Beautiful Nightmare

by HonoEli Please

Despite the tales of Canalave City's abandoned Harbor Inn and Barry's protesting, the determined Dawn felt compelled to spend the night there. It wasn't like she was going to run into the long unseen terror of nightmares, Darkrai, was she?

Title: Beautiful Nightmare
Fandom: Pokemon
Ship: TotalEclipseshipping (( Dawn x Darkrai ))
Rating: It's mature for a reason you'll see about two-thirds of the way through...

Authors Notes: Before you ask this is based on the GAMES, NOT the anime. So questions as to why Dawn has Pokemon she don't have in said anime shall be ignored. If you really must know they were the Pokemon I had in my first ever team on my Pearl.

Okay so anyways. This is easily the longest one-shot I have ever done since starting to write fanfiction again... and the somewhat amusing thing? I am not even a fan of this pairing! Dawn with May or Mars please and thanks.

There are two reasons as to why I decided to write TotalEclipseshipping. Firstly, this plotbunny came to me earlier in the month when I got my own Darkrai with the help of Action Replay. Yes, Action Replay. Spare me the crap, it's safer than you think and I doubt that the Darkrai event will ever come to Britain. -eye roll- Secondly, I made some sort of resolution with myself to publish at least one one-shot for every month of 2008. This little baby was the only story going around in my mind...

To be fair, i'm actually rather pleased with how this turned out. It's a typical Vycksta work; a slow burner with tons of description and metaphors... and unlike Flexible i'm content with the smut. Although I really should let you be the judge of that, huh?

The usual jabber goes here; reviews are love, hit me with constructive criticism if you feel I need it etc etc. However flames about this being human x Pokemon will do nothing but make me ell oh ell. Pokemon are animals you say? Then effing find me one who looks like Gardevoir, has an emotional level similar to us humans and can freely control the elements as well as understand the human language properly. I'll be waiting.

Flames in general? -shrug- Whatever. It's not like i'm going to stop writing cause you hate my stuff...

Dedicated to Avegaille, for no reason other than she contently ships Zoey with Palkia. -cackles ebily-

--

"Good evening. You must be Dawn."

Teal eyes blinked in slight anticipation at the sudden mention of her name and in an instant her cheery disposition changed into paranoia, her hands clenching into fists and going against her chest as a defence mechanism. Her yellow holdall was also kept close to her body as thoughts of a worrying nature decided to make a train and cross the tracks in her mind; she knew that she was starting to get a little bit of recognition thanks to her exploits that had happened to her on her journey so far but this was the first time she had ventured into the city she was currently in, let alone the Poke Mart she was browsing through... and be called by her name from the off. There was no way people would be able to place a name on her face so soon...

Slowly and uncertainly, she turned around to face the one who greeted her with the two short sentences that made her instantly concerned. Once again her eyes flickered as she took mental notes of this certain person. Said person was male and by her guess, appeared to be in his early twenties. His eyes were of a deep hazel and his hair appeared to be of the same pigment but it was hard to tell as the majority of his locks, bar his fringe, were hidden by a green cap laced with golden cord. He was also wearing a jacket of the same grassy colour with buttons in the same shiny yellow and was standing perfectly straight, like a ramrod.

Taking in this figure, she breathed a small sigh of relief; he didn't look like somebody who would try to scare or harm her and he certainly wasn't a member of Team Galactic otherwise he would have, again by her mental opinion, horrific green hair shaped like a bowl and wearing something resembling tin foil. Plus he would have greeted her with something along the lines of "Oh for fuck's sake, not YOU again" if that was the case. He definitely spoke too politely to be a villain.

Hands falling down by her sides, she smiled again; the way he was dressed actually reminded her of a character in a pantomime she went to see a few Christmases ago with her Mum and her best friend. This character's role was to help the beautiful damsel get to the ball to hopefully meet her Prince Charming, riding on a stunning coach led by a quartet of ivory coloured Rapidashes that previously, were tiny Rattata.

She started to think a bit more bizarrely and definitely childlike. She had a Rapidash of her very own now that she had finally became a Pokemon trainer... maybe he was going to tell her to get to the ball on time. Maybe he had a coach outside the Poke Mart ready and waiting and together they would rid the world of evil and then get whisked of her feet by her very own Prince?

Or perhaps he was going to turn into a Rapidash himself?

Carefree and content personality returning, she couldn't resist the urge to giggle at her crazy thinking...

"Excuse me."

Hastily returning to reality, a small flush appeared across her face upon the embarrassment of maintaining an awkward silence between herself and the smartly dressed young man thanks to delving into her childhood. Calmly, she placed her hands on her hips and looked directly into the eyes of the one who addressed her.

"I'm sorry..." she began, part of her mind wondering if she was feeling okay as she was going to explain the reason for the soundless situation. "It's just that I got nervous when you called my name and then when I saw what you were wearing I..."

"Instantly thought of Buttons from Cinderella." he finished for her, making her blush again. "It's alright; I get that all the time from a lot of people, not just yourself."

Another silence approached the two as the fact that he guessed what she was thinking made her blush furiously; her proneness to turning red instantly was a habit that happened often and something that her best friend enjoyed winding her up about constantly. She wanted to say something to break the eerie stillness but no words were coming out... thankfully for her, the young man spoke instead.

"Now... i'll ask you again," he smiled, still remaining as straight as a ruler with his posture. "Are you Dawn, from Twinleaf Town?"

Beautiful teal eyes blinked again as her name was mentioned for the second time in the space of four minutes... but this time there was no nervousness, just confidence. With her flush gradually fading and being placed by a cheesy grin, she nodded briskly.

"Yes, that's me."

It was a typical February evening in the region of Sinnoh, a vast land mass said to be the oldest in existence and one said to be as divided as the magnificent mountain that seemingly gives Sinnoh two halves. The wind was starting to pick up speed, scooping the occasionally scattered leaves off the ground and whisking them through the air, giving them new life, new meaning, new purpose... and the sky was transforming in colour from an almost transparent cyan into a shade a hundred times darker and more menacing, a sure sign that day was ending and night was finally beginning. Despite the creepiness that the later hours can bring, the sight was actually rather attractive to behold... and it was certainly being watched by a familiar pair of stunning teal coloured eyes.

Sipping her cherry cola slowly to make the drink last longer, Dawn quietly watched the view that was transforming with equal delay. Leaning back further on the chair she was sitting on, she quickly took a few seconds to see if there was anybody else in the Cafe she was resting at... and upon noting that there was still that rich socialite in the corner contently nibbling on a chocolate eclair the pre-teen gave her attention back to the scene she was observing beforehand. Instinctively and without averting her gaze any more she moved her free hand over her stomach to count the number of Poke Balls that were attached onto her belt... and smiled sweetly when she counted five, the correct number.

Since finally becoming a Pokemon trainer four months ago at the same time as the best friend she has known since they were old enough to walk and talk, Dawn had seen a lot more to Sinnoh than her quaint home town of Twinleaf. She started her training by accident, grabbing a Poke Ball out of the satchel of the renowned researcher Professor Rowan when she and aforementioned best friend were approached by a pair of wild Pokemon while looking in the contents of it. She did feel guilty of doing such a deed but thankfully for her and for her childhood comrade Professor Rowan praised the duo's quick thinking and let them keep the Pokemon they chose to battle with. One visit to nearby Sandgem Town later and they got the Pokedex they needed to officially start a journey as a Pokemon trainer.

The Pokemon Dawn picked up for that first battle was a Piplup, who certainly seemed proud of his power and soon became the powerhouse of her team, especially when the small Pokemon reached his final evolved form, the graceful yet steely Empoleon. During her journey she also managed to gain the assistance of four other elemental creatures; a Luxray that she caught as a Shinx outside Sandgem Town, a vivacious Misdreavus that originally took to following her around Eterna Forest when travelling through with another trainer, a spirited Rapidash to constantly remind her of the great time she had at the pantomime and a Drifblim, originally caught as a Drifloon outside the Valley Windworks, where Dawn unknowingly got herself involved in the affairs of the sinister Team Galactic.

Together with her quintet of travelling companions, Dawn had successfully managed to stop whatever the criminal syndicate had thrown at her as well as become the victor at five of Sinnoh's eight gyms. The cheery pre-teen knew that somewhere along the line she would encounter the villains and be the Spoink in the middle again as she was unsure of their long-term goal... yet she knew what her desire was; to get the badges from all eight gyms and then dedicate her time to partaking in contests with her Mother.

Although for now... something else was on her mind, a certain situation that was dividing her like the mountain that sliced her home region.

The night had now fully staked its claim on the skies above, only giving way for a litter of twinkling white stars that shimmered in a beautiful unison. These small celestial bodies gave off enough light to almost light up the streets of Canalave City, the industrial yet mythological city that continued Sinnoh's division theme by almost being split in two by its massive port. Said ports waters were almost white thanks to the glittering display from the stars of the darkness... and once again, the attractive scenes were being watched by Dawn, who had now been in the Cafe for two hours and was still making her drink last as long as she possibly could.

The plan when she first ventured into Canalave City in the late afternoon was simple; go to the Gym and do whatever it took to stake her claim on her sixth Sinnoh League badge. That was until a spanner was thrown in the works in the shape of a certain young man dressed in forest and gold who greeted her in the Poke Mart.

She only went into the shop to purchase a few Hyper Potions before trekking along Canalave's bridge so she could reach the Gym... she didn't realize that meeting up with a total stranger could make her literally feel like she was torn in two, like the city she was currently in... in the region she had lived in all her short life.

Finally diverting herself away from the graceful views outside the Cafe, Dawn quickly ran her hand along her stomach again to check that five Poke Balls where still firmly attached to her belt before rummaging in her bag, completely unaware that the owner of the Cafe had been watching her for the last twenty minutes with a concerned expression. It only took Dawn a few seconds to find what she was searching for and pulled it out of her bag with one swift movement. She was so engulfed in her own goings-on that she blissfully didn't hear the door of the Cafe open with a shrill ring and the sounds of footsteps charging towards her...

"Ah, I finally found you... AAAAAAAAAAAAAA!"

The item she had just picked up flew out of her hand, onto the floor and skidded along the tiles in a random direction while Dawn herself fell down on her right side, giving a sharp shriek of pain when the edge of the chair next to her dug into her ribs awkwardly. This was enough to change the expression on the face of the Cafe owner from concern to utter amusement while at the same time, it prompted Dawn to leap out of her chair and scream in an out-of-character fashion at the person who had barged into her.

"When will you LEARN not to be so scatterbrained and impulsive? Now I don't know where that item has gone... argh!"

The person who had run into Dawn looked at her with a slightly worried expression, placing one hand on the back of the head to highlight said awkwardness. The free hand flicked scarf of a lime green and a nervous laugh was emitted.

"Sorry there Dawn. It's just that I heard that you were in Canalave and I had to track you down and now I have found you I CHALLENGE YOU TO A BATTLE! I WILL WIN THIS TIME!"

"No offence, but i'm not in the mood to beat you again with my Pokemon." Dawn replied matter-of-factly, sticking her tongue out at the other person and instantly forgetting that she was still angry for being knocked over. "It'll only give you more heartache... Barry."

"Hey, no fair!"

"Complains the one who forgot to stop running and crash into me... just like you always do, ever since we were old enough to dash around and pretend that we were Sneasels. Although maybe my mind could be changed if you can help me find what you made me drop?"

Dawn's hint was dropped to perfection; Barry instantly picking up on it and practically leaping onto the floor to help his best friend find what she was looking for... even though he had no clue as to what the object actually looked like. Dawn did try to explain to him but he quickly crawled off to the other end of the Cafe; that was typical Barry, as skittish as a Psyduck with a migraine, a quality that either made Dawn laugh out loud or wail with despair. Especially if he was being a tease with it as she hated the fact that she blushed so easily at everything.

Eventually Dawn also got down on the floor to help in the search, grimacing to herself when she placed one of her hands in an unnoticeable sticky patch. Thankfully she didn't have to be on the floor for too long as she soon located what it was she had taken out of her bag. Scuttling over to it for a slight fear of it being trodden on or picked up by somebody else, the pre-teen trainer snatched it from the tiles with glee and proceeded to observe it a little more, something she was going to do before Barry barged into her.

The item in itself was a small brown card that was only about five centimetres in length and about a tenth of the size in thickness. It was pierced at one end with ebony coloured cord that was tied at the end to make a loop and it was marked with a selection of random dates. Oddly, Dawn discovered, the last date on this little item was March 17, 1958... nearly fifty years ago.

Carefully, Dawn stroked the card with the tips of her fingers before flushing once again; she had been going off on another train of thought when there was somebody else helping her look for what she had just found.

"Barry?"

"Yes Dawn?"

"I found it!"

"EXCELLENT! We can go and have our battle now i'll meet you outside don't be too long or I will start to think that you are a Torchic!"

With that said Barry hoisted himself from the floor of the Cafe and charged outside, an action that made Dawn shake her head not only at his energy, but his ability to combine three sentences into one and not be out of breath.

"Once a scatterbrain, always a scatterbrain..." she spoke quietly.

A small smile appeared on her face as she slowly got up, walked over to where she was sitting to collect her holdall, sip the last of the now flat cherry cola and bowed her head as a thank you to the Cafe owner, who was amused from the happenings of the last five minutes. Clenching the card tightly, Dawn strolled contently out of the Cafe and stopped when she was a few metres away, where the excitable Barry was waiting for her.

"Alright I cannot wait for this! Wait till you see how much my Pokemon have grown, they are sure to beat yours now with little fuss!"

Dawn sighed, not knowing the best way to phrase what she was going to say. "Barry..." she started, trying not to look like she was taking pity on him. "I actually really am not in the mood for a battle. It's getting late and..."

"Don't lie to me Dawn! I know you want to battle; you have done every time since we both became trainers!"

"I know that, yet earlier today something..."

"I'm not taking no for an answer!"

"Please Barry, for once stop acting like you've taken too much sugar and listen to what happened to me today!"

It seemed that Dawn's last word spoken was a cue, because as soon as the final syllable left her lips the wind picked up instantly, a powerful gale billowing powerfully through her hair and pushing Barry's own blonde locks awkwardly to the right, something that made him protest at the sudden natural onslaught. Chillingly, the wind ceased to move any further... it was hard to tell as it was invisible to the naked eye, but the sounds it was producing seemed like they were going around in a constant circle, continually going around the same two people like a stuck record on a jukebox. Case in short Dawn and Barry, the male looking as though he was about to run to the nearest Pokemon Centre to get shelter, the female looking very intently at her clenched hand...

"Dawn! Please tell me that i'm not going paranoid; the wind is just circling the pair of us, right?"

Dawn didn't look at her childhood comrade, but instead gave a simple nod to let him know that she heard him. "You're right... it is like it is trying to tell us something. Maybe we should just play along and see what happens?"

Shocked at how calm and collected she seemed to be, Barry could only sigh and shrug his shoulders upon Dawn's question; he was a Pokemon trainer after all and so was she... he'd seen crazier things happen, right?

"Why not."

For the second time the wind acted right on cue, gathering up enough pressure to exhale a mighty gust that was strong enough to turn both Dawn and Barry's heads sharply to the north, their hair attempting to get as far in front of their faces as possible. The pitch of the wind then changed as it seemed to charge forward towards an ominous looking building that seemed to be isolated from the rest of Canalave City.

Looking on with a mixture of bemusement and interest, both Dawn and Barry could tell that the wind was now circling this sinister looking building, as if the forces of nature were trying to get them both to notice it. Observe it the pair of them did, even if it was hard to tell exactly what the building looked like in the dusk. There were no lights near to it that could highlight any of the building's features and from what they could make out there was nothing great or fascinating to report about it. The roof looked outdated and if the dark wasn't playing tricks on them then many of the windows were either boarded up or shattered umpteen times in every corner. If anything, it was like the place had been abandoned for a long time, to be precise...

"Fifty years."

"Huh?"

Dawn blinked, quickly shaking her embarrassment away of talking to herself before turning to face Barry, who was still confused and a little shocked about the whole situation. Calmly, she placed her free hand on his shoulders while thrusting her fist into Barry's left hand, opening it so he could look at what she was holding. Then she leaned close towards him, so he could be able to hear her words... the wind was now bellowing out a sound so eerie it was like a pack of wild Mightyena had taken over Canalave.

"That building up there is the Harbor Inn, shafted to the public for the last fifty years... until tonight, for I am going to spend the night there. It's fate." And as soon as Dawn uttered her words the wind ceased its almighty howling, bringing a sudden chilling calm to Canalave City.

Barry gasped in shock for three specific reasons. One, the way the gale just stopped as suddenly as it began. Secondly, how generally quiet yet cheerful Dawn developed a confident, almost sure-of-herself streak... and lastly, his best friend's claim that she simply had to spend a night at the Harbor Inn like it was her ultimate destiny.

He looked with disdain at the dilapidated building and shivered at its creepy, ominous presence. He had heard of the Inn from his Mother a long time ago... but he had also heard of the occurrences, the goings-on, the entire past of that place. The young blonde could also confidently vouch that his teal-haired buddy had too, although he didn't have much time to think about it as Dawn was frantically waving a hand in front of his face.

"Hurry up and look at it already!" she pleaded almost desperately; the tone of her voice sounding as impatient as his is most of the time.

Without answering, Barry looked at the object Dawn shoved into his hand and pulled a face; what was so special about a little brown card that almost looked as old as the one trainer he whipped with his Grotle down on route 212? Then he noticed the date on the item... and gasped once again with shock and surprise.

"Woah... this is nearly fifty years old!"

"Now do you believe in fate?"

He was about to say something in protest as he personally didn't believe in things like destiny but Barry was quickly silenced; Dawn placing a finger over his lips so she could speak without being interrupted by him.

"When I first got here, in Canalave, late on this afternoon, I got a funny feeling that something was going to happen. Something big and exciting and refreshing and..." Dawn trailed off, flushing at already going off on a tangent so early in her explanation. "I put it down to excitement of getting my sixth Sinnoh badge at long last as I had been training my Rapidash and my Drifblim for what seemed like forever down near Pastoria City... then I wondered if I would have another run in with Team Galactic again, you know, those villains I told you about the last time we met?"

Barry casted his mind back quickly to the time when Dawn told him about how she dealt with those villains no less than four times during her journey across the mountainous region and was about to say that he did remember but Dawn shook her head, a gesture to ask him to keep silent.

"I was wrong."

Dawn took the brown card from Barry and continued to talk, ignoring the fact that a small flush was on her face again. "I went to the Poke Mart today to stock up on Hyper Potions ready for my Gym Battle; I know my Rapidash would probably beat the leader with little to no fuss but I didn't want to take any chances. It was there that some young guy who looked like Buttons from Cinderella... you remember when we saw that, hee hee, you loved it more than I did... asked me if I was Dawn from Twinleaf. I said yes after a while..."

"So he gave you that key and he's probably going to met you there and steal your Pokemon when you walk in." Barry replied sarcastically, his face forming a grin at Dawn's blush. "Or he thinks that he has a chance with you and he's luring you there to..."

"I. WAS. SPEAKING!"

"Don't get your blush in a twist!"

Shaking her head and choosing to whack him around the head later, Dawn continued with her story. "This man then said to me that he had something for me... and gave me this card, calling it a Member's Card if I remember right. I wondered if he was playing a trick of some kind on me but he said that he had no more gifts for me and walked out of the Poke Mart, only stopping to tell me that I needed to believe in fate for I was in Canalave and what he gave me was for use in Canalave too... my mind was in two so I went to the Cafe.

"I must have spent two hours in there, deciding what to do. Part of me was insisting that I must get my sixth badge, leave Canalave and continue with my journey... yet something was stopping me from doing so. It was like I was compelled, you could say... to come to Canalave and get this Member's Card. Then this couple came in, ordered some teas and sat down on the table behind me. I ignored them until I heard the woman mention about the Harbor Inn.

"They were saying that because the place hadn't been used for nearly half a century it shocked them to see it as everyone just ignored its presence generally... and in that instant it was like I was rushed off my feet. It's hard to put this into words but it was like a jigsaw had been fitted; what I was given was for the Harbor Inn and that fate was telling me to go and check it out. The more I thought about it and the longer I stayed in the Cafe the more it was making sense and the desire to go and investigate was so strong I couldn't ignore it! Now I am super psyched to go and check it out, although I will admit I am a little nervous... WILL YOU QUIT PRETENDING TO BE ASLEEP?"

Dawn, with some force, shoved Barry in the chest with the palms of her hands, making him take a step backwards to stop himself from falling over, opening his eyes to stop his mockery of being bored from Dawn's tale of her day. Noticing that the Member's Card dropped onto the ground as a result of the push he silently picked it up and gave it back to Dawn, who uttered a slightly annoyed "Thanks" as a response.

"I was listening, you know. I'm not that impatient and kooky."

"I don't care." Dawn replied cheekily, sticking her tongue out at Barry and holding the Member's Card close to her chest. "You could have at least pretended to have been happy instead, you sure seem a little down... don't deny it, I have known you long enough."

Barry glanced at Dawn, hands on hips as if he was trying to stamp some authority over his childhood friend, his long-term buddy. "Okay, you got me." he admitted, trying not to feel downheartened when Dawn appeared instantly crestfallen. "Had I known that this Member's Card was what you got me looking for in the Cafe earlier I wouldn't have helped out... or have you forgotten the tales of the Inn?"

Looking with a little concern firstly at Barry and then, somewhat surprisingly, at the Harbor Inn, Dawn sighed. With both hands she held the Member's Card as close to her chest as she could and shuffled her feet, causing the tips of her hair to sway slightly from the motion.

"No... I haven't forgotten."

"Then it is settled! We shall crash out in a Pokemon Centre tonight, I shall beat you with my Pokemon in the morning, you can get your badge and then..."

Dawn shook her head stubbornly. "No. You can go and spend the night in a Pokemon Centre if you want but I am going to stay at the Harbor Inn. I'm sorry, but this desire to stay there will not leave me alone... it's fate, I cannot tempt it."

"But the TALES Dawn! You must remember them; that one story involving the investigator who tried to solve the mysteries surrounding Canalave got you so scared you refused to leave your room for three days!"

Trying not to feel embarrassed from the childhood memory that he dug up from the darkest corner of her mind, Dawn sighed again however stood firm. She gazed once more at the Harbor Inn then back to Barry, who was still standing like he was about to arrest her for talking gibberish.

"I know... but think about it. Like Sinnoh is, you were divided in wanting to be a Gym Leader or ruling a faculty like your Father does... fate made you see that taking after your Dad would be the best route. Like Sinnoh once again I was unsure whether to try my luck at contests before or after getting the eight badges... that escapade at Lake Verity made me see that afterwards would be the best time and that too was down to destiny. You can choose to still believe in those tales but I believe in the fact that your path is ultimately chosen for you. You may see it as a nightmare, but I see it as beautiful... and i'm sorry, but I feel as if I MUST do this."

"But Dawn..."

"And come of it, has anybody even SEEN the Pokemon said to have caused Canalave such terror? No. It's my destiny to make sure that it's okay for trainers and non-trainers alike to stay in the Harbor Inn once again... I know it and I want to too."

Now it was Barry's turn to sigh, flicking his scarf nonchalantly and shaking his head also, the reason behind that action down to Dawn's stubbornness and insistence that she was some sort of chosen one sent out by some pantomime character to see if it was all fine and dandy to stay in some tatty old building. He wanted to protest some more yet deep down he knew that it was folly; Dawn could be just as stubborn as he could...

"Okay, fine." he relented, holding his hands up in defeat while Dawn looked at him quizzically. "I still don't approve of this whole shebang but if you want to stay in that stupid place then go ahead. On one condition though."

"Which is?" Dawn asked cutely, although she had a funny feeling what Barry was going to ask of her.

"You meet me here at nine am sharp tomorrow and we have that battle! I am dying for you to see how much my Pokemon have grown and I want that first victory against you already!"

Dawn giggled a little and nodded her approval. "A deal's a deal."

"Alright! Now i'm going to go and crash out in that Pokemon Centre so you take care and no crying to me if you have a bad night and see that Pokemon from the tales of the past okay BYE!"

Watching him run off in the southerly direction of the Pokemon Centre, Dawn couldn't help but grin at Barry speaking three sentences in one breath again... and she also couldn't resist the urge to call out after him.

"So long, Torchic!"

"You'll pay for that tomorrow!" was the determined yet slightly distant reply.

Waiting until Barry went inside Canalave's Pokemon Centre and was definitely out of her sight for the rest of the night's duration, Dawn folded her arms over her chest to provide a thin blanket from the harsh cold and turned around to look at the Harbor Inn and what little glory it once held.

She wasn't stupid, she had heard of the tales and the stories that Barry was whittering to her about. She remembered full well about having a ghost story telling session when staying at Barry's house one night when she was half of her current age and his Mum told them about the Inn. How at night anybody sleeping there would fall under a neverending nightmare and would wake up mental, with most cases ending in the victims suicide. How Canalave was shut out from the rest of Sinnoh and its people treated like outcasts, treated like dirt on the soles of others shoes. As for the story that made her so petrified a mere six years ago...

Sent by the top authority, a man by the name of Edward Riise had one mission in mind, to solve the mystery of the Harbor Inn and give Canalave City the reputation back that it rightly deserved. He conducted countless experiments and after a mere couple of weeks found out that the people who stayed at the Inn were all possessed to believe that they were destined to stay the night and their mental decline was a result of an ability one Pokemon was said to have, a trait simply yet coldly known as Bad Dreams.

Well aware of the risks, Riise spent a night at the Harbor Inn but he was prepared; more research showed that those who tried to resist their nightmares were less likely to commit suicide so all he had to do was try and gain control of his nightmare, try and fight back and hopefully beat the Pokemon under all of this mess...

Snapping back into reality, Dawn shivered, although she was unsure whether it was because of the cold or whether it was down to reminiscing the story that scared her so much when she was so small.

Eyes narrowing, she glared at the Harbor Inn. She couldn't deny that she was nervous, but she was still so psyched to go and check out what was lurking inside. Sure, Barry could be right and she will probably suffer listless consequences... yet she also knew one thing. After a deliberately done pause to prolong the telling of the tale of Edward Riise six-year-old Dawn was then told that Riise's stay was a success; he had managed to control his nightmare, fight back and drive the defeated Pokemon away to an isolated island north of Sinnoh, the result meaning that Canalave City was once again open to the public, the people there living in freedom rather than paranoia. Not only that, but it wasn't the story itself that scared her...

It was the Pokemon.

The former terror of Canalave and the Pokemon described in the tale was mainly coloured in the deepest of blacks, parts of its body flowing past its shoulders and its waist to give the impression that it was attired in a grim reaper style outfit. This creature had hair on the opposite end of the spectrum, a fringe going over one of its crystal blue eyes. Around its neck was a crimson growth that looked like a trap used in the ancient times to capture and crush innocent Pokemon. Every single bit of this Pokemon's appearance scared six-year-old Dawn half to death and its name also made her quiver...

But she was not going to say its name. Not mentally, not out aloud.

She may still be as quiet as she was back then and her bouts of flushing increasing as the years went by but Dawn liked to believe that she was older, wiser and despite her childish outbursts from time to time, definitely more mature than most typical twelve-year-olds. Besides, what did she have to worry about? Edward Riise sent that Pokemon packing and it has never been seen again. She was also a trainer; if worse did come to worse she would just simply gain control and send out her Empoleon or her Rapidash to fight back any demons that crossed her.

Then of course, there was the desire to stay at the Harbor Inn; it was so strong Dawn could feel herself flush once again...

"I can do this." she said quietly through gritted teeth and ignoring her latest bout of blushing.

Shaking her head to shake away any more mental tales of the past and any other doubts that would try and wreck havoc, Dawn flicked the ends of her scarf over her shoulders and walked towards the Harbor Inn. Now was not the time to be divided like Sinnoh, now was the time to be determined, to be headstrong, to be complete. Something that Dawn was certainly starting to feel as she reached the Inn, took a deep breath, held the handle as tightly as she could and used all of her bodyweight to barge the door open...

"Welcome! I have been expecting you... kee... kee... keeeee..."

"What?"

Dawn could not believe her teal eyes; standing in front of her was a strange looking man... INSIDE the long time abandoned Harbor Inn. She blinked forcefully to see if her tired mind was playing tricks on her then as a double measure pinched herself to make sure that she was still awake... and yelped in pain. She wasn't dreaming, but she was now certainly very confused.

"You seem to be a bit bewildered... kee... kee... keeeee..." the strange man said right on cue, sending Dawn speechless with further shock.

Hands over her mouth, Dawn took in the appearance of this very weird man. Short grey hair with a flowing long beard of the same colour, eyes hidden under sunglasses and an outfit that from the shoulders to the feet seemed to be black... although given the fact that the Inn itself was shrouded in darkness it could have been bright pink for all Dawn could have known. He didn't look sinister, but he was definitely creepy.

Despite everything pointing towards the fact that the best idea would be to turn tail and head towards the safety of the Pokemon Centre where her best friend was, Dawn stayed put. That desire to spend a night here at the Inn? It was even stronger, even more powerful... and it was like a young girl said to her in Hearthome City, if you have your Pokemon with you scared is not an emotion you experience.

"So, it seems that you are tired, yes?" asked the creepy looking man, smiling awkwardly when Dawn simply nodded the once as her reply. "Then we have just the bed for you... kee... kee... keeeee..."

Dawn stared with slight intent at the man in front of her, thankful that her eyes were finally starting to adjust to the pitch black surrounding her. This was her final chance to escape, to turn back and head towards security and light... but she shook those thoughts out of her mind. She felt that she had to be here, there was no denying it... and with that thought whirring in her mind, she finally shut the door of the Harbor Inn and took her first real step inside the building.

"Show me where it is." she stated with confidence, one hand over her belt ready to whip out a Pokemon just in case.

"Come this way... kee... kee... keeeee..." the man simply replied with the same eerie, monotone pitch.

Still with a hand over her belt in case of any funny business that may occur, Dawn quietly followed the old man, who successfully led her to a bed despite the darkness. He then silently stepped out of the way to give her free access to climb in but before she did just that she took a quick look around. Granted, it was still rather difficult to see a great distance in front of her but she was adamant that she could not see any other beds nearby.

How strange.

But strange was nothing compared to how strong her desire was now...

Climbing into the bed and snuggling down into the covers, Dawn finally start to felt a little bit nervous. Not because of the whole situation, but because she found it bizarre how the old man was watching her very action... and even that, she could tell, was not down to being perverted. The smile on his face... well, she assumed that it was one given the lightless situation... seemed to be one of contentment, of completion.

She gazed at the ceiling, blinking when her eyes started to make strange shapes and figures on it. A hand was still on her belt ready to spring into action and launch a Poke Ball at the first hint of any funny business yet she soon twigged that the need to do so was decreasing rapidly.

After all, since getting the Member's Card to enter the Harbor Inn from the Buttons lookalike earlier on this afternoon Dawn's desire to sleep here, to see what would happen and to see if anything long-term would come from it was now at its strongest point. Forget Barry and his whining, forget the tales she was told of the past, forget the fact that she was still in her casual clothes. She felt compelled to do this; after all, this was nothing compared to her battles with Team Galactic.

Anyway, even if Dawn wanted to pull out of it she was already way too late as her breathing was starting to get heavier and her eyes were falling shut...

"Huh?"

Dawn rubbed her eyes in a daze to try and pry them awake further and looked around. Confusion was the only thing running through her thoughts as she tried to take in the sights around her.

She was standing on an island, the patch of land she was on not being very wide but was lengthy and went in two directions, one of them leading into a forest. Either side of her the determined sea was battering the small rocky cliffs in a continual, brutal fashion, the spray the body of water was producing travelling some distance to fall close to the slightly worried pre-teen. The wind was also making its presence known, howling through the trees of the forest ahead relentlessly and making her feel a lot colder than usual.

Refusing to move, Dawn carefully glanced from side to side, letting her train of thoughts take over the bemusement in her mind. Instantly her first thought was of the late researcher Edward Riise and then it was to the time when she was six and hearing of his story. How he was determined to save the residents of Canalave City from committing suicide, how he selflessly chose to put his own life on the line and spend a night in the Harbor Inn, how he coolly stopped the Pokemon behind the nightmares and tragedies and forced it to live a lonely life on an island...

"Oh my!" she proclaimed, adopting a defensive stance before realizing; she was ready for a moment like this. Forming a smile, she reached down to her belt... and touched bare skin.

Bemused, Dawn looked down to see where her Pokemon had moved to... and gasped. Her belt was not around her stomach propping up her skirt... it was nowhere to be seen. In fact, neither was her skirt, or her scarf, or her small black vest or even her light pink knee-high boots...

She was stark naked.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!" Dawn wailed piercingly, using one arm to cover her breasts while using her free hand to go over her lower region. She could feel herself going crimson with embarrassment at the situation and crouched as close to the ground as she could to provide shelter from the relentless winds. Sure, she wanted to spend a night at the Inn but if having a dream in which she was naked was a part of the bargain she was beginning to feel a bit cheated; she had a lot of body issues!

"Aaah crap, I don't even have my hat on..." she sighed when she patted her head.

Getting colder by the second, Dawn tried in vain to warm herself up by rubbing her bare skin with her hands, taking special care on her breasts to try and make her protruding nipples flatten down. Realizing that her plan was failing faster than a Quagsire up against a Leafeon she started to wonder if there was a way she could get out of this situation. After all, apart from her being naked she seemed to be having control over this... was it a dream or a nightmare?

She sensed a little while ago that she was alone, but that still didn't stop Dawn from covering her modesty for a second time when she got up to have a look around. Almost straight away she noticed that about fifty metres from her was a small flight of steps, which got her thinking. Would she be lucky enough to find something that could help her get full control of this situation? At the rate her fingers were getting red from the cold she would be thankful even for her clothes back...

Gathering up some strength, Dawn was about to run towards the steps that would hopefully lead to something beneficial... but was stopped in her tracks after a mere few paces.

It was exactly like nature had turned against her. The wind had suddenly gained an amazing amount of force and had formed an invisible barrier between the freezing Dawn and the rocky looking steps. Bemused beyond extreme she tried to push against the act of nature however the gale stood firm; the barrier was proving to be impenetrable.

"What the... man, this cannot be happening to me!" Dawn protested in despair, pushing against the barrier with all her might. "This is my dream and I want it to work my way! So quit this already and..."

She couldn't finish her sentence, as the wind started to howl with more menace and malice than before, drowning out her words. Then in a defiant finale this act of nature pushed Dawn back with a considerable amount of pressure, making a very surprised pre-teen fall backwards and land awkwardly and painfully on her bottom.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAA, THAT HURT!" she squealed before noticing that her legs were akimbo, which made her turn a furious shade of red. She quickly shut her legs and jumped up, covering her breasts with her arms and sighing in defeat.

"So you obviously don't want me to go that way..." she mused, doing a little jig to keep herself warm. "This could mean that you don't want me to go down the steps because you want to annoy me more in my own dream, or..."

Turning around, Dawn looked with a little determination at the forest that loomed above her, despite being some distance away. Her eyes narrowed at its ominous presence and she could feel her fading blush becoming stronger again, but she shook it away furiously. Sure, the forest didn't exactly look welcoming in the slightest yet that didn't bother her for three reasons. Firstly, that was the impression all forests gave; Eterna certainly struck that chord with her when travelling through it with her then Prinplup and Luxio. The second reason was that the trees didn't seem to be fazed by the battering winds... she could get some shelter there, hopefully warm up and maybe even find her clothes.

Then of course, there was the simple matter that she was living her dream; she could stop anything worse happening to her by waking herself up, right?

"You want me to go into the forest because it will benefit me more than it will otherwise." Dawn finally finished her sentence and just like earlier when outside the Harbor Inn the barrier the wind created ceased to exist, a sign that yes, the pre-teen was correct.

Dawn decided to walk as carefully as she could into the forest, her eyes concentrating on the ground so her bare feet wouldn't tread on anything sharp or dirty. With her hands still placed over her breasts to stop them jiggling as she moved and plainly ignoring the wind despite the fact that it had quietened down, Dawn edged closer to the forest with each carefully placed step. The nearer she got the more it towered over her petite frame although that was something that was also ignored by Dawn as her gaze was still firmly fixed onto the ground.

After a few more minutes Dawn had finally taken her first step inside the forest... and stood still. One moment was all she needed to decipher that the wind was not even making a whisper between the mass of leaves and branches... and she also couldn't help but grin when she saw that the ground ahead was covered in masses of thick, lush grass.

Things certainly were looking up for her, Dawn thought contently to herself, looking ahead for the first time instead of looking downwards. Now with any luck she'll get through the forest with ease, solve whatever or whoever was waiting for her on the other side and hopefully get her clothes back! Or even one of her Pokemon, just to ease the slight sense of nervousness that still lingered.

"Wait, did I just wonder about who was waiting for me..." Dawn gasped. "Oh boy... I hope... no wait, that's not going to happen. I am in control and it was fifty years ago..." she argued with herself, blushing once again.

Refusing to move her hands from their duty of cupping her blossoming bosom, Dawn walked through the forest, sticking to the north as best as she could. She was also as alert as she could possibly get, turning to face the direction of every little snap or rustle that wasn't made by herself. Part of her was surprised that she was being so confident about the whole situation despite the lack of clothes, the uncertainty of where she actually was and whether this was the island that Edward Riise sent... no, it was definitely not going to be the latter. This was Dawn's dream and her destiny was to see if the Harbor Inn could reopen to the public.

Or that was what she believed anyway. Whether that was down to naiveté or not time would tell...

Eventually, after what seemed to be like a thousand eternities but in reality was only about five short minutes, Dawn took her last step out of the forest and flung her arms up in the air in total triumph when she realized of her miniature feat.

"I made it! Now to... whoops!" she blushed, covering her breasts again. It didn't matter that she was on her own, she was not exceedingly proud of her body. Although said self-esteem issues seemed to vanish when Dawn observed her surroundings in more detail.

She was in a clearing, trees tall and lofty surrounding its entirety from a fairly reasonable distance. On the ground just a few feet away from Dawn herself resided a shallow lake, its shape being that of a perfect circle; even the edges of this body of water was smooth and perfect. Glimmering in the lake were the reflections of the twinkling stars of the night, making Dawn feel that the lake resembled that of a new moon. Impulsively, Dawn looked up at the dark sky and ironically, the moon was out in all of its glistening glory.

Dawn redirected her gaze to the clearing again, taking a careful step forward; she saw a cluster of small magenta flowers by her feet and didn't want to tread on them, to crush them. Confidently, she took more steps until her feet were in the waters of the lake, smiling contently when the liquid provided a warm comfort for them.

If this was her destiny, she wondered, then she was happy with this. Granted, she was still annoyed at being naked... but happy enough. Barry had nothing to worry about what-so-ever...

Feeling exceedingly brave, she walked a little further into the lake, smiling at how the water gently lapped at her aching feet. She was about to crouch down to gaze at her reflection when a blinding flash of light suddenly lit up the whole clearing.

"What the..." Dawn wailed, the light being so strong it forced her to protect her eyes with her hands.

The glare of light was so powerful Dawn didn't dare to even peek through her fingers for fear of being temporarily blinded. All coherent thoughts about this being her destiny and the events that led up to this point in time were for now out of her mind, the pre-teen's only concern being when this brilliant glow will cease. Thankfully for Dawn, the light ended as suddenly as it appeared and breathing a sigh of relief, Dawn moved her hands and opened her eyes... and screamed.

Standing in front of her was a creature whose presence gripped Dawn firmly to the spot where she was standing, purely out of fear. Her hands clasped over her mouth as she took in the form of this creature; its mainly ebony coloured body with wispy appendages trailing from its shoulders and waist, flowing long white hair that cascaded upwards with a fringe that covered one of its light blue eyes, a blood red trap like growth that circled its entire neck. There was no doubt about it, Dawn was only a mere three feet away from something she never thought she would ever glimpse.

A creature whose description left six-year-old Dawn absolutely petrified, hiding behind her covers from the story told to her and the best friend. A Pokemon said to control nightmares with its ability, the one who Edward Riise managed to deter a long time before she was even born. The terror of Canalave City from many years ago...

"DARKRAI!"

Those two syllables echoed forcefully throughout the clearing; Dawn finally finding her voice. Her arms formed a protective cross over her chest and her breathing was starting to become as erratic as the thoughts circling her vivid imagination; this was her destiny? To be the gullible first victim of Darkrai's new reign of terror and despair? Or perhaps... as she was somewhat in control of her dream... this being of evil needed a vessel to free itself from its island confinement?

Perhaps the Member's Card was possessed by Darkrai, giving off an aura that made people think they were destined to solve a mystery when in all actual fact, the victim would get possessed by this Pokemon and therefore letting Darkrai be able to wreck havoc through a human container, the person getting all the blame instead?

Whatever the reason, she certainly wasn't standing around to find out.

"YOU!" Dawn bellowed at Darkrai, pointing accusingly at it while forgetting the fact that she was standing before it wearing her birthday suit. "STAY AWAY FROM ME! YOU WILL NEVER HAVE CONTROL OVER ME, YOU HEAR!" And with that said, she turned on her heels to run as far away from Darkrai as she could... but slipped in the water and crashed face first into the shallow lake.

Now with total panic and fear pulsating through her body, Dawn struggled to get up, choking awkwardly every time the lake water or a soaking wet strand of hair managed to get in her mouth. In her panicky state she tried willing herself to wake up from this nightmare so she could run to Canalave's Pokemon Centre... and probably endure cries of "I told you so" from Barry, which she knew would embarrass her... yet like her attempts to get up and get out of the clearing it was falling faster than a Golem down a cliff face.

"No, no, NO!" Dawn wailed childishly, trying to fight back the tears. "I don't want to go mental and commit suicide! I like my life and I love being a trainer, raising my Pokemon and competing in Gyms! Please..." she cried, whacking the water with a fist while she continued to struggle in getting up. "Just let me go, Darkrai... you had your sadistic fun a long time ago..."

Watching the scene silently, Darkrai tilted its head at the panicking trainer frolicking awkwardly in the lake. It could understand why she was so scared; it was well aware that the tales of its past was enough to strike fear into the most resilient of humans... but it had no intention of possessing Dawn and making her mental and in time, suicidal. In fact what it had in mind was on the opposite end of the scale and if it could speak the human language it would tell Dawn why she was here, what her destiny was... why she was naked...

Then again, they always say that actions speak louder than words...

Realizing that Dawn was starting to look foolish flailing around helplessly in the lake... and wondering if she actually knew that it had placed a curse on her so she couldn't escape the clearing... Darkrai floated the few feet needed to reach the hapless pre-teen and picked her up, its hands placed tenderly on her waist.

"Oh, thank you..." Dawn spoke quietly, forgetting for a few seconds where exactly she was. She soon realized though when she turned her head around and her teal eyes were staring directly into Darkrai's solely seen cyan one.

"PLEASE DON'T TAKE MY LIFE!" she cried dramatically, her legs kicking forward as she attempted to break free from Darkrai's grasp. However her actions proved to be futile; in an instant one of Darkrai's shadowy hands moved over Dawn's mouth to silence the squealing pre-teen while the other wrapped itself around her waist, pulling her naked body against its own.

Fearing for her existence, Dawn continued to struggle against Darkrai despite the fact that she was pretty much restrained. In a total state of panic she continued to kick forward and thrash her arms about but the grip the Pokemon had on the human was much too strong and it soon wasn't long before Dawn realized that.

She muttered something, although it was hard to say exactly what as her mouth was covered up... and let her body go limp against Darkrai's own. Typically, the uncomfortable situation combined with exactly how close she was to the Pokemon made Dawn's face turn that near-enough permanent shade of red... and for the first time over the course of the day and night, she started to cry; small trails of water flowing from her eyes and cascading down her cheeks while her mind was now fully convinced that she was going to be driven mental and be committing suicide as a result. Just like all the people before her, all those unfortunate ones from half a century ago and longer.

Closing her eyes so she couldn't see what was happening, Dawn started to shiver, an action that made her hands reach up and grab Darkrai's own, forgetting for a moment that the Pokemon's limb was over her mouth. Keeping her eyes clammed as tightly shut as possible, she started to mentally thank the people in her life that were there for her forever and always... then suddenly stopped, a new sensation gripping her.

Her eyes opened instantly, her mind wondering what it was that she was feeling. With slight caution, she looked down... and stared wide-eyed. In the midst of her mental panicking, Darkrai had successfully managed to push one of its hands between her legs and gently start to stroke her lower region.

Dawn continued to stare at what Darkrai was doing to her... and became instantly confused. She had heard everything about what it did in the past, what it did to its victims before driving them completely loony and touching them up sexually was not one of them. She blinked, still watching the actions... and got that feeling of confusion back again. How could she be thinking of her impending doom one minute and then, in an instant, forget all about it and... much as this feeling was new to her... enjoy what was being done to her?

Was it her destiny, after all?

Was it what she really wanted?

Was it...

"Mmmm..." Dawn mumbled contently, pushing her mental argument aside while Darkrai continued to carefully play with Dawn's lower lips. Instinctively, she let herself relax more, letting Darkrai take most of the pressure of her body as she leaned against its own, while parting her legs further... a sign of permission for the Pokemon to carry on with what it was doing.

Darkrai needed no further invitation; it had Dawn right where it wanted her and given how relaxed she was against it she wanted more.

Moving its hand from its place over Dawn's mouth, Darkrai instead used that hand to gently trail down Dawn's neck and down between her breasts, cupping her left one and stroking it with its thumb. Meanwhile Darkrai's other hand parted the folds of skin around Dawn's vagina and carefully shoved one finger inside her, earning a grateful gasp as its reward.

Dawn bit her lip for fear of ruining the moment and instead chose to reach her arms backwards to wrap them as best as she could around Darkrai's neck, wishing in her mind that the crimson trap like appendage wasn't there. This Darkrai saw as another invitation, peppering Dawn's neck with small kisses and causing the preteen to gasp even more in delight at what was happening to her.

"A few minutes ago I pleaded with you not to take my life..." she breathed slowly, every word coming with a short pause as she felt each sensation of Darkrai's finger thrusting in and out of her willing body. "Now... I beg you, please don't stop."

The feeling of being stroked repeatedly by Darkrai's thumb brought Dawn's nipple standing to attention. In that instant the Pokemon squeezed the hard bit of skin, making Dawn wail; she was already struggling to cope with her neck being littered with kisses and her lower region starting to twinge warmly from Darkrai's expert fingering... three new feelings in probably as many minutes? Again, was this down to destiny?

Ah, that ever familiar word creeping into Dawn's spastic mind.

Upping the ante, Darkrai started to use a second finger to thrust inside Dawn, this one going inside her a little further than before with each motion. Each time the pair of digits entered her Dawn let a small groan escape her mouth, her moaning becoming louder when Darkrai's free hand switched breasts, cupping the right one this time and stroking it in the same style as it did with her left one.

In the midst of all this touching, Dawn tried desperately to concentrate on the reason why she was here in the first place… her destiny to do so. Originally, she thought it was to see whether it was safe to stay overnight in the dilapidated Harbor Inn... however now she wasn't sure whether that was the full story. If just spending a night in that eerie place was all she had to accomplish then why? Why was she still dreaming, standing naked in a clearing with a Pokemon said to be possibly the most sinister creature in the world touching her in ways she thought she wouldn't experience for a few years to come? Not that she was complaining about the touching...

In a childish moment, Dawn imagined a conversation she was having with Barry tomorrow. He was asking her how she was after sleeping over at the Harbor Inn and she declared, with hands on hips and a smug grin in her face, that if being groped and sexually touched was a nightmare then damn, she would never wake up again...

"Heh heh heh... ooooooooooh my!" Dawn cried, her body shivering uncontrollably when Darkrai used a third finger to thurst inside her.

Deciding to try something new, Darkrai moved its head into a position where its neck was under Dawn's shaking arm, giving it free reign to lick Dawn's left breast. Darkrai's hand then trailed back up the pre-teen's neck and stopped partly over her mouth, giving Dawn an idea. She moved her head so it was at a better angle and with her tongue, licked Darkrai's finger. Dawn did this a few times before taking the dark digit in her mouth, moving her mouth in a similar fashion to the three fingers going in and out of her vagina like a pneumatic drill.

For the first time in a while Dawn could feel a blush appearing on her cheeks, although she wasn't bothered about it for once. At the same time though she could feel another warm sensation growing faster and faster, where Darkrai was rhythmically thrusting as deep inside her as it could manage. This feeling was getting stronger and stronger by the second and she had to stop sucking off Darkrai's finger as a result because her breathing was getting more and more erratic and she couldn't resist the urge to moan and groan, loving every moment of what was happening to her, enjoying this whole experience.

With Darkrai now moving its head so it could go back to covering Dawn's neck and face with kisses, its left hand cupping and stroking her left breast again and its right hand still ploughing inside her, Dawn left the sudden urge to scream out in pleasure. She tried to hold it in for a few seconds more but it was no use...

Arching her head back as far as it could go, Dawn reached orgasm, screaming out Darkrai's name as loudly as she could to highlight her total pleasure. Clearly pleased with its efforts, the Pokemon thrusted inside her for a few more times then stopped altogether, keeping the pre-teen close to it so it too could feel the aftershocks her orgasm was pulsating through her small body, grinning at every shiver the girl was making and at the small trickle of clear fluid seeping out of her vagina and onto its hand.

Still struggling to breathe as the result of the past ten minutes, Dawn felt her legs buckle, an action that made her blink in slight shock. Darkrai however refused to let her fall, instead gently easing her still convulsing body into the shallow lake so it could greedily lick Dawn's juices of its hand. It grinned once again; she tasted rather sweet... a flavour it would definitely like to savour time and time again.

Finally starting to get her breath back as well as her body from its shaking, Dawn eased herself up on her knees, hands on her thighs and a wicked grin on her face. Darkrai then decided to float around to her, lifting her chin up so it could lean down and peck her on the lips. This made Dawn turn red for possibly the twentieth time over the course of the day and night... and as she looked down to hide her blushes, she stared contently at the bottom of what could best be described as Darkrai's tatty, grim reaper style outfit of sorts.

Her blush went deeper for there was only one thing crossing her mind...

Enthusiastically, Dawn reached a hand under Darkrai... the Pokemon contently observing her movements... and gasped. Her hand was practically grabbing onto Darkrai's pulsing, erect member and in that instant, she froze up. Not that she had anything against guys, it's just that if Darkrai was a female then Dawn could have pleased the Pokemon just like how she was a little while ago...

Not wanting to be seen as a total pansy, Dawn carefully stroked her fingers along Darkrai's equipment, that blush returning again when she sensed that damn, it was big. Still with care, Dawn made her fingers trace the length again, stopping at the head to stroke the tip with her thumb. She closed her eyes, her blush getting so furious it made her insecure... and with a small sigh she moved her hand from under Darkrai, looking deep into the Pokemon's eye, her own teal ones showing self-disappointment.

"I'm sorry." she began simply, getting up so human and Pokemon alike could be properly face-to-face. "It's not that I don't want to... it's more like a case of not wanting to come across as clueless. I know I have never done this before but I wanted to please you as much as you did me and if you were a girl when I could have copied what you did and..."

Her speech was interrupted, as Darkrai decided to shut the babbling Dawn up by kissing her. Instantly Dawn kissed him back, throwing her arms as best as she could around his neck while letting his tongue probe inside her mouth for as long as he wanted. The passionate kiss lasted for what could have been a blissful eternity before Dawn broke off the embrace, her tongue aching from being whirled about by Darkrai's own. She had never been kissed like that before... but she would gladly experience it over and over again.

She smiled contently, nuzzling against Darkrai and running a hand through his snow white hair... and then gasped. Her destiny... it suddenly made sense!

"You have changed."

Dawn unwrapped her arms from around Darkrai and took his hands with her own, smiling gratefully at him, said smile becoming a grin. She considered her choice of her words for a few seconds so they made sense before speaking some more.

"The truth is that you deeply regret everything you did to the people of Canalave City and it's mellowed you... however because of Edward Riise banishing you to this place forever there was no way that you could go back to the city and prove to everyone that you have changed, that you are sorry for everything..." she trailed off, but continued when Darkrai nodded at her, a sign that yes, she was on the right track so far.

"You somehow located the Member's Card for the Harbor Inn, infusing it with... an aura, I suppose... that made people who hold it think that they were destined to prove to the citizens of Canalave City that staying at the Inn was something they simply must had to do, just like how you made then think before. However you had a new reason... for while the "destined" were in a deep sleep you would send them to here, force them into this clearing by controlling the wind and appear when they got here to try and convince them just how much you have changed. Yes, it all makes sense... hey, steady on!"

In a spontaneous action, Darkrai pulled Dawn close to him and hugged her, thankful that she understood the story even if there were some small gaps left out of it. A few moments passed before he let her go, watching her intently while she blushed from the sudden sign of affection and then pondered. He knew what was coming...

"So I clearly wasn't the first person brought here by you..." Dawn mused, left hand on her hip. "What happened then to all the people from before? They obviously didn't believe you."

To answer her question Darkrai tapped his head with one hand before moving the hand horizontally. Dawn picked up on that instantly, nodding to highlight the fact that she did.

"You wiped their memory so that when they woke up they couldn't remember anything about you... and by you moving your hand like that did you teleport them to a different place so they weren't in the Inn?"

Darkrai nodded again.

"That leaves one more question..."

Darkrai looked at Dawn, a devious smile on his face. There was only one question that she would want to know the answer to...

"Why did I come here naked?"

To answer that question for her Darkrai grabbed Dawn's hand and pulled her towards him, locking her lips with his own for another kiss. Instantly and greedily Dawn responded, her mouth moving perfectly in sync with Darkrai's as she let his tongue enter her mouth again. During the embrace she ran her hands through Darkrai's hair again, the Pokemon responding by running his hands over Dawn's naked body, making her shiver with pleasure.

After a few minutes Dawn broke off the embrace again, grinning childishly. Her hands then formed fists and she shook them excitedly, now knowing the answer.

"You find me attractive!" she squealed, relishing in the fact that somebody found her stunning and gorgeous. She then looked at him sheepishly and giggled nervously; "No offence, but when my best friend's Mum first described you when I was six, I was petrified of you. I really was. Amazing how times change... huh?"

Darkrai nodding, shrugging his shoulders; hearing that he was scary was nothing new to him... although he was very glad indeed that Dawn changed her opinion on that matter. He was actually extremely pleased; he had not only found someone who believed that he had changed for the good after nearly half a century, but the one who did believe his tale was extremely sexy to boot. He was looking forward to getting to know Dawn more... and unknown to him, Dawn was thinking the same thing.

To break up the short and sweet silence Darkrai handed Dawn a Poke Ball, which she accepted. She then took a few moments to observe it contently. The Poke Ball she was given was not the normal red and white ones many trainers often used, instead it was coloured in a vast array of different greens and navies, the edges where the two halves met coloured a deep red.

"A Dusk Ball." Dawn concluded, looking at Darkrai. "I would have preferred to have caught you in an Ultra Ball... but I guess everyone has different tastes!"

She grinned at her statement, smiling even more when Darkrai also seemed to have found it somewhat amusing. Happily and gratefully, she opened the Dusk Ball up to its fullest and twirled around on the spot before flinging it in an expert manner at the awaiting and eager Darkrai...

"Oooh, what time is it?"

Morning had finally reached Canalave City, the warming light of the sun basking the streets and reflecting off the ground, giving everything a very pleasant glow. Not even the Harbor Inn, a building that had been shunned and abandoned for the last half a century, was left out by the celestial body, sunrays doing its best to sneak though any possible gaps in the shattered and boarded up windows to light the dilapidated place up from the inside. It was this light, as small as it was, that caught Dawn's contently sleeping face and was enough to wake her up.

Awkwardly, Dawn sat herself upright before finally blinking her eyes open to gather her bearings. When she was as awake as she could get she looked around the room, something she couldn't do too successfully last night as it was so dark and dreary. She noticed that cobwebs of dust hung down from every nook and cranny of the ceiling possible and the wallpaper was now a horrible musty brown from fifty years of neglect and was only just clinging onto the walls themselves. She shook her head and then gasped in shock.

The bed she was in was indeed the only one inside the Harbor Inn!

From that thought Dawn twigged that she wasn't alone when she first entered the Inn; where was the weird looking, creepy old man who liked to cackle at the end of each sentence? Glancing around quickly, it didn't take Dawn long to realize that she was on her own. Not that it bothered her however... nor did it worry her in the slightest.

"I bet it was Darkrai's doing." she mused out loud, nodding at the same time. "He must have created the man somehow, to ensure that I wouldn't leave the Inn and therefore, keep destiny going... and I bet he created Buttons too." she concluded, thinking of the smartly dressed young man she met in the Poke Mart, the one who gave her the Member's Card for the Inn.

She sat in silence for a few seconds, a new thought dancing merrily in her mind. Lifting the covers off her body, Dawn couldn't help but grin wickedly upon the realization that she was fully clothed. Carefully, she ran one of hands along her stomach to count the number of Poke Balls attached to her belt.

"One, two, three, four, five... six." she said proudly, unclasping the final capsule from her belt and gazing at it longingly.

It was the first time that she had caught a Pokemon with a Dusk Ball, but not the first time that she snared an elemental creature with her first ball thrown. Her Luxray, her Misdreavus, her Drifblim... she successfully caught them all with one "expertly tossed Poke Ball", according to a newsreader from Sinnoh News Net. However this one, in the Dusk Ball, was snagged under very special circumstances. For the entire situation leading up to the capture from yesterday afternoon to the new morning was Dawn's destiny and she was glad, so very glad, that she had always believed strongly in fate.

Shivering from what had happened to her from the night before... and blushing a light pink when she felt a familiar tingling sensation in her lower region... Dawn chastely kissed the top of the Dusk Ball and gazed at it lovingly.

"Darkrai..." she began, holding the ball close to her chest. "I'm so glad you picked me as the one to help you out, the one to help make people see that you have changed... words cannot express my joy. I promise to do my best and I hope that together we get stronger than ever... in more ways than one." she finished, giggling.

Clipping Darkrai's capsule back onto her belt, Dawn looked at her Poketch to see what the time actually was. Noticing that it was ten minutes past ten, she smiled upon the fact that she had had her first lie in for a fortnight... then reality came up to her and slapped her across the face and again for good measure. She was supposed to have met up with Barry for a Pokemon battle seventy minutes ago!

"Crap crap crap!" she cursed to herself as she leapt suddenly out of bed, grabbing her holdall and practically bolting out of the Harbor Inn as if her life depended on it, while ignoring the fact that she still had a bed head.

Charging outside the Harbor Inn with her mind going frantic, Dawn raced towards the Pokemon Centre thinking of the best way to palm Barry off for the time being; much as she loved what happened to her the night before she didn't want to talk about it in a battle with other people, strangers, observing every detail. She was running so fast her feet were pacing themselves too quickly and she ended up tripping over herself... thankfully for her a sailor was there to catch her just before she collided with the ground.

"Steady on there kid!" the sailor boomed enthusiastically, helping a slightly shaken Dawn onto her feet. "There's really no need to race around like that!"

Feeling that very familiar flush of scarlet creep up on her face, Dawn brushed herself down and smiled, albeit awkwardly. "You're right, i'm sorry... and thank you." she nodded, flashing her cheesiest grin at the sailor, an action that made him take a step back and observe Dawn intently for a few seconds. Could she be?

"Say, you are the girl who spent last night at the Harbor Inn, weren't you?"

"How did you know that?" Dawn replied as quick as a flash, pulling her hands close to her chest defensively.

"Everyone who stayed at the Pokemon Centre did." the sailor mused, rubbing his chin intently. "Some scatty blonde kid with a green scarf on kept going on about how a girl that fits your description was staying there, although to be honest we weren't sure whether he was telling the truth... does that kid ever keep still?"

Dawn sighed; she should have known that her best friend wouldn't keep his mouth shut. "Rarely... but that's typical Barry."

"I see..."

"Yeah."

"Say, kid?"

"Yes?"

"Are you feeling alright? From last night, I mean. You must have heard the tales from years ago about that place..."

"I have never felt better!" Dawn cheerily proclaimed, thrusting her arms into the air for extra emphasis. "I had the best nights sleep for a while since becoming a Pokemon trainer... and please, you have to believe me when I say that you, or anybody else for that matter, will never go through what others from the past did." she added somewhat pleadingly, feeling another blush creep up on her.

The sailor smiled faintly, patting Dawn's head gingerly. "Well you certainly don't seem to be... er, can't really put this nicely... demented."

Dawn looked at the sailor quizzically, sensing that he didn't fully believe her. She sighed dejectedly, casting a glance to the Dusk Ball on her belt, where Darkrai was contained. The determination to show the sailor her latest Pokemon... and in a sense, her first lover... was very tempting, but two things stopped her. First off, she had planned to stay in Canalave City for a few days longer than normal, to show the residents how much Darkrai has changed. Secondly and lastly, she wanted to Barry to see him first. With a little persuasion, he would soon see sense and take her side...

"Say, kid? You seem to have gotten a little quiet..."

"Huh? Oh... yeah, i'm fine, just peachy." Dawn replied hastily before realizing something... her battle with Barry. "Hey, that boy who was in the Pokemon Centre last night, the one who told you about me staying at the Harbor Inn. Do you know where he has got to? I was supposed to be meeting him for a battle at nine..."

Chuckling, the sailor nodded his head back towards the Pokemon Centre, something that made Dawn breathe a sigh of relief. "He's still in there kid. According to Nurse Joy he hasn't got up yet... between you and me I think she's happy about that, he really is a lunatic in the nicest possible way!"

This time it was Dawn's turn to giggle; she should have guessed that Barry would be running late, that's a trait he has possessed for as long as she can remember. So with that thought fresh in her memory she nodded her thank you to the sailor and set off towards Canalave's Pokemon Centre, the sailor walking in the other direction. However Dawn only managed to walk a few steps when she realized that there was something she wanted to ask the sailor...

"Oh! Hey Mister, can I ask you a quick question?"

"Sure kid!" the sailor called back, turning around to face Dawn again. "What is it?"

"Do you think there is such a thing as a beautiful nightmare?"

Blinking with confusion the sailor tilted his head, looking at Dawn as if she had three eyes, five noses and an afro as tall as a skyscraper. "No offence kid, but my answer is no. Don't take this personally... it's just that something like that is just too much of a contrast to be real. It's..."

"Divided?"

"Yeah. Sorry again kid." the sailor shrugged, finally turning his back to Dawn and heading off over Canalave's bridge.

Dawn watched the sailor walk further and further away from her, face choosing to remain expressionless until he was out of sight. It was only then that she broke out into a smile, reaching towards her belt to detach the Dusk Ball containing Darkrai, shivering contently from the events of last night in the process. Carefully and delicately she moved the Dusk Ball around in her hands, stopping after a few seconds to kiss it tenderly.

She knew full well that something like a beautiful nightmare was rather contrasting and sure, the sailor may be thinking as she's as crazy as Barry... but she had her reasons as to why she asked him that slightly bizarre question.

Life is a journey full of twists and turns. A trek that begins from the day you are born, a path that presents you with many decisions that you have to choose with the help and guidance of destiny and fate. As a girl born as bred in Sinnoh, Dawn appreciated that sentiment to its fullest extent... for nothing was as divided as her home region. Sinnoh, a region divided into two by Mount Coronet, a region that had people divided as to whether this was the first place created by an omnipotent Pokemon, a region divided by good and evil, a region with a criminal organisation consisting of commanders unsure whether they are fully behind their boss's plan or not, a region divided by trainers confused whether to take on eight gyms or participate in twenty contests.

Dawn grinned deviously, kissing the Dusk Ball containing Darkrai once again before twirling merrily on her heels to meet Barry in the Pokemon Centre. The sailor clearly wasn't from Sinnoh... because if something is divided then usually, in Sinnoh anyway, it makes some sense.

Granted, the sailor knew about the tales surrounding the Harbor Inn from decades ago, how the Darkrai of the past drove everyone to suicide by interfering in their dreams... but did he know that even with a tale as well mentioned as that one there were still people unsure over it? To be fair, Dawn didn't... until yesterday evening in the Cafe. She spoke to that rich socialite in the corner table when she was ordering her cherry cola and the older woman mentioned to Dawn about how she didn't believe that the tales surrounding Darkrai were entirely true; all Pokemon are never truly evil and sinister.

"This Darkrai... it must have had a reason why it did what it did." she said to Dawn, who at the time wondered whether she was insane. "Have we ever heard its side of the story? No we haven't. Generations from now we could still be cursing this creature when truly we will never know the tale from the second half. Only then will we have the full story and only then can we decide."

So even with something like that, a story of general malice from years ago, a division was there.

"This makes something like a beautiful nightmare..." Dawn proclaimed proudly, ceasing her current train of thought, holding the Dusk Ball high into the air at the same time. "Very true indeed."

And with that said, Dawn excitedly strolled into the Pokemon Centre, spinning the Dusk Ball perfectly on her index finger ready to show Barry the Pokemon that was lurking inside...