Kage had long ago mastered the art of traveling unnoticed. When not accompanied, the human boy had a cape with him tied around his neck. The boy had designed it himself for camouflage: a green cape covered with leafy patterns. When a Pokemon drew near, he quickly ducked down and covered himself from view. He had been taught to never communicate with other Pokemon or even be seen by them. Darkrai told him that Pokemon were inherently cruel and might eat him if he got too close. However, Kage watched Pokemon interaction from afar and saw no evil. There was fighting and bitterness, of course, but the human boy sensed no desire to be evil. He was quite sensitive to how others felt and how they thought. All Kage needed to do was look at them, and his body was flooded with their emotions. The boy once became so distraught after seeing a lost Gastly look for its mother, he burst into tears and clung to his father figure like a vice. Darkrai had taken to calling it "ultimate empathy," one of his many powers. This power gave the Nightmare King another reason to hide Kage's existence and keep him away from others. Unfortunately, humans did not do well isolation. They had to compromise on disguised travel, though the decision worked out well for the both of them. Kage could explore their territory while Darkrai was temporarily relieved from the wonders of childcare.

The boy was curled up in his favorite spot: between the branches of a large tree that had a perfect little hollow to sit in where the trunk split three ways. It was one of the largest trees in the area, so Kage had an excellent view of his little world. He often spent hours just watching the birds or picking out constellations in the always-night sky. That day, there were no bird Pokemon to entertain him, but that did not deter him to go home. Eyeing the branch to his left, he started to climb higher in order to reach the top. He did not reach the tree tops often for fear of being seen, but with no one out at the time, Kage decided to take the risk. He had never climbed to the top of this tree, and he was determined to do it! His hands and feet scaled the branches as expertly as the bug Pokemon he observed. His head eventually popped out of the leaves, little twigs stuck in his black hair, and he took in the view of the island. Most of the island was covered in forests, but there were a few cleared areas that housed crumbling ruins. The edges of the land mass dropped off into nothing. The ocean levels had dropped significantly, and the surface was frozen over. It made the island appear to be floating in the air. The boy frowned at the sinking feeling in his stomach. It's a lot smaller than I thought... The forest is huge when I'm on the ground, but now... He would never admit such a thing in his father's presence, but his heart often ached with the longing to travel. To be able to run freely, swim freely, exist freely... Kage wanted freedom. It made his feel a bit selfish to ask for more when he already had an amount of freedom already, but the longing came back regardless.

He forced himself to turn around, as if a change in view would make the feelings go away. Kage froze at the sight of a massive crumbling structure straight in front of him. Given that he never climbed trees this high, he had never seen it before. A fourth of a stone tower floated above the ground, large stones still frozen in the air from when the build first collapsed. Just below the tower was a square building with no windows. There was a torch just above the imposing double doors to light the way inside.

His mind started screaming. Kage's body twitched with the urge to go to it. An indescribable feeling within told him that it was important. There was someone in there with feelings so intense and enormous that it practically pulled the boy in like a Magnemite. He did not want to, but he had to. Hadtohadtohadto satisfy the energy stirring restlessly in his body. The feeling commanded him, and he was not yet in control of his power enough to refuse. He hated the feeling. He hated the visions, too, but the feeling was a bit scarier than the pictures.

Kage climbed down from his perch and hit the ground running, guided by his senses to reach his destination. He instinctively tensed when he broke through the treeline, because he was then running on an exposed dirt road to the building. Anyone could see him. This thought was overshadowed by the misery seeping into his heart. Someone was definitely suffering, crying, and wallowing in self-loathing. This suffering was stronger than any other, forcing him to run faster. The boy ran until his lungs ached and his legs wobbled, thankfully at the doors of the building. Kage had to take a moment to catch his breath. The feeling argued with his exhausted body, but the feeling always won. To his surprise (and likely misfortune), the door was unlocked. His tiny figures pried open the heavy door just enough to slip inside. He felt possessed and stripped of his will as Kage's feet carried him forward with courage and purpose summoned from nowhere. He made a mental note to apologize and make dinner when he got home. Daddy is going to blow up when he finds out...

Dialga was particularly irritated and aggressive at the moment, so Dusknoir made a point to close off access to Temporal Tower and keep himself in his studies. His office was more of a library than anything else, given that it only contained books. The ghost's collection was built up of historic records, fictional works, and everything in between. Half of his collection was currently scattered around the room in both neat and careless piles. After the conversation he overheard, he returned and began rereading every document he could find on the subject of moves and abilities. There were indeed a few cases where Pokemon could be taught moves that they would not naturally learn as they grow. Technical Machines were popular items for young Pokemon seeking strength faster. However, TMs did not have painful side effects. Dusknoir searched everywhere for a move that caused painful visions, but he found nothing. There were no written information of a Pokemon with painful foresight. There were no TMs that caused visions with recoil damage.

He sighed and put his books away. Everything pointed to what he heard being impossible, but the words were too dreadful to ignore. Someone was clearly trying to use the child's visions to locate Time Gears. The only logical reason to go to such trouble would be if they planned to go back in time and change this world, their future. If they rewrote history... this world would no longer exist. They would all disappear into nothingness. Being a ghost made Dusknoir ageless, so he naturally disliked the idea or dying and not existing. There had been a few rebel groups here and there that hoped to achieve such a thing, but nothing too difficult to capture and execute. Now, it seemed that someone more powerful was giving it a shot, and they had a secret weapon that could plausibly make them succeed.

*patpatpatpat*

The sound of flat feet running past his closed door dragged Dusknoir out of his despairing thoughts. He phased through his wall, ignoring the door, just in time to see a green cape flutter around a corner. This couldn't possibly be a worse time to have intruders.

-

The feeling was gone, having reached his destination. Kage whipped sweat off his forehead as he gazed down a long grey corridor. On each side were many doors made up of bars. It looked like what his father told him a prison was. Prison was a place to store bad people and good people who got caught instead. Different feelings seeped into his soul, and questions filled his head. I want to get out. Now more cautious, the small boy shuffled forward and peeked into the first cage on his left. There were two Pokemon inside sleeping, which he recognized as a Sceptile and a Treeko. Kage watched fascination. They looked so peaceful, they could not possibly be bad. He placed a hand around the bars and gave it a tug, causing the metal to rattle. Unfortunately, it was locked. He sagged and averted his gaze to the floor. Am I supposed to rescue them? Is that why I needed to come?

"Who are you?"

Kage looked up and was face to face with the Treeko, who had been woken up by the noise. The human was a head taller, but the boy was intimidated and not socially practiced. He took a moment to conceal his look of horror before introducing himself politely, "I'm-I'm Kage. It's nice to meet you. What's your name?"

"Treeko the Bold," the little Pokemon replied, equally polite, "and that's my dad over there. What kind of Pokemon are you? I've never seen anyone like you."

The boy nodded understandingly, "Daddy says I'm not supposed to let people see me. I'm not sure what kind of Pokemon a Human is, but I think I'm a Psychic type."

"I haven't heard of those," Treeko admitted with a frown, "Psychic types are cool, though. They have strong special attacks. Do you think you could use one to get us out? We got caught on our way to a secret meeting. I'm not supposed to talk about it."

Kage shook his head, "Sorry, I can't. I can move fire and see pictures in my head, but I can't open locked doors. Aren't you small enough to squeeze through?"

"Tried it," he replied while rubbing a bruise on his arm, "It didn't work. There are some guards around here that have the keys. If you can catch one and unlock the doors, we can run for it. We're really fast, so don't worry. You might want to hurry... The big guy that brought us here might catch you and lock you up here, too."

Kage was about to reply when the Sceptile in the back of the cell woke up. His eyes instinctively sought Treeko first to verify his safety. When the Pokemon's eyes met the human's, he paused and tilted his head a degree. Lacking a child's imagination, the Sceptile was understandably more baffled by the sight of a human than the Treeko. The boy gave him a wave and a nervous smile.

Treeko quickly ended the awkward silence, "Hey, dad! This Psychic type wants to help us."

"Does he now?"

The human shrieked as he found himself clutched in a giant grey fist. Treeko and Sceptile backed away from the door as Dialga's main henchman studied the creature in his grip. Kage gasped in fear at the sight of the ghost. The single red eye was bigger than his head, and the jagged mouth on Dusknoir's stomach was large enough to swallow him whole.

"Fight back!" Treeko called out to him, "You have to fight! Use your moves!"

Dusknoir laughed at the Grass type, "Humans don't have moves. Without their inventive skills, they would be worthless!" He turned his gaze back on the terrified human. "And I'm sure Master Dialga would see some worth in a human that can locate Time Gears. Perhaps you'll be spared long enough to be questioned!"

Kage stared at him blankly for so long that Dusknoir thought the child had gone into shock or unconsciousness. He learned too late that the human was only calculating his next move. The boy dawned an expression of determination, reared his head back, and then spit directly into his eye. The ghost let go as he recoiled in surprise, pain, and disgust. The human quickly put distance between them, trying to remember all his lessons over the years. This was the first time he would need them.

"Argh! You little abomination!" Dusknoir glared at him with hatred, now prepared for battle, "So be it, human. If you wish to fight like a Pokemon, let's see what you can do!" He raised his hands, summoning orbs of blue fire. "I've heard that humans don't take damage the way we do... We'll see if you get burned or cooked by my Will-O-Wisp!"

The candles. Kage got into position, back straight and hands out facing his opponent. To his attacker, it looked like he was trying to shield his face. The boy took a deep breath as the flames were thrown his way. He spread his arms wide to welcome the fire. Kage waited until it was within arm's reach before he clapped his hands together. The Will-O-Wisp orbs shot in different directions, now obeying a new master. Dusknoir lunged to the side to avoid being burned while most of the fire balls hit the walls around them. One orb just so happened to hit the door of the holding cell. Sceptile saw this and immediately threw his weight against the bars. The weakened lock gave way to freedom. With no hesitation, he grabbed Treeko, and even the human, to make their escape. Dusknoir turned to go after them, but he did not have the speed advantages that a Sceptile had.

-

Sceptile did not stop running until the stockade was far behind. Up in the trees, they were temporarily hidden. The close encounter took a strange turn, but all three made it out alive, and that was all that mattered. The adult Pokemon treated the boys with Oran berries to regain their strength before leaping back to the ground. It was too dangerous to stay in the same place for long.

"Come on, Treeko. We need to get home and tell the group what happened." Sceptile looked down at the human child. "Now that you have a powerful enemy, you should probably come with us. If Dusknoir was right that you can find Time Gears somehow, we could really use your help. You would be much safer with us."

Treeko was quick to agree, "He's right! You could help us make a better world!"

"What's wrong with this one?" Kage asked honestly. The world of darkness was all he knew, and of course Darkrai would never tell him just how twisted it was.

"E-everything..." Sceptile replied in surprise, "There are better ways to live. The world was once a bright and peaceful place. It can be that way again, but changes have to be made." He glanced around to verify that they were still alone. "We can't talk here. If you need to think about it, we need a safe place to meet you again. Do you live nearby?"

"Yeah, my house isn't far," Kage pointed behind him. "But this sounds like the kind of thing that my dad wouldn't want me to do..."

Treeko looked disappointed but nodded in understanding. "We understand, but I hope you change your mind. It would have been fun to have a friend to play with."

"I..." The human looked lost. This was essentially the first decision he had ever made without his caretaker's input. It sounded good, but it also seemed too good. "I'll think about it."

Yes... All of those things happened a long time ago...

These were the last memories.

They were the last to fade away into nothing.

Everything after that was gone.

He could feel everything in his mind empty out, tossed away where he could not find them.

He could not feel the breaking of his heart when everything was gone.

...

No.

There was something left.

A name.

Being human.

Two voices.