Author's Note: So if you've read my other fic Temporal Platinum, I talk about Dialga's friendship with Rei a lot. So I decided to make a separate fic detailing said friendship.

Diamond Legends

Chapter 1: Rei

Before he lost his eye, Dialga knew how everything was going to end. Just as time can only flow forward, he knew that everything had an inevitable end.

It just so happened that the destruction that would come from Palkia's frenzy was not how things were supposed to end. That is the only reason Dialga saw fit to intervene when the rift opened in Hisui - why he was the first to reach out to the group of humans, and why he allowed himself to be sealed within a capsule one of the humans used.

He supposed it was admirable, how this group of humans sought to calm a deity's fury. Had it been any other scenario, it would be pointless. This situation was a rare one indeed, and one that frankly intrigued the Lord of Time. There were several elements that would factor into this rare exception, so he figured he may as well observe them while he could.

The maker of the Red Chain was one such factor. Rei was surprisingly young for one who would take on a deity's strength, let alone two. Perhaps it was his Aura - something within it marked him as different from the rest. It was not that he was from a different time - Dialga would have known right away if that was the case.

Perhaps it was the Red Chain itself - Dialga knew the artifact would mark the user for the rest of their life.

For the moment, he was content to watch as Rei helped clean up his partner - a sturdy Decidueye that had clearly seen many battles before. The very same that fought against him, if he was not mistaken. The Decidueye did not seem to relax, no matter what Rei did.

Eventually, Rei glanced at Dialga and then back to his partner. The boy sighed.

"Dialga," he called, still focused on his companion's actions. From his tone, one would think he was talking to a child rather than the deity of time. "Exactly how long are you going to keep staring at us?"

"I am not staring at you," Dialga retorted. "I am merely observing you."

Rei looked up at Dialga - no small task - as he placed a hand on his Decidueye's shoulder. "Whatever you want to call it, you're making Mori here a little anxious. So is there any chance you could tone it down at least a little?"

From the corner of his eye, Dialga noted how some of the other humans stared at Rei in terrified shock. He was aware that some of these humans worshipped him as a deity of time - perhaps they were shaken by how Rei had spoken to him? Were they expecting him to retaliate for Rei's rudeness?

Dialga was going to do no such thing. Rather than be offended by Rei's blunt attitude, Dialga was humored.

"When you say Mori, do you mean this Decidueye?"

"Mhm," Rei nodded, as he returned to his task. He held out some kind of pastry for Mori to eat. As the Decidueye eagerly gobbled up his treat, Rei explained, "I give all my Pokemon some kind of nickname."

"A human custom, I take it?"

"Depends on what you'd define as a custom. Even if I include myself, I can count the number of people that do it with one hand," Rei answered, finally recalling his Decidueye to the capsule. The next thing he said came as a surprise for Dialga; "Do you want a nickname, too?"

"Why?" Dialga questioned. "I do not need any other name except for the one my Mother gave me. I am no mere companion of yours."

"I know you're not," Rei agreed with a nod. "But we are working together to help calm Palkia, aren't we? I just figured I'd extend you the same courtesy."

"While it is appreciated, it is not necessary. I do not plan on staying once the task is done."

Perhaps any other human would ask Dialga to reconsider. For the third time in twice as many minutes, Rei surprised him with his simple response; "Fair enough."

The next Pokemon Rei brought out from its capsule was an Umbreon that he lovingly dubbed 'Kuro'. This time, nothing was said as Dialga watched Rei pamper the Dark-type.

Contrary to what he had said, Dialga did not leave after Palkia's fury was sated.

That had been the plan. He thought that once both he and Palkia were calmed, the fabric of space-time would return to what it had been before the rift was opened. The simple matter of it was that this was not the case - even after the fiasco in Spear Pillar, space-time distortions continued to appear throughout Hisui. It was enough cause for concern for Dialga to look into, especially since Pokemon like Porygon and Scizor - Pokemon that he knew for a fact would originate in the future - had started to appear within these distortions.

In an effort to observe these distortions a little more closely, Dialga decided to create a human form for himself. Palkia had already done so, and they had told him that while such a form could be cumbersome, it was ultimately the best way to avoid unwanted attention.

It was as one of these distortions faded away that Dialga met Rei again. The Lord of Time had just been there to observe it from the outside, and was surprised to see Rei lingering as it faded away. The Decidueye from before was by his side as well, and he showed interest in some items that Rei held in his hands. Dialga couldn't see those items, but he supposed they must hold some value for mortals.

Despite the interest in Rei's items, Mori couldn't seem to relax. It didn't take long for Rei to realize this. As he surveyed the area, his gaze eventually landed on Dialga - or at least, his human form.

Most mortals would warn any passerby about how dangerous the area was, or at least ask if they were okay. Rei defied even that expectation. First he sighed, and then he called out; "Hey. What happened to you leaving once we calm Palkia down?"

Rei was just full of surprises, wasn't he? None of the other humans he happened to come across had recognized Dialga in this form.

"How did you know it was me?"

"I actually wasn't completely sure," Rei admitted. He then placed a hand on the Decidueye's shoulder, like he did before. "But Mori only gets like this when he feels like something stronger than him is in the area - at this point, that would be you and Palkia. We both know the area pretty well, so it can't be any of the wild Pokemon here. You're the only one in the area we didn't recognize."

"So you called out to me on little more than intuition?" Dialga couldn't help the smile that crossed his face. "Impressive. I was only here to observe that distortion you were in. Do you often wander into them?"

"If one ever pops up while I'm in the area, yeah," Rei answered with a shrug. "There's treasure and Pokemon in them that you can't really find anywhere else. I made a promise to seek out all Pokemon, so this just became part of that job."

"I see." The idea hit Dialga right then and there - Rei's words implied that he had some experience with this phenomena. "How often would you say they appear?"

"It varies. If I had to make a guess, though? Anywhere from ten to forty minutes after the last one."

Dialga cursed under his breath. It would be easier if there was a fixed amount of time between distortions. But if even that was as unstable as Rei claimed...

Closing his eyes, Dialga attempted a look into the future. With what little knowledge he had of the distortions, he was able to get a sense of when they would appear. As he looked into the fabric of time, he had learned that these distortions would appear as purple spots. There would be no mistaking that. Whether the information was accurate was less certain than he'd like to admit. Given who he suspected to be the cause behind them, though...he supposed he should expect that.

"Twenty minutes," he finally said, opening his eyes. "I believe that much time should pass before the next one appears. I cannot say where it would appear, though."

"That's fine. I got a map that does that for me," Rei answered, as easily as anything. Before Dialga could ask what that meant, Rei turned to Mori and said, "We better get to Lake Valor quick, then."

"By chance, are you visiting Azelf?"

"Yeah, we are. Azelf and I became friends after what happened in the Temple of Sinnoh."

Dialga was surprised to hear this. Azelf was usually a timid creature, so for her to show that much interest in a human...had she chosen him to be her Hero, perhaps? So that must have been what set his Aura apart from the others. For a human to be chosen as a Hero is not just to gain the respect of the deity in question; they usually exemplify a trait that the deity values or holds dear. For Rei to be Azelf's Hero, he must have shown considerable willpower and patience to pass her test.

Before he could stop himself, Dialga asked, "Do you mind if I go with you? It occurs to me that I have not visited her in a while - I should like to thank her for her help."

Strangely, Rei seemed surprised. "No, I don't mind. Mori?"

The Decidueye nodded with a huff. He then turned his back and started walking towards the Lake. Rei rolled his eyes as he and Dialga followed.

"Mori gets like that sometimes," Rei explained. "He's always been the strongest in my party, so you could say he's got an ego to match. Fighting you and Palkia really did a number on his ego."

"I see..." Dialga had no idea what else to say to that. To his credit, Mori had done well with the circumstances he was given. Perhaps that was just his species, but not many mortals would be willing to look a deity in the eyes and fight. Dialga had to respect that.

"So, you said you wanted to observe the spacetime distortions," Rei continued.

Dialga was only slightly ashamed to admit, "Indeed. I have not discovered anything regarding them, however. That distortion that just faded, it was the first I had actually come to see. Unfortunate that I arrived just as it faded away."

Rei looked up at him with a quirked eyebrow. "Is that why you're tagging along with me and Mori? To kill time until the next one pops up?"

At this moment, Dialga was less certain of Rei being Azelf's Hero specifically. Mesprit or Uxie could have just as easily taken a shine to his intuition.

"To kill time," Dialga muttered, crossing his arms. "What an unpleasant phrase. I advise you avoid it in the future."

Rei nodded. "Fair enough. Doesn't answer my question."

Dialga was silent for a moment. It would be easy to go into his realm and wait for the twenty minutes to pass there...but he found himself not wanting to do that. Perhaps it was because of Rei himself - for one human to speak with deities so casually (and to have the respect of one) made him a unique case.

"Not just that," Dialga finally answered. "You have more experience with these distortions than I. Thus, I will be watching your progress as you go through them."

"Feel free," Rei said with a shrug. "The more, the merrier."

Nothing else was said, not even as they approached Lake Valor and were greeted by a surprised Azelf.

Dialga found more of a reason to observe Rei the first time he caught sight of his 'map'. The map, which turned out to be a device that Dialga knew was from the future. Or at least, was fashioned from such a device.

The fact that it bore his Mother's arc was one thing, but Rei had called it an 'Arc Phone'. For him to have such a device was certainly not within Dialga's expectations.

Just who was Rei?