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fandom-soda-writings · 1 year

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Farther From Each Other Than Ever Before - Chapter One

Description: Emmet has one chance: Fix the future and Dialga will help him find Ingo. If that wasn't the deal of a lifetime, then Emmet didn't know what was going to be better.

He didn't realize the Future wasn't repairable where - or rather when - he was placed. He finds help in a lone Grovyle who inhabits the bleak landscape. This is his once chance to get his brother back, He is Emmet and he refuses to fail.

Ratings: Mature (Strong Language, Minor blood and injury description)

Warnings: Strong Language

Chapter Select: 1 - 2 - 3 -4 - 5 -6 - 7

“I am Emmet. I am pissed. You will take me to Ingo. Now.” The lonely conductor stood on the top of Mount Coronet, a chunk of his savings and sanity gone. His white coat, torn and mangled from climbing up the side of the mountain with no protection, billowed in the wind. He held in his hand an old book, cover torn and faded from years of ownership. An old lady in Celestic town had gifted him this book, it finally gave him a clue of where to find his beloved brother.

The last place he expected to find Ingo was in the past.

Across from him stood the massive form of Dialga, the deity of time. To be honest, Dialga wasn’t quite who Emmet was trying to reach. But, it was a happy little incident that Dialga was the one who answered his call.

“And, Tell me why I should listen to a lowly human such as yourself?” Dialga sneered.

“Because. I am Emmet.” The Subway Boss pulled out a pokeball, a unique one he had spent practically everything else on, “I am pissed. You WILL take me to Ingo.”

And he threw the purple clad pokeball at the deity. Turns out, one of the only things more powerful than a Master Ball is the literal deity of time.

Time froze before the ball could hit Dialga. Emmet struggled to no avail, his limbs frozen and yet he could still think. His heart still beat in his ears as Dialga effortlessly moved the floating pokeball out of his way, striding with no effort through the air to be face to face with the terrified Subway Boss.

“Did you really think that would work on me?” Dialga sneered, “I am the master of time, your human arrogance has insulted me.”

Emmet’s smile didn’t drop, more like he couldn’t drop it, as he stared into the eyes of Dialga.

“However,” Dialga looked up, pausing for a few moments, “Your arrival may be just what I need…”

Emmet could suddenly move as he fell to the ground, gasping precious air into his lungs. Dialga’s glare pierced right through his soul, it was like Dialga could see everything he has done or will do. Dialga’s eyes softened, but the clear disdain for Emmet still remained.

“I am in need of a… champion. I have sensed a disturbance in the far future. Something wrong has happened, something that shouldn’t have been done.”

“You are the ‘Master of time’, Fix it yourself.” Emmet spat through gasps of air, “I am Emmet. I do not care for your stupid future or past issues. I demand you bring Ingo back and don’t involve us.”

Dialga chuffed, a sort of screechy metallic laughter that rang around the frozen space. It hurt Emmet’s ears to listen to.

“Still demanding things I see? I’m afraid I cannot step foot in that future,” Dialga explained, “For it involves my future self.”

“Your future self?”

“Yes. I need someone to go in my stead, fix the future and return. If you do this, I shall do whatever is in my power to return you brother to his proper time.”

Emmet may not have been as loud as Ingo, but at that moment the “YES!” he shouted could have easily rivaled his brother’s shouting. He would do anything to bring his brother back, even if that meant doing a favor for this stupid time god.

“Perfect. I shall give you my blessing to protect you from anything you may encounter. Please find the source of my future’s suffering and prevent it.” Dialga requested.

It lowered his head into a bow, a small orb of power growing in the middle of its forehead. Emmet wasn’t sure what he was supposed to do. So he placed his right hand on the glowing orb. A warmth spread through his arm and into his body, a glow emitted from under the Subway boss’ glove. He pulled his hand off, hurriedly taking off the glove. A strange pentagon sigil was now tattooed on his hand. It glowed a faint blue, the same color as Dialga.

“What did you do?” Emmet demanded as he slipped the glove back on.

“I gave you my blessing, You should feel honored. I will send you as close as I can to a safe place but Space is not my domain. I shall watch as closely as I can, but due to my other’s influence there is only so much I can see. Once you are in that future, I cannot help. May you have great success, Subway Boss Emmet.” Emmet could barely protest as Dialga roared, Another loud metallic screeching sound that hurt Emmet’s ears. Time warped around him, spots of gray mixing into the colorful landscape around him. Gray overtook the land until he was placed onto the top of a tower. This… was definitely not Mount Coronet.

He glanced over at the landscape below the tower he stood on. Gray cast over the land, it was deathly still through the land. This must have been the ‘something that shouldn’t have been done’ Dialga spoke about.

“Well then. I just have to fix this then…” Emmet spoke quietly, listening as his voice echoed around.

It was like the strange space that Dialga had stuck him in earlier, It was like…

“Time has stopped?”

“ Who? ” A loud gravely voice echoed in his head.

It filled him with a primal terror, something deep down that defied any of his knowledge. Emmet spun around to find a dark figure at the far end of the tower, one that wasn’t there before. Dark orange lines illuminated certain parts of the figure but Emmet still couldn’t tell who, or what, this thing is.

“ Who?? How?? ” The voice demanded once more, a roar shaking the ground around them.

Emmet took a deep breath, steeling his nerves. “I am Emmet! I am a Subway Boss! I do not believe I am at liberty to divulge the nature of my visit! Now, I request your name!”

A deep grumble came from the figure, but it didn’t respond much further.

“ Emmet… Finally… ” It growled.

Another shake nearly knocked Emmet down, but this time it came from the figure as it moved into Emmet’s field of vision.

Orange veins fed into steel, a blood-red gem pulsed with unnatural power. Dialga stood before him, eyes no longer the ones that requested his help. Instead they were crazed, consumed by whatever had afflicted him in this future. He wasn’t too surprised though, but the primal terror those eyes cast into his heart remianed.

“Dialga. This…. Is verrrry bad. What happened to you?” Emmet tilted his head, determined to not let his fear show.

“ Finish this…. Do what has to be done… ” Dialga slurred and snarled.

“Can you hear me?” Emmet asked, waving a hand in front of the massive being, “Or are you simply choosing not to listen?”

Dialga took a few more pounding steps closer, Emmet took those few steps back. Until he found himself at the end of the platform, nowhere else to go. He instinctively reached for his belt, only to find none of his pokeballs were there. He cursed internally, he’d had left for Mount Coronet in such a rush he left his partners at home.

What a foolish thing for a Subway Boss to do.

Dialga was now within reach and Emmet could do Nothing . Dialga snarled his name once more before swinging a massive forearm at him. And then, Emmet was falling.

Falling so fast towards the ocean below.

Huh. He didn’t think this was how he’d die.

What did Dialga even expect him to do at that tower? Beat his future self up with his bare-

Cold salty water consumed him, the ocean being the only thing not frozen in this world. The impact knocked him unconscious, with only a few moments to feel the suffocating feeling of darkness and cold.

Suddenly, He was warm. A light nearby warmed him as the smell of roasted Sitrus berries nearby made his stomach growl. He wanted to laugh, He didn’t think this is what heaven was going to be like. He didn’t even particularly like Sitrus berries on their own, to be honest.

Oh. wait.

He’s still alive.

It took him great effort to open his eyes, but once he did he found himself at a small camp. A pile of gray leaves acted as his bed, another sat nearby. A fire was built, the flames a brilliant orange in the gray landscape. No other occupants were around, Who could have built such a thing? The smell of Roasted Sitrus berries hit his nose again, and he found two sticks with three berries each impaled in the ground over the fire. They seemed to be just barely done, which means the occupant couldn’t be too far away. His clothes sat nearby as well on a makeshift drying stand a safe distance from the fire, He realized he was only wearing his pants, leaving his torso exposed.

Emmet shifted into a more comfortable position, hissing as his body ached. He hated this idea of taking it easy but the cuts and bruises that littered his body said otherwise. The sound of scampering feet caught his attention as someone ran up and gently pushed him back down onto the bed of leaves. He blinked with surprise as a Grovyle reached into a pouch it had on it’s side and pulled out a few gray herbs.

“Gro.” It insisted, extending it towards Emmet.

“What am I supposed to do with these…?” He hesitantly took the herbs.

The herbs almost instantly regained their color as they touched his hands, Dialga’s sigil emerging and pulsing with a faint blue. Grovyle jumped back with a hiss, its leaves standing on end. It reminded Emmet almost of a scared Purrloin. Emmet placed the herbs onto the bed of leaves, quickly raising his hands as a display of peace. The display only frightened Grovyle more as the leaves on it’s arms illuminated with a green light. Was it the mark it was afraid of?

“Easy! I am a friend.” Emmet cooed, Using a tone he would with a scared pokemon or child that got lost on his line, “I am Emmet. A Subway Boss. I am not affiliated with that Dialga, Do not be alarmed.”

Grovyle didn’t seem convinced, But it stopped the Leaf Blade attack it was preparing. A good step forward, Emmet thought.

“Good.” Emmet spoke once more, “I am here to help. I promise.”

Grovyle cautiously moved forward, slowly taking the hand that had glowed. Emmet winced upon suddenly being touched, shoving the nauseating feeling down with a hard mental push. It was worth it if he gained an ally, He repeated in his head.

“Vyle. Gro gro.” Grovyle spoke, pointing to the back of Emmet’s hand.

Huh, the Sigil was gone. Did it only appear when he came into contact with the objects of this land?

He slowly took his hand away from Grovyle, relief filled his body as he did, and picked up the herbs he had dropped once more. They had taken on a Gray tone once more but, like before, the color returned as soon as he picked them up. The sigil illuminated once more, Grovyle’s eyes widened as it watched this display.

“How peculiar. Verrrrry strange.” Emmet muttered.

This must be part of the Blessing that his Dialga had given him. Did he have the power to heal this land then?

He placed the Herbs in his lap, placing a hand down on the ground below him. Nothing changed, only the feeling of dirt and rocks shifting as he picked his hand up once more.

“There must be a limit on how big an object I can do this to then.” The corners of Emmet’s smile turned slightly as he picked up the herbs once more, “Anyways, What do I do with these?”

Grovyle plucked one from his hand and made a chewing motion before giving it back.

“I chew them?”

Grovyle nodded. Emmet took one and turned it experimentally around in his fingers. Well, he had heard about herbs like this being used in the past, why not now? He popped it in his mouth and chewed on it. It had a strange texture, it was chewy like gum but it was a leaf, like salad. He didn’t like it, but the aches he was feeling had vanished after a few minutes of chewing.

“Thank you. I appreciate your help.” Emmet nodded to the grovyle.

Grovyle turned away and instead sat on it’s own bed of leaves. Emmet watched as it took a stick of sitrus berries that were cooking over the fire and sniffed it. It apparently deemed it as good because it took a bite from one. It looked over at Emmet and narrowed its eyes at him. Emmet’s eyes drifted from the contact but he didn’t move his head.

“I apologize. There really is not much to do.”

Grovyle shook its head and continued to eat. Emmet turned his head to the fire. It was strange how such a thing could retain its color. Was it because it was lit after whatever happened to the world happened?

“What happened to this place?” Emmet asked.

He was aware that Grovyle wasn't going to be able to respond beyond his own language, but much to his dismay Grovyle shook his head.

“You don’t know either then…”

The two sat in silence as Emmet finished grinding the herb to a pulp, spitting it out as the bitter taste began to spread. He took the sitrus berry stick away from the fire, poking the berry almost expectantly. It squished slightly beneath his finger, juices oozing from the skin. Perfect. Emmet was slightly surprised by the color returning to the berries and the stick in his hand but he supposed that he should probably get used to this. The berries were warm to the touch and the inside burned his mouth as he took a bite but the growling in his stomach caused him to ignore it. Grovyle snickered at Emmet’s scarfing, Taking another bite of his own berries.

The pokemon and human sat in further silence long after finishing their meal. Emmet had so many questions to ask this one pokemon he found, but he knew that he would get any definite answers. But he could probably ask some yes or no questions and have something to figure out on his own. But he did have a few things to ask that weren’t yes or no.

“Where are we?” He finally asked.

Grovyle thought for a bit before pulling out a map. It looked handmade but there was something off about it. The pokemon looked for a bit before pointing to a forest by a lake-like formation connected to the ocean. It didn’t really help as he didn’t recognize anything on the map, But at least he had a geographical idea.

“I… see. What are you doing all the way out here?”

Grovyle pointed to a nearby area across the lake that wasn’t marked. Emmet wasn’t sure why Grovyle was heading that way but oh well.

“Okay then.” Emmet nodded, “I shall join you.”

Grovyle shook its head intensely, its eyes narrowed once more.

“Nope! I am Emmet. I am coming with you. Safety in numbers and all that, yes?”

Grovyle sighed, closing up the map and stuffing it back into the pouch on its side. It grumbled at Emmet and laid on the grass bed, turning its back to Emmet. Emmet simply smiled, turning to look at the fire. The flames weren’t as intense as earlier, instead gently lapping at the logs. It wasn’t going to last much longer. Emmet exhaled, laying down on his back. The sky was blank, no moon or stars shone in the sky. It unnerved Emmet, He may have been from Nimbasa (The light pollution hell that it is) but he enjoyed stargazing when he and Ingo would go camping.

His heart ached at the thought of Ingo. Emmet’s smile wavered, he had to succeed at his mission. For Ingo’s sake.

Emmet had fallen asleep at some point during their rest. Grovyle stood nearby, the fire scattered and its bed gone. Emmet was awoken by Grovyle tossing his coat over onto his head, startling the Subway Boss awake. He raised an eyebrow in confusion.

“Grovyle.” Grovyle said, tapping its foot impatiently.

“Are we leaving?”

“Vy.”

“Okay. Give me a moment then.” Emmet stood up, the aches in his body becoming obvious once more. He picked up one of the herbs he had shoved in his pocket unconsciously earlier, stuffing it in his mouth. They seemed to work like some kind of pain relief, he didn’t know if they were addicting or not so he mentally reminded himself to limit himself.

He was ready a few moments later, scattering the grass around like Grovyle did. He wasn’t sure why Grovyle did that, but it had been living here longer than Emmet has so it had to have a good reason.

“Right then, All aboard!” Emmet announced, placing his cap on his head before shifting into his familiar call and point pose.

It felt wrong without his brother by his side…

Grovyle shushed him with another glare. So he had to be quiet as well, did he? He could do that.

He didn’t understand the things grovyle did. It was almost like the pokemon was being followed…. Well, by someone other than Emmet. Grovyle would take strange paths, despite there being perfectly fine paths taken by those in the past. It would also glance around the corners of trees like there was something hunting it.

It was weird to Emmet, but perhaps that’s just how things are here. They arrived at their destination hours later, or perhaps it was days. Emmet wasn’t sure of that but he was sure that time didn’t exist anymore so there was no use in keeping track of such things right now. Grovyle was trying to get to a town, it looked like. Everything was covered in the gray coloring that matched the rest of the land. However, one thing stood out. Pokemon stood frozen, almost as if they were stone statues. Grovyle never made eye contact with a single one as it moved through the town, carefully avoiding those who were frozen. Emmet gulped. Was this truly their future? He remained silent despite the questions in his head, The first time he tried to voice something Grovyle shut him down with a familiar glare. Right. No talking then.

They arrived at the town square, Grovyle took out a piece of Charcoal wrapped in fabric and a handbound writing pad bound by the same type of paper the map was written on. Grovyle scribbled a few pictures on the paper before ripping it out, handing it to Emmet. Various shapes resembling fruit and berries were scribbled, a few circular shapes that Emmet couldn’t decipher were scribbled alongside a couple other shapes he didn’t recognize.

“I see. A resupply stop. Verrrrry good.” Emmet nodded with a salute, venturing in the direction Grovyle pointed.

Emmet was very used to being the one in charge, it was almost refreshing relying on another to lead. He continued across a bridge, the river underneath frozen and still. The shops nearby still had pokemon in their stalls, a pair of Kecleon seemed to be bartering with a young-looking marill and azumarill. Emmet felt bad for stealing out of their stalls, but who knows how long these pokemon have been like this?

Are.. Are they still alive?

Emmet shook the thought from his head as he leaped over the stall’s table, landing behind the twin Kecleon. The back wasn’t as full as he would have thought but a bag sat in the corner that caught Emmet’s attention. It wasn’t gray like everything else. Instead it was a dark blue, a similar blue to his sigil, Emmet thought. He picked up the bag and watched as a note fell from a pocket.

“Hm? Hello, What is this?” Emmet spoke to himself as he picked up the note.

‘A gift to my champion. This is as much help as I can provide. Good luck. - Dialga’

Emmet's smile grew softer as he opened up the sack. Various types of berries, apples and strange crystalline orbs sat inside. A few max elixirs sat towards the bottom (alongside his anxiety medication thank Arceus for that) no doubt for Grovyle rather than him. A canteen full of water was attached to the side of the bag. He made a mental reminder to thank Dialga for at least this once everything was over.

Emmet slung the bag over his shoulders, It felt surprisingly comfortable. The rest of the store didn’t have much that looked like anything of use, a few disks that Emmet recognized at TMs sat on one of the shelves but they didn’t seem to be any that Grovyle would have use of, Well besides one that was labeled as Dig. Dig was a fairly useful move and if Emmet recalled correctly, it was one that Grovyle could, in fact, learn. Maybe Grovyle would like this? He picked it up and watched as the color returned to it, the disk picking up a rainbow sheen, and shoved it in a random pocket in the bag. As much stuff as it had in it, there was still a little room for small things like TMs and perhaps some of the seeds that were lying around the other shelves.

Emmet returned after a while, Meeting Grovyle in the square once more. The Subway Boss was mildly surprised to see that Grovyle had remained but didn’t express it.

“Vyle? Gro?” Grovyle voiced, pointing at the bag.

“I found it at a stall. It had plenty of resources that would be of benefit for us.” Emmet explained as he put the bag down in front of Grovyle.

The grass type sifted through the items, nodding with satisfaction as it zipped it back up.

“I found this for you.” Emmet said, pulling the Dig TM out from the pocket he previous place it in, “I don’t know if you want to learn new moves but I thought this one would be of good use.”

Grovyle took with surprise, its eyes turning upwards with delight. The TM dulled as Grovyle concentrated, tossing it away as it became useless.

“Vyle…” It sheepishly muttered, its tone grateful.

“Of course.” Emmet nodded.

The two left the town behind, continuing out in a random direction. Emmet still didn’t know what he had to do to fix this future, but at least Grovyle seemed to tolerate his presence. Perhaps by traveling this world he’d find out more of what went wrong, and a way to reverse this damage.

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