Scout's eyes were trained on Temporal Tower, looming above them like a headstone for the entire world. Even from this distance, he could spot problems with it.
Red cracks ran through the tower's surface, snaking their way through the lazuli blue of the tower with heaps and chunks falling out from it. Bluish mist leaked from the cracks, mixing with the red to create a purple smog.
The tower shook constantly, as if the entire skyscraper was convulsing in its death throes, more cracks breaking through and more of the outside crumbling away.
Despite the horror that they were approaching, Rai was bright-eyed and smiling. It was like all the pain and misery dragging him down had been washed away, if at least temporarily. He couldn't wait to see Mane's face when he learnt Scout had gotten back all on his own.
It was almost funny, Mane said it could happen. He supposed he owed him something for being so wonderfully correct.
"It's actually beautiful," Rai said, leaning against Scout. Scout was leaning back against him, pressing back almost too hard. He could almost feel the exhaustion coming from the meowth, and yet Scout said nothing about it. "The tower."
Scout nodded wearily, bumping his chin on the top of Rai's head a couple of times. He was having trouble keeping his eyes open, all he wanted to do was cuddle Rai and go to sleep until this problem was all sorted out.
Hidden reserves of strength were constantly tapped, and Scout held himself up and awake, if still leaning on Rai. The shinx didn't seem to mind, he was even pressing into the contact. Scout wondered how Rai had slept these past few days.
"I should stop thinking about sleep," Scout thought, suppressing a yawn.
Scout felt something nudge his side, gently, and he glanced back to see Sean offering something out. "Looks like you could use something," he said, holding a sitrus berry. Rai bumped him and Scout took it without question, slowly stuffing it in his mouth.
The tangy juices stung his mouth. Several different points in his mouth rang with pain, he tasted copper. He continued chewing the berry until it was all gone, his mouth throbbing for minutes afterwards until it dulled to a blunt ache.
"The wind's nice," Scout commented, fur being ruffled by the speed of the Rainbow Stoneship.
"It does feel nice after the future," Sean said, nodding. Scout gave him a tired look of acknowledgement.
"Is there really no wind in the future?" Rai asked, glancing up from against Scout's belly.
Scout shook his head.
"No wind blows," Sean said. "The seasons don't change."
Rai frowned, something simply didn't add up in his mind. "Why is Dusknoir trying to stop you, then?" he asked, his companions tensing slightly.
Sean and Scout exchanged a panicked look, neither sure what to say.
"He works for Primal Dialga," Sean explained. "Primal Dialga wants to keep the future exactly how it is. It's gone insane, unfortunately, and cannot be reasoned with."
Rai nodded, Grovyle had mentioned that to him before.
He had felt Scout's stomach tighten up as he had said the question, however, so he had to ask. "Is that all?"
Sean glanced at Scout and opened his mouth to lie.
"No," Scout said, before Sean could do so. He was tired of lies.
Rai blinked up at him, innocent and trusting. "Will you tell me the reason?"
Scout moved, sitting down slowly and extending an arm over Rai, pulling him into a half-hug. "I will, if you have to know it."
Rai looked up, met his eyes for a moment, yellow to green. He glanced at Sean next, to his red eyes. Rai sighed and nestled against Scout. "Tell me later."
Scout nodded and smiled at Sean, who nodded back.
"What happened to your back?" Sean asked, having stepped back to give them some space and spotted the wound. It was a nasty cut stripping away fur and flesh, dried blood having mixed with some sort of poison.
Scout grimaced as Rai took a look and kicked up a fuss.
"Oh my gosh! How are you still walking around like this?" He dove into the bag to retrieve a pecha berry as well, and Scout ate it with no complaint.
Sean couldn't help but smile thankfully at Rai. "I expected you to argue again," he half-joked. Scout chuckled away Rai's suspicious look and finished the berry off.
Sean didn't have anything to add as the Rainbow Stoneship flew higher and higher, soon the Hidden Land was tiny beneath them and they began flying through a field of floating, but still moving, rocks. The Stoneship had no problems with anything in its path, any rock moved out of the way before long.
The other riders simply laid together, silently remembering everything they had gone through to reach this point. There were words that could have been shared, but words were not needed for this moment.
There was no time to stop and think, but the Rainbow Stoneship supplied it anyway. Scout tried to memorise the feeling of Rai's fur on his paw, the shinx beginning to purr quietly.
Sean gave them their moment of privacy, looking back on the Old Ruins and the last place he knew he'd ever see Striker and Guardian. Despite everything, he missed them both.
There was no time to look back, but the Rainbow Stoneship allowed it regardless. Time, when time was collapsing.
A moment to breathe and a moment to grieve. Because there would be no time for such things past this.
"Oooh, sweet LAND I missed you so much!" Wartortle cried, leaping off the lapras he was riding.
His companions were more polite.
"Thank you, Lapras," Chikorita said, giving a brief bow. Charizard landed from the air, sinking further into the sand than he had anticipated and losing his balance.
Without blinking, Chikorita extended some vines to pluck him out and up, letting him breathe a sigh of relief against Wartortle.
"Thank you for putting up with us," she said. The two lapras were nothing but smiles and quiet sighs of relief.
"Thank you for taking the Lapras Travel Liner," one said as the other added.
"You were most… exciting clients."
Chikorita smiled in amusement and gave the two a tip as Charizard's tail nearly set Wartortle's fluffy one on fire, leading him to leaping into the water.
"Help!" Wartortle cried, splashing in the shallows.
"You are a nuisance," Chikorita sighed, grabbing him in her Vine Whip as well. He breathed a sigh of relief, smacking Charizard's knee when he laughed at him.
"Best to be off. It was an honour, Team Go-Getters," the lapras said and Chikorita nodded, waving a vine as they left, in something of a hurry. Once enough politeness was given, she grabbed the two wrestling mons in her vines and began dragging them up the beach.
"We've taken long enough to get here," Chikorita snapped, "and the two of you are acting like children. Get a grip on yourselves, or I will."
"Is that a promise?" Wartortle grinned. "Or a threat?"
She replied by smothering his mouth with vines to stop him from talking.
"Big talker," Charizard laughed, only somewhat emasculated at being dragged around. Chikorita gagged him as well.
"Okay," she breathed, lugging the two behind her. "Wigglytuff's Guild… Wigglytuff's Guild… aha!" It was quite obvious, the giant, unsettling, head of a Wigglytuff loomed in the distance. "That's… probably it."
One of them made a sound of assent, which somehow also sounded snarky. So, she continued to drag them behind her, ignoring their muffled complaints and enjoyed a moment of silence.
Up close, Temporal Tower was even grander.
A behemoth of a building, floating in the sky, with only an ancient path floating in the air to get to it. The cracks of red were revealed to be pulsating between crimson and purple, the heartbeat of the tower and its corruption visible.
The three had moved up to an archway, undamaged thankfully, that yawned into a featureless entrance. A mystery dungeon without question.
"This is it," Rai said, stepping up close but not too close. "The entrance to the tower."
"Why are the clouds red?" Sean asked, staring up. Rai and Scout glanced up as well, a gap in the clouds where the tower speared up was drenched in a similar red to the cracks in the tower.
It was terrifying to see nature distorting like this, Scout couldn't help but tremble slightly. "I feel like that's a bad sign," Scout said, almost conversationally.
"Okay," Rai said, looking back down to nod to the others "We-"
The world shook.
Rai squeaked, Sean braced immediately, while Scout simply fell over as a titanic shake rippled through the floating landmass. For Rai and Sean, this was far more intense than the tremors on the Hidden Land landmass, for Scout he was completely unprepared.
Stone and covering broke off the tower and crashed down, some larger bits cleaved through stone and kicked up dust, one massive segment knocked a floating stone completely out of rotation, and it began to fall.
"We should go now," Scout said, coughing wildly. He accepted a paw from Sean and was helped up.
"Are you… okay?" Rai asked, shakily. He was fine after the quake, nothing had hit them; the falling particles had blown up a lot of dust, but only Scout was coughing. "Sean?"
"I'm fine," Scout said, trying to blow dust away. "We… just… let's go."
Rai's expression creased and fell onto Scout's left side as Sean helped lead him into the dungeon. Once they were out of the dusty area, Scout's breathing began to even out.
They didn't have long to adjust to the sudden change in scenery before something attacked them. A lunatone came barrelling at them from the room they had entered, screeching. "In-in-in-intrud-dd-dder-s-s-s-s."
"Woah!" Rai squeaked and dodged back, having been the target. The impact of the lunatone's tackle left a crater in the red brick that made up the dungeon's floor.
Rai lit up with electricity and blasted it, dazing it long enough for Scout to generate a Shadow Ball, Sean copying it as he did so. The twin Shadow Ball struck it face-on and knocked it clean out.
"Did it… talk?" Rai asked, disturbed. Sean shrugged in response, still holding onto Scout.
"Are you going to lead?" Scout asked, weakly. He was breathing, but the urge to cough was still coming. Rai adopted a contemplative frown.
"You're a good leader," Sean said, convincing Rai.
"Okay. Keep an eye on each other, okay?"
With the sparking shinx leading the way, it gave Scout some extra time to catch his breath.
"Are you okay?" Sean asked, quietly, as Rai warded a bronzor off. He still had a grip on Scout, not wanting to get split up again.
Which seemed to happen a lot.
Scout didn't answer, he raised his other paw and helped knock the bronzor out with a Shadow Ball. It too garbled something that was almost words before going down.
"You're not bleeding," Sean pointed out. "How are you doing that?"
The answer was in his paws, though, and Scout didn't reply.
They paused as Rai scoped a room out, keeping the heat off them as long as possible. "Your paw," Sean said, pulling it up. Scout winced, his arm was working but it still ached. Sean looked closely at his paw, at the blackness of his dried blood and the redness around where the claws came out. "You're using this… Scout, you need the blood inside you."
Scout pulled his arm out of Sean's grip and walked ahead. His tail was lagging, and he was visibly uncoordinated.
He blasted a solrock and leapt back at Sean, striking another bronzor that was sneaking up on them, with claws seeping black.
"Lot's of Psychic-type's around," Scout called to Rai, beaming.
Rai beamed back. "You gotta be careful though," he said, causing Scout to laugh.
"When am I not?"
"That's not the most comforting."
Scout just grinned at him until Rai smiled back.
Sean watched this display in silence, walking in time with the two. With Rai leading and him backing them up, Scout was mostly protected in corridors and was in a good position to help whoever needed it the most.
Which, due to the types of the pokémon around, was Sean more than Rai.
Pokémon came and pokémon fell to the three. The fight the dungeon pokémon were putting up was oddly small, one or two good knocks usually caused them to flee. Majority of them stuttered words at them as they fought.
It was as if they knew they were here to help.
"Scout," Sean said, once they had another moment to speak without Rai overhearing. "After everything in the future, and even more of stuff I wasn't even there to see. How are you still fighting?"
Scout blasted a porygon that changed its type with Shadow Ball.
"Please stop ignoring me."
"We're kinda busy here, Sean," Scout said, throwing another Shadow Ball. He liked the move, nice and distant and he was mauled less often for it.
"I can't have my teammate, and my friend, breaking himself," Sean said, catching Scout by the shoulder. He felt the meowth tense up upon the touch before he sagged.
"Sean," Scout said, and Sean felt it. With his paw on Scout's shoulder and Scout releasing his composure for a moment, he felt it.
He wasn't sure if it was an aura thing, but assumed it had to be.
Sean's own legs nearly buckled from the exhaustion he felt. He flinched back and the feeling left him. Scout simply eyed him as Sean took a few breaths.
"How?" Was all he could ask.
"Because I have to," Scout replied, moving to catch up with Rai.
"You're going to kill yourself at this rate," Sean hissed, catching up to Scout. "Seriously? How are you still walking around and fighting?"
"I don't know," Scout replied, as easily as admitting the weather was poor today. "I'm mostly just numb, I can't feel my paws or my arms at all, really. My head swims occasionally, but when I'm talking or fighting I can focus. I can't stop though, it hurts when I have to stop."
"Scout this isn't…," Sean began, but he didn't know how to finish it. Healthy? Safe? Sane? Fighting their way to the top of Temporal Tower to stop a rampaging deity was none of those things, and he understood.
Scout saw the understanding light up in Sean's eyes, as well as the darkness that followed. Sean closed his eyes and took a breath.
"Yeah," Scout said, turning back to back Rai up some more.
"We're not going to survive this anyway," Sean mumbled. He was no idiot, he understood that this was not something he, or Scout, was walking away from.
It left him feeling almost proud, at how far Scout was willing to push himself for the sake of the world. Mostly, but mostly, it just left him sad.
He joined the two, Rai speaking happily on their progress and Scout simply soaking in the time with his partner. Sean couldn't help but smile, there was no pain, hidden or otherwise, in Scout's body language when Rai was speaking, and there was a shamelessly joyful sparkle in the shinx's eyes that had been lacking up to this point.
"How much farther do you think?" Rai asked, looking expectantly at Sean.
The riolu shrugged. "The tower is huge but it's also a dungeon. I really can't say."
Rai nodded, he could accept that. He went to say something more, but the tower began to shake again. Once again, Sean and Rai braced while Scout fell over.
He had to be helped up by both of them, and Sean frowned at the pain on Scout's face. He was clutching onto Rai like a lifeboat in an ocean of sharks.
But with his legs and Sean's own support, Rai didn't notice any additional weight and with Scout's face in his fur he didn't see any expressions.
"Thanks," Scout said, once he was able to stand on his own.
"Let's continue," Sean suggested.
Rai nodded and began to lead, Scout gave Sean a grateful look and nothing more.
They continued the trek to the top.
Striker and Dusknoir fought back to back against four sableye trying to surround them.
They were a whirlwind of strikes, shadowy blasts, burning green energy pulses and blades of light and darkness.
And then Dusknoir learned of his replacement….
"I am going to Temporal Tower," he said stiffly, after they'd allowed the sableye to scuttle off. "Learn for myself what is going on. Are you coming?"
Striker trusted Dusknoir as far as he could throw him. And since Dusknoir was big and heavy, throwing him wasn't easy.
"Why?" he asked. This was not just a chat between two enemies forced to work together, but between two bitter old friends. "If it's true it'll just kill you. Or, do you think if you hand me over you'll be back in its good graces?"
Dusknoir turned his head away, eye flickering. "I merely thought we were headed in the same direction, so."
"So, what?" Striker snapped. "Why would I ever want to go anywhere with you?"
Something seemed to sting. Dusknoir's fingers did not twitch at all, his eye was dull and when he turned back to Striker he almost looked to be seeing Scout in that moment again.
"...my apologies, Grovyle," he said stiffly. He straightened up and began to float onwards. "Perhaps it is for the best that we part again. I am… suffering nostalgia and we both know that is dangerous for us."
Striker frowned at him. "Nostalgia?"
"Quite. I do look back on our times fondly. I truly do wish that you all could have seen sense, I cared greatly for you all."
That touched a nerve in response. "No you didn't," Striker snapped. "We never meant anything to you."
"Do not presume that you-"
"I am not done!" Striker's voice rose. "If all that we went through together meant anything you wouldn't be such a coward."
"You will not-"
"You are selfish and think only of yourself," Striker finished, shutting Dusknoir down.
They stared at each other for a long moment in the dark and the cold. "...even now you don't fathom why I do what I do. You never held a child as it cried in your arms. You only see the worst around you. You refuse to live for now, trapped in the past. I will save-"
"Scout cried," Striker said blandly and again, Dusknoir fell silent. "Cried so much when you betrayed us. You think I didn't hold him then? What do you think I said when he asked me why? Do you think I knew what to say at all?"
Dusknoir remained silent.
"You hurt him," Striker said softly, and Dusknoir flinched. "And you kept on doing it, justifying it all to yourself. There is no living in this time. And you know he'd never be happy here."
They both fell silent then.
"What's the holdup?" Sean asked in concern. Rai had completely stopped, staring into a piece of reflecting red that ran through the walls of the dungeon.
"I thought," Rai began but shook his head. "It's nothing."
"Whenever 'it's nothing' it's never nothing," Scout said. Sean nodded in agreement.
Rai glanced away, but Scout had asked. "I thought I saw Grovyle," he admitted, not wanting to look at Sean.
"What do you mean?" Scout asked, alarmed. His mind flashed to horrors of soul-rending lightning and possession plots and it couldn't it couldn't it couldn't-
"In the red light," Rai explained, Scout relaxed slightly. "I could have sworn I saw him and Dusknoir fighting the sableye. But… that's silly."
The smallest of smiles twitched at Scout's lips, but he turned away quickly. "Who knows?" he said.
"Ha."
Sean took one last look but walked on with them.
It was Scout who saw the next odd thing. Between the attacks from the residents, which thankfully were not getting more difficult, his eyes fell on a ripple of blue that quickly turned purple, and then red.
As it changed colour, however, the surface became almost reflective. But instead of showing his fluffy, cream, face he saw Grovyle and Dusknoir fighting off several mismagius in the same room he was in.
Glancing around the room revealed nothing more than Sean and Rai fighting off a solrock and lunatone. When he looked back, the area was crimson and showed nothing.
Still, it filled his heart with hope.
Scout also saw the next one, Dusknoir and Grovyle back to back as five sableye attacked them in the middle of a forest dungeon. He paused, staring in closer. Something Celebi said returned to his mind.
One second there is one second here.
That couldn't be right.
There were only five sableye, since Danny was in the present with them.
How were Grovyle and Dusknoir so far ahead?
"How long have we been in here?" he asked, as the image faded with Dusknoir spinning Grovyle around to Leaf Blade the rest of the sableye down.
"Half an hour?" Sean replied. "Maybe an hour. Actually…? How long have we been here?"
"I thought it was two hours," Rai replied, frowning.
"Feels like fifteen minutes to me," Scout added, also frowning. He looked back to the wall, but it was a wall and could-could-could-could-coul
He saw the tower fall, falling from it as everything-
"Let's speed up," Sean suggested, Scout shaking his head as he returned to the here and now.
He held his tongue. It was never just nothing, but he didn't want to scare anyone with his hallucinations.
Rai saw the next one. He gasped out loud, with only Scout free enough, or close enough, to come to him. The two saw the remnants of a battle against four glalie and a mamoswine, Dusknoir visibly lagging.
"You saw that, right?" Rai whispered.
"Yeah," Scout said, nodding. "I saw two others as well."
"Two!?"
"They're kinda hard to believe," Scout said, as Sean noticed them crowded a piece of wall. "How are we even seeing that?"
"Why is Dusknoir there?"
"Dusknoir is where?" Sean asked, catching the tail end of the conversation.
"We've both seen Grovyle and Dusknoir in that." Rai gestured vaguely at the wall. "Red stuff. They look like they're working together."
"I saw them fighting sableye," Scout said.
Rai nodded. "Me too."
Sean glanced between the both of them, not sure what to say.
"The weird thing is," Scout said, as they began to move again. "They seem to be moving faster than us. I saw them in what looked like Temporal Tower, Dusk Forest, and now they're in some frozen area?"
"Is that why you asked how long we've been here?" Sean asked.
Scout nodded. "Yeah. It's just weird."
"I bet," Sean muttered. He kept his eyes on the walls a little more as they continued.
Scout caught them again next. "Sean!" he called, but the image was already fading.
"What you said before?" Dusknoir asked as they tried their best to catch their breath. "About Scout."
"What about it?" Striker responded. He wasn't even growling anymore, just fighting to keep his eyes open.
"..." Dusknoir stared blankly at the ground.
"..." Striker slowly raised his head. "I won't sugarcoat anything."
"Does he hate me?" Guardian whispered.
Striker slowly pushed himself up until he was sitting a little better. "...he didn't," he answered truthfully. "Hurt, his heart broken, all of us. But I don't believe he ever hated you."
Guardian stared resolutely at the ground. "I… the altercation before I stopped him from escaping to the past with the others, he said that if he ever saw me as his father then that was a mistake."
Striker's eyes widened slightly, almost not computing what he just heard.
"I don't… get it." Guardian clenched his hands and unclenched them, staring at them as if his hands would answer him. "All I wanted was to protect him."
Striker looked away, staring out of the crevice they hid within, recovering from the fight. From the icicle block that Dusknoir had taken. Not to 'protect' Striker of course, merely an investment in keeping his ally, if Dusknoir was to be believed.
"Striker?" The dusknoir spoke again. "I want… to ask you something."
Striker turned back to him.
"Why… why do you fight so hard? We said we'd fight for a new life, change the world so that all could live in the peace and beauty the world should be. But… even when I said it… that you would disappear, Sean, Scout, Saniya. Everyone. Even then none of you changed your minds. Your existence will end. You won't have a life to live, or exist in the world you create. So… why?"
He shook his head. "For me… I cannot bear the idea. That I will end for good. That Scout, my son. My reason to live, to fight like you do. That he will go too. I will not. I can not allow it."
He still remained lying in the crevice, looking almost small for the first time to Striker's eyes.
"With all that being said… why do you fight for such a goal? To make a world you cannot enjoy? To save a people that reviled your efforts and will forget what you did."
Striker tilted his head, letting the question soak in. "Dusknoir… I understand that you don't want to disappear. But… this is the way that I think of it." He looked up, to the static sky forever unchanging. "Even if we were to disappear. Even if I were to disappear. I wouldn't. Not truly."
Guardian stared at him, uncomprehending. "What? Are you in denial?"
Striker chuckled. "Everything ends eventually. Even were history not to be changed. Even if this place of darkness continues on. Eventually, I won't be here anymore. I don't want to die. But, more than that, I want to live. To me it's not how long you live, but how you live. What you do."
Guardian's eye met his as Striker smiled.
"While I live, I want to shine," he said fondly. "I want to prove that I exist. And if I could do something truly important… something that would carry on. It wouldn't matter if I wasn't there to see it. My spirit would live on through what I did. And that would never fade away."
He turned back to Guardian. "So, even when I do disappear, I think all that I've done will go on. That's what it means to me. That is… that would mean… that I live on, right?"
Even if you were to disappear, your spirit would live on.
Guardian trembled just slightly.
Striker chose not to note it. "I think we've rested enough, eh? Let's go."
Slowly, the dusknoir rose and they continued on.
He could make out the two lying in a crevice, and an old memory of where Dusknoir truly began to bond with Grovyle was stirred. He smiled.
"Was that them?" Sean asked, panting. He had finished his enemy off and then booked it for Scout. He had glimpsed something green and something black before the red overtook it.
"Yeah." Scout nodded. "Looked like they were resting and talking."
"They could use a good talk," Sean muttered, disappointed he had missed another one. He stepped back and sighed. "Why are they together?" he asked, not really expecting an answer.
Rai had none to give and Scout didn't have the time to explain anything.
Sean's delight was paramount when he finally caught one. Nothing could ruin the moment, seeing Striker hop along while Guardian lagged behind. They were in what looked like a forest of icicles, very strange.
The unruinable moment was ruined when Striker stepped into the trap and his soul began to melt from the power of the four icicles.
All three froze to watch as Striker thrashed around in the hold of the trap, visibly screaming. Tears began to prick Sean's eyes, but he couldn't look away. Scout's paws slowly rose and rose, almost covering his eyes but not quite.
His mind moved a thousand thoughts a moment. Everything he had done in the future, everything he had meant to Dusknoir. Everything Dusknoir had meant to Sean and Grovyle. Nothing was expected, nothing was prepared.
For a moment, he truly didn't know if Dusknoir's connection with Grovyle would be a boon here, or a final curse.
Dusknoir began to visibly shake and fight with himself as the scene began to fade, grabbing at his head and thrashing almost like Grovyle. Sean was silently mouthing pleas as the view grew dimmer and dimmer.
Before they could see if Dusknoir relented, it was back to red.
All three stood in silence.
"Sean…" Rai whispered. The riolu didn't respond.
Scout lifted a paw and laid it on Sean's shoulder, mirroring the support Sean had given him earlier. "We have to believe in them," he said. Sean took a shuddering breath.
"Did I ever tell you what Striker and Guardian were like… before?"
Both shook their heads.
"They were the firmest of friends. Competitive and always getting into little fights. But they were closer for it. When Guardian joined Primal Dialga that was… that was the only time I've ever seen Striker cry."
Sean turned away from the wall. He regretted seeing that, which weighed on him. He didn't want to go with regrets.
Scout and Rai weren't able to find any words to say, so the three continued in silence as their heartbeats began to grow louder.
"Knock-knock?" Timber asked, tapping quietly on Bell's door as Armageddon began to fall.
"Who's there?" Bell asked, soft and calm as Armageddon descended upon them.
"H-hee."
"Hee who?"
"S-sounds fun."
Timber heard her move closer, press against the door. He moved up as well, pressing against the wooden barrier. Part of him wondered if he could chew through it, the rest admonished him for thinking that.
"Are you alright?" Bell asked, hearing Timber take in shaky breaths.
"N-no, by golly," he replied, shaking harder. "This whole situation has plum gotten too much for me, y-yup… yup. I… I don't know what's going to happen."
Bell began to hum, the soothing tones comforting him. Bell continued to hum to calm him to sleep. The clouds rolled dark and purple above, there was nothing that could be done. A null-wind began to blow, and things began to freeze.
Timber was spared from hearing it, Bell's musical voice blocking it out until there was no Bell to hum or any Timber to listen.
They were frozen in time.
Kangaskhan herded as many pokémon that could move into her storage facility, calling out for more to follow. Lightning was striking, but Electivire was unable to draw them to him. One eventually hit him anyway. Despite freezing everything else it hit, Electivire was still able to move.
He continued trying to shepherd pokémon, but he was slowing down. The running currents of electricity across his body were stalling the time freeze, but he couldn't stall it forever. It was proven that even an Electric-type was not immune to the freezing time, if still resistant.
Kangaskhan ran forth, spotting Marill and Azurill carrying their mother. Azumarill had come into town today, feeling well enough to do her part and help the boys. The sudden shift in weather had caused panic, and she was still not well enough to run. So, they carried her, even as she pleaded with them to leave her behind.
"You have to run," Azumarill pleaded, trying to pull herself out of her son's grip. "Get safe. Leave me! Please!"
"N-no, mother," Azurill sniffled. He wouldn't let himself cry yet, even as pokémon ran and panicked and got hit by bright lights and stopped moving.
"We have to survive. Together," Marill said, without hesitation, carrying the bulk of his mother.
"Dears!" Kangaskhan called, trying to weave around the running pokémon and the frozen ones. Those were harder to see, and she slammed her leg into one, falling immediately and crashing to the ground.
Kangaskhan gasped in pain, pain blazing up and down her leg. Her tail twitched from the pain, but she couldn't be felled yet, she had to help, she had to save more, she had to-
Lightning struck Kangaskhan.
Azurill whimpered as Kangaskhan was rendered unmoving, half risen with an expression of pain on her face.
A painfully cold wind began to blow, and Azurill could feel it seeping into his skin, through the fat that was supposed to keep it at bay. The null wind blew over the family, Azumarill begging one last time for her sons to leave her.
They did not.
Tears ran down Charizard's face, he made no motion to stop them. Somehow, someway, Treasure Town was already lost, and he could do nothing to help.
He didn't know what to do. Pokémon were looking at him for guidance now, those that had managed to get into Spinda's Café before they were frozen.
He didn't know what to do. He was not the leader of his team, Chikorita was. But she, ever so bold, always so strong, had run out to help. They all had, but she had been struck frozen by a lightning bolt and Wartortle not long after, taking a freezing bolt that would have left Charizard himself frozen in time.
Now he was alone, pokémon were looking at him, but he didn't know what to do. He didn't know what to do.
Wigglytuff sat on the edge of the cliff. The guild to his right, a simple headstone to his left.
He had not moved when the clouds boomed overhead. It was too late to do anything now. There was only belief and trust in those that had set out to save the world.
Wigglytuff was many things. A world-class explorer. Smarter than he looked. A lover of perfect apples. Some even claimed he was a hero, although he never believed such a fantasy.
A hero did great things, a hero shared their favourite foods, a hero protected others, a hero taught others, a hero gave others a reason to fight.
Rhythm never saw himself as those things. He did see Trill as those things.
Trill, who had done amazing things. Trill, who had shared with him. Trill, who had protected him. Trill, who taught him and his apprentices. Trill, who gave Rhythm a reason to do good. Trill, who told Rhythm he was a hero, but would never accept being called one in return.
He didn't place an epitaph on Trill's headstone.
There were many things he would have liked to have put there. A poem. A sonnet. A declaration of the greatest hero that had flapped along the Grass Continent. He could have put down what Trill meant to him, but he'd need to inscribe the entire continent to even have a chance of describing what Trill was to him.
He could have listed Trill's achievements. He could have put the pokémon Trill had taught. He could have put the pokémon Trill had saved. He could have put Trill's deeds, the songs he wrote, or those he had loved.
He could have written the humble truth, that Trill was the true hero of their tale.
He did not. Because Trill had never wanted that. He kept it simple, modest, like any other grave. His name, a wish to rest, and one more thing.
Here lies Trill
Rest In Peace
l will always remember you
Rhythm sat on the edge of the cliff. The guild to his right, a simple headstone to his left.
He did not move because he trusted the heroes Trill trusted. He did not move because he could not move.
Rhythm sat on the edge of the cliff. The guild to his right, a simple headstone to his left.
He did not move. Lightning fell. He could no longer move.
"It can't be much farther now," Sean said, panting for breath. He almost wished he could sweat, as all this battling was leaving him very hot and he was almost hyperventilating to keep himself conscious.
"What is the plan when we get to the top?" Scout asked. There were no more pokémon, the enemies had been left behind and none followed them. None were around. They were near the top of the tower, only the tick of their hearts to prove the passage of time.
"Two of us will distract Dialga," Sean said, looking to Rai who nodded. "Us two. You have to take the Time Gears and put them… wherever they need to be put."
"Me?" Scout asked, baulking at the idea. He looked at Rai and Sean, both had their faces set on the decision. "I… I don't know if I can."
"You're the fastest of us," Sean pointed out. "And you're too injured to fight Dialga. You have to get around it while we distract it."
"It'll be okay," Rai said, as Scout was still looking terrified. "We can handle ourselves."
"I know that," Scout said, looking away. He felt movement and turned to see Sean pulling out the bag that contained the Time Gears. The little one that had been stashed in the bigger bag.
"Carry?"
Scout looked at the bag, light but containing the weight of the entire world. "I… you're trusting me with the world?"
That was a bad idea, he was certain. He had ruined so many things, everything had gone wrong for him, everything he attempted went backwards or diagonal. He had to explain that, somehow. They shouldn't give him this responsibility.
"You can do it," Sean said.
"I know you can," Rai added.
Scout slowly accepted the offered object. One having the last of their items, the other containing the hope of the world.
"One last thing," Sean said, pointing to the bag. "You had better touch one now. They feel awful to touch and we can't have you dropping one out of surprise."
Scout nodded, pulling the bag open. He delved in, wondering how bad could it really be? As soon as his paw rubbed against one, he flinched back.
Sean nodded, looking apologetic. "One heck of a defence mechanism. Pick it up just to be sure."
Scout nodded, a little jerkier, but did as asked. His face screwed up as he held the gear in his paw, its weight light and gentle but the sensation on his paws was confusing and disturbing. It felt like a soft hand stroking his back, a gentle touch that nevertheless had his entire body feeling the deepest of discomfort. He set it back in once he felt he could pick it up again when he needed to.
The three were quiet as they made the last of the trip. The dungeon began to change, the rooms became less generic, the walls began to show more wear and tear.
Crimson light began to bleed from above as the dungeon changed into steps, the hazy hallways of Temporal Tower being left behind them.
"M-Meowth?" Rai whispered.
Scout turned to him. Rai butted his head gently against his own and said something soft. Scout pressed back for a moment. They had to separate.
The clouds spun overhead, rotating like a bloody hole in the sky. The steps ended and the ground evened out, bringing the three onto the peak of Temporal Tower.
Columns and pillars laid scattered about, most in various stages of ruin and destruction. They were almost within the clouds, pinkish mist seeped around the air, curling their breath and filling their lungs.
At the end of the Temporal Pinnacle laid six steps leading up to five window-like decorations, emphasising an ancient stone tablet. Five holes had been torn out of it, one for each Time Gear. The corruption was spreading through it as well, red lines turning the blue that represented healthy Dialga into the rotten purple of Primal Dialga.
"That's it," Scout said, pointing forward. He had the best eyes, but even from this distance the others could clearly see its importance.
"Where is it?" Rai whispered. He did not mean the tablet of the Time Gears.
"Let's be careful," Sean suggested and the three began creeping forward, Scout clutched the bag holding the Time Gears tighter. Above them, the clouds began to spin faster as a time-shattering roar echoed out.
"Faster!" Sean said and they broke into a run. Near-Primal Dialga descended from the hole in the clouds, eyes bloodshot and rolling.
"RUN!" Dialga screamed, landing before them with a tower-shaking crunch. Its skin was darkening, red bleeding through the lines of its body. It wasn't entirely primal yet, but there was no sense in Dialga's bulging eyes. "TIME IS DONE! THE DARKNESS CONSUMES THE SKY!"
Dialga roared again, shaking the Hidden Land as the storm outside truly began to roil. "YOU, WHO DARES TO BRING RUIN TO TEMPORAL TOWER!"
"No!" Rai yelled back, forgetting his fear of Dialga for a moment. "We are here to save the tower! We're begging you! Don't let the world freeze!"
"SILENCE!" Dialga boomed and the burst of air knocked the three back. "WHO DO YOU THINK YOU ARE, STRIKING DOWN THE TOWER?"
"There is no reasoning with it, Shinx," Sean shouted. "We have to fight!"
"Fight!" Rai nodded.
Scout trembled but he managed to stutter. "F-Fight."
"Fight," Scout said stronger, nodding back even as tears of fear pricked his eyes.
The aura of the mad god pressed down like a physical weight upon them. With Scout's unsteady legs he almost collapsed just by the force of its presence, Sean's nose began to bleed and Rai growled weakly.
Dialga roared once more, almost devolving into the scream of Primal Dialga as the battle truly began. The pressure was still there but the need to survive was fighting back, there was no place to run. The only option left was to fight.
Rai and Sean burst forward in a sprint as Scout began to edge to the right, trying to avoid Dialga's sight. Despite the threat to himself, his eyes were on Rai and Sean. Both of them were so fearless or, perhaps, they were terrified but fighting anyway.
Rai tried to shock Dialga, but if it even noticed then the attack still did nothing. Sean ran up Dialga's enormous leg and tried to Force Palm its gem, but a pulse of pure energy blew him off.
Rai zapped him again, aiming for the eye and Dialga roared, jerking back. Sean had enough time to bounce back and throw a blast seed, detonating it right on Dialga's chest diamond.
It grunted and opened its eyes, now glowing white. Energy began to build above it, forming into gleaming diamonds. Dialga used an ancient rocky power to barrage the two annoyances and Scout took his chance.
He ran as fast as he could, claws clattering on the ground as the cramping in his body caused them all to extend.
Sean managed to toss some energy back and shield Rai from the worst of the shard storm.
Scout puffed between his teeth, avoiding Dialga's swinging tail by sliding under it. There! He had a straight shot for the tablet of the Time Gears.
He pressed forward, refusing to look back as everything began to boom and shake. He lost his balance, but threw himself forward, sliding and tumbling forward before rolling back to his feet and continuing on.
Sean yelled out in pain, Scout didn't look back.
Rai yelped, Scout couldn't look back.
If he looked back he could lose precious time.
He leapt up the steps three at a time and slammed into the tablet, chipping his koban. He didn't care, immediately digging into the bag for the Time Gears.
They felt like they did before. That soft hand on the back of his neck, terror and pain. Scout refused to drop it and pulled the Time Gear up, slamming it into the slot and feeling it click into place.
He dug his paw back in two more times, setting two more gears, before things went wrong.
Rai and Sean had been doing their best to distract Dialga, taking pot shots where they could but mostly dodging around the attacks. Hails of diamonds, claws blazing with draconic energy, bursts of white light. Everything was dodged or blocked as best as they could, their only chance to survive being small enough to avoid its storm of attacks.
They saw Scout get to the tablet and begin setting the Time Gears in, relaxing an iota in relief. Dialga, however, sensed something amiss, in its crazed mind it noticed only two threats to the tower when there were three earlier.
It turned around, spotting Scout frantically setting Time Gears in and roared in eldritch fury. Scout screamed as well, nearly dropping a Time Gear upon seeing Dialga charging him. The destroyed pedestal from the Dark Future flashed into his mind, if this thing broke it was over.
Pure energy began to build in the air as Dialga's gem began to flash and glow. It opened its maw and took a breath in, drawing in all the power of time.
A colourless void began to form in Dialga's maw, as the gem glowed brighter and brighter. The Roar of Time continued to build as Rai and Sean tried desperately to turn it away from Scout, who had completely frozen up as he stared death in the mouth.
The clouds above began to move yet again.
"Boost me!" Sean demanded, jumping up. Rai followed without hesitation, headbutting Sean with all the force he could muster. Sean was thrown into the air and he threw his paw out, tassels shuddering in the vortex of air.
He collided with Dialga's jaw right as it unleashed its power, sending a Force Palm to physically jolt Dialga's head up.
Its head was jerked just a little, but it was enough for the Roar of Time to spread over in a sliding beam.
Scout was hit by just the barest taste, as was the tablet, with the rest of the Roar of Time flying into the clouds.
Scout felt the tablet shatter under the onslaught of the deranged deity, shattering with it as the world itself fell–-
The brief touch was still more than enough to slam him into the tablet, the force of impact knocking sense back into him but also dislodging the gears.
Two of the Time Gears rolled down the steps as Scout tried to remember how to move again. The shock of the Roar of Time felt like he had been about to die, he could barely breathe from the barest touch.
"Go!" Rai yelled to Sean. The riolu didn't question it, running by Dialga's whipping tail and grabbing one of the rolling gears.
Rai ran to the other side, sending a bolt of lightning that lanced Dialga in the eye and leaping for the fastest rolling Time Gear, snatching it up in his mouth.
Tasting a Time Gear was not his idea of a good time. Instead of dropping the gear when Rai felt the experience of his family dying again, he bit down harder, angry tears breaking down his face.
He burst into a Quick Attack and ran under Dialga before tossing the Time Gear to Sean. Scout was pulling himself up again, somehow finding yet another reserve of will to get up.
Dialga turned on the three easy targets and began to build up enough Power to blast them all into dust but took a combined Shadow Ball/Thunderbolt to the eyes and it recoiled with a roar.
The clouds above began to churn faster as something began to build above the battlefield.
"You do it," Scout said, throwing the bag containing the last gear to Sean and jumping down. He was pretty sure he didn't have the paw/eye coordination to place any more Time Gears, but what he could do was throw his own blood at Dialga.
Rai ran after him, shocking Dialga in numerous spots to irritate it to focus on him, rather than trying to crush Scout.
"Sean, duck!" Rai called, spotting Dialga's tail coming for Scout. Scout obeyed immediately, dropping to the ground bonelessly. He angled his paw up and a Night Slash came up, slicing into Dialga's tail as it swiped by.
Dialga grunted from the nick.
Scout rolled to his feet, a few drops of Dialga's blood on his paws. He pointed forward and generated a Shadow Ball using the legendary pokémon's blood. The power was enough to form a barrage of Shadow Balls.
Dialga grunted again from the storm. Rai zapped it again and Dialga roared, the tower shook harder. Its stomping was causing the place to tilt.
Dialga jumped and slammed into the ground, cracking the ground and causing it to shake further.
"Who's breaking the tower NOW?" Scout yelled, staggering to his feet after he fell over.
"YOU!" Dialga roared and threw a cavalcade of diamonds at Scout.
The truth was the opposite. Which suddenly became painfully literal.
Above the battlefield, in the roiling clouds, a hole of burning blue light burst into view.
From the portal came a monster.
All four of them felt the arrival and stopped, looking up as Primal Dialga emerged into the past.
"No," Sean whispered, unable to move as the pressure they had adjusted too intensified by another power. Staggering the meowth, shinx, and riolu.
Primal Dialga screamed as it descended like a hateful meteor, slamming into the side of the tower with all the force it could muster. Dialga screamed in kind as its very being was assaulted and cracked from the impact, falling over with a crash as the entire tower rattled from the impact.
Sean was knocked flying from the impact to the tower, losing the fifth Time Gear as he fell down the stairs.
Time began to bend, and the gear fell off the tower, before skipping back up to still falling. Scout pulled himself up as Dialga began to skip between standing and roaring, and collapsed and moaning.
Rai screamed his name infinite times and Scout felt himself be pulled back by time, skipping back as he tried to get the rolling Time Gear. He couldn't get close, all four of them were paralysed as Primal Dialga attacked the tower again. A pillar fell down and cru-
The pillar was rolling the other way.
Desperately, Scout threw a Shadow Ball at the Time Gear. Thankfully, it did not skip back and collided with the gear, knocking it back.
Everything stopped skipping and Scout nearly fell off the tower as he was unprepared to be moving forward again.
The Time Gear rolled to a stop as Dialga managed to get up.
"INTERLOPER!" it bellowed and leapt off the tower, blasting Primal Dialga from above. Not taking this gracefully, Primal Dialga flew up and slammed into Dialga with all the force of time. Its jaws clamped around its counterpart's neck.
The three normal pokémon were blown off their feet again by the displacement of air as the two Dialga flew up from the tower, grappling in the air.
Dialga managed to tear itself free of Primal Dialga, but lost part of its neck in the process. It brought a huge surge of power down and blasted Primal Dialga and itself out of the sky, the clouds splitting from the expulsion of power.
Both Dialga crashed down on the tower, shaking it even further as they grappled. Regular Dialga was on the bottom, being slammed into a crater by Primal Dialga.
The portal above remained open, not having closed despite Primal Dialga's exit.
"Shadow Ball NOW!" Sean called and Scout generated it as ordered, Sean copying it. "Attack the Primal!"
Rai added his Thunderbolt to the blow and the three of them managed a grand total of a scratch on Primal Dialga.
However, Rai had also aimed for the eyes.
Primal Dialga screamed and jerked back, giving Dialga enough time to force the monster off and get out of the crater. Dialga moaned and staggered, blood pouring from its wound as it was barely able to stand as the tower continued to shake.
The portal remained open. Flashing with eldritch light. Three figures appeared in the air, only two descended from the portal.
Primal Dialga turned furious eyes on Rai and screamed, blowing a Roar of Time without hesitation at the tiny shinx.
Rai's eyes filled with terror as the end of his time came for him. It was too late to move.
"STOP!"
Rai was blown off his feet from the shockwave but avoided the actual blow when something appeared from above to intercept it.
Guardian groaned, sagging and smoking from the blow.
"D-D-Dusknoir?" Rai squeaked, stunned.
"Indeed," Guardian groaned, lifting his head as Striker tackled Primal Dialga's head from behind. Rai followed his gaze, as did Scout and Sean, spotting the Passage of Time still active in the sky, and a tiny figure within.
"I'm sorry we couldn't keep Primal Dialga in the future!" Striker yelled, holding onto Primal Dialga even as it tried to buck him off. "But we're here now!"
Guardian took a breath and floated back up. "Saniya will hold the portal open, we need to force Primal Dialga BACK!"
Saniya saluted from where she held the portal open, not leaving the Passage of Time. She had to remain exactly where she was, floating in the infinitesimal gap between the future and the past, holding the portal open while maintaining the flow of time as Dialga fought Dialga.
She floated almost serenely, her body fluttering in a temporal wind, arms outstretched and eyes closed.
"Hurry," Saniya groaned, her body already wilting from the effort of holding time together.
"What are you? How are you?" Rai babbled, Guardian grabbed him and threw him to Scout and Sean.
"No time to explain!" he yelled.
"He's on our side!" Striker called, slamming both arms down to stab into Primal Dialga's neck. It roared and keened, bending up.
Primal Dialga jerked and slammed itself face first into the ground, succeeding in throwing the pesky grovyle off its neck.
Guardian caught Striker with a shadowy tendril, setting him down as Sean ran to them.
"I'm so glad to see you," he said, smiling despite everything.
Striker grabbed his shoulder and nodded.
The three turned back as Primal Dialga picked itself up. "We are all going to have to work together here," Striker said swiftly. "Guardian and I will drag Primal Dialga back to the future."
"You all just focus on forcing it back," Guardian said as he flew forward. Primal Dialga saw its wayward servant flying for it and screamed until time began to shatter around it.
"NO, DIALGA!" Guardian yelled and formed a Shadow Ball.
He needed a moment to generate it, a moment that was given when Scout threw his own Shadow Ball into Primal Dialga's face.
Guardian unleashed his Fell Shadow Ball straight into Primal Dialga's corroded gem, staggering it for a moment. Striker leaped forward as Dialga's buckled, bringing his Leaf Blade into Primal Dialga's eye, destroying it.
Primal Dialga screamed in pain and flinched back, dark blood pouring from the wound, as Guardian flew for its other side. "Sorry for the holdup," he grunted, latching onto Primal Dialga's tail and pulling.
Primal Dialga was heavy unlike anything else, but it was constantly floating on instinct, the removal of a steadying hold on the ground caused Guardian's pull to slip its legs off the ground and begin to rise into the air.
"Everyone!" Striker yelled. "Attack Dialga, NOW!"
Sean and Scout linked arms to form a Shadow Ball while Rai zapped the bloody hole where Primal Dialga's right eye had been as Striker slammed into its gem with his whole body. With Guardian pulling it, Primal Dialga was forced back a step each blow, going faster and faster.
It, however, did not consent to this. It roared and pulled itself forward, tugging Guardian back even as he heaved. It aimed its mouth at Dialga, dying on the ground and began building a true Roar of Time.
The Dialga of the past snapped open its eyes when it felt another tapping into its Power and roared in defiance, forcing itself to its feet even as blood poured from its neck. It drew in Power and matched Primal Dialga's Roar of Time with its own.
The expulsion of twin Roar of Time's was immense.
The beam war began to agitate the foundations of the Hidden Land itself, and the Temporal Tower began to shake apart.
Saniya, seeing disaster about to occur regardless of if they succeeded or not reached a hand forth, her fingers dipping into the past. The portal shuddered, flickered, with her in it as time began to unravel around her.
"DIALGA!" she yelled, reaching forward with all of her own Power. Primal Dialga's head began to lift up as the Time Travel Pokémon defied the keeper of time and grabbed its head in Psychic. "ENOUGH!"
The beam war that Dialga was losing began to turn as Primal Dialga's Roar of Time began to be lifted into the sky, Celebi forcing its head up with every ounce of power she had, her body browning as she expelled all her strength at once.
Dialga gave one last roar and burst with everything it had, the Roar of Time slamming into its corrupted future form and knocking it into the sky.
Saniya pulled her hand back as Guardian pulled Primal Dialga the rest of the way. It would still not go quietly and began to thrash in the air, trying to throw the dusknoir off.
"Boost me," Striker said to the remaining three and began to sprint. Sean matched his sprint and the two shared a smile.
"Like old times?" Sean asked.
"Maybe put some more oomph into it?" Striker suggested with a grin.
He leaped up and Sean jumped with him, but instead of following he pressed his paws into Striker's feet and did a double Force Palm, blasting Striker into the air as the shock knocked him back onto Temporal Tower.
"DIALGA!" Striker yelled, burning with Grassy Power. The type that had suffered the most under Primal Dialga's broken world, as there was so little sunlight for them to survive. Striker slammed into Primal Dialga, tackling him hard enough for Guardian to regain his grip and pull the monster the last few metres.
Striker, Guardian, and Saniya disappeared again, pulling the howling Primal Dialga back to the future.
Dialga roared its hatred to Primal Dialga one last time, before it began to peter off into a gurgling whine. Dialga's roar continued to lower into a moan and then into a whimper.
Dialga howled as its injuries truly began to take their toll.
Sean got back to his feet as the sky above began to slow down.
"What's going on?" Scout yelled, it was getting harder to move as Dialga's voice grew weaker and weaker. The storm around them grew more intense, the tower would not stop shifting, it was beginning to tilt.
"The TIME GEAR!" Sean yelled, pointing. Scout turned, spotting the thing lying there innocently. He began to run for it, but each movement was like moving through maple syrup and he could feel his muscles locking up, freezing in place as lightning fell around them.
Dialga's voice tapered out to a finish as its heart was frozen in time and Dialga stopped.
Scout's paws wrapped around the Time Gear, but he could no longer run. His body was almost completely frozen, his mind was going dark. He saw Rai closest to the tablet.
"Rai," Scout cried, with his lungs unable to pull in any more air. He threw the Time Gear as his body fell still. Rai caught it in his mouth.
"Electricity, Rai!" Sean yelled, he too could no longer move. Rai, however, could. The shinx began sparking with everything he had left, fighting back the freezing nothingness.
He had nothing left, however, and his sparks grew weaker as he tried to run to the tablet.
Sean raised his paw flat to point at Rai and with the last of his freezing senses, copied Rai's Thunderbolt. It gave him just enough time to move and shock Rai himself, charging the shinx with just a tiny bit more electricity before Sean too was frozen in the failing concept of time.
The tower began to break apart as it froze, convulsing in final death throes, and Rai was thrown into the air. He yelped out, still blazing with electricity. His momentum began to slow despite his charge, and he desperately paddled in the air, almost swimming through the freezing void.
He was above the tablet of the Time Gears and falling towards it, but he could barely move. The electricity was running out, receding.
The Time Gear that felt like everything touched the tablet, then froze in time unable to be pressed into its slot.
Rai gasped with the tiny bit of air left in his lungs, his entire lower body was frozen, the electricity was running out, running out, running out.
Rai felt his mind grow sluggish as time's collapse began to freeze his brain and he desperately tried to push the Time Gear, but it was frozen. It was frozen.
Time stopped.
The planet stopped moving. Dialga was gone. Treasure Town. Capim Town. The Grass Continent. The world. Everything, and everyone, stopped.
There was nothing but a few crackles of electricity left, a few Electric-type pokémon able to still move for a few seconds more, seconds that no longer existed.
In Temporal Tower, a meowth was frozen, arm extended as if he had thrown something.
In Temporal Tower, a riolu was frozen, paw forward as if he had sent a blast of energy.
In Temporal Tower, Dialga was frozen, head raised in a final cry.
In Temporal Tower, a shinx was frozen. However, a small current of electricity still moved around his body, zapping around, unable to do anything more than ruffle a few bits of fur. It moved around a few times before moving to his extended paw, pressed against an odd cerulean gear.
Electricity began to zap, buzzing and sparking with the last that Rai could give, jolting across the Time Gear.
The electricity ran out.
A moment passed. A second? An eternity? Few could say.
The gear was roused by the electricity, able to move, and gravity pulled it the last few inches into place.
Everything went white.
Kangaskhan jolted, momentarily confused at the immediate disappearance of the storm and all the pokémon moving again. She was sure she had been… she shrugged it off and continued helping pokémon, picking up the family of Water-types and carrying them herself to the shelter, smiling proudly at the boys for protecting their mother so fiercely.
Charizard continued to weep until a vine wiped them away and he gasped, Chikorita smiled at him, a little confused at why he was crying. Wartortle continued to direct pokémon but was captured along with Chikorita in a desperate hug from their biggest member.
Beldum shook their head, confused but relieved that they were mostly undamaged. The storm had just disappeared without even a blink. One moment it was there, and the next it was not.
"Decisive Statement: The world has been saved," they buzzed, and debated what to do. Back to Treasure Town and their team members? Or onwards to brave new lands?
Wigglytuff took a grateful breath in and smiled, the storm was gone. The world had been saved. He gave a sad smile to Chatot's grave and stood up. He would be needed in town to calm the townsfolk down.
Beheeyem and Electrike rushed forward. The sudden disappearance of the storm was odd, but they had Beldum to find. Any good fortune would be worth taking advantage of.
Bidoof gasped as he noticed the chilling winds and terrifying storm were gone.
"Bell?" he asked, tapping on the door. "What happened?"
There was no response.
"Bell? Bell? Knock-knock?"
There was no response.
Bidoof's confusion began melting into worry and he tapped more insistently. "Bell? Are you alright? Bell? Can I come in?"
He reached for the door handle, but it was too high. He began building the energy to jump when a response came.
"Oh, yeah, I'm fine."
"Oh golly, thank the legends," Bidoof sighed, resting down. "What happened? Do you have any ideas? The storm is gone yup-yup! Do you think that means they saved the world?"
"Looks like it."
Bidoof breathed a sigh of relief before began to cheer in excitement. "The world is saved! By my friend too! Yup-yup this is incredible."
"Sure is."
Bidoof's cheer began to pause and he looked to the door in confusion. "A-are you alright in there, Bell?" he asked. "You don't sound too much like yourself."
Bell was quiet for a moment, before he felt her rest against the door. "I'm just in shock," she whispered. "Tell me a knock-knock joke, please."
"Uh, sure. Knock-knock?"
"Who's there?"
"Time."
"…Time who?"
"Time to celebrate!"
He beamed, he felt like that was a good one. It took a moment, but Bell did giggle. "You always have the best ones," she said, fondly.
Bidoof smiled bashfully. "Yours are so much better, yup-yup."
"I enjoy yours more."
Bidoof smiled and rested back against the door. He could go back into town later, for now he'd like to just have a quiet moment of relief with Bell.
The world was saved.
Rai's face suddenly hit the tablet and he bounced off it, nose stinging. "Ugh," he groaned, everything hurt, everything stung, he could barely open his eyes.
Scout collapsed as soon as time restarted, falling face first onto the ground. "Ooph."
Even Sean fell over once the day was saved, legs turning to jelly and he tumbled, more gracefully however and he was able to catch himself and manoeuvre onto his behind. "Ah…"
They all had their eyes closed, stinging against the light. Their eyes slowly began to adjust and the three all looked towards Dialga at the same time.
The red and purple was gone, blue and cerulean was returned and Dialga was sane again.
Dialga, however, was also on the ground, on its side, weakly breathing in and out.
"Dialga," Rai whispered and found the strength to stand. He weakly trotted over, Dialga's eyes cracking open to see the shinx approaching.
"Well met, small magical creatures," Dialga said, voice low and quiet. If still loud enough to easily carry across the whole of the top of Temporal Tower. "You have saved time. You have my gratitude."
"It wasn't me," Rai said, looking at Scout and Sean. "Sean and… uh, Scout too!"
Dialga rumbled, Rai stepped back. He wasn't growling, however, more like humming in agreement.
Sean was next to get up, drifting closer to the fallen deity. "Are you… okay?"
Dialga snorted, sending a vibration through the floor, before answering, "No." It began to move, pulling its head up, unmindful of the sticky blood drying against the ground. Dialga slowly, but surely, began to get up, even as its legs quivered and head was bowed.
Scout too got up and joined Sean, feeling like he was floating, to watch as Dialga stood to its full height.
"Temporal Tower has been assailed by the maddenned future," Dialga rumbled, voice strained from the effort of getting up. "The Time Gears have saved it, however…"
Dialga's legs nearly buckled and it groaned, head touching the ground for a moment before it refused to show such weakness any longer.
Scout saw how Dialga was standing, how it was breathing, just like him. "Are you dying?" he asked, feeling almost detached.
"Yes."
"What!?" Sean yelped. "You can't die!"
Rai fell mute in horror.
Dialga gave a weak laugh. "You are mistaken, young magical creatures," it replied. "I can very well die, and I am going to die very soon.
There was a stoic confidence to its tone that prevented the three from devolving into a panic.
"It would not be the first time Dialga has died," Dialga said, beginning to shake with energy. "Although this circumstance is unique. I can only hope the next Dialga will do a better job than I have. For too long has this world been without true guidance. We were given the task to protect it, after the severing but..." It mumbled on, not making a whole lot of sense to the trio.
Bluish energy began to leak from Dialga, pooling into the cracks of Temporal Tower. "I will use the last of this body's life to prevent the tower from collapsing, the next will have to continue repairs, however."
"What will happen to you?" Rai asked, quietly but still Dialga caught it.
"I do not know," Dialga answered, legs buckling, and it fell to its belly. "This personality will fade to a memory. Whoever the next will be, I do not know. Hm?" It noticed Rai beginning to cry. "Do not weep for me young pokémon. A magical creature like me cannot truly die, I will simply return to what I am before a new Dialga is formed."
Dialga sighed. "It will be a weaker one, unfortunately. To repair the tower like this, it will require even more of my Power that will become the tower."
"But what about you?" Rai asked.
"I don't know what you mean," Dialga replied, voice growing weaker. It fell to its side again, legs splayed behind it. "But… if it is not too much to ask. Will the three of you stay here, just for a short time? I do not wish to be alone in these final moments."
They nodded and drew closer. Scout and Sean were a little hesitant, the memory of Primal Dialga was hard to break. Thankfully, Rai had no such issues and walked right to Dialga's face, unhesitantly pressing against it.
No one spoke as Dialga's breathing grew faint, the light of its gem grew dim, and the light in its eyes disappeared. Before the three, it breathed its last breath.
Dialga died.
The tower seemed to wail as Dialga passed away, the trauma of the battle against its Primal self and the damage to the tower too much to survive.
Rai sniffed and stepped back from Dialga's blank eyes.
He exchanged a tearful look with Sean and Scout, who were finding themselves beginning to tear up as well. To watch anyone die was confronting, but someone as mighty as Dialga?
They weren't there with Dialga's body for very long before something approached them.
"So, that's what it looks like?" Dialga said. The three startled at the intrusion and turned on it, pausing at the sight of another Dialga.
This one was… smaller. Still much larger than any of them, but far tinier compared to the behemoth of the previous Dialga.
Dialga looked over the three without much care, its eyes were for its predecessor. It stared at the body for a long time.
"D-Dialga?" Scout asked.
Dialga looked away from the other one. Taking a moment to collect its thoughts. "Yes. I am Dialga." It stepped forward, walking up to the Time Gears. "I can't believe Dialga let anyone take those for longer than it was needed. I won't be making that mistake."
It turned around on them. "I suppose I should thank you for saving time. So, thank you. You may go back to your lives. Or… well." It gave Scout a knowing look. "However much of one you have left."
"Do you need someone to talk to?" Rai asked, unbothered by Dialga's rudeness.
"Not you three," Dialga replied, glancing away. Its eyes continued to fall on the previous Dialga. "Just… just go."
They left Dialga to grieve its previous self and exited the tower.
In the battleground of the Old Ruins, a sableye stirred.
Travelling through time when hungry wasn't good for one's energy and Danny was only now waking up. He had slept through the quakes and the roars of the twin Dialga battle.
He woke up now, however, to an odd weight pressing all through his body.
Danny looked around, not fully aware of where he was for the moment. The sky was dawning bright, a wind was blowing, and things weren't pure horror.
He remembered the events that led him to here and grinned, he was safe, he was in the past, he was-
Disappearing?
Danny paused when a mote of light began to drift off him and he stared at it for a long time.
"They did it," he whispered and realised how heavy he felt. He sat back down, cross-legged, and just thought.
It wasn't long before he noticed an apple and a gummi lying near him. He picked up the apple, it was fresh and crisp. He devoured it in moments, enjoying the splash of juice and vitality of food.
His fingers curled around the purple gummi, recognising it as a different colour to the wonderful one he'd had before.
He debated it for some time as the light began to shine greater. He might have doomed himself and his entire timeline by helping the meowth. For this?
Was it even worth it?
Was it worth surviving in the future if it meant he wasn't living?
Could he dare to taste the gummi? What if it wasn't as good as Scout had claimed?
The light grew brighter and he made his decision. Stuffing the whole gummi in his mouth.
Indescribable taste bloomed over his taste buds, singing the ambrosia of the gods in his mouth. He chewed while the rest of his body lost sensation, but his taste remained.
He enjoyed the gummi until it was all gone and swallowed. There was only one thing he could say before the light took him completely.
"Worth it."
Danny disappeared.
Part of Sean was relieved they didn't just blink out of existence. Yet, the heaviness in his legs made him consider the benefits of the alternative.
He looked for Scout. The meowth was visibly struggling, from his injuries and everything leading up to this, it wouldn't surprise Sean if Scout was also going to die like Dialga had. It made him sad, deeply and vastly sad in ways he couldn't even begin to process.
Nothing was happening yet, so the three walked in silence. Pensive, after watching a god die.
Scout began to slow down more and more as his legs grew weaker and drawing in breath stopped feeling like breathing.
They were on the rocky path to the Rainbow Stoneship. He slowed to a stop, it was nearly time.
Sean ground to a halt as well, a bubble of light began to emanate from Scout's chest. "Huh."
Scout glanced down, spotting the fragment of fur simply… disappear. "Yeah."
Noticing the lack of footsteps behind him, Rai looked back. "What are you… what?"
Rai ran back as Scout smiled at him, Rai stopped in front of Scout, looking between him and Sean. "What is going on?" he demanded.
Scout didn't reply at first, he managed to take an unsteady step forward to curl his arms around Rai and pull him into a hug. "You wanted to know the reason why Dusknoir wanted to stop us?" he asked instead of explaining.
"Y-yeah. But he came to help! He didn't kill Grovyle, or anything. He came to help at the end!"
"I guess Striker must have gotten through to him at last," Sean said, frowning as he looked up at the sky. Lights were dropping from Scout, but he couldn't see anything on himself yet.
"Knocked him out of that icicle thing," Scout suggested.
Sean nodded to him. He smiled, he had gotten to see Striker one last time, and even Guardian had come to help.
He wished they were here, though. The light was growing brighter, and he was scared.
"Dusknoir knew that if we changed time," Scout explained, still holding Rai. "Everyone from the future would disappear. Since time has changed, that future never happened. That means we are going to disappear."
Rai was silent. Completely still in Scout's embrace.
The motes of light began to come faster. Scout was relieved to see that he was not losing holes in his body, his body was simply growing fainter and fainter. He didn't feel any pain anymore; he had Rai and that left him feeling okay.
"Please no," Rai choked, finally beginning to shake as the words sunk in. "Sean… no."
Scout pulled him tighter against him. "Don't forget me… us… any of us," he said. His mind wasn't on the scene from the game, it was just what he wanted to say.
"...I don't?" Sean said, sitting down and looking at himself. There was not a glimmer of light on him as there was with Scout. Scout looked back, coming to the same realisation that he did.
"...you're not from the Dark Future," Scout said. "...right? You said you were brought there."
Sean looked up, aghast. He didn't understand. He. He….
"Oh," Sean said. He wasn't going to disappear. Everyone else he had fought so long with, however… Striker… Saniya… Scout… even Guardian and Giratina.
"You can't let this happen again," Scout said, sitting down as he couldn't stand any longer. "You have to tell this story. Make sure that people know never to let this happen again."
"I… I can't," Rai whimpered, voice breaking. "I can't. No. This isn't fair."
"You can," Scout replied. "And you will. You'll be alright."
"NO!" Rai cried, burying his face into Scout's belly. "No-no-no-no-NO! I can't! Please, I can't do this without you. I couldn't do anything without you."
Scout began to cry as well, buckling under the strain of holding them both. He curled in, hugging Rai as hard as he could. "Yes you can. Look at what you've done without me? You were always the stronger one between us."
Sean watched. He had nothing he could say, he could only wish he had someone willing to hold him like that still around. He looked back to the sky, as a sunrise was coming. He closed his eyes, feeling the wind blow on his fur.
Rai continued to cry as the light grew stronger.
"Don't forget me," Scout said. "Sean, make sure Rai is okay, alright? Take care of him."
"Although the parting hurts," Sean said, not quite meaning to say it out loud. It was what Striker said, he felt that it could help, "Heh, I sound a bit silly don't I? Scout… I didn't think…." Tears were filling his eyes too. All the things he couldn't risk feeling earlier. He thought he would go too and had accepted that, even though he was still so young.
"I-I-I," Rai blubbered, completely breaking apart. "Sean no! Please I… l-"
Scout kissed the top of his head. It was a human gesture, but one Rai still felt the significance of.
Scout didn't say anything, he only kept hanging on as the world grew faint. He hung on as Rai sobbed into his fur. He hung on, until he couldn't hang on anymore.
Rai's tears turned the dirt to mud as Scout disappeared. His claws came out and he tore into the ground, screaming into the earth with his grief.
His breath began to catch and even out as the minutes passed. Somehow, someway, Rai found it within him to stand back up.
Sean sat on the earth, staring at his paws. Shame radiated from him. It was so easy to keep a secret when you thought you wouldn't be around to face someone's broken heart for keeping it.
He looked up at Temporal Tower, then where Scout was no longer. Sean and Rai's eyes met, both red with tears.
"I'm sorry," Sean whimpered. "I'm so, so, sorry."
Rai closed his eyes, taking a deep, shuddering breath. Somehow, some way, he gathered the strength to stand. "...I know."
He turned around and began the last leg of the journey to the Rainbow Stoneship, Scout's last words ringing through his mind.
"I won't ever forget," he whispered, voice raw as he stepped onto the Rainbow Stoneship, Sean quietly joining him. "I promise."
The Rainbow Stoneship began to take him away and Rai watched as Temporal Tower, and Scout, grew farther and farther away.
Ah, Explorers. You and your heart-punching stuff.
Double Dialga, the human NOT disappearing. That's a change in this version, in the original he did but… that wound up not actually making sense so….
I played Dialga's Fight to the Finish twice on two tabs, slightly out of sync for when Primal shows up to crash the party. And, of course, Don't Ever Forget… for the ending scene to get me in the right writing mindset.
The music of this game truly is a masterpiece.