"How?"

Celebi holds up The Typhlosion's chin, pressing one of her tiny fingers up to his snout.

"Shush, it's not the long story you might think it is." She chuckles softly. "Before I tell you, are you going to be okay? Do you need somewhere to sit? There is a nice, soft bed waiting for you over there."

He nods his head, and allows her to lead him. Her little wings buzz along as she pokes and prods him towards one of the two tents lying in the back. He falls under the roof of one of the tents. His whole body shakes.

"How?" Masters mutters nonsensically. "You should be-"

Dead, nonexistent? The creature now sitting on his lap was real, her smile and her kindness are not figments of a long forgotten past. Celebi is here. If she is alive, then…

"I know, it's confusing, I thought for sure everything would fade away.." She glances away, there is a glint of worry in her voice. "It was scary, you know? Maybe I would have been okay, but I don't think my heart would've handled seeing everyone I love go away forever."

"We were so certain everything would come apart when we went back to fix things we had teams going out asking if everyone was okay with fading away. Everyone agreed, and all of us placed our hopes in you to change the future, and you did."

"We gathered around. We waited for the sun to rise for the first time, and waited, and waited…everyone of us."

She leans against him, breathing a sorrowful sigh. The fairy's antennae flicker.

"The sun didn't rise. The world was still in darkness, but I felt a shift. Something had changed."

There is a tremendous, sinking feeling inside of him. She reaches up, she wipes the flood of tears with her touch, and her kindness keeps them from flowing further. She pets his chin, smiling softly.

"You did save us, you brought us together, and you pushed things back from being a calamity. I don't know what happened, when I talked to the big time man in the future, he said you were able to stabilize Temporal Tower for a little longer. You bought the world time."

""The big steel guy would tell me things about 'oh he bought what is only a blink in the grand cosmos' or 'this is inevitable'." She sighs, her cheeks puff with frustration. "But don't you listen to him, he doesn't see time like you mortals do."

"I can say for sure you bought us a lot of time. With everyone brought together in the future, and the story about this grim future was spread by you - the right people know what's going to happen, and those people are going to make sure that when it happens, we're gonna be ready."

"Temporal Tower, the Time Gears, all of that was to buy time?" His breathing is getting worse. "I thought I was saving all of you, I thought-"

Celebi holds a finger up to his mouth. She does not make the noise but she shushes him into silence.

"You did a good thing, Cole. I can't read your mind all willy-nilly, but I know what spiraling sounds like. I'm not a stranger to it."

He is not thinking of himself, he does not care how he feels now. He will take these thoughts, tribulations, and reveals, and bottle it all up somewhere. What is more important than his petty little feelings are the memories of a friend who lifted him by his shoulders, and who everyone in this world has seemingly forgotten..

The world can choose to remember or forget his friend, the human has no say in it. He was never given a choice like Masters was so lucky to have. The thought everything he and Masters have taught the world could be forgotten makes him sick. He wants to shrivel up; throw it all behind, but he can't, someone has to remember his dear old friend.

Finding peace with himself could have been so much easier if he had not wasted so much of it believing he was responsible for dooming a universe to save his own. Fifteen years is a lot of time.

At least he wasn't bawling or screaming into his fists, he is keeping himself together, however barely.. As long as he remembers he is in the comfort of someone who cares about him, those thoughts cannot possibly hurt him. Masters takes a deep breath, wipes the nonexistent tears from his eyes, then looks towards the fairy.

"Why now?" Masters asks. "Why did you wait so long to come by? It's been much too long."

"Better now than never. have been using this place as my personal little stop for whenever I feel like hopping back into the past." She looks through the foliage into the sky above, where a dilapidated tower casts its long shadow. "Temporal Tower has been locked away, and the Time Gears have been up there since you put them back into their place. He plans to move them to other places at some point but I don't know what his deal is other than he can't exactly leave the Hidden Land. He must be lonely keeping the place together, poor guy."

"Either way, he is okay with me coming and going here. Me going back and forth through wormholes is not going to mess up time nearly as bad as someone stealing the gears all over again." She giggles like she did not have a whole part in all of this. "In the off chance someone finds their way to the Hidden Land I can kindly encourage them to go the other direction."

"And before you ask about the tree up there, t's my way of saying the ship is closed for good. The vines back there? Also my way of preserving the murals there, and uh, given your history I don't think you'd have liked seeing uhh…you know who.

Masters nods.

"Thanks Celebi."

"It was the least I could do with all my time here." She scoots onto the side of the shelter, kicking her legs idly. "Did you come here all alone?."

"There are two people with me, you can trust them, they don't really care about Temporal Tower." He grasps around his neck. Two cold pieces of metal dangle underneath his cowl. "Funny you should mention stealing gears, can I ask you something?"

"Go right ahead!" She smirks up at him. "I'm always happy to talk to you!"

"Have you ever heard of any other Time Gears out there, ones outside of the Grass Continent?" He reaches under his cloak, watching her intently. "Ones which are dark in color, which mess with time rather th-"

"Of course!" Her laugh fills him with relief. "I can feel their presence, y'know? They have an Aura to them - don't worry - they won't turn the world all black and white. You have two of them. The person up on the pyramid has one too."

Pay no attention to how she was able to senseLucario. She is a time travelling pokemon. She was the one who cast them back in time when he was once doomed to exist in a dark future, so of course she can sense those things, She is probably psychic too, it would not come as a surprise.

"Like the other gears, those Dark Gears you described are tools too. You have ones which restore the flow of time, and these ones which can do things outside of time. Two different tools, for two different jobs, both have a part in making sure things don't get out of hand. You're not out there stealing them are you?"

Masters blinks.

"If you're stealing them thinking you'll become super strong, it's not gonna happen. You're not suddenly gonna be the new Dialga or that…other guy." She shudders at the mention of him. "I know what they are, but I have no idea where they are. I can't help you like I did my friend, time travel foolery is out of the picture for good."

"The fourth slot in our team is open if you change your mind." Masters winks, chuckling to himself. "I've already seen people do weird things with these gears, like mess with time or cause people to age instantly. My friend stole the aging one from a mean old Honchkrow. But out of the three we have gotten so far, none of them have ever worked for him.

Masters reaches under his cowl and holds out both gears. Just one of these gears is half the size of Celebi's chest. She pokes at one with curiousity.

"I had no doubt they exist, I just didn't think you'd find two of the-" she chuckles "well if anyone was qualified for hunting time gears it's you and my dear Grovyle. How does your friend use these?"

"When he holds them, he would see something which tells them they're working. He'd focus and then it'd happen."

He makes a silly motion of his hands, and watches her hold the gear close to her. Celebi's emerald eyes scan the horizon, her antenna twitching. A moment passes, followed by a minute of dreadful silence. When she finishes, she returns the gear to Masters, and wraps her hands around his big fingers.

"You have the Dimensional Scream, don't you? Am I remembering right?"

"Unfortunately."

"I'm pretty sure the gears on the Grass Continent don't give abilities. Maybe due to you being around them so much, I think you developed the scream. The Dark Gears can be giving people abilities for a variety of reasons but as far as those gears are concerned, you already have an ability. There's no reason for them to give you one?"

"What about the second one?" Masters jingles the second gear, the one with the darker, cloth-like rope. "I stole this from someone who had ability of his own."

"No idea. Maybe it knows you have an ability already, so when you touched the gear it went to sleep?" She stares at it, once again shutting her beady emerald eyes. "These two are not as bright as the one your friend has up there. Yours could be snoozing away, it must be the Dark Gears' way of conserving energy."

"The gears are magical, ancient artifacts" She opens her eyes, turning back to him. "Them being a bit aware isn't the most outlandish thing in the world, right?"

Celebi knows she is right, she wants him to say it.

Masters sighs. "You're right."

"Well then, Cole. Do you have any more questions you want to ask me? Want something to eat, need wine to fix your wounds?" She pats her chest. "I'm a bit of a wine person myself, but don't tell Grovyle."

The original Time Thief. It is hard to believe he is alive in some way, albeit living in a future further away than the one he originally came from. Knowing any of them are alive does not automatically wash away the years he had spent grieving them. Nothing can. It feels wrong.

"I'll be fine. I don't think anyone who has the gears can follow me here." The words leaving Masters' mouth did not sound real. "I didn't come here to grieve, I'm not here to beg Dialga to do something for me, and I sure don't want to think about the Sea. I'm here to catch a breather."
"Are you sure? It has a lot to do with why you can only delay-"

"Celebi, I said I didn't want to ask."

"Oooh." She shakes her head. "I see. You're uh…wait, are you a ghost?"

Masters, groaning, picks up a loose stick from the ground under his tent. In a very dramatic fashion, he rams the thing right through his chin. The wood sticks there, piercing him, but dealing nothing in terms of harm. A second or so later, it slips out onto the stone floor. Celebi's eyes are wide with amazement.

"Wow! You are a ghost! I have never seen a Typhlosion who is a ghost before, how did that happen to you?"

"I died. Palkia killed me."

She blinks.

"And I'd rather not talk about it."

Answering the ghost-type question does not even bother Masters at this point, and she has already struck two nerves today. She nods along.

"Do you need something to drink, though? To eat?" She repeats, scooting back up onto his lap. "If you want me to go get you something, I can always go and fetch it for you. Maybe you want to hear a story, or?"

"No, I came here to get some sleep. I've been out in the cold for a while, so has my friend, he fell right into a river of ice. This place isn't as cold as Glacier Island. As long as he gets to sleep somewhere warm, I think he'll be fine."

"Oh he will be, I promise." Celebi stares at him eagerly. "You know the saying: time heals all wounds? I can always take a look at him myself if you want, maybe he needs a Heal Bell, or maybe a Healing Wish? I can do both."

"It's not like I can stop you." Masters nods towards the sky. "I did stop Dialga, but unlike him you're my friend.I don't think I can say no to a friend of mine."

"So you're just tired, then?"

"I walked for hours here, yeah I'm tir-"

She smushes into him, squeezing his chest tight, using his matted fur like a giant mattress. He tries not to gasp at the sudden hug, but it is too late to stop himself as he lets out this pathetic, scratchy noise. She is as light as a feather; however, her little gesture feels like half a tonne pressing down on his chest. One half of him is begging for him to bat her away, while the other is telling him he needs this, reminding him during every second of this awkward embrace how starved he is.

Of course, like always, Masters goes with his heart. He shuts his eyes tight, slowly wrapping his arms against the time traveller snuggling against him. Masters falls onto the flowery bedding like a sack of bricks, too exhausted to fuss or make sense of any of this. His eyes open up to see her looking back at him.

She holds his chin, leans in, and kisses him on his snout.

"Don't think about it." Celebi whispers, proactively snuffing out any questions.

"I'll try not to. You're the first person to…"

"Really? Not even what's his name? I always thought you two were close."

"I never had the courage to tell him how I felt. Don't be weird about this, please? I just want to hold someone."

Dusk comes faster than expected, or maybe it was the sun cresting over the floating isles overhead causing a shadow to fall on them and for night to come so early. The leaves of the tree glow brightly. He has not moved from his tree but with dusk fast approaching, he may as well just close his eyes and fall asleep here.

He is a bit exposed. There can be a whole fancy place down the other side of the stairs waiting for him with all sorts of drinks and commodities. He just can't bring himself to stand up.

Still not tired enough to fall right asleep, Lucario glances at Whiskey

"You're not a fire type?" Lucario asks.

"No, I was born a psychic. All of my people are. I did not know we were supposed to be fire-types till you made mention of it." Whiskey answers, staring out at the horizon. Several smaller similar ruins dot the floating landscape. "I use my psychic abilities to protect my riders and to perfectly navigate any land. Forests are no issue for me."

"Weren't you screaming about needing to see earlier?"

"Snow hurts when you get it in the eyes, my sire!" The Rapidash looks back, breathing anxiously. "Milord, I shall dare not repeat the mistake!"

"Yeah, yeah, whatever. You have a good excuse. You're pardoned." Lucario clears his throat. "If you're actually a psychic type, then if you ever retire as a knight you can make a fair buck selling your skills to adventurers. People are crazy about psychic readings, you know? They think it's gonna be the thing which makes or breaks their entire careers."

"I have heard. There are some of my kin who hone such a skill, but I am not interested in the life of wealth." Whiskey smiles. "I am an explorer. My allegiance to you is simply an oath for more adventure, more quests, and more glory."

Oh great.

"You sure sound like an explorer. I know someone named Hal you would be friends with if she didn't try to gut me a month ago." Lucario palms his forehead. A feeling of bitterness lingers inside him like a pest. "She's like you; all about that adventure and glory stuff."

"And she assaulted you, for what reasons?"

"I used to do some stupid things back in the day which got me into trouble with the law, she came around to collect the bounty on my head. Instead of turning me in she left me to rot in a Mystery Dungeon after stealing one of those Time Gears from me." Lucario squints at him. "You don't care that I'm a criminal, right?"

"Are you an active criminal, sire?"

"No, I'm not trying to steal from people."

"Then I do not care. My allegiance still lies with you."

Okay, good. He could not imagine explaining to masters about how their Rapidash ran away from them overnight. Speaking of, Lucario glances down the staircase to where he saw Masters leave. He has not come back. If he was in trouble, he sure would have heard him blowing up the trees with fireballs or whatever he calls the ghost trick of his.

"You think he is going to be okay down there?" Lucario says, trying to spot his glowing mane through the pink foliage.

"I doubt there are few things in this land which could oppose him. Your friend seems quite skilled, storied even."

"Is there a difference?"

"Certainly. You can be famous, or you can be skilled. Scant few souls have the bite to make up for their bark, and your ghostly ally seems to be among those rare people who are truly heroic in nature."

He says this, of course, without missing a single beat. It sounds like Whiskey is Masters' number one fan.

"And how do you know this?" Lucario folds his arms.

"I have a way of knowing the contents of a warrior's character." His eyes dart between the garden and Lucario. " I am a psychic after all!"

"Keep telling yourself that." Lucario churns over, bundling his weary body up against the roots of the tree. He shivers. "I really wish we packed some blankets, we really banked too much on that ice resistance and now look at me. I feel like a hatchling."

"I could carry you downstairs. The altitude must not be helping, and if your friend is there, we can lie around him for warmth."

Lucario rolls over, tumbling closer to Whiskey as if he were a hot fire.. He lays his head against the horse, then stares up at the night. He feels warm, warmer than the dusty old tree at least.

"Sire?" Whiskey asks.

"If I start shivering in the middle of the night, bring me downstairs." The fighting-type grumbles. "Don't move either."

"Sire, might I suggest we just go-"

"No."

"Very well."

A full moon lies above the canopy. Not even the shadow of Temporal Tower or the garden's foliage can hide its glow.

Here he is, back where everything went completely wrong with an all powerful pokemon from the future using him as a pillow. Well, not all powerful. She probably has nothing on Dialga, or the other guys. Neither of those sorts are as interested in humoring semi-mortal weirdos like Masters in the way she does. Humility is not something those deific types really have. People like him, Lucario, and even Whiskey don't matter to them because their lives can't hold a candle to the eons they have lived.

The one up there right now, Dialga, may have been a victim of someone else's machinations but the Legends are so prideful they will never admit fault until it is absolutely too late. He was able to literally beat sense into Dialga by the skin of his teeth. Then there is the other one…

The memories start to bubble up. He shuts his eyes, holds Celebi close to him, and braces them.

Cole never stood a chance against Palkia, he was alone for a year at that point. He graduated himself, he evolved, explored aegis cave, realized how bad of a parent he was. That whole period of time felt like a blur. When he was at his lowest, and his weakest, a being of Darkness came to him with a proposal. He refused, and someone else soon came knocking.

It was like talking to an unstoppable force. Palkia did not listen to a single word he said. Armored, and ready for battle, Palkia dragged him to his realm to deliver divine judgement.

No matter how strong he was, Cole was up against someone he had no chance at defeating. Palkia was always going to destroy him. He fought, spewed worthless flames against the raging beast, pushed himself to the absolute limit. He felt the flames of evolution rage inside of him. His body was forced to change just to keep its fire aflame.

None of it mattered. Spacial Rend tore through him. Masters fell into a puddle of ichor and tears, begging and crying. Palkia just watched him sink into the annals of time and space, falling deep into The Sea of Time, forever to be forgotten..

Maybe, through a stroke of luck or fate, he woke on a beach with no idea who he was or how he had got there. Everyone remembered him as the hero who vanished without a trace, and everyone remembers Palkia as the one who prevented the world from falling into utter darkness.

Everyone forgot about him, everyone other than this little sprite from a thought-dead future.

If she is here, so is Grovyle. How could he forget Grovyle? Without misjudging him one too many times for his own good, there was no way he would ever have allowed Lucario - this criminal down on his luck - to partner with him.

Masters wonders how the thief is doing. Probably off in the future somewhere, he bets, making life all the better for whoever is left. Masters can only name a single person more noble, the man who Masters found on the beach and who forever changed his life.

"Celebi." Masters murmurs to the grass type. "Is my old friend…is he…?"

"I'm sorry, Cole. He no longer exists."