Thank you all once again for the support! I'm glad to see so many of you are enjoying this and your comments really make my day considering how stressful my days are. Here's the next chapter. I hope it's to your liking.

Chapter 62: Unwanted Improvisation

~Hidden Land~

Lapras' hollow-eyed form glided slowly across the tube of water floating in midair. Each awkward movement of his flippers furthered the cracks in his shell. A small chunk dropped off of his back and fell into the water. The current pushed it toward the edge of the Sea of Time, where it dropped off the water tube, falling into the expansive abyss of swirling yellow clouds below. Lapras moved his flippers forward again and a tiny amount of blood trickled out of the new hole in his shell.

"Ugh. This is infuriating! Move faster, you worthless hunk of flesh. Our destination is finally in sight."

Black ley line chains stuck out of Lapras' back, streaming up toward Necrozma's arms. Necrozma slowly rotated his arms in small circles, as if he were operating the paddles for a kayak. Each revolution of his arms made Lapras' flippers glide forward and back, pushing them closer to the floating island at the end of the water tube.

Thick yellow clouds obscured the island. They were identical to the clouds lingering far below the water. There was one lone landmark Necrozma could make out, however. Far off in the distance, two rows of pillars emerged from the top of the yellow clouds, facing one another. In between them, multicolor light trickled through the clouds, projecting the familiar Relic Fragment rune into the air.

"The Rainbow Stoneship. So, it bears my light after all," Necrozma hissed. Drool trickled out of his mouth and he lapped it up with his tongue. "Dialga, you miserable thief. Instead of trying to help me, you took my light to fortify your own domain. You used me… just like everyone else. But that's okay… heeheeheehee… soon, you'll have the chance to make up for it."

He gripped the chains with his claws and spurred them. "Hya! Faster, Lapras!" he shouted. Lapras moaned, his lifeless head bobbing downward and then jerking back up. He gave a powerful thrust of his fins, propelling himself forward through the water. "I can feel the forcefield coming," Necrozma announced. "We can't slow down now."

Necrozma's three red eyes flashed. A wall of bright crimson energy appeared before him. A Time Gear's silhouette hovered over the water. Necrozma spurred Lapras' makeshift reigns. Lapras squealed and pitched forward. His head reached the barrier and passed through it, orange light flowing across his body. Necrozma tightened his grip on the chains, curling his wings around his body.

To his relief, he passed through the barrier completely unharmed. "Heeheeheehee! Yes… excellent! It worked!" He looked up, noticing the Hidden Land's primary floating island drawing closer. He maneuvered Lapras further along the water, passing through the island's cloud covering in the process.

A thick, dense tree line lay several yards ahead of Necrozma. The trees' leaves all glowed with blue ethereal light, creating a haze that hung between the tree line and cloud line. Necrozma frowned at the sight. He could sense energy radiating from that area. No doubt, if he tried to fly over the Hidden Land, it would prove a painful experience.

"You just think of everything, don't you, Dialga?" Necrozma sneered. "Anything to protect your precious tower after Darkrai ran afoul of it."

His gaze fell to the stone archway sitting in a rock wall at the edge of the island. There was a small grassy knoll in front of it, though the grass itself was crabby and looked as though it'd been trampled on. Some withered bushes sat around it, dried remnants of berries clinging to their dying branches. Necrozma maneuvered Lapras' reigns, steering him through the water until they reached the end of the Sea of Time.

Lapras fell out of the water tube and struck the ground hard. The cracks widened even further in his shell, shattering it completely. Necrozma tugged hard on the chains and they disconnected from Lapras' back, taking all of his colors with them. Lapras' life energy rushed toward Necrozma, who slurped it up gleefully. Necrozma looked down, watching as gray blood pooled out around Lapras.

"Ooooh. I'm no doctor, but I think you might want to have that checked out," Necrozma sneered. "Here, let me get that for you." He raised an arm and dark energy crackled around it. Black crystals swarmed Lapras' body, covering him from head to tail. "There. All better!" He floated past Lapras' body, keeping his gaze fixed on the archway leading into the forest. "So, if I want to reach Temporal Tower, I'll need to take the long way," he said. "Fine. There are undoubtedly plenty of wild Pokémon in here. So, I'll unravel them and take their lay lines to use on you, Dialga!"

However, the instant Necrozma glided underneath the archway, he froze. His red eyes flashed and his jaw fell open. "W… what the–?" A weak cough escaped his mouth. The air around him began to distort. Hexagons of blue light flickered to life. Necrozma attempted to turn around but found himself unable to move. He tried flexing his claws to no avail. Even his jaw, hanging open limply, couldn't be closed properly. His gaze remained fixed ahead of him, seeing nothing but a wall of blue hexagons surrounding him.

Necrozma wanted to scream, but only a small, high-pitched squeal escaped his gaping mouth.

~Temporal Tower~

"I've got him!" Dialga declared, his fierce eyes brimming with blue energy. He stood in the center of the Temporal Pinnacle. Blue lines raced out across the floor in different directions, forming strange glyphs and sigils that Mewtwo didn't recognize.

By 'him,' you mean Necrozma, yes? Mewtwo said, raising a skeptical brow. He gazed out into the clouds swirling around the tower. Their presences had multiplied since Dialga had started channeling his powers over the time stream.

"Correct. It looks like this time stasis bubble might work after all," Dialga said, taking deep breaths. Mewtwo sensed his life force spiking. Though Dialga could wield control over time, it seemed that doing so for extended bursts proved costly.

How long do you think you can keep this up for? I do have some berries that I brought along, but I'm not sure how much good they'll do for your stamina, Mewtwo said.

"I'm doing alright," Dialga said, exhaling calmly. "I'm manipulating time over a very small area. This isn't too bad. The problem stems from not having done this in quite a while. But, as Latias said, desperate times mean desperate measures." He turned his hardened look on Mewtwo. "Do not tell her I said that. If I let her know that she was right, it's going to go right to her head."

Understood, Mewtwo said, uncrossing his arms. What does this mean for the Hidden Land, then?

"I'm drawing on its ley lines to stabilize the time energy," Dialga said. He dug his left foreleg into the floor. Blue energy swirled around it, striking the floor and spreading out to add to the growing rings of light surrounding Dialga. "As we speak, the dungeon area is probably morphing. Wild Pokémon will be springing up left and right."

Mewtwo floated up to the edge of Temporal Tower. Which is where I come in.

"Don't go anywhere," Dialga ordered, fixing his gaze on the runes in the ground. "If you get too close to Necrozma, he might be able to sense your life energy, even trapped inside the time stasis bubble. The last thing I want is for him to find sudden motivation to try and break free."

Then what would you have me do? Mewtwo asked, eyes flashing blue. I won't just float by idly, you know. Wouldn't he sense the new Pokémon the ley lines are making?

"He will. But they're all artificial… all they have to offer him are ley lines, not life energy," Dialga said. "Just hang on. I want to be confident that I've repelled Necrozma before I send you in there to clean things up."

Mewtwo crossed his arms, scowling. Hmph. The world's strongest Pokémon… reduced to nothing but a glorified maid. This is degrading.

~Hidden Land~

Necrozma's view of the dungeon entrance had completely faded. The light tiles had gotten so close to him that they blurred together in his limited field of vision. He tried to force himself forward, but none of his muscles responded. Around him, small clouds of dust hung in midair, neither floating upward nor drifting toward the ground. Droplets of water sat still on moss clinging to the inside of the stone arch. Even the thick yellow fog indicating the start of the Mystery Dungeon wasn't moving.

Everything was frozen. Including him.

Though he couldn't move his body, Necrozma's mind still worked. Even with his viewpoint greatly restricted, he had a strong idea what was happening. The strange light tiles, the total paralysis, and the parts of the environment around him coming to a complete standstill all pointed toward one conclusion: time had frozen in the gate. And he was stuck right in the middle of the temporal anomaly.

Another muffled cry escaped his open mouth. Necrozma attempted to shout Dialga's name in frustration, but he couldn't produce anything more than a grunt. He immediately gave up trying to progress further against the time energy holding him in place. Instead, Necrozma relaxed his muscles. Or, rather, sent the mental signals for them to relax. His frozen state even prevented him from achieving this simple goal.

Necrozma remained suspended in midair with no knowledge of exactly how much time had passed. He tried to mentally count out the seconds, but with each attempt, sharp pain struck his head from all sides. Dialga had such strong control over time in this pocket, that even thinking about the concept was a struggle for Necrozma. Instead, his mind went blank, as if Necrozma were trying to lull himself to sleep despite being trapped in stasis.

His red eyes suddenly flashed. Necrozma's body violently lurched backward. The hexagon tiles behind him shattered like glass and he fell back onto the grassy knoll. Wisps of blue energy streamed off of his body and he thrashed his arms and wings about, hissing madly.

"Skrrreeeeeep!" Necrozma shouted, rising shakily back into the air. He was hunched over and panting heavily. "So… you don't intend… to back down… with making me work for it… huh?" he muttered. "You're so eager to hold onto the light you stole from me. Is that it?" Necrozma floated back from the dungeon entrance and glanced up at the sky. "You think you can get away with this? I alone saved this world from crisis. I gave this world its past, its present, and its future."

The red eye in his forehead glowed brightly, as did red patches under his chest armor. Necrozma slammed his arms on the ground, digging his claws into the dirt. He opened his mouth wide, drool trickling down his tongue. "My stardust is here... on your island... iN yOUr ToWeR! eVeRYtHinG hErE iS nECroZmA's!"

He enveloped his arms with his wings, breath coming in ragged gasps. The glow faded from his third eye. After a minute, he floated back into the air. "Fine… you win, Dialga," Necrozma said. "I cede this round to you. If I'm to take Temporal Tower for my own, it would seem I'm going to need to get creative!"

Necrozma floated back until he was at the edge of the floating island. He turned around and looked down toward the yellow clouds swirling far beneath him. A frown crossed his face. There was one thing that came to mind, of course: the Hourglasses. They had his light. Even just getting one of them could offer enough Z-Power to get around Dialga's stupid forcefields.

But he already knew for a fact that the Dawn Hourglass had been shattered. Undoubtedly, Shane and his fake friends were trying to find them. He could try and face them, sure, but if they were to use their Z-Power– no, his Z-Power successfully, that would be it. His tiny spirit fragment would be flung from Lunala's body.

"So, it has to be the Dusk Hourglass, then," Necrozma concluded. "I just have to find it… and stay out of sight!"

He gave a powerful flap of his wings and soared away from the floating island. Necrozma tucked his wings in and summoned an Ultra Wormhole below him. He flew inside the portal, which promptly faded from existence.

~Temporal Tower~

Well? What happened? Mewtwo asked, eyeing Dialga skeptically. The runes and light had faded from around Dialga, who sat on his haunches, catching his breath.

"Necrozma tore himself back from the time bubble," Dialga said. "He appears to have left the Hidden Land."

So, do we consider that a success? Mewtwo asked.

"I would say so, yes," Dialga said. "Trying to keep Necrozma restrained indefinitely would've put a significant strain on the time stream. The longer I was forced to use that time stasis bubble, the greater the risk of ley lines running out of control and potentially damaging Temporal Tower."

I would have prevented the damage if that were to happen, Mewtwo scoffed.

Dialga shook his head. "I believe even your powers would struggle to reign in ley lines. You've never had to control them, correct?"

Mewtwo casually flicked an arm. I'm the fastest learner on the planet, I assure you.

"Well, it's a moot point," Dialga scoffed. "Now then, I believe you have some work to do in the Hidden Land." He gestured in front of him with a foreleg.

Mewtwo hovered forward. I'll be done in ten minutes… tops. He sped off, disappearing into the vortex of yellow clouds.

~Treeshroud Forest~

"This is beyond disappointing. You had all that extra power and multiple Nihilegos backing you up and you still couldn't finish the job!"

Static raced up and down Zero's body even as she walked along the cobblestone path inexplicably positioned in the middle of two lines of trees bearing orange, autumnal leaves. Milotic slithered slowly behind Zero, keeping her gaze trained on the ground.

"They had backup… a lot of backup," Milotic whispered.

"Backup that was amateurish," Zero spat. Her left arm momentarily disappeared, taking her scepter with it. It then flickered back into place. Afterimages popped up around Zero. Milotic noticed one out of the corner of her eye and shrank back further.

"She's right, you know," Dragonite scoffed. "Your divide and conquer strategy was a decent idea, but the execution left something to be desired. You should've made sure to keep all of Team Radiance within your sight. That way you could stop them from using any Z-Moves."

"It goes beyond Z-Moves," Serperior growled, bringing up the rear of the group. "It's Silvally. The guy's a battling machine. Every time I tried to use one of my stronger attacks, he was right there to counter me. And his constant type-changing makes him a nightmare to deal with!"

"I'm not interested in your excuses," Zero sneered. "You'll just have to do a better job the next time you deal with them. Might I suggest recruiting some cannon fodder of your own? If Team Radiance is going to hide behind worthless bystanders, then we can sacrifice a few wild Pokémon for our cause." She narrowed her eye. "Like the ones in these dungeons that are merely clusters of ley lines smashed together because the gods can't do their jobs properly."

Dragonite crossed her arms. "We're already at the end of the dungeon, we won't find any wild Pokémon here."

Zero nudged her mask. "Pity."

The group reached a point where the cobblestone path started to widen. Zero stretched out her free arm, her lone eye narrowing in suspicion. "This isn't right," she growled. "I'm not getting even the faintest trace of the Time Gear."

"Look over there," Milotic gasped, pointing her bladed tail forward. "The middle of the clearing's been completely drained of its colors."

"It's not just that. There are leaves that are just floating in midair," Serperior said. "It's like time's all… not working and stuff… but just in that small patch."

Zero slammed her staff into the ground, jolting Serperior and Milotic to attention. "That means the Time Gear's already gone!" she snarled. "That patch of frozen time will spread until it's taken out this entire dungeon."

As soon as she finished saying that, the gray patch of land in the middle of the clearing widened slightly. A gust blew through the area, sweeping leaves off their branches. Several of them drifted into the strip of frozen time. They all lost their orange coloration and immediately froze in place. Milotic and Serperior backed away uneasily.

"How could the Time Gear be gone?" Milotic wondered. "Everyone who lives in the Grass Continent knows not to take any of them from their respective dungeons. We're the ones who want to change the flow of time."

Zero tightened her trip on her scepter. Her paw flickered, with more afterimages appeared up and down the scepter. "It would seem… that someone doesn't want the Time Gears falling into our clutches. And they're willing to risk messing with the flow of time just to see to it that we don't get them." She nudged up her mask. "But who took this Time Gear? Was it one of the gods attempting to intervene?"

"I think it was a guild. Or multiple guilds," Dragonite said. "We know for a fact that the Horizon Guild was talking with the Expedition Society about everything you were doing. I wouldn't be surprised if Ampharos learned you're after the Time Gears and decided to act preemptively."

Zero turned to face Team Captivate, her lone eye brimming with blue flames. "So, even as I attempt to work around him, he's still making alterations to whatever crazed plan he's drawn up to try and stop me. That arrogant moron. He really thinks he can replicate his success in working around Dark Matter. The gods have instilled him with a perverted sense of self-importance!" She raised her free paw and tiny red cubes gathered up in it. "How else could a buffoon who can't even navigate his hometown manage to put together such an ingenious plan? There's divine trickery at work here, I'm sure of it."

"What does that mean for us, then?" Serperior said. "If Ampharos managed to trick Dark Matter, then he must be thinking, like, five steps ahead of us already!"

Dragonite whirled on her teammate. Blue lightning crackled in her eyes. "You would dare doubt Mistress Zero like that? What is wrong with you?"

"Nothing!" Serperior insisted, raising her tail in self-defense. "I was curious, that's all."

"… I'll admit, I hadn't expected them to actually take the Time Gears out of their respective dungeons," Zero said, catching Dragonite by surprise. "I have an idea of how we can get around this… unfortunate roadblock. But it's going to require some finesse."

The ladies of Team Captivate all leaned in with interest. "What did you have in mind?" Milotic asked.

Zero's eye glowed blue again. "Well, if we're going to make this work, we'll have to recruit some outside help."

Dragonite frowned. "Bah! I'm more than capable of doing whatever it is you need."

"No, Dragonite," Zero said, holding up her scepter. "If this plan is going to work… we'll need a real pal on our side… if you catch my drift."

A grin wove its way onto Dragonite's face.

~Pokémon Square~

Hoopa and Latias floated away from the limestone-filled central plaza, toward a dirt road heading north. Round, dome-shaped houses lined the street, most of them covered with a layer of leaves and large sprouts. No one else was out on the streets, although Latias could see luminous orbs flickering inside some of the buildings, indicating Pokémon were indeed inside them. After passing their fourth pair of houses, the road narrowed and sloped upward. Rows of trees sprouted up from the ground on either side of the path.

"Hoopa thinks you look like an old lady with those bags under your eyes."

Latias tucked her head into her chest and rubbed her eyes. "Hoopa, can you just do me a favor and be quiet? We're here on important business. These are old friends of mine and we really need their help. So, I'd appreciate it if you didn't act like your usual self."

"Tch. What are you worried about? Hoopa's charm is infectious. Hoopa can help smooth things over with these 'Team Go-Getters' characters," Hoopa scoffed. He floated further ahead of Latias and rolled onto his back, resting his hands behind his head. "When was the last time you saw these two, anyway?"

Latias froze, wings sticking up. "Uh… well…" She tapped her claws together. "I think I went to Swampert's hatch day… six months ago?"

Hoopa snickered. "Yeah, Hoopa's sure they're gonna be real open to working with us." He opened up a ring portal next to him and pulled out a donut. "Maybe Hoopa will stay silent this time. If only because Hoopa thinks this is gonna be entertaining." He took a large bite out of the donut and held it up to look through it at Latias.

"I've been busy. As have they. I'm sure they'll understand," Latias said, before whispering under her breath, "I hope."

The duo emerged into a spacious clearing where the trail turned into cobblestones. The road sloped downward, coming to a stop by a pond full of sparkling water. A small cliff face sat in the distance, with three waterfalls feeding into the pond. There were also three small rock platforms in the middle of the pond serving as stepping stones to get to a rock island in the center of the pond.

"Oh, good. They're already here," Latias chirped. "Hi guys!"

On the central platform, a Blaziken and a Swampert turned around to face Latias. Blaziken noticeably had an X-shaped scar running across the bridge of his beak, while Swampert's three large fins were bright red instead of the expected black. Both of them had a maroon bandanna around their necks, each with a rusty rescuer's badge clipped to it.

"Latias, hey!" Swampert greeted, his nasally voice causing Hoopa to sit up and tilt his head in surprise. "Great to see you again!"

"Yeah, it's been ages," Blaziken agreed, his voice deeper but scratchier than Swampert's. "Would it have killed you to send a letter or two?"

Hoopa smirked at Latias while nervous sweat droplets formed in her neck. "Aha ha… ha… I would've, but things have been very busy over in Lively Town."

"For six months?" Blaziken said, eyebrow raised skeptically.

"Um… maybe?"

An awkward silence ensued until Blaziken leaned over, laughing and smacking his knees. "Ha! C'mon, Latias, lighten up. I was just ribbing ya!"

Hoopa tilted his head to the other side while Latias sighed in relief. "That's good to hear," she said.

"Wouldn't you have known he was joking, being an empath an all?" Swampert said, a goofy smile plastered on his face.

Latias dropped out of the air and faceplanted into the ground. She quickly floated back up, dusting herself off. "Yes, I should have. Sorry, I'm just under a lot of pressure. I've been jumping back and forth between different continents so much, I'm starting to think I may have time traveled." She ran her claws through her neck-feathers.

"Pffbt, don't be ridiculous. You're not that special," Hoopa scoffed. He turned to face Blaziken and Swampert. "So, you're the guys who stopped that meteor from squishing us all, right?"

Blaziken smirked. "You got it. Team Go-Getters, at your service!" He put his hands on his hips and winked at Hoopa.

"… meh. Hoopa's seen better."

Blaziken nearly fell back into the pond in disbelief. "Jeez, Latias, where did you find this guy, huh?" Swampert asked.

"He's a fellow recruit for Team Gaia," Latias sighed. "The Expedition Society… has some interesting characters."

"See? I told you we had a good reason never to make a guild here," Blaziken quipped. "All the rescue teams work independently and we don't have any problems to speak of."

Swampert frowned. "What about the time when–"

Blaziken threw his arm around Swampert's neck and let out an overexaggerated laugh. "Oh, Swampy, you're such a kidder!" He put on a serious expression and stood back up. "We should really get down to business, though. What did you want to see us for?"

"I'm here to ask for your help," Latias said. "I'd like you guys to come with me to the Horizon Continent."

Blaziken whistled. "That's an awful lot of flight time."

"Hoopa can get you all there instantly," Hoopa boasted, spinning one of his rings in his hand.

"Uh, Whiscash warned me about going through strange portals with gods," Swampert said, poking absentmindedly at the ground. "Besides, what could be so important that you need us to go halfway around the world?"

"It's a bit of a complicated story. I can use my sight-sharing to give you two the quick and dirty version, if that's alright," Latias replied.

"Sight-sharing?" Swampert parroted, shooting Blaziken a worried look. "That doesn't hurt, does it?"

"Of course not. I'm quite well-trained at it. Latios and I do it all the time," Latias insisted.

"I don't see a problem with it," Blaziken said. "If it saves us time, then let's get to it."

Latias nodded. Her eyes brimmed with blue energy as she filled Team Go-Getters' minds with her recent experiences in the Horizon Continent. After several seconds, she cut off the mental link and floated back from them. "So, uh, yeah. That's the situation," she said. "Any questions?"

Swampert's arm shot up into the air. "Yeah, I've got at least ten! Want me to write them down?"

Blaziken facepalmed. "We don't exactly have time to stand here all day and play twenty questions, you know." He rubbed the bridge of his beak. "What exactly are we going to do in the Horizon Continent? Look for the missing Dawn Hourglass?"

"Yes," Latias said. "Err… sort of." She fidgeted with her satchel's strand. "See, we kind of need to coordinate with Team Radiance, first."

Swampert and Blaziken exchanged confused looks. "Team… Radiance?" Swampert said.

"They're the explorers I'm working with in the Horizon Guild," Latias explained.

"Huh. Can't say I've heard of them," Blaziken said. "Must be a pack of rookies." He elbowed Swampert in the ribs. "Bring back any memories, buddy?"

"Sure, of course they do," Swampert said, with a nervous laugh. "Who could forget that time you accidentally drop-kicked Absol into a snow bank on Mt. Freeze?"

Blaziken looked away, biting the tip of a talon in embarrassment. "Aha ha… ha… I thought he was a Sneasel!"

"Guys, focus!" Latias said, snapping her claws. "We need to get going. You can meet Team Radiance for yourselves when we get to Cosmic Cavern." She looked over her shoulder. "Are we good to go, Hoopa?"

"Pfbt. Hoopa's good to go whenever." Hoopa raised his hand up and shouted, "Alléhooparing!" The ring portal immediately formed behind him and he bowed gracefully.

Sweat drops trickled down Blaziken's head. He leaned over toward Latias and whispered, "This guy's not seriously gonna do that every time he makes one of those portals, is he?"

Latias' ears drooped. "You'll get used to it."

Blaziken shook his head. "Something tells me I won't."

~Cosmic Cavern~

There was a fire pit set up on the opposite side of the cave from the tunnel leading to the hot springs. Luxeira, Gallian, Zoroark, Espeon, and Tessa sat around a small, crackling fire. Behind them, Totem Decidueye perched on a rock. Dusk was also lying atop the rock, still heavily-bandaged. Sticky floated behind Luxeira, casting wayward glances at the tunnel across the village and poking his nubby arms together.

"I thought your companions were following us," Sticky said. "What happened to them?"

"I think they hung back to talk," Tessa said, shrugging.

"They picked a lousy time, then," Sticky harrumphed. "We've got important information we need to pass on."

"Relax, Sticky," Luxeira said. With her helmet and uniform removed, she had a fairly youthful appearance about her. Her blue fur was vibrant and her orange eyes looked lively. "The sun only set a short time ago. It's not too late into the evening, yet."

"What do you suppose they hung back for, anyway?" Zoroark wondered, poking at the outer rim of the fire with a long stick.

"Beats me," Tessa replied. "Silvally's hard to get a read on, sometimes." The moment she stopped speaking, her aura feelers quivered. Tessa looked over her shoulder at Espeon. "Hey, did you just sense something?"

"Yeah," Espeon said, ears twitching. "It felt a bit familiar, but–"

A ring portal opened by the entrance to the Cavernous Depths. Latias and Hoopa flew out of it. Everyone besides Tessa, Espeon, and Zoroark reacted in complete surprise at their appearance, almost to the point of ignoring Blaziken and Swampert as they stumbled out of the portal.

Swampert put a hand up to his mouth, his face paling. "Let's… uh… let's not do that again," he said before belching loudly.

Blaziken's feathers bristled. "Good gods, Swampert. What did you eat last night?" he asked, waving a hand in front of his face.

"Uh, wouldn't that be this night? Since, y'know, we just jumped backwards half a day," Swampert said, chuckling nervously. "Or… did we move forwards? Gah, now I'm confused."

"All right, what's the meaning of this?" Totem Decidueye called, taking off from his perch and landing in front of Latias and Hoopa. He looked off toward the village's houses and confirmed no one was outside to witness the portal. "I'm the Totem here and I would like an explanation as to why you're barging into our home."

"It's okay, sir," Tessa said, sitting up from the fire pit and waving Latias over with a paw. "Latias is with us."

"And the other three?" Totem Decidueye asked, ignoring the confused looks Blaziken and Swampert gave him.

"Uh… they're with us, too," Tessa said, albeit a lot less confidently.

Totem Decidueye lowered his outstretched wing. "Fair enough. Though I would ask you take care of whatever business you need to quickly. It's been a trying day for us and I'd like the village to return to some semblance of normalcy."

Latias nodded. She beckoned Blaziken and Swampert to follow her over to the fire pit. "I got Espeon's message. You guys have two Dawn Shards?"

"Yeah," Espeon said. "We got the Sizzle Shard from Gallian." She jerked her head in the Absol's direction, causing him to look down guiltily. "And we found the Subterranean Shard in the Mystery Dungeon here, though we had to fight off Milotic and a couple of Ultra Beasts to get it."

"Well, I'm glad you're all okay," Latias said. She noticed the shocked looks she was getting. "O-Oh… right… where are my manners?" Latias hoisted up her satchel to show off the Expedition Society badge pinned to it. "I'm Latias. I normally work with Team Gaia over at the Expedition Society, but I've decided to help out the Horizon Guild… or what's left of it, anyway."

"And Hoopa's her boss, making sure she does a good job and doesn't slack off," Hoopa said, patting Latias' left wing. She turned around and gave him a stink eye. Hoopa shrugged her off, snickering loudly.

"And your friends over there?" Dusk asked, shakily pointing a forepaw at Blaziken and Swampert.

"Heh…" Blaziken rubbed the tip of his beak. "We're–"

Tessa sprang to her feet fast enough to make Espeon squeak in surprise. "You're Team Go-Getters," she gasped, pointing a paw at them. "I can't believe this!" She turned to Espeon. "Team Go-Getters is really here! This is, like… I've had dreams about getting to meet you guys, but I never actually imagined this'd really be happening. Oh, I have so many questions! Like how did it feel to meet Rayquaza and–"

A pink glow formed around Tessa's snout. Espeon used her telekinesis to forcibly shut Tessa's mouth. She gave Tessa a stern look. "I'd have expected that reaction from Shane, not from you," Espeon said, shaking her head. "I'm starting to think he's a bad influence."

"Wow," Swampert said, whistling, "I didn't realize we had fans."

"Yeah, seriously," Blaziken said, laughing. "I'd have charged for autographs!"

Tessa sat back down, blushing badly. "Aha ha… sorry about that. Got a bit carried away," she said. "It's just, my dad always told me stories about the explorers that saved the world in the past. You guys and Team Poképals always stood out to me. I sent you fan mail and everything."

"Well, I certainly can't fault your tastes," Blaziken said, laughing. He paused for a moment. "Oh, wait, you're that Riolu?" He scratched his chin. "Huh… small world. Look at you… all grown up and stuff. I dig the scarf, too."

Tessa's face flushed and she twirled the edge of her bandanna around her digit. "Thanks," she whispered.

"No problem. From what Latias told us, you've been through quite the ordeal of your own," Blaziken said.

"Yeah. Pokémon getting turned into vicious alien monsters? I'm not sure what I'd do in that situation," Swampert said, shuddering. It was at that point he noticed Sticky out of the corner of his eye. "Ah… Blaziken! Look, that's one of the aliens, isn't it?"

"Relax," Gallian huffed. "Sticky's about as harmful as a wet blanket."

Sticky tilted his head in confusion. "Wouldn't a wet blanket hurt if you hit someone with sufficient force?"

"Yeah. Just like it hurts to step in your Toxic Spikes," Gallian said.

Squeeeelch!

Everyone in the group fixed their attentions toward the tunnel leading to the hot springs. Shane froze in the tunnel's mouth, a forepaw hovering in the air. Water dripped off of him, puddling up on the ground.

"There you are, Shane," Tessa said, standing up with a look of concern. "What was the hold up all about?"

"And why are you soaking wet?" Espeon added. "Guuugh… I can smell that wet fur all the way over here." She waved a forepaw in front of her snout.

"Yeah, well you can thank the big guy for that one," Shane huffed, flicking his head to the side. His wet mane smacked against his neck, flinging water onto the cave wall. Silvally sauntered up to his side, equally soaked but grinning broadly.

"Eyyyyyaaaaaaaaagh!" Swampert shouted, jumping back in surprise. "Is that another one of the aliens?"

"No, that's… um… Silvally," Latias said.

"Pleased to meet you," Silvally chirped, his fish tail wagging excitedly. "Making new friends is always great."

"Uh… likewise," Blaziken said.

"You still didn't answer our questions, you know," Espeon piped up. "What happened to you two?"

Shane's ears stuck up and a blush took over his face. "Oh… um… well…"

"Poor Shane here got hit with a late case of the evolution high," Silvally said. "So, I kicked him into one of the hot springs. I figured it might burn off that excess energy."

"Shane?" Swampert said, looking at the Ninetales and scratching his chin. "Does that mean you're human?"

Shane's ears drooped. "Um… it's a bit complicated, actually." A beat followed, and then Shane asked, 'Wait, are you human?"

Swampert shook his head. "I'm not… but Blaziken is. Or… err… he was. We're Team Go-Getters. I guess if you came from the human world, then you don't really know about us."

"Of course I know about you," Shane said. "You stopped all the natural disasters that Gengar brought onto the world, including that big meteor."

Blaziken whistled. "Huh. The kid's done his homework. Not half-bad."

Tessa flicked a paw at this. "Please. You should've seen him when I first found him washed up on the beach. Stumbling around… spouting crazy things like he'd hit the spiked berry juice too hard."

Espeon and Silvally chuckled at this. Meanwhile, Gallian and Zoroark exchanged looks. Both raised an eyebrow in amusement. "You two sure that's all that happened?" Zoroark asked, a smirk on his lips. Tessa glanced quizzically at Zoroark, while Dusk immediately caught the gist of his comment and faced Shane and Silvally, blinking in surprise.

"Well… not exactly," Silvally said, drawing wide-eyes looks from everyone besides Shane and Tessa. "I got blasted into the water by a Psychic. That was quite surprising."

Latias spun around, brow furrowed. "That's impossible. Sure, Ninetales can manifest psychic powers, but none of them can actually use the move Psychic," she said. "Are you sure he didn't just hit you with Extrasensory?"

"It was Psychic," Silvally replied. "Read his life force if you don't believe me."

Latias' eyes flashed blue. She hovered backward, gasping in surprise. "E… Espeon," she said. "Give me the Sizzle Shard, please."

"Uh, are you sure that's a good idea?" Espeon asked.

"Yes. This is very important," Latias said, an eager look in her eyes. Espeon levitated the Sizzle Shard to Latias. She grabbed it with her own telekinesis and thrust it in Shane's face. "Touch this, if you would."

Shane looked at the Sizzle Shard and whimpered. "Do I have to?"

"You did it for the Subterranean Shard, yes?" Latias said.

"Only because I was disoriented at the time," Shane said. He shot a quick glance at Tessa, who had a worried look on her face. Nevertheless, Tessa nodded toward him.

"You'll be okay," she mouthed, offering him a friendly smile.

Shane closed his eyes and touched the tip of his snout to the Sizzle Shard. All at one, his muscles tensed up. The wind rushed out of Shane and he collapsed onto his knees, gasping loudly. Silvally was down beside him in an instant. "Shane? Shane! You're doing okay, buddy. Just breathe. C'mon… deep breath in… deep breath out." He reached his foreleg up and rubbed Shane's back.

Shane's pupils shrank. The scene of the cave dissolved all around him. Shane suddenly found himself floating in midair surrounded by the star-filled vista of outer space. He opened his mouth to say something, when two blobs swirled into existence in front of him. After a few seconds of static, the blobs revealed themselves to be a Chikorita and a Fennekin. Each one had a striped, blue and green scarf sitting around their necks. They both stared back at Shane, looks of intense determination on their faces.

'What the… what am I seeing here? Another experience I had as Solgaleo?' Shane wondered. A flash of violet light caught his attention. Shane looked past Chikorita and Fennekin, where a smoldering purple eye sat in the middle of the starry sky, staring back at Shane.

hALfWaY tHeRe nOW. DoN't DiSaPpOInt mE!

The purple eye disappeared, only to be replaced with a silhouette of Solgaleo's face. Then, the scene surrounding Shane vanished in a swirl of black and blue, leaving him kneeling on the ground, making dry heaving motions. Shane stumbled to his feet with a dazed look in his eyes.

"Uh, are you feeling any better?" Silvally asked.

In response to this, Shane belched loudly, launching a stream of superheated air forward. Latias squealed in surprise, nearly dropping the Sizzle Shard as she flew out of the way of the attack. Shane promptly shut his mouth and went cross-eyed looking at his muzzle. "I… uh… excuse me?" he said.

Everyone in the group collectively jaw-dropped. "Wait, since when can the ice-type Ninetales use Heat Wave? What kind of sense does that make?" Blaziken wondered.

"Aha ha… yeah… that's… um… kind of where the 'it's complicated' answer to the human question comes into play," Shane said, laughing nervously. He scratched at the back of his head. "Would you guys believe me if I told you that Solgaleo's spirit is trapped inside of me?"

An awkward silence ensued, until Gallian punctuated the group's disbelief with a stern, "No."

"How badly did you get roughed up in the Depths?" Zoroark asked.

"It's the truth," Shane said. "When Necrozma dragged me into this world, he must've stuffed Solgaleo's spirit inside of me. If we gather up the pieces of the Dawn Hourglass, then we can bring him back." He opted not to say anything else on the matter, hoping his teammates wouldn't pry.

"I believe him," Tessa said, paw raised in the air. "We've seen a lot of weird stuff in our time together. I'm not entirely sure I like the implications behind all of it, but I can't think of a reasonable alternative."

Latias nodded. "That would explain the strange vibes I got from your life energy, Shane. Err… no offense."

"None taken," Shane said. "For all I know, I could still be wrong. My gut's just telling me I'm not." He slowly closed his eyes. 'But what was up with that odd memory I just saw? No, I can't dwell on it right now. My teammates need me focused.'

"Understood," Latias said. "Then, I guess we should figure out where we go from here." She floated over to the campfire, followed by the four Pokémon that were standing by her.

"Yeah, uh, about that," Silvally said. "Don't get me wrong, I'm grateful you've brought reinforcements and everything… but why exactly should we be taking orders from you?" His head titled to the side. "Or Ampharos… assuming he's the one directing you to do this."

Latias flinched. "Err… wait, what do you mean by that?"

Silvally sat down on his haunches. "It's just… Ampharos isn't here. He doesn't know what we've been doing. I'm sure you've looped him in and everything, but I don't trust his judgment on this matter."

"I… uh… sorry," Latias squeaked, tapping her claws together. "Was I coming off as too bossy? That wasn't my intent at all. I just… I want to help however I can, but they still need me overseas. So, I thought I'd coordinate things for you. Y'know, alleviate the stress of planning?"

"I don't think you were too bossy," Silvally said. He glanced at his teammates. "Look, I can't speak for them, but after what happened with Metagross, you'll have to forgive me if I'm a bit hesitant to have a powerful psychic bossing me around."

"That's… understandable," Latias said, biting her lower lip. "I'm sorry. I won't overstep again. So… um… would you like me to help you strategize?"

Silvally nodded. "That'd be great."

Latias gave him a tired smile. "Okay. In that case, we have these two Dawn Shards in our possession. That leaves the Seaside Shard in Sunset Shoals and the Scalebound Sh– OW!"

Latias tucked her head into her chest and rubbed her mouth, squeaking loudly. "What's the matter, Latias?" Swampert asked.

I bit my tongue, she said, using her telepathy. There were a few snickers amongst the group. "As I was saying, with this many of us working together, I think it might be wise to split up and tackle the remaining shards in separate groups."

"No way," Shane interjected. "What about strength in numbers? More of us together means an easier time dealing with whatever gets thrown at us. Because, let's face it, we're not just going to be able to waltz into the next Mystery Dungeon and take one of the shards for ourselves."

"You don't necessarily know that," Silvally said. Shane turned around, looking at Silvally in disbelief. "Okay, you're right. With everything that's happened to us, I'm expecting to have to swim away from a tidal wave if we go to Sunset Shoals," Silvally conceded.

"Well don't jinx us, you dummy," Tessa said, shoving Silvally playfully. She then wiped her wet paws against the rock.

"See, that's why I think we need to split up… at least a little bit," Latias said. "Heaven forbid something bad happens to you guys, you need allies who can come in and bail you out." She glanced toward Luxeira and Sticky. "I was thinking that you two could go with Team Go-Getters. You're not the strongest battlers, from what I've seen, while Team Go-Getters don't really know about Ultra Beasts. So, you guys complement each other."

"I can go with them, too," Dusk offered, raising a forepaw. "Now that I've seen what the problem is, I don't want to sit on my ass hoping things will work out. I've got to do something."

Totem Decidueye turned to Dusk in surprise. "Are you sure that's such a good idea? You're not exactly in the best shape after this afternoon."

Dusk looked at the medicinal leaves on her back and winced. "O-Oh yeah," she whispered.

"Not to worry. I can have that patched up for you in a jiffy," Latias said. She raised a glowing paw and bright light sparkled underneath the bandages. Dusk blinked in surprise and looked toward her back. Blood still stained her fur, but she was able to move around without any pain or difficulties.

"Hey, that's much better," she gasped. "Wow… y'know, I had always heard you Legends were big, intimidating types who didn't care for us mortals."

Latias' expression wilted. "I'm… uh… not really much of a Legend, according to the others," she said, tapping her claws together.

"Yeah. You should see the names they call her when they see her in person," Hoopa heckled.

"Dude, seriously? Have some tact," Silvally said, fixing a disapproving look on Hoopa.

"It's okay," Latias said. "I don't care about what they think anymore. This is about doing what's right." She turned back to Team Paradox. "Anyway, I thought you two, Dusk, and Team Go-Getters could head to Rem Canyon."

Gallian's brow furrowed. "Hang on, is that really a good idea? Rem Canyon's hardly an inviting place for explorers."

"Relax, kiddo. Swampert and I have seen our fair share of inhospitable dungeons," Blaziken said.

"That and these guys collectively have a pretty big weakness to water-based attacks. Sunset Shoals wouldn't be a good fit," Latias said. "That's where you two and Team Radiance come in."

Gallian looked away from Latias, pouting. "Aww, c'mon, what's the matter? Afraid of your fur getting a little wet?" Zoroark teased. "Didn't we always talk about taking a trip to Circadian Coast for some quality time… alone?"

"Th… that was ages ago," Gallian said, face going bright red. "Besides, we're not going there to sightsee."

"I know. I'm just teasing," Zoroark said, chuckling. "I see your ordeal over the last few weeks cost you your sense of humor."

Gallian scowled. "I didn't think it was very funny."

"What are you going to be doing, Latias?" Shane asked.

"Running more errands," Latias said, rubbing her eyes. "I've actually got the Dusk Hourglass right now, so Hoopa and I need to stay on the move. Plus, we have to check on things overseas. But you can contact me on my Expedition Gadget at any time."

"You sure you don't want to stay and hear what Gallian and Team Paradox have to say? It sounds pretty important," Tessa said.

Latias looked around nervously. "Well… um… I suppose I could spare a little bit of time."

"Excellent!" Hoopa said, floating down to rest between two rocks. "Wake Hoopa up when something interesting happens." He turned over onto his side and promptly began snoring.

"He's… he's faking, right?" Shane gasped.

Latias sighed. "No. He's just that good at falling asleep." She turned back to Team Paradox. "But don't let that stop you guys. Whatever it is you have to tell us, we want to hear out."

Luxeira scooted toward the fire, nodding. "Right. I'll try to sum things up as best I can, but I don't want to leave out any important details." She glanced at Sticky. "The first think you ought to know about us is that we're not experienced at this exploring business… at all."

Gallian whirled on them. "Wait, seriously?"

"Yes," Luxeira said. "In fact, the day we lost our home to the Lightless Black – the one you call Necrozma – was shortly after we had joined the Ultra Recon Squad. It was supposed to be a simple mission for training purposes. Neither of us could've possibly seen what was coming…"

End of Episode 12

Time for review replies!

SuperOmegaGuest: friendship is really more the focus of this story. Look at the genres if you don't believe me. So, teasing is just teasing at this point and nothing more.

Anon Omega: well this is a PMD story, so I've got to try my best to have feels-filled moments.

Another guest: omnishipping? uh, no, everyone's just friends with other. I swear it!

Veralix: I'm flattered, really. Like I said, I really enjoy these comments. They're fun to read through. I get the feeling there are plenty of silent readers who don't feel like saying anything. I wish I could convince them otherwise. I'd like to think I'm not a scary guy. But I can't force anyone to do anything. In any case, Shane almost burnt Latias. Is that good enough for you?

Commenter: thank you very much. All I can hope for is that people continue to like what I have to offer.

Just a reader: it's funny, because Carracosta actually says that line verbatim in Super Mystery Dungeon, if I'm not mistaken. I guess that means we've gone full circle?

That's all for now. Next time: after all this time, we're finally getting another special episode. Join us as we go beyond the Ultra Wormhole!