Chapter 8
Delta's PoV

My name is Delta and I'm a long way from home. It's been a while now, since I came through that dimensional anomaly and arrived in this darkness as a child, and I can barely remember the sunlight. I've forgotten my family, I stubbornly held onto their faces for a long time but eventually it was too painful to remember. I let them fade.

Not that I need them, now I have Grovyle.

Grovyle who blindly trusts Celebi over me. He's not perfect, but he's a partner to cling to. We both owe Celebi anyway; it was her who managed to hide me from Dialga while I matured. I can't help but wonder if the Palkia trapped in that dungeon at Dialga's base was the one to bring me over… but that's unlikely. It was probably Arceus operating remotely, not wanting to directly avert this dark future from happening but helping it to.

Not that I have time to think of that now. Unlike Grovyle I will sacrifice everything to avert the future. My family are far away, I'll never see them again and they won't be hurt by the ending of the darkness, I'm safe.

I assume Grovyle's family are hiding in some small hole, waiting for him to return to them. Otherwise Celebi would have done away with them.

"This statue looks like some kind of legendary. Know which?" he asks me, expecting me to tell him everything. I can't help but resent him slightly for leaning on me that much and expecting me to do all of this work, but considering the burden I am in dungeons it's only fir. I suppose.

"Groudon," I reply, "What do these footprint runes say?" All I can read are Unknown letters; I never bothered with footprint runes. I really should learn them, but I've been busy lately.

"Reignite the life that burned within Groudon… Then the sky shall blaze with the sun's heat… The path to treasure shall be revealed…"

Suddenly our eyes meet and a spark of joy flies between them.

"The sky shall blaze?" I cry out in joy, "The darkness?" and suddenly my heart sinks. "Oh, I think I understand. Once there was mist here, the area is after all called Fogbound Lake. Then we have to place the red stone in the Groudon's Heart, except it's already there. When we go into the past we'll have to find it," I looked at the dull orange stone that rested in the Groudon's hollow chest. Someone had been here before, although they'd probably died by now.

…Were we not the first to try and lift the darkness with the time gears? Had Celebi had others before us, who like us had solved the puzzles and failed?

I decided to worry about that later.

"I see," Grovyle said, trying to hide the bitter disappointment in his voice. He was getting better at hiding his emotions, although they were still very transparent. "So we should press onwards to that cave?"

"Yes, Steam Cave. I saw it in my original dimensional scream. Apparently this is the one guarded by Uxie, Celebi said they probably died, they shouldn't be a problem."

Together, we stepped onto the threshold of the cave. Only hesitating slightly, we walked in. I gripped my iron thorns tightly. They'd been no sign of Dusknoir, but although we had lost the Sableye because of the psychic and Dialga they could easily pick up our trail.

On the first floor there was a fire-type. I swallowed; this wouldn't be an easy climb. If we had been hungry and weak I doubt we would have made it, but we were in good spirits with plenty of items and since sleeping at Dialga's base we were fairly rested. With the help of Grovyle's dig we managed to climb to the halfway point where we slept, and kept going.

Eventually we reached an eerie lake surface.

It was dead. That was the simplest way to describe it. There was nothing there at all but still, black water which neither Grovyle nor I dared enter. We could see the Time Gear in the centre, and that was enough.

"…does this mean there's only one left?" Grovyle asked on our descent, hopefully.

"It should do," and for the first time I saw our goal as reachable. We could make it. This wasn't the end, this wasn't an impossible mission, and we could do it.

When we reached the base suddenly I realized our mistake,

"I should have touched the time gear to trigger another dimensional scream; we have no idea where the last one is." Instantly my hope was drained.

"We could ask Celebi," Grovyle suggested. Grovyle, whom still believed that we were Celebi's first attempt at ending the darkness. Grovyle, whom still insisted that Celebi's motives and methods were pure.

But there was no other option anyway.

"We'll have to find her first, but it's probably our best option. Do you have any idea where she could be?"

"She normally finds us; we can just wait around for a while. Otherwise, maybe the location of the first time gear."

By that point I'm no longer listening. I think I know why Celebi isn't around. Dusknoir hasn't been following us here, and ambushing us at that lake is just his style. Does he think he succeeded in killing us? Or… is he more occupied…

With Celebi.

If I tell Grovyle he'll insist on a rescue attempt, no matter how risky it is or how much we stand to lose. And looking aimlessly for her, or waiting around for Dusknoir to turn his attention this way is far worse.

Still, Celebi's always been able to look after herself. He's right, she'll find us. We just have to keep moving, looking around on our own, eventually she'll check on us. Hopefully before Dusknoir gets a chance.

"Delta?" Grovyle snaps me out of my daze, "Do you have a better plan?"

"I think we should keep looking and expect Celebi to find us," I put forward cautiously, hoping Grovyle won't notice that I haven't been listening to him for the past few minutes.

He frowned.

"I've just explained if we're too dynamic she won't be able to find us."

"And Dusknoir, should we make it easy for him to find us too?" I snap back, irritated at having to justify my view.

"He hasn't been following us lately, he must have assumed we died or be following up some more pressing matters."

Ah. He'd realized that much, how could I explain about Celebi… maybe it would have been better for me to just cave in to his plan, but it's not just a small personal sacrifice I'd have be making, it'd have be one for the world.

"No. Either way he'll still turn his attention back to us later. We have to stay ahead of him with more caution than ever; next time he captures us escaping won't be that easy. He's probably already gotten rid of the stone that made escape orbs work even though it wasn't a dungeon; he had it before for convenience."

"What is it with you two," he replied, angrily, "You treat it like a game. If that helps you cope then fine, play all you want, but keep me uninvolved."

"You could say we knew each other before, and that's when it started," I responded, drily, "but the stakes have always been high. As for you playing, you can't avoid some things."

"'Can't avoid some things'. Wow." He finished with a huff. We looked at each other for a few minutes after that, before bursting out laughing. It was good, to be able to laugh together. Any tension or conflict there had been between us was resolved in that.

Maybe it was then I considered him a friend, but I suppose I really had long before that.

"So," he asked tentatively, shyly, "how did you know Dusknoir before?"

It's only natural that he'd ask that. I tried not to tense up and managed not to frown. I'd have to tell him at some point, anyway, and I could get some information from him in return.

"When I first came over, Celebi hid me. For months I managed to exist outside of Dialga's knowledge, eventually that changed. There was only so much Celebi could do for me once they were on my trail, I think she allowed them to capture me as she knew they wouldn't harm me straight away. I suppose you could say," my voice hardened and I managed a small bitter smile and that's why I hate Celebi, "that I became very well-acquainted with Dusknoir during that time."

"And… this game you play?"

"It started while I was with him. Over time we've had fun," the word fun was spat out resentfully, "predicting each other's moves, evading the other's traps. Somewhere along the line it became personal, and now we even try to outwit the other while talking. You could call it a game; I think it's more serious than that. I suppose to Dusknoir that's all it is…"

"He must have nothing to lose," Grovyle nodded.

"Not really. I would, given the chance, kill him." I allowed that statement to ring out and shock the surrounding atmosphere. I would have with Mesprit, I thought, but I needed your trust back then. "In return, may I ask you a question?"

"Of course," he replied, still in good spirits.

"Where are your family?" Or rather, what did Celebi do to them.

"I have no idea; they weren't there at my birth. I grew up alone for quite a long time, I was almost feral. Eventually Celebi stepped in and helped me, she pulled me back from the brink."

I hoped my smile didn't look too fake and that it was good enough cover for my shock. Celebi… had she found the abandoned egg? Convinced the parents to run away? Killed them? Or had she been uninvolved in that and truly innocent?

She could have even made him grow up alone and stepped in at just the right moment. All so he'd have been perfect to manipulate, a tool to end the darkness. That way he feel he owed her when really she owed him.

I really, really hated Celebi. I could see her desperation in her actions, perhaps plots had failed before ours that had been led by her. Either way she was so ruthless, I wasn't sure if I'd even have picked her over Dialga. She was the enemy, that much was certain, and we had to be very wary of her while asking her for help.

And this was the one Pokémon Grovyle had decided to trust above all else. It was laughable, really.

"So shall we head off?" I asked him.

"Lead the way," he replied with a naïve grin.

And somehow, throughout all this, he still held onto his innocence and light.