Chapter Fifteen: Nightmare Part 1: Control
Hall of Origins-Arcey's room
She yawned loudly, looking at her alarm clock, which read one thirty AM. She hadn't gotten much sleep in the last few days. Her powerful regeneration abilities (and the enormous amounts of food she had consumed) had kept her from looking tired, but these could only hold out so much. She laid down on her bed, casting Sleep Powder on herself to aid in the process, but its effects were taking longer than normal to kick in. She cursed her durability and resistances, as they got in the way of her sound sleep.
But finally the effects brought her desired outcome. She sank back on her pillow, slowly drifting off to dreamland. But unfortunately for her, sound sleep wasn't something she would easily come by.
Arcey's dream
She woke up in an open space, nothing around her. She felt alone, utterly alone. She felt that if she didn't find some sort of company, she'd go crazy. She started to become fidgety, imagining things watching her every move.
Suddenly in front of her a man appeared. He was dressed in a green shirt and a black jacket. He wore green pants with similar colored shoes. His face was one of pure evil and malice hidden under smugness. His hair was black and had green "jewels" in it that were green and hexagonal. His eyes were his most intimidating feature, being green and seeming to be comprised of four hexagons. Though Arcey had never met him directly, her heart raced at the realization that she was interacting with the man that was the second greatest foe she would probably ever have to face.
"Why hello, Arceus." He said calmly, knowing he had nothing to fear from the God Pokémon, his human forme enough to easily obliterate even her most powerful transformation at the current point. "It's good to see you."
"Zygarde" Arcey said, clenching her fist.
"Don't even think about it." Zygarde said, figuring out what she was planning before she was even ready to use it. "You know you can't hurt me at this point. Don't even try."
"What do you want?" Arcey demanded of the powerful legendary before her.
"I'm here to tell you." The Balance Pokémon said, evilly chuckling. "That you have no chance of beating me."
"What?" Arcey asked, a little confused. "So you're gloating?"
"In a sense." Zygarde said. "I know how you've been preparing your "legendaries" for this event for a long time. But I thought I'd tell you that I would slaughter them."
"You don't know that." Arcey said defiantly. "We've been preparing for threats of your caliber for a long time."
And I promise you." Zygarde said, leaning close to Arcey and whispering in her ear. "That I will kill every last one of them."
"There's one that can stop you." Arcey said, referring to the member she knew had the strongest will out of all of the legendaries.
"Oh, I know all about your little pet" Zygarde said, his tone suggesting that he knew he could beat anything Arcey could throw at him.
"How do you expect him to beat me" Zygarde said, his tone now suggesting he knew all of Arcey's secrets. "When he can't even control his own demonic powers?"
Arcey's eyes widened. He knew Ace's darkest and most terrible secret. The one thing he'd tried to keep secret for his entire life, even from Shadow. She'd found out and tried to comfort him, and he accepted. But still, he fought every day to control his powers, not only for himself, but to keep Darkrai from gaining influence.
"What?" Zygarde said, realizing he'd said something that was supposed to be kept secret. "You thought I didn't know? I've known since I first saw him. Especially since you put all of those seals in his body. He can't beat me."
"You're wrong." Arcey said, moving away from the green dragon. "He's our best fighter. He won't let you do this. He'll stop you, I know he will. His will motivates him to become stronger."
"I know you're afraid of him." Zygarde said, grinning an evil grin. "You know he could go crazy at any minute. Do you really think those seals will hold if he actually tries to break them? His little friend is the only thing that keeps him sane and human. What happens when she's gone?"
"You'd be surprised just what he's capable of." Arcey said, tensing up.
"Oh I know." Zygarde said. "I know he's the only Pokémon strong enough to give god a nightmare."
"What?" Arcey asked, confused as to why the dragon had said that. "What are you talking about? He's never given me a—"
Suddenly it hit her like a train. The empty space, Zygarde, her feeling of utter desolation. They were all just figments, figments of her own fears.
She woke up, cold sweat pouring from her face. She looked around to see where she was. Her eyes took in her room, her alarm clock, her dresser. She noticed her clock read four fifteen.
"What was that?" she wondered, recalling the events of her nightmare. She'd had nightmares before, but this one seemed to directly attack her fears that she'd hidden deep inside.
"That was really scary" she noted. "But was that Zygarde real or just a figment of my nightmare? And was this a natural nightmare or one from Ace? (Ace deosn't cause all nightmares, but all nightmares caused by a Darkrai are strong and very hard to break, even for a Cresselia-they are usually more directly attacking of one's fears and involve darker imagery than regular nightmares, which are just dark dreams or visions)"
"It seemed like a Darkrai nightmare." Arcey deduced. "But I don't think Ace gave it to me. He's always had control."
But Arcey couldn't shake what Zygarde had said, no matter how many times she told herself that he had no influence on her.
"How do you expect him to beat me when he can't even control his own demonic powers?" and "I know you're afraid of him. You know he's not completely sane and when the one thing that keeps him even remotely close is gone, what will happen?" kept playing over and over in her mind.
"If this is what I'm afraid of" Arcey said, shaking a little. "Why can't I do anything to stop it?"
She put her face in her hands and cried with sadness over the fact that she couldn't help her child with biggest problem in his whole life.
Ace's room
"No" the blue haired girl squirmed in her bed, sweating. The person sleeping next to her woke up, rubbing his eyes. He looked at the clock. It read four fifteen AM.
"Damn it Maura" he cursed, knowing she was an "active" sleeper (she moved around a lot). He wondered why he agreed to let her stay in his room after she gained a human forme.
"Oh that's right" he remembered. "She refused to sleep anywhere else because she bonded with me."
Ace then noticed that Maura was squirming in her sleep due to something going on in her mind. Ace shook her gently and she woke up. She looked at Ace with wide, frightened eyes. Immediately after, she buried her face in his chest and started sobbing.
"It was s-s-so scary" she sobbed, gasping for breath.
"Shhh" Ace comforted the ice girl. "It's okay. It's over. They can't hurt you now."
"It felt so real" she said, shaking. "Scary dark creatures were trying to hurt me."
"It's okay" Ace said. "It was just a bad dream. It's over now. Just try to go back to sleep. Tomorrow's a big day."
"Okay" Maura said timidly, knowing Ace knew a lot about dreams (being a dream walker and all) and she trusted him. She snuggled back under the covers and closed her eyes, dreaming a dreamless night.
"hmm." Ace thought to himself. "It's been a while since she's had a nightmare. I wonder why she had one now."
Pokémorph High-hallway
Chopper walked through the hallway to his locker. When he arrived he saw his friendly rival, Ace, standing near his locker. He walked over, giving his rival a high five.
Suddenly Chopper felt a pain in his head. He dropped to his knees from it. Ace looked at his friend in confusion.
"Better lay off the snacks before bed." Ace said, jokingly. "They'll give you nightmares"
"I'll try to remember that." Chopper said, the pain subsiding. Ace extended his hand to help him up. Chopper grabbed it to pull himself up.
When he grabbed it, however, the pain returned, images flashing through his mind with it. Ace quickly let go of Chopper, his eyes widening, and helped him up with his psychic powers.
"Thanks" Chopper said, dusting himself off a little. "But why did you use your psychic powers?"
"I can't touch you." Ace said. Chopper noticed a hint of sadness in his voice.
"Can I ask why not?" Chopper asked.
"I'd prefer if you didn't" Ace said, his voice quieter than normal.
"Okay" Chopper said, realizing that it seemed to be a touchy subject with Ace.
Chopper left to get to his class, leaving Ace standing by his locker. Ace just stared at his hand, examining it as if he could find every cell on it.
"Am I really losing control?" he thought to himself. "I must've let my guard down. And Chopper almost got a serious one. Good thing I realized it before it was too late or else he'd have been in trouble. Arcey probably should've sent May with us just in case. Dammit, to think that even in human forme…"
Ace stopped looking at his hand, clenching it into a fist, and walked toward his first class.
Pokémorph High-Fight Class
Ace walked into the class and sat down next to Eon and Shadow. After he sat down, he started to look at his hand again, peering at his aura and even his own energy. Shadow noticed the strange expression on his face and started to think something was wrong.
"Are you okay?" She asked her oldest and closest friend. "Is something wrong?"
"No" Ace lied, putting his hand on his lap. "It's nothing?"
"Are you sure?" Shadow asked, not fooled since she was a Gardevoir and could sense emotions and because she knew him almost as well as he knew himself. She could tell Ace was upset about something, but she had no idea what and didn't want to try to read his mind to find out. She put her hand on his shoulder, causing him to tense, his eyes widening as he looked at her. After three seconds, his pupils returned to normal size as the black haired psychic looked at her friend in confusion.
Suddenly it dawned on her. She looked at Ace with slight concern in her eyes, having felt his aura.
"It's getting stronger, isn't it?" She asked. Ace cringed slightly, knowing it was very hard to hide things from his good friend.
"It's ironic" Ace thought to himself. "She's not the pushy type, but it's hard to say no when she asks something. Especially if she's concerned like that."
"I think" Ace answered, curling and uncurling his fist. "Chopper had a small headache that seemed to intensify when I made contact with him. I'm not sure if it's coincidence or not, but I don't want to take any chances."
"Has anything else happened?" Shadow asked, concerned.
"I don't think so." Ace said. "Not much unusual there."
"Is it getting stronger?" Shadow asked.
"Can't tell" Ace said.
"How much are you using?" Shadow asked.
"Same as usual." Ace said. "Ninety percent. Maybe should up it a little."
"All right class!" Mr. Champ said, walking into the room with a clipboard. "Let's get started today."
All the students lined up around the mat, prepared to battle.
Pokémorph High-hallway-later
"Man, I can't believe you did that." Eon said, clapping Ace on the back.
"Yeah" Ace said. "That was awesome."
"Yeah it was." Shadow said, nodding in agreement. "I didn't even know that you could pull off that combo and he still not faint."
"Well, if you take a deep breath and focus on their auras, then it becomes a lot easier." Ace said.
"But how did you do that?" Shadow asked.
"I mostly used False Swipe" Ace said. "That was awesome."
"It was" his two friends agreed, thinking back to the awesome fight Ace had just had.
Pokémorph high-Fight Class-earlier
The two students faced each other, each summoning their respective energies to their hands.
Ace turned into a shadow and moved along the floor at an incredible speed. His opponent (a Haunter) looked around him to see where the Dark type had gone, but Ace had already merged with his shadow to render himself almost invisible. The opponent shot randomly at the ground, but had no luck finding the elusive Nightmare Demon.
Suddenly Ace shot up using Shadow Force, clawing the Ghost type in the face. The Haunter boy recoiled in pain, but continued to stand.
"You're pretty good." Ace said. "How'd you withstand that? Most who feel that don't."
"I'm better than all of them" the Haunter said. "You must be weak."
"Funny" Ace said. "That's not what the others say."
"I'd destroy them in an instant." The Haunter said, summoning Ghost energy. "In fact, I can even beat you."
"We'll see." Ace said. "I'm not as weak as you think I am."
"We'll see" the Haunter said, his eyes glowing purple for a second. Suddenly he backed up, realizing something.
"What did your Miracle Eye tell you?" Ace asked ominously.
"That you're much tougher than I imagined." The Haunter said.
"Good" Ace said. "Then you won't be surprised."
"What about?" the Haunter asked.
"This." Ace said, striking the Haunter in the chin with a Shadow Claw. The Haunter flew into the air where Ace landed another blow, this one a Demon Claw, which sent the Haunter down to the ground where Ace finished the combo with a Shadow Force combined with Demon Claw. The Haunter fell to the ground, almost fainted.
"Wow." The other students said. "He just shut him down without him even getting one hit in."
"Congrats." Mr. Champ said, walking over to Ace. "I must say, you, Eon, and Shadow seem to make a great team. Maybe you're even better than the Badass Battling Five."
"The Badass Battling Five?" Ace asked.
"They're on the large poster outside of the Chem. Lab." Mr. Champ said. "You should go see it."
"Okay" Ace said. "I will."
Pokémorph High-hallway-present time
The Unholy Trinity walked down the hall to the Chem. Lab to see the poster Mr. Champ had mentioned, to get a glimpse of the best battling team the school ever had (make that second best). Suddenly Shadow stopped, the rest stopping with her.
"Oh" Eon said, staring with her mouth wide open.
"My" Ace said, his eyes taking in the poster's awesomeness.
"Arceo" Shadow said, her eyes shimmering.
"It's my mom" Eon said, looking at the girl on the far left.
"And the girl next to her looks like Deoxys" Ace said. "That must be her late mother."
"And that one in the middle must be Mina's mother." Shadow said, noting the similarities.
"Those two next to them are—" Ace said, gasping as he realized who they looked like.
"It's Xerneas and Yveltal." Shadow said, also gasping.
"Can't be" Eon said. "The date on this is from three years before they were born. Also the names are spelled wrong. It must be their parents. Mom told me a little about them. She said that they were almost the exact opposites of their children."
"I'll believe that." Ace said. Shadow agreed. Suddenly they heard a voice behind them.
"You!" it shouted. The group turned around to see the same Haunter that Ace had battled earlier, healed and extremely pissed off.
"Hi" Ace said calmly.
"You should be more afraid of me!" the Haunter shouted.
"Why?" Ace asked, confused as to why he should fear this Ghost type.
"I know what you are!" the Haunter shouted, drawing some attention. "I know how to beat you."
"Well, then" Ace said, chuckling a little. "Enlighten me. I'd like to know, seeing as how I've never found a true weakness for myself."
"My Miracle Eye revealed your true weakness." The Haunter said. "I will now use it to kill you."
"Wow" Ace said, impressed. "You're threatening to kill me in a school, in the open, with teachers possibly around, and other witnesses. That's pretty bold, especially if you plan to take them all out right after me."
"Shut up" the Haunter shouted, charging a Shadow Ball and running up to Ace. He threw the Ball when he was less than two feet from Ace's face, causing a minor explosion.
When the smoke cleared, Ace was holding the Haunter by the neck. But something seemed off about the Haunter: he was writhing and shouting. Ace quickly let him go, becoming a shadow and disappearing.
"Ace?" Shadow said, noticing her friend was gone. She walked down the hall after him. Eon knelt down by the Haunter, checking on him.
"What did you do to yourself?" she asked the writhing Haunter, but getting no answer.
"Or did Ace do this to you?" she thought to herself. There were some questions she needed answered, but she figured that her Dark type friend wouldn't be able to provide needed answers. There was only one person who could truly answer those questions. The one who kept more secrets than anyone else. The current ruler of this world: her mother.
Hall of Origins-Kitchen 1:05 PM
"Mom! Mom!" Eon called, her voice urgent and slightly demanding.
"What is it, Eon?" Arcey said as she walked into the kitchen. "Aren't you supposed to be in school?"
"F #$ school!" Eon said. "I need some answers. Now!"
"What questions do you have?" Arcey answered calmly.
"What happened to that Haunter?" Eon demanded.
"What Haunter?" Arcey asked.
"You know which one!" Eon shouted.
"No I don't" Arcey said. "There's millions of Haunter in the world."
"The one at school" Eon said, her anger slowly rising.
"Oh" Arcey said nervously, realizing what Eon was getting at. "That Haunter."
"What happened to it?" Eon asked, her voice tense.
"Well" Arcey said. "To explain that I'd have to tell you a story."
"Why?" Eon asked, confused.
"Because it would help you understand the situation later." Arcey said. "But it may leave you with even more questions later."
"Understood" Eon said, ready for what her mother was about to say.
"Before you hear this story" Arcey said. "There are some things I want you to understand"
"Okay" Eon said, wondering what they were.
"The first is" Arcey said, her voice gravely serious. "That Ace did, indeed, cause that Haunter's current condition. The second is that you shouldn't go after him. Let Shadow handle him; he'll listen to her before he'll listen to you. He just needs some time alone with himself or with her."
"Okay" Eon said.
"Now" Arcey said. "You must close your eyes."
"Why?" Eon asked.
"It helps you see better." Arcey said.
"Okay" Eon said, closing her eyes. Arcey put her hand on her daughter's forehead. Suddenly Eon began to see visions of a time past.
Flashback-nine years ago
The Hall was quiet, seeing as how everyone was sleeping. Everyone was having quiet sleep, save one individual, Ace. He was thrashing in his sleep, tossing and turning. His sleep was fitful, full of bad dreams. He was having a nightmare, monsters running around in his head.
Ace's nightmare
"What you have is mine, Hunter" the demon said, holding the eleven year old by his throat. "And your friend is mine too"
"Leave her out of this!" the boy shouted, gasping for air and trying to remove the hands around his throat.
"Oh, I will take her." The monster said. "Right after I take you."
"They won't let you" the boy said defiantly. "My friends won't let you take her."
"Oh they can't help you." The demon said, chuckling. "They're all trapped in a nightmare."
Arcey's room
The God Pokémon woke with a start, sensing something was off in the Hall.
"Come in legendaries" she said, using her telepathy to send messages throughout the Hall.
"I hear you" Eleven year old May said, quick to respond.
"Ditto" her twin sister, Sapphire replied.
"I can hear you too" Shadow answered.
"Are you three the only ones awake?" Arcey asked.
"I don't think the others are asleep either." May said nervously. "They seem to be writhing in their sleep. At least, that's what my monitor of their brain activity says."
"Writhing in their sleep" Arcey thought. "What could be making them—"
Suddenly she realized just what was causing it.
"May! Sapphire! Shadow!" Arcey shouted telepathically. "The entire Hall is under a nightmare. I need you guys to use the most powerful Dream Eaters you guys can muster. And cause it to cover the entire Hall. We're going to need it."
The three girls gave their understanding and quickly used the move. The field caused the nightmares everyone in the Hall was experiencing to disappear.
Ace's nightmare
"What is this?!" the demon shrieked, his plans foiled. "How did those three release my nightmare?!"
"Don't underestimate them." Eleven year old Ace said, prying the monster's hands from his throat.
"Fine" the monster said, chuckling. "If that's the way they want it, then fine. I'll give them a fight if they want to struggle for control."
"How are you going to do anything" Ace asked. "If you are trapped in here?"
"I can take limited control of this body." the demon said. "I'll only need five minutes."
The monster laughed as Ace's control of his body was soon overpowered.
Arcey's room
"We need a plan" Arcey said, having called all the other legendaries into her room to plan. "Ace's body is undergoing changes that could spell the end for all of us."
"What sort of changes?" Shadow asked, fearful for her best friend.
"His nightmare powers have emerged." Arcey said solemnly. "The true power of his nightmares is now being realized. Before he could only use his nightmare powers in attacks, but now his very touch and even aura can cause nightmares."
"Then how do we stop it?" Deoxys asked, confused as to how they could win against something they couldn't even touch.
"If you enter your pokéformes" Arcey said. "Then you should be powerful enough to resist it."
"What about you?" Eon asked. "If you join us we can win easy."
"I'll need to figure out a way to reverse it.
The legendaries all nodded and shifted to pokéforme. They left the room to go wage war with the power of Ace's nightmares.
Hall of Origins-hallway
"Ace" walked down the hallway in pokéforme, his dark aura permeating throughout the Hall. He stopped when he sensed decently high power levels approaching him from the front.
"Oh, this should be interesting." "Ace" said as he summoned some Darkness to his hands.
He held up his hand to catch Deoxys in mid attack, even though she had used her Speed Forme.
"Nice try" "Ace" said. "But you'll have to do better than that if you want to beat me."
He punched Deoxys in the mouth, the blow hurting more since her Speed Forme had poor defense. He then threw her into the three Legendary Beasts, who were charging for a Triple Elemental Crunch. They stopped, catching Deoxys and tumbling backwards. Before they could stand however, Ace nailed them all with a large Dark Void, sending them back into their nightmares.
Sensing something he ducked just in time to avoid Dialga's Dragon Claw. She had snuck up on him using Roar of Time. Ace and Dialga engaged in hand to hand (or claw, in Dialga's case). "Ace" jumped, grabbing Dialga and throwing her into the path of Palkia's Spatial Rend that he had been charging up discreetly. The Time Goddess felt her body being ripped apart as Palkia stopped his attack to help his injured friend.
"What kind of monster has he become?" Palkia wondered as he was hit in the face by a Dark Punch that sent him into unconsciousness.
Arcey's room
"Why is he doing this?" Shadow wondered. She had been told to stay back so she, Arcey, and Eon could formulate a plan while the others tried to hold Ace off.
"I don't think that's Ace" Arcey said, using her powers to view her opponent. "I think Darkrai's taken control again."
"Well, let's go beat him back into submission." Eon said, putting her fists together.
"Wait Eon" Arcey said, grabbing her daughter's arm. "You can't just rush into this."
"Watch me" Eon said, shifting into pokéforme and running down the hall to engage her best friend in combat.
"Well, Shadow" Arcey said. "We need to figure out how to give Ace back control of his powers and body."
"Let me try something." Shadow said. "It's something I learned a long time ago."
"Okay" Arcey said, knowing she couldn't stop her. "But don't get killed trying to reason with him. He might be too far gone to reason with."
"Don't worry" Shadow said, clenching her fist. "I'll make sure he comes back."
Arcey watched her go, smiling at her determination in the difficult times.
"They'd make a cute couple." She thought to herself as she prepared some complicated seals in case her efforts failed.
Hall of Origins-hallway
"Hmm." "Ace" said to himself. "If this is all they have, then I'm going to be really bored."
"Then let me entertain you!" Eon shouted, landing a Fire Punch on "Ace's" face. The Dark type flew back into the wall behind him, breaking it.
"Yes!" "Ace" shouted, excited for a challenge. "You're the one I've been waiting to fight."
The two warriors stood facing each other, both of them summoning energy into their hands (paws), "Ace" summoning Dark energy and Eon summoning Fire energy. They charged at each other, colliding in midair. The shockwaves from their blows threatened to shake the Hall to its knees.
"You're good" "Ace" said, grinning. "He really respects you as a rival. I had to see it for myself, but you've exceeded my expectations."
"Why have you taken his body?" Eon demanded, throwing multiple Fire Punches onto the monster that stole her friend's body.
"Because I can" the monster said, grabbing Eon's left front leg. "And now you're going to feel my power."
"What do you mean?" Eon asked, feeling a slight headache.
"This" "Ace" said before shoving a powerful Dark Void right down Eon's throat, knocking her out and giving her one hell of a nightmare.
The Flareon girl writhed and convulsed as she shifted back into human forme. "Ace" let her fall to the floor, satisfied that he had defeated his opponent.
"Well" the monster said, bored again. "There's no one left to fight. That was the last worthwhile fighter in the entire building, barring Arceus, but she's nowhere near the level of her child."
"Actually" a small, gentle voice said with much authority and firmness. "There's one fighter left."
"Ah" "Ace" said, an evil grin on his face. "The sweet one. Have you come to give up or am I going to have to break you?"
"I don't have to fight." Shadow said, her face an expression of anger and determination. "I just have to stop you."
"You're not making any sense" "Ace" said, confused.
"You'll understand in a minute." Shadow said, taking a deep breath. She focused her energy into its epicenter and closed her eyes. "Ace" just stared at the black haired psychic, wondering just what she was doing.
"What are you doing?" "Ace" asked.
"Sing" Shadow said, opening her eyes, which glowed azure. She started to sing a song that was sung to her when she was younger, a song that had comforted her in the midst of her fears:
"When winter comes and snow of white, I will keep you from your fright
When springtime blooms and flowers shine, I'll love you because you are mine
And when the rain begins to fall, I'll hold you tight, won't let you fall
And when the storms rage outside, Inside my trust you can confide
When summer sun shines brightest rays, Close by my side, I'll keep you safe
When autumn leaves turn rainbow hues, I will be here, always for you
Tucked safely in your bed you sleep, Knowing my heart you'll always keep
And when you're frightened by your fears, I'll be right here to dry your tears"
"What are you—AUUGHH!" "Ace" shouted as he fell to the ground with a headache, his voice shifting between his normal voice and the demonic one.
"Ace!" Shadow shouted, running over to her best friend and hugging him around the neck, despite the fact that he was still in pokéforme.
"Sh-shadow?" Ace asked, feeling the arms around his neck.
"Yes?" Shadow asked, crying.
"Run." Ace said in a commanding voice.
"Why?" Shadow asked, confused as to why he would want her away from him.
"I—c-can't—control—the monster inside of me." Ace said, holding his head, his voice shifting.
"Then focus" Shadow said, moving her face in front of Ace's. "Focus on me."
"Wh-what?" Ace asked, straining against his own inner demons.
"Focus on me" Shadow repeated herself. "Look at me and focus on your goal."
Ace nodded and looked at Shadow, making eye contact. He stared into her eyes, wet with tears from the thought of losing her best friend. As he stared, he felt a strange calm wash over him, his darkness retreating.
"Th-thank you" he said, shifting back into human forme. "You saved me."
"You're welcome" Shadow started to sob, hugging him tight. Ace returned the hug, feeling the warm embrace of his friend.
Flashback end
Hall of Origins-present time
"There" Arcey said, ending the flashback. "does that answer some of your questions?"
"I guess" Eon said. "But what I don't get is how it took them this long to understand their feelings."
"it didn't" Arcey said.
"What do you mean?" Eon asked.
"They understood." Arcey said. "But Ace always had to keep a tight grip on his power or it would go out of control. Ace's emotions are tied tightly into his control. The two of them knew that if Ace was in an extreme emotion like passion or rage, then he would lose control and his powers would ravage the surrounding area. That's why they didn't truly get serious until now: partly because they were trying to understand themselves, but the vast majority reason was Ace had to keep his emotions and power focused to cage in his nightmares. In fact nine tenths of his power goes to restraining his nightmare powers."
"Nine tenths?!" Eon exclaimed. "Wow!"
"I know" Arcey said. "But you must also know that the personality he has is just a front."
"What do you mean?" Eon asked.
"Ace constantly has to keep his emotions in check to prevent his nightmare powers from emerging." Arcey explained. "When he gets mad or excited, that's why his dark power expands like that. That's why when Mina used her "love spell" (A/N ch. 8) I had you guys prepare your attacks. Darkrai can escape, but even he knows how keeping his nightmare powers in check is vital."
"That explains so much about him." Eon said. "But did Shadow know?"
"She's the one thing truly keeping his nightmares in check." Arcey said. "If not for her, then Ace would have already succumbed to the nightmare's power."
"We should find him." Eon said. "He seemed really mad at himself."
"Don't worry" Arcey said. "I'm sure Shadow can help him. She's probably the only one who can truly understand or listen to him."
"What do you mean?" Eon asked.
"She has nightmare powers too." Arcey said. "But not to the massive extent that Ace does. It's a part of being a Kyuryoon. She has all of the Dark powers Ace does, but she has a lesser strength with them because she doesn't use them often."
"Interesting" Eon said. "But can she convince him that he shouldn't be mad at himself?"
"I hope so." Arcey said solemnly. "I hope so."
Hall of Origins-outside garden balcony-7:45 PM
The black haired psychic walked into the garden, the last place she decided to look for her best friend. She looked at the edge of the balcony to see a dark shape just sitting on the railing, unmoving.
"Ace?" she asked quietly, hoping her search had come to an end.
"The illusion of control is a funny thing" the shape, which was Ace, said ominously.
"How come people are always in the last place one looks?" Shadow asked, walking up to Ace.
"Actually I've been on the move since school." Ace said. "I just decided to let you have your talk with me."
"Well, thanks." Shadow said, sitting down next to Ace.
"It's a funny thing." Ace said philosophically. "Until today I thought I had at least some control over my power, but now I know I can never have true control."
"It's okay" Shadow said, taking Ace's hand, causing him to tense for about three seconds. "I'm always here for you."
"Thanks" Ace said. "That really means a lot."
"Welcome." Shadow said. "But why do you keep tensing up when I touch you? You've done it twice today."
"I keep thinking you'll get infected" Ace said. "I don't remember that you're immune until after you touch me."
"Well, thank you for looking out for me" Shadow said, snuggling close to Ace.
"Welcome" Ace said, leaning closer to his best friend.
"So what happened today?" Shadow asked, concerned.
"I don't know" Ace said. "I remember seeing the Haunter guy use Shadow Ball and I grabbed him around the neck. I saw him writhing and I realized what happened. I turned into a shadow and left. You remember the rest."
"Did you want to give him a nightmare?" Shadow asked.
"No" Ace said, frustrated at himself. "I didn't think I had lost this much control."
"Don't beat yourself up over this" Shadow said softly. "That won't get you anywhere."
"I know" Ace said, sighing. "But I'm only going to bring suffering with this curse of mine."
"It's not a curse." Shadow said. "You were given these powers for a reason. You just need to find out what that reason is."
"If only it were that simple." Ace said, gazing out at the stars. "But I'll never be able to be normal. I have to use the vast majority of my power to hold back a force inside of me so terrifying that anyone near me gets infected. I have an evil demon inside of me that wants to rule the universe and wants to take you with him. I am the last thing from normal. I'm surprised I'm on the Council sometimes."
"You're on the Council" Shadow said firmly, grabbing Ace's hand. "because Arcey chose you to be. You have the strongest will out of all of us. You risk everything and more to protect your friends. You've saved my life so many times. Your strength is unrivaled, your skills legendary. You are the kindest most caring person I know. You're a total badass, taking on opponents far stronger than yourself and walking away with barely a scratch. Sure you've got some flaws, but so does everyone. There's not a person on that council that thinks you don't belong there."
"I know" Ace said, sighing. "But I just don't know how long I can go without them suffering from my power."
"Then look at me." Shadow said to her best friend.
"Why?" Ace asked, confused.
"Just do it." Shadow said, in a slightly commanding tone.
Ace obeyed, looking at his oldest friend. He looked into her eyes, almost getting lost in the red pools they appeared to be.
"Just focus on me" Shadow said in a familiar tone. "Look at me and focus on your goal."
Ace nodded, concentrating his energy to calm himself down.
"Good" Shadow said, getting up. "I'll go get us some drinks"
"Okay" Ace said as she went inside the Hall.
Ace sat and gazed at the stars for about five minutes before he sensed several power levels behind him. Not turning around he addressed them.
"What do you want?" he asked.
"Are you Ace Hunter?" one of the figures said, approaching the Dark type.
"How did you get in here?" Ace asked, realizing that the power levels didn't belong to a legendary.
"We're the police." The voice said.
"You didn't answer my question." Ace said. "How did you get in here?"
"Your 'mother' let us in." the voice said. "Now answer mine: Are you Ace Hunter?"
"Yes" Ace said, a hint of sadness in his voice.
"Then you're under arrest." The voice said. Two of them walked up to Ace and placed handcuffs on him. Ace didn't even try to resist, almost as if he'd accepted his fate and didn't care what happened to him.
"On what charge?" he asked.
"For causing one such named Phase Haunter to be afflicted with nightmares" the officer said.
"Whatever" Ace said, frustrated at himself. "I don't even care anymore. Just do whatever."
The officers all crowded around Ace, grabbing his arms and ushering him toward the door. Before they could reach it, however, Cela burst out with a look of panic on her face.
"Ace! Ace!" she shouted, noticing the Dark type and the officers. "What's going on?"
"Ace Hunter here" the lead officer said. "Is being arrested for the cause of nightmares to an individual."
"Did you do it on purpose?" Cela asked.
"No" Ace said, sighing and looking down at the floor. "And that's the worst part."
"If it was an accident" Cela said. "Then you didn't mean to. That means you're not as bad as you think."
"I can't control the nightmares, Cela." Ace said. "My power isn't enough to contain them."
"But that's fine." Cela said, stepping closer to Ace, causing the officers around him to ready attacks. "But now I need your help."
"What's up Cela?" Ace asked.
"It's Shadow" Cela said. "She's gone."
"I don't blame her." Ace said. "I wouldn't want to be around me either."
"You don't get it." Cela said. "She's been taken. She called out your name to help her."
"What do you mean?" Ace asked, stopping in his tracks.
"She's been taken" Cela said. "By Giovanni."
So i decided to stop doing Arc whatever ch. whatever and just use names from now on. This can help me use longer names and not abreviate. This will be a 2+ part section.