Shadow had relished the opportunity to have A/C's den to himself while Leaf and Frost trained. It meant the cave was perfectly silent and calm, and his mind and body were craving the illusion of a restful sleep. He was physically and mentally exhausted and his head pounded painfully in the aftermath of his less than pleasant interaction with Cecilia.

The only energy he had to spare right now was raw aggression and frustration boiling within him. He wanted to smack some of the books off the corner table, but at the same time, he didn't want to damage someone else's belongings, and A/C had been nothing but kind towards him and Leaf, so it wouldn't do to take his frustrations out on the Kadabra's possessions.

And yet, the thought of telekinetically hurling objects around had no appeal to him. He wanted to physically smack things around. The relief would be in the blow itself, not the object flying across a room. He wanted to feel the impact jolting through his paw. It was a nonsensical desire, and rather than reflect on it, the Espeon made for one side of the den, and curled up as comfortably as his agitated mind and body would allow. He half wished that he had Leaf to act as a pillow or something, but shoved that thought aside. He had the den to himself, and he should definitely make use of it.

Yet even as he closed his eyes, his thoughts returned immediately to the eerie yellow eyes that seemed to burn into his mind, etching a permanent reminder of the fear he could never escape from. As badly as he needed sleep, the nightmares were inevitable. All he could hope for was a tiny reprieve. Just a short rest.

It wasn't fair. Why did he have to suffer each night like this? What did Diablos want from him so much that his own memories haunted him? Would it ever come to an end?

Sleep would claim his consciousness before any answers would come to him.


Shadow would have liked to believe that the weariness of his mind had enabled his night to remain dreamless for a decent chunk of the time he spent asleep, because he drifted in and out of consciousness several times, at one point becoming aware that he had a sleeping Leafeon cuddled against his side, but never aware of any incredible terror gripping his heart.

Yet each time he drifted back to sleep, he expected to emerge into the familiar role of an Eevee forced to relive the encounter that altered his entire life. Each time he had revisited that memory in his sleep, he had recognized the path of events, but found himself powerless to resist them. When he was younger, and haunted less by such dreams, he occasionally had nights where he had become aware that he was dreaming, and been able to alter the dream to his whim, but even when he was able to recognize the events unfolding in his nightmares, they refused to alter for him.

Yellow eyes gleamed before his vision, gazing deep into his eyes as if peering past them, into his soul. Cold shivers flooded his body, yet he couldn't tear his gaze away. The Riolu stood before him again, the edges of his mouth curling into a smile. Revisiting the memory was inevitable tonight, it seemed.

Diablos. That was this being's name. Yet even knowing the identity of the aura Pokemon within his dream changed nothing. It only gave him another wave of cold terror spreading through him. Now the nameless demon haunting him had a name, but it was a name that spoke to his heart of how wicked a being it was.

"Good day to you, little one," Diablos murmured.

Shadow said nothing. His heart was pounding in his chest, entranced by the yellow eyes of the other Pokemon. Diablos paid this no notice, and even within the dream, Shadow knew how these events would unfold. They never changed in the key details, only the little ones that left his memory as quickly as they were produced. The details of his dreams weren't important, for through them, the original memory stayed eternally fresh.

"Mind if I ask your name?" Diablos inquired. The Riolu's tone was polite and nonchalant, yet it carried a hint of menace now that Shadow could recognize the way Diablos steered the conversation, or lack of conversation. The yellow gaze never lingered for long on Shadow's eyes, just long enough to hold Shadow's attention and unease, only to flit away and gaze at the paw that was shrouded in a faint blue glow, and then back again.

"Shadow," the Eevee answered, already starting to shift away from the Riolu warily, but stumbling uncertainly on his smaller legs. For the first time in the weeks since the nightmares had began, it occurred to Shadow, in the very back of his mind, that his dreams had always kept him as an Eevee, even after he had evolved in the real world. This had never struck him as odd before, since these nightmares had always been reliving a real memory, a memory that had occurred before he had evolved. Then again, Shadow had never been able to acknowledge the fact he was dreaming this early into the dream before.

For the first time, Shadow could see the way Diablos' eyes lit up at the mention of his name, and the aura Pokemon shifted slightly, giving Shadow his undivided attention, and bringing the glowing paw up to his chest level, rather than hanging it passively at his side like before. Shadow's heart began to pound more intensely. None of the events had altered from the original, aside from maybe a word or two being omitted from the exchange, but he was increasingly aware of details within the memory that hadn't stuck with him previously. Was this all because he knew it was a dream already? Or was it because he now recognized the threat that Diablos hadn't presented within the original confrontation? After the events of today, Shadow knew there was something amiss about Diablos' paw movements. Something he was attempting to do...but had never been able to complete.

"Interesting name," Diablos stated, a tiny smirk tugging at the corners of his mouth, his gaze intensely focused upon Shadow. "Expecting to be an Umbreon or something?"

Shadow felt his body twitch in annoyance. Why was Diablos so fixated on that question? Yes, he knew this was just a memory of the original encounter, but Diablos had followed the same brainwave when they met down in the depths of the Ruins.

"It's just how we got named," Shadow responded. Fear was again burrowing into his mind, overcoming the more natural nervousness the Eevee had felt in the original event, preventing him from remembering what he had said to the Riolu about his naming scheme. He remembered inching down the pathway towards home when he had been talking, in the hopes of getting close enough to home that the parents would come over to handle the creepy Pokemon, but now he was realizing where these events would lead, and his body was refusing to cooperate.

"Interesting," the Riolu mused, and Shadow saw his yellow eyes flick towards the glowing paw, which now had a more distinct aura surrounding it, practically pulsing in the aura Pokemon's paw. Diablos' ever-familiar smirk formed across his muzzle at the sight of the glowing. "Incredible potential...I have been advised correctly, it seems..."

For the second time since entering the dream, Shadow realized something he had never fully processed before. He clearly recalled that Diablos had said something completely nonsensical, and that the Eevee's reaction was to nervously announce that he was leaving, but for the first time, Shadow realized just how unnerving Diablos' statement had been.

"Incredible potential..."

Potential...what potential...?

And then other words echoed within Shadow's memory. Much more recently spoken, yet still as eerily ominous as before.

"Perhaps your inner darkness is better nurtured than I thought..."

That statement had made no sense to Shadow when originally spoken, but at the time, he had been so filled by anger and frustration that it hadn't registered in his conscious mind. But now...even in the midst of his nightmare, he associated the small smirk on Diablos' face now with the same smirk from the Ruins, sans the trickle of blood in the corner of his mouth.

And that wasn't even the most unnerving part of the Riolu's statement, and Shadow's blood ran cold as the words echoed through his mind once more.

"I have been advised correctly, it seems..."

It was starting to click now. Diablos' shift in demeanor at hearing his name, his undue fascination with Shadow from that point in the conversation onwards. He had sensed something in Shadow's aura that he had been looking for. Something he had been told would be there.

Someone had sent Diablos there. They, or at least Diablos, was after something from him. Something that had not yet been properly defined or explained, and Diablos had dismissed his questions down in the Ruins. Something about darkness...but what did that even mean?

Shadow turned away distractedly, conflicting thoughts bouncing through his mind. It took him a moment to realize where he was, and what was about to happen.

"Just a moment, if you will," Diablos said quickly. "I need to confirm something. Look at me, please."

Shadow froze in place. Every night, no matter how desperately he resisted the order, the dream refused to alter this detail. He always turned back around to meet the Riolu's eyes. His mind could scream warnings all it wanted, and he could resist the movement with desperate floundering, but the result was always the same. His body pivoted, turning his eyes to meet the yellow eyes of the opposing Pokemon.

Diablos' small smile extended into a wide smirk, and the yellow eyes gleamed ominously, burning into the Eevee's brain, yet Shadow couldn't turn away. He never had been able to. The inevitability of the eye contact was easily the most terrifying aspect of the dream, and the most terrifying aspect of the memory. Those yellow eyes burning themselves into his mind...

Many nights, this moment marked the end of the dream. Other nights forced him to endure helplessly and watch his parents engage the Riolu, only to order him to flee with Leaf.

Something cold touched the Eevee's chest, directly over his heart. Pain flooded his body, so abruptly and so intensely that it tore a yelp from his throat. It was the sensation of something cold and sharp driving itself into his chest, piercing him slowly and filling him with agony, as the yellow eyes stared at him.

There was a strange crackling sound and then the hum of energy coursing through the air, and all at once, the nightmare ended. The yellow eyes vanished from Shadow's vision as if someone had flipped a switch in his brain, dispelling the nightmare from around him.

The scenery had changed. No longer was Shadow on the familiar path leading back to home, but instead in a wide, open meadow. The sky above was midnight blue, a full moon peeking out from behind a large, fluffy cloud that appeared just as dark as the sky itself. The moonlight shown upon the grass, dew glistening underfoot.

Shadow's head was pounding, and he clutched his head with both paws, inadvertantly brushing against the familiar gemstone imbedded in his forehead, the touch sending a wave of discomfort through his skull.

Very slowly, the pain receded from his skull, and he opened his eyes again to peer around the dark meadow. His eyesight was as impeccable as always, but even then, he nearly overlooked the male Espeon sitting calmly several yards in front of him.

Shadow blinked several times. The other Espeon had lavender fur, which by now seemed like an unusual color compared to the black he was used to. Although it was difficult to pinpoint the Espeon's age, it seemed to be younger than he was, but vaguely familiar-looking, but that was impossible - Shadow didn't know any other Espeon.

"You're welcome, by the way," the Espeon stated idly and Shadow furrowed his brow. He couldn't shake off the feeling of familiarity, but nothing about the other Espeon really clicked perfectly. He knew he didn't know any other Espeon, and this one didn't have the black fur that he did, so he couldn't even suspect it to be a reflection of himself or something bizarre like that. The eyes and gemstone weren't silver, either.

Shadow blinked and peered closer. The gemstone was an interesting color, though. It was a blue-grey shade, which did look nice in its own right. He almost expected the eyes to match the gemstone color, like his own did, but found instead that they were a very distinct shade of golden brown.

Shadow's brow furrowed. The eyes reminded him of Leaf, but it was a different shade. It was also very different from Diablos' yellow, so that was a relief. More than ever, he couldn't shake the feeling that he had seen the eyes before.

"You have no idea who I am, do you?" the lavender Espeon asked nonchalantly. There was no trace of displeasure or disappointment in the Espeon's words, but there was something about his demeanor that puzzled Shadow. It was a sense of confidence and control far beyond anything Shadow had ever seen anyone else possess. Even Frost's confidence bordered marginally on arrogance and smugness, whereas the Espeon wasn't quite that far across the line.

"I'm...not sure," Shadow answered slowly.

"It'll come to you sooner or later," the Espeon said casually. "So...that's quite the nightmare you've been having, huh?"

"What?"

The lavender Espeon smirked, and Shadow blinked, noticing that when the other psychic feline made that expression, one of his fangs was visible from that side of his mouth.

"Your little nightmare back there. That's your recurring dream, right? The one haunting you each night, making you lash out in your sleep, blah blah blah?"

"Yeah...wait, am I still asleep? Where am I?" Shadow asked, looking around the night meadow in confusion. The other Espeon's smirk widened.

"Someone hasn't been exploring their dreamscape, Shadow," he said, earning an annoyed look from the ebony Espeon. "Yeah, you're still asleep. I intercepted your nightmare, so your unconscious mind returned here."

"Where's here?" Shadow asked tersely.

"It's your mind's counterpart to where we met," the other Espeon replied with a grin. Shadow just gave him a blank look. "Seriously? Nothing? Sheesh, I even saved your tail once after we met and you still don't remember?"

"I'm really not good at guessing games," Shadow sighed wearily.

"It is because I'm not a Leafeon? I could totally make you remember me if I was a Leafeon," the Espeon lamented. "Do you at least remember my eyes?"

"Your eyes?" Shadow repeated, making eye contact and peering closer. "And why a Leaf-"

The other Espeon smirked, again exposing a single fang on that side of his mouth. Shadow trailed off mid-sentence, realization slowly dawning on his face as he focused upon the golden brown eyes of the other Pokemon, and the pieces from the earlier comments all fell into place, one by one.

"Oh...you're uh..."

"Devine," the Espeon supplied. The name definitely clicked within Shadow's memory, and he nodded slowly.

"I see..." Shadow paused awkwardly. "Uh...what exactly are you? How did you get here?"

Devine raised an eyebrow. "Wait, so I have to give you the talk now?"

Shadow blinked in confusion and alarm, his eyes flicking around in bewilderment, as if looking for some form of escape. "What? No, I...what?"

Devine snickered and his forked tail flicked in amusement. "Not that talk. That talk is your job come a few months or so. This talk is about the nature of consciousnesses and the role they play in a person's mind. Good stuff for a psychic to know."

"Is it going to give me a headache?" Shadow asked wearily.

"On second thought, I don't care if you understand or not," Devine said casually. "I'm Leaf's overconscious. I'm here because Nettles begged me to intercept your nightmares. Briar objected, but you broke into Leaf's mind once, so turnabout is fair play. You could TRY to kick me out, but Lumina likes me."

"What?"

"Oh, you haven't met Lumina?" Devine asked, then smirked. "That's right, you've never been in your own mindscape...somehow. She's my counterpart in your mind...probably. I know Dusk is Briar's, at least. Never met your sub, but I'm not a fan of kits."

"...do you ever make sense?" Shadow asked, massaging his forehead wearily.

Devine snickered. "Definitely never met Lumina. She'll make your brain hurt."

"Compared to what?" Shadow muttered. If not for the fact he had already been informed that he was definitely asleep, he would have thought he was having another really bizarre dream. He glanced around his surroundings again, if only for something to do while he tried to process everything. Movement up ahead caught his eye and he blinked, focusing on the Pokemon coming towards them. Seeing that his attention had focused elsewhere, Devine followed his gaze and grinned.

"Speak of an angel," he murmured, his tail flicking. Shadow cast the other Espeon an odd look before refocusing. The approaching Pokemon was another quadruped with sleek black fur, but it had pointed ears and an unforked tail that was adorned with a ring. Similar rings decorated each of the quadruped's legs, its ears, and another on its forehead. Shadow had never seen an Umbreon in person before, but it was simple to identify one.

The Umbreon stopped a short distance from the two Espeon, and from this distance, Shadow noticed that not only was the Umbreon distinctly female, but also that her eyes were silvery, much like his own. The rings also glowed with a dim silvery light, matching that of the moon overhead.

"Hey Lumina, you're looking extra gorgeous tonight," Devine said slyly, smirking so that one of his fangs was visible. It was almost unnerving how frequently he used that expression. "How's your evolution treating you?"

"I'm adjusting still," the Umbreon answered, but she frowned slightly. "Devine, if you make this conversation segue into flirting, I'm kicking you out."

"Wouldn't dream of it," Devine replied smoothly. "Mostly because it'd baffle the heck out of Leaf."

"You have no filter whatsoever, do you?" Lumina mused, shaking her head and turning her silver eyes to Shadow. "Hey, Shadow!" she said, smiling brightly. The ebony Espeon blinked twice.

"Uh, hi? You're...?"

"I am the guiding light amidst the chaos of despair, the illuminating glow that pierces the darkness of fear, the curtain that veils the blinding rays of..." the Umbreon paused awkwardly, maintaining a vaguely dramatic pose for another second or two, then she almost visibly deflated. "I'm not sure where I'm going with that one."

Shadow eyed the Umbreon with a hint of concern. "Right...and your name's Lumina, correct?"

"Yes," she confirmed with a small smile, her silver eyes twinkling in the moonlight. "As you may know, I'm one of your consciousnesses, specifically your overconscious, meaning that my role is to manage your emotional desires."

"Is that...normal?" Shadow asked, glancing between Devine and Lumina. "To have individuals representing uh...parts of your mind?"

"Yes, completely normal," Lumina confirmed. "But it's rare for the standard person to ever interact with their own or another's. Psychics are the most frequent to achieve it, since they have such a strong bond with the mind."

Shadow nodded thoughtfully. Already, he was finding the Umbreon significantly easier to get answers from than Devine. Appearances aside, it really did seem like she was a part of him, because she seemed to understood what he was thinking, and answered his concerns as straightforwardly as possible.

"What's the purpose of them?" he asked. He internally winced, realizing just how broad a question that was, but Lumina didn't seem too concerned.

"Individually, they are extreme aspects of your personality. They're the pilots of your mindset, so to speak. Usually one of the three is dominant, and the others offer guidance or differing opinions. It's quite a complicated system, and it'd be far easier if you were talking to all of us at once, because then you'd get a better grasp of the dynamics at work."

"You've seen all three of Leaf's, though," Devine noted. "Nettles is the dominant consciousness, and her role is to manage Leaf's emotions and behavior based on her own needs, and the input Briar and I give her. She's very fond of you, and as a result, Leaf is also very attached."

"So then you're not her counterpart," Shadow noted, nodding towards Lumina. "If she manages my emotions, but Nettles manages Leaf's."

"The roles of consciousnesses are not concrete. They can shift or rearrange themselves, sometimes as a coping method in response to traumatic events forcing a change for self-preservation," Lumina remarked. "Dusk and I split the desires. He manages your logic and morality. I handle emotions."

Shadow nodded, then his gaze flicked back to Devine. "Briar is Leaf's morality and logic?" he wondered. The Espeon had labeled the name as being Dusk's counterpart, but the glimpse he had gotten into Leaf's mind when he invaded by mistake had given him very little insight into the second male Eevee.

"Mm, something like that," Devine said with a hint of indifference. "He's not very useful, a bit too passive to fully override Nettles' emotional impulses, so he only comes into play when Nettles and I disagree."

"So if you're neither emotion nor logic, what role do you have?" Shadow asked the Espeon, genuinely perplexed.

"Desire itself," Devine answered with a grin. Shadow looked at him blankly. "I am unburdened by emotion, and unrestricted by morality. Therefore...I am the embodiment of Leaf's desires at their most basic and most primal forms."

Shadow frowned, regarding the lavender Espeon warily. "I don't think I like the sound of that."

"Then you're reading too far into it," Devine replied nonchalantly. "If you're entertaining visions of Leaf acting like an immoral psychopath to achieve his every petty desire, then you overvalue the influence of emotion and morality on GOOD decision making."

Shadow bit his lip uncertainly. He wanted to discuss that particular point a little further, but it was clear that Devine had no interest in further clarifying things, and the ebony Espeon was starting to feel like he was ignoring Lumina, despite her observing the interaction with a mixture of interest and amusement.

"Okay...so you manage my emotional desires, you said?" he asked. Lumina gave a nod of confirmation. "Can you give me an example of what an emotional desire might be? You seem really...composed right now. Not what I'd expect from someone who'd be emotional."

"Well, I'm somewhat of a contradiction in SO many ways," Lumina giggled, and her silvery rings glowed softly before she continued, "I may manage your emotional desires, but that doesn't necessarily mean I become emotional on a dime. More accurately, I embrace the emotions and provide the means to vent them. Otherwise, your emotions are repressed and become unstable, which ruins your focus, which interferes with your relationships and your power as a whole. Likewise, if you act entirely on emotion with no regard for logic and focus, your mentality will become unstable and interfere with your judgment."

Shadow considered that for several seconds. It was not a perfect answer, but it was...satisfactory. Clearly something he would need to really reflect on to fully grasp. Yet another thought occurred to him.

"How else are you a 'contradiction'?" he wondered.

"Here it comes," Devine said eagerly, but Shadow ignored him. Lumina flashed the lavender Espeon a tiny smile before refocusing on Shadow.

"I'm a female dark-type consciousness with a light-based name within a male psychic-type Pokemon with a dark-based name," she said.

"Ow. Ow. Ow..." Shadow muttered, the pain in his head flaring up.

"Sissy," Lumina teased, shaking her head. "In any case, your mind is becoming too alert to remain here much longer...and it's almost dawn," she added, glancing at Devine.

"Good, so Leaf'll be getting up shortly," the golden-eyed Espeon mused. "Ta-ta, Shadow," he said, and the blue-grey gemstone glowed brightly. When the light faded, Devine had disappeared.

Lumina glanced at the moon overhead for a few moments, then smiled at Shadow. "I do hope your nightmares really are at an end. It's been very taxing to keep your mind and emotions stable when you're sleep deprived. Maybe you can convince Cecilia to help out again, hm?" she added, giving the Espeon a playful wink that made his cheeks feel like they were on fire.

"It depends on what she has to tell me," Shadow said, delighted that he at least managed the sentence without stuttering like an idiot. Lumina's smile faltered slightly and she nodded seriously. "How do I leave here?" the Espeon asked, glancing around.

"Oh, let me help out," the Umbreon said and she closed her eyes in focus. The ring on her forehead lit up with a bright silvery light that forced him to avert his gaze.

When he looked up again, he was no longer in that odd dark meadow, but rather gazing around A/C's den, his eyes partially closed from sleepiness. He could see early rays of sunlight shining from the den entrance, but still too early for the rays to rouse any of the Pokemon within the den.

Nevertheless, the Espeon rose to his feet, careful not to disturb the sleeping Leafeon nestled beside him, and padded over to the den entrance. As he gazed outside, looking over the green grass and the orange sky, a tiny smile formed across his muzzle. The sunrise was the mark of a new day, and if there was any good to be found in the dawn of a new day, it was the awareness that the previous day, awful as it was, had finally come to an end, and it was his chance to use those events to drive him on towards the future.

But first he had to meet Cecilia for that explanation. All he could say was she had better not try to give him the slip again.

End of Arc 2

The lesson to draw from this arc is to avoid splitting a plot arc into two radically different segments with one half getting the uber epic fight AND the incredibly plot-significant climax, with the second half getting nothing on that level, making the whole thing mildly anti-climactic and difficult to find the ideal ending point without being too abrupt or dragging it out forever.