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: Aftershock
Despite his status as a deity of time, Dialga could not see the future.
More specifically, he could not see the future of his own timeline. He lost that ability a long time ago; the injury did not heal completely, but it was a sacrifice that he deemed necessary. 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.
Watching several timelines unravel into oblivion was one such instance.
In lieu of being able to see the future of his own timeline, what he could see was a myriad of possible futures across other timelines. While this method of divining the future had its uses, it was also very unstable. 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.
Or at least, until they unraveled. While Dialga would normally dismiss the unraveling of one timeline as a fluke - with infinite versions of himself branched out into just as many timelines, it only made sense that one would fail every once in a while - witnessing five unravel in quick succession was immediate cause for concern.
What little knowledge he gained from those scattered timelines did not ease his concern in the slightest. All of them ended in the same way - with someone using the Red Chain to manipulate the power of time or space.
The sight of the Red Chain was alarming in and of itself - the artifact's power was great, but so was the cost of using it. But to think someone could actually use it to-!
"DIALGA! WHAT DID YOU DO?!"
Dialga's concentration was swiftly broken by the sudden screech. Before he could comprehend what was happening, he was suddenly face-to-face with a magenta light - one that faded away to reveal a furious Spirit of Emotion.
"Mesprit?!"
Had it been any other member of the Pantheon, perhaps Dialga would have been angered by this intrusion. This was an exception: he knew better than to knowingly cross a being whose anger rivaled his own. Mesprit was a flighty creature in the best of times, but she was not one to be trifled with.
After all, this was one of the three spirits that birthed and molded humanity to what it was today; they who provided the capacity to think, feel, and do. As the Spirit of Emotion, Mesprit was known for her extreme compassion...and for her ruthless protection of those she cared about. She was loved by the people surrounding Lake Verity, and she loved them in turn. That area was known for being the most peaceful in Sinnoh, due to her influence.
Suffice to say, Dialga was bewildered. To his knowledge, he had not done anything that would anger her so.
"What did you do?!" Mesprit demanded again, positioning herself so that she could make direct eye contact with him.
"What are you-?!"
"Don't use that tone with me, you giant lump of scrap metal!" Mesprit screeched. Then she aimed small bolts of psychic energy at him. Dialga made no effort to dodge; such an action would likely fuel her anger. Each word she said was punctuated by a bolt; "WHAT! DID! YOU! DO?!"
"Mesprit, I truly do not know what you refer to!" Dialga shouted, shaking off the psychic bolts as they bounced harmlessly off him. Mesprit glared at him, and he continued, "As I am certain you are aware, I have not set foot upon your realm in centuries. Now if you will excuse me, timelines are unraveling as we speak. Whatever concern you have can surely wait."
"It can't wait because it involves you, dummy!" Mesprit responded. "If you really haven't set foot in my realm, then how come one of my favorite humans nearly died because of your power?! You think a matter like that can wait?!"
As if Mesprit's fury wasn't unsettling enough, her words were downright confusing. The implied use of Roar of Time was not the confusing part: it was possible that one of the fallen Dialgas had used it in a last-ditch effort to save what was left. A human getting struck by a shockwave from Roar of Time 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.
While the resemblance stung, Dialga managed to put the thought aside. He only followed Mesprit to observe the situation at hand, not to reminisce about a friend long gone.
As the boy 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. Dialga knew that humans were fragile beings, but he wondered if such care was truly necessary.
"You really didn't cause this?" Mesprit deadpanned, as she and Dialga watched on. Dialga fidgeted - not just because of the strange situation, but because he was in his human form for the first time in centuries. Gravity weighed upon it in a way he was not used to.
"Not 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? It was the only explanation he could think of, but that gave way to more questions.
If Mesprit's fury was any indication, the boy did not appear to have aged from the blast - surely her rage would have reached a new high if that were the case. Not just that, even a mere shockwave of something that powerful should have left a scar. What other physical or mental changes could that kind of power 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 - she was in her astral form, meaning that he should not have been able to perceive her.
Despite this, 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 may have said next went unheard. Perhaps it would be wise to monitor the child. Not just for Mesprit's sake; she had always been one to worry herself sick over her mortal friends.
There was nothing Dialga could do to fix what had already unraveled, but perhaps the boy was the key to saving this timeline.