething portal. The way it moved was almost like a rippling wave as he passed through it. A cold energy emitted from the portal, but it was nothing compared to the frost growing in the shinx's heart.

The sableye jumped in after the thief as Dusknoir turned around to once again address the crowd gathered in front of him. Yet something told Platinum that he was looking more towards her than anything else before he turned around to face the twisting portal.

"Everyone, though it pains me, I have to leave."

The cries and objections of the other Pokémon in the square fell upon Platinum's deaf ears. She couldn't take her eyes off him, no matter how hard she tried. Her paws were rooted to the ground, as her memory desperately tried to burn into her mind every little detail of the moment. The way that his poncho moved toward the portal as though a slight gravitation was pulling him toward it. The burning red stare of his crimson eye, and the strange ghostly movements he had when he moved like a smoky mist.

"Oh- yes."

Platinum blinked in surprise as Dusknoir looked over his shoulder to make eye contact with her.

"Before I go," he spoke softly, "I must see two Pokémon. Sterling and Platinum."

Her heart was thudding out of her chest. She barely even noticed Sterling's gentle squeeze of her shoulder. "That's us, let's go up there."

Platinum only could feebly nod as it took a good amount of strength to move her paws that were glued to the ground. Slowly, she took several steps closer to Dusknoir until they were barely a foot apart from one another. Her breath caught in her throat as she tilted her head to look up at him. "D-Dusknoir…" She barely managed to choke out.

Sterling wiped away one of his tears. "S-So, this is really goodbye. Dusknoir, thank you for everything you've done for us. Sincerely, thank you!" The riolu wheezed as the strength of his paw tightened on Platinum's shoulder.

The shinx inhaled sharply. "Dusknoir, I… I'm sorry for all I've said to you. I wish things were different." Involuntarily, the words tumbled out from her mouth. She didn't even mind Sterling's glance in her direction. "I will cherish the time we've spent together, even if it was short."

Something flashed across Dusknoir's eye that Platinum couldn't pinpoint. His shoulders loosened as he audibly sighed. "Well, this is goodbye…"

Platinum opened her mouth to say something else as the strange flicker crossed his expression once again. His gaze sharpened as he stared directly at Platinum. "Or is it?"

Before either Sterling or Platinum could respond, she watched as his form lurched backwards to reveal the jagged yellow smile that was dashed across his stomach, normally safely hidden away underneath the lavender cloth of his poncho. In the jaw was… nothing. It was a cold, abyssal darkness that the shinx had sworn she had seen before.

"It's too soon for farewells! You two are coming with me."

Platinum couldn't jump back, she was caught completely by surprise when she watched one of his large, gray hands come toward her and grasp firmly onto her scruff. She released a strangled and shocked cry of pain as Dusknoir began to drag her across the dirt toward the portal. Sterling's arm was caught, and he was kicking and struggling to break free.

Platinum wheezed to try to breathe, trying to take in what had just happened. "Dusk-"

Before they could say anything else, a cold feeling enveloped Platinum and she was taken into utter darkness. The feeling of Dusknoir gripping her scruff tightened as she tried to wrap her head around the sudden change of heart.

As her mind wandered into darkness, she wondered if he wanted to take her to the future with him? If he wanted her to see the wonders of his world?

It was her last hope before plunging into unconsciousness.

The air was cold. That was the first thing Platinum could grasp in her hazy state as her eyes slowly opened. Something cold was biting into her back left ankle, too tight to be wrapped around comfortably. Hazily, she glanced backwards to see iron chains binding her leg to a spoke in the center of the room.

Speaking of room, that was the second thing she was able to register. Looking around, it was cold, and the walls were made of cobbled stone and cement surrounding her on all sides except for a front gate with metal bars. Past the door was a long hallway that stretched on until fading into darkness.

The air was chilly, but it wasn't breezy or windy. It was strangely stagnant, like the air was completely still. As she looked around, she could see that the room was empty except for herself, and alarm bells immediately began going off in her mind. "Sterling?" She cried out instinctively.

There was no response except for the sucking, frosty air.

She shivered and paced to the spoke in the ground that attached her to the chain. Platinum tried to wrack what she could do to escape this predicament, but her mind was empty. She felt sore, tired, and roughed up. She reasoned she could try and electrocute the chains, but it wouldn't do any good and would only end up hurting herself, even if she did have sparks running through her veins.

She instead elected to sit down and try to remember how she got here. All her memory could dig up was the recollection of Dusknoir roughly grabbing her and Sterling and proceeding to pull them into the portal with him to the future.

If he wanted to show her the future, why did she fall unconscious and end up in a jail cell?

Maybe we got separated, and something or someone took me away from him and Sterling. She tried to reason as she began to flick her tail in agitation. If that's the case, I need to find them.

"My apologies for the arrangement, but it won't be like this for long."

Platinum's ears perked up and she twisted around to see none other than Dusknoir floating just beyond the bars. A dozen of mixed emotions stirred in her stomach as she watched him calmly phase his way through the bars like a mist. He was a ghost, after all.

She didn't know what to say, as the words were caught in her throat. Dusknoir loomed over her, somehow casting a shadow over the shinx. A growl rose up in Platinum's throat before she hissed out, "What's the meaning of this? Just get me out of here already and let's get out of here!"

The ghost blinked slowly before inhaling slowly. "I am afraid that I am unable to release you, Platinum. As a matter of fact, I shouldn't even be visiting you at this moment. You should consider yourself rather lucky that we're speaking."

"What's going on?" The shinx demanded as she stood up and arched her back, sparks crackling out from her bristled fur. "Is this really the future? Where's Sterling?"

"He's in another cell." Dusknoir replied dismissively, completely avoiding her first two questions. He flicked a palm almost boredly as he turned away from Platinum. "I wanted to share a final conversation with you before we part ways permanently."

She blinked slowly and the frequency of the sparks lessened, but her fur remained bristled. "You can't release me. What do you want from us, then?" she said with a dim realization. She cracked a toothy, fanged grin at him and narrowed her eyes and spoke with words of venom. "Were you truly so obsessed with us that you decided to drag us to the future and chain me up? That doesn't sound very gentlemanly to me."

"I wish it were something as simple as that." Dusknoir mused as he placed his hands behind his back in a relaxed manner. "'A crime of passion', as one would say. No, I am afraid it is something much darker than that. Perhaps we should simply enjoy one another's company before a final goodbye, yes?"

"I don't want company, I want answers." Platinum spat in response.

There was a thick silence as the ghost looked her over before sighing and drifting away from her. "I was hoping we could have a civil conversation just this once. It seems your blood is too hot, however. Understand this; you won't be around for much longer, and I am trying to ease you. If things were different, perhaps we could have spent more time together."

"We could if you just helped release me." Platinum had a sinking feeling she knew the truth already. She was going to die, and Dusknoir was simply going to let it happen without a second thought.

"You were a good friend to me, Platinum." He tried to assure her absently as he phased his way past the bars. "Do know that I do not take joy in what's to come. I pray you don't hate me."

Platinum tried to dash toward the gate to follow him, but the chains tugged at her paw and pulled her to the ground. "Get back here!" She demanded sharply as she watched him begin to make his way down the stretching hallway in front of her. A lump formed in her throat as she tried to tug at it, only causing more pain to herself. "Please don't go," she found herself begging.

It was too late. Dusknoir had already faded into the abyss.