Look, it's a chapter! And like promised, with Deoxys as well!
Hopefully I can get on a more regular schedule for the time being. SATs were last weekend, so now I've got nothing to stress and worry over (not that they were really stressful). But who cares, I've also got HeartGold! Just like I remember Gold being, but so much better. As I put this up I'm about to catch Sudowoodo. I'm taking my time through the game, I want to enjoy it.
Enough ramblings, here's the chapter!

Chapter 9: Dreams

That night, everyone had dreamt. It wasn't as if a single person, or a few did. Everyone was dreaming. Some were simple and fuzzy, some were nightmarish. Some were...more. Take mine, Tide, and as I would find out at a later time, Deoxys'. Ours were not typical dreams.

Deoxys had been asleep for two days now, and it was just beginning to be dawn once more. He was sitting cross-legged in what he had decided to call his "room." As he awoke, those cold, unfeeling eyes opened to familiar surroundings of rock and darkness. He scanned the rest of the mountain he was inhabiting. Not a soul was to be found.

He wasn't surprised by this. Most of the other pokémon had left the mountain weeks ago. They had all learned to fear his power, and the threat he posed to their lives. He didn't care. They were only distractions and obstacles.

The alien left these thoughts to focus back upon his dreams. "Odd...these...dreams...they seemed to real. But I believe that I've learned more. A Treecko...and a...Squirtle. A very...special...Squirtle," Deoxys eyes widened in realization as best as they could. "Of course...he is the key. My destiny...my purpose. It all lies...with him. But just where?"

Deoxys searched deeper into his memory to see more of his vision. "Trea...sure Town. Yes...that is where I must go...but first...to find it. Arceus...why? Why do you make things so difficult for me?! WHY?!" Overcome with frustration and grief, Deoxys rose from the ground. He took off down one of the abandoned halls of the mountain, blasting a Hyper Beam attack as he did so.

He continued his blind flight through the endless corridors, firing off Hyper Beam after Hyper Beam in an attempt to ease his fury. He needed to be freed of his burden. He needed to find that Squirtle.

Soon enough, Deoxys finished his tantrum. His anger was calmed after he took it out on the rock that enveloped him. He returned to the small cave which he had called his home for the past several weeks. As he landed upon the ground, he took note of an unusual noise, a rumbling coming from deep within the mountain and was rapidly gaining volume.

"Hmph. It seems that the place is collapsing. Shame, I was growing attached to it." In the blink of an eye, his body began to morph. His arms thickened and flattened out. The rest of his body gained an armored appearance as his head fused with the rest of his body. Looking straight up through the hole in the mountain he had created previously, he shot off into the sky.

A few hundred feet into the air, he stopped and took in the world around him. The sun was just now beginning to peek out from the horizon, its warm embrace slowly grasping the waking world. The rumbling was as loud as ever, and Deoxys noticed that the mountain had been nearly reduced to rubble at this point.

"Now...to Treasure Town..." The alien felt a warm feeling coming from within him. "Is this what it means to be...excited? I like it...very much."

He transfigured his body once again, this time gaining a form that was the exact opposite of his shelled defensive form. His head elongated to a point in the back, and his limbs became rail-thin. This form was built for speed, and Deoxys knew that a quick aerodynamic body would get him to his goal all the faster. The excitement was building by the second.

Without any more thought given to his goal, Deoxys shot through the sky as fast as he could. Wherever Treasure Town was, he would find it. He knew that it was far from where he was now. How far, he wasn't sure. He did not know where Treasure Town lay. All he had was instinct, and a driving ambition to discover his destiny.

"I don't know how...but Tide...I will find you...and then...I will figure out my destiny through the only logical method...your death..."

Deoxys was satisfied with his logic. His dream, as he could decipher it, was a vision. His twisted interpretation was that he was to kill Tide, and then he would learn his purpose. And then...Arceus would come...

Like Deoxys, I, too, had a powerful dream. Unfortunately, it was not a vision of any kind. No, it was something more than that, something I wish I never had to go through with. My dream that night was a painful look at just who I was. Or rather, who I had been.

That night, I had crashed right after the training session Phloe and I engaged in. If I didn't know any better, I would have said that we had leveled up a bit and were stronger than before. Truthfully, I probably would be better off now had our new acquaintances Thor and Mia not tried to kill me. At least, Thor almost did.

Nonetheless, I was exhausted. It had not been a few minutes time before I fell asleep, without eating dinner at that. From there, my mind decided to treat me as guest to my past as a human, through one particular memory that has now impacted me more than I would have liked. In retrospect, I suppose it is nice that I was beginning to regain my memories. If only my memories weren't painful.

It had been about three years ago. I was several days north of Mauville City, only a short distance away from exiting the desert that lies between the city and Lavaridge. I had been spending the past week in Mauville for...something. I couldn't remember that much.

It was about midday, with the blazing sun high overhead, its head beating down upon me. The desert was nothing but sand, as well it should be, and the sandstorms were well beyond annoying at this point. Not even the brisk winds they brought would make this any better for me. Just ahead of me were the mountains. They signified the end of the desert, and if I could make a good way through them by evening then I would be making good time. It would only be another three or so days before I made it back to Fallarbor.

Thinking back, I can't even remember what my human form was like. It was just natural and there. My memories couldn't bring back that much detail at this point.

It was at this point that I noticed my companion. How I had not known of his presence before strikes me as odd. As the dream, or I suppose memory, continued, I stopped for a moment to look around for anything of interest. Aside from sparsely interspersed rocks around the bleached sand and cracked, parched earth, there wasn't much. I could not see any clouds that looked particularly worrisome. There were only a few fluffy white clouds coming from the west.

"Well Cerb, it looks like we'll cover a fair distance today," I commented to my companion. Smiling, I looked to my side.

There stood a proud Houndour, his eyes sharing the same kind of joy as mine. We were both ready to get out of this infernal desert once and for all. The Houndour, Cerb, yipped a reply to me. Being a fire type, he wasn't especially affected by the desert heat. Compared to what I thought of it, this was a nice day at a tropical beach to him.

I bent down and ruffled the fur on his head. "We should get moving, boy. Just because things are working out for us now doesn't mean something won't happen. You know how sudden the weather can change, no matter where you are."

Cerb whined a bit, as if what I said brought back a bad memory. Of course, it did just that. A year before he had...wow, I don't even remember that. When will my memory be complete again?

Anyways, the memory skipped ahead a few hours. We were both now running as fast as our bodies could carry us. The mountains continued to taunt us with their distance, even though they were now less than a mile away. But with what chased us, it seemed like eternity.

The sandstorms had ceased. The only noise was a low rumbling coming from behind us. The light from the sky was quickly fading, as if the sun was being choked of its light. I turned to look behind us, and saw the approaching monstrosity as it gained ground faster than we could run away.

It was a storm, more like a freak storm under the conditions it came. Out of the blue? Definitely. As we ran, I saw bolts of lighting flash to the ground and between the low hangings of clouds. Focusing back to what was ahead, I yelled to Cerb in between gasping breaths.

"Keep running, Cerb! If we can make it into the mountains, we'll be safe. We just have to hurry!" The demon-dog barked to agree.

I could feel the wind of the storm beginning to whip at my back. I could have sworn I felt a few raindrops had hit the back of my head. The storm wasn't moving that fast, was it? It was at least several miles away just moments ago! Regardless, Cerb and I were now upon the base of the mountains.

The craggy faces were quite intimidating. Climbing was out of the question. But I knew that there was a path somewhere nearby. Just where was it?

Cerb barked a warning to me. The storm clouds were now passing overhead and already I could feel the rain pick up into a slight drizzle. I looked at my Houndour. The water hit his skin with a sizzle and a puff of smoke. His face was contorted in a grimace as he tried to fight the stinging that his weakness brought him. I felt terrible for him. We had left his pokeball at home in Fallarbor, for reasons I cannot even remember now.

"Come on Cerb, this way!" I ordered, pointing to the right, where I was sure that the path was located. He didn't wait to be told twice, and the two of us ran as fast as we could. A bolt of lighting lit the sky for only a second, making it seem brighter than even daylight for a moment. The rain picked up even more when a resounding thunder followed.

It must have been a few minutes, but we were fortunate to come upon the sloping trail that led into the mountain region. Fate being naturally cruel, the path was pure mud at the moment, something I failed to make note of when I first remembered the trail. Rainwater was sloshing down the incline, making the normally dirt and sand pathway a pure nightmare of slippery, thick mud that would be easy to get stuck in.

"Don't worry about it Cerb, just keep moving." I advised against better judgment. Cerb whimpered. He wasn't even sure that this was the best plan of action. But I as looked at his pained expression and his now sopping wet fur coat, I knew it was the only way. I was drenched as well, but at least rain didn't hurt me.

Taking the initiative, I took a few tentative steps up the path. My feet sank, but I was able to keep going, even though I slipped every few steps up. At the first leveled-out area, I turned back and motioned for Cerb to hurry. The Houndoor realized that this was the only way we could really go and reluctantly tried scampering up. His paws scurried as fast as they could on the slick mud, but he was only moving so far. Soon enough he lost all momentum and slid to the entrance, his body now covered in mud.

"Cerb! Hang on buddy, I'll get you!" I cried, sliding down the mud to reach him. Stooping down, I pulled out a rain poncho out of my pack. "This'll do enough for now. If only I had planned for this kind of a thing!" I berated myself for being so foolish to fail to prepare for freak incidents. I carefully picked up the medium-sized dog and began the trek up once more.

Carrying him did not make the task any easier. In fact, coupled with the increasing loss of friction on the path it only made moving a lot harder, but I managed.

About halfway up, the narrow mud walkway began to give way to much more solid footing on bits of gravel. The rain still hampered my progress, but at least I could move with a bit more ease.

"Not much longer, Cerb," I said, trying to console my panicking Houndour. I felt terrible that he was being put through this, but at least he had my poncho to keep mostly out of the rain. "We can make it. We've got nothing but smooth sailing until we get into the mountain pass. And then, with all of the caves there, we can stop for the night and wait out the rest of the storm." If only things could have worked out like I had said.

Arceus had other plans in mind. Before I realized what was happening, a bolt of lighting struck the rock several feet above us. Large chunks of rock fell, and while most harmlessly rolled off the side, several struck myself and Cerb. One happened to nail me on the back of the head, rendering me immediately unconscious. Cerb fell from my limp arms and back down the mountain face only to be met with a face full of dirt and sand.

It must have been the next day when I awoke, because it was daylight once again and the storm had subsided. I sat up and began to rub a sore spot on my head, trying desperately to recall the previous day's events and figure out where Cerb went. Looking around me, I saw the the way back down was blocked off by multiple boulders that were randomly scattered along the trail. With a sudden realization, I looked over the edge of the path and scanned all around for any sign of my Houdour. A horrible feeling of guilt and loss filled me, and I cried out in anguish.

"Cerb! If you're out there, just hang on! I'll get help, I'll come back and get you!" I was disheartened when I didn't hear any barking to acknowledge that he heard me. Slight feelings of depression began to hit me, but I pushed them aside as I focused on getting help as soon as possible.

"I promise you, Cerb, I'll be back soon." I whispered. Standing up, I started up once again. It wasn't long at all before I reached the entrance to the mountains, and I continued on my way.

The memory skipped forward again, this time putting it around a day later. I was in some cabin...I couldn't recall if it belonged to someone I knew or not. Several other people were nearby, each of them looking travel weary and damp. And elderly woman was tending to someone who had apparently injured themselves outside. I was warm, and I realized that I had been laid by a fireplace. My clothes were mostly dry at this point it seemed.

With a sinking feeling, I ran to a window and watched for the weather. I was greeted with darkness and the soft patter of raindrops on the window. Every once in a while a bolt of lightning would strike, providing a momentary view of the outside world.

With a sigh of defeat, I dropped my head against the glass. Someone put their hand on my shoulder. Looking back, the old woman, whom I could assume owned this cottage, was smiling knowingly at me.

"You cannot go out there in this storm," she told me. "You are lucky you got here when you did. I was about ready to barricade the doors to prevent debris from tearing down the door. But you got here, thank goodness." I turned away as I began to feel guilty. How could I have just gone on without Cerb? Even with the rocks blocking part of the way, I should have gone back down to get him and tried to find another way through.

The old woman continued to stare at me in silence. "You seemed to be off in your own world when you came, much like you are now. Tell me, what happened out there?"

I shook my head, fighting back emotions. Cerb was my Pokemon, my best friend for years. And I had left him to die in the rain. If the water didn't kill him, some Cacturne would have surely picked him off by now.

"I...I lost my Pokemon. My Houndour, Cerb," I managed to croak out. The aging woman nodded.

"I understand completely. I'll tell you what; this storm will likely end by tomorrow. What I suggest is you get some more sleep tonight. You seemed to have been on a long journey, and the cold winds and rain easily sap your energy. But tomorrow, when the storm passes, you may go out and search for your Houndour. I cannot guarantee that he will still be around, if he was even alive." My head dropped at the depressing possibility.

"However, there is always a chance that your Pokemon is still around. You never know until you look." With a nod, the lady walked off to check up on the other trainers and people who had been caught in the storm. Taking her words to heart, I went back and laid down once more to sleep.

"...Tide....Wake...please!"

I had been hearing muffled voices that didn't seem part of reality...or was I dreaming? Confused, I rolled onto my back.

"Get...up!...Time...eat...stop...the nightmares..."

I groaned at the annoying outside voice. It was like one of those buzzing noises you sometimes hear, it just never goes away once you notice it. Swatting empty air, I tried to get the distraction to go away.

"Cerb...I'm so sorry. Come back, Cerb. Cerb!" I cried out to the darkness around me.

I heard shuffling behind me. "Sorry Tide, but this is for your own good." Before my mind could piece together the meaning of this, I felt a blow to the side of my shell, knocking me into the wall. I woke up at this point, the jolting pain of my head striking the wall being more than enough to knock me out of my dreams.

I heard Phloe sigh in relief. "Finally. I was seriously becoming worried when you began to whimper. And then you start calling out the name 'Cerb.' What was that about?"

Taking in what Phloe said little by little, my mind began to put together my dream. As I became more and more awake, my brain made more connections. What I came up with in the end disturbed and shocked me.

"What is it?" Phloe asked. I could tell she wanted to know, but she was still wary about where my mind was last night.

I clutched my head as the correlation between my dream and everything else became very clear to me. I couldn't believe I had not recognized everything before. The signs were there...but I never noticed.

"Phloe..." I began with a hint of uncertainty in my voice. "I've figured out why Styx hates me."

If my Treecko partner had not been paying particular attention to what I was coming to before, she certainly was now.

"What? You do?"

I could feel a sick feeling rising in my stomach. I swallowed, trying to keep it down. "Yep. And along with that, I've come to figure out a few other pieces to the puzzle that is me and my life. Exhibit A would be, a powerful part of my past. Or I should say, of the past Styx and I shared."

Two hulking Pokemon stood alone in meeting. Under normal circumstances, they could hardly stand the other. But these were not normal circumstances.

"Arceus has finally lost it," growled the quadruped, Dialga. "He had let his experiment run rampant for far too long. Now, I will have patience still, but not for much longer. Deoxys is a threat necessary to be exterminated."

Dialga's companion, the bipedal deity of space known as Palkia, grunted a reply. "I still cannot believe I allowed myself to be a part of his plans. Such a fool I was. To allow those meteors to cause as much havoc as they have. To turn that human into a Pokemon. And to tie the entire package together, consent to let Arceus create that mutant."

"How he believes 'Deoxys' can ever become one of us...I shall never understand that."

"And the others are so blind to it! Just look at them! They have no ability to think for themselves, only to watch as the supreme deity asserts his dominion over everything and go about as he pleases. Look where it leads! Chaos! I just want to go down right now and stop that Deoxys myself before he does any more damage!"

"Again, Palkia, have patience like myself. While Deoxys has been a pest to the world, he has not down anything truly punishable yet. He has killed, but for what he's done we would have to annihilate many of the living Pokemon on the planet to justify the action. So have faith and wait. Once he's done worse, then we go above Arceus' command. That is when we end this sickening experiment."

"Even if the cost is the human?"

Dialga sighed. "Yes, even if the human is killed. It does not matter. Many futures already show that happening. Others have the boy survive. How fate shall control his destiny...we shall find out soon enough..."

I had been wanting to delve more into Tide's past, and this chapter gave me plenty of an excuse to do so. I hope to add a few more pieces to his past as time goes on, but I'm not sure when.
So a few bombs were dropped on this story. Tide and Styx's relations, plotting Legendaries, and now Deoxys has begun the long trek to Treasure Town. Could it get any worse? Oh yeah, you all can count on that much.