Author's Note:

Thank you, dunstann, for the Follow and Favorite, as well as to joe lama 102 for the Favorite.

… Aside from that, though? Insert cricket chirping sound effects here, I guess…?

Disclaimer:

Pokémon and any other referential materials found in this story do not belong to me. They belong to their respective owners and subsidiaries, and I claim no ownership of them.


Of Children, Men, and Monsters

Chapter Eleven: The Unknowing Darkness


Cue music – Xenoblade Chronicles soundtrack – Gigantic Silhouette

"Well, there's this world's gods subdued, as well as his… her… its apparent children, and thusly down goes this mysterious façade of mine with them. Really, what is this thing's gender?" The being scratched at its unruly black hair inside of the veil that it created, dispelling it a moment later. "I even forgot to ask what its name was! Gods above and below, I need to learn to exercise more proper etiquette, especially considering how old I am getting to be…!"

He gave a drawn-out sigh. "Well, that doesn't particularly affect what comes next, as well what transpires beyond that. I would hope so, at least." The ruby-eyed being floated over to the two lesser gods, reaching an arm out to their heads like he had done with the other Pokémon. "I may be overly paranoid for doing this, but if it's for the sake of the safety of everyone, then I am afraid that it must be done…" Little crimson arcs of energy flew from his hand to the twos' heads, and they shuddered as the energy invaded their minds – more specifically, their memories.

"… My, what a pleasant surprise! Gods that haven't wrought any huge atrocities themselves for once. I suppose that you two can be left alone, then, at least for now. Oh, but what's this…?" Images of a little green egg and a bright pink portal entered his mind, and his eyes widened in curiosity. A few more seconds passed as his mind flew through Palkia and Dialga' collective memories, and his eyes widened. "… Oh, me oh my! You three are evidently more than just indifferent gods; you're caring ones! Yes, I shall certainly not intrude upon your minds; it would be equal parts pointless and callous… This egg, though… it has left me curious. Mayhaps I should investigate this issue…"

A metaphorical light bulb went off above his head. "Ah, but before that, I still need to investigate the creator's mind. The greatest of gods can sow the greatest of monstrous deeds, after all…" Another second or so of floating later, and he was again reaching a hand to the equine-like deity's head. A decently long while passed as he sifted through its memories, being careful not to wound its all-too fragile mind. "… Mmh. Yes, you are all definitely worth my respect. Not that that is particularly saying a lot, but…" A loud sigh left the being's mouth.

"Again, however, I must apologize for this next part…" The hand, rather than remain a small distance away from its head, closed the gap, making physical contact with Arceus' forehead. It began to growl in discomfort as the being delved deeper into its mind before all thoughts from both parties temporarily ceased. All perspective of time faded from the enigmatic entity as he did what he came to do.

A small seed was planted in the Alpha Pokémon's head at that moment. And oh, how it would grow

The being backed off when his deed was done, sighing regretfully. "Once again, my apologies, but this was completely necessary. It may just be my paranoia, but it must be done regardless…"

He turned away from the godly Pokémon, putting a hand to his oddly pointy chin and rubbing it. "Now, what might be going on with that egg from earlier…?"

"… It is also right about now, in this near-complete silence, that I realize just how much I talk to myself…" Another sigh.


As Marza and her "pet" Larvitar cuddled each other in the human girl's bed, the larger of the two couldn't help but feel… inexplicably anxious. It was almost as if she subconsciously knew that she was being watched. Now that she thought about it a bit more thoroughly, it wasn't too dissimilar of a feeling to the morning before she met Arceus in her dreams. In fact, now that she thought about it even further, that was probably why she felt that way in the first place that morning; it was probably attempting to get into her dreams the previous night.

And if her suspicions were correct…

"Hey, Oscura… Do you feel like something's… I don't know, off?" The alien tyke gave a small shake of the head. "Because I do. I just hope that it's Arceus again, and not someone else…" Oscura didn't really appear to comprehend the other female's worry, snuggling up to her face in an attempt to alleviate her worries. Marza couldn't help but giggle at her show of affection, giving the Pokémon a head-rubbing in return. "Maybe it's just me. I hope it's just me, actually…" The lass drew the blankets a bit tighter around them, giving a gentle yawn as she drifted off to sleep a couple of minutes later, Oscura doing the same just afterward…


"Hello there, girl."

An unfamiliar voice reached out to her ears, and her eyes flew open. She immediately recognized this as a dream due to the strange, mildly hypnotic backdrop, but something felt inexplicably different from the previous time she was here – or, at least that she could remember. There was a few scattered splotches of red and black, a fair distance away. She acknowledged that red was a color normally found – at least, that she knew of – but black? That definitely wasn't normal.

"Hello, girl? Can you hear me?"

She swiftly turned around, curious as to where the unfamiliar voice was coming from, as well as who.

She couldn't really make out the features of the evidently male being, what with his shroud of crimson and black around him, but she could definitely tell that he had red eyes. They were glowing in the darkness that was being generated around him, so that specific feature was made rather obvious.

"Oh, good. I was beginning to wonder if I would have to get over there and turn you around myself." He slowly began to draw closer. "Apologies ahead of time if I appear menacing – or, as some of the younger sort like to call me – spooky to you." He cleared his throat, or at least made a sound similar too it. "Regardless of that fact, I would ask of your name, lass."

His accent was strange and unfamiliar, and his way of speaking was also certainly a bit unusual. It took her a few moments to get over his appearance and mannerisms before answering: "Um. I'm Marza Guardia. And you are…?"

"I shall refrain from telling you. Do you want to know why I am not giving you the common courtesy?" Marza opened her mouth to reply, but he didn't give her the chance to actually say anything. "Because, although I now know your name, you are still ultimately a stranger to me. Thusly, I shall tell you my name later, if I even do to begin with."

An uncomfortable silence permeated the dream space for a few seconds. Then, "… Okay? You apparently don't want to tell me your name, but I bet that you want to tell me why you're here!" An accusatory finger was now pointed at where Marza thought the man's voice was coming from.

"Oh? How ever did you guess, lass?"

Marza felt tempted to chuckle. "Well, this kind of thing has been happening startlingly often as of late. Twice, in fact, which, I'll have you know, is two times too many. The previous person who came along and into my dreams told me why it was here before doing anything else, introductions aside. I assume that you'll be doing the same?"

The being's eyes widened, if only slightly. A small laugh escaped him as he responded, "Why, yes, I will be. Not before I remark on you quick tongue, however. I do appreciate an intelligent conversation, however scathing the reciprocator of it may be and however young the person I may be talking to is. Gods knows how many brutes and old evil people I've encountered throughout my years…" That last part was muttered, though Marza still picked up on it due to either her enhanced hearing, or because of the fact that dreams were decidedly really weird.

"Gods? As in, plural? And old evil people? What, do you live in a fairy tale world or some such?"

Another brief bout of chuckling. "Ha, ha… From your perspective, my home may indeed seem as such. A shame you'll likely never get to see it; it has some rather magnificent vistas, you know."

Marza gave a disinterested hum. "Yes, well, I believe that we're getting off track. About your reasons for invading my dreams…?"

A slightly livelier chortle left his mouth, if he did indeed have one. "Ah, yes, apologies. I really just came here to investigate an anomalous occurrence I came by. It involved a green and red egg, and its teleportation to – if I am not mistaken – your home." Marza gasped quietly.

'How did he…?'

"And before you ask, you could say that a giant, equine god of a bird told me, and that its words definitely did not originate from the winds."

"Arceus…? What did you do to it!?"

At this point, the being acknowledged that his chuckling was getting rather repetitive, so he instead opted to get straight to the point: "Arceus? So that's its name? Hmm. Well, it's nothing that ought to concern you, especially considering Arceus' location in space and possibly time relative to yours. And as for why I am here? Well, it turns out that gods of space sending the young of their world to another is really quite unusual, even by my standards. I was merely curious as to how it was doing, really. Would you care to answer my inquiry?"

Marza felt concerned about what this person had done to the Alpha Pokémon, but decided that she had more immediate concerns – namely, the enigmatic being in front of her dream-self. "And if I decide I don't want to answer?"

"Heh. I would say that we'd be at an impasse, but I request that you trust me when I say that I can do a lot to a person's mind…" His eyes narrowed in a threatening manner, then unexpectedly went back to a normal shape. He proceeded to exhale softly.

"And there I go again, acting all menacing. I apologize; my nature, both in personality and being, makes me confrontational about most things. You've no idea what I've been through in my earlier years…"

'Earlier years…? He sounds no older than sixteen! And does he have mood swings all the time…?' Marza thought. "… You're forgiven, I suppose?" She next settled on answering his last question. 'May as well be nice; he politely apologized…' "And to answer your question, the egg hatched into Oscura, a small, green-skinned alien with this big horn on her head. I love her... quite a bit, I think." It took her a second to re-process what she had just said. '… Did I just say love?'

Marza then realized that, yes, she loved Oscura quite dearly, despite not even knowing her for a week.

'Huh. I suppose that I do love her, huh?' She internally chuckled for a few moments at this revelation.

The being's eyes glowed a few hues brighter; he was evidently pleased at this information. "Ah. Good. Love is almost never a bad thing, after all." The glowing, stardust-like fields of energy suddenly began to blink violently before collapsing one by one. The being looked around momentarily, taking in this series of occurrences, before stating to her:

"I believe that your dream is collapsing, Marza, which means that you are about to wake up. A shame, too; I was just beginning to get to know you…" The being's veil of darkness also began to shimmer, flickering and disappearing for a split second in a few places, though the only instance of this that lasted long enough for Marza to discern anything of his features happened, coincidentally enough, on where his head apparently was.

All that she was before everything once again went black was the pale skin, crimson eyes, and black hair with two small, white bangs falling in front of his face, concealing his ears. His oddly pointed chin was where the hole in the veil ended. Her guess at his apparent age proved to be correct; his face belonged to someone no older than a teenager.

His eyes widened, as did his mouth, likely realizing that the girl had now truly seen him, before everything went dark for the girl, a rather distinctive sense of déjà cu creeping up on her as the dream realm once again collapsed…