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Interlude

As They Sleep

Darkness. Endless, consuming darkness was all that surrounded Terron.

He didn't understand anything. He didn't know where he was or how he had been whisked to the strange place. He only knew that he idly drifted in the vast blackness, nothing distinguishable in the strange void. He could feel no pain, no fatigue, no feeling. All sensation was simply gone.

There was only emptiness, just like the world he found himself in.

What… is this place?

So you are here as well.

Terron stopped. He knew that voice. He looked around him, but found that he couldn't see anyone. The black holding him wouldn't allow him to see the other wandering Pokémon in the abyss.

Do you know what this place is, Yimtri?

I'm afraid not. I only awoke just a moment ago.

Are we dead or something? I mean, the last thing I remember was Erebus sucking out the rest of our energy when those Fellowship leaders were chasing us. Did the leaders end up getting Erebus even after she absorbed all of our vigor and managed to kill us?

I highly doubt it. We would not be the only ones drifting in this void if we were truly dead. The others would be here with us.

Well, we're both the same person, so maybe this is just where the two of us stay before we finally merge back into one person.

Tch, you're still going on about that? I already told you; we are not the same being. There's no reason to ponder in it any longer. Discard that senseless thought out of your mind.

You're joking, right? You already know we're the same human. I gave you all of the evidence. You even admitted that I was right. Even Erebus told you that we were the same human.

I never admitted to anything. I simply gave up trying to convince you otherwise because I knew that you would continue pressing the question if I didn't agree with you. I thought you would be satisfied with my answers and drop the subject. But, it seems that you are even more persistent than I thought. You will not let it go.

God, you're still as much of a pain as you were when I first met you. Every time the two of us saw each other, we were always fighting each other and screaming for the other to do as we wanted. We even had to nearly kill each other just to listen to each other. I don't even know how we came to our agreements when we were doing that, that weird trust thing or not.

There was silence.

... you're right.

Wait what?

... we do tend to argue very often. Even now we argue, both unwilling to back down from our stance on the situation. And yet, whenever we argue, we seem to arrive at the correct conclusion somehow, just as the voice of reason and the voice of emotion do in a singular person's mind. It's a curious thing that I did not realize until now. And if it is true, then... truly we are two parts of the same singular identity.

So you finally admit that we're the same human?

Yes. I do. It took me a long enough time to realize it, but yes, I understand now. In all honesty, I do not want to think that you are my other half. Some of your actions disgust me and so do many other things regarding yourself. Like the fact that you did not think before you acted for the longest time and were nothing but a tool to your own emotions.

I could say the very same thing about you, seeing as how you were so bitter and callous that you were basically a giant prick to everybody. And you still are in some ways.

Fair enough. But, the point is that I understand now that what Erebus said was right. She did tear us in two. I just didn't want to accept it. I didn't want to think that I wasn't whole and that my other self was the one that had given me such trouble and torment over these past few weeks. But now, I see that there is no point in denying it any longer. I see now that you are my other half whether I want to admit it or not.

The two released a sigh, releasing all of the tension held within them. At long last, the two felt they had reached a true understanding, not a temporarily forged one as they had several times in the past.

It is so good to see you two getting along now.

The Dimitri Pokémon knew that voice. They knew that calming voice that echoed all around them, bringing with it a warm peace that filled their hearts and minds.

Erebus…

Yes, it is I. You are safe, Cubone Dimitri. I escaped from the Primogenitor's generals and have made sure that they will not find us. You two are safe.

Where are we? Where's everybody else?

They are dreaming, just as you two are. However, they are not in the same dream as you two are in now. They are each having their own dreams.

If that is so, then why are Terron and I sharing this dream? Even if we are the same person, I do not believe we are that closely connected together. Even when our minds seemed to connect when we fought you, it was only that we shared similar ideas, not read each other's thoughts.

And you are right. I brought the two of you here in this same dream because I know that both of you have something you wonder about. I see it in your dreams as I watch over you and wait for you to awaken. I see what bothers you greatly affects you, and you cannot seem to rest peacefully with it wracking your minds so much. It is a saddening sight to see.

What precisely are you talking about?

You both wonder why I split apart your original self and why I brought you here to Shiron. I see it in your dreams and in your conversation just now. I see how much not knowing the truth torments you so and prevents you from resting peacefully.

Well yeah, it kind of bothers me a lot that I don't know what happened with us, since I really do want to know what happened… but I didn't even know I was sleeping in all honesty. It kinda felt like that just a few minutes ago, we were all trying to get away from Shade, Chrysalis, and Zephyr.

The same applies for me.

You have been slumbering for a while. You simply do not realize it, for you are very weak right now. But, I see it. I see how much your mind is tormented as I watch over you. I wanted to wait until you both awoke to tell you the truth, but I see that your minds do not want to rest until you understand.

The darkness encompassing the Pokémon retreated into the far distance, allowing a bright light to take its place. But, it only remained for a moment, for the illumination darkened a small amount and allowed them to behold something other than the all-consuming blackness.

They were within Erebus Woods once more; the true forest that had been concealed by the plagued Darkrai's nightmares. It was the same as they had remembered it, with the darkness obscuring everything in the area and the faint glinting of the evolution stones within the trees' branches.

Twenty five years ago, I was still within Erebus Woods, commanded to spread the blight to the world through the use of my nightmares by the Primogenitor. It had infected with me with the blight, but it did not realize that it could not completely control me to do its bidding. It underestimated me. I still had some control over my actions, therefore I did not spread the blight as much as I could have. I held back as much as I could without raising suspicion.

But, I was not satisfied. I did not want the Primogenitor to fill the world with the blight any longer. Watching it infest Shiron for twenty five years as I did nothing and somewhat give my assistance to that creature was already difficult enough. And yet, I knew I could not do it alone. I needed someone to help me.

So, I opened a rift to bring me a human being from the world parallel to Shiron. I knew that the Primogenitor could infect Pokémon with the blight, but I wondered if a human could oppose it. I remember centuries ago, the Primogenitor never filled humans with the blight, and I wondered if they were resistant to it. I wondered if a Pokémon with a human soul could oppose the Primogenitor with me…

I did not have any control over who would come into my world; I could only open a rift for a temporary time and bring in the human it happened to come across. You were the human my rift found.

A ghostly apparition of Erebus suddenly appeared, hovering near one of the many trees, gazing down at its base with a melancholy glimmer in her eye. There, resting against the trunk, was a boy. A human boy, still in his youth, sleeping soundly, somehow not affected by the Darkrai's nightmarish influence.

But, the moment you came, I did not want you to remain in Shiron any longer. You were a child. I did not want a child to be here in this dangerous world. I wanted anything but that. It was when I realized this that I decided to send you back.

The Darkrai drifted toward the boy's side and set a clawed hand upon his head. The boy didn't stir, only remaining in his silent slumber. Erebus only sighed as she took the claw off the boy and filled it with an aqua light, bright sparks springing from her sharp points.

It was not meant to be, for the Primogenitor had sensed what I had done.

A large sphere of iridescent light shot out of the forest and collided into Erebus, sending her flying back into a tree. She tore straight through the wood, burying her body within its mass before tumbling to the ground. She took in constrained breaths, barely able to keep her eye open, as she forced herself back into the air.

The boy was being dragged away into the darkness of the forest by a strange creature. Though most of its body remained obscured by the black of the twisted woods, there was one thing noticeable about it: the eyes.

They were two white circles. They did not blink. They did not move. They only remained fixed on the boy, betraying no emotion. No soul.

"I do not understand why you thought you could hide this."

The creature brought its stare upon Erebus. There was still no malevolence; only an unsettling stare that made the Darkrai visibly shudder.

"I do not accept."

Something black sprouted from the darkness and punctured the human's side. The boy's eyes shot open as a loud, piercing scream escaped his mouth.

Erebus flinched, utterly horrified by the scene. But, within a mere second, her petrified gaze gave way to a ferocious glare.

"No! I will not let you hurt him!"

She flung herself at the human, grabbing his shoulders before pulling him back. However, the moment she touched him, her claws sank into his flesh, phasing straight through him. A light washed over the human, completely covering him as his screams only seemed to grow louder. She and the creature looked down at the boy to find that the light surrounding him was now glimmering a bright white, the mere sight nearly blinding them.

I wanted to help you. I wanted to save you from the Primogenitor. But, I was so foolish and did not realize what my actions would do to you until it was too late.

There was a loud ripping sound, and then Erebus toppled back. She let out a pained groan at the unexpected lack of resistance before she hurried back into the air. But, she was quick to find that she had something in tow. Clenched tight in her claws, lifeless and limp, was a Sableye. He hung from her grasp, his jeweled eyes empty and void of radiance. She looked upon him with an eye frozen open.

As the Primogenitor tried to fill you with the blight from what I could tell, I thought I could save you. I thought I could stop it before it filled you with the blight and corrupted you. But your soul was so malleable as it was being tampered with, leading to you becoming torn into two Pokémon when I pulled you away.

She hastily brought her gaze back at the creature that had been trying to take the boy away. She found a mask-less Cubone sprawled out along the ground near her, also just as inert as the Sableye she held. She swooped toward the little Pokémon, but had not moved fast enough, for the hostile creature swiftly wrapped a tendril around the Cubone and dragged him into the darkness.

Erebus shirked back as she held the Sableye close to her chest, but then stopped. She looked upon the Sableye, the piece of the human she had torn out, and gazed into his empty eyes.

When I looked at you at that moment, Sableye Dimitri, I saw right there that you were still alive. You were still Dimitri and that though I could not return you to your world in your current state, I had to keep you safe. I had to protect you. I had to protect the only part of you I had managed to save.

She took in a deep breath as she closed her eyes and held the Sableye in a tight embrace. There was a glimmer of black, and then another Erebus, a mere illusionary copy of her, shot out of her front with the Sableye wrapped up in its arms. Then, it dashed off into the woods, disappearing out of sight and away from all harm.

"You hid the child."

Erebus brought her gaze to the hidden creature. It was nowhere in sight, only remaining obscured in the impenetrable black that filled the forest. She narrowed her eye as she drew her claws, filling it with a dark energy.

"And you will never find him. I will make sure of it. You can try to look through my mind, but you will not find him. He is safe from you. You cannot hurt him."

There was a glint of light from within the darkness at Erebus's side.

"The same cannot besaid for you and the one left."

The last thing seen was something wrapping around Erebus's arms before they dragged her into the blackness, followed by a loud, blood-curdling scream. Then, everything became dark once more.

I became brainwashed shortly after this. I became the creature known as Erebus, and you, Cubone Dimitri, were taken away from me by the Primogenitor. I do not know what the Primogenitor did to you so that you could never age for twenty five years, but it kept you with it for all of those many years as Sableye Dimitri awoke not long after and wandered Shiron, becoming the Pokémon he is now. I wanted to reach both of you so very much, but sadly, I could not. I could no longer act freely. Everything I did had to be done through much manipulation and through splitting off a fraction of myself to act on its own.

But if I was with the Primogenitor all of these years, then how did I escape?

I sent another fraction of myself similar to Chloe to retrieve you. It was a difficult task, and I failed several times in my efforts, but I finally succeeded a short time ago. Sadly, unlike Chloe, my fraction could not remain with you, for I could not keep myself split in three for too long. Having two of myself was enough of a challenge without losing control.

I… see.

And all of this is the reason as to why we are split beings?

Yes. I have spoken all that I know regarding your separation. Every piece of my knowledge about that is now yours. I have many more things to tell you, of course, but I am afraid that now is not the time for that. Your minds need rest.

Well, alright then. But really, knowing all of that, even if I don't get some things, really does help. I feel… more at peace. I feel… better now… Thank you... I think I can rest now. I feel lighter somehow right now…

Yes, as do I. But, I have one last question to ask you before I fall into slumber as Terron has now.

What would you like to know?

I want to know if I can refer to you by a new name, now that I understand you more. A name I think you would appreciate more than the one I gave you when I thought that you were a monster. I want to let go of the hatred I held for you before you revealed your true intentions.

And what would that name be?

Nyx.

Nyx?

Yes. She was also a deity of mythology from my old culture. She was a being of great fear and ruled the night, but she was also a being who cared deeply for her children. You remind me of her, to a degree.

So I do. Though I do not find purpose in names, you are free to refer to me by that name. Whatever makes you happy, Sableye Dimitri.

Very well.

…

Sleep well, my poor Dimitri children. When you awaken, you will be safe. I promise you that everything will be fine and that I will tell you all that I know. I will give you my guidance and surely help you two through the trials that lay ahead.

But for now, sleep. Sleep soundly and let me watch over you.