Author's Note: After one month, it's finally done. A complete rewrite of the prologue through chapter four. If you're already reading my story, you don't need to go back to continue understanding it. However, I believe its made the beginning something I can actually be proud of.

Eoin was surprised to find himself standing. He looked around, new surroundings having lost their usual dark tint. A claw raised to his face as the fog around his vision cleared revealed why.

Oh...you're back, I questioned how long it would take before we could continue our little discussion.

The goggles and cover that masked his appearance sat before him. The Pallid scrambled to the icy floor to redon his veil, gasping with recognizance that the grey scales reflected through the ground were in fact his.

Your other persona was just as concerned with its appearance as you are. Fortunate for the circumstances, all things considered. Especially since you are among your kind.

"What do you mean I am—"

Feral growls and snarls cut through Eoin's ideation. The realization suddenly dawned on the Charmander of his peril. The flat layer of ice impersonating a lake was gone, replaced by an upward cone of rock doubtlessly forming the top of the mountain. Green light cut through gaps in the rock, bouncing off the surrounding icy patches to illuminate the multitude of pallid, grey pokemon on all sides. For a brief second, Eoin's fire blared and he jumped back, before it settled to a dull flicker.

The Pallids paid him no mind. Their vision was instead focused on the lake guardian before them, holding a blue gear in its hand that appeared to be the source of their enamoration.

"W-Why are they not attacking? They are a ceaseless aggression to any other pokemon, what makes me different?"

You should already know that. On the matter of specifics, the reason is that you can't...see like they do, at least not currently."

Azelf floated toward the Pallid, gems glowing a red radiance. Again, the lake guardian placed its hand before Eoin's face, waiting for approval.

Perhaps another demonstration will shed some light on the matter? I can't revert your mind, but I can simulate the effect to the best of my ability.

"Will this be any less traumatic than your last demonstration?" Eoin replied, snort synonymous by a shiver running down his spine.

The Pallid shirked back as soon as the words left his mouth. He shielded his eyes, in a redundant action that drew a quizzical stare from Azelf. The lake guardian couldn't tell, but the beginnings of moisture had condensed underneath Eoin's goggles. He started lifted his grey-scaled hand up as if to wipe, before setting it back to his side.

"I-I apologize. Blunt as it may have been, your little experiment...it helped. You have seen my memories, and I now know what I must do if I am to navigate this perilous game."

That wasn't entirely the purpose, but we'll get to that soon enough.

Eoin nodded, letting Azelf's hand press into his consciousness. A second passed before his eyes opened, and the full effect took hold. He didn't pass out, instead finding that flowing across his own hands and body was a vibrant, blue energy. It emanated all across him, sporting a shining radiance that pointed to only one source of his studies.

"Aura?"

Correct. The essence of what makes every pokemon what they are, condensed into an easily viewable format for your own convenience. Do you have a prefered color?

It wasn't just him. An even brighter and stronger shade of blue ran across the lake guardian pressing against his forehead. The strongest source, however, was close at hand in the form of the blue gear grasped in Azelf's other arm. It was nearly blinding, luminosity filling the inside of Mount Shayne's peek as quickly as it was lost, pulsating with a rapid vigor. Unlike Azelf, the light did not seem self sufficient. Beams sprawled out of the gear in all directions, holding flickers of aura in near constant motion from their source to the artifact. The motion was condensed, its battery-like efficiency giving recognizance to the source of the time gear's power:

The Pallids.

The pokemon that matched Eoin's own grey color sat with complacency. Blue radiance that stemmed from every beam began with each creature, all donned with an aura significantly dimmer than the mountain's two sentient occupants. He gasped, finding that a single trail from the artifact also connected to himself.

"W-Why?"

A gear is simply a tool, Azelf replied blankly, it cannot function without having energy to transfer, and the task of keeping time in order is not one without requirements. Dialga was also not a particularly trusting god, and decided that he had to rely on more than himself to avoid the potential for catastrophe. Enter time gears, and the creatures that fuel and protect them.

Eoin didn't say a word. His aura shined as bright as ever, and yet with every second, that which stemmed from the himself and the pallids surrounding him dimmed a nearly imperceivable level. He walked up to a polar Sandshrew, looking into the eyes of a feral creature with his best attempt at empathy.

"Is it...painful?"

No, the process is so gradual that most do not even realize it is occurring. An incredible amount of aura is required to power the time gears. Fortunately for Dialga, he had friends in high places, friends that could break the natural laws that govern our universe. In exception to myself, the bodies of all the pokemon here will be reborn once the mystery dungeon resets. Their soul will persist, but with more aura to grease the metaphorical gears of time.

He shivered. Just as Azelf said, Eoin couldn't feel the draining effect that the beam of aura illustrated. And yet, he couldn't deny a newfound sense of emptiness in that knowledge. He didn't dare continue looking. Blue radiance drifted away as he scrambled out of the lake guardian's grasp, but nothing could stem the placebo from invading his subconscious.

"D-Does the same hold true for me? I...I must leave if that is true."

Oh, it's not that bad, Azelf replied with a chuckle, looking back to Eoin as he bolted for the room's exit, you could chop off your own leg inside of a mystery dungeon and have it back after the reset. Your gift would be gone, but...still. It won't be a problem anyways if we can get you out of the mystery dungeon before that happens. Like I said, you have given me and my siblings some answers, I directed your other persona here so I could return the favor. Should you have any questions, I will answer them as best I can.

Eoin made it about halfway to the artificially constructed, icy stairs leading down the mountain when he stopped. Bright sunlight beaming down revealed that it would be many hours before the mystery dungeon's daily reset, and it would be a shame to give way to cowardice when answers were so close. The risk remained, the risk of losing whatever friends and sentience he had left and becoming as trapped as the creatures around him, but fortune favors the bold. He turned back, eyes switching between Azelf and the unnaturally colored scales that separated his kind from the rest, words not being needed to convey the obvious question.

Your hue? Might as well get straight through the softballs. At least in a metaphorical sense, even gods are not one to make their work a white donphan. When you gotta make a self-sustaining way of creating new bodies daily for a hundred thousand or so creatures that will never even get a chance to eat, keeping track of what their scales looks like kind of goes out the window. The purpose of pallids didn't need distinguishable color nor sapience. It helped even, providing a clear distinction between them and the civilized. It is much easier protecting an artifact by creating a charmander instinctually driven to protect than one that might desire something else.

"So, when I was below Uxie's Cave, that is why I..."

Eoin looked downward, briefly taking off his veil to look at his own reflection. The icy floor was murkier than below the lake, and he could have sworn that the Charmander mimicking the way he held his hand out held grey pupils thinner than his own. It returned his smile nonetheless, before Eoin eyes shut in recollection of waking up in Argon's paws. Panicked as he may have been, the Beast seemed to have made a conscientious decision not to attack. Staring at Azelf, finally aware of what the pallid's true nature was, perhaps his doppelganger's aggression wasn't as ceaseless as he once thought? Along with these thoughts came memory of another instance where a Charmander showed leniency, despite having every reason not to.

"I did not have my gift then. I was as feral as before I met Uxie, but I still walked away, I still was drawn to the Bagon's badge. Why? If my purpose was to protect the time gear at all costs, why did I not fulfill it?"

For the first time since their meeting, Azelf didn't have an immediate answer. Even from looking at the lake guardian, Eoin could tell that he had spent as much time pondering the question. He floated upward, tone more tentative than assured.

Pokemon are...fast learners, despite their sense of complacency. My best theory is that being reborn again and again with the same soul has some effect on your mind no matter how feral it is. Arceus knows it wasn't what the gods wanted, but give a pallid enough time, and it'll start to show more than simple aggression. Some, like you, simply learnt at a faster rate than most of your kind.

"So that is what I am, an anomaly?"

To my knowledge, yes. Though, judging from your memories, I am willing to bet your priorities lie more in what has become of those anomalies, and what they will become, rather than how they came to be.

Eoin couldn't help but nod. He looked around the crowd of pallids, unable to judge how many few of the hundred or so dispersed throughout the room had the potential to experience the joys and suffering that civilized life offered. More questions fell from the tip of his tongue, but only one did more than dissipate into grey embers.

"This is a little superfluous, but if I was truly trapped in an endless cycle of rebirth just as most of my kind are, then...how old am I?"

A slight chuckle from the lake guardian cut through the resulting silence. It echoed through the chamber, dissipating as quickly as it arrived.

Well, I guess that depends on you base your age off of your soul or your body? If it's the latter, a little over a month. The former...lets just say you'll need a pretty big ember to account for the years between now and the dawn of time.

The Pallid was lost for words. The passive glances from the pokemon around him grew even harder to avoid. They were not the same pokemon of his dungeon of origin. And yet, if what Azelf said was true, they had been his same kin for longer than his reconditioned mind could possibly comprehend. Eoin found himself staring into the eyes of the Charmander reflected through the floor, as if attempting to gauge how many years of entrapment were hidden behind the soul they gatewayed.

He didn't have long. Azelf floated upward with time gear in hand, positioning it just below the mountain peak were rock walls converged into a single point. A shudder ran down Eoin's feet. There was something in the look Azelf gave to the grey pokemon at his side, a looked that seemed to carry over from siblings.

And now, we come to the real purpose of why I brought you here. My siblings and I have been talking a lot since Uxie left, and while I find some of their arguments...valid, there is a reason we protect these artifacts. The mystery dungeon's boundaries end at the peak, and I would like to show you the failsafe of what happens if a time gear is taken. You will be safe, I can guarantee that.

The gear inched ever so slowly upward, stopping one last time as Azelf's gaze locked onto the remements of grey flame underneath the Charmander's cover.

Tell me Eoin, if you were charged with moving a campfire while keeping it alite, what must happen to the surrounding trees previously used to fuel it?

The Pallid's head looked around on a swivel, finding that he was the only one phased by the statement. Eoin didn't know exactly what the lake guardian had in store, but he could tell that it did not bode well for the fate of the creatures around him. He grew silent.

Please bear with me. I just want to prove a point, and a demonstration seems like it will be the most impactful.

Primal emotions seeped into Eoin's conscious. The Charmander didn't know how, but he had a few ideas of its source. Terror, curiosity, and tranquility appeared as quickly as they left. He shouted out, not giving his words a second thought.

"If the fire is to be maintained, the trees...they have to be cut down and transported to keep it fueled."

...Correct.

The time gear raised to the mountain peak. Green pentagons around it faded, as did its blue radiance, as if it were a motor being reduced to low power mode with electrons being cut. A second passed of nothingness, before a once-forgotten sensation coursed through the Pallid's body.

Emptiness.

He collapsed to the ground. Desolation was no longer a placebo, for a glance toward the pokemon around him found that they had similarly fallen the floor. Feral roars filled the room. Eoin drew a hand to his chest, unable to stem the feeling of his entire being ripped out from under him. He tried lifting his arm up, to no avail. Arms, legs, even blinking seemed like it was being stolen from him. His vision drew black, lost in the knowledge that everything that made him what he was had been frozen in time. The last thing he could see was Azelf appearing before him, and a hand being placed upon his head as three red gems shined. And then…

It stopped.

"I...I guess this deathtrap of a dungeon isn't done with us yet."

Crazy as it may have been, Argon was inclined to agree. They may have been frozen in a figurative sense, but for the Rampardos motionless before them, the definition was entirely literal. Its head was lowered, pointed end just inches away from their skulls after the creature had lost control of itself and skidded to the floor. Time refused to move in any cell. Either the Bagon at her side was secretly a gorgon, or a force far more calculating and cruel than cold had sucked out the life force of their adversary.

"W-What happened?" asked Argon.

Chimera waved his good hand over the Rampardos's grey eyes, finding no reaction. With what function was left in his right leg, he hovered it over the creature, just about to kick it for further analysis before pulling back. It was probably best not to test it.

"I...I don't know, but we—arghh...we have to keep moving."

The chilling numbness that bit against Argon's fur corroborated the statement. She rushed back to her partner, attempting to analyze the extent of the damage.

"Can you walk?"

Chimera gave a slight nod. His left leg stood up well enough, but he howled in agony after attempting to put pressure on his right. The Bagon fell back to the floor, companion rushing to his side with oran berries in hand.

"N-No, don't worry about it," he said, plastic smile broken by another groan, "with how cold it is, I can barely feel it."

It was a lie, and they both knew. A near silent sigh escaped Chimera's mouth as a look between the two said what words couldn't.

"Nnngh...alright, you got me. I can probably still move, but I'll need some help."

She nodded. Wind and snow howled from the cave's entrance, assuring both that venturing anywhere outside of the unnatural cave would meet a slow and painful end. Luckily, or unluckily depending on perspective, the other end of the cavern revealed itself as more extensive than it initially seemed. If they were to have any hope of linking up with Eoin like they had planned, they would need to take the chance. Looking back at Chimera told Argon that the Bagon's body was shouting out against any movement from the two broken limbs. Without careful preparation, they would only exacerbate the problem.

She looked to their exploration bags, empty from the process of getting travel and repairing her partner's injuries. Only ice and snow pervaded their surroundings, nowhere near stable enough for a makeshift splint. Slowly, Argon's gaze lowered to her paws. With any luck, necessity would again prove to be the mother of invention.

"W-We have to keep those limbs from moving, hold still. This might shock a bit, but you're just going to have to trust me."

"Sure, yeah, do it," he replied, "I trust you. Besides, can't make it worse than it already is."

Electrons sparked from Argon's cheeks. Chimera's cringe soon faded away as she placed her paws over the broken limbs. Numbness overtook cold and pain, taking with it any ability for movement as the joints locked in place.

"Alright, that should keep it in place until we can get you to a doctor. C-Come on, we need to get moving."

She held her paw out, grabbing the Bagon's hand and slinging it around her neck. It was a tentative process, but they were able to balance against each other, minimizing the pressure against the paralyzed limb as they began to walk. Ice lined the walls between rock floor, making ever more difficult steps an upward battle towards the mountain peak.

Bagon and Raichu weren't sure if they were more relieved or horrified at what they saw. Pallids were interspersed around the narrow corridors, all as motionless as their would be killer. Both pokemon stopped when Argon took a brief period to analyze a petrified Mamoswine. Flakes of frost condensed around its fur, any life left drained from its grey eyes. Most of the pallids they passed kept their feral snarls, but the rare pokemon before them undoubtedly showed there was a specific emotion its kind wasn't immune to.

Fear.

"D-Do you...do you think we can still save them?"

"It's too late for that," Chimera replied, nearly falling to the floor before regaining balance against his partner, "we got to worry about ourselves now."

He could see the pain in her eyes, but she nodded. They walked past the Mamoswine, quivering with the sight of the thin patches of ice that formed on the surface of a deep pool of water. Their path grew even more vertical past the pool, forming a steep incline of ice and stone. There was nowhere to go but up.

They nodded to each other, slinging arms ever tighter around the other's neck. Step by step, they climbed. Footholds were shallow and slippery, but they made progress, climbing upward in a manner that was as safe as it could be given the situation.

Until it wasn't.

A shard up ice under Argon's feet gave way, shriek filling the cavern as she skidded down the makeshift slide. Their hold took Chimera with her. Neither could do anything to stop their momentum, any sense of friction lost among the ice. It sucked, Chimera would be the first to admit that, but the Bagon concluded that it was only a minor setback. That is, until he saw what his companion was sliding toward.

The pool of water.

Chimera's eyes shot open as she landed into the chilling water with a splash. He crawled to the pool as fast as a single leg and stubby arm could take him. With his help, Argon pulled herself out of the icy pond easy enough, but the damage was done. Both her own fur and the thick coat of wool were soaking wet. Water was already beginning to form into ice, punctuated by Chimera's partner shuddered uncontrollably. The skin beneath her thin fur turned a pale white.

"W-What's happening? I-I can't feel my legs."

The statement was blank, in spite of Argon's shivering, said as if she were restating the long-winded motto for her own guild. In an instant, Chimera discarded his partner's wet coat, replacing it with his own. There was now only a raincape to shield the Bagon's scales from the cold, but he didn't care.

"Here, you need this more than I do. S-Shit, we gotta get moving. Eoin's at the peak of the mountain, he has to be. If we can get there, he can warm you up. At least I hope so."

"B-But Eoin's a pallid, what if he—"

"We have to try!" he shot back. "We...we have to hope, we don't have any other options."

They took hold of each other. In spite of Argon's motor functions being lost to the cold, their second attempt was much more successful. They made it to the top of the fiendish slide, continuing up at a shallow incline towards the mountain peak. The Raichu's steps became sluggish as the minutes passed, and frequently Chimera found that he now shared the role of being a balancing point.

"Keep pushing! We've gone through too much to give up now."

She took another step, any semblance of control over her legs leaving as she fell to the icy floor.

"I-I...I'm sorry. I don't think I can."

"No…"

Chimera fell with her. He set her down, watching as her cobalt-blue eyes closed and blackness enveloped her vision. Tears fell down the Bagon's cheeks. He held her close, finding her orange fur cold to the touch.

"Goddammit, it can't be like this. You're...you're the partner pokemon for pete's sake! If anybody's gonna die first, it's gonna be me. I-I've had my second chance, you deserve it more than I do!"

His words fell on deaf ears; his partner was unconscious. For a brief second, his gaze shifted toward the path ahead. They had been climbing for a long time, and a hint of blue light shined at the end of the tunnel. A glint shined in Chimera's eyes. He wiped away his tears, replacing fear with determination as he took hold of his partner with his one arm, and pushed against the icy floor with his one leg. The Bagon crawled, inch by bloody inch, dragging his partner in tow. He prayed to Arceus and fate alike that their salvation was within reach.

The minutes flowed together. Chimera was barely able to move himself, and dragging another pokemon behind him proved tiring. He huffed, bitter that his former occupation confined to a desk left him unprepared.

"Y-You know, I just realized something…"

His head turned. Argon was talking. She was talking! He smiled back to her, subconsciously vowing to do whatever he could to keep his partner cognizant.

"What's that?" he asked.

"This would be a really...ironic way to die."

Chimera's smile disintegrated. He dragged Argon and himself over a short drop, both grunting when they hit the ice with a thud.

"Don't...don't say that. We'll make it out of this. The cold must be making you delirious."

"I-It's true," she replied, attempt to wave cut off by assurances that her limbs were useless, "m-my whole life, I choose the easy way out. I stayed home, I avoided others, I did as little work as possible because I told myself it would make me happier. Now that I might be at the end of it, being dragged by my half-dead partner in some random corner of a mountain, it's...liberating, in a way."

Just keep her talking, Chimera thought, if she's focused on something she might not go into shock like I did.

"Honestly," Chimera said, punctuating his statement with what was likely the fakest laugh of his entire life, "you're probably winning on the whole 'almost-dead' competition. How 'bout I pay the rent for the next month after we get back, as a reward?"

The Raichu giggled for a brief moment, before sinking back into silence. With every second he pushed, the blue light seemed to get farther away.

"D-Did I...did I ever tell you about my parents?" Argon asked.

"No, but I'm sure they want to see you. I'm sure they would be proud of everything you've done."

She sank back.

"Yeah, they would. M-My dad was a ninetales if you can believe it. He...he was everything I wasn't, kinda like you. You couldn't find a more self made 'mon, always going on missions, dangerous and lucrative ones."

Her eyes closed, drawing another gasp from her partner as visages of ornate berries and familiar trinkets appear in her conscious. Sitting on top, was the thunderous mark of a yellow stone.

"T-There wasn't a single thing I could ask for that they couldn't provide for me. Literally. If I made a comment about wanting a ginseng smoothie for breakfast you can bet they'd have a full crate mail ordered to our house."

"That sounds...nice," Chimera replied, words leaving his mouth on their own accord. His partner was freezing to death, and yet as the Bagon mulled over the story, he couldn't help but feel a bit of envy.

"A-Anyway," she continued, "they said I never asked for much, but there was always this sense of extravagance in the way we lived. A-And...it had a cost. Dad was always traveling. Whether on business or explorations, he'd send us letters of all the amazing sights he saw, how much he appreciated the opportunity we had. He always tried to cover up his injuries when I got to see him, but I could see it in his eyes, the...toll it was having on his body and mind."

Argon's words washed away her partner's jealousy. Her voice grew even softer, barely whispering after a short pause.

"Eventually, it got to be too much. H-He got back from exploring an uncharted snow valley around my family's old home outside of Faire. His fire helped, but it gets a lot colder when the places you're exploring aren't part of a tropical region. I ran down to see him, and…"

Chimera was silent. His partner had stopped shivering, emotions bitter and cold running down her spine.

"I-It was frostbite. He had bandages around his two back legs above the joint. B-Below the joint...Arceus."

Both stopped. Chimera grabbed hold of Argon, tranquil expression on her face being met by pure terror. They embraced, as awkwardly as they could with one participant having an arm paralyzed.

"No matter what happens, you're gonna be fine," he pleaded, "you're strong, stronger than I am. S-Someday, when it's cold, we're gonna sit down and share a drink and think about how funny this all was. This'll just be a memory."

She nodded, though her expression didn't change. Chimera continued their endless drag down the winding paths of the dungeon, passing ice, rock, and motionless pallids along the way.

"A-And he kept working, even after losing two limbs. I-I was only a Pichu then. They were great parents given the circumstances, sacrificing so much so I could have a career like them. But after that day I...I couldn't take it. I ran, like I always do."

She chuckled bitterly to herself.

"It was the most pathetic attempt you could ever imagine. I-I didn't even bring a coat, just some food and a map, thinking that would keep me alive. T-They had to rescue me after three days, Dad hiked all that way with two wheels on his back legs. After they brought me back things...changed. T-They argued, they yelled, but eventually they told me that I could choose my own fate."

"And that's why you left for Faire?" Chimera asked, tone almost as soft as hers.

"Yes. I-I left...I left because I knew it would be easy. I read these catalogues in my spare time that told me Faire was a land of opportunity, that by joining the WFG I could make a living were I wouldn't be in any danger. I-It was true, sort of. I had all the time in the world, I had a roof over my head, pathetic as it may have been, and...I was content, or miserable, I can't really remember."

A faint, pink aura emanated from Chimera's weapon, lifting it a fraction of an inch before it dissipated into nothingness.

"I was a pikachu for...a week, I think? Maybe less. I-I made a promise the day I evolved, that I would live life in the easiest manner possible. But...that also had sacrifices. My evolutions were so close that I never fully learned to properly use my psychic abilities."

"Well, I guess that's one thing we can relate to," Chimera said, returning her grin.

"O-Of course. That's why I walk everywhere, among other reasons. T-That's why I got this big, goofy tail strapped to my back, because without telekinesis I can't move it otherwise."

"Could've had me fooled," replied the Bagon, "I just always assumed it was something natural to your species."

The tunnels dragged on, ice lining the walls ever more prevalent with each attempt at a step. Her tone darkened.

"I...I guess w-what I'm trying to say is that dying in this cave seems like...fate. I-I had my Mom read me this book when I was little, Heroes of Time. I fell asleep before the end of it, but it was about a former-human and pokemon that go on a journey to collect the time gears. No matter what promises I made to myself, no matter how much I tried to avoid it, m-my destiny was sealed when I found you on that beach. Don't get me wrong, I've learned a lot through it, but...I guess I have to accept my fate."

Again, Chimera stopped, looking toward Argon in an expression between pleading and bargain.

"I know what you're talking about, thinking that everything here fits into one pre-planned story, but it's not true!"

He whispered.

"God...please don't let it be true."

Silence followed. Chimera's heart skipped a beat as his partner's eyes closed. She smiled back to him, tears soaking into her own yellow cheeks.

"Y-You know, being with you has made me realize something. D-Dad was always exhausted whenever he came home, but when I looked at him, he was...smiling. Even after the incident, he never stopped laughing. I guess his life had more of a purpose than mine, helping pokemon, contributing to society. Ever since you and I teamed up, we've helped more pokemon in one month than four years of living on my own. I-I mean...Eoin's the only one I can name off the top of my head. But still, it feels nice. Thank you."

"You're welcome," Chimera instantly replied, "you're the kindest creature, human or pokemon, that I've ever met. You're more generous than I'll ever be, and no matter what happens, I'll always appreciate it."

She nodded, eyes still closed with head aimed toward the rocky ceiling.

"I...I think I'm gonna get some sleep now. It's peaceful."

"No!" he shouted. "You can't! I—"

Chimera's head turned. A brief glimmer of hope filled his heart with what he saw, something that on any other day would only bring exasperation.

Stairs. Orderly, icy, stairs.