#Dusknoir shall never know another moment’s peace

[sincerely-sofie]

Paradox Edition AU comic in which Bud is adopted by a group of incorrigible miscreants, much to Dusknoir’s chagrin:

[nelvana]

Intermission

First [ARC 1]: In which the human is transformed First [ARC 2]: In which a present is prepared Next: In which two allies return from their journey together Previous: In which the judge is spoken to

    Temporal Tower stood out far away from any of the continents, though closest to the Grass Continent. This structure was built on a single, floating stone island. A few other of these islands surrounded it, but none of them had the same mass as the one that had to support the Temporal Tower.

    Standing at the top of this tower, was the legendary pokemon of time, Dialga. They slowly looked over their home, leaning down to peer down the sides to make sure everything was holding strong. This was a routine they had developed for themself; only after they were certain that the Temporal Tower wasn’t going to crumble and that all the time gears were in place that they would allow themself to relax.

    With that morning task out of the way, Dialga was able to breath out a breath of relief and simply stare out into the horizon. If they completed this early enough, there would still be time to watch the sunrise. Staring out into the peaceful morning always brought ease to their very being, so they would often stand still in place until the sun had fully risen.

    However, this morning there were some difficult thoughts plaguing their mind. In fact, as much as they disliked admitting it, this had been worrying them for many days now, and they had just elected to ignore it. As selfish as it was, they had just wanted to be able to relax for just a little bit longer. It was absolutely irresponsible, and they knew it, but part of them had been hoping the problem would fix itself. At this point though, it was becoming painfully obvious how much of a danger this could become.

    Dialga let out a sigh, “Celebi, it’s time we speak about the world’s balance,” they announced.

    From behind Dialga, the green pixie pokemon fluttered over to the much larger pokemon. Celebi wasn’t even anywhere near the size of the god’s head, but they still made sure that they were noticed by their companion as they moved. Celebi did not make eye contact with Dialga, instead choosing to hover beside them and stare out into the horizon as well.

    “Ah, finally,” Celebi murmured, “where would you like to start?” they asked.

    “As I’m sure you’ve noticed,” Dialga began, “the world’s balance has not been properly restored. It should have restored itself with the flow of time righted, however something has been delaying it. Something, or someone, has been keeping the world still out of balance.”

    Dialga spoke aloud in a hushed voice, as to not be deafening in comparison to their smaller friend. In the past, the pair would communicate through telepathy to solve this problem, but in recent times Dialga had come to prefer speaking out loud. It was comforting to them to hear themself able to properly speak softly, instead of hearing abysmal roaring. While they had not said so, Celebi seemed to agree, and begun speaking as well to avoid it sounding like a one-sided conversation.

    Celebi nodded courtly, “yes, I have noticed that. It is Palkia’s doing.”

    Again, Dialga sighed, turning away this time, “…I knew that,” they admitted, “I had just hoped that it would not be the case.”

    “Denial will not help us any,” Celebi told them, “Palkia is most certainly the cause.”

    “The question is… why?” Dialga questioned.

    “That, I am not certain of quite yet…” Celebi now turned to look at Dialga. “I assumed you would have known. Can you not sense anything from your kin?”

    Dialga slowly shook their head, “no, I cannot. It would seem as if Palkia has found a way to completely block me off.

    “I… didn’t think that was possible,” Celebi commented, blinking. “They must be aware of what they’re doing then. Revenge, perhaps?”

    “Palkia isn’t the sort to go for revenge. And even if so, their quarrel would be just with me,” Dialga replied, “no need to involve anything, or anyone else. Seeing as they’ve been delaying the restoration of the world’s balance, this must be more than just revenge.”

    “What do you suppose then?”

    Dialga opened their mouth only to close it. Their throat was dry. They looked down at their feet, which were the same as ever. Blue, just blue, no orange, no glowing. The tower still stood solidly under them. As a quietness from the lack of either of them speaking crept in, Dialga could listen to their heartbeat. Always keeping the same rhythm, the same strength. They took in a deep breath, slowly exhaling as they sorted out their thoughts.

    “I believe… Palkia may be going primal,” Dialga finally answered.

    Celebi paled, “you think so…? But how come? Nothing has happened to prompt that.”

    “It’s just… it’s just a theory. I’m not sure if it’s the case,” Dialga responded all too hastily. “I’m not sure why that would happen, but there aren’t that many other possibilities.”

    “I see.” Celebi swallowed, looking away again for a moment, but their gaze was drawn back to the worried legendary. “Either way, there is not much we can do about that at the moment. We shall have to see how this all goes,” they continued.

    “We cannot just sit back on this for much longer though,” Dialga murmured.

    “Agreed. For now, we will collect more data on the situation. You know that if Palkia has gone primal… you won’t be able to beat them in a fight,” Celebi replied, “you may need to collect more allies if it comes to a fight.”

    “I have you,” Dialga pointed out, looking back up.

    Celebi laughed, but it carried no joy with it, “you and I both know that I am not much help against a primal legendary,” they said darkly, their expression creasing back into a small frown.

    Dialga’s throat felt dry again, “you would still be a help.”

    “Hm, I suppose so,” Celebi hummed, crossing their arms behind their back.

    There was a pause between the pair; the strain of their relationship hanging in the air. Dialga knew what Celebi meant with those comments. Celebi had died in the other timeline to Primal Dialga, after all. The both of them were connected to the flow of time, they both clearly remembered what happened. And no matter how many times they could apologize, they would never have the same friendship as they had had before.

    Again, Dialga opened their mouth to speak, but then reconsidered and closed it again. They opted to stare out into the horizon again, which had long since faded into the plain blue of the sky decorated with puffy white clouds. Celebi, however, kept their gaze focused on the temporal pokemon, working up the courage to speak instead.

    “There is something on your mind. Speak up,” Celebi instructed firmly.

    Dialga chuckled quietly at themself; of course it would have been foolish to try hiding their feelings from a psychic-type, especially one that knew them so well.

    “You said that we should be considering gathering more allies… truth be told, I have been thinking over that myself,” Dialga began.

    “And?” Celebi prompted.

    “There is someone… from the other future, who I’d like to bring back here for a second chance,” Dialga told them.

    Celebi furrowed their brows with displeasure, “him?” they questioned, already knowing who this “someone” was. “You think that he deserves another chance on this plane?”

    “Yes, I do,” Dialga replied confidently, lifting their head up. “Dusknoir was not the best person in the time he got to live, but that was because he had the misfortune of being under… my influence. He could become a better person if given the opportunity.”

    “Mm... Sure, let’s say I believe that. Why bother bringing them back? We can find allies elsewhere; without risking ruining the world’s balance more than it already is,” Celebi huffed, bringing their arms up to cross them in front of their chest.

    “Because,” Dialga sighed, “they were incredibly loyal, and they got nothing out of that. I feel that I should repay that somehow,” they told them, “and, while your concern is understandable, bringing him back won’t destroy the world’s balance completely. I know how to do that safely. There have already been four pokemon brought back from that realm; he won’t tip everything over.”

    “Four?” Celebi repeated, “I thought there had only been three.”

    “Ah, you are thinking of the time travelling heroes. Yes, there were three in that group. The human, the grovyle, and… your successor. They were all brought back, but that was weeks ago,” Dialga responded, “recently, a fourth was brought back. Not someone from that timeline, but a cursed spirit guide. The curse was broken ahead of its time, and they have been brought back to life.”

    “Hmph, so you’re certain then that bringing Dusknoir back would not harm the world’s balance?” Celebi asked.

    Dialga nodded, “I am.”

    Celebi paused, thinking this over before shaking their head, “I still do not agree with this. He should not be brought back, even if you think he should be blessed with such a second chance,” they told them, “this is a bad idea.”

    “What makes you think that?” Dialga questioned, leaning closer to their companion. “You are my advisor; I’m always willing to listen if you think.”

    “I…” For once, Celebi seemed to be having difficulties forming together their thoughts into words. “He’s a murderer, Dialga. Have you forgotten? He felt no guilt for killing hundreds, directly or indirectly, just because you told him to. You may not have been in your right mind, but he always was,” they spat.

    “He can change,” Dialga insisted.

    “How do you know?” Celebi snapped, whirling to fully face Dialga. “How do you really know? He was just a servant to Primal Dialga, you don’t know him.”

    “Neither do you,” Dialga responded.

    “I know enough to know that this is a bad idea,” Celebi growled, turning away again and letting out a sigh. “But you know what? Fine. You do what you want. I can’t really stop you. I never could.”

    “Celebi.” Dialga stepped over to have the smaller pokemon be facing them again. “I don’t appreciate you trying to manipulate my decision by guilting me.”

    Celebi barely noticeably stiffening at being called out, but slowly relaxed again. Dialga sighed, reminding themself to relax again as well. They didn’t want to lose their temper.

    “However,” they continued, “I do want to respect your opinion on the subject. I will think this over some more. You are right, it is an important decision to make. And… if it does turn out poorly, know that I will accept the consequences of that and do my best to fix it,” they assured them, “I’ll add as well, that if Palkia really does go primal… being picky about our allies won’t help us any.”

    “…fine. I’ll trust you on this,” Celebi finally replied, “and I apologize for acting in such a way. I just…”

    “I know. It’s alright; I understand.”

First [ARC 1]: In which the human is transformed First [ARC 2]: In which a present is prepared Next: In which two allies return from their journey together Previous: In which the judge is spoken to