But not all who looked upon the newborn world were content. The Firstborn Giratina saw the chaos born of life and feared it, for it was beyond his control. Yet, in going before the Original One, he was refused. "It is not your duty to control all," He spoke, "for that is a power even I shall not wield."

Hearing these words, the Firstborn knew rage, and said, "This chaos is folly, for it will destroy my works. Better to unmake this world than let it fester so." And thus was dissent born.

Word of Artemis' awakening spread through the guild like wildfire, and despite Audino's protests, the infirmary was soon crowded with pokémon. Artemis, too weak to defend herself, was soon buried under a mob of concerned guild members.

"I'm sooooooo glad you're alright, Artemis!" Cleo shouted, the fire on her tail flaring with excitement. "Chess was so worried, he kept crying and wouldn't eat a thing!"

"Nuh-uh!" Chess replied indignantly. "You're the one who was all weepy! I've seen dryer water types!"

"Alright, you two. Back off," Dewott chuckled, hauling his eager teammates back by the shoulders. "Give Artemis some breathing space."

"Yeah, Cleo," Zen chimed in, "If you don't calm down soon you're going to set something on fire." He furrowed his brow and scratched at the long bandage wound around his torso. "Hey, why weren't you this excited when I woke up? I nearly died, you know."

"No you didn't, numbskull," Sev chided him. "All you did was lose some blood. You hardly need the stuff, given how little you use that brain of yours." He tilted his head thoughtfully. "You know, if you think about it, I was in far more danger watching over you until Team Exile arrived. That zoroark could've attacked at any moment. It was quite heroic of me."

"By the legends, you're all going to have some fresh injuries if you don't back away from my patient!" All eyes turned to Audino. "Dewott, get Cleo and Chess out of here before they knock over any more of my medicine jars. Zen, Sev, what in Arceus' name are you two doing out of bed? And Darkrai-" She clenched her fists and took a deep breath. "Darkrai, just stay where you are. I might need your help in a minute. Everyone else, out!"

After a chorus of goodbyes and a small brawl between Cleo and Chess, the room cleared out, leaving just me, Artemis, and an exasperated Audino. Over the next several minutes, she had Artemis perform a number of mind-numbingly simple tests - everything from holding up paws to reading a chart of footprint runes - all of which she completed with ease. At the third round of "how many fingers am I holding up," Artemis had had enough.

"Alright, that's it," she said. "I feel fine. I'm not seeing double or twitching or anything." With that, she rose to her feet and leaped out of bed.

I would've been impressed, if she hadn't slipped on the landing and slammed face-first into the floor.

Audino and I rushed to her side and, with no small amount of complaining on Artemis' part, managed to haul her back into bed. When it was done, Audino stepped back and shook her head. "Nobody ever listens to me. I tell them to stay in bed, and what do they do?"

Artemis growled quietly and shot me a glare. "Not a word of this to the others, got it?"

I gave her a look of absolute shock. "As if I would ever do such a thing while you're ill. Why, that'd just be cruel."

Her eyes narrowed further. "Darkrai, I swear, if you so much as think about mentioning this-"

"You'll what?" I asked innocently and took a step backwards. "Jump out of bed and come get me?"

Artemis was about to do just that before Audino intervened. "Please, would you both stop acting like hatchlings? This is not making my job any easier."

"He started it," Artemis grumbled.

Audino sighed. "You two are impossible. Artemis, as I've said before, the loss of your horn is a very serious injury. Even if you're feeling fine, there's no telling how dependant you actually were on it - and this little episode has made me think it was more than you realized."

"So what, you're just going to keep me in bed forever?" Artemis asked.

"I might, if you keep making things difficult," Audino snapped. "Normally, I'd just have a psychic check your mind for damage directly, but since you're a dark-type, that just isn't going to work on you. There's nothing for it but to wait, unless you happen to know some way to read minds without a psychic-" Audino froze, eyes fixed on nothing in particular. A moment later, she began chuckling quietly.

Artemis and I traded glances. "Hey Audino…" Artemis began, apparently just as unsettled by her behavior as I was, "you feeling alright?"

"Oh, I'm feeling just fine..." she muttered. Suddenly, she whirled to face me, eyes bright. "Darkrai! You did something to that pangoro earlier that scared him senseless, right? What was it?"

Her sudden shift in behavior caught me off guard. "I don't… what, are you going to chew me out for that too?"

"No, no!" Audino replied sharply. "I couldn't care less about that brute. What I want to know is what you did to scare him!"

"I sent him a nightmare," I said, "but I don't see what this has to do with anything-"

"Argh, how can you people be so ignorant?" Audino shouted, stomping her foot. "You gave him a nightmare! To do that, you would've had to connect your mind to his! Like a gengar when they eat dreams, only much more powerful! Am I right to guess that you could interact with the pangoro while he was unconscious? See into his dream? Speak with him, even?"

"I could, but…" I suddenly realized what she was getting at. "You want me to make Artemis dream so I can check her mind."

"Finally he realizes the obvious!" Audino shouted triumphantly.

"Hold on a sec," Artemis said. "According to you, I could be all kinds of messed up in my head, and your solution is to send him poking around in there?"

"I'm with Artemis on this one," I added. "With the pangoro, there was no reason for me to be gentle. I'd probably just cause more damage if I tried the same with Artemis."

"So we be careful," Audino replied. "I"ll keep an eye on Artemis, and the moment I see any signs of distress, I'll snap you out of it." She smiled broadly. "But it's either this or keep you in bed for at least a couple weeks while I run more tests-"

Artemis didn't let her finish. "Do it, Darkrai."

Creating the dream was pretty simple. Like I had earlier that day, I felt out around me for the hidden tide of dark energy. Gathering it around me, I reached out and, as carefully as I could manage, sent it coiling around Artemis' mind.

It was around the time the dream started forming around me that I realized I had no idea what I was actually supposed to be looking for. Still, I was committed - I got the distinct impression that trying to break off the dream at that point wouldn't be pleasant for either of us - so I let it form, and figured I'd know if anything was out of place when I saw it.

Of course, when it comes to dreams, it can be very hard to tell what "out of place" actually means.

Mommy's job is very dangerous, Artemis. She helps pokémon who are in trouble, like when they get lost in a dungeon or hurt in a storm. That's why she's not feeling well today, but don't worry. She'll get better. She's a lot tougher than she looks.

I was in a city. I stood on a paved cobblestone road, ringed on either side by large buildings of brick and stone. At the end of the road was an enormous castle, decorated with colorful banners bearing the Exploration Team Federation's symbol. From where I stood, I could easily see that the city was built on a hill, with the castle perched at the top. The rest of the buildings spread out below me, sloping away before stopping at a large stone wall some distance away.

Come on, Ajax! My parents said there's all kinds of hidden treasures in places like this! Let's go find them!

The buildings were strange, though at first I wasn't quite sure why. They were very old - so much so that no one remembered when they'd originally been built - but that wasn't the strange thing. The precision of their construction, the strange carvings and ornaments that decorated nearly every structure, the sharp edges and neat, ordered layout of the city… it was all like nothing I'd ever seen. Then the history of the place hit me.

This city was built thousands of years ago, during a time known as the Age of Unity, when humans still walked the world. This was a thriving metropolis, and even though it's been the Federation's capital for nearly three hundred years, we have yet to fully explore the city. This is mostly due to the large number of mystery dungeons in the area… but I'm getting ahead of myself.

I knew this place - Relic City. Though first built by humans, it had become a home for many over the centuries… Artemis among them. She had been born here, raised here, wandered its streets and explored its hidden nooks and crannies. The outside world may have held all sorts of wonders and adventures - and Artemis had seen no small amount of it, on the few occasions she'd been allowed to travel with her parents - but she still loved every day spent in Relic City. It was special. It was home.

And it was burning.

Fires raged through the streets, and thick clouds of black smoke filled the air. Panicked droves of pokémon ran through the streets, fleeing towards the city's edge. Exploration teams could be seen scattered about, either trying to rescue those trapped inside or impose some order on the chaotic exodus. Though a few, mostly water types, tried to combat the flames, they did so only as a delaying tactic, trying to buy others more time to escape the city. The fires weren't the real threat, anyway.

The guildmasters are worried. Mystery dungeons are still popping up all over, more and more often. They should've started shrinking after the Falling Star, but they just keep expanding no matter what we do. If we don't get this under control soon, I'm worried we might- Artemis? Why are you still awake at this hour? Come on, let's get you back to bed.

On the road nearby stood several figures. The first two I recognized instantly - Torterra and Reuniclus, looking almost identical to their present selves. Next to them stood an elderly marowak who, despite his age, seemed ready to spring into action at a moment's notice. Just behind him was a middle-aged, fearsome-looking luxray who was carefully inspecting the last two members of the group - a young, frightened kirila and a small but undaunted absol. It took me a moment to realize I was looking at a much younger version of Artemis.

The luxray, satisfied that the two were uninjured, turned to the others. "You're sure you can get them out of the city?"

Torterra nodded. "Rue and I know how to handle fire, and Moro should be able to break through any rubble that gets in our way. I'm more worried about you, Menelaus. That dungeon's growing fast, and I can't even begin to guess what it's like on the inside. Even if you do manage to find her, it might not even be possible to get out again. Are you sure you want to do this?"

The luxray growled quietly. "Helena's still in there. I'm not leaving without her."

Torterra sighed. "Very well. We'll get these two to safety."

A new voice spoke up - Artemis, her tone much higher than I was used to. "Wait, what's going on? Aren't you coming with us, Dad?"

The luxray padded over and gently placed a paw on her shoulder. "Artemis," he said quietly, "your mother is somewhere inside that dungeon. I need to go find her, help her get out before it spreads through the rest of the city."

This time, it was the kirila's turn to protest. "You can't go back there!" he shouted, his voice cracking. "Everything's going crazy! What'll we do if you-" He stopped himself short, but the unfinished question hung heavy in the air.

The luxray locked eyes with him. Even from my vantage hovering just above the road, I could feel the intensity of the stare. The luxray radiated an aura of calm determination, and he focused that energy into his steady gaze. "Ajax," he said, "listen to me very carefully. You have a long life ahead of you. In it, you will face obstacles that seem impossible to overcome, fights that you have no hope of winning. It's in those moments that you have to choose what kind of person you really are, to stand up for what you believe in even when the legends themselves seem set against you. Because if you run, if you abandon everything you hold dear, then you're losing something far more precious than your life. Do you understand?"

The kirila gulped and nodded. The luxray turned and began striding calmly towards the burning fortress, pausing only to give one last remark.

"Artemis, Ajax!" he shouted over the chaos of the city. "Keep each other safe, and no matter what happens, never give up! I'm counting on you two!" With that, he vanished into the smoke.

It was only then that Artemis noticed me. Seeing me floating nearby, she seemed confused for a moment, torn between her dream self and reality. A moment later, her eyes flashed with recognition, and I drifted down to speak with her.

"So this is the best you could manage?" she asked, her voice still that of a child.

"It's not like I had much to work with, pipsqueak," I replied. "Be glad I even managed this much. I'm surprised something so big could fit inside such a small space."

"Yeah, well..." she looked towards the burning keep where the luxray - her father - had disappeared. "I'm really starting to wish you hadn't."

"Um… Artemis, we need to go."

We both turned to face the kirila. He was small, scrawny, and his face was smudged with soot and ash. In any other situation, his appearance would've been comical.

Here, it stopped Artemis cold, and I knew exactly why.

Artemis… you need to eat something. I know you're worried about your parents, but starving yourself won't help anything. They'll come back. Just give them a little time.

The city changed around us. The fires vanished, and the panicked sounds of its fleeing residents faded into silence. Where before it had been a smoke-filled night, it was now daytime, the sun hidden behind a thick blanket of clouds. The buildings around us seemed wrong, somehow - I could've sworn I caught them shifting in strange ways, just out the corner of my eye.

We'll form a team, then. Torterra will let us into the guild - she has to. We'll train hard, and one day we'll go back into Relic City and find your parents. Until then… until then, we'll be exiles, I guess. Team Exile.

This place, the whole city, had become an enormous mystery dungeon, and we were deep inside. Artemis, for her part, appeared much the same as when I'd first met her, although she bore several fresh injuries she'd earned fighting her way here. Her familiar black treasure bag was slung over one shoulder, and her explorer's badge, pinned prominently to the strap, seemed to shine with a brilliant luster. She still hadn't taken her eyes off her teammate.

We're ready, Ajax. Let's do this.

The gallade was much different from the frightened little kirila I'd seen just moments ago. He bore an expression of wary calm, his eyes scanning the surrounding buildings for threats. On his hip was a leather pouch, the distinctive handles of the iron thorns inside within easy reach. I recognized it instantly as the pouch Artemis had given me before our second mission.

The gallade looked down at Artemis and smiled. "Come on, Artemis. You aren't going to let one little drapion get the best of you, are you?"

She just stared, dumbstruck.

The gallade laughed in reply to some unheard remark. "Alright, alright! No need to go bringing that up again. Let's get moving - we're almost to the keep."

A sudden, terrible recognition dawned on Artemis. Her eyes darted around as she took in her surroundings. "Darkrai," she said flatly, "end the dream."

I blinked. "Artemis, are you sure? This could be exactly what Audino told us to look out for-"

"End it," she snapped. "Now!"

I reached out, trying to find the invisible threads of power that held the dream to her mind. It was a lot more difficult than I thought it'd be.

A tremor ran through the dream city. The buildings around us seemed to roll, to bend as if obscured beneath a pool of water. Shadows deepened, the sky grew dark, and a stale wind rolled through the desolate streets. Still the gallade marched onward, oblivious to the sudden changes.

Finally, I found the threads and, with a small effort of will, severed the flow of energy into the dream.

Nothing happened.

"Darkrai," Artemis hissed, her voice growing frantic, "what's taking so long?"

"I…" I gulped. "I don't know. The dream should've stopped-"

Artemis whirled to face me. "I don't want 'should've,' I want you to stop this legends-forsaken nightmare now!"

The moment the gallade vanished into the keep's entrance, we heard the laugh. It was a deep, rolling sound that shook the earth and made the air quiver. It was a sound that simply shouldn't exist, something so profoundly unreal that it sunk into my mind, echoing through my skull in a maddening chorus.

It was a laugh I'd heard before.

"What's this, then?" a voice hissed, ringing out all around us. "Finally come to pay me a visit, Darkrai?"

A massive gust of wind washed over us, nearly knocking both of us to the ground with its sudden force. As it blew, it seemed to tear at the buildings and streets, ripping them to pieces like bits of cloth to reveal an inky black void underneath. We soon found ourselves standing alone on a barren platform of rough stone, suspended over a vast abyss. Nothingness spread out around us, so complete as to be a presence of its own.

Then, something stirred in the void. There was nowhere for it to hide, no fog to obscure its presence, and yet it remained hidden just beyond sight. We noticed it only because the blackness seemed to ripple where it passed, revealing a long, serpentine form. It coiled around our small island of rock, still laughing that alien laugh. As it settled in around us, a pair of glowing red eyes appeared. They fixed on me, bored into me, made me shrink under their baleful glare.

The not-serpent spoke again. "Not even going to say hello, after all I've done for you? How very rude."

I took a moment to pick up the scattered pieces of my thoughts. Whatever this thing was, I was pretty sure it could kill us whenever it felt like it. The fact that it had decided to speak to us instead was not a good sign.

"Um…" I grasped for words. "I'm pretty sure I don't know any giant, dream-dwelling snake monsters."

That drew another long chuckle from the creature. "My, how forgetful you are. You don't even recognize the face of your closest and dearest friend?"

Before I could react, it lunged out of the not-darkness, seizing me in a set of shadowy tendrils. Its enormous and now extremely-visible face sat a hair's breadth away from my own.

The thing in front of me was a vast grey snake, its body covered in large golden ridges. Red and black stripes ringed its bulk, and six very sharp looking spikes protruded from its lower half. The tendrils in which it held me were made of an oily black substance, tipped with large red claws, and sprung from the creature's back.

"I," it rumbled, "am Giratina. I am the firstborn of Arceus. I am the most ancient and powerful being in all of creation." The creature's cavernous maw twisted into a sickening grin. "And you, Darkrai, owe me a very great debt."

"I wouldn't hold your breath on that one, snake-face."

Giratina turned, eyeing Artemis curiously, as if she were a mote of dust that had just spoken. "And who might you be, little absol?"

Artemis, for her part, stood defiantly. She no longer appeared as she had during the dream, but instead as I knew she was in reality - shaky, covered in bandages, and had a jagged lump of cloth where her horn should've been. Despite her rough shape, she met Giratina's glare with one of her own.

"Name's Artemis," she replied, "and that's my teammate you've got there. So if you wouldn't mind putting him down, we won't have to find out if legends can bleed."

Giratina tilted its head to one side. "Oh really now? Well isn't this a surprise. You've made some new friends in my absence, it seems. How very unlike you." With deliberate caution, Giratina set be back down on the stone island and drew back, watching us with contented amusement.

"Listen, if you know anything about who I was or what happened to me-"

"Well of course I know all about your past, Darkrai," Giratina replied smugly. "You might even say I made you what you are today. But that story will have to wait, I'm afraid, as it seems we're running short on time…" the creature chuckled. "Which is ironic, all things considered. But I digress. You and I have business to attend to."

I folded my arms. "What are you talking about?"

"The zoroark. What else?" Giratina's tendrils drifted forward, and it idly examined one of its crimson talons. "He was a useful tool, but I'm rapidly growing tired of his incompetence. I'd like to see him removed, and I can think of no one more capable than you in resolving this matter…" It flicked a tendril towards me and smiled. "Even given your present condition."

"First of all," Artemis interjected, "Darkrai's not the team leader here. I am. If you want our help, you talk to me."

Giratina grinned once more. "Oh, that is just precious-"

Leave it to Artemis to interrupt a demigod. "And second," she continued, "I don't make a habit of helping overgrown slugs who kidnap me and my teammate."

At first, I mistook the sound Giratina made for a howl of rage. When it didn't proceed to rip us limb from limb, however, I realized it was laughing yet again - this time in earnest, its head thrown back as it shook with mirth. "Little absol, you are quite the treasure! I'll be keeping a close eye on you, never doubt that." The creature's expression grew hard. "But you will assist me, whether you wish it or not. I believe you'll find there's an interesting bit of news waiting for you when you awaken." Giratina turned, eyes focused on some distant point. "And with that, we're out of time. I wish you both the best of luck, and look forward to meeting again in the future."

"Come on, wake up already!"

I opened my eyes to find Audino, Reuniclus, and Torterra crowded around, eyeing Artemis and I anxiously. At least, that's what I thought I saw - it was hard to see past the thick, amber sap that quickly flooded my vision. I tried to wipe my eyes clear, only to find some sort of fibrous lump resting on my forehead, secreting the stuff. I clawed at it, and it came loose with the sound of snapping vines.

"Audino," I asked flatly, staring at the odd plant I now held in my hand, "what am I looking at, and why was it on my face?"

Audino, for her part, sighed deeply. "Of course. I save your life for the second time in so many days, and the first thing you do is complain about my treatments. It's a worry seed, for your information, and it's the only reason we were able to snap you out of that dream at all. You're welcome, by the way."

Artemis awoke a moment later, and after helping untangle another worry seed from her fur - with no small amount of complaining on her part - Artemis and I told them what we'd seen in the dream.

"Giratina…" Torterra whispered. "If that monster is truly behind recent events, then things are far worse than I could've imagined..." For the first time since I'd met her, the Guildmaster sounded uncertain. Afraid.

That scared me a whole lot more than the nightmare had.

"What exactly is Giratina?" I asked hesitantly.

"Giratina is a legendary, perhaps the oldest among them short of Arceus Himself," Reuniclus explained. "According to the old stories, it was created alongside Palkia and Dialga to govern the underpinnings of the cosmos. Where Palkia controls space and Dialga controls time, Giratina is said to rule over the unseen fabric of reality. What that means isn't clear - there's precious little information on the legends, and most of it's muddled by centuries of retelling." Reuniclus pressed a blob-like hand to his forehead. "What we do know is that Giratina, for some reason, turned against the other legends. He was imprisoned in a place called the Distortion Realm, and has been trying to escape ever since."

"And somehow, this very old and very dangerous demigod is involved in both Darkrai and the zoroark," Artemis remarked dryly. "Well, that's just fantastic."

No one said a word as the idea sunk in. What are you supposed to say in a situation like that? I was just surprised none of us broke into tears or started screaming... although the latter sounded rather appealing.

"Well," Audino began after some time, "I think we can safely conclude a few things from this."

All eyes turned toward her. "One," she continued, eyes closed, "Darkrai's story, while certainly worrying, didn't strike me as the result of psychic trauma. I'd say it's likely that Artemis will recover most of her capabilities, given time and proper treatment."

Audino began pacing through the room. "Two, the zoroark was involved in something far more serious than simple banditry. I say 'was,' because it's clear Giratina doesn't want his help anymore."

"And three," she said, stopping next to the infirmary's entrance, "someone is a very poor eavesdropper!" With that, Audino yanked the door open, and Cleo, Chess, and Dewott went sprawling on the wooden floor.

Seeing them, Torterra sighed. "I suppose I should've expected you three would be hanging around here somewhere." Waving a vine, she motioned them over. "Well, come on in then. I see no reason in locking you three out, since I assume you heard everything anyway."

"We… ah…" Chess stammered. "I mean, we totally weren't trying to listen in, but we did kinda hear some stuff…"

"Yeah right!" Cleo snapped. "I barely heard anything over all your wiggling around! I don't know why I went along with you in the first place."

"It was your idea!"

"No it wasn't!"

Dewott shoved past his bickering teammates. "Guildmaster, I'm sorry for eavesdropping," he began, "but unlike these two lunatics, I actually have a reason for being here."

"Oh?" Torterra asked. "What is it, then?"

"Team Gladius just returned from their patrol, and they asked me to get you as soon as you were done up here," he replied. "They said they've found the zoroark."