"What a pleasant…surprise?"
That was all Darkrai managed to mutter slowly between the widened gaze lock that Raikou and Suicune were silently shooting at each other. None of the two bothered to look at him, or respond to his statement on the awkward situation that had left them both utterly speechless. Of course, Suicune looked calmer than Raikou, seeing as how she was expecting such a reaction from him, while he hadn't even been expecting her visit.
As if breaking out of his trance, Raikou soon found himself stuttering, "Suicune? W-what are you doing h-here? If Arceus finds out…he'll punish you too! We're not supposed to make conta-"
"I know. I know!" Suicune replied, eyes reflecting hurt, voice carrying a soft tone that was abnormal for her. "I had to see you again…though."
The thunder tiger swore he could feel the blood rushing to his cheeks, which he therefore turned his head away, embarrassed. He wasn't quite sure what she literally meant by her answer, although he highly doubted it was for the reason he wanted it to be.
Meanwhile, Darkrai huffed, finding the implications of affection between the exile and Johto Legendary childish and irrelevant to the MAIN situation that Suicune had obviously visited for. She, of all people, he knew, would not travel as much as into forbidden land just to see the lit-up ruby eyes of her mortal thunder counterpart, and although he respected her for having the guts to come there in the first place, he mentally scolded her for risking her cover in the midst of it.
Raikou shot a look of guidance towards Darkrai, which he only returned with narrowed eyes. The nightmare Legendary could tell that the exile was silently asking for ideas on what to do, or just a simple phrase to say that would break the awkward silence that had begun to linger around them. Of course, when it came to comments about the emotion of love, Darkrai was practically worthless, as the dark-type knew nothing of the rules towards the very feeling that supposedly made its victims fall head-over-heels for the corresponding recipient.
To make a long story short: he didn't know jack-squat about love.
Then again, despite that Raikou was certain this unexpected meeting was for the sake of love, Darkrai was aware that Suicune had come for something else, something much more serious than the absurd thoughts that ran through the thunder tiger's mind.
"I need to talk to you."
The sudden question drove Darkrai away from his pondering state and convinced him to bring his eyes over to Suicune, who now displayed a look of determination across her features. Raikou stared at her as well, although curiousness bounced from the scarlet pools that surrounded his eyes, which also managed to hint his excitement simultaneously.
With his mouth slightly agape in the form of a happy grin, Raikou slowly moved closer to Suicune, and Darkrai rolled his eyes at the exile's sad attempts to contribute to the mood. It was quite obvious that the thunder tiger was now expecting Suicune's reason to visit to be that of a lover's confession.
Suicune took a deep breath, her paws gluing themselves firmly into the plush grass as if she was about to admit something sacred. It was then and only then when she turned to look at him with determined, yet somewhat happy eyes. "Raikou -"
Raikou smiled wider, gaining closer to his counterpart inch by inch.
" – I know how you can get back your Legendary status."
As if those words were a fast-working venom, Raikou's face fell, displaying instant shock beyond what Darkrai was showing through his own surprise on the matter. The thunder tiger's eyes paled, his hopes dissipating and instead replacing with what felt like anger, and the exile showed this by backing away quickly, his brows furrowing which gave his eyes an intimidating look in response.
"Not interested," was all he simply replied, voice lacking the usual jumpiness that it held, his happiness that had erupted from the bowels of his heart upon Suicune's arrival now contorting into hatred. Suicune widened her eyes, shocked by his answer, while Darkrai only quirked an eyebrow, despite that hints of concern radiated from him as well.
Slowly stepping closer as if her counterpart was a ticking time bomb, Suicune managed to mumble out in a compassionate tone, "Why…?"
All Raikou did was revert his gaze from hers, obviously refusing to face her for reasons that not even Darkrai was aware of, and the thunder tiger managed to convince them to display shock once more when he stomped off into the bushes, head lowered with annoyance. His water dog counterpart and island-mate only watched him sulk off into the unknown regions of the island's forest, and after exchanging bewildered glances with Darkrai, Suicune slowly traced his steps into the shrubs.
It wasn't long before she emerged into a clearing, which was surrounded by the forest trees, but yet had a gap between them wide enough to let the views of the dying day be seeable. With a glisten of worry sprawled across her face her eyes shot around the grassy grounds, trying to spot Raikou from the midst of the darkening environment. She sighed in relief when she spotted the said exile lying by a shrub on the opposite side of the field, his paws covering his face as if he was ashamed of something and wanted to be invisible to the world around him. Somewhat nervous, yet interested to learn of the reason behind his strange reaction to her prior suggestion, she slowly approached him.
"Raikou?" she cooed, concerned for his state and determined to relieve him of it. She placed another paw onto the grass, bringing her canine body closer to him by another inch, the sound of squished weeds erupting from the damp ground because of it.
The thunder tiger remained silent, although his muffled voice from under his barricading paws soon replied, "Those Pokemon…they died…because of me." Such sadness had ridden his tone that Suicune felt even more concerned than before. Of course, she was aware that he was referring to the deaths of the Pokemon that had caused him to be exiled from the Legendary council, and she wasn't all that surprised that such a topic would affect him the most now.
But, then again, why was he displaying hatred towards her earlier suggestion? Didn't he want to go back to the council?
"Like you said," she found herself replying softly, eyes glossy with compassion, "it was an accident."
He suddenly snapped his head up, pure hatred contorting his snout into a snarl that convinced Suicune to step back. "An accident that I could've prevented!"
His harsh tone echoed throughout the boundaries of Newmoon Island, and alongside the hurt and shock that ran through Suicune in response to his vicious words, she wouldn't be surprised if Darkrai had heard it despite his distance away from them.
Ever since the one comment that had been stated by the mother Blastoise earlier that day, Raikou's thoughts had circulated on the event that had led up to his exile from the council, as well as the event itself. Guilt stabbed his nerves, causing regretful chills to surge through his muscles and churning stomach, and such a feeling had made him hate himself just for the fact that he had never showed any sympathy for the childish things he had done in the past due to his arrogance. It was now and only now when he wished he could take it all back and fix the mistakes he had made in earlier times.
"These things happen, Raikou," Suicune muttered, her tone saddened. "I understand why you're hurt – you feel guilty for the things you have done wrong…"
"How could you ever understand?" he spat, standing up. He couldn't stop the anger that was advancing all through his thoughts, forcing him to take his hatred towards himself out on the others he cared about. "You forgive me despite that I deserve my punishment." His head suddenly bowed, his body starting to shake with tearful gasps. "I don't deserve…forgiveness…I deserve to be alone."
He turned his head up, and Suicune's face contorted into shock at the sight of his glossy scarlet eyes as tears began to fall from them, his anger being substituted with depression and the obvious need for comfort.
"The world," he choked out again, his fur becoming damp like the grass beneath their paws, "would be a lot better place without me – I am nothing but a failure. I'm a fool for not realizing this until now."
Suicune shook her head, walking over and nuzzling her head under his chin, allowing him to bury his snout into her shoulder and let the tears finally fall. "I know that's not true," she assured him softly, her cheek rubbing against his to show her support.
"But those Pokemon…" he cried out from the warmth of her shoulder, sniffles following a few seconds after, "…and all those other mistakes I made that caused beings hurt. It all happened because of me! I'm too immature to be a hero, and too worthless to be a living being."
"Don't say that!" Suicune retorted, which convinced Raikou to pull away and eye her with a bewildered look, his eyes blood-shot from tears. Her face displayed determination, although it soon softened as her quieter tone then replied, "Raikou, I believe that you have a lot of potential." She turned her eyes away from him. "I can't say I'm proud of your past actions, and I agree that you're immaturity has caused problems." She returned her eyes to him. "But I don't think that you should dwell on the past when the future needs you the most."
Raikou sniffled again, feeling embarrassed for his 'wimpy' state he had just gone through in front of his female counterpart. Suicune could tell of this, and therefore she soon said, "It's all right."
"But how can returning to the council benefit those I would protect?" he asked, tone still carrying implications of hurt. Suicune slightly smiled before walking over and sitting down beside him, leaning over to rest her head against his shoulder. This caused a light array of pink to spread across his cheeks, as his anger had died down to let his original feelings return.
"We need you, Raikou," was all she replied, scarlet eyes still keeping their softened gaze. "The Johto Legendaries wouldn't be the same without the very being who is there to make us laugh when we're down."
Raikou slightly chuckled, happy that he had contributed to the team in some sort of way when it came to his childishness. Despite this, however, he soon frowned once again. "But how…how am I going to get back on the council?" By the way his tone had stuttered slightly, Suicune could tell that he wasn't completely supportive of the idea, and his comments that he had made towards his past actions a few minutes ago proved that he was unsure if he was ready to allow the council to trust him again. Nonetheless, she decided to reply with her plan anyway.
"By proving to the council you deserve to be part of the team."
Raikou's eyes brightened at realizing that such an option existed, although his fears and guilt started to persuade him to object against it.
His thoughts were subsided when Suicune then stated, "And we do that by having you perform something so heroic that only the intentions of a Legendary could match it."
Fear yet again struck Raikou's heart - on how if he was unable to keep his role among the council in the first place, how would anyone expect him to go through on such an attempt that it would convince the ENTIRE council to give him his Legendary status once again? Did he even deserve a try? And if he did try, then would he be successful? And what action could possibly be so heroic that Arceus, as well as the rest of the council, would actually give their faith to him once again for pulling it off?
"We'll think of something…" Suicune cooed when she caught a glimpse of Raikou's bewildered face. The thunder tiger shook away his worries from his head and slowly nodded, eyes locked with hers.
"Would the council even want me back at the end of all this?" he muttered, depression clinging to his tone to where he sounded hopeless, although such a thing didn't surprise Suicune at all. "Would anyone really want me back?"
Suicune turned to him. "Of course! I mean…" Her eyes darted around, as if she was searching for clues towards an excuse, mentally going over the few Legendaries that favored her thunder counterpart. "…Entei definitely misses you…"
Her tone had sounded confused, and since it was cute to Raikou he chuckled a bit, glad that he was seeing a side to the water dog he didn't even know existed.
She suddenly turned her eyes away from him, a tint of red beginning to make its way across her own cheeks as the main conclusion on why she wanted her counterpart back came up as a reason. "Besides…"
Raikou eyed her with obvious curiosity, waiting for the conclusion of her statement.
"I sort of…missed you."
And with that she lowered her head to rest it against his shoulder once more, her nervous face relaxing into a soft one since her secret had finally been revealed. Raikou didn't blush from the statement, nor did he stutter over an embarrassed reply, but instead only smiled warmly as he bent his head to rest it on top of hers, silence befalling upon both of them as they enjoyed each other's long-awaited company.
"Ah, young love," the elegant Legendary, Cresselia, whispered to Darkrai from the concealment of the bushes. They were both hidden, watching Raikou and Suicune form their plan together and, all in the while, enjoy each other's presence and the fact that they were finally together.
Darkrai huffed again, crossing his arms, sea-green eyes narrowed into an unimpressed formation. "Nothing but a distracting emotion, if you ask me."
Cresselia turned to him, eyes narrowing as well, although it was obvious she wasn't surprised by such a response from her loner counterpart. Darkrai only shrugged, his eyes giving a hey-it's-the-truth look, which convinced Cresselia to shake her head in slight disappointment.
"I mean," Darkrai then began again, "what's so great about love anyway? If it's just me and only me, I don't see why there's a need for anybody else." With another snort he then disappeared behind the forest trees, course obviously set on his mountain cave, and when his presence was gone Cresselia allowed herself to finally show her sadness.
"If only you knew…" was all she could muster herself to whisper to the loneliness that surrounded her.
The darkness of the night fell upon the towering mountains of the Hoenn region, swiping ebony across their rough surfaces, shadows creeping up the indents imbedded within their rocky patterns. As the moon continued its nightly course across the sky, a shadowed form flew above the tips of the valley.
With glowing eyes, the Legendary dragon, Rayquaza, soared through the air as if he was on patrol, having just decided to scan the mountain areas of his region for suspicious activity among its Pokemon inhabitants. Surprisingly, not a creature stirred from the havens between the valley crevasses, and therefore Rayquaza found himself frowning in boredom.
Suddenly, a being hidden by the night's shadows slid across the grounds of a small mountain, causing the sounds of crumbling pebbles to echo throughout the valley. Rayquaza's head immediately snapped towards the origin of the noise, and with determined eyes he lowered himself through the air towards the designated spot.
Staying silent, he allowed his eyes to survey the shadowed grounds of the jungle of mountains, their barren landscapes displaying nothing but pure isolation from others. Rayquaza mentally scowled at his luck since he felt adventurous to scare mischievous troublemakers tonight, and the fact that nothing lively moved among the mountains at this time of night disappointed him.
All of a sudden, he felt a sharp kick tear through his side, sending his snake-like body instantly flying and crashing into the hard ground a few feet away. As lingering dust from the movements cleared and the echoing sounds of tumbling pebbles dissipated, Rayquaza slowly opened his eyes, moaning slightly as pain surged through his back muscles.
Eventually he placed his small claws on the floor, which helped him hoist the upper part of his body up so he could identify his attacker. However, the being he saw that stood firmly a few feet away from him made him gasp in bewilderment and utter disbelief.
A Blaziken stood emotionless against the boundaries of the night, eyes glowing in the dark. But the presence of this quite common Pokemon wasn't what surprised Rayquaza.
The Blaziken was half cybernetic.
Its stunning silver appendages shined alongside the moon's light, and its robotic left eye zoomed in, sending a long, thin red laser to aim directly at Rayquaza's head. Soon it chirped in an electronic tone, as if confirming something, before muttering out its name altogether, black smoke shooting from the jets behind it. The green dragon soon gasped when dozens of other types of Pokemon, all containing cybernetic features installed forcefully into their flesh, appeared from the shadows that lurked across the mountain's grounds.
Rayquaza roared, showing his anger through piercing eyes as he lifted off into the air, opening his jaw to unleash a bright bream that lit up the area as it collided against rock, heading straight towards the imposing cybernetic Pokemon, who dodged it with such speed that they appeared as blurs in Rayquaza's eyes. It wasn't long before another surge of pain exploded in his side, and he turned his head to notice that the metallic fist of a cybernetic Hitmonchan had plunged into his back.
In panic Rayquaza forced himself into the air, deciding to try to outrun the unreal Pokemon, who soon disappeared from sight as the green dragon flew over the valley. With a sigh of relief he cringed as lingering pain then took over, causing him to go into a dazed mess, leaving him distracted and therefore unaware of the cybernetic Dragonite that had flown up to his level upon robotic wings. With a powerful beam of the Dragonite's own, Rayquaza was collided with immense destructive energy that had been reformatted into a Hyper Beam, and was shot down from the sky, tumbling towards the valley crevasses below. As his consciousness left him due to the severe pain, he spotted the cybernetic Pokemon closing in on him like hungry predators to prey.
And then it all went black.