I sat in the cell, formed by someone digging an alcove then building bar doors, holding Treeko. He was starting to form a fever.

I rocked him and hummed. He slept soundly, not hearing a thing.

I heard a small giggling but nobody was around. When the doors opened the giggling stopped and disappeared into my memory. The Sableye snatched Treeko away from me.

"No!" I yelled and went to grab him but the Sableye scratched my hands and arms each time I tried to reach for him. "Treeko!"

"Get up!" The Sableye ordered. When I didn't stand right away they scratched at my body until I did and made me walk. My legs felt like rubber as they lead me to a dark room. I let them tie me to the pillar. Next to me, I saw him perfectly in the darkness, was Treeko, red faced and sick.

I heard everyone leave the room. "I'll get us out." The promise even to me sounded hallow and pointless.

I heard the giggling again. The giggle of a little girls. "You'll get out," the voice said, "I know you will." The voice had no origin and the giggling stopped again when the lights turned on. They were brighter than I've ever seen lights. It blinded me.

Dusknoir stood at the door. I still couldn't see well through the bright lights but I could see his black form. "You have failed in your 'mission'. You should have just left it all alone, child. Now because of that Primal Dialga has issued a death warrant." The Sableye came from behind him.

"Take care of them quickly." Dusknoir ordered and floated from the room, his hands were behind his back like a general.

A felt a small breeze blow through. "When they loosen the ropes there will be a sudden flash of light," the voice told me, "take Treeko and hide!"

The Sableye seemed to have not heard a thing. They attacked in a frenzy of fury swipes. They cut my face and frayed my hair. My braids slowly came apart and when they did my hair fell to shoulder height. Way shorter than I liked my hair to be.

Next to me Treeko screamed in pain. My eyes started to water, it blurred the vision of the young Pokémon. "Treeko, when your ropes loosened attack them with everything you've got!" I yelled.

My ropes started to come loose under my weight. I could feel myself slipping from the pillar that straightened my back uncomfortably.

"Now!" I yelled with the strange voice in the air. I was surprised at how hard Treeko could fight in his condition.

"Close your eyes!" The voice said. I grabbed Treeko, hid behind the pillar, and closed my eyes.

"Open them," the voice giggled around me.

I opened them and saw we were in a cave. I smiled. "Thank you!" I yelled.

The voice came from behind me this time. It had an origin. "Don't thank me. I should be thanking you."

I turned. A pink Pokémon flew around me, checking me and Treeko out. She had deep green eyes. "Who are you?" I asked her.

"I am Celebi." She sang.

I laid Treeko down on the cave's cold floor. "That name sounds familiar…" I mused. "Hey." I turned to Celebi but she was gone. I sighed and sat next to Treeko.

His fever slowly grew worse but I couldn't move far with Treeko in this condition. We would be under attack and without any of my weapons we were completely defenseless.

When I got bored I would work on a locket I wanted to give to Treeko. I didn't have any pictures to put in it yet but I hoped I could before we left for the past. I went out every now and again to get water that was suspended. It was like scooping up ice but it wasn't as cold. I could catch it if it was suspended in the air or scoop it up in my hands and it would stay. Nothing like how I read water should act or so I've read.

Treeko's fever never went down.

The cold fingers of fear took ahold of my heart. I knew I shouldn't scream but I couldn't find any oren berries and nothing was working. I couldn't stand here as my best friend's fever kept getting worse and worse.

"Help me! Someone please! Help Treeko…" I waited but nobody answered me. "Celebi!" I screamed. Small hands covered my mouth. Celebi was right in front of me. "Shh!" She flew over to Treeko. "I can't save you a second time."

I was aware of the tears that stained my cheeks. Quickly I wiped them away. "Sorry." I whispered.

Celebi laughed and flew up to me and took my hand. "It's okay, my dear! But it's silly to worry over Treeko. He'll be better soon."

I nodded and hugged her. After several minutes the Pokémon pulled herself away and sat herself on a rock. "Why were you two in that awful place?" She asked.

"We were caught trying to change our time." My throat was still tight with worry.

"You two plan on changing this place? How?" She sounded amused. She didn't think we could do it but in her green eyes something else gleaned. Something I've only seen in Treeko three years ago.

"We're going to go to the past, collect all the Time Gears, and place them in Temporal Tower before it collapses." I told her. "And then we'll see the sun again."

Celebi rubbed her legs as if she were straightening out a dress. I imagined briefly Celebi wearing a green dress, made of leaves maybe. "My dear…you do know that if you change the past you and Treeko will disappear, right? Everyone will. And when you are born again there's a possibility that you two will never be friends."

I never gave it thought about the consequences. I smiled. "But think about it. What's better? Living in a world of darkness and fear? Or living in a world where Treeko and I don't know each other and the world is full of light and life?"

"I for one…" Treeko's voice was weak with sickness, "will give anything for that dream."

Celebi smiled, energy suddenly bubbled out of her and she shot around the room, dancing around me and Treeko. She took my hands and got into my face. "Then consider me an ally and a friend! I am Celebi, I will be your transportation to the past!"

I knew the name sounded familiar. I had read in a book once that Celebi was a Pokémon that could bend time to her will to travel through time. Unlike Dialga, however, she could never take out an entire time and she couldn't create it.

"I'm Ashton. This is Treeko. We're so excited to have you on our Exploration Team!"

Celebi tilted her head. "Your…exploration team?"

I nodded. "We're explorers of Time, Darkness, and Sky."

Treeko groaned. "No! Just Time!"