I don't really have much to say, other than welcome to the second story of the series: Cresselia's Pilgrimage. I'll speak more once you've read. For now, enjoy and review.

"Oh great being of darkness, forever burdened with the curse of the nightmares. The new moon signals his arrival, and the beginning of a dark sleep. only the being of the full moon, a beauty unbeheld, can calm the storms of this torrential one. But now, the dark one sets off, to seize the very power he fears may harm his beloved. And the light shall follow, eager to save the one she loves. And now, a tale of their journey shall now unfold."

"Darkrai." Cresselia muttered, growing restless in her sleep. She dreamt of sitting in a park, with Darkrai in his human form beside her human form. It was a sunny day, with rose petals falling all around them. Cresselia fidgeted with her dress, extremely nervous to be with Darkrai in this way. But then she looked beside herself, and Darkrai was not there anymore. The sky turned red, and the ground turned to ash.
"DARKRAI!" Cresselia cried out, until she realized it was only a dream. A nightmare really. But what did it mean?

Cresselia looked out from the cliffside, a sense of longing building up in her chest. it had been three weeks since Darkrai's departure, but she knew not of why he did. he left no message of where he went, nor did her companions reveal his whereabouts. it scared her, especially with the big news she had for him.
"Your mind's made up?" Crescent, the Absol Darkrai befriended some time ago, inquired.
"I must." Cresselia replied, "I fear for Darkrai's well-being. He has been redeemed in the eyes of the humans here, but much of the world still fears his power. I must find him."
"But mistress," Pidgeotto squawked, "what will you do? It is not safe to undertake such a journey while you are bearing."
"It is a risk I must take. For the good of us all."
Taking in a deep breath, Absol warned, "A storm approaches from the east. You must make landfall before it strikes, if you are ever to succeed in your quest."
"My gratitude Crescent." Cresselia thanked, "And now friends, farewell." And she flew off towards the horizon. Into the unknown world.

"The setting sun rapidly crept as the full moon shot out to the sea. Pursuing her dark counterpart, she dashed beyond belief, spurred on only by her devotion to her dearest. A weight unknown bore down onto her through it all, tempting her to turn back. But love won out, and the light soared even higher. But the warning of the crescent came to pass. A tempest unlike any other broke out at last. The being was caught, thrown, and beaten. Her strength waning, the lashing intensifying, the winds thrashing. Full moon fell, defeated by the winds of fate. But such winds blow fair, to allow such a maid to find her mate."

The sound of water crashing on a shore woke Cresselia up after her heavy fall. The storm Crescent had warned her about had beaten her to shore, and sent her spiraling to the sea. After that, it was all a blank.
Cresselia's head felt heavy and seemed to press outward in her skull.
But then, a blue fox looking Pokemon with a fishes tail stood over her, wondering if she was alright. "Please be okay miss." he requested of her, "My master will be here soon. He'll make you feel better."
Just then, a boy of about 15, with shaggy black hair and a mountaineers vest entered the cabin. He brought over a bowl of some green goop, and pressed the edge to Cresselia's lips.
"Drink this." he instructed as he helped it down, "It's made from ground up Revival Herbs." Cresselia sputtered and spat as she struggled to swallow such a foul tasting substance. Cresselia had often heard of the Revival Herbs power to restore a Pokemon to full power. But she had never dreamed it would be this awful.
"It's a good thing my Vaporeon found you near the coast." the boy continued, "You looked like you had been drifting at sea for some time."
Finding the strength to speak, Cresselia asked, "Where am I? And why did you bring me here?"
"We're on Valor Isle. Home of many Pokemon champions. Though, none have won the leagues yet. And I brought you here because I couldn't leave a fellow person lying half dead in the sand." The boy's words confused Cresselia. Straining, she managed to set herself upright. And looking into a mirror on the other side of the room, she saw a most disturbing site. She was in human form.

The boy introduced himself to be Shawn, a local lifeguard on Valor Isle. He and his partner Vaporeon protect the coastline, and aid anybody who falls victim to the water's destructive nature. He explained how he had spotted Cresselia lying face down in the sand, clearly unconscious from something. He managed to clean her and her clothes up as much as he could, which Cresselia was mightily grateful for his help. But the fact that she was a human unnerved her. When, and how, did she transform like she did?
Taking her into town to eat, Shawn kept Cresselia very close to him.
"Be careful." he cautioned, "Folks here don't take too kindly to strangers. Been this way since the Garchomp problem."
"What Garchomp problem?" she asked him.
"Up in the mountains, where most folks love to train, somebody's Garchomp has been on a rampage, attacking anyone foolish enough to get close to it." Shawn told her, "That Garchomp belongs to a visitor on this island. But he is forbidden from leaving until he can control his Pokemon." A Garchomp on a rampage? Cresselia felt like she had to investigate. She remembered times when Pokemon would go berserk because of Darkrai's nightmares. This could be the lead she needed to find him.
"Stay right here, I'll be back with grub for tonight's dinner." Unfortunately, Cresselia had no intention of remaining. Steeling her courage, Cresselia took off for the mountains Shawn pointed out. She had to calm that Garchomp.

Just as she reached the foot of the mountain, Cresselia's body began to tingle. Then, her true form returned as the light dissipated. What is the matter with me? she thought, Why have I been transforming like this? But she pushed it aside, and began flying up to the top of the mountain.
Before she even got close to one of the cliffs, a Dragon Pulse attack nearly blasted her back down. She managed to evade it, and spotted the attacker. A dark blue, hammerhead looking Pokemon walking on two legs roared down at her as she approached, trying to intimidate her to turn back. But Cresselia pressed on, and finally hovered level with the rampaging beast.
"Garchomp, what is wrong?!" she asked calmly. Garchomp, however, roared back in reply. But Cressalia recognized the kind of roar it was. It was one of pain, an unbearable pain. There was no doubt about it. This Garchomp was suffering from the effects of Darkrai's nightmares.
Suddenly, Garchomp let loose another Dragon Pulse. But Cresselia managed to dodge the attack. She figured that if she was to free Garchomp, she would have to defeat it. Doing so would allow her lunar power to break the nightmares torturing Garchomp. So Cresselia retaliated with her Aurora Beam, loosing a rainbow energy wave at Garchomp. The attack made Garchomp stumble, but it did not seem fazed by the attack. he countered her attack with a powerful Dragon Claw, but was intercepted by Cresselia's Slash attack. Using her psychic powers, Cresselia predicted her Future Sight's point of impact, but she left herself completely exposed. Garchomp whirled up a fierce Sandstorm, sending gusts of sand into Cresselia and trying to force her down. Recharged, Cresselia broke up the Sandstorm with her Psychic attack. But then, Garchomp concentrated all his energy into his body, and released a hailstorm of Draco Meteor that blasted Cresselia into the mountain face. Beaten and wounded, Cresselia looked up as Garchomp stomped over to deal the final blow. Just then, the Future Sight took effect, blasting him right on the back of his head. With it, Garchomp collapsed in defeat.
After a few minutes, Garchomp began to stand up. But it had calmed down, and no longer felt tortured by the nightmares that had haunted it before.
"Where am I?" he pondered, "How did I get here?"
Lifting herself up, Cresselia answered, "You were in pain from nightmares, but I freed you from them. You had been rampaging, causing harm to the humans down below."
"Lady Cresselia." Garchomp recognized the Lunar Pokemon. Bowing to a knee, he spoke, "My apologies, milady. I have done much harm to you in my weak-minded state. To reconcile my actions, let me show you something of interest." So Garchomp led Cresselia into a hidden cave a little ways up the path.

Inside, the room was massively huge, with carvings and symbols etched on every wall. Two pedestals stood in the center, one with a white circle above it, and the other with a dark circle. The ruins amazed Cresselia. She had no idea that such a place even existed. But then, an image on the far wall caught her attention. it was a picture of her and Darkrai, in Pokemon form, floating over two humans.
"These ruins were only recently discovered, by another visitor who came after my master." Garchomp explained, "No one knows where he went, but these ruins apparently intrigued him quite a bit. But as quickly as he came, he just left. Without a word as to where."
"What was his name?" Cresselia asked.
"The humans called him Rai. odd name, really." Cresselia didn't think so. As she investigated the carvings on the wall, she noticed the runes were written in Unown, letter looking Pokemon that have remained a mystery to everyone, including Pokemon like Cresselia.
As she proceeded, she read, "'There were two lovers born of old. Unlike lovers, as we were told. One of beauty and of light, the other of shadow. Two beings joined together, but then laid low.'"
"'One day of the autumn, when the leaves began to fall, these two lovers were met with an order so tall. The parents of the light shunned the one of shadow night. Calling him to leave this place, or face their might.'"
"You can read this stuff?" Garchomp quizzed.
"I think so." Cresselia responded, breaking her eye contact with the writing, "For some reason, I can translate what this is saying. Like I had known it all my life."
Garchomp didn't question her. So Cresselia continued, "'A forbidden love, by the king's decree, fell short of the mark, and failed to see. That the light and shadow loved one another. One could not live without the other.'"
"'But the fury of the ruler pierced the sky. Calling forth his army, the time was nigh. Sent forth they went, to retrieve the being. But he called for surrender, lo they be seeing.'"
"'From anvil to hand, a blade hand been forged. To end shadow's life, at the tip of the gorge.'" But the rest of the story was crumbling, so the writing ended there.
But what it had said made Cresselia cringe. What was entailed in the walls? What tragedy did it seem to tell? Did Darkrai know it's meaning? Had he been here, and read what she did? Question upon question piled up in her mind. But she shoved them aside, remembering her true goal: finding Darkrai.
Just then, from out of nowhere, a strange light floated down towards Cresselia. As it made contact with her, she began to change form once again. She reverted back to her human form, but with the addition of a necklace tied around her neck, with a crescent shaped pendant. Suddenly, a memory flashed through Cresselia's mind. It entailed what the necklace did, enabling her to hide her true form by becoming a human.
Garchomp freaked out, yelling, "What the heck happened to you?"
Holding up her pendant, Cresselia replied, "I wish I knew."

As Cresselia and Garchomp made their way back into town, many of the townsfolk were surprised to see Garchomp so calm. Many were hesitant to come out of their homes, but they began to whisper at Cresselia being with it.
Sensing their fear, Cresselia called out, "Everyone, it is alright. Garchomp will no longer harm you." Then, a little kid no older than 8 stepped out to meet Garchomp. Garchomp knelt down, allowing the boy to pet his head. With it, everyone began to come out of hiding and they all reveled at Garchomp's sudden change in character. But it was a well-received change. Cresselia felt glad that things returned to normal.
Just then, Shawn stormed through the crowd towards her, clearly mad that she ran off the way she did.
"Where have you been?!" he scolded, "I've been worried that Garchomp got to you."
"I'm alright Shawn. Thank you for your concern."
Sighing, Shawn asked, "What did you do?"

After explaining what had happened, Cresselia then explained what she had to do next. The ruins she found up on the mountain had to be a clue as to where Darkrai would go.
"You're leaving already?" Shawn asked.
"I'm sorry Shawn. But I have to." she told him, "It's important."
Stroking Vaporeon's mane, he responded, "Alright. If you're looking for some ruins, there may be some linked to ours on Dopple Island, just south of us here. You should start there."
"Thank you Shawn."
"By the way, I never got your name." Cresselia pondered for a bit, before deciding on a name to give to Shawn.
"Just call me, Lia." she spoke.

The next morning, before the break of dawn, Cresselia faced out to sea once more. Channeling her psychic energy, she used the pendant to change back into her Pokemon form. She now knew where she had to go. Next stop, Dopple Island.

"And whence the sun did finally come, the maiden of the full moon flew off into the distance. Her lover was near, and yet so far away. To the ends of the earth, she would go. All to seek out her dark one."

Next time,
Cresselia arrives at her destination. But once there, things become very strange. Darkrai's handiwork follows in his wake, causing havoc among the residents. As the being of light, Cresselia faces this challenge, in an effort to continue her quest and find the secrets behind the ruins, as well as her beloved Darkrai. Can she bear the truth of these secrets? Only time will tell.

Yeah, I got some clearing up to do. Cresselia's human form is the same one she took on during that last bit in 'The Tale of Darkrai'. Didn't think that would make a return, did ya? Well, there is a significance behind it, as the ruins have spoken. lol. If you want a better visual of Cresselia's human form, as well as Darkrai's, check them out in my friend's gallery on deviantart. Just look up 'CallingToTheNight', and the image is titled 'Lunar Duo'. There's a really great picture they made that I will put up with this story soon (all credit belonging to them, of course).

So, review, fave, and see you on the next chapter.