I apologize for the snail mail-esque updating lately. I've been a busy little Bibarel lately (pardon the pun). Thank you to Matthew and Almighty for their OC's, though I need more information on Jay and Quill to use them. Also, to Psycro and sandshrew for the comma and main tips. I type fast and think faster, so I'm sorry if my fingers can't keep up with my brain. Either that, or I'm just lazy... probably the second one. Ha!

We left off with Kahrik arguing with a strange voice in his head known only as the Shadow. That will become important later. Just not now. I figured I'd introduce it now so I could have some more conflict in the story, rather than several meetings with legendary Pokemon in dreams. Makes things interesting.

I don't own Pokemon. Damn the bad luck.

Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: The Eternal Nightmare

Chapter 10: Return to Paragon Village

Kahrik's POV

The voice didn't speak again after that. We got back to town a day later than we would've without the dead weight that is my father. Three days and he couldn't recover from a knock out. Would you believe that? What kind of Pokemon can't recover from a knock out after three freaking days? Add on top of that the fact that Pokemon don't get weaker as they get older, and he was older than I was. I can recover from fainting in about half an hour. Since he was both older and stronger than me (supposedly), he should've recovered faster... unless of course he's dead. Unlikely, because he talks in his sleep. The guy wouldn't shut up for the entire time. Either he was faking unconsciousness, or he really talks in his sleep.

Talking in your sleep. Really? Wonderful. Goodbye, restful nights. Hello, listening to Dad mumbling about some chick who dumped him ten years ago under a full moon.

As soon as we got back, we stopped by the guild to visit Audrey. She threw a conniption when she saw what condition I was in. I was fine, really. I just had a few cuts and bruises from the battle, that's all. Nothing that would've killed me, and as they say, what doesn't kill you makes you stronger. Audrey didn't see it that way. In fact, she never sees injuries my way.

"Oh my Arceus! Kahrik, what have you done to yourself? You're a walking bruise! How many times do I have to tell you to be more careful before you start listening to me? Every time you come back from a mission, or a self-exploring journey, or whatever crap you're up to, you've been beaten to a bloody pulp! Is it too much to ask to be cautious?" She wailed.

Actually, yes. It was too much to ask. "Yes, mother," I growled in response, crossing my arms defiantly.

That only made her angrier. "And then you act like that! Teenagers! One of these days, you're going to get yourself hurt to the point where I won't be able to fix it, and when that happens, don't come crying to me!" After that, she left me alone to tend to Kehrimohr. Good riddance.

While she was up to that, I decided to go talk to Clefable alone. It was quite the chore to get Unfezant to leave the room (as usual, he was being a douche), but after some convincing (which started as simple requests and increased after a while to become verbal threats and brandishing of claws), he left.

Clefable looked at me with the usual warm smile. "What do you need to talk about, Kahrik?" he asked, pouring two teacups of Sitrus Berry Chai before sitting cross-legged on the floor.

I joined him as he lit a stick of incense. "It's about The Great Kehrimohr."

He paused, then took a sip of his chai. "The legendary explorer. I've heard a lot about him, though I've never seen him, until you brought him here. What about him?"

For a moment, I couldn't bring myself to repeat it. I lowered my head and responded in a disdainful snarl, "He's my father." I started tracing circles on the floor with my pointer claw.

The Normal Pokemon looked slightly surprised, but simply sipped his tea and edged the other cup closer to me. I took it up slowly, smelling the sweet steam rising from the hot liquid in the cup. Carefully, I brought the edge of the cup to my lips and drew a small draft of the drink into my mouth, rolling the Moomoo Milk and tea blend over my tongue before sending it down my throat.

"It can't be that bad," Clefable said, opening a nearby box and pulling out two pieces of Perfect Apple Coffee Cake. He handed one of the soft, crumbly pieces to me, and put the other on a small plate in front of him before pouring a Figy Berry sauce over it. Quietly, I set down the cup, took the cake, and took a bite, chewing the piping-hot cake as he continued talking. "The Great Kehrimohr is a powerful battler. I can see by your battle scars that even you had trouble beating him. Take that as a lesson; you're not immortal."

"I already know that, Guildmaster. It's just... he ran away!" I confessed, dropping the piece of cake on a plate and crossing my arms. "My mother was going to have an egg—my egg—and he just ran off!"

"Calm yourself, Kahrik," Clefable replied firmly, but in a sort of fatherly way. "As a Fire Pokemon, you have to learn to control your temper. Only then will you be able to unlock your true potential." He set down his cup and leaned forward. "As for Kehrimohr, perhaps instead of rejecting him, you should get to know him. Find out why he left. Maybe you can even learn something from him."

I frowned and stared at the floor. "I don't want to learn anything from him." Good, the voice hissed in my ear. That reminded me of what I really wanted to ask Clefable. "Guildmaster... is it normal for Pokemon to hear voices in their heads? Voices that call themselves the Shadow?"

Perhaps I should've waited until after he swallowed his food. Almost right away, he started choking on his cake. Panicking, I jumped up and got behind him, smacking his back with an open hand. Unfortunately, Unfezant heard the commotion and came in to see me trying to use the Heimlich on Clefable.

He squawked and flew over, slamming his head into Clefable's gut. The chunk of cake flew out of the guildmaster's mouth, splattering all over the wall. I grimaced. Alicia, our Altaria cleaning lady, wasn't going to appreciate that.

Unfezant strode over me and held out his wings, trying (and failing) to seem intimidating. "What did you do to the Guildmaster?" he shrieked, flapping his wings.

Clefable came to my rescue. "Unfezant, it's fine. He just caught me off guard with something he asked," he told the bird. There was a moment of silence between them before he spoke again. "Do you remember the stories they used to tell us about the Shadow?"

The Flying Pokemon stared at him. "That old ghost story? Yes I do."

"Would you tell Kahrik the story?" Clefable asked the bird.

He grimaced, then lowered his head. "I guess." I sat down with my legs crossed. Unfezant turned to me and looked down at me like he was telling me a story. Well, I suppose I was being told a story, wasn't I? "The Shadow is supposed to be a monster. He creeps into your mind and twists your thoughts, planting ideas into your head that normally wouldn't be there. There has only been one recorded time that the Shadow has actually corrupted a Pokemon almost to the point of no return. That Pokemon was the legendary Lugia. Humans built a machine that would amplify the Darkness inside him and give the Shadow enough power to turn him into a Shadow Pokemon. They captured him and used the machine on him, transforming him into Shadow Lugia. Since then, Pokemon have lived in fear of those humans coming back, taking them away, and turning them into Shadow Pokemon. Before that event, most believed it was just a scary story to get little baby Pokemon to go to bed."

By the time he finished, I wanted to throw up. Without a word, I got up and left the room, my tea unfinished, the cake still on the plate. I ignored my teammates and went outside for a breath of fresh air.

I walked by myself all the way back to our base and sat down on the edge of the pool, staring at the Gorebyss and Huntail that lived there with their Clamperl babies at the bottom, feeding on algae. I lowered my feet into the water and nudged one of their shells with my foreclaw. The young Clamperl—a girl, I think—turned to me and cooed softly. Then, it swam (I have no idea how) away. I looked up and frowned. Was I going... evil?

No! Not me. I wasn't a bad Pokemon. I couldn't be a bad Pokemon. Team Ragnarok are bad Pokemon, not me. I was a hero. My mother raised me with good intentions. She taught me how to be a good Pokemon, no matter what happened. Disregarding what she told me would be disrespecting her memory.

You know you don't want him around, the voice hissed, sending a shiver down my spine. You could kill him and any Pokemon in your way easily. One well-aimed Flamethrower; that's all it would take.

I shook my head and put my hands over my ears. Get out of my head! I snarled in response, squeezing my eyes shut. I don't want you here!

I won't leave, the voice replied, then faded away.

My stomach was churning. I got up from my spot next to the pool, ran over to the bushes, and opened my mouth, only to have a mouthful of some sort of black fire-bile drip from my jaw to the ground. It stung my tongue and killed the grass it fell on, leaving a bald patch of dirt in its wake. With a grimace, I clutched my belly and stood up, rolling my tongue across the roof of my mouth to wipe of the fire-bile. Just as campfires need wood, fire-bile helps fuel the fire of all Charmander, Charmeleon, and Charizard. Once in a while, though, we can't hold it in due to excess or extreme nausea, and we hack it up. Sucks to be whatever plant is in the way of some good old silicon dioxide (sand for you non-geeks). The fire-bile is highly toxic, even at the early Charmander stage, before they learn Ember. It's not fully developed, but it's still volatile as a chemical. In fact, some scientists use it instead of methane for Bunsen Burners. Not sure why. If they can get fire-bile from a Charmander, or one of its evolutions, they have to be close enough for the Pokemon to trust them, in which case they could just use the fire at the end of the tail.

Whatever.

After that, I stumbled into our base, still feeling a little ill. Was the room spinning? I didn't know. I staggered over to the rock that was my chair and slumped down, tail held to the side, and rested my chin on the table. I still wanted to throw up. Now my head was starting to throb.

What brought all this on? I was fine only moments ago. I've gone through more strenuous things before, but I must say, I hadn't had so much information dropped on me in one day. First, I rescue my dead-beat father, then I start hearing a voice in my head, only to find out later that the voice is apparently an ancient evil that turns Pokemon into Shadow Pokemon, soldiers of darkness. Not only did I find out my father wasn't just a young Dragon Pokemon that ran away, but a cowardly, powerful Pokemon that should've been there for me while I was growing up, and for my mother too.

I felt a tear begin to form in my eye, stinging, then rolling down my scaly cheek. It wasn't fair. My life was great, and there was nothing wrong. Nothing until I met Team Omega. Then, things just went into a nosedive, and I'd been going through hell ever since. Hell!

That's right, the voice snarled. It's their fault. Your life was perfect until they came along and asked for your help. You could punish them. What could they do? A Cubone, a Turtwig, and an Ekans. They couldn't stand up to your power.

I was so tired and bilious that I didn't argue. I knew the voice was wrong about me, and I couldn't let him take hold, but... I didn't want to say anything. I just wanted to sleep. Just... wanted to...

All I remember was a metallic call from someone entering the room. Was it someone I knew? The room was whirling around my head. A second tear rolled down my cheek, and I blacked out.

End Chapter 10

Another chapter that didn't bring any new questions, really. 'Cept one, I guess. What's wrong with Kahrik? Well, I can't tell you. If I told you, it wouldn't be a question, would it?

Still need OC's. Since no important characters have been introduced in this chapter (there will be one in the next chapter), I'm not going to paste the character form again. It's in the last... 9 chapters... except for one, I think... Whatev.

Review, you ungrateful 'tards! I slave away, working my tail off to give you masterpieces, and only six of you are reviewing? You do know you don't need an account to review, right?