The Messanger of Time

Chapter 19: Recuperating

"We've arrived, Vincent... This is the place."

Vincent looks through the thick fog. He and Eriah have been flying over the sea for several hours, passing through a fog which seemed to stretch on forever, and finally coming to an island which Vincent has never seen before.

The island is covered in a thin mist where the fog has cleared up. Here, he can see a vast plain of natural growth. Plants, hills and green grass cover the area for miles, and eventually lead to a dense forest which surrounds a large, white mountain range in the middle of the island. And in the middle of the range, one large mountain stands, scaling above everything else and passing into the clouds overhead, which cover the area like a blanket. Only small breaks can be seen where rays of sunlight pass through.

Vincent looks on in awe, taken aback by the sight he has come across. "What... is this place, Eriah? It's amazing..."

Eriah flies on, descending down over the island and soaring over the plains. "This, Vincent, is a very special place I've known for centuries. And it is also my home... That is, what remains after my kind was hunted to near-extinction. We called it Soul Island."

Vincent looks down at her for a moment, before gazing around the island as they fly over it. "Extinction... Eriah, I've heard of your kind before. There were documents recorded in the Spiritual Council. But even before, there still weren't that many of you, were there? What... happened?"

Eriah stares ahead in silence for a moment. It is clear that she is recalling past events, and Vincent begins to think he may have hit a sore spot in asking her. "...I'm sorry if that was out of line."

She shakes her head slowly. "No, Vincent... It probably would be better for you to know."

He stares down at her, and runs his hand lightly across her neck, although she wouldn't feel it much due to the scales covering her. But he does so anyway, just as a show of comfort.

"...Centuries ago, in the early years of the second millenia, my species flourished. There weren't many of us, as you know. But we were very well-known among the people. It was because of our role that we were highly respected. We were born of special heritage passed down for countless generations. We were in the service of specific beings- great beings known across the many worlds by nearly everyone. And one of them... was Dialga. He was the one whom my family served."

Vincent blinks in a bit of surprise at this. "So... Your role was supporting them and helping keep the balance of the elements of the world."

Eriah nods slowly as she soon lands on a small cliff near the base of the mountains. "Indeed... My family helped to keep the proper flow of time in the world, It was a small task, but it was one that was to ensure nothing went wrong, when Dialga himself couldn't be there to do it himself."

Vincent jumps down from her back and looks at her, and she gazes down at a particular blue-plated armor worn around the base of her neck. He'd noticed it before, but never had the chance to bring it up. But now, it can be easily seen that, inside the plate that covers her chest, a small stone is fixed in place. It is a transparent silver, and a faint blue glow can be seen emanating from inside it, having a power Vincent has felt many times.

"That... What is that stone?"

She stares at the stone in thought for a moment, before speaking again. "This is a powerful object which was fragmented from Dialga's own chest diamond, called the Sylverstone. In a way, it is linked to Dialga himself. But this stone... is what my family has used to correct any Temporal imbalances we've found around the world. So it must be protected with our lives. And the best way to do that..."

He stares up at her. "...Is to bind it to your own body. So that armor isn't simply to protect yourself..."

Eriah shakes her head. "No... It's to protect the stone from being removed from myself."

Vincent nods slowly and stares at the stone. Many things run through his mind about what he'd just learned. But one thing in particular comes up that he'd noticed before.

"Dialga... He restrained himself before. He wouldn't attack you..."

Eriah looks back at Vincent. "That is correct. The Sylverstone, being linked to him, holds a portion of his power. If he had damaged it, it would have extreme consequences on himself. Thus, as an act of self preservation, he refrained from attacking because of the risk it would've imposed."

"I see... So that's why..."

Eriah looks around and then turns to face a cavern a short distance away from them. "We should rest for the time being. A lot has happened."

Vincent looks back at her, then to the cavern she's facing. He then nods slowly and they go over to it. The entrance is fairly large, enough for Eriah to fit into when she crouches down. And inside is a large, almost perfectly circular room which is more than enough for the two of them to be comfortable inside. The wall on the left and right side of the cavern has a small ledge across it, almost in a particular order. It would appear that this is not a naturally formed cavern, but one that was created by sentient creatures.

Eriah lies down on the ground and watches as Vincent looks around the cavern, before going over to one of the ledges and sitting down against it. He looks back at her for a few seconds, before talking again.

"...Will we be able to see my family again? I'd like to know if they're safe. I want to know if they made it to port okay."

She slowly nods. "We can go find out. But I would advise against going back to Flare for the time being, until we know what we can do to help Dialga."

He nods and puts his arms on his knees. "Alright then..." He stares to the ground. While he is sure his sisters and Raven have made it to safety, he can't say the same for Hector. He just hopes, somehow, that he made it okay. But the worst thoughts come to him when considering what could've possibly happened to him.

- - - - -

"Hello again, brother..."

Jack, who had been working on one of his machines in his factory, suddenly clutches the wrench in his hand and looks over at James, who is standing several yards away from him.

"...What do you want?"

James grins and takes a few steps closer to him. "I'm merely checking up on family. Is that a sin?"

Jack narrows his eyes, and then goes back to screwing in a bolt on his machine. "My family's gone. Your attempts to get me to side with you fall on deaf ears. ATHER, check the engine now. See if it's running properly."

The voice over the speakers chimes in, "Will do, sir," and the machine starts up as Jack takes a step back and watches.

James eyes it for a moment, then folds his arms. "Still playing with your little toys, aren't you? You know, those could come in good use for other things."

"I'm not turning my factory into a weapons depot to get at Vincent because you decided to be a little twit and go on a killing spree just to make him miserable."

James shrugs and turns off. "Well, it was worth a try, wasn't it?" He turns his head back to Jack. "But you will help me. One way or another. Remember that."

Jack stares at him disdainfully, but his attention is drawn by ATHER once again. "Sir, you have an incoming call."

James makes a lighthearted scoff and walks off, eventually fading away, and Jack watches him until he's gone, sighing quietly.

- - - - -

Christina, Melissa and Raven walk into the dining area of the ship and look around, seeing that all the tables have been pushed to one side of the huge room, leaving the rest of the room wide open. It appears that many things here have been destroyed, as if a bomb had gone off in this very room. However, this isn't far from the truth. A massive hole in the wall confirms that one of the attacks hit here. They were informed earlier that the blast created a shockwave that impacted countless people who were here, and channeled the powerful energy down the halls into other rooms.

The three have spent much of the time after the attack, which occurred just a few hours earlier, helping people on the ship. But they had come to realize that there were many who weren't so lucky to survive the incident.

As they come to one of the tables, Christina peeks under the cloth on it to find Umbros crouched below it. He looks up at the three, his hindleg being wrapped in a bandage. A few nicks can be seen over his body.

Christina kneels down to him and shakes her head. "Still hiding, Umbros?"

The Umbreon stares at her and makes a small snort. "These people are weird. They're not like the ones at home. They keep staring at me..."

Christina sighs and reaches down to pet his head, and he lowers his ears. "...You still haven't told me why you were in here last night."

Umbros makes a quiet whimper. "I was scavenging... The poor Umbreon was hungry, okay?"

"You know what would've happened if you were caught?"

Melissa kneels down by her and looks at him, before reaching her arm out to lightly pet his ears. "I think something a bit worse happened by now..."

Umbros looks down with a soft sigh. "...There I was, in the kitchen. Of course everything was raw and didn't look very appetizing to me. I didn't touch the vegetables either. But then... everything shook."

Christina stares down at him and listens while continuing to pet his head.

"I went back out to the dining area, and everyone was starting to panic. Someone said we were hit by something. There were so many different ideas what happened. But before I could go and explore..."

Christina thinks for a second, then looks over at the wall, staring at the large hole in it. "...The second attack hit."

Umbros winces at the memory. "All I remember is seeing this blue explosion... I was shot into a table and blacked out. I think I hit the table pretty hard... It was destroyed when I woke up."

Melissa sighs softly and looks at Christina. "What do we do now..?"

She shakes her head and looks back at Umbros. "We'll be at Slateport in an hour, they said... They... sent a helicopter here with extra supplies to treat the people who were hurt and repair some minor damage to the ship so we'd make it. No one was ever prepared for this..."

She looks around, then notices a pair across the room... a boy appearing around ten, and a man with him. They look to be kneeling over a woman on the ground. The boy seems to have been crying, the man in tears still. The very sight of this is gutwrenching for her, and she turns away, letting out a soft breath.

After a moment, a man comes over to them, looking to be one of the security officers of the ship. "Excuse me, you three."

They all look up at him and Christina blinks. "...Yes?"

"I'd like you all to come with me, please."

Christina looks back at Umbros. "...Can you walk?"

The Umbreon crawls out from under the table and staggers up, but then flops onto his side with a soft yelp, and the officer eyes him in slight surprise.

Christina then sighs and reaches down, picking him up with a small grunt and holding him in her arms. "You're a bit heavy..."

Umbros grumbles and glares up at her. "Are you saying I'm fat? I can walk, you know!"

She rolls her eyes. "Fine." She starts to set him down and he clings to her, whimpering."

"N-No! It hurts..."

Christina smirks and then gets back up, holding him again. "Thought so..." She then looks back at the officer. "Alright..."

As they leave the room, they pass by several other people who've been caught in the incident. Christina and Melissa try not to look at them, only having the memory of what had happened to themselves, not so long ago. Umbros can't help but feel pity for these people, and Raven appears to have seen enough and is simply averting his gaze from them as they pass.

They come down the hall where various windows appear to have been shattered. There is glass swept against the walls to prevent people from stepping on it as they pass by. They take a flight of stairs to the upper level of the ship, and eventually come to a somewhat larger room than most of the cabins they've seen here.

As they walk in, the head officer sitting at the desk glances at them and then stops what he is doing and waves them over.

"Ahh, yes, you three. I would like to speak to you."

Christina stares at him a bit uncomfortably as they walk over to the desk. "I could've figured that much..."

The officer eyes her for a moment, before continuing on. "...I believe I owe you thanks for your assistance in treating the ones harmed by last night's attack. You were a great deal of help."

Christina makes a small nod in response, but says nothing.

The man opens the drawer in his desk and pulls out a card- the international ferry pass given to Vincent, and then passed to Hector to board this ship.

"I would like to know which of you this belongs to."

Christina shifts a bit and sighs quietly. "Neither, sir... It belonged to my brother, who... fell overboard last night." She doesn't mention Vincent, who was the real owner of the pass.

He furrows his brows and then places the card on the desk. "I'm sorry to hear that. You have my condolences."

She holds tighter onto Umbros, who winces a bit and looks back at her. After a moment, the man sits back in his chair and lets out a breath.

"I had confiscated this card from you earlier because you were seen on this ship without authority. Now, had the circumstances been different, I could have you arrested the moment we arrived at port. However..."

He shifts his glance between each of them, giving a passing look of curiosity at Umbros, before going on.

"Since... you were of help to us, I will, this one time, allow that to go. But I should warn you. If you ever try to board another ship this way, you won't be so fortunate."

He picks up the card and holds it to Christina, who steps over and takes it in one hand then quickly pulls it back to hold onto Umbros again. "...Thank you."

The officer nods, and then speaks up once more. "I must ask you, however... given that the circumstances are far too coincidental. Do you have any information for us about what could've attacked us?"

Christina falls silent and the others look at her. The officer stares at her expectantly, and then she shakes her head. "No, sir. I don't know."

He taps his hand on the desk for a moment, then nods. "...Very well then. You will be led to your cabin. You may pick up your belongings there and leave when we reach Slateport."

She nods slowly and the other officer goes to the door, opening it for them. They start to walk out, before the man at the desk pipes up again. "You may want to meet your pokemon soon. They appear to be growing restless outside."

Christina blinks and looks back at him, and he goes back to what he was doing, ignoring her gaze. After a moment, she then turns back and walks out with the others.

- - - - -

Vincent opens his eyes and looks around the area in confusion... He appears to have awoken in a dark valley. One which he recognizes quite well. He gets up and then stumbles over, looking down at his... paws?

He would soon realize that he has four legs, each with a glowing blue ring on the side. He looks himself over, seeing that he has nearly pitch black fur, and... a tail? As he looks it over, he waves it behind him and blinks with utter confusion.

"This is... unusual..." Vincent walks around, seeming not quite as awkward now that he's realized what he's become. As he comes to a cliffside, he comes to a spot where there would be water running down its side. But, as is everything else, it is frozen solid... motionless and seeming as if pleading to move. But time would not allow it.

He looks into the waterfall to see his own reflection, his ears standing tall and pointed, with the same blue rings around them that he has on his legs. He also sees that he has the same ring on his forehead, with a blue pair of eyes at its sides, which stare back at him through his reflection. It is true... he has become an Umbreon.

"This has to be another dream... What's happening here?"

He gazes around the area, then up into the sky, seeing the very island where he knows the remains of Temporal Tower stand. He steps back and then looks back across the valley, soon noticing a figure approaching... He pauses, then looks closer at it, coming to realization that it is the pokemon whom he'd been talking to each time he's come here.

Vincent runs forward, calling out to it. "Grovyle!"

The grass-type gecko blinks and stops in his tracks, staring at Vincent with uncertainty. "Do I... know you?"

Vincent soon stops and looks at him, then takes a step back. "...Oh." That's right... He doesn't recognize me...

Grovyle eyes him curiously, and he sighs, looking to the ground.

"Grovyle... It's Vincent. I don't know how I came into this form, but I seem to have awoken in this dream like this."

Grovyle stares at him and squints. "Vincent... But I don't understand. Why are you..."

Vincent shakes his head and looks back up at him. "I don't get it either. But I don't think we have very much time. We'll figure that out later..."

Grovyle pauses for a second, then nods slowly. "Right... Have you come to anything yet?"

Vincent shifts a bit and lets out a soft breath. "No... Not yet. But I did find someone who may be of help to us. She is of a species that existed long ago in Earthrealm. Eriah... And she bears something that I think will be essential to the task."

Grovyle folds his arms and looks at him curiously. "What is that?"

"It's... called the Sylverstone. It's an object which comes from Dialga himself. In a way... it's connected to him. I'm not sure what all it's capable of, but... I know it's important. It has to be."

Grovyle looks down in thought. "I see... Well, that's a start. But how do we know what to do with it?"

Vincent shakes his head. "I don't know... I will need to speak to her about it. But I'm sure it's a key of some sort. I mean... Dialga can travel between Earthrealm and here, right? What if... somehow, the Sylverstone can be used to do the same thing, somehow?"

Grovyle looks back at him, then puts his arms down and takes a few steps past him, looking out across the valley. "Somehow... Well if it can be, then that's the first step to getting anywhere." He looks back at Vincent. "But then what? What happens after you get here?"

Vincent looks down and his blue-ringed ears lower. "...I don't know. I'm trying to figure out what to do, but without knowing much about this place, there's not much I can do in Earthrealm."

Grovyle taps his foot on the ground and stares down at it in thought once again. "I'll try to find out more of what I can... We have friends here trying to search for ways to make a difference in this world. But our numbers are very few, amongst all the pokemon losing their minds in this eternal darkness. I just hope we can do something before it's too late..."

Vincent looks up and then turns around to face him. "I know we can, Grovyle... We just... have to find out how."

Grovyle turns his head back at him and stares into his deep, blue eyes, then makes a small scoff. "I like you, Vincent... You're one of the few I know who isn't a hopeless wretch. It must be nice, where you are."

Vincent blinks, then sighs and shakes his head. "Well if I don't do something soon, it won't be like that for long. It's only a matter of time before the warped effects of the Flare Continent spread to the rest of my world. Each day, I can feel time becoming warped. No one seems to notice it yet, but I know it'll get worse..."

Grovyle turns to face him. "Well then, let's do something about it, shall we?" He holds his arm out to him.

Vincent looks up at him, and then nods and smiles a bit. He moves one of his forelegs out and takes his paw with his own. "Right..."

He then twitches his ears and blinks, placing his paw back on the ground and looking around. For a moment, he could've sworn he heard something whisper to him.

Grovyle looks at him curiously. "Vincent? What is it?"

Mundus factus est obscurior...

Vincent blinks and turns around... the whisper seems to be coming from behind him. "What?"

Grovyle stares at him and steps closer. "...Vincent?"

"Darker... It's already happening..."

Tempus enim prope est...

Grovyle watches as Vincent takes a few steps forward.

Facias et nunc.

Vincent turns back to Grovyle and stares silently at him for a moment, and he looks back with confusion.

"Time's running out..."

Grovyle shakes head. "We knew that..."

Vincent walks past him and looks out across the valley. "No, I mean it's sooner than I thought. We can't delay much longer..."

"But how do we act when we don't know what we're doing?"

Vincent shakes his head and looks up at the sky, to Temporal Tower. "I don't know... But I need to find out soon."

Grovyle nods slowly to him. "Then go..."

Vincent looks back at him and then nods. "Be careful..."

Grovyle stares at him, before the dream disperses into a dark cloud. Vincent looks around as he starts to feel himself slipping away. His rings flicker in the darkness surrounding him, before he notices a red glow through the cloud. He stares at the glow, and starts to pace towards it. He increases speed gradually, starting to run towards it. But no matter how fast he'd go, he cannot seem to get closer to it.

And then... it disappears. And before Vincent can react, he is forced out of the dream, awakening in the cavern he had fallen asleep in before. He gasps and jerks forward, looking around himself and soon realizing where he is. It was, indeed, just a dream... and he is still in human form.

He sighs out softly and then looks back at Eriah, whose eyes are open and locked on him. The Sylverstone on her chest, which was glowing, fades back to its dormant state and he stares at her.

"...Did you see that?"

The large, black dragon nods back to him. "I did... The Sylverstone showed me many things... You've been trying to reach out to the Dusk Realm for a couple weeks now, haven't you?"

He nods slowly and then sits back against her. "What... was it? Why was I different?"

Eriah shakes her head slowly. "I cannot say... This is beyond my knowledge."

Vincent looks down and lets out a quiet breath. "...We have to go soon. I'm concerned for my family. Why don't we search Slateport tomorrow?"

She looks down at him, and then nods to him. "Very well... I will take you there."

Vincent folds his arms in his lap and stares outside the cavern, at the misty island which spreads from the mountains they're on.

The world is growing darker... It is nearly time... You must act now.

He thinks over these words. The very words he'd heard in the dream. And he knows... time is very quickly running out.

- - - - -

Excita verum sui... Quod tibi perdere.

Awaken your true self... Do what you were meant to do...