AN: Sorry this hasn't been updated in ages! I've felt so...unmotivated. I feel like no one looks forward to my story, which doesn't really inspire me to write! Also, I was wondering, if I were to start up another fanfiction, would you prefer an Inuyasha or Mystery Skulls one? Please let me know on the poll in my profile! I'm /hopefully/ planning on updating this regularly again! Well, as long as people actually enjoy it! I also feel as if my writing as improved from the last time I posted, so let me know if I have! Thanks! Please review if you have the time!

- Chapter 36 - Reality -

Each loud, confident syllable and word seemed to painfully drip from Darkrai's lips; his response came out slowly, yet rushed at the same time. It was as if he was sure of himself, but also weary of what he was forcing himself to go through with. He used every ounce of willpower to ignore Louella and stare directly at Jirachi, though her quiet, distant sobs were consuming him with each second. She clearly knew what he was about to say, which only hurt him even more; she knew he was abandoning what they had finally gained.

Darkrai closed his eyes for a second, quietly composing himself before angrily launching his eyes open and continuing to glare at Jirachi, his words quickly escaping his body. "Get me out of this fleshy form," Darkrai quietly demanded with his eyes nearly slits. Louella's sobs were more apparent, but he acted oblivious to her reaction. He had expected her to react in such a way and knew if he were to worry, he would not go through with his choice to make her stop crying, so he continued ignoring her with his best ability. "We'll act like this never happened," he continued.

Jirachi stared at him curiously and a bit suspiciously, not expecting this answer from him. He then looked over to Louella, who was clearly upset with the decision as her hands shook in who-knows-what emotion. Jirachi gave Darkrai a subtle nod before backing away a bit, knowing she would have something to say in response. Sure, he only had so much time before the three were caught, but he knew she had the right to respond to his decision. He would let the two bicker for a bit...after all, he would only be a whisper of who he was in this moment after Jirachi was done with him. They deserved one last moment together as humans.

Darkrai's mind was foggy as his words echoed through his head, but he knew one thing: he had to be harshly honest with Louella. He could not be kind with her about this...He had always sugar-coated as much as he could around her, but this was the time for him to be realistic and stubborn with the girl. He had to be, no matter how much it hurt them both. His decision was made and he would not change his mind.

Just as it had been the case for Darkrai, Louella found herself engulfed in his words, examining every single one that consumed her mind as well. She knew this was coming, but why did it hurt so badly? Why did it cause her heart to shatter as her pendant gave off a slight blue hue? Louella gazed down at her locket as a tear ran down her cheek, resulting in the color of the locket changing to a slight red. For once in her life, Louella found herself speaking up for herself as she clenched her fists while her face was distorted into an uncommon expression: anger, yet her words dripped sadness and confusion.

"You're lying!" She replied in the tone of a parent scolding a child. "I won't let you do this! Think of everything we've gained because of-"

Darkrai's glare intensified as he turned to Louella, his outward appearance and words towards her suggesting irritation, yet his heart was melting at her effort to stick up for her views. It was almost adorable how her locket showed her anger. However, he quickly shook such an idea away, knowing now was not the time to drop his serious tone.

"I can't be selfish anymore, Louella. You need to understand this," Darkrai harshly muttered with a bit of concern being an undertone. "Life isn't the fairy tale you want it to be. You - No, we, need to grow up. This isn't reality." He paused as he glared down at his claw bitterly, though his mind was rushing with countless, horrid emotions: regret, suspicion and guilt, to name a few. "We…we can't be a reality."

The last words stung as they left his being, leaving a stale, horrid aftertaste that seemed to be toxic to the touch. It was the truth, yet it was the truth he did not want to embrace nor accept. As much as he had accepted that the truth and realistic way-of-thinking would be the deciding factor in this situation, those words still hurt; they burned him, and it seemed to have the same effect on the girl before him.

Louella took half a step backwards as her gaze wandered over his features in clear denial and a hint of anger. How could he do this to her? How could he make her think that they could be happy with his new form, only to take that idea away from her? Take away everything they had become? She stared in disbelief as her tears came to a halt and her saddened frown was replaced with one of slight anger and stubbornness. She wouldn't let him. She couldn't let him.

Louella furrowed her brow before taking a step towards Darkrai. "You're forcing yourself to act like a hero, but...but are you even considering what I want? What you want? What we want? We can make it out of this...somehow!" Her words were fast and almost begging, though her expression, for once, was stern and determined. "You're always the hero. My hero. Why can't you just...just do what you want for once?" She placed her right hand over her heart to demonstrate how truthful her words were, yet his facial features remained stern and focused on her face, not once flinching as she spoke hopefully.

His lack of a reaction sent a sharp pain to her heart as she realized he did not care, as it seemed to her, about what she was saying. Was he truly that hard-headed as to not even consider her point of view? For once, Louella felt a faint, unfamiliar flame of her temper building as her locket's color increased in a pigmented red. Why was he so certain to a point where he didn't even care about what she was saying? It hurt.

With Darkrai and Jirachi not knowing what to say in response to such a reply, the three remained in silence due to her out-of-character 'outburst.' Louella and Darkrai stared at each other with both equal, determined glares. However, Jirachi continually floated near the two a bit awkwardly, not knowing what to do or say. All he knew was that this was taking too long. They were going to run out of time if he didn't interrupt soon. He bit his lip, not wanting to intervene with Darkrai's angered wrath.

Finally mustering the courage to respond to such an emotional statement, Darkrai sighed while placing a hand over his heart, mocking her actions to show that he, too, was wholeheartedly speaking what he believed to be true. "Louella, please," Darkrai quietly whispered. "This is exactly what I want to do-"

With a small frown, Jirachi interrupted the other Pokemon in the room. Their time was draining a bit too quickly. "Tick tock, tick tock!" Jirachi mumbled irritably, no longer able to be the 'respectful' observer he had tried to be. Once back to his somewhat-bratty tone, he continued in a frightened manner. "Do you realize what they'll do to you if they found out you lost control?" Jirachi raised his hands to cover his mouth as a large whimper filled the room. This was extremely unlike the Pokemon, resulting in a curious stare from the two below him. "Heck, I'll be the one to blame! I'm too cute to hurt! I-I won't be cute when they're done with me!" Jirachi cringed as he imagined how he would be 'disposed' of. He had dug his own grave.

Jirachi cleared his throat as their stares continued, resulting in a small hue of pink to cover his facial features as he avoided their eyes. He was acting cowardly...once this was all settled, he wouldn't hear the end of it from Darkrai. He scoffed a bit nonchalantly as he attempted to cover up his fear with a cocky, forced smile, but no one was believing it whatsoever.

"I'll give you a few more minutes alone. Save the sappy affections for later. You need to decide, okay?" He finished in a softer tone as he turned to Louella, forcing a small, flat smile to reassure her, though he knew that the outcome of this situation was not certain. "Just...don't be stupid." And with that embarrassed, quick response, Jirachi disappeared in a beam of light, teleporting to who knows where, leaving the two to remain unobserved for the time being

Jirachi's light was present and then vanished within a second or two, snapping the two remaining figures back into reality as Louella slightly squinted due to the intense light. Lacking anyone else's presence, the two felt a rush of awkwardness. How would they discuss this? How would Darkrai convince Louella, and how would Louella convince Darkrai?

Louella, attempting to break the thick silence, opened her mouth as she spoke only one distant syllable, only to be interrupted by a rash, hurtful tone from the only other person in the room. Darkrai's eyes never once left Louella's as the two remained silent, resulting in him catching her about to talk, not allowing her to make some ridiculous, emotion-driven comeback. Knowing what she would say, and not wanting to hear it, he spoke over her, knowing he needed to get her on his side.

Louella's response was demolished as Darkrai spoke. "You don't get to decide what I do!" He venomously shot at Louella through clenched teeth. "This is my decision...this is my life." Darkrai clenched his human fist as Louella's hurt expression spoke more than any words could, causing him to sigh, give an apologetic frown, and then continue in a softer, understanding tone. "You're acting like I'm being selfish, Louella. I'm doing this for us! Do you think I could forgive myself if I wasn't there to protect you? You need to-"

This time, she interrupted him, resulting in him to stare at her, somewhat-impressed with her attitude. "Don't...don't act like this is only your decision," she whimpered while gently grabbing a lock of her hair and twisting it nervously; she had returned to her normal behavior. "You know that this involves more than...than just your powers."

Louella's suggestive words caused Darkrai's eyes to flash with a quick, barely-noticeable hint of shock. Was she so desperate as to mention such an unmentioned thing between the two? If this wasn't a life-threatening situation, Darkrai would find this quite amusing and lead her on for some fun, but this was not the time or place for his games.

Darkrai frowned. "I know." He avoided her eyes for a few seconds as he continued. "But I'm not willing to give up your safety for something as...stupid and meaningless as what you're speaking of."

The second the words 'stupid and meaningless' left Darkrai's lips, he felt a pang of guilt in his chest, but remained still and unflinching. He hadn't planned to be this direct to a point of treating their friendship as if it was meaningless, but if that's what it took for him to be able to protect her again, he would accept the consequences. It wasn't like he had a choice at this point, anyways. He had accidentally said such a thing and now was stuck with what would follow. It's not like she would take it personally! Clearly, her safety was the number one priority...right?

Instead of a rush of anger, Louella's arms fell limp to her sides as her face morphed into a mask of no emotion. Stupid? Meaningless? Was all of this...worthless for him? She didn't feel sad or even angry. She felt...empty. It was as if he had gotten rid of her very heart and replaced it with its shattered remains.

Louella remained silent for several moments as Darkrai stared at her emotionlessly without a sign of his regret. Sure, he seemed normal, but his heart was racing and he had to stop himself from reaching out and comforting her. Every nerve in his body longed for him to engulf her in his arms and embrace her until she forgave him, yet he remained with his feet glued to the floor, knowing he had to stay put; he had to get his way.

She remained silent and gazed at the floor. It was painful to the point where Darkrai had to bite his lip and clench his hands to remain still. This isn't what he wanted! He didn't want to upset her! He wanted to force common sense into her! He didn't want to make her think that he thought of their friendship as nothing. A sudden swarm of guilt rushed onto his expression as he was about to apologize while he reached his hand out, but she slightly moved away as she returned his emotionless gaze. Once again, he had given into his emotions.

"I understand, now," she quietly replied with a stone-cold face, not allowing him to speak. This only made his guilt-covered face become more intense. "Let's just... tell Jirachi."

Darkrai's eyes filled with desperation from her voice as he tried to reach for her again, resulting in the same reaction from her. Nothing was worth upsetting her like this. "Louella, please let me explai-"

With a loud poof of smoke, there Jirachi was, floating above her with a bubbily smile. "No need to tell me! Here I am. Do you think I was stupid enough to leave this hybrid with you, Louella? I was around." Jirachi floated upside down with a teasing smile that was almost larger than his usual one. It seemed as if his fear was gone...it was odd to a point where it would have made her laugh if not for the emotions rushing through her. At the same time, it made her feel uneasy. Why was he so...happy? "I'm guessing you two came to an agreement?" He didn't let the two answer before he floated right-side-up and continued. "I'm guessing it wasn't a mutual one, huh? It'll be okay, Ella! Keep your head held high, alright?"

Darkrai would have gotten angered due to Jirachi's term 'hybrid,' but his attention remained on Louella as he continually tried to get her to look at him, but she continued moving away from any sort of attempt of contact. She, however, kept her eyes on Jirachi as she forced a smile to match his. She acted as if Darkrai wasn't in the room so she could act 'tough.'

Louella sighed. "He wants to be a Darkrai again," she stated in a tone that was kind, yet clearly falsely so. Not in a mean way, but in a sort of fashion to cover up the pain she felt from his earlier words. "He's ready."

Darkrai continually tried to speak up into the conversation to at least get Louella to forgive him before he left, but any sign of his rash behavior was gone, resulting in him being unable to force himself into the conversation. He silently cursed himself for being such an idiot...at least he would be able to keep her safe.

"Hmm, okay. I promise it'll be over before you know it!" Jirachi continued in his oddly-happy tone. Darkrai now caught onto the odd manner of speaking, making his brow furrow. Was he alright? It was almost as if he was acting. Darkrai felt a rush of distrust and suspicion but quickly silenced it. He would have his doubts once he was back to normal and could think clearly.

Darkrai hesitatedly nodded. "Let's go," he bitterly agreed with another small glance over to Louella, hoping to see her give a goodbye, but she continued not even giving him a simple look. "I want to get this over with."

A goodbye seemed to be something that would not happen. Ironically, both of them desperately wanted to give their hugs goodbye, considering Darkrai would hardly feel any emotion after this last encounter, yet both waited for the other to initiate it. Darkrai assumed Louella was too upset, while Louella assumed she had already set her foot down and it was too late for her to say goodbye.

Jirachi remained oblivious to the two longingly avoiding each other's gazes, casually floating over to Darkrai and snapping his fingers with a small smile.

Jirachi's eyes widened for a fraction of a second, clearly signalling something, though his voice remained cheery and normal. It was almost as if his expression was telling a different story than his words. It was odd, but Louella was too upset to think anymore of it.

"Cya round, Ella. I'll send someone down here to escort you somewhere else." He tilted his head a bit before the light finally appeared, the powerful beam of light absorbing the two beings. However, Darkrai managed to gain Louella's expression last second, whose eyes were suddenly filled with a realization: he was actually going to leave.

Darkrai's eyes never left Louella's as Jirachi's power surrounded him in a thick light. It was blinding and warm, yet he had never felt so dead and cold in his existence.

"I'm sorry," Darkrai sadly whispered towards Louella's gaze as the bright energy engulfed him. Within an instant, Darkrai was whisked away with Jirachi, not allowing Louella to respond, filling her heart with dread and harsh irritation at herself.

However, even though he was now engulfed in the light and no longer in the room with Louella, Darkrai continued to speak. His last words were quiet and completely unlike him; they were sweet, genuine and almost spilling affection, though he was too late for Louella to hear them. "I'll come back for you. I promise."

The library was empty and absent of any life whatsoever, resulting in Louella staring into the area where Darkrai was last standing with Jirachi. She felt cold and empty, not even flinching when a single book clumsily made contact with her side. She felt as if someone had swiftly kicked her in the side repeatedly and her face seemed to be empty of any color; she had missed the chance to say what she wanted to say.

With her tears once again forming in her eyes, she whispered one final statement to seemingly no one:

"I'll miss you."

I haven't updated in ages! I'd love to see some reviews...that would really motivate me to continue more often! Thanks for reading! Stay tuned for the next chapter!

I felt as if Louella had come off as too...Mary sueish! So, here is another side of her: selfish and stubborn. Let me know what you think!