"Then let my name be Darkrai," the Shadow decreed, "that I may better choose my path in this world." And thus the Shadow went out into creation and vanished, its power to work beyond the sight of the Original One.

"What do you mean I can't go in?"

I stood, arms folded, and glared down at a very nervous Swellow.

"I- I'm under strict orders from Audino," he stammered. "She's very badly injured, and we can't allow anyone else into the infirmary until we're sure it won't cause harm."

I'd woken up in our team bedroom about ten minutes before, covered in bandages and very, very confused. As luck would have it, Cleo and Chess had been tasked with keeping watch over me, and between the two of them, they'd managed to put together a somewhat coherent explanation of what had happened. I'd taken a nasty blow to the head during the fight with the Pangoro, apparently, and had been out cold for a few days. From what I'd been told, mine was the least severe of the injuries.

And so there I was, standing in front of the infirmary, my path blocked by a very obnoxious bird.

"Look," I sighed, "this is ridiculous. I'm her teammate. My being in the room isn't going to make things any worse. Let me in there so I can make sure she's alright."

"I'm sorry, but I really can't let you past," he replied. "Unless Audino or the Guildmaster say you can go in, I can't let you through."

I gave Swellow my best glare. "Fine. I'll do this your way. Where's the Guildmaster?"

He glanced around as if about to bolt. "She… ah… she's in her chambers, asleep, I think. Between tending to the wounded and making preparations for the Festival, she's barely gotten any rest these past few days, and she's… well, she's asked not to be disturbed."

Before I could throw the bird through the wall, the door to the infirmary flew open. Audino stood on the other side, her fur matted and wild, the mostly-eaten husk of a chesto berry clutched in one hand. She did not seem happy to see me.

"Darkrai, Swellow," she hissed, "I have had a very long night, and am still very busy. I would greatly appreciate it if you two could bicker a little more quietly!" As she spoke, her voice rose in volume until she was practically screaming. Swellow and I both took several steps backward.

"I- I'm sorry, Audino ma'am!" he answered sharply, seemingly trying to snap to attention and cower in fear at the same time. "He was just-"

"I was just trying to find out what happened to my partner," I interrupted. "What's happening? Is Artemis okay?"

Audino sighed, her anger draining away. She suddenly looked very, very tired. "Darkrai," she began, pressing one hand to her temple, "Artemis lost her horn."

My heart skipped a beat. "What?"

"An absol's horn," she continued, eyes closed, "is made of more than just bone. It's a major nerve cluster, a sensory organ that lets them detect threats long before they're obvious to the rest of us. It's wired directly to the brain, and that brute of a pangoro tore hers clean off."

"I don't…" I struggled for words. "Can't you fix it? Use a reviver seed or something?"

"Unfortunately, no," Audino replied. "Reviver seeds, oran berries, elixirs - they all rely on the distorted space within a mystery dungeon to function. Since she was hurt outside a dungeon, there's no way to heal her using reviver seeds, and though orans can help, they're just normal medicine without a dungeon to manipulate. She's suffered severe nerve damage, and I'm quite frankly amazed she even survived. There's no way to repair the damage, and I have no idea what effect losing a horn might have on her in the long run… if she wakes up at all."

I just stood there, staring down at Audino. I couldn't think of anything to say. Since I'd first woken up in the forest all those weeks ago, Artemis had been by my side. I'd grown accustomed to her snarky remarks, her constant determination, her clever thinking… and that might be gone. She might not wake up, and if she did, she would very likely be crippled for life. So I stood, staring blankly at Audino, struggling to come up with some way to make things better, something to do.

Audino reached out and grabbed my hand. "Darkrai," she began softly, "I know it's hard to hear, but right now I need you to leave. Being here will only make you even more upset, and the last thing we need is your aura influencing Artemis. I'll do everything I can to help her. Just trust me."

I clenched my fists. No. I wasn't going to stand by and do nothing while my teammate lay injured in a bed. I turned and stalked away, determination lighting a fire in me that would impress a charizard. I was going to make things right. I was going to avenge Artemis.

And I was going to start with the worthless scum that hurt her.

Dewott stood guard outside one of the empty team rooms alongside a magnemite I hadn't seen before. He greeted me as I approached.

"Darkrai," he said, "I'd heard you had woken up. How're you feeling-"

"Not now, Dewott." I interrupted. "The outlaw Artemis and I fought. The pangoro. He's in there, right?"

"Well, yeah, but I don't…" He looked at me for a moment. "Darkrai. Why are you here?"

"I'm going in there to have a little chat with the pangoro. Let me through."

This time, the magnemite spoke up, its voice flat and metallic. "Negative. This outlaw is now in police custody, pending retrieval by Sheriff Magneton. Exploration team members are not permitted to interact with the prisoner under any circumstances once an arrest has been made."

"Thanks for letting me know," I replied before gliding right past the two of them and reaching for the door. Dewott reached out to stop me.

"Darkrai, back off," he said, his voice hard. I shoved him aside and threw open the door.

"Explorer Darkrai," the magnemite buzzed, "this is a violation of Federation code-"

"Bite me," I snarled, drifted into the room, and slammed the door in their faces.

The pangoro sat against the far wall, his arms folded behind his head. He rose to his feet as I entered.

"So," he drawled, "They're sendin' someone in ta rough me up, eh? Figure ya can scare me inta talkin', little 'mon?"

"Yeah. I do." With that, I darted forward, slamming my fist into his stomach. He gagged as I knocked the air out of his lungs and slammed him back against the wall.

"Where is the zoroark hiding?" I asked flatly, holding him up by the ruff of his collar.

The pangoro sucked in several deep breaths before giving me a lopsided grin. "Yer gonna hafta try harder than that ta scare me. You think I haven't had worse-"

I smashed my free fist into his ribs. "Where," I repeated, in the exact same tone as before, "is the zoroark hiding?"

The outlaw fell to his knees, looked up at me, and spat in my face.

Something inside me clicked into place. I drifted slightly back, wiping saliva off my face as I calmly eyed the still-grinning pangoro. He wanted to be difficult? Fine. I'd broken insolent fools far tougher than him before. This wouldn't be a challenge.

But it would be fun.

I spread my arms wide and felt for the familiar strings of power. Reaching out with my will as much as my body, I began to pull in energy around me. I felt it as the shadows in the room lengthened around me, as the sunlight streaming in from outside was smothered by the growing darkness. The white torches still burned around us, but it was as if the light they let off simply faded out after it left the fires. I flicked my wrist outward, reaching out with the darkness towards the pale, frightened glow of the pangoro's mind. His eyes widened with fear, only to flutter closed a moment later as he collapsed to the ground, sound asleep.

I closed my eyes and let the stream of dark energy carry me into the nightmare.

C'mon Ma, can't we go just fer a little bit?

We stood in a small clearing in a forest. The trees arched high overhead, and sunlight shone down in scattered rays from the canopy. A small hill rose in the center, topped by an improvised fort of twigs and rocks. This was a safe place, a childhood haven. Many joyous days had been spent running and playing amidst the soft grass. No matter how bad the day, one could forget all their troubles here.

Well, I guess fer a little while. But y'all be back by sundown, ya hear?

A pair of young pancham raced around the top of the hill, laughing merrily in some childish game. A third stood nearby, looking around in dazed confusion. He stumbled backwards as he saw me floating above him.

"Wha…" he began. "What is this supposed ta be? Some kinda trick or somethin'?"

I shrugged. "You tell me. It's your nightmare."

The pancham folded his arms. "Nightmare? That supposed ta scare me?"

I looked up at the hill where the two other pancham played. Seeing them, I immediately knew what significance they held for the dreaming outlaw. They were brothers, childhood companions. Sometimes they fought, sometimes they were spiteful, but they were kind when it mattered most. They'd played together, raised a fortress together, vanquished fearsome armies of invisible demons together. They were family.

C'mon, c'mon! Yer the explorers, I'm the bandit! Catch me if ya can!

That's when we heard the growl. It rumbled through the ground, ominous and deep. At the edges of the clearing, a shadow stirred, prowling between the trees. A pair of hateful eyes glowed from the darkness.

I smiled down at the pancham. "So, do you want to tell me where the zoroark went, or would you like to see where this goes next?"

"Y-you don't scare me," he stammered, eyeing the shadowy creature nervously.

I looked thoughtfully up at the hill. "On second thought, this feels like it's based off a memory. You probably already know what happens next." I sighed. "That just ruins the surprise, doesn't it?"

The creature burst into the clearing as I watched with idle interest. It might've been a feral ursaring, but it was distorted by a cloak of raw fear, the kind of terror-made-manifest that can only exist in the darkest of nightmares and made it an incoherent amalgamation of fears. I noted with faint amusement that its eyes seemed oddly similar to my own. It roared and charged towards the top of the hill. The pancham brothers saw it and screamed.

"N-no!" the outlaw stammered, shaking with fear. "Stop it! Make it stop!"

"Now why would I do that?" I asked. "I can't think of any good reason, seeing how you won't tell me what I want."

Time slowed to a crawl as the two pancham stumbled down the hill. They weren't running fast enough, of course. Looking around me, I noticed a large tree, its exposed roots creating a small hollow beneath it. I knew that's where the dream would force him to go - hide beneath the tree and watch as the creature set upon his brothers.

Memory-dreams are like that. They're terribly predictable.

Sure enough, he scrambled for the hollow. The brothers kept running, until one of them stumbled on a rock.

"Any second now…" I said.

"Stop!" he screamed, curling into a ball and squeezing his eyes shut. It wouldn't help. "I don't wanna see it! I don't wanna see it again!"

The creature closed the distance.

The pancham brothers screamed once more.

And the nightmare shattered around me.

I found myself resting against the back wall of the bedroom. My back and head ached, and my entire torso felt as if it'd been badly sunburned. I looked up to find Torterra standing in the doorway, crouched in a battle stance and still glowing faintly with the power of a recent solar beam. Dewott stood behind her, nervously watching me over her shoulder.

"What is the meaning of this?" she demanded.

I shook my head and rose to my feet. "I was trying to track down the zoroark-"

"No," she interrupted. "What you were doing was assaulting a captured pokémon."

"He knows where they were hiding!" I said angrily. "We need to know where he went so we can track him down and make him pay for what he did to Artemis!"

Torterra didn't yell. The really dangerous people never yell when they're angry - they get quiet. So when Torterra started talking just above a whisper, I knew I'd screwed up.

"Darkrai," she said, "I understand that you are upset. Artemis is one of my explorers. You've known her for, what, a few weeks now? I've known her for almost her entire life. Do you think it doesn't hurt me just as much to see what's happened to her? Do you think I don't know exactly the way you feel?"

I didn't answer.

"Artemis was hurt," she continued, "and we will capture those responsible for it. But we will do so to ensure no others are harmed, not for simple revenge. We will find the zoroark. We will bring him to justice." She stepped closer. "But we will not let our anger control us. We will not take shortcuts. And we will not torture pokémon to find him, no matter their crimes. Do I make myself absolutely clear?"

I clenched my fists. Torterra was being soft. How did she expect to find the zoroark without the pangoro's help? We needed answers, not sentiments, and every moment we wasted let the pokémon responsible for hurting Artemis, the only lead we had to who I was or what had happened to me, get further and further away. Without a word, I stormed past Torterra and left the room. She let me pass.

The pangoro's terrified sobs followed me as I descended the ramp to the ground floor.

I don't know how long I wandered Shimmerlake, pacing down village streets and through the tangled web of the Golden Tree's enormous roots. There were few pokémon out at this hour, and those I encountered made sure to get out of my way.

Eventually I found myself sitting on the edge of Shimmerlake's dock, watching as the sun climbed slowly above the treetops. Soon it would be obscured by the tangled web of branches and leaves that spread out from the enormous tree, and true to its name, the lake would shimmer with a mix of light and shadow. For now, however, the sun shone bright and clear on the mirror-like surface, and I sat staring out over the water, trying my best to think about nothing in particular.

"Thinking heavy thoughts, hm?"

Though I'd been taken by surprise, I certainly didn't jump halfway out of my skin. Turning around, I found Virgil floating beside the dock, a knowing smile on his face. How he'd managed to swim up alongside it without making so much as a splash, I didn't know.

"Hey Virgil," I greeted him, turning my eyes back out towards the lake. "You here to chew me out too?"

"I had not planned on it," he said. "I could, if you so desired. Rue told me you were quite… vindictive."

I snorted. "It's not like he didn't deserve it."

Virgil chuckled quietly. "You know, Torterra would kill me if she heard me say this, but I can't say I disagree with you."

That was surprising. I looked back at the gyarados and raised an eyebrow, which only elicited more laughter. "Oh, don't look so shocked. I may be little more than a doddering old fish now, but I'll have you know I was quite the troublemaker back in my day, both for Torterra and a number of unfortunate criminals. I've learned quite a lot since those days, but that doesn't mean I still don't want to tear that pangoro limb from limb for what he did to Artemis."

As Virgil spoke, his voice grew hard, and the lake seemed to roll in response to his anger. I was once again reminded that I did not want to be on the gyarados' bad side.

"I didn't expect anyone to side with me," I said. "In fact, I wouldn't have been too surprised if Torterra had sent you to kick me out of the guild."

Virgil nodded. "Torterra is a kind soul. Sometimes more so than is warranted. But if I may, I would offer you some hard-learned advice: you are angry, and rightly so. There's power in that anger. If used properly, it can be a potent tool in your arsenal." He looked forward as if lost in some distant memory. "But anger is never alone. It is born of fear. Fear of pain, fear of loss, fear for those we care about. As anger can drive us to greater deeds than we would have thought possible, fear can blind us to our options, turn us towards the most immediate path rather than the wisest one." He turned back towards me. "Darkrai. You fear for Artemis and, in your fear, you could only see one way to help her. I will not condemn you for your actions - I know I did much the same in my youth. But I warn you: do not let fear decide your fate. If you set out upon a course of action, do so because you think it to be right, not because your fear blinded you from any other. Do you understand?"

I looked back out across the lake. Maybe Virgil had a point. I had wanted answers, and the pangoro seemed to be the fastest way to find them. I hadn't even thought about it - I'd simply marched down and torn open his mind. I thought I'd be able to find out where the zoroark had fled, track him down… but what then? If I went after him alone, he'd just slip away like he'd done countless times before. All my little interrogation session had done was cost me the trust of the only people I had to rely on.

And, a little voice in the back of my mind whispered, if I just resorted to hurting others to get what I wanted, how different was I from the outlaws?

I sighed. "Alright Virgil. I understand."

The gyarados smiled softly. "I am glad. I had feared it would be impossible to get such a lesson through that thick skull of yours."

"Hey," I said, "what's that supposed to mean?"

Virgil chuckled. "It's supposed to mean that you and Artemis are a team for a reason. You're far more alike than you realize…" He glanced over his shoulder. "We have a guest."

At the far end of the dock stood a very nervous looking kecleon holding a small brown package in one hand. Seeing me notice him, he gave a too-broad smile and stepped closer.

"Ah, explorer Darkrai," he began, voice full of forced cheer, "I, ah, heard your team had some bad luck on your last outing. I trust you and your teammates are recovering?"

I fought off the urge to slap the lizard across the face. "Not exactly."

"Oh." He blinked, and his smile faltered for a moment before returning in full force. "Well I hope this can help improve matters!" He held out the package. "Your order arrived just this morning."

It took me a moment to realize what he was talking about. "Wait, you mean… I'd forgotten about that completely." I accepted the package from him. "Thanks."

"The pleasure is mine!" he replied. "I hope your purchase is satisfactory, and that we may provide you with any other rare or valuable items you may need in the future." With that, he scurried off, clearly relieved to be out of my company.

Virgil looked down at the package. "A delivery, Darkrai? I didn't take you as the sort to buy curiosities."

"I'm not," I answered, eyes fixed on the small brown parcel. "It's not for me." I stood and turned towards the tree. "Sorry to leave you all of a sudden, Virgil, but I've got to go drop this off."

The gyarados nodded knowingly. "No need for apologies. This business, I suspect, is more important than indulging an old fish's weakness for conversation. Be well, Darkrai."

For the second time that day, I made my way towards the guild's infirmary. The door was open, and Audino stood just inside, talking to Swellow.

"Take these up to Team Nemesis' room," she told him, slipping several vials into the bird's treasure bag. "Zen needs to drink one vial tonight, two tomorrow. He'll probably complain about the taste, but it'll help him heal. Make sure he doesn't try to spit it out."

Swellow nodded and turned towards the ramp, wincing as he noticed me standing nearby. He shuffled past without making eye contact.

"Darkrai," Audino greeted me, "come on over. Here to check on Artemis?"

"If that's alright," I replied.

Audino rubbed her forehead. "Normally, I wouldn't allow anyone near her in this state… but, seeing that I nearly had another patient to treat the last time I turned you away, letting you in will probably save me trouble in the long run."

I sighed. It would take time to win back everyone's trust after that little stunt. "Look, I'm not here to cause trouble. I just want to give her something, then I'll leave. Is that alright?"

Audino nodded and stepped to the side. I walked slowly towards the straw bed in the back of the infirmary, where Artemis lay.

Looking at her, it didn't seem all that bad. She'd had a number of minor scrapes and cuts, all cleanly bandaged and treated. For the most part, it was nothing worse than both of us had earned in our time dungeon delving.

Except for her head. Where her horn had been was a bundle of cloth, stained blue with oran juice. The bandages wound around her forehead, and at the tip I could clearly see jagged edges of bone just under the cloth. She was curled into a ball, as if to shield her injury, and her eyes were shut tight.

I sat down on the floor next to her bed. "Hey Artemis," I said softly. "I guess… I screwed up pretty bad, didn't I?"

Of course, she didn't answer. Placing the package in my lap, I carefully untied the thin string that held it shut. "You know, I'm really not good at the whole 'comforting words' thing, and I'm pretty sure you aren't hearing any of this anyway. Knowing Audino, that's probably for the best - if I had to put up with her torturous medicine, I'd stay asleep too."

I opened the box. Inside was a small cloth pouch. Its contents rustled as I withdrew them.

"I can't fix this. I probably can't even talk Audino out of feeding you whatever sludge or gunk she's got planned next. But…"

Gently, I set the bushel of dried persim berries on the edge of Artemis' bed.

"...at least I can repay my debts."

Rising to my feet, I headed for the door. That's when I heard the soft chuckling behind me.

"That," a voice whispered, "really isn't fair."

I turned to find Artemis looking at me through half-closed eyes.

"I mean, I didn't expect you to actually pay me back for that," she continued, "but I figure I could've found something else to cancel this out. But here you are, giving me these while I can't do anything but accept them…" she chuckled. "Now what am I supposed to complain about?"

I smiled and rubbed at my eyes. For some reason, my vision was all watery for a moment. "I'm sure you'll find something."