Dusknoir freaks out and starts rambling while holding his head.

Chapter by Nenen

You looked at Dusknoir as he just… watched you. He seemed to be frozen in place, unmoving. You’d joke that he was frozen in time but apparently this whole world is frozen in time so it may not be a good thing. You did see him blink a few times, so he wasn’t completely frozen at least. After about 10 minutes like that you started to worry. 20 minutes later you were really worrying and considering saying something to them. Half an hour in you decided enough was enough and moved towards them.

Unknown to you, however, was that Dusknoir was currently having a mental rant. He was going through all the possible reasons for this, all the possible scenarios, trying to come up with a logical reason for this happening. But he kept coming up with blanks. This had never happened to him. He had no idea how to react to the situation. While on the outside he looked calm, on his mind he was practically holding his head as he tried to figure out an explanation. This all ended however, when he felt pressure on his shoulders.

“Dusknoir! Can you hear me!?” You asked him, making him blink and actually look at you with his single eye.

“C-creator?” You let out a relieved sigh.

“Thanks for answering me. I was worried for you there, you just… stayed still, for a whole hour. It was like you became frozen in time, as everything here seems to be.” Dusknoir blinked at your words. You sigh again and smile at him. “I’m glad you’re okay, Dusknoir. Well, do you feel okay?” He seemed to just keep looking at you, as if you were the strangest thing in existence. Which, well, he’s not entirely wrong you feel. “Do you feel ill or something?” Dusknoir just blinked, then looked at you from head to toe and back up.

“Creator?”

“Still not used to be called that but…” You were about to go and say yeah to him, that you’re his creator. But maybe that isn’t for the best in the long run. “... no. I’m not your Creator Dusknoir. This is simply my body now.” He just stared at you, so you figured you may as well just explain everything. Well, not everything, but the things pertaining to your taking and claim of ownership of this body. “So, it started with the original Primal Dialga. And with that… dark energy in them…” You talked for a bit as you sat down on the ground. You explained how you suddenly felt being taken by this darkness, as if you were being taken over, overcome by it, devoured by it. yet somehow… you pushed it back. You pushed it away. You expelled it all from your body and… then you just… were Primal. You’re the new restored core of Primal Dialga, forever changed but… now with a proper will. You didn’t tell him of being a human or not from this world. And to be fair, you didn’t plan this. You were grabbed by that darkness and it tried to devour you. You just pushed back, and won. “... and then I woke up, with this form. I saw how everything was just… frozen in place. Nothing moved, nothing changed, just a world entirely of gray. I tried to find a way to get down from that tower and entered a… dungeon. That’s what they’re called, right? A Mystery Dungeon. Fought my way downwards, battle after battle, until I was able to get out. And met you. Then you fainted and I brought you here. I didn't want to leave you by yourself there." He has been silent the whole time, but you could picture the gears turning in his head. "So yeah. I'm Primal. That seems like a fitting name for me. I'm… Dialga's successor I guess? And I'm not sure what's happening here. Would you please tell me what is going on?"

Dusknoir just looked at you for a while, seeming to be digesting the information they were given. They called you ‘Creator’ before as well as calling themselves your loyal servant. You just hope they don't react badly to this.

“... the place you came down from is called Temporal Tower. It is your home, and from where you observe time. As you can see, time has stopped, and the tower is destroyed.” You were surprised when he started speaking. He simply said things matter of factly. “The reason for the destruction of Temporal Tower and the stopping of time… I don’t know. I just know someone stole the Time Gears, powerful relics that keep the flow of time stable. Because of time stopping, the current timeline we live in has to be deemed a failure, null, and corrected. You created me to ensure our survival, so that this timeline would never be erased, so we would always arrive at it. And continue existing.” The last part was said with such finality that you could only stand there in silence. Mouth agape and focused on the look of his eye. You know the idea of a failed timeline, the idea of a set of actions which must never take place lest you’ll reach past a certain turning point, something that must be avoided at any cost. The idea of a failed world, left abandoned only to be erased later. But…

“... what about the Pokémon? What about all the other Pokémon that live in this timeline? Will they simply… disappear as well? Will I disappear? You?” Dusknoir simply nodded. “Did… no, stupid question. Of course the previous Primal wouldn’t have done anything, they were running on instinct.” Okey, think Primal, think! May as well call yourself that, since this is your body now, and your responsibility. “Okay… time to think… think…!” You start to pace, arms crossed below your breasts as you ponder what to do. “They’ve abandoned this timeline, left it to the…. uh… Lycanroc? Wild ones? Whatever. Thing is, they won’t do anything to fix this. So I have to.” You didn’t miss the look of surprise on Dusknoir’s face. “You said the cause is unknown but… Temporal Tower is destroyed, and the Time Gears stolen. Maybe they have something to do with it?”

“I-I couldn’t say, but… maybe…?”

“Then, would you have any idea of where they could be?” You walk closer to him and crouch slightly. “Any idea at all? If it is possible, I must find them. I don’t know if they will fix this, but at least I must try something.” You look him in the eye, and ask. “Can you think of any place they may be? Anywhere?”

“N-no… I know they were stolen, but not where they may have ended at.” You sigh, but smile at him.

“It’s okay. It’s not like you stole them or something.” There’s a very small flinch. You almost miss it, but decide not to speak on it. “About fixing the Temporal Tower… I assume fixing it has to do with getting the Time Gears back. But aside from that, I’ve got nothing.” You sit down on the ground, holding your head with one hand, groaning. “Having some starting point would be nice…” SOmething that would tell you where to go look or something. Or someone that would guide you.

“Creator?” You raise your head to look at Dusknoir, and smile sadly at him.

“I’m sorry, Dusknoir. I talked big about being the one to fix this mess and allow this timeline to exist, only to hit a wall and stop right after.” You sigh. Of course it wasn’t going to be simple. This literally is about saving a whole world, nay, a whole universe! Stop a whole flow of history from disappearing! It should still be able to be fixed. Hopefully. Dialga was aware of the previous Primal. Maybe you can speak to her? Would she listen?

“Creator… were you… truthfully considering the idea of fixing this timeline? Even if… it leads to our disappearance?” What? Oh! Oh they got it wrong. Also…

“I’m not your Creator Dusknoir. You don’t need to call me that. Although… Maybe… you could call me Mother~?” You tease, trying some humor in this dark situation. From his stuttering you guess it didn’t work. “As for fixing this timeline. I don’t mean fixing it in the past. I mean fixing it now, in this moment, in this place. If I do that, then… maybe both timelines can exist at the same time. There’s no reason why they shouldn’t. There are infinite possibilities in this world, for every choice you make, another one is discarded, but not lost. In another time, in another place, maybe another ‘me’ would have picked that other choice, and their story would continue, separated from mine.” You look outside, at the world of still gray. “I know that it may be hard, near to impossible even. But… I don’t want to disappear.” You begin to tremble. “I’m… scared. I’m honestly, terribly scared of what will happen if this timeline is undone. What will happen to me? To you? To all the other Pokémon that were caught on this? It just… isn’t fair for them. For me, for you.”

“Cre… M-m-mother… will you truly risk everything to save this timeline?” You were surprised when he actually called you ‘mother’ but… you can’t help but smile at him.

“I want to try it. It may be a fool’s errand, but I don’t want to give up on this place. Not now.” You get up. And begin walking to the entrance of the cave.

“M-mother! Where are you going?” That’s a good question. Where are you going? You have no plan, no hint, nothing. But standing there won’t change a thing. You can think of a few places to go, namely the top of the tower again, to try and talk to Dialga. Maybe you can find a way towards those cities you saw down there, maybe there’s something to discover. Maybe… you don’t know. You’ll walk until you stumble upon something or someone. You look back at Dusknoir, and smile warmly at him. He’s afraid too, isn't he? He doesn’t want to disappear. He doesn’t deserve to disappear.

“I’m going to see about restoring the flow of time. I don’t know how but… I’ll look for something. Maybe I’ll…”