"Go, Murkrow!" Alex declared, tossing the Poké Ball into the air.
The little blue-black bird formed midair and fluttered in a hover, considering her opponent; a very diffident Darkrai.
"Boss! I'm gonna fight you now, Boss!"
Darkrai glanced from its claws to Alex's wounded wrist, uncovered for all to see, then up at her eyes before taking a deep breath. "Alex…"
The trainer gave the Pokémon a hard look. "Do you trust me?"
The dark type blinked. "With my soul."
Alex forced her hands not to shake. "Then trust me to win."
Darkrai's eyes widened at its trainer's new found confidence. "I won't be able to hold back."
"Then don't. Because I won't."
The nightmare king looked down at its claws again before fisting them, raising its eyes once more to lock on to Alex's. Fire met fire, and the legendary nodded.
"Feather Dance!"
Before Darkrai could react, Murkrow swooped down with a cackle and let loose a swarm of glowing feathers from her wings, coating the larger dark type in fluffy down.
Darkrai growled, letting its instincts take over as it simply swatted the annoying bird out of the sky, trying not to feel the twinge of regret at the sound her little body made as she impacted the ground and lay still.
Alex stared in shock at the abrupt dismissal.
"Alex," Darkrai ground out, wavering in the air as it fought the urge to use the trainer's unresponsiveness as an opening to attack her, "send out your next Pokémon."
Alex gasped, shaking herself. "Murkrow, return." She thought about her next fighter as the little bird vanished from the field. Kricketune had the type advantage, and might even be able to get off a few attacks before going down, but Purugly was far sturdier, and had another attack-lowering move, along with Hypnosis, of course—though Alex really didn't expect Darkrai to fall for that one. Ponyta would be good for precision work, ironically, if she could keep him under control long enough—possibly being the only member of her team who might have a chance at outpacing Darkrai. She refused to send Poochyena in as anything other than a last resort—not after seeing how efficiently Murkrow was cut down.
Mind made up, Alex swapped out the balls. "Purugly! Use Charm!"
The fat cat formed with an accusing glare already plastered on her face as Darkrai popped out of the shadows in front of her. "I can't believe you hurt Murkrow!"
The legendary faltered mid-strike, damaging Feint Attack turning into a harsh slap as the Pokémon literally guilt-tripped.
That wasn't quite what Alex had had in mind when she pictured the Tiger Cat 'charming' Darkrai, but it seemed to have worked nonetheless. "Again, Purugly! Don't let it recover!"
The fat cat complied with a vengeance. "Do you have any idea how much the munchkin idolizes you?!"
Darkrai clutched its head and growled again. "Shut up."
Completely unbidden, Purugly continued, "You hurt everyone you touch—"
"Enough!" the legendary bellowed, lashing out with its talons in mindless agony, catching the Tiger Cat across the face and sending her tumbling to the side.
Three angry red lines welled up upon her snout as she snorted. "You're just a monster. You were born a monster, you were made a monster, and you will never be anything but a monster!"
Alex gaped at the verbal assault and the effect it had on Darkrai. "Purugly!"
"You're right," Darkrai said quietly, suddenly still, "I am a monster." The legendary stared down at its talons, tiny rivulets of blood carving channels through its fur, "I was born a monster, I was made a monster, and I will always be a monster. I know now," the dark type paused, closing its eyes, "that it's not my actions that made me a monster, but my very nature."
"Darkrai…" Alex whispered, horrified at the twisted introspection.
"I am a monster…" the legendary began, opening its eyes and fixing its gaze on Purugly, "But," Darkrai shifted its focus to Alex, "I am your monster." It nodded, straightening its form while the invisible wind that had been tossing the nightmare king's fur from side to side evened out, letting the fluff flow and flicker like black and white flames. "I am your friend, and I am your family." Its gaze hardened. "And I will not damn you with my weakness!"
Roaring that last line, Darkrai charged at Purugly, catching the fat cat off guard with another Feint Attack and opening a new wound along her flank as she tried to dodge.
"Purugly!" Alex called again, this time in concern for her Pokémon's body rather than her mind.
The fat cat struggled to her feet, breathing heavily but with an uncharacteristic snarky grin in place of her usual haughty frown. "You hit hard, kid." Then, with a wince, she collapsed.
The trainer's hands went almost on autopilot as she returned Purugly and sent out Kricketune, a vague memory once again tickling at the back of her mind. And again she shoved it aside in favor of concentrating on the moment as Darkrai shook off its own shock at the familiar voice and readied itself for the next round.
"Kricketune!" Alex commanded the bug type, "Double Team!"
Obeying instantly, the stoic Cricket Pokémon dashed across the rocky field, obscuring her position by multiplying her form and moving faster than the eye could see.
Darkrai stayed hovering in place, solitary visible eye slowly panning the entire area while searching for a pattern in its opponent's movements.
Alex's gaze narrowed as she considered the legendary's tactic. "Kricketune, keep using Double Team, but switch up your movements! Don't fall into a pattern!"
Darkrai's penetrating stare snapped to her as the bug type complied, illusionary doppelgangers seeming to disappear and reappear randomly across the field.
Then that eye closed.
The legendary rose from the ground, hair, tatters, and tail whipping in an invisible gale as the nightmare king prepared an Ominous Wind.
Alex may not have ever seen Darkrai actually use the move before, but the Pokémon had always done something similar when threatened or provoked, so the trainer (correctly) assumed that something Bad was about to happen.
"Brace yourself, Kricketune!" she called to her Pokémon, who ceased jumping around the field and raised her forearms in a protective X in front of her.
Darkrai sprang from the shadows and charged at the bug type's unprotected back as the fake dark type in the sky faded and the Feint Attack was revealed.
"Twirl and use Hone Claws!" Alex's mouth seemed to move faster than her mind as she almost reflexively barked out a command.
Using her wings to pivot on one foot, Kricketune whirled just as Darkrai reached her, leaned back, and held out a forearm, scraping it across the dark type's red collar as it tried to adjust its course mid-strike.
The legendary yelped at the combined Screeching sound and Tickling sensation produced by the vibration of its collar getting used as a violin by the musical beetle, aborting the attack in surprise to distance itself from the bug type.
Despite the situation, Alex had to choke back a giggle at the look of incredulity the dark type sent her after it had fled the engagement to rub at its offending body part.
"I told you; I'm not holding back," the trainer said, face set in a determined glare.
Hidden beneath its aching collar, Darkrai smiled. If that was how she wanted to play this…
The dark type charged at the bug again, claws raised to strike as it bluffed.
Kricketune glanced over her shoulder at her trainer, but Alex simply stood firm without speaking.
At the last second, Darkrai darted to the side, anticipating a dodge—
"Now!"
—and was blindsided by a Fury Cutter when the smaller Pokémon did not dodge.
Quick as a flash, the legendary retaliated, striking out with a talon and catching Kricketune along her exposed flank, toppling her over and leaving her defenseless on the ground.
Alex, fearing for her little bug's life, recalled the Pokémon, watching as she disappeared into red light just before Darkrai could follow through with a finishing move.
The legendary huffed a bit as it looked up at her, and the trainer took encouragement from the way it was holding its side with one talon, wincing a bit as it backed off.
Alex didn't waste her momentum.
"Go, Ponyta!"
The fire colt appeared midair with a wild neigh and a fierce kick to the sky, landing with a satisfying thump! in front of the large dark type.
"Ponyta, Agility!" the trainer called, trying to get the upper hand by nullifying Darkrai's speed advantage.
Ponyta gave a snort of acknowledgement and stood stock-still, tensing his muscles while the legendary eyed him wearily.
Then, without warning, Darkrai sank into the shadows and darted forward, surging up in front of the fire type and trying to catch it in a Hypnosis.
Alex, however, had caught on to the dark type's tactic and had a command ready.
"Double Kick!"
Ponyta tore his eyes away from the nightmare king and spun on his front legs, clipping the surprised legendary's chest with his diamond-hard rear hooves.
Darkrai backed off a distance as Ponyta settled back on all fours, rubbing its chest as the fire colt tossed his mane proudly.
"Well done," the dark type complemented, mind working overtime as it contemplated its next move.
Alex smirked distractedly in reply, too caught up in tactics to give a proper response.
"Just wait 'till I evolve!" Ponyta whickered, head held high.
Darkrai wasted no time taking advantage of the fire colt's distraction, barreling straight at the fire type while preparing a Feint Attack from the side.
Fortunately for the younger Pokémon, Alex was paying attention.
"Bounce!"
The legendary was caught completely off guard as its target immediately sprang several meters skyward and came down hard on its exposed back.
Grunting with both surprise and pain, Darkrai quickly retreated into the shadows to gain some distance and reassess the situation.
Alex was doing quite well, the legendary thought, though it was obvious from her trembling fists, clenched though they were, that the trainer was reaching the end of her endurance. Unfortunately for her, and sadly for Darkrai, the dark type was only just getting started.
The nightmare king rose off the ground, feeling its fur flow faster as it prepared an Ominous Wind.
"Bounce, Ponyta! Try to hit it midair!" Alex called desperately.
Darkrai braced itself as the fire colt soared up to it, not wanting to abort its attack to dodge the flailing hooves as they struck it once again in the chest.
Hiding a sad smile behind its collar, the legendary felt the etheric winds fill it with power before it released them on the falling fire type, wincing a bit internally as its target let out a wordless squeal of pain when the ghostly attack hit home.
Ponyta crashed into the ground with a distressing wham! as the dark type steadied itself gracefully back at eyelevel.
"I'm sorry, Alex," Darkrai said softly, watching the unmoving form of her last fighter lying listlessly on the ground.
Alex didn't respond.
The legendary glanced up at her. "I know you have one more Pokémon left." Even from a distance away, it could clearly see the Nest Ball at the end of her lineup.
Still, Alex made no move to recall Ponyta.
"Alex…" Darkrai trailed off as the fire colt's legs twitched, and watched, astonished, as Ponyta climbed, trembling, to his feet.
The fire type glanced over his shoulder to his trainer, and Alex nodded.
The dark type froze as both of its opponents locked eyes with it, the same emotion pouring from both Pokémon and trainer;
Defiance.
"Flare Blitz!" Alex yelled, fire in her eyes reflecting that of her Pokémon's blazing blue inferno as he charged headlong into the stunned legendary.
"DEATH!"
By the time Darkrai got it into its head to move out of the way, the attack connected, sending both Pokémon flying back in a cloud of dust and flame.
Before the dust could fully settle, though, the dark type felt something small, but forceful, hit its side.
Alex watched as the vague form disappeared into a flash of light, wondering if Darkrai could sense that, even as she withdrew Ponyta, she knew this wasn't over yet.
And indeed, after only two shakes, the Moon Ball burst open and flew back to her hand, revealing the hovering form of the nightmare king as the dust finally settled.
"Alex…" Darkrai began, feeling at once guilty and resigned as it glanced between the trainer's face and the Nest Ball on her belt, "I'm sorry."
"It's fine," Alex said, reaching for the ball that contained the youngest member of her team, "it's not your fault."
"It is, though," the legendary replied as the trainer released her last Pokémon in a flash of red light. "If I hadn't attacked you when we first met, if I had just been stronger…"
Darkrai trailed off while it and Alex stared in shock as the silhouette grew from a mere foot to a full meter and solidified.
"Shut up, kid."
Alex couldn't believe what was apparent in front of her. "Mighty?" Indeed, before her stood her old friend, guarding her as he'd done for so many years, and looking so many years younger. His coat was shiny and black, free from the grey speckling of age, and his eyes were bright as he locked his gaze to hers over his shoulder.
"Hey, cub. Sorry about before, but you needed a good kick in the arse." Though his words were pointed, his tone was apologetic, and Alex couldn't help but feel nostalgic over the times when Mightyena had gone out on a limb to teach her something, whether or not she felt the need to learn it.
Darkrai however, narrowed his eyes. "What did you do?"
Alex looked like she was about to say something, but changed her mind and instead turned to Mightyena. "You're okay? You're really okay?"
Mighty snorted. "Of course, cub. It amazed me that I was able to get you to doubt me for a second. I don't have long here, so let's finish up, okay?"
Alex nodded, a fire lit anew in her eyes as she refocused on Darkrai. "Alright, Mighty. One last battle."
Mightyena swung his head back to the legendary and gave a cocky grin. "Hear that, kid? I'm not going to go easy on you this time."
Darkrai blinked in confusion before snorting and shaking its head. "And I, you."
The smaller dark type barked out a laugh and trotted up to the legendary, tilting his head back and winking at Alex. The trainer's eyes widened and she readied herself for what was about to happen.
"I guess all that remains to be seen…" Mightyena said as he drew closer, "is how dirty you want to fight!" And with that, the hyena pokemon darted behind Darkrai and Crunched down on its tail.
"Get under it, Mighty!" Alex shouted as Darkrai swung around, feeling a mix of pain, betrayal, and hope.
Mightyena danced to keep under the legendary, but Darkrai was too fast and shot off a short distance before stirring up a wind again.
"Swagger!" Alex shouted.
Mightyena tossed his head and gave Darkrai a cocky look. "You really think you can hit me with that pathetic move? You couldn't hit a drunk Wailord on a sunny day!"
Darkrai snarled in annoyance and struck out with a gust of ill wind, only for Mightyena to dance to the side. "Told ya!" The wind blasted into a boulder, pushing it back a few inches in a purple gale.
Annoyed, Darkrai raised his claws and darted at the hyena, only for its target to dash beneath it, leaving the legendary careening into another large boulder. Grunting from the impact, Darkrai shook its head, clearing the confusion.
"I know you don't like to fight, kid, but this is kinda ridiculous," Mighty snarked from behind Darkrai. "I thought you'd at least try to win."
Alex frowned. Was this how Mighty always fought? With insults and taunts? She'd always known that Mighty was a vocal battler, but she'd never really paid much mind to the things he might be saying to their opponents.
Darkrai turned and glared at the smaller dark type. "You are infuriating."
Alex wasn't sure what her best friend was up to, provoking the legend, but she'd support him the best she could. "Mighty! Use Swagger again!"
"And you are a big wimp," Mightyena scoffed, rolling his eyes. "And here I thought you'd be able to protect Alex."
That apparently did it, as Darkrai rushed the hyena with claws bared, and managed to strike the smaller dark type before he could jump out of the way again. Mightyena let out a whine as he was tossed back.
"How dare you!" Darkrai seethed at the limp figure before it, preparing to strike again, "I am a legend, I survived three years of constant battle on an abandoned hellscape of an island." Darkrai glared down at Mightyena. "I'm stronger than you think."
"Mighty!" Alex covered her mouth with her hands and gasped before pulling herself together. "Mighty! Get up! You have to move!" Alex winced as her voice cracked on the last word.
Darkrai suddenly seemed to realize what it had done and stared down at the prone form in slowly mounting horror. "Alex-"
"Don't worry, kid-cub…" Mightyena huffed as he struggled to his feet. "I'm not out yet."
Darkrai stared as the long slashes it had left in the other pokemon's fur shrank and healed.
Mightyena stood up with his tail held high. "It doesn't matter, the hits you can take, or the damage you can deal-true strength comes from the heart." He nodded at Darkrai and Alex. "Now let us show you the strength of our hearts!"
Alex nodded. "Crunch!" she yelled, "And keep on your toes!"
Darkrai slid back as Mightyena charged forward, mouth agape. The legendary raised its claws to strike, but just as it to slashed down, the hyena danced to the side and Darkrai hit itself in confusion, and felt the smaller dark type's jaws close on its tail, right on the sore spot that had been bitten before. Darkrai hissed in pain and whirled around, slashing at Mightyena and sending the hyena tumbling back.
"Now Cub! Throw the ball!"
Darkrai's eyes widened as it turned back to face Alex, and got smacked in the face by the Moon Ball in result. Disappearing in a red flash, the legendary felt the strength of Alex's will.
The ball dropped to the ground and shook.
Once.
…
Twice.
…
Three times.
…
…
...
Ding!
Alex stared. It was over. The nightmare was through. Numbly, she walked over and bent down to pick up the little black and blue ball. Straightening back up, Alex noticed the edges of the clearing were obscured by a fog that was rapidly rolling in.
"Wa-wait!" Alex turned to Mightyena in panic. "I can't leave yet! There's so much I want to say to you!"
Mightyena huffed a laugh and shook his head. "Cub, I'll always be with you, whether you want me to be or not."
The trainer felt tears prick at her eyes as wisps of mist trailed through the grass. "But I got you killed and locked out of heaven…"
The pokemon glared at her. "Okay, first, it was my decision to sacrifice myself-you don't get to take that choice away from me." He held her stare until she nodded. "Second, I was lying when I told you that-it was part of the trial. Strong Pokemon, weak pokemon," Mighty rolled his eyes, "Before him, we might as well just be grass beneath his feet. He doesn't care. We're all his children. Even the kid." He nodded at the ball in her hands. "So don't worry about it, alright?" Mighty grinned up at her as the white wisps played across his muzzle, obscuring him from view. "Oh, and-sweet dreams, cub."
Darkrai came back to itself hovering over Alex in the pokecenter. A big part of the Nightmare King wanted to collapse in relief over Alex's apparent success in overcoming her nightmare, but the elder Darkrai's words echoed in its mind. Just what did it want to speak about? Darkrai didn't want to just leave Alex on her own…
A thought struck the pokemon and it turned to where the nurse had moved Alex's pack, poking a claw into it and withdrawing the ball containing the newest member of the team.
The little hyena cub materialized on the bed and shook itself out before taking in the scene and turning to Darkrai. "Big brother?"
Darkrai paused at the address before continuing with its plan. "I need you to watch over Alex while I go talk to someone, can you do that?"
The pup nodded eagerly. "No one will get near!"
Darkrai thought a moment. "Except for the nurse."
Poochyena cocked its head. "The nurse?"
Darkrai nodded. "She will probably introduce herself as such."
The smaller dark type considered that before nodding.
The legendary nodded in return and turned to gather his teammate's pokeballs from Alex's belt before heading over to the door and unlocking it. "I'll be back… actually, I don't know how long this will take. Be safe," Darkrai said over its shoulder.
Poochyena blinked at it and nodded one more time before laying down next to Alex on the bed.
Leaving the room, Darkrai made its way to the front of the center where the crowd had changed from the night and grown slightly, as the sun was almost ready to come up and the more dedicated trainers had already fought their first rounds amongst each other and were looking to get patched up.
The legendary tried not to let the small quantity of eager trainers looking up at it stop it in the doorway, and cautiously floated to the front desk and deposited Alex's broken pokeballs on the counter, waiting for the nurse to come up and take them back on a tray before sinking into the ground to get away from the staring trainers. Before it could completely disappear though, a woman of around Alex's age ran up to it and called out.
"Wait!"
Darkrai paused midway in the ground, looking up at the blond in trepidation, waiting for her to catch her breath before speaking again.
"S-sorry," she began, "I just, wanted to see, how it went."
Darkrai considered the girl for a minute. Sure, it could just ignore her and melt back into the shadows… but it didn't know where the gardens that the elder talked about were, and didn't the nurse mention an Alice? Slowly, Darkrai rose back up from the ground and turned to face his inquisitor.
"Yes?" the legendary asked.
"Did it go well? Are you two bonded?" Alice rephrased.
Darkrai nodded cautiously then cocked its head.
Alice blinked. "You don't know what that means yet, do you?"
Darkrai shook its head, then looked around, trying to discern where the elder had retreated to.
Alice seemed to understand the gesture. "I guess you're looking for the gardens?"
Darkrai nodded.
Alice grinned. "I'll lead you there."
"Wait, you want to go through all that?" Darkrai questioned, stopping in the middle of the street to look at Alice.
The pair had been strolling through town, ostensibly towards the gardens, chattering mildly (Alice) and making noises when appropriate (Darkrai) when the topic of Alice's relationship to the elder Darkrai had come up.
Hearing the incredulity of the dark type's tone, Alice turned to it and frowned. "What? I know the process can be a bit rough, but surely it's worth it in the end?" The last part of that statement seemed to not be for Darkrai.
"I'll be sure to tell you if I find out," Darkrai retorted.
Alice frowned. "No need to get snappy." She turned and started walking again, and after a moment, Darkrai followed. "I really don't get why he won't bond with me—he likes me well enough for that—is it really that bad?"
Darkrai caught up to her and put a claw on her shoulder, stopping Alice once more and getting her attention before nodding emphatically.
Alice blinked. "Well, maybe it's different for different people."
Darkrai cocked its head so that both of its eyes were visible, locked gazes with her, and slowly shook its head before letting go and moving on.
Alice watched the legendary float away for a moment before catching up, noticeably quieter as she continued guiding Darkrai to the gardens, and then to the dark corner where the dark type could feel the elder resided.
"Hey," Alice stopped them one more time, "can I ask you for a favor?"
Darkrai gave her a dubious look.
"Could you talk to him? About bonding with me?" Alice smiled at it.
Darkrai was unmoved. "No. If you truly want this, you must convince the elder."
Alice's smile fell as she took in its tone. "Ah, okay." She coughed. "Well, he's in there. I don't go in unless he invites me."
Darkrai nodded. "Thank you for escorting me."
The smile slowly crept back onto Alice's face. "You're welcome."
Darkrai nodded again and turned to the darkend trees. Even if the foliage itself wasn't any shadier than the rest of the garden, this area seemed to exude a subtle menace that served well to keep trespassers out.
"I'm going to go keep an eye on your friend. Good luck," Alice said the last over her shoulder as she turned and left, sending the dark type one last smile before disappearing from view into a sunbeam.
Following the feeling of the elder's potent essence deeper into the trees, Darkrai stilled the frisson of panic it felt at the idea of confronting something so much stronger than it, and kept moving.
Eventually, Darkrai came to a small clearing with a single beam of light shining down in the middle, making the shadows of the trees so much darker. The legendary didn't see its elder at first, standing in the shadows, plume of smoke and shadow drifting in the wind in time with the branches and leaves, watching from the dark with glowing cyan eyes.
"Whelpling," the elder stated, catching the younger's attention. Darkrai cautiously hovered closer, swaying slightly in the wind, but refusing to let its legs down in the presence of the more powerful Pokemon, and unwilling to sit when the other was standing.
"You asked for me?" Darkrai prompted hesitantly.
"Yes," the other replied, "You are very young for one of our kind, and seem ill-informed as to our place in this world. It is my duty as the firstborn to inform you."
"Firstborn?" the younger questioned.
The elder was silent for a moment, watching it. "I am the original Darkrai. The one Arceus created itself. All other Darkrai came from me, or my descendants."
Darkrai blinked. "Then…"
"Yes," the elder nodded, "all other Darkrai were born from humans who have died from nightmares caused by other Darkrai."
Darkrai was silent as it digested this. "But…" it said at length, "why would someone make something so horrible?"
The elder sighed and settled down on the ground, Darkrai following to sit with the fringes of their fur touching. "Although Arceus is often known as our God, good and holy, It is also known as The Judge, and judges must be impartial. As the creator of all Pokemon, Arceus is biased; before the advent of trainers, humans often caught vast swaths of Pokemon to serve in their armies and fight against one another. This came to a head 3,000 years ago, during which a human caused great destruction to pervert the natural order. The outcome of which resulted in Arceus creating an unbiased judge to weigh the souls of problematic humans.
"In doing so, It gave me the ability to reproduce, entirely unwittingly. The build up of energy that would normally be used to induce nightmares drawn from the recesses of the victim's mind caused… oddities when suddenly left directionless."
Darkrai cocked its head at that. "Bonding?"
The elder nodded. "And the creation of new members of our species. I was never meant to create more of myself, and when Arceus discovered my progeny, It had to create a balance, to keep those who were not meant to be subjected to judgement from succumbing to nightmares and creating even more of our kind."
The elder was quiet for a moment. "I had never been more frightened than when Arceus revealed this to me on a day like any other, just after I had returned from an assignment." It paused. "Fortunately, Arceus decided on creation, rather than destruction, and made a counter to us—a bright moon for a starless night."
Darkrai shifted. "The feather?" Even after everything that had happened, that sickly-feeling plume had not left its mind.
"Yes." The elder's eyes narrowed. "Cresselia, my counter. A single touch from her can banish our energy from any affected by our nightmares, and her mere presence ensures sleepfulness by those not completely affected by our touch."
Darkrai picked up on the bitterness in the elder's voice. "But isn't it good that we have someone to undo any mistakes we make?"
The elder considered the younger through slitted eyes for a moment. "If that was the only act she committed, then I would suppose I could permit that." The elder glanced away. "However, as it is, she tends to stick her snout into business she has no place in—often my own. She has been known, in the past, to interrupt a proper bonding. Even as the bond was an unintentional side-effect of my God-given duty, it has become a part of our culture, and should not be trifled with by outsiders."
Wanting to move off of the obviously irritating topic for the elder, Darkrai questioned, "Bond?"
The elder seemed to come back to itself and refocused on the younger. "Yes… The bond… I assume your dreaming went well?"
Darkrai thought to the peaceful outcome of Alex's nightmare. "I think so."
The elder huffed. "You would know if it did not." It shook its head. "Then you are now bonded to your trainer." The elder considered Darkrai again. "You are quite young to have come to this—most of us reach past fifty years before our first bond. Though we do not age and grow as many others do, we collect experience from our days to help us make sense of this world."
"Bond?" Darkrai prompted.
The elder nodded. "You and your human will dream-share now, and will not be separated in death."
The younger startled. "What do you mean?"
"In the after," the elder began, "humans and pokemon do not rest in the same place—Arceus keeps the two separate. It was not always this way; there was once a place where humans and pokemon would meet and mingle, overseen by Its mirror. But for long millennia, this place has been abandoned, left desolate save the one who lords over it." The elder shook itself. "But that is a story for another time. Arceus was displeased with the wars that pit masses of pokemon against each other for the gain of selfish humans so It separated all humans from pokemon in death.
"But there were pokemon in Its realm that missed their human companions and begged Arceus to allow them to travel to see their friends. But with so many humans entering their realm with darkness in their hearts, It did not want Its children to be abused even in the after. This was the true reason for our creation, Its true need for a judge. It needed a way to sort the good humans from the bad—the ones that would be allowed to travel to the realm of pokemon and take the form of a pokemon themself. But, you will not need to worry about this for quite a time. When the time comes that you must say goodbye to your bonded, come to me again, and I will teach you how to cross over."
Darkrai smiled under its collar. That was something that had been plaguing the back of its mind ever since it had learned that people and Pokemon could die for living too long. A sudden thought came to the forefront of its mind. "What about the other Pokemon in Alex's dream?"
"Any other entities in the dream are mere constructs of yours and your bonded's," the elder said. "They are not real, and their waking world counterparts will not remember anything that happened in the dream."
Darkrai narrowed its eyes. "What about Pokemon that had died?"
The elder considered it for a long moment. "No."
Darkrai's frown deepened. "Are you sure? He seemed-"
"Not possible," the elder cut it off, "it would be too dangerous, Arceus would never allow it."
Darkrai let the topic drop, still slightly unsatisfied. "While in the nightmare, it didn't seem like Alex was the only one getting tested…"
The elder looked surprised for a moment before his eyes narrowed in thought. "Most Darkrai are much older than you when they bond for the first time, and have lived with and been taught by their progener. It is possible that unresolved issues of your own would be brought up in a nightmare, but it is quite rare."
Darkrai thought about that for a minute before asking the question that had been on its mind ever since they met its sire. "I keep hearing the phrase, "bring the light"-what does that mean?"
The elder looked surprised for a moment before considering the younger. "Where did you hear that?"
"I met another of our kind, his trainer said it during a fight."
The elder nodded. "I know of whom you speak. The saying is an old one, important to our-"
The elder cut himself off and darted forward, shoving Darkrai back before disappearing in a flash of purple light.
"Well, I didn't think capturing a legendary would be so easy!" Darkrai looked up in confusion at the approaching humans, recognizing them after a moment as Hearsay from the strange devices on their faces. The one who spoke was tossing a purple pokeball up and down in his hand, while one of the other three clicked his own purple ball, causing it to expand.
"My turn!"
Darkrai's eyes widened as it finally realized what was happening, managing to sink into the ground a split second before the purple ball went sailing over its head and into the bushes. After that, instinct took over, as three years of avoiding capture on the island came rushing back to it, and it shot off into the bushes, leaving the humans behind.
A sudden thought came while the legendary fled.
"Alex!"
Changing course, Darkrai sped toward where it knew the center to be, following a strange pull in its chest that felt a bit like Alex.
While the legendary's speed might have been an asset before, now its rush was its downfall, as Darkrai rose out of the ground and shoved the center doors open, blindly rushing to the hallway that led to Alex's room, only to have its progress checked by a sudden force on its front. It took Darkrai a moment of panic to realize it had been caught in a net.
"I take it our garden team was successful?"
Darkrai calmed itself enough to look around. The speaker was another Hearsay member, but seemed to be of a higher rank, sporting a slightly different outfit than the standard common white clothing, being more formal looking, and had three grunts with him, two of which were holding the net. Around the lobby were the sleeping forms of trainers and pokemon, the nurse being slumped over the counter. Darkrai spotted its fellow team mates also lying prone on the floor and tried not to call any attention to them. The dark type's gaze suddenly locked on a shadow hovering morosely in the corner.
"Sire?"
The shadow looked up at it, waves of sadness, regret, and fear coming off of it. "I'm sorry, youngling."
A moment passed in which the disbelief at the situation slowly dissipated, only to be replaced with a burning fear that quickly shifted to anger. "How could you?!"
"They have my human."
Darkrai could only stare as a creeping horror overtook it. "No-Alex!" The legendary struggled in the net, trying to claw the thick purple ropes apart when two Hearsay grunts emerged from the hallway behind the counter carrying a stretcher with the familiar figure of its trainer limp upon it. A third grunt followed with a nest ball in one hand, his other dripping blood.
"Alex!"
"Stop struggling or I'll make sure she doesn't wake up again!" The more formal looking Hearsay member snapped.
At this, Darkrai fell still. "What do you want from us?"
The man smirked. "You're coming with us."
Well, it's been a bit, hasn't it? Went to collage, switched majors twice, graduated with a bach's in creative writing, moved back home to live in the parents' basement, wrote a (very NSFW) book while the world crumbled. Hope you're all okay out there, stay safe and such, listen to doctors with actual relevant MDs, don't do drugs (unless those doctors tell you to!), ect, ect.
I've been sitting on this chap for about a year, but I didn't want to post it until I had more to offer, but I don't think I'm going to finish this one, guys. What I will do is post my notes next week so 'yall can at least know how it ends. Thank you all for the concern and support you've shown in the comments, and good luck with whatever dystopian future current politics are threatening us with this year.