When Dagda stepped out of the village, he exhaled. It was finally time for him to get moving, and he found himself feeling rather excited as he took his first steps. His Pokemon had all been well rested, and he chose to keep them in their Pokeballs. He needed time to think, time to practice motions for his next act. His Pokemon all understood, glad to take the time to relax.
He thought about the odd, bright blue Pokeball he now had, one with yellow protrusions that looked like fins or even spikes. It was called a 'Beast Ball', and it was the Pokeball that held Gorias. He was a little sad leaving Petey behind, but he knew that his ancient friend would be in good hands with Allister and those in control of the village.
He had a heartfelt good bye with all of the children, and he found it a little hard to even separate himself from them. They were all young, and they didn't have a normal family, their biological families either dead or willingly giving them up for their safety. He hoped that all of the children found happy homes, even if they all ended up living with Renji and his mother.
That was another thing that Dagda thought of. He forgot to ask, but he wanted to know exactly how an Obstagoon Halfling came to care for an Ekans Halfling. It was a rather unusual sight, but Dagda found it amusing regardless. He tilted his head, briefly thinking about Zabi.
How old was she? And how long had she been in hiding? She was infact the only fully grown Halfling in the village that was from Galar. Everyone else was from the same place in Unova almost. What was her story? He found himself rather interested as he walked.
"Looks like you're finally thinking straight again." Dagda heard, blinking when he noticed Evil almost floating along next to him. He wondered exactly what the two aspects of his personality were. He assumed that he was hallucinating, and that Fairy was right about what he had said.
"I'm surprised you're still here." he said, the black Dagda raising a brow. "You fucking stupid? I'm here because you want me to be. I don't know what that loser Fairy said to you, but as far as I can tell, we're mental manifestations of your instincts. Even though you don't really need us anymore, you're mind keeps us around because it wants someone to confide in. If that shit makes any sense." he said, and Dagda hummed, thinking about it.
He nodded. "Makes sense to me. I wanted to know what you thought about the village." he said, and Evil shrugged. "I can't tell you anything you don't already know. I think most of them bastards are annoying… but I like them all. Except that fucking dragon. The one in the fancy getup." he said, and Dagda laughed.
Heinreich Asahara was quite the Halfling, and he remained on Dagda's mind, if only because of his grandiose statements. Dagda had wondered exactly what would cause someone to become such an odd, almost abnormal kind of creature. It was as if Pride and Lust themselves molded into one being, birthing an unholy creature obsessed with not only it's self image, but also it's desire to enjoy whatever it looked at in some fashion.
"I think he's alright. Infact, he's just weird enough that I can use our conversation to help me with my next act." he said, and Evil rolled his eyes. "You can't just beat the shit out of people, huh? You gotta make a show out of it." he said, and Dagda smiled. It was a different kind of smile than Evil was used to seeing when he appeared.
It was arrogant. It was prideful, as if he was practicing his act with this very conversation. "I have to give my lovely fans something to talk about and gush over. After all, I'm sure the next Gym Leader won't be much of a challenge for me and Gorias." he said, and Evil almost shuddered. This was a level of confidence that he thought was impossible for Dagda.
He thought desperately, trying to wipe the look off his face with some kind of statement or question. "What about if the ringleader of this sickening circus confronted you publicly, on camera even? What would you do?" he asked, and Dagda winked, humming to himself.
What exactly would he do? Could he, regardless of reason or context, strike someone down publicly, or on film? He shook his head. Of course not, right? "I'll cross that bridge when the time comes. If you listen to Heinreich, they'll be chanting my name regardless." he said, that same arrogant look back on his face.
"You've really changed, dumbass. I haven't seen you be this arrogant ever." he noted, and Dagda tilted his head as he walked. He looked to the sun, high in the sky as he hummed. Was he truly being arrogant? For him at least, what was the border between confident and arrogant?
He looked to his hands, and then realized that he didn't have a reason to be insecure anymore. All of his problems were solved, and he'd evolved by finishing the puzzle of his sadness. He had friends, fans, he was a skilled trainer, he could act like his idols, and he finally knew who his father was and why he looked so unusual.
Although, the thing that was the most important to him was that he found a purpose. He had a desire, no mater how quickly it happened or how sudden his decisions might have been, he finally had a sense of Self. He wasn't the timid, confused child that played third wheel to Hop and Leon in Wedgehurst anymore. He was a figure, and he found that he earned his arrogance.
The people he cared about, and that cared about him, talked about how important he was, how he can change everything in Galar. He was a messianic figure. He thought all the way back to the sketch he found in the back of a book, of the six winged infant. He felt…. Like that.
"I have a reason to be arrogant now. I have everything I've ever wanted, Evil. Strength, Skill, Friends, Knowledge, an Objective. The only thing I'm missing… is a sense of accomplishment from achieving my goals."
When he reached Stow on Side, he noticed that the town was a little shaken up. He walked throughout the town, looking about and finding it rather odd that there was no one in sight. Even the Maractus he knew was nowhere to be seen, the stall looking almost abandoned.
With Evil faded away, Dagda found himself straining his ears, trying to hear something. He heard a large bit of commotion, and turned his head to the right. It was coming from up the stairs. Something was happening around the mural.
He walked towards it, straining his eye as he looked, shoving past people without a thought. He noticed a large, angular Pokemon, green and orange in appearance, and appearing to be an elephant. He noticed it was faced at the mural, and Dagda could sense multiple people surrounding it. He continued shoving people out of his way as he tried to reach the top.
When he did, he found himself rather surprised. He saw, of all people in the world, the Pokemon League Chairman, a man known only as 'Rose', and his assistant, a six foot tall woman named Oleana. They had multiple members of the League staff surrounding them, like a mafia boss and his enforcers.
Dagda felt a nagging desire to strike the man down right now. He had a horrible vibe to him, and perhaps it was just his natural ability as one who was once an Impidimp or Morgrem, but he found himself able to discern an incredible amount of sheer evil from Rose. It was as if he was a monster in human skin.
"Come on now My Boy, don't do anything rash." he said, and Dagda felt a chill run down his spine at his smile and the way he spoke. The way he said 'my boy' wasn't affectionate. It was possessive, and malevolent, like a plantation owner and a slave. Like a tyrant king and his subjects.
Dagda looked across the small plateau, and his eye widened. He noticed that the one controlling the elephant like Pokemon, with an odd, uneasy aura about him, was Bede. He hadn't seen his fluffy haired friend in a while, but he could tell that something… something was wrong.
"I'm doing this for you! I heard that there were Wishing Stars behind this mural! Copperajah!" he called, the Pokemon swinging it's huge, shovel like trunk and slamming it into the wall, Dagda watching in awe as it crumbled into pieces, destroyed with little difficulty.
The sight behind the wall was even more mesmerizing. There was a wall with two statues of men, and in front of them were a pair of canine Pokemon, one with a shield in front of it, and a slightly taller, more feminine wolf holding a blade in it's mouth. Dagda would have stared at the statues if he didn't feel another rush of evil.
With his senses awoken to even the most minute shift in emotion, he could tell that despite his refined appearance, there was an unimaginable amount of negative energy flowing off of Rose, something that the humans standing behind him couldn't feel, nor see.
He could tell through his training and experience that Rose was acting. He was repressing his true feeling and desires to put on a show for the humans that appeared, his negative, possibly lethal desire masqueraded as a disappointed boss.
"I should have known that there wasn't anything worthwhile behind this wall." he said with a sigh, Dagda able to hear whispers about the historical sight being destroyed. "My apologies, Chairman. I should have inquired further about Bede's request to borrow Copperajah." Oleana said, and Rose smiled.
"It's not your fault. You couldn't have known." he said, the whispers around Dagda shifting to speak of Rose's kindness. Dagda grit his teeth. Couldn't they feel this putrid evil? Couldn't they tell this was an act? He watched Rose cast a lazy, dark gaze to his few men.
"Take Copperajah, and his Gym Badges." he said, and Bede took a step back, feeling a sense of fear as the men approached him. Dagda wanted to move, but he heard Fairy's voice in his head, telling him to wait. His chance to make a grand entrance had yet to come. He had to look like an angel, not a demon.
Despite Bede's futile struggle, the men restrained him, holding him back physically as they fished through the pockets of his jacket for his Gym Badges and the elephant's Pokeball, despite Bede's visible discomfort.
Even Dagda's alternate personalities, both Evil and Fairy, flared up in his mind. It was like his mind was in complete harmony and balance. However, the thing they were unified about wasn't that this was an injustice, or an abuse of power. It was about the fact that they were touching Bede. For some reason, that was the thing that set Dagda off.
When they released the visibly distraught boy, who had tears starting to well in his eyes, Rose folded his arms, Dagda's mind numb to the whispers from behind him that slandered Bede and spoke of Rose highly. "Bede, for the crime of destroying a Galarian historical sight, and for abusing the power you were given as one sponsored by me, trying to ruin the Pokemon League's good name and reputation, you leave me with no choice." he said, and Dagda watched the first tear fall from Bede's soft cheek.
"You are hereby stripped of your sponsorship and current Gym Badges and disqualified from the Gym Challenge. No company in Galar is permitted to sponsor you. Even if you manage to find a foreign sponsor, all Gym Challenger benefits are revoked, and you will not be permitted access to anything the average challenger is." he said, and Dagda watched Bede's knees buckle.
He saw the look of defeat and desperation on his face. But more than that, he saw an odd look, that was almost like fear. As if without his public status, he'd be in danger. It was a paranoid look in his normally bright eyes, and Dagda realized that now was his time to act.
Dagda, in this particular instance an Angel rebelling against it's creator, took a step forward, his hatred and negativity cast away for a smug grin. "About that, Chairman." he said, the people gathered stopping to watch Dagda walk forward with an arrogant, almost villainous swagger.
He cast a gaze to Rose, and he locked eyes with the Chairman for the first time. He could see the dim, depraved look on his face, and Dagda made sure to cast him a telling glance. A glance that said that his days were numbered, and that sooner or later, Rose would fall to this arrogant Halfling, this rebellious angel, this demon of the stage. No, Dagda made sure that his gaze was more arrogant than that. He let Rose know with a single look that he would one day fall to Dagda, the Dark Messiah.
"You see, Bede here is… My friend." he said, making sure to put emphasis on the possessive word, something he noticed garnered a frown from Rose. There it was. He found Rose's weak spot, and he'd exploit it.
He place his right hand on Bede's left shoulder, slowly walking around him while staring at Rose, wrapping his arms around him and resting his chin on Bede's fluffy head. "And since he's such a good friend of mine, I'm sure that my sponsor, the Laverre Theater Company, would be happy to pay for all of his fees, his room and board, and so on. Infact, I think you'll find that Bede will be better off without you." he said, wrapping his arms around Bede tighter.
Dagda's smile only continued to spread as Rose grew more and more agitated. "Young man, I trust that you're simply putting on a show for your own sake, because it's not a good idea to threaten the Pokemon League, or to say that it's not the most esteemed organization to be sponsored by." he said, and Dagda hummed. This was exhilarating to him, the chance to act while not truly acting. He didn't say anything he didn't believe, or that he felt was too out of character for his natural personality.
"And I trust that you're doing the same, Chairman. Do you truly, TRULY understand who I am? I'm Dagda De Danann, the next Galarian Champion, and I'm sure that Galar would love to hear the story about how not only my father died, but how Lycanroc became an illegal Pokemon." he said, and he saw it.
Fear. Rose was afraid of Dagda continuing to speak. He tried to compose himself, and Dagda narrowed his eye. What could he do to goad Rose on just a little more? To show Rose that he didn't have any power in this situation at all.
He smiled, moving his arms and wrapping them around Bede's waist. "And do me a favor, Mr. Chairman. Please tell your men to keep their hands to themselves. I'd hate for them to get hurt because they touched something of mine." he said, nuzzling his head in Bede's neck, Rose able to see Dagda's blinded, scarred eye and an evil, arrogant, inhuman grin on his face.
He watched Rose turn and walk away without a single word, the people following the Chairman to see how he'd respond to such an odd, eccentric interruption filled with such odd statements and threats. Dagda smiled. He had won this battle, and he would win all of them. Dagda would win this war, for he was the Dark Messiah.
Heinreich smiled as he began to dance alone in the black forest. With the light of the mushrooms guiding his movements, he danced freely, his mind clouded with euphoric appreciation for what he had just seen in his visions.
The Future King of Galar, The Dark Messiah, Dagda. He had just seen him take his first steps on the stage against the Devils, and with flamboyant, almost sensual arrogance, he claimed victory against them with only his charisma. It was glorious, and he could tell that his visions would reveal the thing he'd sought all his life. Something so beautiful that it placates him and reigns in his desires.
He could see it now. The Devils of Galar would be outwitted on the battlefield by The Demon, who was supported by his Four Generals. They were Four Kings, Four Horsemen. Yes… horsemen. The Bearded Horseman of War, The Flamboyant Horsemen of Pestilence, The Humble Horsemen of Famine, and the Horned Horsemen of Death. Together, they would allow Dagda to achieve his dreams, and then finally, Heinreich could see the one thing he'd been waiting for, waiting for long, long centuries.