Author's Note: So Dialga's one of my favorite legendaries, and I've put a lot of thought into wibbly wobbly timey wimey stuff as a result of that. Me writing a mashup of Diamond and Platinum shenanigans was all but inevitable.

Hope you enjoy!

Temporal Platinum

Chapter 1: Discovery (Prologue)

Despite his status as the primordial deity of time, Dialga could not clearly see the future.

He lost the ability to do so ages ago; injuries inflicted by Giratina could never heal quite right. While he had long since forgiven his sister for the loss of his eye, there were some moments - few and far, far between - where he wished he could bring himself to undo what had been done.

This was one such instance.

In lieu of being able to see a clear future, what he could see was a myriad of possibilities. Timelines branched off from each other - some intertwining, some never touching, each of them flowing into a whole new world of possibility and potential. So it was, and so it would be until the moment his heart stopped beating.

One timeline unraveling into oblivion did not phase him. For each timeline, there was a separate version of himself to keep watch over it. With so many versions of himself branched out into infinite possibilities, it only made sense that one would fail every once in a while.

The second timeline's demise, he chalked up to mere coincidence. It was only when the fifth unraveled that Dialga saw the need to investigate.

Looking into those unraveled timelines, Dialga gained bits and pieces of knowledge of what happened. The Red Chain, Spear Pillar, someone using that chain to summon either him or Palkia. The unraveled timelines had all of these elements in common.

The Red Chain...the item had been forged several times before, but to think someone would use it to-

"DIALGA! WHAT DID YOU DO?!"

With that, Dialga's concentration was broken.

"Mesprit?"

Had it been any other of his siblings, he would be angered...but an angry Mesprit was not something that even a deity would want to deal with. The Spirit of Emotion was a flighty creature in the best of times, but her anger rivaled his.

Sure enough, the Spirit of Emotion was clearly furious. To say Dialga was bewildered was an understatement, especially since he did not know why she was so angry. That she was angry with him specifically only added to his confusion.

"What did you do?!" Mesprit demanded again, positioning herself so that she could make direct eye contact with him.

"Whatever do you-"

"Don't use that tone with me, you giant heap of scrap metal!" Mesprit screeched. Then she aimed small bolts of psychic energy at him. They bounced off him and did not hurt, but Dialga knew it was best to let her vent her anger. Each word she said was punctuated by a bolt; "WHAT! DID! YOU! DO?!"

"Mesprit, I'm afraid I truly don't know what you refer to," Dialga said, as if her bolts did not affect him. (They didn't, but that was besides the point.) "I've been here in my realm for the past few centuries. Timelines are unraveling as we speak. Whatever you're angry about, surely it can wait."

"It can't wait because it involves you, dummy!" Mesprit responded. "A friend of mine nearly died because of your stupid roar, and you think it can wait?!"

Now Dialga was really confused. Not because of the implied use of Roar of Time; it was possible that the Dialga of one of the unraveled timelines had used it in a last-ditch effort to save what was left. A human getting struck by a shockwave of his Roar was one thing; but Mesprit's words implied that this human somehow survived.

As urgent as the situation was, Dialga was intrigued.

The boy in question looked just like Rei. As he left the hospital with his father, he gingerly held his right arm to his chest. He was careful not to let anyone touch it. Possibly for fear that it would snap in two if he so much as moved it incorrectly. Humans were fragile beings, but Dialga found himself wondering if such care was truly necessary.

"You really didn't cause this?" Mesprit deadpanned, as she and Dialga watched on. Mesprit was in her astral form, Dialga in a human form that he had not used in centuries. It was not wise to appear in his true form, not in this day in age.

"Not the me in this timeline, at least," Dialga responded, via telepathy. "But I cannot deny that Roar of Time influences his Aura. Perhaps..."

Could one of the fallen Dialgas have done something? Did their use of Roar of Time somehow reach this timeline to strike the child? That was the only explanation he could think of, but that gave way to more questions. The boy did not appear to have aged any (if Mesprit's fury was any indication; surely her rage would have reached a new high if that were the case), and even a mere shockwave of something that powerful should have left a scar. What other physical or mental changes could the move create within a human?

As he and his father passed the two deities, the Rei-lookalike glanced in their direction. To anybody else, it would only appear to be a human man sitting at a cafe table. Nobody accompanying him, least of all the Spirit of Emotion. Her astral form rendered her invisible.

Despite these two details, the boy flinched like he had been staring into the sun and quickly turned away. This struck Dialga as odd, although confusion quickly gave way when a startling thought came to mind.

Was it possible that he had memories of one of the unraveled timelines-?!

When the realization hit him, whatever Mesprit said next fell on deaf ears. Perhaps he should monitor the child. Not just for Mesprit's sake; she had always been one to worry herself sick over her mortal friends.

Tehre was nothing Dialga could do to fix what had already unraveled, but perhaps the boy was the key to saving this timeline.