Compassion, kindness, faith, wonder, joy, innocence, all were rare things in this dark world. Everything that made

Pokémon great, all these precious things, were beaten down until only bitterness and suspicion remained. But the greatest loss was hope.

Without hope for better days, what was left to live for? That was the greatest crime the planet's paralysis had committed, to steal away hope. But if you were to look long and hard enough, some small sparks still stubbornly persisted, refusing to admit all was lost.

Like a glowing coal still smouldering long after the fire was put out, one such spark of hope dwelled inside Celebi. She had always refused to believe that there was no way to fix what had been done. And she was right. In the distant past her two dearest friends fought to restore the flow of time. She knew they would succeed, not because of any insight or foreknowledge, but because Grovyle and Sol were just to headstrong to ever give up.

That was why, when the Sableye came, Celebi didn't despair. She feared for her life, but that spark of hope kept her from panicing. In the end it wouldn't matter whether she survived or not. When Grovyle and Sol finally succeeded, she would never have existed in the first. It's hard to lose a life you never had.

Blood dripped from deep gashes in Celebi's shoulder and torso. The Sableye had caught her by surprise and struck before she even realized they were there. The purple Pokémon had been waiting in the small tree fort she called home. How they had found it was anyone's guess. It blended in perfectly amidst the branches and shadows high above the ground, and Celebi would have thought it impossible for any without wings to make their way up. Celebi hadn't noticed until too late the gouge marks in the tree trunk from where the Sableye had climbed their way up with their claws.

Celebi had been careless. She had thought that Dialga would be too concerned about those sent back to the past to worry about her any longer. It had been many wakings, several months worth in fact, since she had spotted any patrol even attempting to look for her. And after so many years of turning up nothing, how had they finally found her?

She had just entered her home, though perhaps shelter would be a more appropriate word. Home implied feelings of safety and comfort, while this was nothing more than a place to sleep and hide. The Sableye had struck instantly, its sharp claws tearing through her flesh. Celebi had been lucky. Had the Sableye waited only a few seconds more, she would have been all the way inside with no way to escape. As it was, Celebi was able to throw herself backwards out the door and fly away.

But her injury was severe. She was soon forced to land, weak from blood loss. She had packed moss onto the wounds to stem the bleeding. But she couldn't afford to stop, not with the Sableye so close by.

Celebi stumbled along the forest floor, grasping on to nearby trees for support. It was so dark amidst the trees and she tripped over roots and bushes constantly, making a difficult journey even harder. With a wound like this, Celebi didn't think she'd be able to teleport which left her as easy prey.

Celebi pushed on, fighting through the pain and weakness. But it wasn't enough. She could hear the Sableye close behind her, their hunting cries echoing through the forest. Celebi wasn't one to ever quit no matter the odds, but she wasn't surprised when she heard a sharp crack of a snapping twig behind her. She whirled around to see a group of three Sableye approach, flexing their claws in anticipation of what was to come.

"Wheh-heh-heh!" one laughed and leapt through the air towards her. Despite herself, Celebi screamed and fell backwards, squeezing her eyes shut in preparation for the coming strike.

But it never came. Instead, Celebi heard a whizzing sound followed by a thunk and a yelp. When she opened her eyes, she saw the Sableye picking himself off the ground and clutching its stomach while a nearby Cubone caught a bone out of the air, an Eevee and a Charmander close behind him.

"Get away from her!" the Eevee cried and pounced on the fallen Sableye. The Charmander roared, jets of fire lighting up the gloom as she attacked the other two Sableye and chased them deeper into the forest. The Cubone ran over to Celebi, trusting his comrades to take care of the threat.

"The shining legend requires aid, but to do it here would be to slowly bail out a rapidly sinking boat," he said. "We must seek safer shelter."

Celebi took the offered hand and allowed him to help her to her feet. Who were these Pokémon? Celebi had only ever met two others willing to actively stand up against and fight the Sableye, and they were both in the past. This was a kill or be killed world, so why were these three sticking their necks out to save her?

"Who are you?" she asked, her voice almost a whisper.

"I am Dhiren, member of the illustrious exploration team Wanderers."

An exploration team?! Those hadn't been around since... well, since Temporal Tower collapsed. A team specifically devoted to fighting and exploring made Dialga nervous, so he forbade them, with dire punishments to those who defied the order.

The Eevee approached, having driven off his opponent.

"It isn't safe here! We need to find Jak and go."

"A damn of frustration and anger, built up since our arrival here, has given way inside the Charmander. She shall find us when the fires of fury are quenched. Until then we must shelter ourselves."

"I... I know a safe place to hide," Celebi said hesitantly. Trust came slowly on the paralyzed planet, but these Pokémon had saved her so she was willing to give them a chance.

"You're badly injured. Can you walk?"

"With a little help I'll be able to make it. It isn't far away."

Celebi was unsure if her various safehouses were still hidden from Dialga. They had discovered her home, after all. But she didn't know of anywhere else they could hide, and she sorely needed the cashe of medical supplies stored there for emergencies. Until Celebi learned just where Dialga had gotten his information, it would be impossible to know what was safe and what was not. But the safehouse she had in mind had a back exit they could escape from, even if the escape itself would be extremely risky. Who in their right minds would want to traverse the infamous Sealed Ruins? Hopefully they wouldn't have to, but at least they wouldn't have to worry about Sableye sneaking in the back.

In the Dusk Forest, not far from Celebi's tree fort, there was a small shallow cave. At the back of this cave was an entrance to the Sealed Ruins, a place Celebi never dared to venture. It was always so cold near the stone steps leading down to the ruins, and every so often one could hear faint whispering a far off howling. Celebi had always stayed as far away from there as possible, only building a safehouse there because she believed it to be a good idea to have some sort of escape plan in case things got bad. Not everyone could teleport away like her. But the more time she had spent in that cave, feeling the permeating chill and listening to the odd sounds, she wondered if it would be better to face a horde of Sableye than to run down those accursed halls.

The reached the entrance to the cave, hidden behind a wall of layered leaves and vines.

"Wait," Celebi whispered. "Someone's been in there. The leaves have been shifted."

The Eevee shot a worried glance at Dhiren, who just stared calmly at the cave entrance while helping to support Celebi.

"I'll check it out," the Eevee whispered back.

The small, furred Pokémon crept towards the cave entrance. He pushed aside the curtain of leaves to peer inside.

"I can't see anyone. I'll go inside and check it out..."

The Eevee silently slipped inside. For a long moment there was nothing to be heard. Then there was a shout from inside the cave.

"Eevee!" a voice screamed, and Celebi was sure the little Pokémon had been discovered.

Suddenly, the wall of leaves was torn down as Eevee was tackled out of the cave by a black and blue form. Celebi jumped back, sure they were being attacked, but Dhiren just stood there, shock replacing the look of calm that had been fixed on his face beforehand. Why wasn't he helping his partner?!

"Sol!" the Eevee cried, and with great surprise that he wasn't fighting with the Riolu that had tackled him, they were hugging.

"Eevee! I thought you were dead! Grovyle said you had escaped, but I didn't completely believe it until now! And Ren, you annoying pseudo-philosopher you! Thanks for the advice your spectral form gave me!"

The Riolu ran over and hugged the Cubone, completely lifting him off the ground in the process.

"Wait, where's Jak?!" The Riolu said, panic entering her voice.

"She's fine, just off beating up Sableye. How did you escape from Dusknoir?"

"I asked nicely. But who's this?"

"I'm Celebi. I-" her words died in her throat as the Riolu turned, giving Celebi a clear view of her eyes. They were blue instead of the expected red, with odd, slitted pupils and irises like ovals instead of circles. Then the name Eevee had called out clicked in Celebi's mind. This Riolu with the eyes of a seer was named Sol.

"She was leading us to a this cave to hide from the Sableye," Eevee stepped in.

"Is the medical supplies still in there?" Celebi asked, regaining her composure. Thoughts were rushing through her head with lightning speed, and she struggled to remain outwardly calm.

"Yeah. I hope you don't mind, but I had to use some myself." Sol raised a bandaged hand and arm.

"Sol, what happened?" Eevee exclaimed.

"How about we all go inside and I'll explain what happened."

Inside, Dhiren helped to treat Celebi's injuries while Sol told her tale of escaping Dusknoir and venturing through the Sealed Ruins. A Spiritomb that could take control of Pokémon, that would explain why no one ever made it back out. But how Sol broke free of the possession didn't sound right to Celebi. Not that she thought Sol was lying, she probably believed that the Focus Blast was the only reason she broke free, but it would have taken more than that, like some mental training...

Celebi listened carefully to what the Riolu said, more focused on the way she said things and the tone of voice she used. The way she sat, how she reacted to certain things, her opinions, Celebi took it all into consideration. Then she asked how they had all came to be Dusknoir's captives in the first place, and that was quite the tale indeed. Pokémon from the past, one without any memory of who they once were. When pressed on whether she truly couldn't recall a single thing about her past, Sol refused to answer. She was keeping something secret, and Celebi believed she knew what.

"So where is Grovyle now?" Eevee asked. "We were trying to catch up to him, found our way here and thought we had lost him for good."

"He said there was an old friend he needed to find. I suppose that must have been you," Sol said, looking at Celebi.

"What makes you say that," she asked.

"I saw the two of you talking in a vision."

"When did this happen?" Eevee asked.

"Dusknoir made me touch things to trigger visions, then made me tell him what I saw."

"WHAT?!" Celebi turned to see a very angry Grovyle standing in the mouth of the cave, the Charmander from earlier standing beside him. "It was you! You were the one who led them to Dusk Forest!" he yelled at the Riolu.

"Whoa! Simmer down! I had no choice."

"There is always a choice," Grovyle growled. "What happened to Celebi is your fault!"

"Grovyle, I'll be fine. It's ok."

"IT IS NOT OK! If it wasn't for her I'd have all the Time Gears right now and I'd be well on my way to restoring Temporal Tower! Now she almost got you killed!"

Sol's eyes narrowed and she glared at Grovyle. This was a look Celebi knew well, though it was odd to see it on the face of a Riolu instead of that of a human.

"So we're listing off the things I've done? Fine. How about the time a stopped you from getting caught by Dusknoir when you so intelligently waltzed right into his camp. Or how about the time I saved your ass from the Spiritomb? And if you want to bring up mistakes people have made, don't forget about how you walked into the most obvious trap in the world. 'So after a life time of protecting the Time Gears, the guardians decide to seal the last one away, but it never occurred to them to do that before the other four were stolen and mass havoc was created. Seems legit'."

"Stop it! Both of you!" Celebi cried.

There was a tense moment, and Celebi truly thought they would ignore her and go on fighting. But then they turned away from each other, Grovyle stalking over to sit on the other side of the cave while Sol stayed with her friends.

For the past few wakings, Celebi had felt ripples that she would have associated with someone using the Dimensional Scream ability. The ability allowed people to see through the time line events that would happen in the past or future. But in this world, technically there was no time at all, so there was nothing to see. But Time Gears were pieces of time itself, and left imprints that stubbornly persisted, allowing for visions connected to them to be seen. So, in effect, when a seer touched something connected to the Time Gears, it was as if, for the briefest of moments, time was jumpstarted. This had no other effect other than allowing visions to be had, but Celebi, as a Pokémon closely connected to time, was able to sense when this was happening.

Celebi had assumed that this was just an attempt to lure her out of hiding. Dialga most certainly felt the ripples too, and she wouldn't put it past him to be able to replicate the feeling. But Celebi no longer needed a seer, her mission almost complete, and didn't rush out to find the source. Not like the first time.

Celebi could clearly remember when she had first met the human Sol. She had felt the ripples, many of them spread out over a period of time, and Celebi had been desperately trying to find their source. While she could roughly tell how far away it happened, it was impossible to know from what direction. It was only dumb luck that Celebi happened to be passing close by when the ripple hit.

When she had found a human instead of a Pokémon, Celebi was all but certain she had made a mistake. Who had ever heard of a human with the Dimensional Scream ability? But then again, what Celebi knew about humans could have fit in a thimble. Even before the collapse of Temporal Tower humans had been a rare sight, staying away from Pokémon controlled lands, but after the planet's paralysis that number dropped even more. Humans were creatures of change and ingenuity, and didn't so easily adjust to a world of perpetual stasis.

Sol had been building a pile of stones close to the bank of a river. Celebi hadn't realized what she had been doing, or that there was a reason for the human's grim expression. She had simply believed that humans liked to build things. They did it all the time in the past, people said, building things of wood, stone, metal and glass, many with seemingly no purpose, at least none that Pokémon could discern, so why would the stone pile be any different? As for the human's sad expression, well, they lived in a world of sorrow. There was hardly anything unusual about that.

It wasn't until much later that Celebi had realized what it was that Sol had been working on, what it was that Celebi had so inappropriately interrupted.

Celebi sighed. Her wounds ached and stung, and she felt so immensely tired. But there was something she needed to know.

With great effort, Celebi got to her feet and walked over to Grovyle.

"I didn't expect to ever see you again, my dear Grovyle," Celebi said.

"I didn't either. While I'd usually say it's a pleasant surprise, it's have been much better had I never been forced to return."

Celebi glanced over at the exploration team, then looked back at Grovyle.

"What happened to Sol?" she asked quietly, making sure the other three Pokémon didn't hear.

"She's gone," he answered tersely, staring at the floor. Pain and loss filled his face.

"What happend?"

"In the time tunnel... something happened, I don't know what. We got separated. I never saw her in the past, or heard anything about anyone seeing a human. If she made it there alive, she would have found me."

Celebi didn't say anything, just looked over at the Riolo on the other side of the cave. The seer was animatedly describing something to her friends, a gleam in her eyes and a grin on her face. There was no doubt in Celebi's mind. That Riolu was the Sol that journeyed through the Passage of Time with Grovyle, the one he seemed so certain was dead. How could he not see it? Was his grief so great that it blinded him?

This put Celebi in a difficult position. If she told them her beliefs about Sol, there was no telling how they'd react. It would rid Grovyle of his sorrow, but at what cost?

Sol would probably find it very distressing to learn she was a human from the future. If Celebi had tried to convince human Sol of something similar, she would have denied it, even if she accepted it was a possibility. No, especially if she thought it was a possibility. Sol never like other people trying to tell her who she was. Celebi remembered telling her what her visions meant, that Sol was a seer, and that had definitely not gone well. This would be worse, much worse.

When Sol had been a human working with Grovyle and Celebi, you could always tell her mood by how often you would look up and realize that she wasn't there. Whenever Sol got angry, sad or frustrated, she would just wander off, regardless of whether it was in the sleeping or waking hours. The more strongly the negative emotions, the farther away she'd end up and the longer she's be gone. Celebi thought this was a product of living a nomadic life. When things became unfavorable, be it the food supply or trouble with locals, then you just pick up and move on somewhere else. Sol was no longer able to just leave her problems behind, but the habit of getting up and walking refused to abate.

This news was sure to trouble Sol greatly. If she wandered off now, even if it was just to think about things, she could end up getting seperated and lost, attacked by a wild Pokémon, or caught by Dusknoir. They couldn't afford to let that happen.

Celebi didn't like keeping secrets, but this one was to risky to reveal. It could tear the group apart. Getting to the Passage of Time wouldn't be easy and everyone had to work together. It pained Celebi greatly to let Grovyle believe his friend was dead and gone, but what other choice did she have?

Hopefully when Grovyle got back to the past, he'd be able to figure it out for himself.

Chapter 40! I'd like to take a moment and thank all of my readers, and especially my reviewers! Without you, I probably would have lost my motivation 20 chapters ago! To make my thank yous a bit more specific:

Mister L: Congratulations, you have officially posted more reviews for this fic than anyone else! That is great and much appreciated. Have a cookie.

MammonDaughter: Congratulations, you have posted the longest review I have received. Thanks for taking the time and effort to type more than one sentence. You get a poptart!

Also, much thanks to CallmeEevee, OreoNinja, Mangopudding, Cloud-Dancer103, Colt-a-Cola and NinjaAnon, who have been writing reviews for many chapters and I would like to thank them for that. All of you are awesome!

Also, dear unnamed, generic guest who doesn't have a profile: One of the best stories you've read on fanfiction? You flatter me. Now write another review saying it's not flattery if it's true. ;)

And my last thank yous go to Ravinae, azure blue espeon and Artemis173, for being among my first reviewers. You gave me feedback just as I first started posting things on this site, which was when I needed it most. If you haven't quit reading this many chapters ago, making this here pointless, you are all great! Cake for everyone!

This just in, the cake is a lie.

This also just in, that joke wasn't funny.