In the midst of the storm, Dialga flew as fast as possible in order to get away from what was coming. He wasn't used to being scolded at, but wasn't used to being far away from home. Heck, I don't think he was used to being on his own either. When he reached a stopping point, he flew back down to the ground with a not so pleasant feeling in his stomach.
Dialga: *sigh* I think I'm safe...
"Or are you?"
Dialga: Huh? Who's there?!
Looking towards the sky and all around him, surrounded by trees, he couldn't help, but feel frightened at what he heard. It wasn't Giratina, he was sure of it. In a defensive position, backing up to the centre of the forest, he felt someone tapping him on his shoulder which scared the living heck out of him.
Dialga: AH! WHO-
Cutting off mid-sentence, he realised that it was Darkrai. He then sighed in relief knowing it wasn't a stranger. Darkrai chuckled to himself.
Darkrai: Only one out of your brothers has to be the petrified. You're very easy to scare!
Dialga: I- GHA- Uncle! What are you doing all the way out here?!
Darkrai: I should be the one asking you that. What are you doing here? The last time I checked, Arceus wanted me to come over and babysit you three.
Dialga: Uh, yeah. Haha. I'm just-
Darkrai: Getting some fresh air?
Dialga: I- No. You see, I...
Getting cut off again, thunder began to rumble in the sky causing him to flinch in fear. He wasn't used to being on his own. His uncle was right. Out of his brothers, he would have to have been the most petrified. Lightning struck again and Dialga let out an eep before running behind Darkrai.
Darkrai: This is no place for a child of time. Come on. I'll take you back home-
Dialga: PLEASE DON'T!
The air grew silent. At least between them anyway. Darkrai, holding Dialga's hand was confused by his sudden outburst. He didn't want to go home? He liked his comfort, what changed?
Darkrai: Why not?
Dialga: Uh... b-because I...
The time God didn't know what to say to him. If he told the truth about what happened, he wouldn't hear the end of it. But knowing Darkrai, he'd probably keep it a secret. However, if he lied about it, the situation could be dire.
He couldn't win!
...
There was only one thing for him to do.
Dialga: I SET THE HOUSE ON FIRE!
Darkrai: You did what?
Dialga: I, uh, yeah. I set the house on fire...
Set the house on fire? Yeah, that never happened. Dialga didn't know what to think of himself. He became overwhelmed with guilt and now he became a liar. He told himself to keep calm and simply go forward with it. I mean, what else was he supposed to do? Where was he supposed to go?
Darkrai: Well, if the house is on fire, don't you think the rain would've put it out by now?
Dialga: (Shoot.)
Darkrai just stood there, confused by his nephew's behaviour. If he didn't want to go home, he'd have at least a reasonable explanation. Not that he knew what the reason was, but could tell Dialga was trying to get away from something.
Or someone.
Darkrai: Where are the other two?
Dialga: W-Who?
Darkrai: Giratina and Palkia?
Dialga: Oh, they're at home. Uh... putting the fire out.
Darkrai: And you're not going to help them?
Darkrai seemed to be catching onto Dialga's little tactic, but the interrogation was more than enough for Dialga to give up, but he wasn't planning to. Just a little longer...
Now he had to make up another lie in order to get himself out of trouble.
Dialga: Uh... n-no, I... needed to... get some fresh air. Away from the house.
Darkrai: I see.
Not confident with his reason, he still went along with it which put Dialga in a comfortable spot again.
Darkrai: Alright, well, whatever the reason is, that's all I need to know, but I don't think Arceus will like it if I left you out here. So, I'm gonna take you to back to my house, so you can warm up, sound good?
It was rare for Darkrai to smile, but after hearing that, Dialga couldn't help, but feel like his troubles were over.
Dialga: Thanks, uncle. I appreciate it!
Lightning had struck again and Dialga held onto him out of fear. Darkrai then held his hand and guided the way through the forest. There was nothing to worry about.
Meanwhile, Palkia and Giratina were back at the house worrying for their brother. It was still stormy out there and Arceus hadn't come back yet. But they had bigger problems. Scrapping a game of chess and with the hall all tidied up, the God of space was pacing up and down the hall impatiently waiting for Giratina to come back with some news.
They needed a plan ASAP.
Palkia: *groans* GIRATINA, HURRY UP!
Right after Palkia's demand, his brother came back with some news and with a troubled look on his face.
Palkia: Thank Jirachi! What did they say?
Giratina: Well, I tried getting Uxie and Azelf on the phone, but only Mesprit answered. So, I told her about the situation...
Palkia: And?
Giratina: I have some good news and some bad news. The good news is that she might be able to replace what was broken.
Palkia: YES! WE'RE SAVED!
Giratina: The bad news is that it's gonna take a few days.
Palkia: A FEW DAYS?!
Giratina: Sorry. That was all she could do.
Palkia: BUT WE DON'T HAVE A FEW DAYS! DAD WILL BE HERE IN AN HOUR AND IF WE DON'T DO SOMETHING SOON, HE'S GONNA BE-
Getting cut off, the phone rang again and Giratina felt forced to answer it.
Giratina: I'll get it.
As he picked up the phone, he leaned against the wall.
Giratina: Hello, this is Giratina. Dad isn't here right now, but I'll tell him you called and I-
Before he could continue, his eyes widened after recognising who it was.
Giratina: Oh, hey dad...
Palkia: DAD'S ON THE PHONE?!
Covering the phone speaker, Giratina told his brother to "shush" before returning to the call.
Giratina: Hahaha. Uh, nothing. That was just Palkia being an idiot as usual.
Palkia: HEY!
"Well, I've just finished my errands and I'll be setting off for home. How are things?"
Giratina: Uh, yeah. Everything's great! We're just... Uh... passing the storm by doing... absolutely nothing!
Palkia kept giving him confused facial expressions and shrugging his shoulders and Giratina returned them back before hearing a chuckle through the phone.
"Sounds like fun. Is Dialga there? I want to talk to him."
This made Giratina panic and drop the phone. What were they supposed to do? Dialga was no longer in the house and didn't know where he went, but they needed to come up with something or other, so they fought over the phone.
"Hello?"
Giratina: Palkia, let go!
Palkia: LET ME DO IT!
"Hello, is anyone there? Hello?"
The renegade immediately picked up the phone, wrapping his arm around Palkia's neck and returning to the call by doing a very terrible voice impression of Dialga.
Giratina: Hi, ThIs iS diAlgA SpEaKiNg?
Palkia: *whispers* Brother what the heck?
"Ah, Dialga. There you are. Are you looking after the vase like I asked you to?"
Giratina: WhY yEs! I'vE bEEn takInG vEry GoOd cAre oF it. I polished it nice and- uh... *clears throat* I-I pOliShed it! NiCe aNd cLean like you *cough* lIkE yOu aSked.
"That's good. I knew I could trust you."
Giratina: Yup! YoU cAn alWays rEly on me.
"You've done so well, I should ask you to look after my valuables more often! Hahaha. I even considered buying a blue one. It reminded me so much of you!"
Both Giratina and Palkia looked at each other with worried looks on their faces.
"But I didn't bother. Speaking of which, if you're planning on going out, I wouldn't. This storm is picking up again. Tell that to the other two, okay? It's too dangerous out there and I wouldn't want anything bad to happen to you."
Giratina: Haha. R-Right...
"Everything okay? You sound off."
Giratina: Uh, yeah. D-Don't worry about me, I'm just... tired.
Palkia watched as his brother struggled through the phone call.
"Well, I'll be home in about an hour. Thank you so much for taking good care of it!"
Giratina: Yeah. No problem. Bye...
As he slowly put the phone down, Giratina looked melancholy and Palkia returned the same expression.
Palkia: Brother?
Giratina let out a massive sigh before turning around to face him and narrowed his eyes.
Giratina: We've gotta go find him.
In an instance, they both left the house and flew into the air with the storm picking up. Dodging a few lightning bolts and with difficulty in strong winds and rain, they managed to fly over the forest and near to the city.
Warming up at Darkrai's place and rain drops falling down the window glass, Dialga was watching as the storm began to pick up with a blanket over him. He couldn't help, but contemplate on what he did. He could've turned back time hoping everything would return to normal, but to him, not being smart wasn't perfect and he couldn't accept the fact that he wasn't, so he just ignored it.
But ignorance left him to running away from home. He didn't like this feeling, but it somewhat kept him sane for a good few hours.
Dialga: (I wonder what Palkia and Giratina are doing now? Probably worried about me. I wonder if... dad's back.)
Darkrai emerged from the floor and turned another light on. Cresselia wasn't home, so he could do whatever the heck he wanted. She was normally the one to boss him around, but to him, he found that a reason to stay with her.
Darkrai: You comfy?
Dialga: You aren't exactly the definition of comfy, uncle.
Darkrai: True, but you're also my family. So, I'm... technically forced to.
Dialga: Where's Cresselia?
Darkrai: Out. She should be back soon. Getting something for the house no doubt.
Dialga: Ha... yeah.
Darkrai: Speaking of which, was a fresh air all you needed?
Dialga: Uh, yeah. I needed to... get away from that fire, you know? I have severe Pyrophobia. Haha.
Darkrai: Uh, but... you're right next to the fire place.
Pretending to be fearful, Dialga hid himself from under the blanket and his uncle just sighed in disbelief as he walked up to his nephew, holding a tray of hot chocolate and sitting down.
Darkrai: So, mind telling me why you've been lying to me?
This made Dialga even more nervous as he slowly revealed his ruby red eyes from the blanket. He didn't want to say anything about the situation as things were already getting tense enough. The best thing he could do was...
No, never mind. Lying was just pointless. Being as cold as ever, Darkrai knew that his nephew's tactics weren't working and he didn't want to get mad at him. He had no energy for that, but nothing was stopping him from being concerned.
Darkrai: Dialga, this isn't like you. Tell me what's bothering you.
Giving up entirely, Dialga sighed and confessed to the whole thing.
Dialga: I... I ran away from home.
Darkrai: Ran away? What for?
He was too nervous to even confess, but Darkrai needed to hear it. At least giving him a valid reason for running away, but soon gathered up the right words to tell the truth.
Dialga: I did something awful.
Darkrai: What did you do? Did you fall out with Palkia again?
Dialga: No, I- I just- I broke dad's valuble. He told me to look after it because he trusted me and... well... I got angry at my brothers for teasing me about it, and when I did, it shattered to pieces. So, Giratina burried it in the garden hoping dad wouldn't find out about it a-and...
Darkrai: ...And you ran away hoping it would make the situation seem less disastrous?
Dialga: WELL WHAT ELSE WAS I SUPPOSED TO DO?! I CAN'T FESS UP TO WHAT I DID, I JUST CAN'T!
The air grew silent before he could speak again. All Darkrai could do was listen.
Dialga: If dad found out it was me, then... he'd be frustrated. He probably won't trust me anymore. I'm supposed to be smart and responsible! Me! I've grasped onto that concept for so long, I... was afraid to lose it.
Now it all made sense. Whilst Darkrai was able to understand the context of the circumstance, this was probably the first time Dialga had snapped. To him anyway. Once Dialga had explained more of the problem, he relaxed in his chair.
Darkrai: I see. Well, there's no use crying over it. Besides, it's just a vase. He can get another one.
Dialga: I guess, but...
Darkrai: Wait, couldn't you have turned back time to prevent the worst case scenario from happening?
Dialga: If I did that, dad will know and I don't want him to.
Darkrai: Well, you can't keep at this forever? Eventually, you're going to have to tell him and return home.
Dialga: NO, I CAN'T! I- I won't do it.
The dark pokemon just sighed as he had no other way to help him. Returning home was a much better option, but if he didn't want to, then he was going to get in so much trouble with Arceus and Cresselia. So many worst case scenario thoughts were rushing through his head. Before realising he had become an accomplace to his nephew's little scandal, he panicked.
Darkrai: Well this is terrible! This is just- great I- what am I gonna-
He sighed, lowering his head in disbelief and massaged his head.
Darkrai: Just what am I going to do with you?
Dialga: I'm sorry for dragging you into this mess, uncle! I just... didn't know who else to turn to at a time of crisis and I know you're very good at keeping secrets. Could you... I don't know, prevent Cresselia from finding out, or at least let me hide out here until the situation blows over?
But the situation wasn't over. In fact, it was only just the beginning. As soon as Dialga said those words, his ruby red eyes became dilated in which he hoped it would somehow convince his uncle to permit him to stay in his house for a while. Still with a hesitant look on his face, he gave into his nephew's cute persuasion. He needed to remind Dialga of how dire the situation will get.
Darkrai: This is a lose lose situation here. You realise that if I keep you here, Cresselia will have a go at me. If she finds out about this, she'll have a go at me for keeping you here and lying to her face. If I tell her, you're gonna have to answer to it and she will tell your father anyway, so if you think about it, we'll both get in trouble.
The child of time just looked out the window as he realised he was right about everything, but it was the only way to prevent him from fessing up. He needed a diversion.
Darkrai: Alright, I may have a hiding spot for you, but you have to promise me something, alright?
Dialga: Anything!
Walking down the dark and dreary hallway, he opened a door to the basement. All that was there was a dark and dreary staircase going all the way down. Dialga couldn't help, but gulp as the ominous air brushed against his face.
Darkrai: So long as you don't make a noise, I'll allow you to stay here.
Dialga: Uh, is this safe?
Darkrai: One hundred percent.
Dialga: I dunno...
Darkrai: Look, I know it may seem rather frightening to you, but there's no other place I can think of. So, I have two options. You can either stay down here and hide, or I take you back home, so you can confess to what you did. Your choice.
This got Dialga thinking hard. If he laid low for a while and not say anything at all, he could actually get away with it. However, his petrified personality was creating a barrier for him.
What could be worse? I mean, he was smart, right? He wasn't like Palkia or Giratina. They'd never follow any instructions. The only thing he could do was accept what was offered to him.
Darkrai: Like I said, this is my final offer. I'll gladly give you hospitality, but it's your choice at the end of the day. I'm not involved.
Dialga: Well, you are now. Haha. Thank you, uncle. That'll be all.
In a rather selfish manner, his uncle hoped he said no that way he could escape from Cresselia's wrath, but it was his nephew and well, I suppose he didn't want him to get in trouble either.
Darkrai: What are relatives for? I scratch your back and I scratch yours. Remember, not a peep is to pass from that mouth when Cresselia gets back, you hear me?
Dialga: I promise.
Darkrai: Good. Glad we can reach an agreement. Now go quickly!
Dialga smiled and walked down the creaky staircase and his uncle shut the door behind him, locking it from the outside. Once the door was locked, he stood there thinking that everything was going to go wrong. That the plan was going to fail. He felt like an accomplace to a kidnapping crime that wasn't his fault. Suddenly, he heard the front door open and could hear Cresselia's sing-song voice.
"Honey! I'm home!"
With a not-so confident expression, he took a deep breath and calmed himself down, hoping to not act suspicious.
Darkrai: Oh, I am in so much trouble...
On a trecherous journey to the city, the storm had officially ceased and Giratina and Palkia were wandering around to see if they could find their brother Dialga, and all of the legendaries walking by looked at them as if they hadn't seen two children before, or like seeing two lunatics shrieking at the top of their lungs.
Palkia: OH DIALGA! WHERE ARE YOU, YOU TIME TRAVELLING DOOFUS?!
Giratina: Idiot! That's not going to get him to come out!
Palkia: Oh yeah? And I suppose you have a much better idea?
Giratina: Of course I don't! We've been out here for hours and nobody, not even Mewtwo nor Mew have seen him! You better hope for dad's sake, he's stuck on top of a tree somewhere. That would hopefully buy us some time.
Palkia: That's rude! Show some respect, Gira!
Giratina: Gee. Sorry.
Palkia: *sigh* Sorry, I'm just... worried for him, okay?
Giratina: So you admit it then!
Palkia: NO, I-
Giratina raised his eye up and smirked as he watched his brother being in denial. Palkia then sighed and gave up.
Palkia: It's just weird, okay? We've never been apart before. That's all!
Giratina: Oh, I completely understand. *chuckles*
As he chuckled, Palkia groaned in annoyance, but soon faded away as soon as the sweet smell of doughnuts passed by his nose. (If he had one.)
Palkia: *gasp*
Giratina: What is it? You found Dialga?! Where is he, so I can pummel him to the ground and teach him a lesson that I promise he'll never forget!
His brother quickly grabbed him and pointed over to a cafe where the scent was trailing from.
Palkia: No, not Dialga! Doughnuts!
As soon as Giratina realised what was about to happen, his jaw dropped.
Giratina: Oh no.
Palkia: I've figured out the problem. It's no wonder I can't think straight!
Giratina: That is literally the reason why you can't think straight at all.
Palkia: Well, I can't think on an empty stomach! I say we pop into that little cafe over there and grab ourselves a doughnut or something. What do you say?
Giratina: We don't have time for that! At least not when Dialga isn't around to have it!
Palkia: Lighten up. I'm just hungry. *GASP* What's that over there?!
The hungry space God hurried over to the cafe display window, now entering his phase one of his strong obsession with sweets.
Giratina: PALKIA! I- UGH, NOT AGAIN!
Giratina just sighed in disbelief and ran after him. He had dealt with Palkia's dessert problem before, but never anything like this. He looked as his brother's eyes were widened with amazement and drooled at what was sitting in the window. A bunch of different flavoured doughnuts. Strawberry ones were his favourite.
Palkia: Hahaha...
Giratina: Palkia!
Palkia: LOOK! AREN'T THEY JUST AMAZING?!
Giratina: Yes, they are amazing. Now let's go!
Palkia: But I'm hungry!
Giratina: And we aren't made of money! Listen, you were the one who lectured to me earlier about finding Dialga and how you couldn't stand being away from him, what changed?!
Palkia: Psh. Nothing's changed? THEY HAVE DOUGHNUTS, GIRA! IT'S CALLING ME! COME ON, LET'S GO!
Giratina: NO WAY!
Palkia: Just one?
Giratina: No, no, no and NO! We don't have time-
Palkia: *GASP* ONLY A ONE TIME OFFER! Look, bro! Chocolate pecha berry flavoured cupcakes!
Tugging on his brother's coat, his older sibling became somewhat furious.
Giratina: PALKIA! Control your sugar addiction and get serious!
Palkia just looked at him and pouted. Seeing his depressed expression, Giratina sighed and calmed down.
Giratina: *sigh* I understand how you feel, but if you love them, you must also learn to let it go. Does that make sense?
When he wasn't looking, the sound of the little bell went and Palkia was nowhere to be seen. He began to panic as he now had two brothers that were missing.
Giratina: Palkia? Palkia! Where did you-
When he saw him in the cafe, acting immature by jumping up and down, waiting for his doughnuts, Giratina just face palmed.
Giratina: PALKIA, NO!
To be continued...
Author's Note: 3,906 words! Haha. Slightly shorter than the previous chapter, but I hope you're enjoying this fanfiction so far! The next chapter will be a bit tense, but just the thought of Palkia having a sugar addiction just had me giggling for a good few minutes. xD
See you in the next chapter!