Rag Doll, Chapter 21

Wow, 21 chapters?! This has to be more than what I've written altogether throughout high school. I'm starting to get some reviews now, as well as talking with some of the people who have favorited my story. Thank you all for waiting patiently for updates.

Blade's POV

We were traveling to the poke human city, the name of which I did not know and Drake had forgotten. But we left in high spirits. Rose and I were looking forward to the prospects of a new home, one where we could be safe from persecution, one where we could be together and raise a family…

It was day two and so far things had been uneventful. We had not encountered anyone during our trek through the woods, which we were grateful for. We did not want to be hindered by anything. It was about midday when Rose and I felt the presence of a human. We warned Drake and we all transformed five minutes before we met up with him.

He was still young, he looked as if he recently started his journey. He faced us and said

"Hey, do any of you have any pokemon?! I challenge you!" he pulled a red and white sphere off his belt and threw it into the air. In a flash of white light, a Treecko popped out. The little wood gecko shouted its name and prepared its battle stance, which looked untested.

"Sorry, young man, we're not trainers. We're poke fanatics, looking for the city of poke fanatics, which we understand is a month's journey from here" I said.

His face fell, followed by his head, and he raised the ball and said in a dejected voice

"Treecko, return."

A red beam shot out of the ball and hit the Treecko. It turned red and was sucked back into the ball. He turned his attention back to the three strange people in front of him and said

"Sorry I shouted at you like that. I just started on my pokemon journey, and I'm trying to get stronger. But I haven't seen any trainers or pokemon since I left. Oh well, I guess I'll just keep going."

"Okay," Drake told him "But don't go in that direction." He motioned in the direction we had been coming from.

"There are a lot of dangerous pokemon out that way, you're likely to get hurt."

The young trainer nodded and thanked Drake for his advice, then turned to leave, but stopped and turned back around.

"By the way, my name's Timmy! Who are you?"

"I'm Rose."

"Name's Drake."

"I'm…uh… Jim."

Rose and Drake looked at me, but Timmy didn't seem to notice.

"Okay, it was nice meeting you all! Have a safe trip!" And he was gone.

After he left, we transformed back to pokemon form, and Rose looked up at me and asked

"Jim?"

Flushing, I said

"Well, I couldn't call myself by my actual name!"

Shaking his head, Drake said

"Well, we shouldn't have to worry about it anymore. That trainer was a real rarity. No one really travels this way anymore. Let's keep going."

So the journey continued. True to Drake's word, we saw no further evidence of trainers. The trek continued unbroken for the next twenty-eight days. On the night of the twenty-ninth, however, we got a special visit.

We had settled camp for the night and were eating dinner when Arceus suddenly appeared out of thin air next to our campfire, making the rest of us jump in surprise.

"Hello, all. How are we this fine evening?"

"Just fine, now that the shock's worn off. You should really give a better warning when you make your 'appearances', though" I told him.

Arceus chuckled and said

"Sorry, but I felt that I had to talk to you. It concerns the city you are searching for."

I nodded and replied

"Okay, what is it?"

Arceus sat by Drake and said

"Control of the city has changed. Don't worry, this won't hurt you, I just thought it would be good to let you know."

"So who's controlling it?" Rose asked.

"Right now the city is under the jurisdiction of Cresselia and Darkrai" Arceus informed them. When all he received were shocked looks, he asked

"What, didn't you know that large pokemon cities were placed under the protection of legends?"

We all shook our heads. Arceus sighed and began to explain.

"When humans became rampant and had forgotten their ancestry, they began to view pokemon as threats and potential pets. They weren't seen the way they are today. So humans would pillage pokemon civilizations and capture or kill pokemon. When they pokemon population started to decline, I knew something had to be done, and fast. So I had the majority of what was left of the pokemon to form their own civilizations and assigned at least one legend to protect them. In time, the pokemon developed civilizations. The town you are heading to is one of those ancient civilizations. Everyone in their town knows the name of the legend who is protecting them. I guess this wasn't the case for your society."

"Our society was corrupted anyway. It's not worth protecting, it really should be destroyed" I said.

Rose looked at me with some concern, but pulled back after a moment.

"Anyway," continued Arceus "Darkrai was protecting the town by himself, until recently, at any rate."

"Yeah, what exactly is the story on that?" asked Drake. Arceus smiled at him before answering.

"Well, recently Darkrai and Cresselia have decided to look past their differences and, I believe the humans call it, 'hook up'? Since then, they have become the mutual protectors of that town."

"But… isn't that a little…strange?" Rose asked timidly.

"What is strange, little one?"

"Well, the Prince of Nightmares… and the Princess of Dreams? Don't they just seem completely… I don't know, opposite?"

Grinning widely, Arceus replied

"Well, opposites do attract!"

Moving past this, Arceus said

"Most of the town is inhabited by pokemon who can transform to look human. However, there are a few real humans there, so don't let down your guard. Good luck on your journey, and have a safe trip!"

With that, Arceus disappeared. Drake sighed heavily then and said

"Guess we better sleep, we should reach the town by tomorrow."

Rose and I nodded, then we climbed together in our sleeping bag to enjoy the warmth.

Rose's POV

When the sun woke me the next morning, once again, Blade was missing.

"He must be training his stealth too if he can just slip in and out with ease. Or maybe I'm just a heavy sleeper" I thought.

We followed our usual routine, eating breakfast, packing up and getting on our way. I could barely contain my excitement, though. We could finally get a new home! We could get started on that family…

I blushed heavily when I caught myself thinking this. Still, despite the thought distracting me, a lot, I knew I wanted it to happen. And I was determined that when we were settled down we would get started.

Sometime around noon, the edge of the city came into our view. I couldn't help it, I started to run to the city. I didn't get very far, though, before I was winded. I was still excited, though. Blade caught up to me, kneeled to my level and asked

"Rose, are you alright? You just suddenly took off. I believe you're excited, but I can't really tell."

I looked at him, and my face split wide in a grin.

"Of course I'm happy! There's the city where we can start our new life together. We don't have to hide our love anymore, and-"

I looked behind me, and seeing that Drake was taking his time, enjoying the scenery, I decided to tell him of one of my greatest desires.

"- and we can start a family together, Blade."

He blinked at me in surprise, then he smiled warmly at me and said

"You really want to have children, huh."

It wasn't a question, properly, but I nodded anyway, blushing as I did so. He extended a hand and I took it. He lifted me up, then pulled me close and we shared a long passionate kiss. Then we stood there, our foreheads pressed together and he spoke softly but clearly to me.

"I will make you a promise, here and now. When we are comfortably settled in our new home, when our position is secure, then I promise we will start on our own little family. Okay?"

I nodded and came in for another kiss.

"Oh, get a room, you two" Drake teased us as he passed by. I blushed, but Blade took it in good humor.

"We should probably transform, given that the city is inhabited by real humans" he continued.

With that in mind, we transformed and continued on. When we finally reached the mouth of the city, we were greeted by two strangers that I kinda guessed were Cresselia and Darkrai. It was something about their attire, as well as their separate countenances that defined them.

The Prince of Nightmares was of medium stature, about the same height as Blade. For the most part, he wore all black. Black jacket, black shirt and pants, black shoes, but he had no gloves on, which surprised me. Maybe when he transformed back into a pokemon, the darkness spread over his hands. He was also wearing a strange necklace. It resembled a pearl necklace, but it looked more like scarlet Sharpedo teeth. He had long, white hair that he wasn't styling in any way, but it looked like there was a constant breeze ruffling his hair. His last feature was a blank face with piercing ice-blue eyes.

The Princess of Dreams looked completely opposite from Darkrai. Where he was centered around darkness and gloominess, she was the center of color and cheer. She had straight blonde hair that fell on both sides of her smiling face. She had pleasant lavender eyes that shone with a special kind of radiance. She wore a light jacket that she kept open of a soft blue color, underneath which she wore a yellow shirt that somehow complimented the jacket. She also wore purple gloves and lavender pants that varied in shade in different places. It was a mesmerizing effect, very attractive. When we approached, her eyes gleamed and she jumped forward to hug me.

"You must have been the newcomers Arcie told us about!" she exclaimed.

Darkrai rolled his eyes and said

"Welcome to Dream City. We were told to give you rooms in one of our hotels. If you want a house of your own, then you'll have to get a job and earn it." He caught the look that Cresselia directed at him, then shrugged and said

"That's just the way it is. If you don't like it, then you're free to leave."

Cresselia smacked Darkrai upside the head and shouted

"Stupid Darky, you ruined the moment!"

Darkrai sighed, then took her in his arms and said

"I'm sorry. Forgive me?"

Lavender eyes stared into blue, and their hardness softened.

"Oh, Darky, I can't stay mad at you." And the two shared kiss that made me feel embarrassed to be looking at them.

"Ahem… this is a real tender moment, and I hate to break it up, but shouldn't we move along now?" asked Drake, and I was glad he interrupted them. When they broke apart, Cresselia was blushing heavily, and Darkrai had a look on his face that suggested he didn't care one way or another.

"All right, follow me" Darkrai sighed.

"So, what are your names?" Cresselia asked brightly.

"Cressie…" Darkrai began in exasperation.

"What, they're going to become citizens of this city, it's only right we should know their names, Darky."

Darkrai just sighed and continued leading the way. Cresselia turned to me and spoke to me telepathically.

"He's so cute when he gets like that!" and I could hear her giggling mentally, taking me by surprise. Taking a cue from her, I asked

"How did you two end up… you know… together?"

Giggling again, she answered

"Well, when Darkrai was the sole ruler of this city, it was known as Nightmare City, on account of the fact that wherever he travels, nightmares invade those that sleep. He has some measure of control over it, but no Darkrai before him has found a way to end the nightmares fully. He can give you more details, if you can get him to talk. Anyway, the people and pokemon were terrified of this city. Arcie sent me to repair any damage done by Darky. At first we hated each other, thinking we were making each other's lives more difficult. In time, though, we grew to the point where we could look at each other, then talk. As time passed, love bloomed, and here we are today! When we came together as a pair and, we decided to rename this place Dream City. We have our own special apartment now, and it feels amazing to not have to sleep in loneliness anymore. Believe me, when you have a mate, everything changes for the better, as long as neither of you screws it up."

Our mental conversation ended at that point, and I could sense the truth I her words. I remembered how I felt after Blade left the slums to confront his parents, like he had taken an important piece of me with him. Soon we reached a hotel that had a large neon sign atop that said The Utopian Dream.

"This is where you'll be staying" Darkrai said in a bored tone.

"It's also where we stay, on the top floor! So, if you have any questions, or just want to drop by and say hello, feel free to visit!" Cresselia shouted up to the sky, contradicting Darkrai's pessimistic mood.

Darkrai rolled his eyes again and walked through the door. Darkrai walked up to the counter and asked for three room keys.

"Oh, uh, Darky…" Cresselia muttered to him, then whispered into his ear. I couldn't hear what she was saying, but she motioned to Blade and I a couple of times. Darkrai scrutinized us for a moment, then shrugged and said

"Two keys for one room, middle floor, and one key same area."

The attendant, a Breloom, bowed and handed the keys to Darkrai, who turned and tossed the keys in Blade's direction, who caught them.

"Those are the keys to your rooms. Don't lose them."

Then he put his arm over Cresselia's shoulders and walked to the elevator, and that was the last we saw of them. Then Blade took a look at the keys and saw that two of them were identical. He was not quite sure what to make of it. He turned his glance to me, to which I said

"I think this is a gift from Cresselia. She means for us to sleep in the same room together."

Blade nodded thoughtfully, then handed Drake the key to his room. We took the elevator to our floor, the seventh floor, and located our rooms. Fortunately, we were only a couple of spaces apart so we could still talk relatively easily to each other. When Blade and I entered our room, we were taken back by its splendor. It was simple, yet elegant at the same time. More evidence of the strange pairing between Darkrai and Cresselia.

Night quickly came as we took the time to inspect the room and eat dinner in the splendid dining area on the ground floor. When we returned, I was a little anxious, and Blade caught on pretty quickly.

"What's wrong, Rose?"

"Well," I started "I'm just a little scared to sleep. You know, because Darkrai's here."

Smiling, Blade led me over to the bed and gently set me in. Then he told me

"You don't have to worry, because the Giver of Good Dreams is here as well. Now, sleep tight, and I'll see you in the morning."

I nodded, and could already feel myself drifting off to a dreamless slumber.

Phew, finished! Sorry if I kind of rushed it with the journey and all, but there wasn't really anything that was going to happen anyway. So, let me know what you think, and wait for the next chapter!