Author's Note:

My gratitude to BlazinVoid, shadowmwape, and BuizelKing01 for the Follow and the Favorite, as well as to Firespark15 for the former. Your attention gives me just the drive I need to continue this thing!

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 Twelve: The Searching Darkness


Marza roused quite slowly considering what she had just encountered in her unconsciousness, only propping her torso upright after several minutes of shifting around underneath her sheets. Rubbing at her cloudy eyes, she stifled a yawn in an attempt to keep quiet, as Oscura was still sleeping tranquility next to her. 'I still can't get over her unadulterated cuteness. To be honest with myself, I'm kind of on the fence about how to feel when she grows out of this phase of her life, assuming that her kind does so.'

Shuffling out of the bed, the young girl stretched, feeling her joints briefly light up in pain before relaxing almost immediately afterwards. A sharp exhale left her throat as she finished, and she plumped down on the edge of the bed. 'Well, that probably won't be the last that I see of that mysterious person. If anything, I'm kind of curious about him…' Her eyes widened momentarily in remembrance. 'And what he did to Arceus! Shoot, I forgot that he's probably not exactly a good guy!' A sigh. 'Well, not really a whole lot I can do about it now. Not until tonight, at least, and that's making the unlikely assumption that he'll even come to me again. And what was up with that face of his? He was almost as pale as a sheet of blank paper! Those red eyes and weird hair, too…'

She eventually came to the following conclusion: 'I would imagine that he's not human, if not because of his features, then definitely because of hiswell, whatever it was that was surrounding him. A Pokémon, maybe…?' A dismissive shake of the head. 'Again, best not to think too hard on something you can't help. I've got things to be doing, anyways…'

She hopped off the bed again, lazily opening the door and marching to the bathroom to begin her morning routine, as well as what come after…


Cue music – Fire Emblem Awakening soundtrack – "Someone has to save you from your good intentions."

The crimson-eyed being's eyes opened as he regained consciousness, and he gave a small hum of thought before speaking to no one in particular: "… An interesting lass, that Marza. I may want to keep an eye on her, if not because of her decidedly curious nature than certainly because of the fact that she might be capable of aiding me in my cause. For now, however, I've preparations to make and much to plan for. Let's see, here…"

His hands, now cloaked in a starkly contrasting black to his ashen skin tone, gripped at seemingly nothing before he tore a hole in space-time, an image making itself apparent. It depicted a great, large world, featuring fast, bright blue oceans, expansive tracts of luscious green land, and ice-tipped polar caps to the very-most north and south. "My, what a beautiful world! These gods ought to get a reward for their creativity or some such. In fact, methinks that they deserve far more! Of, but I am getting off-track. What of the inhabitants…?"

He gave the tear in reality a small swipe, as if it were a touch screen on a device of some sort, and it dramatically zoomed in to one of the continents closer to the planet's equator. The scene or showed to the entity proved to be an odd one, yet also undeniably magnificent: unfamiliar species of what were seemingly birds were flying through the air clear, morning air. What was unmistakably a sunrise could easily be spotted on the horizon, casting the woods and its occupants in a deep orange glow. Speaking of the latter, the seemingly young man proceeded to swipe at the tear again, zooming in even more.

Little caterpillar-like animals scurried around in the bushed and trees. Some were busy hunting, and other were seemingly in nests, raising families small and large. The being immediately recognized the bipedal beings as humans, and he observed them frolicking around, as well as the little monster-like creatures that accompanied them. He eventually came by a rather peculiar scene: a human, a young man by the looks of him, was seemingly commanding a relatively small monster into attacking another. A few other humans were standing off to the side, watching the fight play out in anticipation.

After several continuous minutes of battle, the monster not being ordered around by the boy was fatigued. The lad took out a small ball, not even half a foot in diameter, with a red top and white bottom, before hitting the white button on its middle section, causing it to expand to more than twice its original size. He then threw it at the creature, where it was enveloped in red before turning into energy and zooming into the now-opened ball. The ball shook once… twice... and then thrice before it let out a small click. The boy did a fist bump in celebration, and his apparent friends nodded in approval.

The black-haired being couldn't help but growl. His hands began to spark with bright red energy. "Might this be a display of slavery? Because I swear to my world's gods, if it is, there shall be a considerable amount of punishment to be made–!" But he cut himself off as he saw the boy's own creature nuzzle itself into its leg. The boy bent down, giving it a few pats on the head and likely murmuring a few words of gratitude. "… Hmm. This complicates things. Clearly, this creature likes its apparent master, yet the other was captured involuntarily… Do the humans earn the creatures' respect and love through attention and interaction, or do these balls indoctrinate them? I suppose that I shall simply have to see when I get there. Speaking of which…"

He spent a decently long while simply searching over the planet's surface, observing the fauna, flora, and the interactions between the former. He was mildly shocked to discover that many of the creatures were living side-by-side with the humans, working in tandem with them and living alongside them in general. "… This… This world ought to be too good to be true!" He couldn't help the small chuckle that left him. "So very brilliant, this peace between the humans and these creatures! Oh, if only such a truce held between all worlds for beings of differing species…" A great sigh. "Well, what is done is done, however atrocious those events may've been. So, this world itself needs no intervention on my part. The next step is to see what major happenstances are going on currently, and from there…" Yet another sigh. He shook his head, as if to dismiss the negative emotions coming onto him.

"Now, how to dress for this occasion…?"

He closed the hole in reality he had just created with a push in both of its edges, and, with another wave of the hand, created a robe. It was just big enough to cover everything but the very bottom of his black boots, and also had a large hood on its top to veil his face his features in shadow. Fancifully woven outlines were present on the edges of the piece of cloth, giving the otherwise all-black piece a stark contrast in the red lines.

"… Yes, this shall do. Though, methinks I should try out other colors besides black and red. A touch of white, perhaps…?" Splotches of said color then appeared behind the red outlines, which then faded from gray to black as it transitioned inward. He gave his new dress-piece a once-over.

"Perfect. Expanding my horizons is definitely something I should attempt more often. Now, what to do once I actually enter this world…?"

A groan of pain left the mouths of the two lesser deity Pokémon near-simultaneously. The young-looking entity exhaled, equal parts apologetic and frustrated. "You two shall be released from my hold soon. You oughtn't attempt to break free from me, anyways – it will ultimately prove to be a fruitless effort." The two continued to shudder in their forced slumber, grunts of pain still being loosed from their throats every now and then. The being once again shook his head, a depressed exhale leaving his throat as he did so.

"Your suffering shall leave you both in due time, as will my presence. No harm shall come of you two after that." He gave a pensive hum, rubbing his pointy chin.

"Which, I suppose, just leaves the last of my immediate questions: what to do with my new acquaintance and this "Oscura" of hers? Hmm…"