Chapter 10: To the pool
Not much later they all arrived at a cave that wasn't far from Zorro's old home. Zorro had immediately started collecting firewood when he had returned, and even sneakily went to get the supply they'd had in the old cave. I believed it was a little risky to do so, what if someone had been there and followed him back here, but it didn't seem like that had happened so I couldn't complain. Without those supplies we would've never had such a delicious meal.
"Hmm, that was delicious Zorro, where did you learn to cook like this?" Rhyperior asked with a curious look in his face. I smiled, knowing that Rhyperior was trying to get on Zorro's good side so he would stop acting jealous. It's true that he has been hiding it well, but I still noticed that those feelings remained.
Zorro's POV
"I paid attention when people were cooking near my cave, and tried to replicate it." I answered curtly. Truthfully I wanted nothing to do with these guys. They weren't the ones who taught Darkrai everything, *I* was. But ever since they had arrived it felt like I was nothing more but the maid. And then Darkrai just *had* to bring two more pokemon home, who he claimed saved him from the other legendary pokemon.
"While you're at it, could I have some more, Zorro?" Darkrai asked teasingly as he set up big puppy dog eyes. He already knew exactly how to manipulate me to do something, using he same method his sister did. Whenever she wanted something she just used her puppy dog look...
"Well alright then, but that is the last one!" I chuckled as I scraped the last bit of food out of the pot for him. Our newest allies stared at their master with wide eyes as he slurped at his third bowl of berry soup. I smiled and ruffled up his hair. He looked up at me and smiled as well, taking the now empty bowl and putting it with the rest of the dishes. He then started cleaning them.
Darkrai was so used to doing everything by himself that I couldn't stop myself from helping him out. On the other hand, if I didn't he would probably use that puppy dog look again to get me to help him. I grinned at the thought as I grabbed a towel and started drying. From the corner of my eye I noticed how Mismagius took a broom and started sweeping the floor while the others started a game of cards. Darkrai was watching them with a smile. He probably was used to all of this, working hard while others had fun. however I didn't like that fact and faced him.
"Hey Darkrai, if you want to you can join the game, I'll finish things up here." I told him as I put a hand on his shoulder. Darkrai's eyes widened in surprise and he quickly shook his head. "And leaving you to do all of this by yourself? I wouldn't dare!" He replied when he recovered, splashing some water in my face. I grinned and splashed some water back.
Tomorrow would be a great day for him, I was sure of it. Together with Shapo and Rhyperior I'd arranged to go to the pool tomorrow. Shapo and Rhyperior would only come along for fun, as neither of them really liked water seeing as they were ground and fire type pokemon. I would teach him how to swim and finally would have some alone time with him again. Now Mismagius might join us in the pool, Aggron also being a ground type, but she didn't know Darkrai very well yet. And maybe I could ask her to give me some time with him alone, she looked like the understanding type.
Darkrai's POV
After the dishes were done I went to sit by the table the guys were playing cards at. I didn't know the rules and was afraid they would laugh at me if I asked them to explain it, that's why I felt more comfortable watching them play and joke around. The only thing I saw however was how they threw a bunch of cards with numbers and figures they, as well as the humans, used to play several games with, like Belote, poker and in this case Crazy Eights.
"Draw two, Shapo!" Aggron said teasingly. The Magmotar frowned a little angrily as he took two cards from the stack and placed them in his hand. "Ah come on! This doesn't help me!" He exclaimed as he took a weird looking card from his hand and threw it on the pile. It was a card with two of the same figures on it, wearing some kind of strange hat. "Make it spades." He said then. I didn't completely understand the essence of the game, or the rules for that matter, it was a strange game if you asked me.
"Ah seriously! I don't have any spades." Aggron grumbled as he took a card from the stack.
The others laughed at this and Aggron glared at them. They were too busy to notice how I took the top card from the pile, studying it closely. The two men were indeed wearing the same clothes, and in contrast to the others cards it didn't have a number in the corner, but a J.
"Hey, someone took the Jack!" Aggron suddenly said as he noticed it was gone.
"Look over there," Rhyperior said while indicating me. "Darkrai has it." He carefully took ahold of the card and smiled at me. "Hey, if you want me to, I can teach you how to play?" He said as he put the card back onto the pile. I nodded shyly and he beckoned me to stand next to him, so I did. He slowly and clearly started explaining the rules to me. Zorro stood watching us from a distance, though I could distinguish the amused smile on his face as he saw the guys explaining it to me, and even started over in order for me to play along. That's how the rest of the evening continued, until Zorro finally interrupted and told us it was time to go to bed.
"Tomorrow'll be a busy day; you'll want to be rested." He said as he winked at Shapo and Rhyperior who instantly grinned at him. I wasn't entirely what those three were planning, but I knew something was up by the way they were obviously conspiring. Or, of course, they could've finally become friends.
That last thought made me smile as I let Zorro tuck me in as he had done every night since I was staying with him. I wasn't sure why I allowed it, considering I was his master and not the other way around, but I suspected it was because of all the years of cruelty I had experienced. And the fact that this had made me feel safe for the first time in my entire life, the feeling of really belonging somewhere always making me feel warm inside before falling asleep. And that's what I deserve, I thought as I closed my eyes. It'll only become better as the world neared it's dark future. With that thought I fell into a deep sleep.
*Darkrai's dream*/*flashback*
Not much later all the other legendary pokemon sat around the table eating, while I sat on a towel just a feet away from them watching them eat without sharing a single thing with me.
I sighed and looked around, noticing a girl with long dark hair sitting on a towel not far from me, together with what looked to be her mother and sister. The girl glanced my way several times and smiled. I didn't smile back, and tried to avoid looking at her as much as possible, because I was afraid she would misinterpret and would attack me. Yet suddenly she picked up her towel and bag and came towards me.
"Enjoy your meal everyone! Mind if I come and join you?" She asked nicely as she already dropped her bag next to my towel.
"Of course Femke," Groundon said with a grin as he patted the seat next to him. "Want something to eat?" Femke however put her towel down next to mine instead and glanced at me once more with a smile before facing the others.
"No thank you, I already ate at home. But thanks for the offer."
I looked at her with wide surprised eyes. Why did she choose to sit next to me instead of with the others? Was this another trick in order to frame me?
"Shouldn't you eat something, little guy? You need a lot of energy if you want to swim, you know!" She asked me with a friendly smile. I shook my head a little confused, turning my head away from her as I wasn't used to the friendly, even polite way of asking."I already ate, thank you. And I don't swim." I told her shyly. That I had already eaten was a lie and I felt ashamed for it as I knew lying was bad. But that I didn't swim was true, as no one had ever even attempted teaching me, at least I couldn't remember anyone doing so...
"Hey, Femke. Why are you sitting down next to that scoundrel? There is enough room for you hear!" Groundon said as he indicated a spot next to Cresselia's towel.
"Yeah, you're better off next to me than next to that... thing." Cresselia nodded as she leaned back to put her stuff away so Femke's towel would fit.
"Oh that's ok, I'm fine right here. First of all because it was the first spot I saw, and second because I don't care who I sit next to." She replied with a shrug as she sat down and smiled at me again. I did my best not to smile at her, nor edge closer to her. Even though she *had* something familiar about her, I was still a little frightened, who knew what she would do to me if I let her. I would do better watching out for her...
"And that's how it all went." Femke finished the story she'd been telling, one I admittedly hadn't heard a word of. I'd been too lost in thought to be honest."That is so cool! But how come you are still alive when you all were supposed to disappear in the end?" Cresellia asked, interested. I looked up in surprise and confusion. I had no idea what they were talking about as I hadn't paid all that much attention to the story Femke was telling.
"We're not sure. Dialga said that a higher power than him kept us from disappearing." Femke said as she send me a friendly glance. I blushed a little and quickly averted my gaze, she couldn't possible mean that *I* was that person, right?
"That can only have been Arceus, Arceus is the only pokemon more powerful than Dialga." Cresellia quickly told Femke while sending me a stern glare. She probably had noticed my reaction and wanted to make absolutely clear that I would *never* become more powerful than Dialga. I felt ashamed for even daring to think such a thing, knowing that as long as I wasn't allowed to train with Arceus and the other legendary pokemon she would be right, I wouldn't become stronger. Suddenly I felt a hand on mine and looking up I saw Femke smiling at me. She had noticed I was upset and had wanted to comfort me, which I was grateful for. The others got up again and started heading towards the water again.
"Come on, Femke! We're going swimming again!" Manaphy called out as he noticed Femke wasn't coming.
"I'll be right there, just one moment." She called back, after which she faced me again. "I know you don't swim, but if you change your mind just come to me, I'll talk to Arceus." She said as she winked, getting up and following the others. I stared down at the towel I was sitting on, feeling my heart hammer in my chest. What was going on? What was wrong with me? I looked at the girl who was now talking to Arceus. For a moment he glanced at me, and a miracle happened! He gave me a curt nod, as if giving me permission to go into the water, to be a kid.
That girl must be a fairy to be able to get Arceus to go along with me being a kid, I thought as I carefully made my way towards the water. Arceus glared at me, as he always did with that cold look on his face, but made no attempt to stop me. And that girl, Femke, reached for my hand slowly and friendly, as if she really had meant what she had said.
"Come on, little one. Don't be frightened. I won't let anything happen to you." My eyes suddenly grew really big as the words registered. Those were the words from my dream! The girl however didn't seem to realize this as she still reached for me with that same smile on her face. I raised my hand and carefully put it into hers, taking a step into the water and feeling like I was living my dream. I took several more steps into the water and she took me into her safe and comforting arms.
A Grovyle with a strange looking scar under his leaf came our way soon after that, carrying a small Treecko.
"Hey Femke, who's your new friend?"
He asked teasingly as he lowered the little Treecko a little in order to give her the chance to practice swimming. I didn't register exactly what Femke was telling the Grovyle as my eyes were trained on the little girl wearing armbands, trying to swim from the arm of the older pokemon.
Could it be that he is the father of... I couldn't finish the thought as the little girl interrupted by splashing water in my face.
I protested a little but made no attempt to splash back, knowing that if I did it would probably only be misinterpreted and I would be punished.
"Mommy, why won't he splash back?" The little girl asked with a small voice. Femke smiled at her and splashed water herself.
"I don't know honey, maybe he still thinks the water is a little scary." Femke said as she crouched down in order to have me sit on her knee, water reaching up to my waist now. It was cold! But it was comfortable nonetheless, all because this girl was holding me.
"Come on Cristie. One, two, three, booom!" Grovyle exclaimed as he threw the little girl named Cristie into the water a few feet from us. The girl was giggling softly as she swam back to us on her own.
"Daddy always teases me!" She said with a grin on her face, making me smile. I guess my suspicions had been correct. Grovyle was Cristie's father, and as such Femke's husband. I had a great time with Femke and her family, such a great time that I dreaded it the moment they said they had to leave. I trudged back to my towel reluctantly, seeing the others wait for me with a strange grin distorting their faces.
"Did you have fun, Darky?" Mewtwo asked sweetly. I nodded and looked over at Mew, who was smiling in my direction, probably glad I'd been able to have a normal day in the pool.
"Well that's good, because it's the last time. Considering you ignored the agreement by doing this..." he left the sentence hanging in the air and I looked up at him with big frightened eyes. I hadn't done anything wrong! I hadn't broken the agreement! Arceus had allowed me to do this, hadn't he? Or had I misinterpreted the nod?
I quickly looked over at Arceus, but he wasn't looking in our direction, ignoring my call for his help once again. The others soon also realized this and grinned again as they looked back at me, readying themselves for the attack. This time I didn't try to fight it, knowing that it wouldn't help anyway. I would probably only get me into more trouble than I was already in. However right before I passed out from exhaustion and misery, I could've sworn I saw Femke watching it all happen from behind a tree..
-End of flashback-
"WHAAAAAAAAA!" I screamed as I shot up in bed. I was breathing heavily and looked around, seeing that it was still pitch black outside, it was still in the middle of the night. I quietly got out of bed, afraid I would wake someone up and get them to be angry at me for doing so. Being in need of fresh air I walked to the exit of the cave, heading outside. I wouldn't be able to fall asleep again anyway. I sat down on top of a rock and started writing the nightmare down in my booklet. Afterwards I looked up at the stars twinkling in the night sky. Truthfully I was sad that this view would change in the future, if everything went according to plan... I really wish there was another way to just get some respect from those around me, without this having to disappear...
couldn't you just look for the girl? That Femke? a voice in my head asked. I looked down at my diary and smiled. The girl from my dream had been nice to me, had touched me without being afraid. She had even hugged me and played with me. *And don't forget she also saw how you were being treated by Arceus and the others!* the voice continued. I nodded in agreement to the voice and started flipped through the diary. Now that I had seen her face clearly I wanted to know whether I had dreamed about her before. For the first time since I started the diary I read through all the dreams I'd ever written about, looking for the mysterious girl that had been so kind to me.
There it was! The info I needed! But just before I was able to start reading a hand suddenly touched my shoulder. Startled I threw the diary in the air and felt the hand cover my mouth to keep from screaming out loud. "Don't worry, it's me." Zorro's familiar voice whispered from behind me. He let go of my mouth and I let out a sigh of relief as I faced him. He was wearing one of his friendly smiles and I returned it. His hair was even more disheveled than it normally was which suggested he'd been tossing in his sleep.
"Couldn't sleep?" I asked as I picked up the diary and flipped through the pages in order to find the one I'd noticed before.
"Nope, you?" He asked as he looked at the diary from over my shoulder.
"Me neither." I sighed as I was still going through the diary. "I had another one of those dreams. There was a girl that I thought I'd seen before, so I'm looking for her now considering I wouldn't be able to sleep even if I tried."
Finally I recovered the page and I looked at it over once. "Read it to me." Zorro said as he took place next to me. I looked up at him and nodded, starting.
"Tonight's dream: about the future I'm going to create
Nature of dream: predictive
I went after the so-called heroes who think they will be able to stop my future. I found out their names and other things:
Cristie: the one possessing the dimensional scream, the power that allows her to see the future or the past of an object that is directly connected to Dialga himself. Also the leader of the group
Grovyle (the thief): Cristie's partner and also a great speaker, always knows what to say to motivate will later marry Femke (the thief)
Femke (the thief): Cristie's friend and will become Grovyle's wife. She is a brave fighter who will risk everything to protect those she cares about.
Leda: the traitor within the group, or at least that is what she is meant to be. She was supposed to hand the heroes over to Dusknoir so he could take care of them. She however regrets her decision and joins the heroes. She as well is a brave warrior who will do anything to protect those she loves. She will marry Dusknoir later in life.
In my dream I wasn't scared of the group, even if I did have reason to be. They are strong, but I know I am stronger, even though I don't know how that is possible..."
The page showed several drawings of the heroes that were supposed to save the world, that was all.
I knew I had dreamt of the girl before! I inspected the drawing of her and Grovyle, which looked exactly like those from my dream earlier. The kid however wasn't mentioned, probably because she hadn't been born yet. I wondered when she was born. Was it in the future I had created? Was she happy? Or was she only born after her parents stopped the paralysis of the world? Did she even know what her parents had done? It didn't look like it..
Those thoughts ran through my head as I remembered the time in the water. How she had played with me, and how they had cared for me without a moment of fright. What I wouldn't do to just live like that every day... I thought as I huddled against Zorro's fur and closed my comfortingly stroked his claw over my hair while watching the stars thoughtfully. He seemed to be deep in thought and I didn't want to interrupt him. Instead I closed my eyes and soon fell into a deep sleep.
Zorro's POV
I woke up that night at the sound of a bloodcurdling scream originating from Darkrai. The poor kid must've had another one of his bad dreams. It seemed to be getting worse by the week, and I was getting worried. Last time I hadn't woken up by his scream and he'd gone outside to think a little. I'd found out about that the next morning as he still lay outside then. This time though he had screamed loud enough that even Shapo and Rhyperior had woken up, and believe me, they wouldn't even have woken up if the entire cave had come down on top of them.
I decided to get out of bed and go take a walk outside, knowing that sleeping was no longer an option. I packed my bag and took it with me outside, in case of an emergency. I took my bag with me everywhere I went, since the day Darkrai had come live with me. I guess you could say I was more aware of my surroundings, and more careful. Not just to help the one who would cause the paralysis of the world, but to help my friend. I was afraid that if I wasn't careful he would be taken away from me, and that was something I didn't want. I wouldn't dare tell him outright, but I've started seeing him as a son. Truth was that this wasn't even that strange of a thought, as we are the same type. And considering Arceus has never wanted anything to do with 'his son' Darkrai, it wouldn't surprise me if he wasn't even Darkrai's real father. The question that remained if that were the case however is: Who are Darkrai's parents then? And who is Darkrai?
I was thinking about that while making my way over to the rock where I normally sat on when not being able to sleep, however this time someone was already occupying the seat. I was surprised when I recognized the figure as Darkrai. Yeah sure I'd heard him scream, but I hadn't expected him to go outside on his own! Especially not when he was so afraid of Arceus who had been hot on our trail only days ago.
I carefully walked over to the kid and rested my claw on his shoulder, trying my best not to frighten him but failing miserably.
"Don't worry, it's me." I whispered quickly as I felt him freeze at my sudden touch, which made him relax almost instantly. He turned around with a small smile on his face as he knew it was me.
"Couldn't sleep?" He asked me as he picked up the diary he'd dropped before and returned to flipping through the pages as he was doing earlier. It was funny, I never noticed that he was rereading that diary of his, it never even occurred to me he did that. That made me curious as to what he was reading and I took a step closer to be able to see.
"Nope, you?" I asked him, leaning in a bit in order to be able to see what he was looking for.
"Me neither." Darkrai answered, sounding tired as he let out a sigh. "I had another one of those dreams. There was a girl that I thought I'd seen before, so I'm looking for her now considering I wouldn't be able to sleep even if I tried." He said as he seemed to finally have found the page he'd been searching for, probably with information about the girl, and maybe even about his past. I was curious but I couldn't read along over his shoulder like this.
"Read it to me." I then said as I took place beside Darkrai. He looked up and nodded, returning his gaze to the page and starting to read.
"Tonight's dream: about the future I'm going to create
Nature of dream: predictive
I went after the so-called heroes who think they will be able to stop my future. I found out their names and other things:
Cristie: the one possessing the dimensional scream, the power that allows her to see the future or the past of an object that is directly connected to Dialga himself. Also the leader of the group
Grovyle (the thief): Cristie's partner and also a great speaker, always knows what to say to motivate others.
Femke (the thief): Cristie's friend and will become Grovyle's wife. She is a brave fighter who will risk everything to protect those she cares about.
Leda: the traitor within the group, or at least that is what she is meant to be. She was supposed to hand the heroes over to Dusknoir so he could take care of them. She however regrets her decision and joins the heroes. She as well is a brave warrior who will do anything to protect those she loves. She will marry Dusknoir later in life.
In my dream I wasn't scared of the group, even if I did have reason to be. They are strong, but I know I am stronger, even though I don't know how that is possible..."
There were some pictures of them on that same page which Darkrai showed me and I narrowed my eyes at the sight. It might just be a coincidence, but that girl's eyes looked a lot like Darkrai's whenever he was smiling, a friendly glint in them that were identical to the glint in this girl's eyes.
Suddenly I remembered something. I'd seen this girl before. Not only seen, even talked to her! She was known for her patience and friendliness to even the greatest of criminals. She helped them climb out of the black pit they had thrown themselves in. The reason I knew this? She had helped me climb out of my own darkness in the same way after I failed to destroy Temporal Tower the first time. Her husband hadn't been with her at the time, but Darkrai *had*said they had met only later.
Another resemblance between the girl and Darkrai, their aura. They had the same aura hanging around them, which I didn't quite understand. Searching for answers I took the diary from Darkrai and started on the first page as he lay hidden away in my fur, falling into a deep sleep like that. I looked down at his face and thought about it. What if this isn't a coincidence? What if it was a sign?
I wondered about that as I looked through the diary. I noticed many dreams that he'd never told any of us about, dreams from after Temporal Tower was saved…
.
Tonight's dream: After Temporal Crisis is over
Nature of dream: Predictive.. I think
We were in Allamos Town. Femke and her husband were with me, together with the other pokemon from the encampment. At first everything was great! I talked and had fun with more friends than I could've ever imagined I would have! I could finally act like a kid and have fun. That was when suddenly the sky turned dark and there he was, Arceus…
I was scared. No, more than that, I was terrified. I hid in Femke's arms, hoping with all my heart that he would just disappear already. Femke got angry at him and told him outright that she would never give me to him. And then, as if a miracle was happening, Arceus told me that before I was born he took me away from Femke and that I actually belonged to her.
I was speechless… Not because I didn't want to be her son, that was something I wanted more than anything, but I couldn't wrap my head around how he could've possibly done it. Femke couldn't do this either and asked him, to which Arceus answered with a story about the day he took me away from everything I would've held dear…
I can't quite remember what he said, but I do remember that Femke was shaking with anger when he finally finished. She had thought Arceus to be some kind of hero, as she believed in another God herself; to be someone who everyone could count on, but now, after hearing what he'd done to her, she could no longer think like that. She attacked him, but not before putting me down and kissing my forehead, leaving me staring after her with wide eyes, feeling warm.
The other legendary pokemon were all cheering Arceus on, except for Mew, Celebi and Azelf who instead were smiling in my direction. Arceus was strong, and the fight was scary and exciting at the same time. Femke however was stronger, and eventually she finished it for me.
All the misery I'd gone through was over, it would never return, and as Oracion started playing Femke, Grovyle, Cristie and I fell into each other's arms as a true family. The legendary pokemon looked defeated as their great leader had just been, and the only ones coming over to congratulate us were Mew, Celebi and Azelf.
After explaining Alice and Tonio everything that had just happened we walked back to the encampment in one great parade. And when I was old enough, and finally gathered the courage to ask Mew to marry me, we married and lived happily ever after.
End *
I stared down at the page, wondering if Darkrai even remembered ever having written this down, because this was a way to get away from this hell! There was something else that bothered me about this page however… Why weren't Shapo, Rhyperior and I mentioned during the final battle?
I flipped through some more pages when suddenly finding my answer, one that made my face turn pale…
Tonight Zorro and I were running to a place we thought we would be safe, a city named Kolok, the kingdom of the children of the night. Femke was one of them and that was the reason she and her husband knew how to get there. However it went horribly wrong when Zorro broke his ankle. We were heavily delayed and were only able to reach the Transylvanian border. We were almost safe there, when they caught up to us…
Femke and Grovyle wanted to fight in order to protect the both of us, but Zorro stopped them. He already knew that it would be useless. We wouldn't get out of here alive if we fought them, which only left one thing to be done. Zorro surrendered himself, on the condition that I would be safe…
And that is how, after Rhyperior, Shapo, Shika, Livo, Slither and Shudder, I also lost my first and only real friend to Magnezone.
I was there through all of it… invisible of course. As were Femke and Grovyle. We were all heartbroken that they had died, but I also felt disbelief. How could Magnezone do something like this? Zorro had done nothing wrong! I was the one who had caused everything. The only thing he was guilty of was helping his friend trying to create a world where he wouldn't be bullied day after day..
I swallowed the lump that had formed in my throat, not completely understanding what I just read while at the same time knowing exactly what the page had said. I was already dead before….. before that battle...
I shook my head wildly. It was frightening to think about my own death like this, even if I had died trying to protect such an important person to me. But there was one consolation at the very least, and that was that I knew now that Darkrai would one day be safe, and happy… which was enough for me.
Shapo's POV
The next morning I made sure to be awake early so that I had enough time preparing Darkrai's big surprise. However when I got out of bed and was about to wake the master, he wasn't there!
"Rhyp!" I shouted as I moved over to my best friend's bed. "Rhyp wake up! He's gone!" I went on while shaking him awake.
"Huh?" Rhyperior grumbled as he woke up. "Who's gone?" He asked sleepily.
"Our master is gone! We have to go and search for him!" I said in a panicked voice. "I mean, what if Arceus got to him while we were all-"
I stopped as I noticed Rhyperior's gaze move to something behind me. I turned around and instantly felt relief wash over me, as a sleepy looking Zorro walked inside holding a sleeping Darkrai in his arms. Our master, he was safe…
"What-" I started but Zorro stopped me before I could finish. "Quietly!" He told me. "He's still sleeping." He continued softly as he tucked Darkrai in and made his way to us.
"Where were you? Not seeing our master in bed scared me to death!" I told Zorro a little reproachful. He might be the master's best friend, but that didn't give him the right to scare us like that.
"Relax," Zorro said soberly. "We just went to sit outside because Darkrai had a nightmare, and we simply fell asleep. That's it." He shrugged and started making breakfast.
"Relax!?" I asked him incredulously. "Relax!? You can't be serious. Do you even know what could've happened if by any chance Arceus had been out there, or one of his minions? What if they saw you? They could've kidnapped our master, you know! You endangered the entire mission with that thoughtless behavior of yours!" I yelled angrily. I hadn't particularly meant to scream, as our master didn't like screaming, but my voice just rose as I got angrier, I couldn't help it. This reckless behavior could've ruined our mission even before it started. We had only one objective, protect our master in order to get the mission to succeed, and this wasn't helping.
"I know, I know." Zorro said begrudgingly. "I'm sorry, alright? I never even thought about all that, I was just trying to lighten his mood a little..." He said deadly calm, which didn't fit him. I knew his character, it was written in my diary, and this didn't fit in with all that at all.
Darkrai's POV
I woke up at the sound of yelling. For a moment I wanted to cringe, hide beneath the bed or run, thinking that the legendary pokemon had found me and were about to take me with them back to the hall of Origen. That was what I thought, until I recognized Zorro's voice.
"I know, I know." Zorro said. "I'm sorry, alright? I never even thought about all that, I was just trying to lighten his mood a little..."
I turned around to look at them at those words. First I didn't quite understand what they were talking about, but after the words sunk in my eyes widened in guilt. Sure, we'd been reckless yesterday, but that wasn't Zorro's fault! It was mine! I had been the one to go outside on my own, Zorro simply found me and tried to cheer me up, he had done nothing wrong.
"It's not Zorro's fault." I said as I sat up and yawned, rubbing the sleep out of my eyes. "I went out first, it's all on me."
The others now looked at me with mildly surprised glances, not able to grasp how I was able to say such a thing.
"But- But Lord, you-"
Shapo started to interject but I stopped him by shaking my head confidently. I wouldn't have it. *I*was the one responsible for the things I did and Zorro shouldn't have to take responsibility instead of me. He was my best friend and I wouldn't have it.
"It's ok, Darkrai. It happened, there is nothing we can do about it. Let's just hope that no one saw." Zorro said calmly as he held out my breakfast. I nodded and without another word took the plate from him. The issue was done with.
After we finished our breakfast, and all of our things had been cleaned up, a large picnic basket was prepared and I was asked to take on my human form and follow them. I did as I was told, not asking any questions as to where we were going, even though I was getting more curious by the second.
"Ok, close your eyes. It's a surprise, so don't peek!" Zorro said with a grin as he placed his hands over my eyes and pushed me along. My stomach was filled with butterflies, I couldn't wait to see what would happen. I didn't ask any questions however, I was afraid to do so. What if they would decide that whatever we were going to do wasn't for me after all, or that I wasn't worth whatever they had planned? No one had ever done anything nice for me, no one had ever given me anything, not without darker intentions. Why would this be the first time?
Yet, even though that question and all the bad memories related to it kept running through my mind, I couldn't help but hope. Maybe just this once, I wouldn't be humiliated and lonely, maybe I would be happy.
Zorro's POV
"Ok, close your eyes. It's a surprise, so don't peek!" I said with a grin as I placed my hands over Darkrai's eyes as I pushed him forward after the others. I felt him shaking a little, and for a second I was worried, but when I saw his own grin I smiled. He wasn't shaking because of fear or anything like that. He was simply getting excited.
That was a good thing, it made me happy. I was pretty sure he'd never been surprised in a nice way like this before and I wanted it to be special to him. He deserved it, even though he himself didn't always see it that way.
"You can open your eyes now…" I told him as I lifted my hands again. We were at the entrance of the pool, it was crowded with people. Children laughing and running after each other, parents watching and shaking their heads slightly in disbelief at the energy level of their children. I smiled as I looked over at Darkrai, who was blinking vigorously as if he couldn't quite believe that what he was seeing was really there.
"Are we-" He started, but couldn't finish. Instead he looked over at me with wide, childlike eyes. When I nodded they sparkled and a large grin formed on his face as he turned around to the others who were grinning as well. Rhyperior was awkwardly holding the parasol as Shapo was holding the picnic basket. They looked exactly like two ground Pokemon who hadn't particularly done a lot of swimming. Neither had Darkrai though, so it didn't really matter.
"I thought you might appreciate the parasol," I told Darkrai softly, "Considering you can't- you know-" I wasn't sure how to finish but as I gestured towards the water he knew what I was talking about. He smiled, "Thank you Zorro, that is very thoughtful of you." He replied softly, sounding like I'd just given him the greatest gift of all, consideration. "Thank you all." He said louder then as he faced the others again. "I am really grateful for this." Darkrai said, his voice breaking slightly as he wasn't used to this kindness. The others all smiled at him though, "You don't have to thank us, Silly." Rhyperiior said full of confidence as he walked up to him and patted him on the back. "We wouldn't have gone without you, so it is really you we have to thank." He winked and Shapo and the others nodded.
"So, shall we head inside?" I asked them all, seeing that Darkrai could cry any moment now and knowing that he wouldn't want to do so in front of the rest. He quickly turned around to me and nodded, his eyes telling me that he was grateful I saved him from that. I grinned at him and threw an arm around his shoulder as we walked up to the entrance. The others followed, and even though most of them were ground type Pokemon, they still seemed happy to join. And despite the fact that I still was slightly jealous that they had won Darkrai's trust so fast, I was glad they were here… though they would never hear that from me.
Darkrai's POV
After we bought a ticket we went to the changing rooms to put on our swimsuits. Can you believe it? Me, the little monster that no one even wanted to know, in a swim suit! It was a dream coming true, which probably was the reason that I was wearing my swimming trunks within a few seconds. I wanted to run straight to the water and head in immediately, but Zorro stopped me before I could.
"We'd better first find a spot with the others, otherwise we'll have to look for them across the whole field later, and that might take some time." He said as he pointed towards the others who were ahead of us on their way to the field already. I nodded and walked with him, following the others. I had waited ages for even getting this chance, so I could wait a bit longer with going into the water, even if I really wanted to badly.
I sure hope they won't sit too far away from the water. I thought as I trudged behind Zorro. I'm already melting from the heat.
Shika and her husband were ahead of us, they didn't seem to be having any trouble with the heat, which surprised me.
"Hey Shapo, aren't you guys bothered by the heat?" I asked as casually as possible. I now knew that Shapo wasn't one to get mad if I asked questions, and that was why I dared to do so. However I had no idea how the others would react if I asked something, maybe they would be less understanding than Shapo…
"No, I'm a Magmotar. I consist of liquid magma, that's the hottest stuff that exists!" He told me, a sly grin forming on his face. "Wait actually, I think that hot peppers come close…." He joked as he watched Rhyperior's reaction, who turned red instantly.
"SHAPO!" He shouted suddenly. "You promised not to tell anyone!" He growled as he started chasing the guy with a parasol in his hand like some kind of sword. Ik started laughing loudly at this and because of that completely forgot that I normally always end up scared when someone close raised his or her voice, because mostly it's aimed at me.
"I didn't say anything!" Shapo protested. "You're the one who's betraying it by going crazy all of a sudden!" He continued as he tried to stay in front of his friend. After a while though Rhyperior got closer because Shapo was becoming breathless, and Shapo received a hard blow on his head from the parasol Rhyperior was holding. While they had been arguing we had already found a spot to sit with both shadow and sun.
"Man, someone is short tempered today!" Shapo sighed as he plopped himself onto his towel, his hand rubbing the spot Rhyperior had hit him with the parasol. It looked painful already and I guessed it would become quite a bruise.
*Serves him right, he should've kept his promise.* A little mean voice inside my head said as I put my own towel on the grass and sat on it. I ignored it.
I wasn't used to asking for things so instead I waited for Zorro to say he wanted to get into the water. Right now he was still talking to the others, that was until he suddenly turned around and grinned at me.
"Come on, Darkrai! Last on in the water is a rotten Execute!" he said as he already started heading that way. I got up as quickly as I could and ran after him, "Yeah and the first one needs to eat one!" I called back, laughing.
I wasn't fast enough however and ended up there last, watching Zorro take a leap into the water first.
"That is cold!" he shouted as he resurfaced, laughing at the same time. I frowned and reached to the water with my foot, letting my toe touch the water. I quickly pulled it back, that really was cold! Or was that just because I was overheated? I wasn't sure but now I was hesitating whether I really wanted to go in….
*Don't be such a soft egg" just go in! it's not that cold. That pathetic pokemon is just overreacting!* A sudden voice sounded in my head. The same voice from before, only this time it was even meaner! I didn't like the voice, it sounded a lot like my own only more confident and braver than me. I wasn't sure if I liked that or not…. It scared me… but at the same time it made me feel powerful….
I shook the thought off and ignored the voice, heading over to the water and carefully climbing in it towards Zorro. The thought of the voice drifted in anyway, I really hope I would never talk to anyone like that… that would be horrible… I shuddered at the thought…
"Cold, huh?" Zorro chuckled as he noticed me shudder. I grinned at him, acting as if that had been the reason I shuddered. I walked over to him, slowly getting used to the temperature. It wasn't that bad after having been in the water a little while, actually it was feeling better by the moment.
I tried to lower myself onto my stomach, trying to float and make the swimming movements Zorro had taught back in Crystal Cave. But the artificial waves soon pushed me under and Zorro pulled me up quickly. While I was coughing out the water that had entered my mouth I felt Zorro's eyes on me.
"I don't think it's smart to try swimming underwater now, Darkrai." He told me with a kind smile and I felt myself blush, embarrassed. He didn't joke about it however, instead he simply handed me two armbands to wear while swimming.
"This will keep you floating." He said with a wink. I smiled at him and soon got a mischievous idea, splashing some water in his direction and surprising him. It surprised me too a little, because I almost never dared to do such a thing. Especially not when with Arceus and the others, because if I did it would only bring trouble… I liked the feeling however, it felt exilerating to be able to do that with a friend.
Zorro's POV
"Come on, Darkrai! Last on in the water is a rotten Execute!" I called out towards Darkrai as I quickly took the lead. I knew it wasn't fair that I did, but Darkrai would know that it was all meant as a game.
"Yeah and the first one needs to eat one!" I heard Darkrai call after me, laughing.
*See,* I thought, *He knows it's a game.*
I grinned as I was only a few yards away from the water. I took a leap and landed right into the water, the ICE COLD water to be precise.
"That is cold!" I shouted as I finally resurfaced, feeling my whole body freeze for a moment. However seeing Darkrai arrive at the side, watching me, it suddenly didn't feel as bad. The fact that he was here, about to go swimming with me, made it all worth it.
Soon Darkrai was also in the water, on his stomach and in an attempt to repeat the swimming movements I'd taught him when he was in Crystal Cave. The waves in the water were making it harder to swim though and soon he was pushed under. Luckily I was close and was able to pull him up again quickly, while he was trying to cough out the water he had swallowed.
"I don't think it's smart to try swimming underwater now, Darkrai." I said with a smile as I got a pair of armbands out that I'd bought at the register before. Very carefully I put them around his arms, making sure he wouldn't go under again.
"This will keep you floating." I said with a wink. Darkrai smiled at me and suddenly a splash of water was thrown in my face by that very same person. I laughed out loud, knowing Darkrai trusted me fully if he would start a water fight with me, but I wasn't about to let him go just because of that. I returned the favor of splashing water in his face, and after a short, but fun, water fight I decided to teach him how to swim for real this time, and answer all the questions he had about the water, which was a lot.
Unknown POV
Because Zorro and Darkrai were busy with everything that was going on in the water, they did not notice how people were watching them curiously. Among those people were also a boy wearing a blue sweater and a blue pointy hat; and a girl wearing a pink dress and a pink bow in her hair. They were watching the two friends with sincere smiles on their faces.
"Darky is so happy here! I've never seen him smile like this…" The girl, which actually was Mew's human form, said with a smile on her own face.
"Me neither." The boy, Azelf, said. "And his emotions are a lot easier to pick out now." He continued. "He's really happy here."
"This is a good thing, I think Darkrai deserves a day like this." Mew said happily as she watched Darkrai in the arms of Zorro, splashing water in his face. She also noticed a Mismagius and an Aggron with them. The Aggron was on the side of the pool, his feet soaking in the water, while Mismagius was slowly making her way to Darkrai and Zorro.
"Hey guys, lunch is ready. Are you coming?" She asked in a friendly manner before going underwater herself to cool down a bit.
"Of course!" Zorro answered when she came back up, picking Darkrai up onto his arm and following Mismagius to the edge of the pool, where Aggron was still soaking his feet.
"I thought you didn't like water?" Darkrai asked as he playfully splashed just a little water in his direction. The Aggron laughed as he quickly made a move to the side so he wouldn't get hit.
"I don't, but I wanted to cool down my toes for a minute." He said with a smile as he pulled his feet out of the water and got up.
Darkrai smiled and reached down to the water. I immediately understood what he wanted to do and lowered him closer to the water to make it easier for him. Darkrai grinned mischievously now and before Aggron even realized what was going on, he was soaked with water from head to toe.
"Hey!" he called out as he quickly jumped to the side, but too late. "Who was that?!" He demanded as he turned around really quick.
Darkrai was supposed to know by now that people could raise their voice and not immediately be angry with him, but somehow this time it didn't seem to get through to him. He startled heavily, immediately hiding his face in my fur.
Darkrai's POV
"Hey!" Aggron called out loudly, turning around angrily. "Who was that!?"
He sounded angry, his voice raised, his eyes searching for whoever it had been. I was scared and hid in Zorro's fur. Zorro smiled at me and patted me as a sign that Aggron probably wasn't really mad at me, just acting, but I wasn't convinced.
"It was you again, wasn't it? Little rat." Aggron said in a tone of voice that made me wonder if he was joking or not. I didn't know, and as he came closer and grabbed me by the waist I grabbed onto Zorro even more firmly. I knew it for sure. Aggron wasn't like Shapo or Rhyperior. He was really mad, he was going to hurt me this time.
I was scared and didn't want to look up, which was also the reason I could not see what was happening behind me. And so when suddenly someone started tickling me, I didn't know what was happening.
"H-h-hey!" I tried to say through the giggles that escaped. "St-Stop I-it! I c-ca-can't-"
Soon though I couldn't say anything anymore because I was laughing too hard. Really laughing, meaning it, because I could finally be a kid..
"I know you can't handle that!" Aggron said, laughing. "Why do you think I'm doing it?" He grinned as he kept on tickling me.
I was laughing louder and louder, until we were all laughing and we kept on laughing while making our way back to our spot, where lunch was waiting.
"You guys seem to be having fun!" Mismagius said as she put out cutlery on the picnic table next to the plates with food.
"Yeah, we were having a little water war." Aggron said with a snigger at his own joke, taking his place at the table. "Now that is the first time I heard a ground type pokemon say that!" Shapo joked as he took place next to his master, who was smirking while enjoying his jelly sandwich.
"Oh well, it's just what you're used to really! My family lived close to a river, we had to get ourselves wet once in a while to get our food." Aggron said as he reached for a cheese sandwich himself, his wife also. Their hands met for just a second and they immediately pulled them back, blushing for a while until finally taking a new sandwich.
Zorro's POV
"Alright love birds, that's enough." Darkrai said with a teasing grin as he took another sandwich and took a big bite out of it. I smiled at that exclamation and took the last sandwich on the table, taking a bite and grinning just like Darkrai was.
I was glad Darkrai was becoming more lively, starting to tease more, like a normal child would do. Also it meant that Darkrai continued building up trust towards us, which made me happy as well. It was a good sign, a sign that Darkrai was finally crawling from his shell, after all those horrible years..
Well that's one good thing, though it won't take long anymore….
A voice in my head, which I immediately recognized, said. It was the same voice that I'd heard when I'd been a bad guy, only this time…
What do you mean? What are you talking about?
I thought inside of my head, squeezing my eyes shut tightly. I was afraid that maybe the monster inside of me would be released, would take control again, and who knows what would happen to Darkrai if I actually let it.
That wasn't even the worst problem! Because if the monster was released chances were that the whole mission would be compromised. That would mean that Darkrai would be caught by the other legendary pokemon and that was something that I could not allow to happen! Ever!
Or you can help Darkrai even more, and the mission will be an even greater success than you read in his journal!
The voice said sounding rather cunning. I looked over at Darkrai, laughing away with the others. They liked him, which was a good thing, but on the other hand it was also dangerous. If he got started bonding with them he could endanger the mission, especially if he became too attached as that could result in willingness to sacrifice himself for them.
See! You're still jealous! Just give in to your true nature, accept it, then eventually Darkrai can do the same.
The voice continued, sounding almost evil now. Suddenly a blinding light appeared on my chest, accompanied by a terrible pain. I placed my claw on my chest and tried to push the pain away, to hide it, just like I'd done last time to make sure I wouldn't go in the wrong again and give Arceus a chance to take away my status of legendary pokemon and kill me.
Just give up. It's so much easier, and you know you won't win either way.
The voice finished, the light becoming stronger, the pain as well. I felt sick and quickly ran away from the others.
"Zorro!" I heard Darkrai call out behind me. "Zorro! What's wrong?" But the words didn't reach me and I felt myself slip away, I felt myself lose the battle, until everything turned dark. ...
Darkrai's POV
I was busy having fun with the others, just the normal stuff, when suddenly Zorro started acting strange. I wasn't sure what was going on but I knew it couldn't be good, especially when he started glowing and shaking. I was just about to reach out to him and ask him if he was alright when he suddenly got up and sped away.
"Zorro!" I called out in surprise. "Zorro, what's wrong?" But he didn't turn back and he didn't answer. I got up with the plan to follow behind him, worried about my friend, when I suddenly felt a hand on my shoulder. Mismagius stood next to me, looking at the spot Zorro had run to with a scared look in her eyes.
"It's ok, master. This all was described in our journals. Zorro's dark side will take over now, and will help to release yours." She said calmly, though she didn't look particularly calm.
I suddenly heard a scream coming from the trees and a blinding light appeared. For a moment there was only quiet, and then Zorro appeared again, as if nothing had happened. The only difference I could notice for now was the large grin on his face, meaning only one thing, the battle for the paralyzed world had begun…
That was the end of the new chapter! I hope that you guys like it! FireFlyFlies and I are sorry for the delay, and are even more sorry to say that it will be taking a little longer with updating from now on. We're both really busy with school and work and don't have much time to write or translate. We hope you will stick with us though, we really appreciate you all reading the story!
Thank you for reading and please review!