-Chapter XX: Keepers of Time-

-Manaphy-

He swam alongside Cassandra and Galatia in the darkness of the ocean, weaving between massive coral reefs that were bigger than mountains on the mainland, in hot pursuit of an extremely dangerous outlaw.

Cassandra called back to her teammates, "Alright, this is an important mission! We are to capture this outlaw without casualties! He is wanted for terrorizing the Phione in the Miracle Sea on three separate occasions! Manaphy, your leaders fought him when you were ill as an infant. Then again, you probably already knew this."

Galatia pressed her arms to her body and swam even faster through the water. "Remember, our goal is to apprehend him. Not kill him. Be careful, all of you!"
Manaphy nodded with an affirmative grunt and held on to Cassandra's back as she swam faster. They picked up speed to the point that his face wanted to peel off. They were swimming 40 knots on average, in pursuit of their outlaw. (46 mph)

Hydro pointed towards a giant blue snakelike outline. "There he is!"

Cassandra nodded and called back. "Manaphy! Go!"

He nodded and closed his eyes. His chest glowed pink, and his consciousness was transferred into the pokémon they were chasing. He was slightly disoriented. A Gyarados… He hadn't seen one before, but he heard that they were one of the most powerful pokémon in the ocean, behind Kyogre and Lugia.

He looked up at Team Siren and stayed perfectly still. He saw his body begin thrashing on Cassandra's back, and he willed himself to stay put in this body. Wait… Wait… Just a little longer…

Hydro's fist began glowing, and Narobi's head shell crackled with electricity. Now!

He swapped their consciousnesses again, and Gyarados roared with rage as Manaphy was transferred back into his own body. "GROOOOOH!"

Narobi clasped his hands together and closed his eyes as the sparks grew brighter. "Cassandra, if you'd please?"

She nodded and used protect, the blue bubble shielding all of them. Then the water around them glowed yellow and sparkled with electricity. Gyarados thrashed in the water and tried to use bite, but Hydro swam through the protect barrier, grappled his head and used dynamic punch. The Gyarados growled at him and shook him off. "TEAM SIREN… YOU'VE BEEN A THORN IN MY SIDE FOR TOO LONG! THIS ENDS NOW! GRRAH-HA-HA!"

Cassandra smiled defiantly and stretched her body out in the water until she was almost as long as the outlaw. "It seems that you're outmatched. Your brief reign of terror is about to come to an end."

"ACTUALLY, TEAM SIREN, YOU'VE SWAM RIGHT INTO MY TRAP! GRRAH-HA-HA!"

As if on cue, about thirty pokémon emerged from the reefs and stone crevasses around them. Two Lanturn shone like spotlights and shocked Narobi with a dual thunderbolt attack. He fought to remain conscious, and at the last second, Manaphy swapped bodies with him. The electricity was insane. His vision immediately blurred. Then, out of nowhere, it stopped. He looked through the Slowking's eyes, and a blur of orange zipped between the Lanturns. A split moment later, they were both frozen in blocks of ice. A whirlpool formed around Gyarados, and he roared, "DESTROY TEAM SIREN!"

Manaphy used heart swap again, and Narobi took a deep breath. "...Thank you."

Manaphy nodded. "Don't mention it."

"Galatia, use Giga Impact."

"C-Cassandra-!" she stammered. "We swore never to-"

"That is an order!" The Milotic wrapped around a Sharpedo and used Dragonbreath. She tossed the Sharpedo aside and used Hypnosis on a Feraligatr. It slumped over in the water, and Galatia began glowing white. "...As you wish."

The Empoleon swam forward, the water around her evaporating in a wave of bubbles due to the heat generated by the attack. Suddenly, she was grabbed by a Kingler mid-attack. Hydro and Narobi both gasped with surprise as the Kingler let her go after a moment. "Leave this to us, madam." It was a female, by the sound of it.

Manaphy looked behind her, and three other pokémon seemed to be swimming around in the whirlpool, barraging Gyarados from all sides. He heard shouts coming from the maelstrom, but Galatia used slash on the Kingler, knocking it aside, but other than that not really doing much damage. "Don't interfere with an apprehension."

The Kingler nodded slowly. "Of course. It's jus' that my teammates 're swimming around in there, and-" a huntail from the monster house bit her small pincer, but she grabbed its head with her big one and crushed it in one swift motion, not even fazed. "And I'd prefer for your team not to interrupt."

Galatia stared at the huntail floating motionlessly in the water, and Manaphy flinched as Cassandra's protect barrier repelled a Clawitzer. Narobi used psychic on a Dragalge, and Hydro smashed two of a Barbaracle's heads into the nearest reef. Before long, Team Siren, alongside this mysterious Kingler, defeated the entire monster house. The Kingler didn't look out of breath. Instead, she was smiling. "Looks like Sam is almost done."

Manaphy hadn't noticed, but he commotion coming from the whirlpool had died down. She could see Gyarados' outline, but it was barely moving. Then, a Dewgong emerged from the Whirlpool, used blizzard, freezing the Gyarados in a chunk of ice. Then a Golduck swam around it, the gem on its forehead glowing red. The ice was enveloped in a pink aura, shattering into thousands of chunks the size of daggers. It swirled around the Gyarados, and the Golduck swung its arm down. The ice shards followed suit, impaling the Gyarados from all sides. The giant serpent was too tough for that to kill him, only cause him major discomfort, so Manaphy swam towards the Golduck. It shook its head, its back still to Manaphy. It was a male, Manaphy observed from its larger head crest.

The Kingler reached towards Manaphy. "Manaphy, we're not here to hurt ya. Just let us do our job."

Cassandra swam forward, ignoring the Klingler's statement. "Where is he?"

"Pardon?" The Golduck released his psychic hold on the ice. He glanced at the Dewgong, and it swam towards the Gyarados again.

Cassandra glared at him. "You heard me. This pokémon has been on our wanted list for over a year! You cannot come in at the last minute and claim it as your apprehension! Where is your leader?"

"Ah, forgive me, Cassandra. Your beauty is as intriguing as the latest novel I've been reading. You are more stunning every time I lay eyes upon you."

The Milotic rolled her eyes. "Ugh. Where is Sam, Dylan?"

"It's Jetsam, Cassandra. We've discussed this several times."

A male Floatzel swam up and hovered in front of them, and when he met Manaphy's eyes, he gasped. "...Manaphy?"

Cassandra nodded slowly. "Yes. Now why are you here?"

The Floatzel shook away his apparent shock. "Same reason as you. To apprehend this outlaw."

Manaphy noticed a long, pale section of skin running diagonally across the Floatzel's stomach.

"No. He was ours."

"Ah, but we took him down, didn't we?" He let out a short chuckle. "Alright, fine… I'll admit, you did make it easier on us…"

"So who are you again?" Manaphy asked.

The Floatzel smiled and floated closer. "Jetsam, leader of Team Maelstrom. At your service."

He looked at Cassandra and chuckled softly, "Honestly, you should have told me. How in the world did you manage to find him?"

He gestured to Manaphy, and he piped up. "I'm right here, you know!"

"Ah, yes. Sorry about that. I just… never thought I'd get to see you in person."

"...What's so important about me?"

"Oh, nothing." He looked at the Milotic again, and a silent message was relayed between them.

"Cut that out!"

"Cut what out?" The Floatzel put on a mischievous grin, and Manaphy huffed, "That! You're talking about me while I'm right here!"

"Would you prefer if we talked behind your back?"

"Well… No, but-"

"I'm only joking. You see, our teams go back quite a ways. After all, we're aspiring to be just like you guys!" The Floatzel pat Hydro's back, and Manaphy glanced behind Sam. "Um… Aren't you forgetting-"

"Oh, him? Don't worry, he'll be nice and safe in Jellicent's prison until somebody comes and picks him up. After all, nobody put in there's ever escaped! Honestly, compared to Jellicent's jail, Magnezone's prison is like a joke!"

Manaphy blinked, and the Gyarados was gone. "Wha-?!"

"Exploration team badges." Sam clarified. "You touch an apprehended outlaw with one, they get sent straight to Jellicent to atone for their crimes."

"Oh. I knew that. But who…"

"Me, of course!" the Dewgong swam circles around Sam, and he did a joking facepalm. "Neva…"

Manaphy tilted his head at her. "Are you Sam's co-leader?"

"That's right! Well, more like second in command. But I know what I'm doing more often than he does, so I give him advice from time to time."

"So… Why are you guys here?"

Dylan, the Golduck, floated closer and shrugged nonchalantly. "Honestly, we were just bored, so we decided to spice things up. It's not everyday you get to fight a fully grown Gyarados, since most Magikarp don't make it long enough to evolve. Aaand Sam's pretty bent on earning that 'top ranking ocean exploration team' thing, so yeah… Heh." He smirked, and Sam crossed his arms with a scowl. "It's not just a rank, Dylan."

"I don't see what the huge fuss is all about. I'd much rather be at home, relaxing while reading Into the Volcano… It's really… a good read..." The Golduck seemed to be daydreaming, and the Kingler smacked him with her small pincer. "Don't daydream on the job, Dylan!"

"Regardless," Sam said slightly louder in an attempt to recapture everyone's attention. "I must ask myself… Why is the prince of the sea with Team Siren?"

-Aaron-

Connor's a human…? And what's this other group's deal? Temporal Guardians? What's that? They mentioned Dialga… I don't know. These guys are crazy.

He was a light sleeper; Any movement usually woke him up. This time was no different. Except this time he pretended to be asleep. Right now he was scouting out this team. He needed to know everything about them before he officially joined. He didn't like commitment, or becoming part of a team in general. After the Charizard sat down next to him, he awoke instantly, and he was impressed with the amount of trust these pokémon had in each other, to be able to sleep so close and share such important information. He had never had that. His family was the only thing he could trust. His dad and sister…

He teared up at the thought of them. Arceus… Why them…? Why did it have to be them? They didn't do anything wrong…

His cheeks sparked with electricity in spite of himself. One of the stray sparks zapped Connor, but he didn't even stir, since he was a ground-type. He sighed with relief and rested his head on the ground, now staring at the ceiling that was illuminated by Amber and Vulcan's tails. But how? How can they have so much trust in each other, even when their own comrades are dying left and right?

Because we're more than just a team. We're family.

He covered his mouth to avoid shouting. He looked around rapidly to see the Ralts standing next to him.

"Arceus, can you stop doing that?!" He hissed at her.

Doing what? I'm communicating with you using telepathy.

"Exactly! I don't want you in my head!"

She tilted her head to the side, and he got a good look, long look at her for the first time without being her punching bag. He saw that her eyes were closed underneath her green hair. But he could still feel her gaze on him. It was kind of unsettling. "Um… What's with your eyes?"

Her mouth downturned as she leaned closer to him, this time speaking in reality. "I don't trust you… Connor and Vulcan might, and since they're the ones in charge, I listen to them. But I've already been inside your head. From the moment we met, I knew everything there was to know about you. You're driven like nobody else I've seen. But you're reckless. You're bent on vengeance. I could go on. But to tell you the truth, I could care less about your attitude. You're not evil, that much is apparent, but we needed Alice. Instead, she died, and we got you."

That nearly set him off. This Ralts, whom he had never met before, messed around inside his head without his permission, and now she's trying to say that she doesn't trust him to the point of insulting him like that? And on top of that, she hadn't even been with the team for more than a few days, from what he had observed.

"Listen, sweetheart. I don't need your trust, alright? You haven't been here much longer than me. So don't go insulting me like that."

The Ralts' eyelids glowed slightly, and he glared at her. "What? You gonna use psychic on me? Crush me with your telekinesis?"

"Hey, can you keep it down?" Connor groaned. "We're trying to sleep here."

He shifted his gaze to the half-asleep Swampert. "Sorry." He turned back to Dawn immediately afterwards, but she was already lying down on the opposite end of the room. She must have teleported. He rolled over and mumbled, "What a b****." He closed his eyes and tried to go to sleep. That Ralts really got under his skin. She knew exactly what to say to make him mad. But why? She seemed nice to everyone else. Why was she so mean to him?

Whatever… I'll see what I can do in the morning.

He woke up to the smell of roasted berries. It was a mouth-watering aroma. Apparently everyone else smelt it too. He opened one eye and say up groggily. It was a dreamless sleep, like normal. But he awoke more exhausted than he normally did. Then again, he normally didn't sleep for more than an hour at a time. If he slept for more than a few hours, he always awoke more tired than before. It was the way his body was conditioned. Sleep wasn't a luxury he had grown up with. He stood up and saw almost everyone gathered around a fire in the middle. A hole had been cut into the roof to allow the smoke to escape. When he walked over, a plate of cooked berries awaited him. It was untouched, and everyone else seemed to be finishing up their meals.

"Good morning, Aaron! I hope you slept well!" Amber handed him the plate with a smile.

"Yeah… I did." This was weird. Nobody ever asked how he was doing. Or how he slept. Or cooked for him. And her conversation last night with Connor had really bothered him. Something about Temporal Guardians and Dialga. But he refrained from asking about it. If she had wanted to tell everyone, she wouldn't have talked to Connor in the middle of the night at a low whisper.

Instead, he nibbled on the end of an oran berry. As soon as he bit into it, his senses were overloaded with the amazing taste of the berries, unlike anything else he had eaten before.

Amber glanced over at him and suppressed a laugh. "Have you never had berries cooked before?"

"...Not like this… This is… the best thing I've ever tasted, I think."

"Thank you! It's not often I get to cook for others. This is a refreshing experience for me."

She said it with so much sincerity that he had to ask, "What about your friends? Do you guys not go everywhere together?"

"Oh. Well, no… We get together occasionally. But I never get to cook for them like this."

"Oh. To me, it seems like you guys have known each other for a really long time. I just figured..." He took another delicious bite. It tasted so good… Nothing like regular berries.

"Ah…" Amber fidgeted with her plate and looked to the ground nervously. He tilted his head, but didn't say anything. The female Sceptile placed a hand on her shoulder. "Amber, is something the matter?"

"...We have to tell them, Briar."

The Sceptile's eyes widened, and Amber said, "I've already decided. After yesterday..."

Briar seemed to think about it for a moment, almost seeming to be zoning out, then nodded. "I trust your judgement… Do what you think is right."

Aaron looked at the Machamp… Atlas, if he recalled correctly. He just picked at his plate with little interest. His eyes were bloodshot, probably from little sleep. If he had to guess, then most of these guys hadn't ever been put in a corner like this before. They'd probably always had the privilege of a good night's' sleep, plenty of food, working out to their heart's content… This was a huge wake-up call. People die. And there's nothing anyone can do about it.

Roy tilted his head slightly, apparently being the only one interested in the conversation. "Tell us what, Amber? I hope it's some good news?"

Amber shrugged and seemed to be forcing out every word. Whatever it was, she didn't want to say it. "It's both good... and bad, depending on how you take it."

Roy smiled and tilted his ghost-hat down. "Oh? Do tell! I always did love a good mystery!"

"Well… Team Firestorm... You're familiar with Lapras, correct? How she is a Temporal Guardian?"

They all nodded, one by one. Aaron had never heard that term before, except last night. "What is that, anyways?"

"Huh? What's what?" Connor asked.

"A Temporal Guardian?"

All of them stared at him incredulously, and he looked away while crossing his arms. "Sheesh… Sorry for asking."

Basileus stepped closer and extended his hand. "It's quite alright. A Temporal Guardian is one of twelve beings chosen by Dialga throughout the temporal web to protect time itself. In essence, we are his servants, granted a small percentage of his power. However, for even this many of us to be here, we have given up all but the smallest fraction of our own strength. It is the only way for us to exist at one point in time outside of the hall of origin. We follow whatever orders Dialga has given." The male sceptile knelt in front of Connor and Vulcan, pressed his hand across his chest and looked to the ground. "And our lord's orders were to save your team, by any means necessary."

Aaron arched an eyebrow at him. Was he serious right now? A bunch of completely random pokémon were chosen by Dialga to guard time? He'd believe that after they proved it. And what's with all the formality stuff? That Sceptile seemed more like a punk pokémon, with the eyepatch and all.

Celebi tilted her head at the display of respect. "Oh? Submission doesn't really suit you, Basileus!"

The Sceptile stood up and brushed off his knee. "These pokémon are the only mortals I deem worthy of my respect. I will treat them as equals for the time being. Now, Amber… Continue your explanation."

"Right… Ahem." She blinked rapidly and took a deep breath. "As you now know… Basileus is a Temporal Guardian."

Aaron scoffed silently. These guys were so full of it. Why did I even join them? They're all crazy!

"And I would like to inform you that he is not alone."

Everyone started whispering amongst themselves, and Aaron's interest turned on a dime. Not alone…?

Amber gestured to the rest of her group and took a deep breath before forcing the words out. "With the exception of… of Grovyle and Dusknoir… We are all Temporal Guardians."

Oh. So that happened... I guess that was the big announcement that Amber had to say. But aside from that, Manaphy helped arrest the Gyarados! And Dawn doesn't like Aaron at all, but the question is why, if he's not evil?

Another thing, if you're wondering why they were all in the Dark Future in my Grovyle Stories... It'll be explained in another story. As always, I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter! Feel free to post any questions, comments, concerns and theories in the form of a Review or PM! I will see you all in the next update! Much Love!

-PL