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Chapter 61

Talk To Us

Terron awoke to the smell of roasted berries lingering in the air sometime the next morning. With a quiet yawn and a quick stretch of his arms, he slowly opened his eyes to find Novus already awake, eating from a pile of roasted berries beside him. The Cubone rubbed the tired out of his eyes as he got up and sat down beside the Quilava. The sunlight leaking in from the holes in their makeshift safe house hurt Terron's eyes for just a moment and forced him to squint his eyes, but his eyes were soon to adjust.

"Finally awake I see," Novus remarked. "Was wondering when you were going to wake up."

"What time is it?" Terron asked as he took a red berry from the pile and munched it down.

"Three hours after dawn. Not a terribly late time I'll say, but still a bit baffling that you've slept for so long when you normally wake up near dawn."

"Well I didn't really have an excuse to wake up so early. Not like we have any important missions to do right away. We just have to find your stones and we have all day to do that. Besides, it feels good to just be able to sleep in. It's refreshing, especially after that long flight here."

"Fair enough, I suppose."

Terron glanced around the room, and was soon to find that something was amiss. There was a little too much light in the room, and it didn't take long for Terron to figure out why.

"Hey, where's Nyx?" Terron asked as he brought his gaze back to the Quilava.

"I don't know," Novus shrugged indifferently. "She was gone when I awoke this morning. I suppose I should be alarmed, but she's done this so much that it doesn't even faze me anymore."

"Wait, what? When did she do this?"

"The entire time you and the others were in your comas. Whenever I woke up, no matter how early it was, there'd be times Nyx wouldn't be there to help me watch over you four. It didn't happen every morning, but quite a bit of the time I'd find myself alone with a handful of comatose, defenseless Pokémon to look after for several hours. She always came back with any sort of breakfast she could find, but I know that she didn't go off on her own to go hunting. She said it was because she wanted to be alone for some reason. Never said why, only that she needed time to herself. It somewhat reminds me of the behavior the ground-types have where they like to avoid others' company."

"So what, you think she's doesn't like being around anybody?"

"Somewhat. She never really did enjoy talking much to me when it was only the two of us while we watched you four. She'd never initiate a conversation with me, save for when she told me her turn for watching you was over and I was to watch or vice versa. She'd talk to me if I tried to strike up a conversation and they could go on for a while, or she'd speak to me about something on her mind occasionally, but otherwise, she'd keep to herself for the most part. She never talked about herself even unless I asked. She only really started to talk to me after all of you woke up, but that was only one time."

Terron nodded silently. Though he hadn't spent too much time around the Darkrai, he could see Nyx in the way that Novus was describing her. She certainly gave off a distant and quiet vibe that wasn't necessarily hostile, but enough so that it became intimidating to others. She almost gave off the impression that she was completely detached from most conversations, as if she was only participating in the conversation because she had an obligation to do so. He knew that Nyx had some conversations with him, such as during the previous night, but they were always short and to the point. They weren't allowed to branch out.

But then, Terron began to think over Novus's words some more and found that there was something in it that he couldn't agree with. He paused for a moment, trying to articulate what exactly it was that irked him so.

"But maybe it's not that she doesn't like hanging around us," Terron started to say. "Maybe it's something else."

"Such as?" Novus asked slowly. "I don't think I quite follow what you're saying."

"What if… she just likes a lot of alone time?" Terron suggested.

"That's what I was already saying. She prefers to be alone than with others because she doesn't find others' company to be pleasant."

"No, you don't understand. What I mean is what if she likes to have lots of time to herself, but still likes being around others?"

Novus shot the Cubone a confused frown.

"I don't understand what you're saying," Novus stated blandly.

Terron felt a flare of frustration grow inside of him at Novus's inability to comprehend his words, but forced himself to take a deep breath and keep his composure. When the volatile emotions in his heart cooled, he then carefully thought out his next words, hoping he could form a better explanation to the Quilava.

"Maybe she likes hanging around us, but because she's so used to being alone thanks to being stuck in Erebus Woods for years, that she likes being alone more," Terron said after a while. "If you're alone for a long time, I'm sure that you'll get used to it and it's not easy to go back to being social again."

"I suppose that is a fair point," Novus shrugged. "Though, she does need to learn to be able to talk to us. We cannot afford to have anyone be so withdrawn from us. We are supposed to be unified."

"There's nothing wrong with wanting to be alone sometimes, Novus," Terron stated bitterly. "You don't always have to be around someone."

"But she clearly does not want to speak with us often and distances herself from us," Novus counteracted. "That is quite a problem. You cannot deny it."

Terron kept his glare fixed onto the Quilava, but said nothing. He knew deep down that the Quilava had a point and that having Nyx being distant from them was problematic, but he couldn't bring himself to admit that the Quilava was right for some unfathomable reason.

"I see you two are already awake."

Terron and Novus broke off their stare and turned to find Nyx hovering at the entranceway. Despite what Novus had been telling Terron earlier, she didn't seem to have anything edible on her. In fact, she was completely empty-handed. The two shot each other a subtle glance, mutually deciding to drop the subject despite the lingering bitterness in their hearts, and returned their attention to Nyx.

"Yeah, I just got up a few minutes ago," Terron said to her. "Where were you?"

"Spending time to myself to think over some things."

"Is something bothering you?"

"No. I only wanted to be alone."

"Oh, okay," Terron said, somewhat disappointed he couldn't get a better answer out of her despite anticipating the response. "You sure it's alright to go wandering around all by yourself, though? What if somebody catches you?"

For a brief moment, Terron thought he saw the Darkrai tremble. It was subtle, but he could have sworn that he saw the wisps escaping her body shudder even more so than they usually did.

But just as quickly as it happened, Nyx's composed demeanor returned, and she cast the Cubone an indifferent stare.

"You forget what I am. Killing a Darkrai is not an easy feat."

"But we nearly killed you when we were fighting your brainwashed self in Erebus Woods," Novus interjected. "Granted, it took five of us and you managed to take out most of us, but we still nearly ended your life."

"I made it so you could kill me. I gave you the power that could make you strong enough to fight me. And I was weak from having many copies of myself controlling other nightmares and fought my blight from inside as Chloe. If I was at my full power like I am now and fully intended on killing you, all of you would have died in a minute and none of you could have even hurt me.

"I will not be dying to the Primogenitor's forces anytime soon. I will not let it happen."

Terron and Novus looked upon the Darkrai, slightly intimidated by the sudden gravity in her voice. They each scooted back, fearing what she might do despite knowing that she probably meant no harm to them. The Darkrai seemed to notice she was frightening the two, for the oppressing aura about her soon went away.

"Are you two ready to investigate the ruins?"

"Yeah, I guess so," Terron said as he got to his feet. "Might as well start now. How about you, Novus?"

"Quite," Novus replied as he too stood up. "Though, I should note that I think we should stay together for the time being. While I don't think that we will run into any trouble, I still feel it's best to remain close to one another for a while. Especially since there's only three of us now as opposed to before…"

An image of Zekra immediately surfaced in Terron's mind, bringing with it a sharp sting in his heart. It wasn't long before the stinging reached his eyes. Terron growled bitterly under his breath as he pressed his persona deeper into his face.

"Yeah, let's get going," he announced.

Then, without even waiting for Nyx or Novus's replies, he made his way outside. Even as he stepped out into the spacious ruins, the morning sun shining burning its warmth into his coat, he found himself unable to appreciate anything. He could only focus on the pain gnawing away at his chest.

I thought I told myself I was doing fine… Terron thought to himself. I thought I was over her being gone. I felt fine yesterday. So if I was feeling fine then, why isn't it the same now? What makes today so different from yesterday? Shouldn't I feel just as fine as I did yesterday, if not more since I've had time to get over everything?

"Terron, are you alright?"

The Cubone turned back to find Novus and Nyx exiting the makeshift shelter, closing the distance between him and them. Novus wore a reluctant, concerned gaze while Nyx seemed to hold a more tranquil one. The Darkrai kept a distance from the Cubone as Novus stopped right before him, staring up at him.

Terron sighed as he shook his head.

"It's just Zekra, that's all," Terron said dismissively. "It's stupid, but I still miss her."

"Oh, I understand," Novus then said, his ears drooping. "What I said reminded you of her. Sorry, I didn't mean to make you upset. I was mostly venting about my frustrations with our smaller group."

"It's fine," Terron shrugged indifferently. "Look, don't feel bad for me. It's not your fault and I don't have any reason to mope. She's fine. I'll see her again someday."

"Are you sure you don't want to talk about it?" Novus continued to press. "If it's bothering you too much, talking about it can really make it an easier burden to bear."

"I'm sure," Terron answered. "There's nothing to talk about. It's just a feeling that resurfaced and will hopefully go away soon. Some feeling that I don't need right now."

Novus didn't seem convinced by this, as he continued to cast the Cubone a pitiful stare, but Terron kept his stoic persona up. He had no reason to talk about the pain that was churning within him. It was a useless emotion that was wreaking havoc on him at the moment. He didn't need to talk about a feeling that he knew was useless and wouldn't benefit to anybody in the group. Talking about it would only dampen the mood even more than it was already.

He couldn't afford for something as trivial as that to bring ruin the team. He wasn't about to let anything get in the way of fulfilling their ambitions.

Nyx hovered forward and stopped between the two friends.

"Maybe it is better if you two spend some time apart from one another for the day. I fear you two will start contention."

"Contention?" Novus repeated, baffled. "Terron and I will not be causing anything of the sort. I am only worried for him and want to help him. You have not seen contention between the two of us. I've experienced it multiple times, and what is happening now is certainly not it."

"Yeah, don't separate us," Terron cut in. "We're fine. Novus just doesn't know how to back off sometimes. But, there's no need to keep us apart unless we absolutely have to."

Nyx kept her unmoved gaze upon the two Pokémon, both of them staring back at her solemnly, standing firmly by their words. She shook her head as she drifted a few feet away from them.

"Both of you are very strange."

"Well I wonder what gave that away?" Terron laughed dryly. "Was it maybe the fact that I'm a human trapped in a Cubone body or that Novus here is apparently some ancient Pokémon who's been around since forever? We're far from being normal I tell you. It's basically a requirement for being on our team."

Nyx gave the Cubone a disapproving glare.

"Not that. It is your friendship. The bond you two share is very strange and confusing at times."

Terron's smug grin vanished as he heard those words. He briefly looked over at the Quilava, who seemed just as taken aback as he was, and then looked back at the Darkrai.

"What do you mean?" the Cubone wondered.

"You two do not want to be apart, and yet whenever you are together, you two inevitably end up disagreeing on something and develop contempt to the other. This morning was like that. You two had barely woken up and began to talk when you suddenly became involved in an argument. You did not stop until you realized I was with you. Even now it is similar. You, Quilava, continue to pry my child despite denying your requests for help. You still want to help him even and do not want to let it go. And yet, you remain friends. It almost seems illogical.

"But I have been in a friendship similar to yours once, so perhaps I have no reason to find it as strange as I do."

"Yeah, Novus and I get along just fine," Terron assured as he gestured to the Quilava. "But really, I think you can blame that on having to go through a lot together. When you're forced to go through a lot of rough times with somebody and there was nobody else to be there for you… it's kind of hard to undo all those things that made your friendship the way it is unless they do something really unforgiving. Novus hasn't done anything that messed up. Yet."

Terron's snide grin grew as the Quilava shot him a dirty look. But before he could speak, his frown changed into that of a more jovial expression as well.

"Yet, you say?" he chuckled. "What do you think I could possibly do that could make you feel so disgusted by me that you'd abandon me? I'm rather curious."

"Well let's see…" Terron said considerably, tapping his chin with a claw. "I suppose ditching me when we're being overwhelmed by wild Pokémon could count. Or attacking me out of nowhere. Or getting any of my coat burnt. Even if it's just part of the sleeve."

"Burning your coat, huh?" Novus asked. "You truly are unhealthily attached to that coat. I always knew that you were, and now you've confirmed my suspicions."

"Well if you had something that kept you warm all the time and let you store all of your weapons for easy access, you'd be attached to it too! Makes more sense than that Reshiram statue you demanded we bring along, which can't do anything except serve as a good chucking item."

Terron reached into his pocket, and after shuffling around for a bit, pulled out the small dragon and showed it to the Quilava.

"I'm surprised you haven't asked for it back," he stated. "You really were obsessed with Reshiram back when I first met you."

"Well of course," Novus replied. "If it were your life's mission to find him and Zekrom, you would have become obsessed as well. But I have no need for that statue anymore. You can keep it and use for whatever purpose you want. I don't need it when I shall soon get ahold of the real Reshiram."

"You're not going to pass out the second you see him, are you?"

"Of course not. What do you take me for, some crazed fanatic? I will not let myself look like a fool in front of the great dragon."

"I still think you're going to pass out. Just watch, you're going to. I'm calling it."

"If anything, I say you will be the one to faint. You've always been a bit easy to overwhelm and have not had hundreds of years to become a durable Pokémon such as myself. Besides, I have seen Reshiram already in the past and Zekrom as well. I shall have no reason to faint, though I will still take delight in watching you collapse."

Terron chuckled under his breath as he put the statue back into his coat. He was about to make a rebuttal, but then noticed that Nyx was beginning to leave the two of them behind. She was already becoming a black speck in the distance.

"Hey! Where are you going?" he called after her.

"I am going to search for the dragon stones. I have decided that we have wasted enough time."

The Darkrai continued to drift away from the two, but seemed to slow her pace down as if to provide time for them to catch up to her. Terron and Novus gave each other a confused glance, turning themselves partially away from her.

"She is right," Novus sighed. "We shouldn't waste any more time. You and I can continue our conversation while we investigate, though. I see no reason as to why we cannot multi-task."

Terron frowned as he silently glanced over at the Darkrai from the corner of his eye. She seemed to have stopped, though Terron couldn't say for certain.

"Yeah, alright," Terron said with a nod. "But… let's try talking to Nyx too. I think she's feeling a little isolated from us."

"Weren't you the one who just said that she wants to be alone a good amount of the time?" Novus asked unsurely. "I do not think that speaking with her will get her to talk or amuse her for that matter. I really do believe she wants to find Reshiram and Zekrom and do so in silence."

"Well no reason we can't try," Terron shrugged. "Besides, she's our friend. We should try to get to know her better and make her more comfortable around us. All we ever do is talk about serious stuff around her; it's probably really draining to her. I mean, I'd get pretty drained if all you guys ever did was talk to me about our missions and how we might die. So let's just find something relaxing to talk about that might make her more talkative. I mean, there has to be something she likes to talk about whether she likes to keep to herself or not."

"I'm doubtful, but I don't see any harm in doing so," Novus then said. "So very well then."

Terron smiled for a brief moment as he and Novus then reunited with the Darkrai in the nearby distance. He was soon to find that she had stopped after all, apparently not wanting to leave the two of them behind despite how much she undoubtedly wanted to find the dragons. When the two were to stop by her sides, she once again drifted forward toward the spacious ruins, prompting the Cubone and Quilava to stay close to her. They both looked up at the towering dark-type, noting that the silvery hair growing over her face was being pushed aside from the soft breeze, allowing them to see her normally obscured eye. It wasn't any different than the one that they always saw.

She still appeared to have just as much as of a blank and faraway expression as before.

"Does it ever bother you to have one of your eyes covered up all the time?" Terron asked her, deciding that he'd try something simple to talk about.

"No, it does not. Ever since I was hatched, I have been this way. I am more menacing when I have only one eye, which is what all Darkrai want. I am no exception."

"Right, because your whole purpose is to scare other Pokémon," Terron stated quietly. "That's why you can make all of those nightmares…"

The Darkrai didn't say anything to the remark, only looking over her shoulder to peer at something for a brief moment before bringing her attention back to the road before her.

"It never bothers you that you basically live to strike fear into every Pokémon you meet?" Terron then asked, trying to keep the conversation going.

"No. In the beginning, I accepted my role without question. I came from a time where all Pokémon were still wild and I was no exception. I knew the moment I hatched and found myself alone in a forest that I was meant to remind Pokémon why they cannot roam the night. My instincts knew what I was and what I had to do and I followed them. No one had to tell me anything."

"Wait, you didn't have any parents when you were growing up?" Terron gasped. "You were alone? I figured that even if you're a wild, your parents would raise you since you're obviously kind of helpless when you're first born… I mean, hatched. Otherwise some predator would eat you."

"You forget what I am. I am not like the rest of you mortals."

"What?" Terron asked.

"What she's trying to say is that mortal legendary Pokémon are very unique when they first awaken into this world," Novus cut in. "For the Ethereal and Great legendaries, they do not come into this world through eggs. They are simply brought here in their fully-fledged bodies, with all of the knowledge they held up in the realm where they stayed with our creator. In a sense, they arrive here in this world as fully-grown adults. Mortal legendaries are not like that. They are actually Pokémon very similar to the actual mortals of here and cannot retain their memories of their time as spirits. They must come here through an egg, and then grow as the mortals do. But very much unlike the mortals, their growth process isn't nearly the same. The moment they are born, they are ready to fend for themselves. They might not have all of their power as the higher beings have the minute they hatch, but they have enough to let them survive. Therefore, they can quite easily take care of themselves the moment they hatch."

The Quilava brought his gaze to the Darkrai, where he soon twisted his solemn expression into a puzzled frown.

"But typically from what I saw centuries ago, many mortal legendaries remained with their children until they reached the age of one or two," he then said. "I do not ever remember there being ones that left their eggs alone to hatch in isolation."

"Darkrai did. It was how we prepared our children for the inevitable solitude that every Darkrai lives with. We only left them with their instincts, which would tell them why we did what we had to. Because why would anyone want to remain in the company of a Darkrai, who creates fear everywhere it goes? Others are scared of my kind. We were meant to be alone for all of our lives. So why give our children the false hope that they will have someone to be there for them, only to take it away from them a year later, where they possibly will never have someone again unless they can somehow find someone who is undaunted by us? You cannot feel the pain of something being taken away if you never had that something to begin with."

"Well I like being around you," Terron uttered.

Nyx remained silent, apparently not touched by Terron's words. The Cubone frowned uncomfortably as he looked away from the Darkrai.

This isn't going very well. he thought to himself. She's talking to us, but I really don't think she's enjoying this conversation. She sounds like she's just stating a bunch of facts. Maybe Novus was right… maybe she doesn't actually want to be friends with anyone. She was just saying that she's been conditioned to pretty much accept that she's going to be alone her whole life. Maybe she's only hanging around us because I'm Dimitri and she feels like she has to take care of me after what she did…

But, it's too early to quit. Maybe I just need to try harder.

The Cubone sighed deeply as he looked back at the Darkrai and racked his mind for some meaningful thought he could share with her.

"So when you were growing up, did you already know how to talk?" he asked. "I mean, I know that nobody could teach you how to speak, but since you're a legendary, I wondered if maybe you knew how to do it the moment you hatched."

"When I first came into this world, I could not speak. None of the mortals who come into this world can speak when they first arrive. And for a few years, I did not say a single word. It was not until civilization began to form and I was able to see from the dreams of Pokémon this spoken language. I saw what this language could accomplish among others, and through the dreams, learned what each word meant until I could speak adequately enough."

"So you really were a wild back when you first hatched," Terron realized. "You just followed your instincts and couldn't talk to anyone…"

"You could say that I was, except I had the capability to leave behind that feral state of mind much more quickly than you mortals. That is one trait that mortal legendaries have that we value; we learn and adapt very quickly. So when the normal Pokémon of the world began to work alongside humans and form civilizations together, I adapted with them."

"How long have you been alive anyway?" Terron asked curiously.

"I came into this world a few years before the humans and Pokémon began to work together. I was still able to experience the world when it was still filled with wild Pokémon, none having any sort of laws among them while the humans, who were already civilized and built many cities, slowly formed the idea of having dangerous creatures like us to be their companions instead of their feared enemies."

"Did you like things better back then than they are today?"

The Darkrai seemed to frown to herself despite not having a mouth. And yet, she didn't answer the question.

"Well Nyx?" Terron asked again.

The Darkrai remained silent.

"You enjoyed the ancient world more than the present world, didn't you?" Novus cut in. "There is no shame in admitting it. There were many aspects of the ancient world that I found more favorable than our current world. I can imagine, for some, those characteristics were enough to outweigh the more savage side of life long ago."

"No, that is not it."

"Then why will you not answer the question?" Novus then asked.

"You two did not need to do what you are currently doing. There is no reason to."

Terron and Novus shot the Darkrai a disbelieving look. At first they had no idea what to make of her remark, as it had come out of nowhere, but were soon to collect themselves. Or at least, pretend to be under control.

"What are you talking about?" Terron asked, his voice cautious.

"You two are trying to have me talk to you so that you can understand me and grow closer to me. You think that I am one of those creatures who is more reserved than others, but you want to see if there is a way to make me talk to you anyway. You are worried that I do not want friendship with either of you."

The two smaller Pokémon nearly stopped in their tracks. They were fairly certain that Nyx hadn't heard their conversations about her. They had a feeling that she had heard part of their argument about the more withdrawn Pokémon of the world, but they knew they hadn't spoken much of her in that conversation. There was no way she should have known about the troubled thoughts in their mind. And yet, despite the shock coursing through their bodies, they forced themselves to keep going. Nyx didn't seem to pay them any mind and continued drifting forward.

"How did you…?" Novus tried to say.

"You are worried that I do not want to be friends with you, are you not?"

"Well… somewhat," Novus said, caught slightly off-guard by her deflection. "You are rather quiet and don't seem to want to mingle with us very much. So, is it true? Do you not enjoy our company and are merely around us because we fight for the same cause?"

Terron and Novus held their breaths as the Darkrai turned her head, allowing them to see her casting them a long stare with her right eye.

"I do not find being around you two to be bothersome. If I did, I would have left all of you to fend for yourselves after saving you from the generals while I went about by myself to find answers for questions that have bothered me for a long time. There is some happiness in being with you two, as well as with the others."

The two smaller Pokémon breathed out a sigh of relief. It seemed that their worries had been nothing more than paranoid thoughts that had undoubtedly arisen from the abandonment of a certain other former team member.

"But I do not want either of you to become attached to me."

It was with these words that the happiness within Terron and Novus's died, bringing back the writhing anxiety in their chests. Terron grit his teeth as he fought off the painful panic coursing through his heart, but he only managed to succeed in subduing it to a low throbbing.

"What do you mean you don't want us to get attached to you?" he asked feebly. "You're clearly attached to us, so why we can't do the same to you?"

"How am I attached to any of you?"

"Because you stayed with us when you could have left, like you were saying earlier," Terron stated tersely. "Besides… you care about Yimtri and I. You've done too much for him and I not care about us. You wouldn't of have split yourself in half so that you could give him a companion, and you wouldn't have stayed with me after he ran away if you didn't care."

"You two are an exception. I am responsible for you two, and being responsible for you gave me the consequence of growing attached to you two. But if there had been any other way to watch over you two without becoming attached, I would have taken it. Even if I only care about you two as if you were orphaned children instead of someone of similar stature to myself."

"Why exactly are you so concerned about Terron anyway?" Novus then asked the Darkrai. "I could understand the Sableye's position, given that part of your soul was with him for a number of years as a Turtwig, but what of Terron? I don't think you two even knew each other until we set you free. And yet compared to everyone else, he is the one you treat with care the most."

"That's… a long story, Novus," Terron cut in. "I'll tell you about it later, but not right now."

"Why not now?" Novus then asked, a tinge of irritation entering his voice. "I'd like to hear this story. It seems rather important and I do despise being locked out of the loop..."

"Same reason why you can't tell me why you haven't died even though you're hundreds of years old," Terron shot back.

The Quilava growled quietly under his breath at the remark, but didn't press further. Terron, satisfied with this, brought his attention back to the Darkrai, who was still casting the Cubone a blank look. He scowled as he glared back at her.

"So if you're attached to Yimtri and I, why can't Novus and I do the same to you?" he asked. "Why can't the two of us just get to know you? Why don't you want us to like you as something more than acquaintance? We just want to help you! We just want to be there for you just like how Novus is there for me and I'm there for him! Why don't you want that?"

"Because if you grow attached to me, you will learn things about me that I do not want you to know."

"Nyx, everybody on our team has a lot of dark, terrible secrets," Terron said, becoming exasperated. "I mean, look at Zekra. She has a lot of violent thoughts that honestly scare me sometimes and for a while, she was using me by pretending I was one of her dead friends. And then this old teammate I had named Syn… he was just some kid we sort of adopted after his parents ditched him for no reason. Then don't even get me started on a certain Sableye we both know.

"But you know why I was still attached to all of them? It was because I knew there was more to them than the darkness that was inside them. Sure, the dark, messed up things in them are terrifying sometimes and I don't always want to deal with them, but they're a part of my friends. You don't just get the side of your friends that's filled with light and happiness; you get the dark and murky side of them too. You can try to avoid it for a while, but eventually you'll have to deal with that darkness and face it. And if you really do care about someone, you learn to embrace that darkness and accept that it's there. You don't let that get in your way. So why would you be any different than my other friends? Why can't I accept your darkness when I could accept all of theirs?"

Nyx's gaze seemed to dampen upon hearing Terron's speech. Terron was about to smile victoriously, thinking that he had moved her, but soon noticed that her forlorn expression melted into that of a firm, solemn one.

"You are a brave, and I admire that about you. I do not know many who could get themselves to think the way you do. But little one, the darkness in me is something I do not want to share with you. My darkness, my secrets, are something I cannot and will not talk about. There are things in my darkness that will destroy you. You might think I am exaggerating, but I am not. There are thoughts and secrets in my mind that I cannot afford for you or anyone else to know. If you become attached to me, I will eventually become attached to you even more than I am right now, and I will show you what is in my darkness. The second I allow you to see that darkness, it will swallow you whole.

"I am sorry, but that is the way it is. Darkrai were always taught that they would have no one to be close to, so do not think that bearing this is painful. Do not pity me. Instead, stop what you are doing and think of me as nothing more than a casual acquaintance that you will have friendly conversations with occasionally. You will thank me later."

Terron's heart shattered. He feebly grasped for something to say, something to continue arguing with her, but found that there was nothing left to say. Nyx was firm in her belief, and she wasn't going to be convinced otherwise. She was adamant about not letting Terron or anybody into her heart on a deep and meaningful level.

"Your darkness can't be that bad… can it?" Terron managed to choke out.

The Darkrai didn't give a reply, only averting from the Cubone so that he could no longer see her eye. Terron sighed as he hung his head, feeling the sadness well up inside him.

Why are you doing this, Nyx? Terron thought somberly. Are you just saying that because you don't want to admit that you hate being around Novus and I? Your darkness can't be that bad… I've seen messed up stuff. I've seen so much stuff… what makes your darkness any worse? Why would it destroy me? You can't have any secrets that would hurt me as badly as some other secrets have. You've never seen the conversations Zekra and I have had.

But despite having these thoughts, Terron knew he couldn't express them to the Darkrai. He knew it was pointless and that he would have to accept that Nyx didn't to open her heart to neither him nor Novus. It was a strange thought, given that he had several heart-to-hearts with all of his travelling companions, even the ones he thought he despised at times. It had seemed almost natural to him to have all of his friends be close to him. But now, it seemed that Nyx would be breaking that trend. She would be his first friend he couldn't interact with on a personal level. Or at least, on a more personal level than they were already.

Terron breathed out yet another sigh, and then straightened himself out.

"Alright, fine," Terron then said to the Darkrai, all of the weakness in his voice gone. "I won't try to get to know you anymore. But, I can still talk to you and things like that, right?"

"Yes, that is fine. I have no problems with that."

"And you're sure that you simply do not want to talk to us and wish to be alone all the time?" Novus finally spoke up. "Because if that is true, you're free to say it. We will not be upset with you."

"As I said before, your company is delightful at times. But I do enjoy being alone as well and enjoy quiet moments more. I can only talk for so long before it grows boring and exhausting. It is the result of my upbringing, which I find no reason to find a problem with."

"Why don't you see a problem with this?" Novus asked, glaring suspiciously at her.

"Aw Novus, not that again," Terron groaned. "We just went over this."

"You never provided me with an adequate answer as to why it's not problematic," Novus retorted. "Therefore, I will continue this conversation until I get an answer."

"For the last time, there's nothing wrong with-"

"The air does not feel right here."

The Quilava and Cubone immediately ceased their quarrel and looked over at the Darkrai. They found that she had stopped before a labyrinth of tall, metallic structures with oddly-shaped runes about them that Terron thought looked very familiar. But even as the two stared upon the structure, they couldn't sense anything wrong. The architecture was strange, but nothing seemed particularly wrong otherwise. And yet, the sigils upon the walls did manage to intrigue the Cubone. With a thoughtful frown, he went up to one of the walls and peered at one of the symbols.

"Hey wait a minute… these things look kind of like the human alphabet," Terron realized. "I mean, the letters are a little weird, but I can tell that these are it. They're just like the letter rankings on the old Fellowship mission papers, like 'A' or 'D'."

Neither the Darkrai nor the Quilava answered. Terron brought his attention back over to them, only to find that they were staring at something in the distance with a faraway, yet cautious glance. The Cubone slowly followed their line of vision until he too saw whatever it was that had them completely captivated. What he saw nearly made him backpedal.

There, hovering not too far from the group by a rusty pillar protruding out of the ground, was a single creature. It was a very odd sort of living thing, for its entire body was nothing but a single black line curved to make a giant circle, a single eye in the middle. That white eye seemed to be studying the pillar before it, blinking occasionally as it gently circled about it with a strange humming sound.

Terron continued to stare at it with an odd glance, having no idea what he was looking at. He figured it was a Pokémon, but he sure couldn't remember any Pokémon that were as bizarre and surreal as whatever was before him. This creature had no mouth or any room to hold any sort of organs, so he couldn't imagine how it could even be alive. It was an enigma to him.

It has to be a Pokémon. Terron told himself. I mean, what else could it be? Nothing else lives here on Shiron except Pokémon. Unless… it's an alien or something. If it's an alien, maybe that would explain why it looks so weird compared to all of the other Pokémon I've seen. I mean yeah, some Pokémon are pretty weird, but none of them were like this…

And then it finally dawned upon Terron what he was looking at. He swiveled his head back to the labyrinth wall and after a few seconds of searching, he saw it. He saw a symbol on the wall that greatly resembled an "O", something that also looked exactly like the creature before him. It didn't take long for everything else to click into place.

"Guys, is that…" Terron started to say, keeping his voice barely above a whisper.

"Yes, that is an Unown," Novus uttered. "What it is doing here, I haven't the faintest of ideas. I figured they all would have left this world just as the other legendaries did. I thought the creator told everyone of divine power to leave this planet…"

In that moment, the Unown stopped moving. It perked up its single eye, and then instantly turned toward the three watching it. Terron and Novus flinched back while Nyx remained where she was, unfazed as ever. The Unown continued to stare at them, tilting its head to the side as its body slowly bobbed up and down in the air.

"Novus, what do we do?" Terron whispered, never taking his eyes off the odd Pokémon. "Should we make a break for it?"

"I would not recommend so," Novus answered back, keeping his voice low as well. "Though Unown were harmless and timid when I met them, I do not know what time has done to them. One Unown may not be able to do much, but I'm fairly certain that this meager Unown can summon others to come aid it should it feel the need to. So, let us wait and see what happens. Fleeing might spook it and make it aggressive."

Terron slowly nodded as he slowly drew closer to Nyx, knowing she was the one who would probably fare best against the Unown, should anything go horribly wrong.

The Unown kept its gaze on the three of them for a moment longer, and then something in its eye lit up.

"Visitors," the Unown spoke, its words speaking within Terron's mind. "Very strange visitors."

Its eye glowed dimly with a purple hue, and then the next thing the group knew, a violet portal appeared along the wall just behind the Unown. A low whirling sound came from deep within its abyssal contents, filling the labyrinth with the unnatural noise.

As Terron once again considered the idea of bolting, he saw five figures slowly come out of the portal. He quickly recognized these figures to be Unown of other shapes and sizes. Each of them came to the original Unown's side, forming a small cluster.

"Found them here," the "O" shaped Unown said. "Found these strange ones here when no one is here."

The other five Unown brought their attention to Terron, Nyx, and Novus before all of them drifted over to the three. They began circling around the group, tilting their heads from side to side as they watched them with their large eyes. Terron drew even closer to the Nyx, becoming more and more unnerved with each passing second.

All of the Unown soon began circling around solely Nyx, keeping her trapped in their ominous ring. And yet, despite this, she remained calm, only watching them with a cautious eye as they watched her from every angle.

"Harm us and you will die."

"The shadow's mind blocked," a "W" shaped Unown reported. "Cannot communicate. Cannot hear words from it."

Nyx narrowed her eye at the little creature before her, but didn't move otherwise.

"It is a shadow one. Cannot hear the shadow ones," an "A" shaped Unown then said. "Cannot hear unless you open mind. Do not open. Nightmares come from it."

All of the Unown immediately withdrew from the Darkrai and made their way over to Novus. The Quilava attempted to remain calm, but Terron could tell that he was just as off-put by the situation as the Cubone was. He couldn't tell whether these Unown were merely curious about him after having no one to see for centuries or were preparing to attack him.

They circled about him for a moment longer, and then suddenly stopped. Their eyes seemed to grow wide as they drew closer to the Quilava. Novus flinched back, but didn't break out of their tight ring about him. He kept his collected composure as the Unown studied him.

"Met you before," the "O" shaped Unown said. "Met you here. You came here."

"Yes… you've met me before," Novus admitted reluctantly. "A very long time ago I met some of you and you talked to me because you were fascinated with me. You were fascinated with what I was."

"Remember you," a "R" shaped Unown said, coming closer to the Quilava. "Remember you here, mighty and strong. Tower over everything with power. You overwhelmed us and all with power. Power only you had. Power creator gave you. But now you are small and frail. You are a tiny candlelight. A tiny fire like the other tiny fires of this dimension."

Novus's tranquil façade shattered.

"You should not be like candlelight," the final "S" shaped Unown said. "Did you become candlelight when you broke?"

"I don't understand what you're talking about," Novus said uneasily. "You must be mistaking me for someone else. I am not 'broken', as you would call it."

"No mistaking. Know who you are," the "W" Unown said. "Fractured, but still traces of the whole. No one else has the traces. No one else has memories of yours."

"Why are you broken?" the "S" Unown asked again. "How did you break? Breaking is very strange."

Novus's grimace grew even more uncomfortable. He tried to get out of the encompassing loop, but found that he was unable to do so. The Unown were all tightly closing in on him, staring deeply into his crimson eyes, their own eyes glimmering with an unsettling curiosity.

"Broken," the "O" shaped Unown chanted. "How were you broken? Did you break to stay here? You were told to go back. Didn't go back. Stayed here. Stayed here as broken."

"Does creator know you stayed?" the "R" Unown asked. "Creator told no one to stay. Even we do not stay. We visit. But you stay. Why does creator allow it?"

"Leave me alone…" Novus said in a low, subdued voice. "I do not wish to answer any of these questions…"

"We mean no harm," the "S" Unown said. "You know. You met us. Tell us. Tell us why."

"I told you to leave me alone," Novus said, now growling quietly under his breath. "If you don't leave me alone, I swear I'll engulf you in this 'candlelight' you speak of. This is your only warning."

"Broken one does not need to fear. We only want to know," the "R" Unown said. "We never see ones like you. You are strange. We like strange. We want to know the strange."

All of the Unown looked straight into Novus's eyes, their white eyes all peering deep into his soul.

"Tell us, broken one. Tell us so we can know," they all chanted at once. "Talk to us as you did before."

"That's enough!"

The Unown stopped what they were doing and turned around toward the source of the sudden shouting, only to find Terron glaring at them, holding out his club toward them. All of them fixed their odd gazes on him, watching as he cast them a spiteful look.

"He said that he doesn't want to talk to you," Terron growled, his voice brimming with power. "So, you better leave him alone and get out of here. I don't care what you things are. If you ask him one more question, I'm going to fling this club straight into those giant eyes of yours. Get lost."

For a moment, no one did anything. The Unown continued to keep their eyes locked onto the Cubone, remaining motionless in the air while Terron kept his own hostile glare on the Pokémon. He never once put down his club, only choosing to keep it held out towards the Unown with a tight grip.

And then, all six of the Unown suddenly started shaking violently, as if they were each suffering from a seizure.

"YOU," the "O" Unown shrieked, its voice becoming horribly warbled so that it sounded like nails scrapping against a chalkboard. "YOU ARE HERE. YOU ARE HERE… YOU."

"Wait…" Terron said, dropping his hostile demeanor. "Do you know me?"

"YOU ARE IT," the "R" Unown said in an erratic voice. "CANNOT TRICK US. SEE YOU WATCHING. SEE YOU FIGHTING. SEE YOU DEVOURING. SEE YOU GROWING."

"What are you talking about?" Terron asked, now snarling at the Pokémon.

He stamped his foot forward. Immediately upon doing this, all of the Unown scattered away from the Quilava and hastily fled into their portal, screaming gibberish as the vortex slowly grew smaller.

"Oh no you don't!" Terron cried as he pressed his persona deep into his face. "You're not getting away from me! I am not going through this again! You're going to tell me everything!"

And then, without a second thought, Terron dashed into the closing portal after them.