Alright, a little heads up, this is the beginning of the Nightmare saga (take a wild guess). There will be another appearance of Darkrai, and at least one more later on. I AM BEGGING FOR REVIEWS AT THE VERY LEAST! GIVE IT TO ME STRAIGHT, I NEED TO KNOW IF SOMETHING IS WRONG, OR ANYTHING! Enjoy.

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Chapter 13: Against All Odds

I woke up and saw Alicia, lying next to me in her human form. I realized she was also naked and woke her up to tell her. She got up and put on her clothes from the previous day. I did the same. Nathaniel, about last night? she began.

Yeah? I asked, unsure of what she would say next.

Thank you.

I mentally sighed. At least it was positive feedback. I couldn't imagine what would happen if it was negative. No worries, I said, trying to sound reassuring. Like I said, I promised. She turned to me and kissed my cheek. She went into her room, and I got on a fresh pair of clothes. I went into the living room and stretched a bit. Most of my muscles were asleep, so I had to give them a jump start. I went outside, but almost instantly came back in. It was freezing cold outside. 'Well at least my muscles are awake now,' I thought to myself. Alicia and Ericka came out and I asked them if Landon was awake yet. Alicia shook her head, but Ericka said she saw him leave early in the morning. We decided to have some breakfast.

I grabbed an apple and bit into it. I went to the trash can and spat the piece out. I kept spitting, trying to get as much of the gross taste out of my mouth. I looked at the bite mark and saw the reason why. It was beginning to turn dark brown. I threw away the rotten apple and offered to go into town to get some groceries. Alicia and Ericka nodded their heads and sat on the couch, talking about more girl stuff. I checked the fridge and pantry to see if we needed anything else. The milk was almost out, we had no fish fillets, and we also had a bit of shortage on some other fruits. I wrote them down on a piece of paper. I got on a jacket and said goodbye to the girls. I then transformed and flew off.

(Alicia's POV)

I waved goodbye to Nathaniel as he walked out the door. I waited a few minutes and turned back to Ericka. "Well?" she asked.

"He's gone." She smiled and hugged me. I told her earlier when I came into my room that me and Nathaniel had mated. She smiled and said that she was happy for me and him.

"So any idea when the time will come?" she asked.

"No idea. I think maybe a few months or so before I start feeling anything." We were talking about the arrival of the eggs. I knew that I was pregnant, but I had no idea when the time would come for the eggs to arrive, let alone hatch. We talked a little bit more about girl stuff and I gave her an English lesson to pass the time away.

Nathaniel came back a few minutes later. He didn't have any, groceries but he came in with a nearly frozen Landon. He was shivering, he must have been outside in near freezing temperatures. But the question was why. Dragon-types were weak to Ice and it was cold enough that it felt like an Icy Wind attack. Ericka huddled up to him, sharing her body heat. Nathaniel and I followed suit. I almost pushed back; he was almost frozen. I asked him what happened.

"I d-d-don't k-k-know." He was shivering violently. "O-o-one m-m-minute, I'm i-i-in m-m-my b-b-bed s-s-sleeping, n-n-next t-t-thing I k-know, N-Nathaniel's p-pulling m-me out of t-the s-snow." His shaking was slowing down and, we moved him over to the couch.

Nathaniel went into his room and came out with his comforters. He gave them to Landon, who wrapped them around himself in a hurry. His shaking completely stopped, and his breathing seemed normal. I told him that Ericka saw him leaving in the early morning. He tried to remember, but came up with nothing. I went to the window. I wiped my hand against the misted glass. It was snowing, but there was only a few inches. I went into the kitchen and made hot chocolate for everyone. Ericka and I sipped ours, Nathaniel took small gulps, but Landon almost downed the entire thing in one gulp.

I went to the kitchen and made some more hot chocolate, about three mugs. Nathaniel had also finished his, so I gave one to him and another to Landon. Nathaniel began sipping his as well, but Landon finished his within a minute. I gave him the last one and said for him to drink it slowly. He did, and I could see that he was warming up. We sat down and Nathaniel turned on the TV. On the news, snowstorms were popping up all over the place. They were minor, but it was expected to get a bit worse. Nathaniel said he was going back to get the groceries and I offered to go with him. He handed a thick, woolly coat and I put it on. It was really warm and we went outside into the snow.

(Landon's POV)

They went outside into the cold air. I shivered, not knowing how they could stand the cold. I sipped my hot chocolate, feeling the warm liquid running down my throat. It worked better to heat me up. When I gulped down the drink, it only heated me up for a while. Ericka got up and went into the hall. She came back with my own comforters and gave them to me. I wrapped myself up more and felt more heat sink in. She sat down next to me. She began hugging me, sharing her warmth. I wrapped the covers around her and she smiled at me. She stopped hugging me and leaned against me. I felt a little awkward, but I put my arm around her. She smiled a bit more and closed her eyes. I could somehow feel her heartbeat, but it felt good. I sighed, and I closed my eyes, eventually falling asleep.

I woke up at the sound of the door opening and closing. Nathaniel and Alicia came through the door, a small amount of snow on their coats. They carried several bags over to the counter and set them down.

"It's getting worse out there," said Nathaniel, taking off his coat. He helped Alicia with her coat and set them on the floor. They unloaded the bags, which had several things in them: various fruits and vegetables, about five packs of hot cocoa mix, two jugs of milk, some packages of fish and lunch meat, and some other things I couldn't recognize They put them away and came over to us. Alicia took the empty mugs and cleaned them. Nathaniel went into the hall and came back with more blankets. He set them next to me, but I didn't use them. In fact, I took off the covers that I had on. Ericka was still laying on my arm, sleeping. She woke up when the covers came across her face. She looked up at me, sat up and smiled. Nathaniel and Alicia sat down as well and we discussed our current situation.

The storm had picked up, and the amount of snow fall had increased by a few inches. We thought it might have been Kyurem. He was an Ice and Dragon type, so if it was him, he would be tough to beat. At that moment, we heard something come from outside. It sounded like a screech, and I thought I saw some snow kick up outside from the window. A knock came and Alicia got up to answer it.

A Delibird walked in, and I rubbed my eyes to make sure I wasn't seeing things. It was still there and was holding out a letter to Alicia. She took the letter, and the Delibird gave a salute and flew off. She read the letter to herself and handed it to me.

I read it out loud: "Dear Eon twins, I thought you might be wondering about these storms. It is not natural, but is being caused by Articuno. She , Moltres and Zapdos are once again feuding and took their fight to the human world. I am busy at the moment with some of the others and can't help you. They are fighting near the south side border of the United States of America and Canada. Dress warmly. Arceus."

I sighed. 'Of course he would do this.' I looked at the others and saw they were already heading out the door. I sighed again and followed them.

(Ericka's POV)

It was really cold outside, even with jackets on. We transformed and flew as fast as we could. Landon, Alicia and I were behind Nathaniel, who was actually enjoying the snow. I thought it was because he was really crazy, but I forgot what I was thinking about when we heard a shrill screech. I looked ahead and saw three large shapes flying around each other.

"There they are!" Nathaniel shouted. He turned to us and said, "Let's split up. Ericka, Landon, go for Moltres. Alicia and I will take on Zapdos. We take on Articuno together." I nodded as we left for battle.

Moltres was trying to melt the ice Articuno was creating. I was able to get his attention by yelling, "Hey Moltres! Your nothing but an overcooked turkey!" I think I may have overdone it as he spotted and flew straight for me. I dodged just in time, but I still felt the hot flames from Moltres' wings. I used Psywave, but it did little damage to him and annoyed him further.

You shall pay for th-AAAAAHHHH! He was hit by Landon's Luster Purge and fell to the ground. He flew up to me and asked if I was alright.

I'm fine, but now we need to help- I stopped as I heard Zapdos cry out in pain and fall to the ground defeated. Scratch that, now we go for Articuno.

The four of us regrouped and we unleashed the best moves we had: Landon and Nathaniel using Luster Purge, Alicia using Mist Ball, and I used Psywave. Our attacks all hit, but it looked like Articuno didn't take that much damage.

Humph! You dare to stop our feuding? While I dislike it as much as everyone else, I was attacked first. But now, I think it's time for an alliance.

She looked down at the partially recovered Pokemon. Zapdos! Moltres! Let us join and finish off these meddlers! The two flew up and they all attacked at once. Articuno used Ice beam on Nathaniel, Zapdos used Thunder on Alicia, and Moltres used Flamethrower on Landon. Although the last two attacks were not very effective against them. I flew down and found Landon first. Nathaniel and Alicia got up soon afterwards.

They're too strong. Landon said.

Nathaniel agreed and said, If were going to defeat these guys, we're going to need some help. We need-

At that moment, a low voice sounded from the snowy sky.

Dark Void! A flurry of dark balls flew from the mist behind us and hit the three birds. They fell and began thrashing about. I looked up and saw a dark figure fly towards us from the shadows.

Darkrai, Landon said. I looked back at the Pitch-Black Pokemon. Landon had told me about Darkrai before, but I never imagined him to look like this.

I came as soon as Arceus had calmed down the other legendaries. He told me about your predicament and I had Mother Mew teleport me here. Landon and I thanked him.

Guys! Come quick! We rushed over to where Alicia was and saw Nathaniel thrashing in the snow. He got hit by one of the Dark Void attacks.

Darkrai sighed. I shall wake him up again. He snapped his fingers but nothing happened. He looked very surprised and tried again. It still didn't work. This is bad.

What? What's bad? Alicia asked.

This has only happened once before. His nightmares entered his mind all at once. I didn't know what that meant, but it sounded bad. I know of a way to wake him, but at a price. If I do this, his nightmares shall be released into the real world. In the dream world, they are dark humanoids who can form weapons out of their bodies. But in reality, they can transform into anyone and anything. We discussed what we should do.

We can't risk letting out dangerous nightmares into the real world. Landon argued.

Alicia hit him with an Ice beam and said, I don't care! He's our brother! What would he do if you were in his position. Landon thought it over and nodded his head to Darkrai.

I must warn you, it won't be pretty. He levitated over to Nathaniel and picked him up. He made his eyes level with his, and they both began to glow blue. Darkrai let go of him and Nathaniel began to levitate on his own. Slowly, his head bent back. I became startled at what happened next. Nathaniel screamed out a roar that was unearthly (like in chapter 8).

His mouth opened up really wide and black smoke came out of his mouth. Then a discharge of darkness shot from his mouth. We watched as the small missile of black smoke fly into the air and disappear. Another plume discharged. And another. And another. I counted about thirteen or fourteen discharges before Nathaniel slumped to the ground.

He opened his eyes slowly, and then shot them open. He clutched his stomach and groaned. My stomach feels like I swallowed a Muk. He turned and vomited in the snow. He shuddered and looked back at us. So what happened? All I was remember was hearing a voice and getting hit in the back. Then, all I could see was dark images struggling against each other.

Darkrai explained it to him. He listened to every word.

So where are the nightmares now? Landon asked.

Spread out, Darkrai replied. Most are nearby, but some are all over the world. They will come to destroy him, but you may find them before they find you. He looked at Nathaniel, who got back up.

Well, I say we get some rest first. Darkrai nodded his head. A bright light enveloped the bird Pokemon and they disappeared. Darkrai gave a final farewell before he too, disappeared. And we headed for our nice, warm, home.