BOOOOOM!

A black wall was blown apart by Keldeo's Focus Blast.

No matter what we say or do,

Keldeo activated his Secret Sword and swung it, causing the screen to burst.

It's never up to me and you,

Victini rose into the air, his ears glowing with the power of V-Create.

We smile now and sing a cheer!

Keldeo and Santa Paws screamed in horror as huge burst of dark purple energy erupted in front of them.

Ghost Pony Rider roared.

Kyurem and Cryogonal the Critics both screamed as a zombie Lucario with a chainsaw appeared on their TV.

Keldeo screamed in horror, but sprayed himself with water to snap out of it.

Imperator Justinian was seated behind a desk in his study, with Keldeo standing on the other side.

The show must go on!

"FORESHADOWING!" Munna exclaimed.

"NO SHIP, SHERCLOCK!" the Intoxiquer shouted.

"SPOILERS!" Zorua exclaimed.

The show must go on!

Jack Storm sprung awake in shock.

Matthais Unidostres and BrickBrony1894 bro-hoofed.

Meloetta sat down with Madoka the Fennekin and Damian the Meloetta on either side of her.

A Greninja stood ominously next to a Lucario with red Aura.

Keldeo and Ryan the Lucario fought on a cliff top, Secret Sword and Bone Rush clashing over and over.

Never fear . . .

Button Mash and Sweetie Belle bonked heads as they tried playing Wonderbolt Free Fliers.

Keldeo burst out of the ice encasing him in an explosion of light.

The show! Will! Go! On!

Keldeo reared up on his hind legs, his expression serious and his Secret Sword raised and glowing brightly.

Keldeo the Critic

Season 4 Episode 8: Triumpahnt Return by BabyCharmander

tinyurl: phlhsen

Keldeo stood smiling on his rock platform in the Moor of Icirrus and wearing his Mystic Water around his neck with pride. "It's me! Keldeo the Critic! I review it-"

BOOOOOOM!

Keldeo was thrown forward off of the platform and landed hard into the shallow water. Keldeo got up and shook the water out of his mane and said, "What the heck just happened?"

Keldeo turned around and gasped as he saw that a huge portal in time and space had opened up behind him.

"Great, now I'm seeing Boom Tubes," Keldeo said in disbelief, "I guess this is what I get for marathoning episodes of both Justice League and The Legion of Super Heroes."

Suddenly, three very familiar Pokemon came out of the portal.

Keldeo's jaw dropped. "Oh my gosh! I don't believe it! Grovyle! Celebi! Dusknoir!"

Dusknoir looked down at Keldeo and remarked, "Hmm. This Pokemon seems to know who we are."

Keldeo nodded enthusiastically and said, "Sure I do! You guys are heroes who saved the world and beat Primal Dialga! You guys are amazing adventurers who were willing to give up your lives to get time running again-."

"Wait, wait, wait!" the pink shiny Celebi said, waving her arms as she stared ta Keldeo in shock, "How do you know about us."

Keldeo smiled sheepishly and said, "Let's just say, I was able to . . . look in on your adventures-."

Grovyle gasped and pointed at Keldeo, "Then you must be the entity we've been looking for!"

Keldeo stared back at him. "Eh?"

Grovyle turned to Celebi and said, "You explain it to him."

Celebi nodded and said, "Okay, listen. . . er. . . who are you?"

Keldeo struck a noble pose and said, "Keldeo! One of the Swords of Justice!"

Celebi nodded again, "okay then, Keldeo. Listen, we come from an alternate world, and two other alternate worlds had somehow slipped from their places and were headed on a collision course with our world. I looked into it, and I noticed that something from this world stopped one of the alternate worlds from hitting us. But there's still one more alternate world heading towards our own. A merger of worlds could be catastrophic, so we came to this world to see if that other world could be stopped."

Dusknoir suddenly took over, "And if you have the power to observe us, thenwe can assume that it was you who stopped that alternate world from hitting ours, and therefore have the power to stop the other alternate world from hitting ours too."

Celebi cocked her head at the mind-blown Keldeo and asked, "Um. . . you are the one who stopped the first collision of worlds, right?"

Keldeo appeared to stare into space for a long moment. He soon processed all the information he heard, and snapped back into reality. "Oh! Um, okay! Yes. Yes, that's right. I must have subconsciously tapped into my critic-ian powers when I was reviewing that To Live fanfic."

"Fanfic?" Grovyle asked curiously.

Keldeo blinked. "Oh boy, how do I explain this. . . um. . . a Fanfic is a, um, window of words into another world. By analyzing those words, I was able to stop the alternate world from infecting yours."

Grovyle nodded slowly, "Okay. . . so, can you do it again?"

Keldeo scratched his chin with his left fore-hoof, "Hmm. . . well, I was actually planning on reviewing a Yu-Gi-Oh 5D's fanfic today, not a Pokemon fanfic, so I don't see how I can-." An idea suddenly popped into Keldeo's head, "Oh! Wait, let me check my E-mail!"

Keldeo opened his laptop and went to his inbox.

"What is that thing?" Celebi asked.

"It's the. . . uh. . . magic device I use to view the windows of words," Keldeo said as he looked through his E-mail messages, "Yeah, that's it. The, uh, purpose is written in the hidden words. All, uh, must serve the words. For they are in every stone and every cloud- aha! Here we are! A message from Matthais about a Pokemon Mystery Dungeon fanfic called Triumphant Return by BabyCharmander!"

Triumphant Return

By: BabyCharmander

He couldn't just leave them... Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of the Sky. AU.

"This is kind of a 'what-if' scenario for the game," Keldeo explained, "It takes what we know and explorers what could happen if things take a turn in another direction. In this story, not only do we see the story take a very sharp turn, but we also see the reactions of some of the other characters which many of us have overlooked."

Keldeo smiled and nodded, "Well, why don't we take a look at how this was handled. This is-."

"*AHEM!*" Dusknoir said loudly with his arms folded, "You do realize that you just left in the middle of our conversation and then started talking to . . ." Dusknoir unfolded his arms and motioned in the direction Keldeo had been facing, ". . . nobody."

Keldeo sighed, "Look, that's how I do things. It's hard to explain, and if you crossed worlds just to talk to me, then maybe you shouldn't interrupt me."

"He's right. Keep quiet, Dusknoir. Our entire world is at stake," Grovyle said sharply.

"Hold on, everyone," Keldeo said, "You might be able to help me out."

Celebi looked curious, "Really?"

Keldeo nodded, "Yeah. Look, I'm gonna be talking about events that happen in the other world. Whenever something gets your attention, say something. Comment. Complain. Compliment. Anything. Trust me, it'll help stop the worlds from colliding faster. I can't explain it, just go with it."

The three heroes exchanged glances, and then all nodded in affirmation.

"Alright, Keldeo. We'll do what we can," Grovyle said seriously.

Keldeo smiled, "Alright then! So, get ready everyone, because this is Triumphant Return."

"So our story picks up after some time after Grovyle tackled Dusknoir back into the future, and our heroes are busy climbing Temporal Tower. Our human from the future turned Pokemon, however, is still hurting over Grovyle's departure."

"Though the parting hurts…"

And it hurt. It really, really hurt.

With each step Piplup took up the crumbling tower, his heart ached more and more. It was bad enough that Grovyle was gone, but soon he would be gone, too, and that would leave Chimchar—the one who instantly befriended him when he had no-one to turn to, the one who had been exploring with him through all this time, the one who had stayed with him through thick and thin—all alone.

Grovyle appeared confused, "Wait a minute, a Piplup and a Chimchar? What happened to-."

"It's an alternate world, Grovyle," Celebi explained.

Grovyle's confusion turned to embarrassment, "Oh . . . I see . . . sorry for the interruption."

"GET OUT OF HERE!"

The two young Pokémon whipped around just in time to see a Porygon-Z fire a huge bolt of electricity out of its beak—a powerful attack that Piplup had just barely survived before, and one that he knew he had no chance of surviving now in his weakened state. Piplup's eyes went wide as the bolt seemed to fly towards him in slow motion, and his mind went blank of all but a single thought: I didn't get to say goodbye.

But the bolt never made contact. Instead, something about twice his size darted in front of him, blocking the electricity. The thing growled when the attack hit, but held its ground.

"Leaf Blade!" a familiar voice shouted as the figure ran forward, slicing at the virtual Pokémon with the leaves attached to its wrists. The Porygon-Z immediately disintegrated, and the mysterious figure turned around, smiling.

"GROVYLE!" Chimchar exclaimed, practically tackling the Grass-type as he hugged him, tears rolling down his cheeks.

"WHAT!?" both Keldeo and Grovyle said at once.

"How did Grovyle get back?" Keldeo asked, "I mean, it makes no sense."

Celebi sighed in annoyance, "It's an alternate-."

"Oh no," Dusknoir said, his eye growing wide.

Grovyle turned to Dusknoir and asked, "What? What is it?"

Dusknoir quickly calmed down and shook his head slowly, "Um, no. It's nothing. Let's just continue. It'll probably explain everything."

Keldeo nodded, "You have a point there, Dusknoir, let's keep going." Keldeo turned back to his laptop, but then turned back and said gravely, "Although I think I know what you were thinking. . ."

Dusknoir appeared to get uncomfortable again at this.

"Piplup, Chimchar…" Grovyle said gently, wrapping an arm around the Fire-type and smiling warmly at the Water-type.

"B-but…" Piplup started, having finally found his voice again, "Dusknoir! What about him?! I thought—"

"Dusknoir has been defeated," the Grass-type responded. "Once he was taken care of, I found Celebi and had her transport me straight back." He let go of Chimchar and took a few steps forward, kneeling in front of Piplup and wrapping an arm around him. "After all, I couldn't just leave you…"

Both Keldeo and Dusknoir let out sighs of relief.

"Are we missing something?" Grovyle asked for both himself and Celebi.

"It's nothing," Dusknoir said seriously.

"Bu-."

"Nothing!" Dusknoir growled.

Grovyle stared at Dusknoir, and then sighed and shrugged, "Fine. Okay. What happens next?"

Grovyle had come back. Even though he'd known that he would disappear soon, he risked getting attacked by Primal Dialga again just to come back to the past to help them in his last moments. Piplup's eyes began to well up with tears, and he threw his flippers around his friend, sobbing. "G-Grovyle…!"

"Hush, it's all right," Grovyle said, hugging the younger Pokémon for a moment. "We've got to stay strong to do this."

"Y-yes…" the Water-type said, wiping his tears away and taking a few deep breaths to try to calm down. "You're right. I-I'll stay strong!" He looked up, giving a determined nod despite the tears that continued to sting at his eyes.

Meanwhile, Chimchar was in much brighter spirits. "This is great!" he cheered with leap of joy. "With Grovyle back, there's no way we can lose! C'mon, let's get to the pinnacle of the tower!" With that, he made his way over to the next room.

Piplup went quiet for a moment, gazing sadly up at Grovyle. "He still doesn't know…"

Grovyle's expression was unreadable, and he simply nodded. "We'll worry about that later. For now, we must continue to ascend the tower."

"…Right."

With that, the two Pokémon followed their companion.

"Uggh. This is too sweet," Dusknoir remarked.

"I like it!" Celebi said as she spun around.

"To be honest, this is a really nice scene," Keldeo said, "The game had a few touching moments like these, so a moment with all three friends on their way to the final battle is right at home here."

"So as our heroes get closer to the top, Piplup still has concerns about telling Chimchar that he and Grovyle will disappear."

Once Chimchar was out of earshot, Grovyle turned to Piplup. "Don't tell him yet. If you tell him now, then he might be reluctant to put the Time Gears into place, and then we might be too late."

"Is—is that why you wanted to carry the Time Gears?"

"Yes. I figured it would be best for me to put them in, in case Chimchar found out. But I'm not going to force him to give them to me… that would arouse suspicion."

Piplup glanced down at the stair step he was standing on. "Grovyle… I-I wanted to tell him goodbye… But when he puts the Time Gears in—"

"You will still have time," the Grass-type replied. "We both will. Otherwise I would have told Chimchar myself."

"You're sure?"

"Yes."

"…Promise?"

"Promise." Grovyle gave the younger Pokémon a gentle smile once more. "Now let's get going."

"Our heroes reach the top of the tower, and their goal is in sight," Keldeo said, looking very excited, "Oh boy! Soon Dialga is gonna show up and there's gonna be a big battle and-."

"I couldn't just leave you… not when you were just about to make me disappear." The Grass-type's face contorted into something frightening—something very un-Grovyle-like. "Grovyle failed in his quest."

In one swift movement, he yanked his arms away, flicking blood into the air.

"And so did you."

And Piplup dropped.

"WHAT THE SPROCK!?" Keldeo shouted in complete shock.

Dusknoir was suddenly frozen solid as Celebi and Grovyle looked on in shock.

"No," Grovyle said in disbelief and shock, "No-no-no. No-no-no-no-no-no-no. That didn't just happen. That didn't just happen!"

"Well-," Celebi started to say.

"I don't care if this is an alternate world, there is no alternate world where this could possibly make sense!" Grovyle shouted, "Why would this possibly-?"

"Give me the Time Gears, Chimchar, and perhaps you won't suffer the same fate as your two dear friends."

The Fire-type's mind spun. This was not Grovyle. He did not talk like Grovyle. He did not look like Grovyle. He did not move like Grovyle. And he did not act like Grovyle.

Grovyle blinked, "Oh. Now I get it."

"Oh, great, so now I'm the only one in the dark," Celebi said with a pout, "Someone tell me the answer!"

"Dusknoir went through with his evil, sadistic, macabre trap!" Keldeo exclaimed, "Remember back in Grovyle's special episode in Explorers of Sky? When Dusknoir had Grovyle trapped in the electric field. He planned to melt Grovyle's spirit and posses his dead body! That's what's different in this alternate world! Dusknoir actually went through with it!"

Celebi gasped, and Dusknoir fell to the ground and pounded the ground with his fist.

"I did it! I screwed it up! Gosh darn me! Darn me to heck!" he shouted fiercely.

The other three watched as Dusknoir raged on the ground. Dusknoir took a long deep breath, and then said sadly, "Grovyle, when you taught me how it is better to live a short life with glory and accomplishment than a long, empty life, and how as long as a person is remembered, then you cannot truly disappear; I realized the error of my ways, and saw how destructive my actions were. I would have destroyed everything, and very truly erased both of us, whether we disappeared or not; because then, our lives would have really meant nothing. I had realized that all I was working towards was an eternity of serving Primal Dialga. Just managing a police state in a cold, dark world. Forever. I realized that that life would be worthless, so I decided that even if I would disappear, I would prefer that over an empty life. And thanks to you, not only did I feel that my life was fulfilled, and I disappeared with no regrets."

Dusknoir clenched his fists, got back up, and said, "And what's more, we were all rewarded and brought back to life after the world was saved. I got a second chance on life thanks to you, Grovyle. Then you became my friend, and I feel no shame in saying that your friendship is valuable to me, because it was you, Grovyle, who saved my life."

Everyone was silent after Dusknoir's speech.

"Dusknoir . . ." Grovyle said.

Dusknoir looked levelly at Grovyle.

Grovyle nodded slowly, and gave Dusknoir a smile and said, "I knew it all along, Dusknoir. At heart, you are a noble Pokemon. All you needed to do was see the truth."

Dusknoir's spirit lifted as a sense a peace enveloped him.

"*Ahem!*" Celebi said loudly, "This is very nice, even if I'm being treated like chop liver here, but if Keldeo doesn't hurry up and do his thing, we're gonna have an Evil!Dusknoir possessed Grovyle running around in our world!"

Dusknoir nodded and said, "Yes, you're right, Celebi. We need Keldeo to fix this quickly and," Dusknoir tapped his fingers together and said, "Um, yes Celebi, sorry for not mentioning you. I am glad to consider you as a friend. You are a valuable edition to our group, and I'd say that you're the one who brings most of the business to our restaurant-."

Suddenly, another portal in time and space opened up, and both Dialga and Palkia stuck their heads out and shouted:

"GET ON WITH IT!"

They went back in and the portal closed.

Keldeo blinked, and nodded, "Um, yeah, I guess they're right, back to the story."

"So Chimchar for once doesn't hang onto the Hero/Idiot Ball and figures out that this isn't the good Grovyle he knows and loves."

"You're not Grovyle!" Fire spewed out of Chimchar's mouth, enveloping the wounded Grass-type.

"And so," Keldeo says, "Chimchar's Super Effective Fire-type attack defeats the evil Dusknoir-possessed Grovyle, allowing him to put the Time Gears where they belong, saving the planet from paralysis. However, this is unable to bring back his dear friend Piplup. And so, the story ends on that final bittersweet note."

Dusknoir hangs his head somberly as Grovyle nods with equal seriousness. Celebi sighed and gives a small sad smile.

They were all thrown for a loop when Keldeo burst out laughing.

"Ha-ha-ha-ha! Oh, I'm sorry! I'm so sorry, it's just. . . the idea that the partner character, or any character in a Pokemon Mystery Dungeon game would be able to let go of the Hero Ball or Idiot Ball long enough to solve a major problem the easy way! Ha-ha-ha-ha-ha! Of course that's not the real ending!"

"It's not?" Celebi asked in disbelief.

"But I'm sure Chimcar could defeat Grovyle!" Grovyle said, then he backpedaled and said, "Um, I mean me. I mean Dusknoir. Um-."

"Just tell us what happens, Keldeo!" Dusknoir shouted impatiently.

Immediately the Pokémon began to scream in terror. "Chimchar!" he cried. That was Grovyle's voice. "Chimchar, what are you doing?! It's me, Grovyle!"

The Fire-type choked back his flames, eyes wide. "Grovyle?!"

The Grass-type rolled on the stone floor frantically to put out the flames, and finally lay still on the ground. "Ch-Chim… char…"

What have I done? Why am I attacking Grovyle?! He felt dizzy and sick, and shook his head in an attempt to clear it. Am I seeing things? What's wrong with me…? Why did I attack him like that? Quickly he approached his friend, laying a hand on his shoulder. "Grovyle…?"

"HE JUST MURDERED PIPLUP, YOU FOOL!" Grovyle shouted.

Suddenly the Pokémon pushed himself up on one arm and sliced at Chimchar with the leaf-blades on his other arm, snarling.

Chimchar jumped back, eyes wide. No, this isn't Grovyle! I don't know who it is, but he tricked me…! Trying to focus again, he launched another stream of fire at his opponent, who began to scream and roll around again.

Celebi sighed in relief, "Oh, good. Now he can put those Time Gears in."

"Nope," Keldeo said flatly.

"What?" Celebi replied.

Once he was sure the Pokémon was too busy to attack him again, he began to make his way over to Piplup, but another violent tremor reminded him that he probably didn't have much time left.

"Yeah, you don't. SO PUT THE TIME GEARS IN ALREADY!" Dusknoir shouted.

Looking from the raised platform to Piplup and back again, the young Pokémon was torn between doing what he needed to and making sure his friend was all right.

"I'm sure Piplup, dead or alive, can wait the five seconds it would take to put the Time Gears in!" Grovyle said, "You know, the whole reason you risked your lives to come here!"

Piplup hasn't moved… but I need to put the Time Gears in… but… Piplup… Piplup…!Fighting back tears, he darted over to his friend's side, shaking him gently.

"No-no-no-no! The Time Gears first! That's what Piplup would want!" Celebi said desperately.

"Piplup, wake up! Please!" The sick feeling in his stomach intensified when he saw the blood pooling out from underneath the Water-type's body. "Piplup, don't leave me… wake up, please…!"

"Pretend he's Hydreigon and mourn later!" Keldeo shouted.

"Who?" Celebi asked.

The Fire-type was too distraught to see a dark shape rise out of Grovyle's lifeless body. He felt too sick to focus on what was going on around him, and thus failed to notice as the figure slowly approached him. It wasn't until the enormous creature cast a shadow over him that he turned around.

A single, red eye glared down at him.

And everything went dark.

"ARRRRGH! You moron!" Dusknoir shouted as he clenched his fists with extreme frustration.

Keldeo took a deep breath and said calmly, "You know, to be fair, seeing his best friend he'll ever have die right in front of him probably put him in a state of utter trauma that would prevent him from coming close to fulfilling the mission. Dusknoir probably knew this, which is why he killed Piplup first."

"I don't care!" Celebi shouted angrily, "Forget this fanfic, alternate world, horror! I quit! I'll check on you guys later! I am out of-"

FLASH!

Celebi suddenly vanished in a flash of light.

Grovyle jumped with surprise and gasped, "What happened? Where did she go?"

Keldeo shrugged, "She just time traveled."

"Celebi can't just time travel at will," Dusknoir said, "She's just the only one who can open the Passage of Time. Dialga is the one who can time travel at will."

Keldeo grinned, "Actually, Celebi has that power too in this world. I guess just being here gave her that ability. Heh. She's probably pretty freaked out wherever- I mean, whenever she is now. Eh, she'll show up when the review's done."

Grovyle raised an eyebrow, "Isn't it done now?"

Keldeo shook his head, "No, actually. Ya see, after lying to Lapras by saying that the heroes died putting the Time Gears back, Dusknoir disguised as Grovyle heads back to Treasure Town and Wigglytuff's Guild."

A gasp caught itself in Lapras's throat, but he managed to hold it back. "I… I understand." He turned his long neck, looking away as a few tears dripped down his muzzle. "They were such brave Pokémon… But… but at least their sacrifice will not have been made in vain."

Grovyle did not reply to that. "T-take… t-take me back t-to Treasure… T-Town…" he wheezed. "They n-need… to know."

Dusknoir growled and said, "I feel so . . . disgusted with myself."

"This is not you, Dusknoir," Grovyle said with certainty, "You couldn't go through with it because in your heart, you knew that you couldn't doom the world and cause endless suffering just to ensure your own survival once you fully realized the extent of your actions. So don't feel guilty about something you didn't do and never would do."

"Easy for you to say. You're pure of heart," Dusknoir grumbled.

Grovyle didn't respond, but merely shifted uncomfortably and averted his eyes from Dusknoir.

"So Grovyle gets back to the guild and-," Keldeo began.

"HEY! What are you DOING down there?!" came Loudred's obnoxious voice.

"Gaaah!" Keldeo shouted with a jolt.

"SHOULDN'T we be getting some VISITORS by now?!"

The Ground-type blinked, looking up at the grate, and was somewhat surprised to see that there was indeed something standing there. Its form was unclear, but he could see the footprints plain as day. "Oh! Pokémon alert! Pokémon alert!"

"THAT'S more like it! WHO'S FOOTPRINT? WHO'S FOOTPRINT?"

After taking a second to analyze the footprints, Diglett froze. "Th-the footprint is…" he whispered. "The f-footprint is…!"

"HUH? Who IS it? SPEAK UP!"

"…GROVYYYYYLLLLEEE!" Diglett shouted, immediately diving underground and then digging up the sentry pit as fast as his little claws would allow him.

Keldeo blinked and looked around awkwardly, "What. . .claws?"

Keldeo shook it off and said, "Well, anyway, 'Grovyle' tells everyone at the guild about the death of Piplup and Chimchar."

"Chimchar… and Piplup…" Grovyle managed to choke out, arms trembling as he continued to clutch whatever it was he was holding, "…are gone."

He held out a bag, which everyone instantly recognized as being Chimchar's.

Diglett's eyes widened, and he turned to his father. "Th-they're coming back, aren't they, Dad? …Dad?"

Dugtrio did not answer, but his faces grew somewhat pale.

Seeing that, the mole Pokémon immediately turned back to look at Grovyle. "Grovyle, they're com—"

"Th-they can't be gone, by golly!" Bidoof interrupted, stepping forward. "Th-they said they would come back…!"

Grovyle's eyes seemed to be shining with tears. "…Some promises can't always be kept."

By now, Diglett's breathing had quickened, and his vision was blurred with tears. "B-but Dad… Th-they can't be…!"

Yet Dugtrio still could not answer. Everyone else was quiet too, still in complete shock as Grovyle's words sank in.

Piplup and Chimchar were gone, and they were not coming back.

The sobs of a young Ground-type shattered the silence.

Keldeo nodded, "You know, Diglett was a really nice character, what with his nice personality and way he did sentry duty, and the whole father and son relation we get with Dugtrio and Diglett. I really wish the game featured them a bit more."

"HHRRRRRRRRRRRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGH H!"

"GAAH!" Keldeo shouted as he covered his ears with his fore hooves, "Darn it, Loudred!"

A stone flew across the room, barely missing Corphish and shattering when it hit the opposite wall. Loudred was too furious to care. "HOW COULD THEY DO THAT?!" he screamed, stomping around the room.

"Hey, hey, settle down…!"

The big voice Pokémon wasn't listening. "THEY LIED! THOSE TWO WERE LIARS! THEY SAID THEY WOULD COME BACK!"

"Yeah! How dare they get violently and painfully killed in a selfish sacrifice of their lives to save our sorry butts who did nothing but sit here in the nice cozy guild!" Keldeo said grouchily.

Portal 2 Announcer: "Sarcasm Self-Test Complete."

Grovyle and Dusknoir looked around in shock.

"Where did that voice come from?" Grovyle asked.

"Don't think about it. Don't think about it," Keldeo said quickly.

His mind was unclear—everything seemed to be blurred into shades of red as he kept thinking about how Piplup and Chimchar had lied. How could they lie?! After all they'd done, how could they lie and say they would be back and then have Grovyle come back alone?! It was ridiculous. It didn't make sense, why didn't they come back, why did they lie like that it was so stupid he couldn't believe this—

Keldeo sighed, "Okay, I know that Loudred is in the Anger stage of the Five Stages of Grief, but why is he angry at the ones who died? Wouldn't it make more sense for him to be angry with Grovyle? I mean, imagine how unpleasant Tanks For the Memories would be if Rainbow Dash had gotten angry at Tank and kept shouting at him instead of Pinkie Pie, who kinda deserves to be yelled at."

"Who are you talking about?" Dusknoir said with a wide eye.

Keldeo sighed a second time and said, "You know, maybe I should just make a training video in case of surprise collabs. Not everyone is with it as Jack Storm."

"So after Corphish tells Loudred to either cut it out or scram, he goes off and descends into the Depression stage."

He walked around the room for a while, straining his acute hearing to try to figure out where everyone was. He could hear Diglett still crying down in the sentry pit and some hushed voices in the Guildmaster's room. With a growl, he climbed up to the next floor, which, if it were possible, was even deader than the lower level.

He wandered around for a moment, trembling as he continued to strain his hearing. Finally satisfied that he was far enough away from everyone else, he threw himself onto the ground and burst into deafening sobs.

"…I thought I would be alone up here."

Immediately Loudred shut up, slapping his paws over his mouth as his face turned red. Somehow he'd failed to notice the dull green form that was huddled in the corner of the room. Wiping the snot from his face, he carefully approached it. "What are YOU doing here?" he snorted.

Grovyle turned to face him. "Trying to sort out my thoughts." There was a strange calmness in his voice that Loudred immediately picked up on.

"Aren't YOU sad, too?" he asked, crossing his arms.

"I've… taken my time to mourn," he said slowly. "Though it was difficult to bring the news to you all."

Loudred stomped over to Grovyle and took a seat next to him. Despite his anxiety, he tried to appear angry. "WHY did they LIE?"

"Lie?" Grovyle asked, turning to the big voice Pokémon in surprise.

"YEAH! Chimchar and Piplup SAID they would come BACK, and they DIDN'T!"

"…Oh." The Grass-type leaned back against the wall. "They weren't perfect… no Pokémon is. They had no way of knowing what would happen to them."

"What DID happen to them?"

Grovyle remained silent for a moment, as though recollecting his thoughts. "…They… they fought their hardest. While they managed to save the Time Gears… they couldn't save themselves." He bowed his head. "They tried their hardest… and did their best. That's what matters."

"So they're HEROES!" Loudred said, grinning despite the tears that stung at his eyes. "HEROES…!" He flinched a little, only to become overwhelmed with grief once more as he burst into sobs.

Keldeo groaned and said, "I can't believe I'm saying this, but . . . you could be watching The Five Stages of Grief segment on Robot Chicken and probably get a lot more out of it."

"We're not even gonna ask," Grovyle said flatly.

"So some time later, Chimcheo and Croagunk talk about how 'Grovyle' has been doing."

"Yes… I've been taking care of Grovyle."

Ah, so he was still around… The frog's cheeks puffed up a few more times. "How's he been holding up?"

"He's…" Chimecho's voice faltered. "I've…"

Croagunk remained silent. She could take her time.

"Croagunk, he's not healing…!" the Psychic-type said at last, eyes welling up with tears. "I don't know what I'm doing wrong!"

"Meh… he was burned, right? He'll probably still have scars."

"No, no, that's not it! They're not scarring! They're not doing anything! His body is just not healing!"

"It's almost like he's a dead body possessed by a ghost!"

Croagunk kept his grin, but his expression changed a fraction—just enough to make him look a bit more serious. "What else?"

Chimecho gave a start, then looked down at the ground. "…I've been by his side while he was asleep. He talks, sometimes…"

"What's he say?"

"…'Grovyle, you're wrong…' 'Shut up, Grovyle…'"

"It's almost like the ghost of the body's original owner is haunting the possessor."

"Why, has my talk been boring you?"

The two Pokémon turned to see a familiar Grass-type leaning against the wall. He seemed a little shaky and tired, and his smile was somewhat strained.

"Oh! N-no, that's not it, Grovyle," Chimecho stammered, carefully approaching him. "Sorry, I must have sounded rude… You need to go back to sleep, though. You're still in poor health."

Croagunk stood back, watching the scene carefully and puffing his cheeks out a few more times.

"I'll do that, then," Grovyle said. "I thought I would greet Croagunk first, though, since it's been a few days." He looked over at the Fighting-type.

"Heh, it has." The frog did not approach Grovyle. "Hello."

"…Hello."

"Well! It's… it's good that everyone's back, now," Chimecho said, attempting a smile. "But you really do need to get some sleep."

"…I will."

With that, Grovyle turned and left. Not a movement he made escaped Croagunk's notice.

"You know, I have to wonder, why is Dusknoir still hanging around the Guild anyway?" Keldeo asked, "He's already go Chimcheo suspicious, and he doesn't even really have any business staying in the past. Shouldn't he just leave, dump Grovyle's body, and then go back to Primal Dialga in the future? Is this some kind of secret plan or something?"

Kecleon's ears twitched, too, and he leaned over the counter to look down the road. "Who's coming to shop this early?"

Turning to look, Purple grinned. "Ah, I see it's our hero Grovyle!" He waved a paw and shouted a cheerful greeting: "Hello, Grovyle!"

"Hello!" Kecleon called, waving as well. "Sorry, we haven't quite set up shop yet!"

Grovyle approached them, giving a nervous smile. "Hello, there. Sure you can't sell me anything a bit early?"

Kecleon rubbed his chin. "Well, there's a possibility..."

"Oh, brother!" Purple exclaimed, jumping up. "There was something I wanted to give to him!"

"Oh?" Grovyle turned his attention to the purple lizard, cocking an eyebrow. "What's that?"

Interested, Kecleon turned to his brother, who reached down underneath the counter, pulling out a small box. "This," Purple said, "is a gift for you, our hero!"

"Ah… th-thank you," Grovyle said, taking the box and looking it over.

"I noticed your adventure has left you quite roughed up, and I thought that maybe if you wear this, people might not notice as much."

At that, Kecleon's eyes widened. "Brother, you didn't...?!"

Grovyle opened the box, and immediately dropped it with a clatter.

An old black cloth was hanging over of the rim, touching the dirt path.

Kecleon grabbed Purple's shoulder, pulling him aside. "Have some tact, brother!" he hissed. "That item is for a very specific Ghost-type!"

"IRONY!" Munna shouted as she flew by.

"Okay, this world is just too weird!" Grovyle shouted as Dusknoir just stared after the Munna.

Purple's face paled. "...Oh… I… I-I hadn't thought…"

Heaving a sigh, Kecleon turned to face Grovyle. "We apologize for that… You don't have to accept the gift if you don't want to." Then, putting on a brighter smile, he continued, "Anyway, we can most certainly sell you some items just before we finish setting up! Now, what was it you—"

"Th-that's…" Grovyle stammered, not looking quite at either Kecleon. "That's all right. I… I just remembered something else I needed to do. I might… c-come back later." Without giving them the chance to respond, he darted back the way he'd come, toward the guild.

"So back at the guild-."

"HEY! SUNFLORA!" Loudred yelled from the top of the hill,

Princess Luna: "BE STILL!"

Sunflora looked down at herself, noting that her usually spotless body was covered in dirt, cuts, and bruises. But for once, she didn't care about her appearance. "I-I like, went on a bunch of missions at once," she said, looking up again. A shiver ran down her back. "B-but oh my—"

"AGAIN?" Loudred frowned. "You should TAKE a BREAK!"

"But there's, like, so many missions now and—"

"You're WORKING too HARD!" The Normal-type stomped his foot for emphasis. "You're GOING to HURT yourself!"

Sunflora looked down, shaking her head. "No, no…! Oh my gosh, Loudred, you don't get it!"

"HUH?" Loudred tilted his head. "WHAT don't I GET?"

Arnold Schwarzenegger: "SHUT-UUUUUUUUUP!"

"Apple Woods… it's… it's frozen!"

"FROZEN?" Loudred repeated, giving his friend a funny look. "What, with ICE?" He looked to Grovyle, who appeared even paler than normal.

Sunflora was shivering. "Time… t-time has stopped in Apple Woods!"

"HUH?!"

Sunflora uncovered her face, looking up at Grovyle through the tears that stung at her eyes. "O-oh my gosh… Grovyle, what's going on? I thought you, like, put the Time Gears back!"

Before she could say anything else, the reptile darted up the hill and into the guild.

"Wow! It's almost as if staying in the past was a bad idea!" Keldeo said in mock amazement. Then he turned to Dusknoir and said, "This proves you're not like this alternate universe Dusknoir at all. You would never be this stupid."

Dusknoir blinked and said lamely, "Uhh. Thanks."

"So Dusknoir possessed Grovyle willingly walks into the Guildmaster's office of his own choice, and you know, the author gets Wigglytuff's character down pretty well."

"Well, the Guildmaster was wondering—" Chatot began, but started when the Wigglytuff interrupted.

"Tell me what happened when you, Piplup, and Chimchar went to Temporal Tower."

Seeing Grovyle was reluctant to talk, Chatot sighed a little. "I know you've told us before, but could you perhaps go into some more detail?"

"…There isn't much more to say. Dusknoir attacked, and I escaped to the future with him. There, I defeated him, and met my friend Celebi, who took me back here… I met Piplup and Chimchar in the tower, where we returned the Time Gears. But…" he lowered his head. "The tower's guardians there were too strong for the two, and…"

"Grovyle."

The voice somehow commanded both Chatot and Grovyle to look up at the Guildmaster. Chatot finally forced himself to look into the Wigglytuff's eyes, but still they bore the same unreadable expression.

"I do not believe you."

Chatot gave a squawk of surprise, and Grovyle staggered as though struck by a blow. "But Guildmaster—!"

"Please give me the Time Gears."

"Guildmaster!" Chatot cried, flapping his wings so hard that a few feathers went flying. "You cannot be serious! Grovyle placed the Time Gears in Temporal Tower!" He looked frantically back at the Grass-type, who was now shaking.

"I… I don't have them."

Guildmaster took a step closer.

"I do not like traitors."

Chatot squawked in terror again, seeing the Guildmaster's eyes narrow ever so slightly. "Guildmaster, please stop—!"

The ground started to shake, and Grovyle fled.

"Like he should have done the night after he told the Guild about the heroes' demise," Keldeo said, "Seriously, what was the point of him hanging around like this?"

"You're wrong! You're all wrong! I-I can't believe you guys…!"

"I'm sorry, Bidoof, but it's the truth."

But it couldn't be the truth. He still didn't believe it, no matter how much they'd tried to convince him. It hurt him that his friends would think that way… and it hurt even more when he finally made the decision to leave the guild.

It was time to go home.

…Just like it had been days ago. Or weeks. He couldn't tell anymore.

Time had stopped, and the world had become paralyzed.

"And so, Dusknoir's plan has succeeded, time has stopped, and the planet has been paralyzed and turned into darkness."

Dusknoir looked down shamefully. "A terrible ending."

Keldeo shook his head, "Oh no, it's not the end yet, you guys. Now we follow Bidoof as he makes an interesting discovery."

"I can't stand it anymore! I can't stand it!"

Bidoof jumped at the sudden shout, hackles rising and claws digging into the ground. He managed to keep quiet despite his terror, and flicked his ears as he tried to determine where the sound was coming from. "Gosh…" he whispered. "I-I wonder who that could be."

"Would you just shut up already?!" the voice cried.

After hearing it again, Bidoof was able to determine that it was coming from the other side of the wall. Something was familiar about it, though…

"I told you to shut up! Shut up, Grovyle!"

Thoughts of identifying the voice fled from Bidoof's mind, replaced by thoughts of anger. Someone else was being mean to Grovyle now? "H-hey, you should be the one to be quiet!" he shouted, loud enough that the speaker might hear despite the wall between them. "Leave Grovyle alone! Gosh, he doesn't deserve all this!"

Silence followed, and Bidoof shrank down a little. What if the voice was that of a predator, and he'd just given away where he was hiding…?! But the voice spoke up again, quelling his worries: "Yeah? What makes you say that?"

Bidoof shook his head. "B-because none of this is Grovyle's fault!"

He waited for the other Pokemon to respond, but when no answer came, he went on. "Grovyle… H-he did everything he could to fix things! He returned the Time Gears! He risked everything! He gave his all!" Tears stung at his eyes. "I… I dunno why it didn't work… but that doesn't mean Grovyle didn't try!"

It was a few moments before the voice spoke up again. "You're… you're right," it said quietly. "I… wish I had done better."

Bidoof took a step back, blinking in confusion. Better? What was this guy talking about?

"Grovyle was right all along," the voice went on. "It was I who made the mistake."

"H-huh?" Bidoof tilted his head. "Y-you shouldn't blame Grovyle… But don't blame yourself, either! Gosh, it's not your fault what happened to the world!"

"I'm sorry, Grovyle… I'll try to fix things. I want… to shine."

This was getting weird… Was this Pokemon actually talking to Grovyle? The thought made the Normal-type brighten—maybe Grovyle was on the other side of the wall!

Full of excitement, Bidoof charged forward, moving around the labyrinth and trying to find his way to the other side of the wall. A few turns, and he was there—

—and a scream tore through his throat.

There lay a corpse of a Grass-type, frozen in an early stage of decay.

Bidoof: "You did it! You maniac! You killed him off! Gosh darn you! Darn you to heck!"

"So, one question remains," Keldeo said seriously, "What is Dusknoir gonna do now?"

Time could not change. Time could not change. Time could not change.

That was his purpose—to make sure time never changed. To keep it in place. To make sure it ran properly. But now things had gotten out of hand—he'd lost the Time Gears, Temporal Tower had crumbled, time had stopped, and the world was paralyzed. He had lost control of time, and he had failed.

But he could still prevent time from changing any more than it already had. That would still be keeping with his purpose, would it not? Yes, it would. He couldn't allow time to change. He would still be all right.

So Primal Dialga stomped around the ruins of the tower that he had once proudly perched atop, keeping an eye over all the world. He'd done that when time was still running smoothly, and he'd keep doing it now that the world had gone to hell. He would make sure that time would not start again, for that would mean change, and change was bad. Time had changed once, and the world had become paralyzed as a result.

Arceus knows what would happen if it changed again.

As he marched in his little circle, his tail brushed against a pedestal. The pedestal had five gear-shaped holes in it—where the Time Gears should have been. They had disappeared long ago, and as far as Primal Dialga was concerned, they should stay that way.

A few stones clattered at the far edge of the ruins, and the legendary whipped his long neck around, eyes bulging. What could possibly be intruding on his sanctuary? Surely someone trying to break the delicate flow of time! Why else would they have come here?

Normally the guardians of the tower would have chased such intruders out long before they reached him, but those guardians had fled, which meant Primal Dialga would have to handle things himself.

Leave, now! he wanted to say, but the words left his throat in the form of a wild roar.

But the Pokémon approached anyway, his gray bulk hovering over the crumbled stone floor. "No…" he whispered, clinging to a torn sack. "I-I've returned…"

Primal Dialga had no idea what this Pokémon was talking about, but that didn't matter. The Pokémon was wandering about where he didn't belong, and that was enough for him. He reared his head back and flung it forward in a monstrous roar, hoping to blast the intruder away.

But still the Pokémon pressed forward, bracing himself against the wind, his single eye glowing in fierce determination. "I… will not leave!" He thrust a huge hand into the bag he carried, removing the contents.

Something bolted down Primal Dialga's spine. Although he could not see what the Ghost-type had grabbed, he knew what it was. He could feel it in his very essence: This Pokémon carried the Time Gears.

He was going to try to change time.

The legendary reared back, the fins on his body flaring out and the jewel on his chest glowing in a wicked light. He drew in a deep breath, air hissing around him, and released it in a powerful roar that shook what was left of the foundations of the tower.

The Ghost-type stumbled and gave a shout of pain. "Grovyle!" he cried, clutching the Time Gears tighter. "I-I'm not… going to give in!"

Primal Dialga stared in bewilderment. Ghost-type or not, he could still be killed, but this one was refusing to die. His lips curled into a snarl, and the legendary slashed his dagger-like claws at the intruder, ripping through his gray flesh.

The Pokémon cried out in pain, pressing his hand over the deep wounds in his side in a vain attempt to stop the bleeding, but still he moved forward. "I want…"

The legendary slashed at him with enough force to knock him to the ground, just a few feet away from the pedestal.

The Ghost-type refused to stay down, instead pushing himself onto his trembling arms and trying to ignore his wounds. "I want… to shine!"

Before Primal Dialga could react, the intruder lunged to the pedestal, shoving the Time Gears into their slots. With a wild snarl, the legendary slammed his foot onto the Ghost-type with a sickening, muffled crunch.

The pedestal began to glow, and slowly the stones of the ruined tower began to reassemble, building Temporal Tower back up from the ground. All the while, the dark sky began to clear, and glorious color returned to the gray world.

"So with this one last redemptive sacrifice, Dusknoir repairs the damage he caused, and shows that he truly did understand what Grovyle was trying to get across to him, and thus, the fanfic honestly and truly ends on a final, bittersweet note," Keldeo said somberly.

And time flowed once more, after Dusknoir's final, triumphant return.

Keldeo nodded and smiled, "And that's Triumphant Return, and . . ." Keldeo turned to Dusknoir and Grovyle, who were both visibly shocked and amazed by the ending, ". . .any comments, you guys."

The pair stood in silence for a moment, then Grovyle turned to Dusknoir and said, "Well Dusknoir, it seems that even in this world, you still had a sense of nobility in your heart that had been suppressed by life in a dark paralyzed planet ruled by Primal Dialga."

Dusknoir huffed and said, "You lived in that world too, and your heart was still pure."

"Stop," Grovyle said sternly.

"Enough with the fierce modesty and accept the compliment. It's true after all," Dusknoir responded.

"NO!" Grvoyle shouted out suddenly in a burst of emotion.

Dusknoir stared at Grovyle in shock. "What? Is there something wrong?"

Grovyle looked down in shame and said softly, "I would've killed them. . ."

"What?" Dusknoir asked in confusion.

"Did you forget!?" Grovyle shouted angrily, "Back at Azelf's lake! You chased me off! You chased me off right before I . . ."

Grovyle's whole body was trembling, and his fists were clenched tightly, "If you were just a few minutes late. . . I would have. . ."

Grovyle closed his eyes and took a few deep, shaky breaths.

"You really feel guilty about that?" Dusknoir asked in disbelief.

"Why shouldn't I?" Grovyle said.

Dusknoir thought on this for a moment, and then nodded, "Yes. You're right I suppose. But at least you were trying to save the lives of all the Pokemon in the world."

"That still would not have justified murder," Grovyle said grimly. He opened his eyes and addressed Dusknoir directly. "Dusknoir, the point I want to make clear is this: we both were willing to do anything to fulfill the task that we believed in, including killing other Pokemon. Sure, you could say that I had noble intentions, but the ends don't always justify the means. With that in mind, you shouldn't compare yourself to me and say that I'm 'better' or 'purer' than you. We're both Pokemon with flaws and vices and selfish desires. All I know for sure is that it is not our place to judge how good or evil anyone is, including ourselves. All that matters is that we do our best to do what's right. That's why I don't want you to let guilt destroy you. You saw the truth, and you made the right choice. That's all that matters now, Dusknoir."

Dusknoir's eye shifted around almost bashfully. "Grovyle. . . I . . ."

Grovyle just smiled, and he held out his hand to his friend.

After a brief moment, Dusknoir reached out, and the two Pokemon shook hands.

Keldeo smiled warmly, then he said, "Okay then. Well, on the technical side of things, this was a good fanfic that explorers a bittersweet alternate ending to Explorers of Sky while still keeping everyone in character. Sure, I bellyached about Loudred a bit, but technically he was supposed to be the loud annoying character. And Dusknoir realizing the error of his ways after the fact makes sense as well, and makes for a nice ending that resolves things the best it can. I also have to compliment the author on the title. We start out thinking that Triumphant Return is referring to Grovyle return to help his friends, but in the end, it refers to Dusknoir return to Temporal Tower after his Heel-Face Turn. It's a clever twist that leaves you feeling very impressed. It might be a story where all the heroes die, but at least they all died successfully saving the world."

Suddenly, Celebi suddenly appeared with a flash. However, now she was wearing a pink and black Nintendo 3DS Sling Pack over her shoulder.

"Celebi!" Grovyle said, "Where have you been?"

"Oh, just looking around this world. Gosh, is it weird!" Celebi said, "I mean, there are so many Pokemon who partner up with human trainers, they get carried around in these tiny balls, and then we have little kids playing with pictures of Pokemon on cards or electric devices called video games-."

"You didn't get a Nintendo 3DS, did you?" Keldeo asked inconcern

Celebi smiled, "Oh, no. I couldn't figure out how to work those things. I just got this bag because I liked the way it looked. Besides, who wants to sit around staring at a flashing box of light all day. But I did get a few packs of Pokemon cards, the Pokemon Mystery Dungeon Manga comics-."

"What about the worlds?" Dusknoir asked loudly, "Has the danger passed?"

Celebi blinked, "Huh? Oh, yeah, that. Don't worry, I just checked it before I came back here. All worlds are in their proper place. No danger whatsoever. Thanks Keldeo!"

Keldeo smiled and stood proudly, "Heh! Don't mention it! Just doing my job as a Critic-ian. And a Sword of Justice!"

Grvoyle nodded, "Thank you, none the less, Keldeo. We will always remember you."

"Indeed," Dusknoir said.

"Hey guys! Watch this!" Celebi said excitedly. She flew in a loop, and pointed, causing a portal in time and space to open up. She giggled happily and said, "Ooh, I love having all this extra power over time! That green Celebi who lives in this world is so lucky!"

Celebi flew over to Keldeo and said, "Well, we have to be getting back now. Don't want to strain the fabric of space and time too much. I speak for all of us when I say that you will always be a great Sword of Justice, and a great Critic too!"

"Thank you, Celebi. Thank you all," Keldeo said, "I wish you a lot of luck back in your own world and new lives now that time in your world is saved. With heroes like you around, things should be just fine."

Grovyle and Dusknoir nodded, and made their way towards the portal.

"Goodbye, Keldeo!" Grovyle said.

"Farewell," Dusknoir said.

"Ooh, guys!" Celebi said excitedly, "The green Celebi in this world has had some amazing adventures! I met with her awhile ago and we had a long conversation where were exchanged storied. She told me about a guy in an Iron Mask, and a powerful Illusion Fox Pokemon and her cute little son-."

The sound of Celebi's voice was cut off when the portal closed behind the three Pokemon.

Keldeo chuckled and said, "Well, those two are gonna have a lot to listen to. Well, I'm Keldeo the Critic, and I review it so you don't have too!"

Keldeo went off on his way.

The End

Credits

Justice League, Justice League Unlimited, andThe Legion of Superheroes- DC and Warner Brothers

Planet of the Apes (1968)

Robot Chicken

My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic

Portal 2- Valve

Kindergarten Cop

Special Thanks

Bulbapedia

TV Tropes