I suppose I should be grateful that our absolutely abysmal luck didn't kick in until we had finished eating. I should also be grateful that the Houndour and Houndoom pack can't seem to go five steps without one of them howling. Their attack stat would be terrifying if they caught up to us, but in the meantime it made for an excellent warning system! We began running toward Barren Precipice before the pack could even see us. Not that running (or flying) on a fresh meal was particularly healthy but, oh well. I did wish the pack would just leave us be, considering the outcome of our last encounter, what with my chucking rocks at them. I wasn't the only one with this thought.

"Don't they ever give up?" One of the Sableye complained.

Dusknoir looked almost offended. "Of course not! That was rather the point of putting them on guard in the first place!"

"You put them on guard?"

"Well…yes. Before I was sent to apprehend Grovyle at the Hidden Land, I put several packs on alert around various forests in case of any…temporal disturbances."

"Like a Passage of Time." I frowned. "Or my Timeslides. I'm so sorry; I lead them right to us."

Grovyle shook his head. "I don't see how it could have been avoided, Celebi. Don't worry about it."

"Master Dusknoir, can't you just order them to go away?"

"After defending their prey, attacking their pack members and fleeing with fugitives? Would you care to guess how well that would go? No, they won't stop chasing us. We'll have to put more distance between us and them if we want to be able to pay attention to M-Primal Dialga's direction when time thaws."

"Wheh-heh-heh! We're running as fast as we can!"

"It isn't fast enough. We'll have to out maneuver them, or throw them off our trail."

"My dear Grovyle, we hardly have time to cover our tracks and reach Barren Precipice within the next half-hour."

"We might have if we hadn't stopped for lunch!"

"Then they would be following the sounds of our stomachs!"

"Wheh-heh! Look up ahead!"

We had begun this chase though a relatively small forest because that was where my tree had been, obviously. As the pack had followed us, we had left the shelter of those trees out into a far more hilly landscape, filled with chunks of suspended stones and not much else. Our destination, Barren Precipice, loomed before us, but the 'up ahead' the Sableye was pointing at was something far more useful at the moment: a rather steep ridge with only one clear opening.

A very very small opening.

Grovyle nodded. "Choke point. Everybody through, as fast as you can!"

I, of course, fit through just fine. The Sableye did as well, once they coordinated who would go first. Grovyle slipped through with just a little wiggling, and Dusknoir simply phased through the ridge. For the first time, I was glad of our pursuer's typing.

"Of course you know," Dusknoir remarked to Grovyle. "This won't hold them off for long."

"It doesn't need to be for long, Dusknoir. Just long enough to get to the Precipice.

"Then let me rephrase: This won't hold them off for long enough."

I frowned at the Ghost-Type. "It's the best we have. It has to work."

"And it won't."

Grovyle glared at Ducknoir, and Dusknoir stared right back. The howls were getting closer.

What else could we do?

.,.,.,.,.,,.,.,.,,.,.,.,.

*looks up at previous update…date.*

*shrugs*

Life, huh? It sure does happen. Thanks for anyone who reads this thing after all these…jeez louise, YEARS.