Chapter 3: Aevus

Dialga never took teleportation very well. It always caught him off guard, and made him somewhat dizzy. So when he suddenly found himself in what could only be a dimension created by Palkia (there was a telltale purple glimmer in the air - a contrast to the blue that marked his own dimension), he was quite irate.

While it was just as well - he had wanted to speak with them anyway - he was hoping to track them down himself.

"Mesprit told me to expect a visit from you," Palkia explained, once Dialga noticed their presence. "So I thought it best to save you some time and invite you here. This better be important."

"...Right." When Palkia phrased it like that, Dialga supposed he could let this annoyance go. There were more important things to worry about than where he was and how he got there. Taking a moment to re-orient himself, Dialga took a breath and explained; "As of late, I've been seeing timelines unravel into oblivion, at an alarming rate. Whenever I look into these timelines, I see the Red Chain."

Palkia was quiet for a moment. But only for a moment. They then said, "I've seen similar things. Universes collapsing into themselves, and new ones forming in their place. I haven't looked into them at all; the only thing I do know is that the Red Chain is involved in them all."

That was news to Dialga; there hadn't been any new timelines forming in the place of any of the unraveled ones. Then again, space was not his domain. Unlike time, space was an ever expanding and ever flowing force. While time was not easily manipulated, space was a malleable force; Palkia could easily create new universes as easily as breathing. Of course they could see things that Dialga was not privy to.

But that eliminated a theory Dialga had and brought a revelation in its place; whoever planned on using the Red Chain clearly wanted to create something. He had only seen the destruction it could cause within his timelines, but Palkia's words shed some light on the situation that he hadn't even considered.

"Interesting," Dialga muttered. "Might I ask a favor, then? These new universes that you say are appearing; could you look into them? I want to learn everything I can about this situation, so that I may take the steps to prevent it from happening to this timeline."

As he spoke, Dialga could not help thinking of the past. Once upon a time, Dialga and Palkia wouldn't bump into each other without fighting. Each of them blamed the other for their sister's banishment, and then for Arceus' disappearance. Even centuries after they set their feud aside, that they were able to talk like this still felt surreal.

"I'll satiate your curiosity if you do the same for me," Palkia spoke up. "Mesprit also told me you nearly killed a child?"

Dialga rolled his eyes. "Of course she'd phrase it like that. Woe be to anyone who harms the mortals of Verity, even by accident."

"So it's true?"

"It is...and it also isn't. I personally have not used Roar of Time recently, but its influence on the boy's Aura is plain as day. I believe that the Dialga from one of the unraveled timelines did something."

"You and your timelines," Palkia muttered. "I will admit, I am impressed that the human survived that."

"As am I. I suppose I shouldn't expect less from-" Dialga cut himself off when he realized; he had no idea why Lucas and Rei were so similar to each other. Was Lucas a descendant of Rei's? Was he Rei reincarnated? Was it a mere coincidence that the two looked so similar? "...An Aura-sensitive human."

Dialga knew Palkia well enough to know that they could see right through that slip. He could sense their hesitation before they spoke.

"Mesprit also told me that the boy's a spitting image of Rei," they said. Their tone indicated how carefully they approached the subject. "But...You know that doesn't necessarily mean that there's any connection between the two, right?"

"Of course I know that," Dialga snapped. "What do you take me for?"

"I take you for the most sentimental of us three, Aevus," Palkia answered, not unkindly. "Deny it all you like, but who was the first to lend Rei and Akari his aid when that rift opened over Hisui?"

Dialga didn't answer.

Two years had passed since Lucas met the probably-psychic stranger in Lake Verity, and a lot had changed for him in that amount of time.

For one, Lucas dove into researching 'Aura' when he could. The more he read about it, the more tempted he was to just ignore it. Aura was described as the 'spiritual life force that all living beings possess.' If he hadn't been experiencing it himself, he would've written it off as total nonsense.

But since he had been experiencing it, Lucas had no choice but to at least try to follow some of the advice he came across. Desperation can drive a person to push out of their comfort zone, and he was desperate to understand what happened to him. If that meant humoring some eccentric spiritual blogger about mindfulness and breathing exercises, so be it.

Lucas didn't know what to expect when he got into the habit of meditating in his free time. He wasn't expecting it to actually help with what he was going through, but one day he opened his eyes to see that everything seemed to be muted compared to before. His head stopped hurting, and he didn't have any headaches when he went out that day. There were a few odd quirks he could feel from time to time, but other than that it was like the freak accident never happened in the first place.

Lucas had no idea if he was annoyed or relieved that those stupid meditation and breathing exercises actually helped. But they did help, and he was able to graduate from Jubilife's Trainer School with no further delays.

For another thing, Dawn and Barry finally got Pokemon of their own. While Lucas was outraged that Barry had the idea to run into the grass without Pokemon (and nearly dragging Dawn into danger with him, no less!), he couldn't complain too much if it meant his two best friends were finally able to meet Piplup and Chimchar.

Lucas even got a new addition to his team to commemorate the occasion. Given how attached Blair had gotten to Lucas over the years, it could be argued that her addition to his team was all but inevitable. That detail didn't make Blair or Lucas any less happy to be traveling together, though.

Now, Lucas and his friends were off on their own Pokemon journey. Lucas had promised to wait until Dawn and Barry got their own Pokemon so they could travel together. There was just one more thing Lucas wanted to do before he set off, and that was to visit Lake Verity one more time.

He was surprised to see Dawn and Barry already on their way there, though. "What are you two doing?"

"Perfect timing, Luc!" Barry crowed, slinging an arm around Lucas' shoulder. "I was just done explaining to Dawn. You know how they say there's a legendary Pokemon in Lake Verity?"

Of course Lucas knew the legend, and he couldn't help the amused smile that crossed his face. He knew Barry well enough to know where this was going. "Don't tell me."

"You got it! The three of us are gonna catch that Pokemon!" Barry said, as he practically pushed Lucas in the direction of the lake. "That'll make Professor Rowan happy, right?! Come on! With the three of us, we got nothing to fear!"

"If there's a mirage Pokemon there at all," Dawn pointed out as she walked alongside her friends. "Even if it really does exist, the legends say it's incredibly careful around humans. I doubt it would show itself for just anyone."

"What do you mean 'if'?" Barry questioned. "I know I'm right about this, Dawn! If we can become Trainers in a matter of minutes, then I figure nothing's impossible! You can't tell me you're not excited to see what you and that Piplup of yours can do!"

Dawn didn't say anything more - which Lucas noted wasn't a denial.

As the three approached Lake Verity, the first thing they saw was a man standing by the lakeside. At first Lucas thought it was the same man that he came across years ago; he had the same stature. It was only when he turned to leave the lake that he realized it wasn't the case. There was no eyepatch, and there was a stern look on his face that was completely absent in Probably-Psychic Guy's case (because what else was Lucas supposed to call him when he didn't even introduce himself that night?).

"Allow me to pass," the man commanded as he approached the three. "Step aside."

The three trainers did, and Lucas felt an inexplicable wave of nausea and anger as the man passed them. What else could it be - he felt sick, and there was a burning in the back of his mind (not unlike how he felt when he heard about Barry's plan of running into the grass without Pokemon).

The sensation left as quickly as it came; it was gone the moment the stranger was out of view. Lucas still stared at the spot that the man had been, though. He felt uneasy, like he could pop back up again at any minute. Why did he feel so tense around a complete stranger?

He hadn't noticed that Dawn and Blair were staring at him until he felt a gentle nudge on his right hand. When had it clenched into a fist?

"You okay, Lucas?" Dawn asked, peering into Lucas' face. Worry was clear on her face. "You look a little sick."

Lucas couldn't give an answer right away, even as he crouched to scratch behind the Eevee's ears. He felt sick, but how in the world could he explain that?

What in the world just happened?

Blair was the one who noticed him first. As Lucas exited the Pokemon Center, the Eevee took off and only stopped in front of two tall adults. Lucas recognized one of them as that International Police fellow that he and his friends met upon entering Jubilife City. He called himself Looker, didn't he? The person he was talking to, though...Blair had stopped by his feet, so of course Lucas approached.

As he got closer, was no mistaking it; this was the same stranger that helped him find Blair two years ago!

"Hey, wait a minute!" Lucas called, and he jogged over before he could stop himself. Probably-Psychic Guy seemed just as surprised to see Lucas here, and Looker glanced between the two.

"Young man," Looked spoke up. He eyed the stranger with suspicion before turning his attention to the Trainer. "You know this shady fellow?"

"He helped me find this Eevee a few years back," Lucas responded, tilting his head in Blair's direction. "He does look shady, but I promise he's not."

Blair made a noise and nodded, agreeing with what Lucas said. Looker glanced between the Trainer and his Pokemon before nodding.

"Very well...I will trust your judgement for now, Mister Lucas." Looker then jabbed a finger on the stranger's shoulder. "But just know that I will be watching for any wrongdoings! The minute you toe out of line, I will be there!"

With that, Looker took off. Lucas sighed; being part of the International Police must be a hard job. He had to wonder if Looker had ever angered anyone with his approach to tracking down thieves.

"...It's you," the stranger lamely greeted, which got Lucas' attention. "Thank you for your help."

"No worries," Lucas commented. "I feel like that just evens things out."

"You took my advice, then?"

"Yeah, I did. I've wanted to ask; how did you know?" Lucas asked. He crossed his arms as he continued, "I hadn't told anyone I was seeing Auras that time. I didn't even know what Aura was. How did you figure that out so quickly?"

"Well..." The stranger hesitated. How could someone with such a strong Aura be this awkward? The thought made Lucas feel a little bad; the guy went from being interrogated by Looker to being interrogated by him, hadn't he? At the very least, he should have expected that from Lucas. "I've just seen it happen before, is all. I can't say I was completely certain in your case, so I took a shot in the dark."

"That's a weird thing to have seen before." Lucas wasn't sure if he completely bought that explanation, but he had no reason to question it. "I guess it doesn't matter now. You actually helped me out a lot, so thank you."

The stranger let out a humorless laugh. "I've seen things you wouldn't believe. I'm just happy to have helped."

Before Lucas could ask what that meant, he heard Barry calling; "Hey Luc! Move your Slowpoke butt before we leave you in the dust!"

If Lucas didn't know any better, he'd have thought that the stranger looked relieved for the interruption. "You better get going. I wouldn't want to keep you from your journey."

"I guess," Lucas admitted. There was one more thing he wanted to say, though; "Could you teach me more about Aura? I mean, at some point in the future. I feel like I can learn a few things from you."

The stranger's answer was immediate; "I've a very busy schedule. I don't imagine I'll be able to."

Lucas practically deflated hearing that. The reason he asked was because resources about Aura were woefully scarce; he knew he would get a better idea on what it was if he had some sort of mentor helping him out. There wasn't any harm in asking, at the very least.

"However," Probably-Psychic Guy spoke up again, after a moment of hesitance. "If we bump into each other again, perhaps I can spare a little time to give you advice. I cannot make any promises, though."

"That's all I ask!" That was a good enough answer for Lucas, and he beamed. "Thank you so much! My name's Lucas!"

The stranger hesitated again before finally introducing himself; "You may call me Aevus."

Aevus, huh? That was a strange name, but who was he to judge?

"Nice to officially meet you, Aevus," Lucas nodded. "See you around!"

With that, Lucas picked Blair up and jogged off towards his friends. It was strange how a lot could happen in one day, and it made him excited to see what awaited him and his friends as they made their way through Sinnoh.

Author's Note: Aevus is my go-to nickname for Dialga. From Latin, the word can be translated to 'time,' or 'age,' or 'eternity'. If that isn't a fitting name/alias for a deity of time, I don't know what is.