"Thank you for having us," Guardian said, as the door closed behind him. He was hunched over a fair bit; the house really wasn't sized for him.
"Make yourself comfortable in whatever way you can," Azumarill asked, settling down on her seat, making sure the space between them was open with nothing obstructing them. "And we can start when you're ready."
Guardian phased himself through the floor until it was just his arms and head above. "This is fine," he said.
Azumarill nodded. "I'll quickly go over what you can expect here," she explained the same things she did with Sean, getting nods rather than words to show he was following.
"Do you have any questions?" Azumarill asked.
"I have none."
She nodded. "If you ever do have questions, don't hesitate to ask. These sessions are supposed to be tailored to each person."
And then they were into it. Azumarill started gently as always. "Can you describe why you think you're here?" And that was apparently all that was needed for Guardian to begin unloading his thoughts on her.
"I feel like a failure of a father who doesn't deserve his name. I had countless chances and squandered each one. Now all that is left is knowing that for every terrible thing I did, justifying it with the preservation of my son, I lost him anyway. At times I wonder if this is a most twisted karma, but he did not deserve that."
Azumarill didn't get a word in edgewise.
"I have nightmares of cowering underneath that monster every night. How could I have wanted to put my son through such a life?"
But that was okay. Sometimes pokémon just needed someone to listen.
"I just don't… I just… Striker and Saniya don't like it when I say it, but I don't deserve forgiveness. I deserve punishment. But why does my punishment fall on Scout? I just… I don't know what to even think about such a thing."
Guardian did compose himself in time. "My… my greatest of apologies. I did not plan on saying so much. What you must think of me…."
Feeling like Guardian was ready to converse now, Azumarill took a breath, reorganised her thoughts, and spoke. "There's a lot to unpack there, Dusknoir."
Guardian gave a weak laugh. "Yes. You don't realise how much is bothering you until you start talking about it." He rubbed his eye; it was dulled out from his misery. "I would give anything to have Scout back. Even my own life."
Sean had told her of something similar a few times, although Azumarill would not share that.
"Losing a child is something all parents fear," Azumarill said, thinking about her boys for a moment. "Would you like to discuss Meowth?"
"I… no." Guardian shook his head. "I don't want to, but I know I should."
"Are you angry?" Azumarill asked.
"Yes," Guardian barked, his eye burning red for a moment before it dulled, and he sagged. "Yes, of course, I am angry, Azumarill. I don't even know what to BE angry at. Myself? Dialga? Arceus? Who do I blame for this? In the end, I did turn on Dialga to try and absolve what I had done. I disappeared knowing that I had done the right thing, even if it meant losing myself and everything I've loved."
Guardian shook his head roughly. "But now, I am back. I, the one who manipulated, the traitor, the bad guy. Why did I come back, and Scout did not? There is no sense or reason for that. Surely something as powerful as Arceus could have restored Scout's health as well as his body. It does not make sense. Why me? For everything I did he fought to the death to prevent. Why do I get to live and he does not?"
Azumarill nodded. Guardian simply did not know why. And the question of why haunted many pokémon across the world. A million questions of why; with not a single answer to those cries.
"So, you question why it you who is alive and well?" Azumarill asked. Guardian nodded. "You feel as if you don't deserve this?"
"No," Guardian said, softly. "Not me. I want to live, of course, I do, it was why I did everything I did. The fear to die again was too much, and to lose Scout as well? But I am selfish. It was for myself just as much as it was for him. But… but now… is this why? Because I was so selfish that this is my punishment for it? I would give my life for Scout in a blink. I always would."
He groaned and grabbed his head, pulling at the sensor. "I just don't understand. Arceus revived us, Sean did not disappear. Why did Arceus not revive us all itself? Dialga told us little about it, but surely. Surely… if three of us was such a risk to Arceus, how would two more be any more of a threat?"
"A threat?" Azumarill asked, curious to probe that.
Guardian stilled but nodded in time. "Dialga said little, of course. But… it did state to us that Arceus rarely acts in the world, as… direct actions from Arceus have always, always, had severe consequences. But that simply begs the question further, why did it see so much in us to revive us? Striker and Saniya, yes I could understand. But for me?"
Azumarill had no answer to that, she simply wrote down what she could, and they moved on.
By the end of it, Guardian understood why Sean looked so exhausted. Vigoroth may have been a physical workout, but Azumarill's sessions were an emotional workout.
Everyone was tired as they returned to the guild and they took a very early night.
They were not ready for tomorrow.
Armaldo had woken them up earlier today to inform them of this task. To head to the Treasure Town school, a place none of the newcomers realised even existed and doing whatever the teacher wanted them to do for the day.
Guardian was most reluctant, but Saniya was curious. "I didn't even know pokémon HAD schools," she said, looking up at Armaldo.
"It's been a thing for a while," Armaldo replied. "But they tend to be out of the way. What did you think the kids do all day?"
"All day at school?" Saniya screwed her face up at that. Sean had told her about that, she didn't like the idea. "No."
Armaldo was kind enough to show them to the waterhole and gesture vaguely along the trails. "That way."
"Is it okay for me to go out this far?" Guardian murmured.
"Sure. Team Go-Getters is also going to be there." He went to show them the way, but then Azurill came rolling along.
"Hi!" he chirped happily, seeing the five of them standing around. "What are you doing?"
"Shouldn't you be at school?" Armaldo rumbled.
"Yup!"
"Are you going?"
"Yup!"
"Can you show them the way?"
"Yup!"
Armaldo nodded. "The child can lead you."
"That doesn't seem like a sane decision," Saniya muttered.
"What was that?"
"I said you're going senile old mon!"
"Greetings, Azurill," Guardian said, quietly. He noticed the child staring up at him with wide eyes that looked suspiciously like the adoration he used to receive.
"Hi!" Azurill chirped, rolling closer.
Guardian was stunned, flat-footed, and thrown off a cliff. He stared down at Azurill with something resembling horror, why was the child getting close to him? Why wasn't anyone stopping him?
"H-how are you today, young Azurill?" Guardian asked, slipping into a formal tone. Sean and Striker exchanged a look and agreed not to intervene, Saniya continued insulting Armaldo.
"Buzz off, little onion."
"I'll peel you awwaaay!"
Guardian's eye flicked up to the two a few times, trying to find some sort of guide as to what to do. He did note that Armaldo kept him in his eyes.
"I'm great!" Azurill chirped. "I'm going to school! What about you, Mr. Dusknoir?"
"I am… fine," Guardian replied. "I am going to school as well. Apparently."
He gasped. "Wow! The Great Dusknoir goes to school! I thought big kids and adults didn't have to?"
Guardian cleared his throat, finding it in him to play along. "Well, you see, in the future we didn't have school so I have some things to brush up on." He glanced at Sean who had the gall to smirk. "Also, young Riolu is a child himself and needs to go to school."
Sean's smirk faded to an outraged expression.
"Wow!"
"No, that is anatomically impossible," Armaldo growled, causing Saniya to sneer.
"I'll rewrite your anatomy books!"
"We don't have those."
"Sean! Invent anatomy books! You have the sway."
"Mr Dusknoir?" Azurill asked sweetly. "I heard you helped save the world. Is that true?"
Guardian froze. Save the world? Save? He nearly ended it with his cowardly wish to live. And his simple desire for his son to live as well.
It still hurt. So much. To even think about Scout. He and the others had spoken of Sean at times, but the subject was too rough to dwell on. Still, sometimes they talked.
About how they missed him.
About how their human had been so brave and strong.
What he'd think of them now, back together.
It was bizarre and almost dreamlike to imagine that such wonderings were true now. Sean was mere meters away from him, probably talking with Striker and sharing a joke with Saniya. He was so good at jokes in the Dark Future.
Yet, despite the topics of Sean, Guardian avoided the topic of Scout. It was no mystery that half of the reason he had betrayed them was to preserve Scout's life as well. Sometimes Striker or Saniya would slip him into a conversation about someone else or even rarer begin one with him as the topic.
Guardian never did. He wanted to talk TO his son. Share stories WITH his son. Explore dungeons and wonders ALONGSIDE his son.
Not simply talk about him. It was selfish; it was even cruel, to act like this. Yet Guardian was both of those things.
"Mr Dusknoir?" Azurill asked again. Dusknoir had gone very still and quiet.
The red-eye, it was scary the first time he saw it, but Azurill had come to see it as warm and kind, flickered briefly before it fell back down on him. "My… my apologies, Azurill. I get distracted easily these days, it seems." His voice carried something raw, but it flew right over Azurill's head.
"So, did you save the world like Shinx said?" Azurill asked, staring up at him with blind, childlike, happiness. Guardian wondered what he had been told, and if he even understood what he had done.
"I did very little," Guardian answered, he sent a covert tendril to tug at Striker. "But Grovyle, Celebi, and Riolu? Now they truly saved the world. M-Meowth too."
He bowed to the side as Striker decided to step in. The little pokémon beamed at Striker. "Mr Grovyle!"
Saniya disengaged from Armaldo smoothly, zipping around Azurill and making him giggle. "Hello, young child!" Saniya squealed, picking him up and hugging him. Azurill hugged her back. "This one is the best!"
"Yay!" Azurill cheered. He liked the idea of being the best. Sean walked over last and smiled at the young pokémon, warm and friendly.
Guardian let the real heroes take upon Azurill's adoration and relaxed slightly.
"You're good with him," Armaldo said, causing Guardian to jump. Impressive for one who had no legs.
"My… Armaldo, you startled me. My apologies." He added the last bit on reflex.
"The five of you are going to be late," Armaldo said, raising his voice a little to reach them all. "Azurill, I trust you know the way?"
"Sure do, Mr Armaldo!"
"Good. Make sure no one wanders off, alright? I'm putting you in charge."
Azurill's eyes went wide but he quickly nodded. "Got it! Follow me, everyone!" And began to march.
Guardian glanced back to Armaldo whose expression was stoic as always. He did notice Armaldo following at a relaxed distance, perhaps just to claim he kept an eye on them as he was supposed to. He reached them as they arrived at the school, Azurill racing in.
The school was quite small, and Sean quickly noticed it was not much like the school he could distantly remember. There was no actual building to it to start. It was a set of flat straw seats where the students would sit in lessons. There were quite a few sizes to the seats, as could be expected with the varying sizes of pokémon.
A stone desk for the teacher to sit behind was all that there was to the classroom. Further out, they could hear the squeals and screeches of playing pokémon.
"Stay here while I get the teacher," Armaldo ordered and walked further, towards the children.
"We have a special surprise for you all today," Teacher Banette said to the assembled young pokémon. "Not one but two legendary teams to spend the day here!" She raised three fingers, not caring to lower one.
The kids cheered and stamped their feet and other appendages.
Just out of the modest schoolyard, Team Sunrise waited awkwardly.
"Stop beating each other, shitheads," Banette cursed as the excitement grew intense. She groaned and looked at Armaldo, staring him up at down. "Bring the prisoners?"
"Half of them at least." She followed him out to the yard.
"Team Sunrise," she said, voice firm. She nodded to them. "You better hope you can survive them. You, fire-lizard, you might die," she called, lifting her head.
Team Sunrise turned to see three more approaching. Chikorita waved excitedly with a vine and Saniya returned it with her boring pink hand.
"Team Go-Getters, good timing," Armaldo said, nodding. "I'll take my leave. Good luck." He glanced at Banette and then back to them. "You're going to need it."
With no further preamble, Armaldo left them.
"Class will adjourn soon," Banette warned. "If they smell your fear, they'll devour you. Understand?"
"Pardon?"
She waited until everyone gave her a response, regardless of what it was, and then walked off.
"Okay you little brats, get in your seats!"
"This is the teacher?" Guardian asked, concerned.
Making quiet conversation with Team Go-Getters was the best way to pass the time before they heard Banette call out. "I've got a little surprise for you if you'd stop picking your noses for one second. Team Sunrise and Team Go-Getters."
Guessing that was the cue, they walked, floated, and flew their way in.
Guardian remained at the back of the group, very nervous, and he found himself bumping elbows with Charizard. Charizard's expression mirrored his own worried eye-flickering.
"You're nervous," Guardian said.
"So are you!" Charizard retorted, before shaking his head. "Sorry. I'm not the best with crowds."
"I'm not the best with anyone."
It was small, but there was some solidarity there between them. Saniya and Chikorita zoomed forward, falling into the midst of the children and causing shouts of excitement. Sean, Striker, and Wartortle walked to Banette, as they were supposed to.
"Celebi, Chikorita, if you pass notes you'll get detention," Banette called. They detangled themselves from the mob and made their way to the front as Guardian and Charizard stood awkwardly behind them, being easily the largest of their teams and catching many eyes.
Sean kept a comforting, and restraining, paw on Saniya's shoulder as Chikorita climbed Charizard so she could stand on his head and wave to everyone.
"If I can remember the lesson," Banette began, looking out at all the kids. Azurill was in the mob and beaming up at Guardian with all the innocent happiness that he couldn't bear to be beamed at him. "I'll start in a minute."
Is she always like this? Was the question on the two teams' minds.
"We'll be learning about famous and legendary explorers and what crap they've been up to. Most are dead and buried like my last four mates." Banette sighed and pulled a flask out of her desk. "I drink to forget, but I always remember."
After taking a healthy chug, and alarming everyone, even Saniya, Banette zipped her mouth and continued. "We've got two teams today. Sunrise and Go-Getters."
An elekid raised his hand. "What about Team Ion?"
"I dunno."
"They are out on an important expedition," Sean said, speaking up.
"Detention, Riolu," Banette snapped.
"What?"
"Right, you're not a student. Though I hear you should be."
"I'm not that young."
A lack of Team Ion with some disappointment, but overall acceptance. After all, Team Sunrise AND Team Go-Getters were still here.
"My mother has been helping Team Sunrise," Azurill whispered to his neighbour, a chirpy pidove.
"That's cool," she replied.
"Even though all of these people have been notorious criminals at some point," Banette said, waving a worn hand. Part of the stuffing could be seen. "They'll be sitting with you today."
Saniya raised her hand. "Does it count if I was only a criminal in the future?"
"Does it count if Grookey grows up to be a murderer?"
"What?" Grookey asked, not listening.
The two teams shared glances. "Pardon?"
"You'll be sitting with the children." She gave a firm look at both teams. "If they climb on you, tough break."
"I feel like this may be distracting on principle," Guardian said.
Banette gave him a harder look. "Shut up. I'm the principal. Now sit."
She waited until they had all found a spot. Charizard and Striker stuck with Guardian. The kids weren't nervous to see Guardian, but Banette's eyes were trained on him anyway. Guardian settled near Azurill, floating very uncomfortably.
"We'll be talking about four today, because that's all I can remember," Banette called, once everyone was settled. More than a few kids wanted to climb on the larger pokémon or talk to them, but everyone knew you listened when Banette was talking. "If this hangover would clear, maybe I can remember the lesson plan." She looked down, finding it in front of her. "Aha! Lucario, Scizor, Weedle, and Team Go-Getters. Well, lucky me they can do their part."
Charizard blushed redder than his tail flame and shrunk down, while Chikorita preened. Wartortle didn't hide in his shell, but he didn't jump out of it to get more attention either.
"Let us begin with Lucario." Banette raised a piece of paper that was set on her desk. On it was a stylised image of Lucario.
"She is possibly the most well-accomplished pokémon alive," she began, reading off something written down, "revered as the guider of civilisation, Lucario's touch is felt wherever many pokémon gather in communities to carve their way into the world. Working together in harmony to achieve goals that none could do on their own yada-yada-yada. Sounds fake, but alright."
She paused, allowing questions. Deerling raised his head. "Even Treasure Town?"
"Does your mama work for money?" Banette answered, still reading off something, "Money runs the world. Unity, something about only feeding on feral pokémon from dungeons. This kind of unity is what Lucario started."
"Has Lucario been here?"
"I don't know."
"How could she be responsible for Treasure Town?"
"No one is sure why she began teaching this, nor exactly when," Banette said, instead, continuing to read. "There are many, many theories and legends regarding her. But today we deal in facts. There have been many circulating answers claiming of Lucario's origins and motivations, but what is known is this. She set herself on the path to unify pokémon across the world."
Banette took a breath. "Rather than living barely higher than ferals, she introduced the concept of currency. The Poké was a coin made by Lucario, but it is known bartering with goods and services is how trade began. Oh, so she's the one I have to blame for my third mate running off with that L-"
Mankey raised his hand. "What about the cool stuff? I heard Lucario is the strongest pokémon EVER?"
That caused the rest of the children to begin talking and chattering, trading rumours and ideas they had heard about Lucario. Silently, Team Go-Getters cringed slightly.
"I heard she can wrestle twenty machamp."
"I heard that she caught a landslide and pushed it back."
"My parents told me a story where she stopped Entei from blowing a volcano by stomping them both!"
"Shut up, you little shits!" Banette ordered, slapping her table, and the kids began to fall silent. Took a little longer than she liked, but they all fell quiet in time. "Why do you think she's called 'Legendary Lucario' it's as plain as day."
"We actually met Lucario," Chikorita began, hesitantly. Banette waved her on, and so she stood up straight. "She was… not quite what we expected."
Eyes turned to them in amazement. "Unbelievably strong," Wartortle agreed. "She challenged us to a fight, everything we had vs just her. I think we lasted about thirty seconds?" Chikorita and Charizard nodded, feeling phantom bruises.
"She let us train with her afterwards, but… it didn't feel so much like a training exercise and more of a beatdown." Wartortle scratched his chin. "On us."
"She was a bit scary," Charizard admitted. "And made a lot of jokes that I'm not sure were jokes. I think we managed to score two hits on her throughout the whole thing."
"Both were me!" Wartortle grinned.
"And then she hurt my feelings and guessed Wartortle was human."
"Cool. Look at that, Team Go-Getters get to do half the lesson, Lucario and themselves." She took another long drink.
With that, Banette finished up on Lucario. Lingering so long on one pokémon was not her style, but Lucario had some detail she had to go over.
"Moving onto Scizor, the only known student of Lucario. He disappeared not long after they defeated the Dread Tyrant Dancer. Which, by the way, is the lamest name for a 'Dread Tyrant' that exists." She rattled off a few more things but most of his exploits were tied to Lucario.
The attention of rowdy young pokémon could not be held with mere stories for long, and Banette decided to move on to Team Go-Getters before Weedle.
"Weedle… who cares? I've got a headache in my stuffing. Team Whatever's can talk or something?" She started drinking again and so they carefully got up.
Charizard knocked a snivy over and apologised profusely, Chikorita didn't really gain much height upon standing, and Wartortle was careful.
They all came to the front of the class, where Banette was ignoring everyone.
"Some twenty or so rotations around the sun, or years if you prefer, we were able to save the world!" Chikorita explained.
"We really didn't do all that much," Charizard insisted. "It was Rayquaza who destroyed the meteor, as he was supposed to anyway."
"We DID have to battle Rayquaza, and a couple of other legendary pokémon, to do that though," Chikorita pointed out. "All as first stage pokémon, like most of you!"
"It was an exciting year, that's for sure," Wartortle said, shaking his head.
"Sounds as hard as my second mate," Banette commented, slamming her hands on the desk. "Okay, listen up you little freaks, Team Go-Get-Who-Cares and Team Hurts-My-Eyes-In-The-Morning are going to take things from here. I'm going to take a nap."
Without any argument, she got up and left.
"Are… all teachers like this?" Guardian asked Sean, horrified.
"No," Sean replied, grinning. "But I wish mine were like her!"
None of the students seemed surprised by her behaviour and cheered as she left. The fragile control that was earned with Banette's presence was gone now. "Playtime!" they chorused, many eyes turning to Guardian and equally as many to Charizard.
A little psyduck opened her beak. "I heard that Dusknoir and Charizard have candy in them!"
"I did too!"
"Miss Sunflora told me."
"My big sister knows Sunflora, she said so."
"Candy!"
And then things devolved into chaos.
Twenty minutes later Wartortle was hiding in his shell, Saniya was knocked out, Chikorita had her vines pulled long and tied around her as well as around Charizard, holding them both stuck on a tree as the kids tried to beat the candy out of Charizard using Grookey's stick.
Sean was dancing around Guardian as a magby and darumaka fanned the flames beneath him as several children chanted. "Blood for the blood god. Skulls for the skull throne." Striker was trying to hold them off.
"Sean, get me down!" Guardian cried. "Stop encouraging them!"
"Have you kids ever flossed?" Sean asked, loving all this harmless fun. The rest of Team Sunrise didn't often consider it, but Sean was still a teenager in mind.
"No."
And when prompted, he could call upon that madness at any time.
"Let me show you."
It was to a sad sight that Banette returned to. After a good, hour-long, nap she found what was left of the two legendary teams, with children who had painted themselves with ash cavorting around them.
Charizard had flown frantically for the town, several kids hanging on, to buy all the candy from Green Kecleon and then back. This had proved to be a critical error, as now they had a sugar high on top of bloodlust.
Sean had put out the fire underneath Guardian once he came to his senses and remembered he wasn't so irresponsible anymore.
However, the children turned on him then. Azurill washed Guardian off as best as he could as Sean was strung up for his treason.
Saniya was still unconscious and had drawings painted on her body.
Everyone froze when Banette was spotted. Magby burped and set Grookey on fire. He meeped slightly but was too frozen at the sight of Banette to put himself out.
"Oh, another one bites the dust," Banette said, glancing over Grookey. "I don't think he will make it this time."
Thankfully, Wartortle popped his head out and was able to spray some water, putting Grookey out. The little simian coughed.
"Well, have you learned anything today?" Banette asked, limping to her deck.
"Yes, Miss Banette."
"Not you, brats."
"I understand why you are an alcoholic," Guardian said, darkly.
"So, you're learning then. Okay, class, I've remembered the syllabus and my headache is gone. Psyduck, stop pecking Pichu. Line up into two groups, failures and ones who have a chance in life."
The two teams groaned; they were barely even part of the way into this day.
"Could you please get me down?" Chikorita asked, from where she was being used to string Sean up.
"Say, please."
"I did."
"Then, no."
"I've got it!" A pawniard yelled, running for her.
"NO! No-no-no-no-no WAIT!"
Scout. Scout. Scout.
"I spy something green."
"A leaf?"
"Correct."
They were here again, Scout and Darkrai, two lost souls. Darkrai had posed a game of I Spy tonight, and Scout accepted.
"I spy something black."
"Is it me?"
"Yeah."
It was a thrilling game.
"I want to know something," Scout said. That's what he was here for. Answers. Not company.
"Ask away."
"How did you even find us here?" he asked. "I guess, maybe, you knew they were heading to Shaymin Village, but that's so far away. No chance you could make that trip in just a couple of days. You're not… connected to me or something are you?"
Darkrai chuckled. It no longer sounded quite as malevolent, maybe more frightfully Scout was getting used to Darkrai's creepy behaviour that it was becoming routine. "The answer is significantly less fantastical. I used a Magnagate."
Scout blinked. "The Gates thing?" He failed to catch himself and hoped that Darkrai wouldn't catch that.
"Gates indeed, yes," Darkrai murmured. "Admittedly, devilish things. Apparently, they have been outlawed on the Grass Continent, but many are still active if just hidden. Before Darkrai took to guarding the Time Gear, he knew of a few that were still active in today's time."
"Outlawed?" Scout asked. His mind felt heavy, Darkrai was a grounding force during the night but he still had trouble at times clinging onto the idea of himself. He couldn't count on his memory to be perfect. Had he already heard of this?
"I do not know why," Darkrai said. "I could hazard a guess. While they are tremendously useful for bridging two far-away places, the risk of a gate collapse is too much. Being lost in a Magnagate is certain death, or perhaps worse, with no chance of rescue. With the delicate causal nature of the Grass Continent already, perhaps such risks are simply not worth the reward?"
"I see." He didn't quite, but he'd happily claim he could.
They continued with I Spy for about twenty more seconds before Scout said. "Why guard a Time Gear?" he asked. "Actually. Why were they even taken out of the tower in the first place? Was that your idea?"
Darkrai looked a mite offended before it faded. "Certainly not, no. The Time Gears were taken from the tower approximately a millennia ago during an extreme disaster that occurred on the Grass Continent. Time had begun to be warped and something had to be done to stabilise it. The gears were… supposed to be a temporary measure, but time makes fools of us all and the Lake Guardians must have forgotten."
"And you?"
"Darkrai was within Treeshroud Forest all that time, he had no idea what was occurring in the outside world besides the occasional murmur from explorers."
Scout didn't believe that the Lake Guardians could simply forget.
So, they continued their game.
"How could you possibly bring me back?" Scout asked seriously. "Correct me if I'm wrong, but your powers are over nightmares. Not people who have been removed from reality."
"The line between a dream and reality is not as thin as one may think," Darkrai replied, "And… while I may not dabble in it any longer, I do know a thing or two about manipulating time. Centuries with a Time Gear provide a lot of time to be bored."
"Hmm."
"I could not revive just anyone, however," Darkrai continued. "Your unique state gives me this opportunity. How you persist, I am not sure. Perhaps the revival of those three loosened the anchors of time, and the wills of those who love you anchor you further. As a guess, this is not exactly a science easily tested. I believe you are somewhat close to a dream, one that is curiously self-aware. More than a dream, not quite a spirit. Like an avatar of yourself."
"That's making my head spin," Scout sighed. He was mostly following, and he had a feeling Darkrai was talking as simply as he could.
"May I ask you a question, in turn, Scout?" Darkrai asked.
With a ghost of a smile, Scout replied. "You just did."
Darkrai blinked before he gave a wispy laugh. "I suppose I did. Ah, well."
"You can ask."
"Thank you, Scout." Darkrai looked him up and down before glancing in the direction Scout had come from. "Why do you reject my offer, yet come to speak with me every night?"
Scout recoiled. Honestly, he hadn't expected any other question, but he still didn't like to hear it.
"I… don't know," he replied, before shaking his head violently. "No! I do know. I don't trust you. The Darkrai I know of…." He trailed off. He was getting confused. It was somewhat unsettling how easy it was to slide into an almost friendly back-and-forth with Darkrai.
Darkrai.
He knew what Darkrai did and was going to do. Go after Palkia or something like that. But… that was the game. The story that he thought he knew. The story that changed. Cha-hecouldn'tthinkaboutthat.
It was changed from the beginning; he understood now. But not how, or why. Was it a flip of the coin, or was it something deeper?
Questions he could never get the answer to unless he were alive to ask them again.
Darkrai was here. Offering. Yet… Scout knew. He knew what Darkrai was. Darkrai had even admitted it. Scout delved into his limited memory, thinking of the Dark Future.
In this state of dreamlike non-existence, he still didn't have all his memories back. But he could reach some. He was resting on Sean's lap. Riding on Guardian's shoulder. Playing with Saniya. Training with Striker.
They were hazy, and detached, but he remembered them in part.
And with them came the memories of the Dark Future. Even just the memory filling him with anxious dread
Darkrai had caused that. Or he had taken advantage of that and revelled in the chaos.
This was the same one. He could not trust him.
And yet.
"What happened to make you… change your mind?" Scout asked. He hadn't broached this subject yet; he didn't want to hear Darkrai's seductive, sensible, lies.
The best lies were wrapped in truths; after all, he had to remember that.
And yet.
He still asked.
Darkrai considered the question in absolute silence. It wasn't the easiest question to ask, and he knew that much of Scout's perception of him rode on what he said next.
"Through dreams, I have seen what I would do in the timeline I had caused," Darkrai began, slowly and methodically. "I even delved further into them, wishing to feel a glimpse of that glorious victory. But… as I fell further into memory, I noticed something."
"What?"
"I was not content. The adoration brought me joy but my heart ached for every crying mother and father, every lost son and daughter."
"That realm merely reduced everyone else to the same misery I suffer. In that dark time, where there is no happiness to find, where people looked to me for salvation, I felt a sense of pride. Pride that I could be the hero. That I could be loved. Yet… I came to realise that if I was ever the hero they thought of me, I would have done all I could to undo that monstrous reality."
"You attacked us," Scout accused. "When we travelled back in time. You attacked us to stop us."
Darkrai paused again, staring at him in wonder and sadness. "You mystify me greatly, Scout. I see where the name comes from; your observance is astute and impressive. Yes. I did. If you could pass apologies from me to Sean, I would be most grateful."
Scout was silent.
"But there was something else," Darkrai said, taking Scout's attention upon him again. "Something else that I, at first, clung to as something at least. You may not know, or… no, perhaps you would. But when a pokémon of my… status perishes we… we do not get the same opportunity as a mortal pokémon after death. Instead, we are recycled and return. The pokémon who died lives on only in the memory of the one that comes after."
"Yes… Dialga said that as it…" Scout grimaced, that wasn't a fun memory.
"Indeed. Something you likely do not know, however. The previous Darkrai was murdered, you see, by a pokémon from the future."
"Wait…?" Scout said, holding a paw up. "Wait. An audino?"
"Yes." Darkrai nodded. "Did that Chatot or Wigglytuff share this with you, then?"
"Chatot did… yeah."
"My apologies about him. But. As time has changed, the pokémon of the future disappeared. Knowing that she is gone, truly and utterly, relieves me immensely, and this happiness is what inspired a change in me. I cannot help now but think. Why try to make all others descend to my misery when I can uplift myself? Why fight to preserve that terror when I could use what I know to do better here? That world was terrible. And the people I cherished were not safe, even with me."
"That's why you're offering to bring me back? To do better?"
"Yes. I do owe you, and I must repay that, but the best actions, I think, have multiple advantages to them."
Scout chewed his lip, or at least he thought he would and so he did. "No. No. No. No, I… no."
Darkrai closed his eyes and took a breath. "What more can I say?" he asked, frustration briefly touching his voice before he composed himself. "Scout, all we are doing is putting you and your companions through the pain."
"Then leave us alone." Scout doubled down. "Dammit, I know you're going to do something to Palkia! If you really think you can do anything good, then do nothing!"
"I cannot."
"If you have to be absolved then LEAVING will repay us."
"It doesn't work like that, Scout."
"Leave. Now."
Darkrai paused and lifted himself to his full height. "Very well. For tonight, I shall."
"Forever."
"Tonight."
"Forever!"
"… I will be back tomorrow."
Scout scoffed and began pacing in frustration as Darkrai disappeared. He wanted to kick the dirt, throw something, or form a Shadow Ball. Maybe a Night Slash and cut Darkrai's arm off or something.
But he could do none of those things, and he returned to Mane and Rai in simmering frustration. He sat in the fire and huddled for the rest of the night.
He hated nothing more than the gnawing feeling taking his senseless form.
A feeling he was sure was wrong to feel.
A feeling that could only lead him to terrible places.
A feeling of regret.
After 'teaching' for the day, the two broken teams drifted to Spinda's Café to try and rest from their ordeal.
Banette joined them.
"Spinda… alcohol."
Banette smirked at them as they all partook in the cleansing liquid, except Sean who Saniya decided wasn't allowed.
"You joined the children today, reminding us all you are underage."
"I said I was sorry."
"Suffer."
Banette finished hers first and called for more quickly.
"Does that even do anything for you?" Wartortle asked, quiet and tired.
She downed the next one in a single gulp. "Not anymore."
"Hey, uh… Chikorita?" Saniya asked, head pressed on the table. The coolness of it helped.
"Yeah?" Chikorita's vines were sore. She didn't even know that was possible. The roots, sure, but not the vines themselves. They usually didn't exist until she called them with her Power, and yet here they were. Aching in their non-existence.
"Knock-knock?" she asked, punctuating it with two soft bumps with the table with her head.
"Who's there?"
"Gacha."
"Gacha who?"
"Gacha another drink and me too."
" Hah. Fine."
There was solidarity earned between the two teams today, and Team Go-Getters silently promised to find a way to get Team Sunrise a break tomorrow.
Rai and Mane were on a mission and the only thing that slowed them down was sleep.
They were off after another night of nightmare-infested sleep. As perhaps the most egregious example of their one-track minds was when Mane tripped over an unusually heavy sack and instead of leaving it where it was or doing the upstanding pokémon thing and looking for the owner, he just chucked it in their own Treasure Bag and went on their way.
"Finders keepers."
Day after day of sleep that drained one further meant they can only go so far before they crash.
"Nudge-nudge. Nudge-nudge. Hello? You alive?" Mane grumbled as something continued poking him. It was hard and round, and he didn't like it. He snarled. "Hello? Blink once if you're alive, twice if you're dead, with one eye twice if you need a doctor, or not at all if I can just go."
Whoever was talking poked him again, and he clamped onto whatever it was with his teeth. "Woah-hohoho. Got a live one." Whatever it was pulled Mane up until it vanished from his mouth and he, like all cats, landed on his feet.
Blinking the disorientation away, he looked at who dared bother him. He saw shin. Black shin. He looked up and then a little more up.
"Hello," Lucario said. Her fur was a mixture of faded blue, yellow, and black with grey streaks. Despite it, her muscles remained firm, and her eyes were completely clear. "Can you speak? Or are you just… well." She generated a Bone Rush, and Mane realised that's what had been poking him.
He yelped and jumped, landing on Rai and startling him into awareness. Rai shocked him on reflex and Mane blasted out an Ember, setting Lucario's face on fire.
She sighed and patted her face down as the two reorientated himself. "You done?" she asked, crossing her arms looking most unimpressed at being set on fire.
"Lucario?" Mane coughed, catching Rai's attention. He also looked to see shins, before tilting his head up a bit further.
Lucario rolled her eyes. "I get you're hot stuff but keep in and bury it down like everything else." She tapped them both on the head with her Bone Rush. "You know, setting perfect strangers on fire may not be the worst first meeting, but I've seen better. Now, tell me if you understand me or do I have to stick this thing somewhere else?"
"I understand," Rai said, stunned.
"Y-yeah."
"Okay." Lucario nodded, a charming smile lighting her face. "Progress is made. Second question I know I shouldn't ask, and probably going to regret this, but why was your first inclination to suck on my Bone Rush?" she asked, turning to Mane. "Just how happy WERE you to see me? Or is there something you're missing out on?"
"I didn't SUCK!"
"Mmm." Lucario didn't look convinced.
Rai turned to him, disbelief flooding his face that he'd suck on Lucario's Bone Rush.
"I didn't!" Mane insisted, voice rising several octaves. Rai did not believe him.
"For the record," she retorted, "you did. But I'm forgiving." Lucario looked between the two. Rai had fallen completely silent, going still in bashfulness. This was definitely Lucario, and Mane had already ruined their first impression. He would not ruin their second one.
"Third question, you didn't run afoul of any hypno or musharna did you? Finding two pokémon conked out in Dreamy Woods brings just one thing to mind. Even I've been getting put to sleep and drained a bit. Bastards better make it count."
"N-no," Rai replied, shaking his head. "At least... I don't think."
"Hmm… Shinx, Litleo. You both look depressing. I'd ask what the cat dragged in, but it's pretty obvious. When did you last sleep together?"
"Last night," Mane said, he was calm. He'd already set Lucario on fire; he couldn't get any lower than this.
"Somehow I think my actual question went over your head. Funny that." Lucario looked around. These two were standing still, quiet, with heads somewhat lowered. "Are you… going to continue standing that still? Or does it hurt to sit down?"
Rai gasped and laid down, feeling boneless.
Looking up, Lucario was wearing a distantly annoyed look. "Okay," she sighed, sitting down as well. "You two CLEARLY know just which lucario I am, and so you're doing that thing that everyone does. If you continue, I'm going to leave. Do you get it?" She gave them both a gentle wack on the head.
Mane nodded. He took a breath. "Sorry for Embering you," he said. "And for sucking on your Bone Rush. It was a little too long and hard to resist."
Lucario smirked. "Alright. You get a pass for the fire in my eyes." She glanced to Rai. "What about you, Sparky?"
"Yeah, Shinx?" Mane asked, grinning. "Talk about her bone. I think she liked it!"
Rai gave him a mortified look. "You.. we… no… never… I… she… what?"
"I think she's into it."
"I'm… sorry?"
Lucario sighed. "Well, one out of two is above the curve. So?" She turned back to Mane. "I have a feeling, just a feeling, that finding two pokémon fainted from what looks like exhaustion, I won't ask what of, and running along the way I only told Mawile isn't random chance. So. Team Ion. What have you come to find me for?"
Rai's ears flicked as he shelved this new memory he'd be remembering when trying to sleep four years from now. "You've heard of us?"
"I do have ears, yes." Lucario nodded and then wiggled her ears. They were a bit larger than the normal size for a lucario. "And while you may not be the only shinx and litleo who are on an exploration team together, the tension between you is unmistakable if my sources are correct. And my sources are Mawile who would be very sad if she was wrong."
Rai sighed; Mane grinned. There were two of them now. He could feel admiration crumbling in front of his eyes. First Dusknoir, then Grovyle, now Lucario. Was no one sacred?
"So," Mane began as Rai was clearly having a crisis. "I got to ask. You ARE Lucario, right?" The name still held that weight.
"Hmm. Four aura tassels." She tapped one, and it bounced. "Blunted chest spike." It gave a metallic sound when she tapped it with her broken one. "Ability to kick anyone's ass." A tree basically evaporated when she turned to look at it. "I think I am a lucario!"
"THE Lucario?"
"You wouldn't actually be asking me if you didn't think I was."
Mane gave a low whistle. "I don't say this about the gals often, but totally platonic nice."
"I have a feeling you don't give ANY 'platonic' nices to the guys either. Still, totally platonic nice back to you, weird little bone-sucker. Anyway." She gestured to Rai. "Is he going to breathe in the next few minutes?"
"I could give him mouth to mouth!" Mane beamed. Rai exhaled hard.
"Can you even do that?" Lucario asked, curiously, looking over their mouths.
"Only one way to find out!"
"Okay. I've adjusted," Rai said, taking a slow blink. He took another breath before putting his cute face on. "We're Team Ion, and we came looking for you, Lucario!" Rai chirped.
"Yeah…." Lucario looked at him strangely. "I got that."
"I just need to feel like something's normal," Rai said, between his teeth, still holding his cute, hopeful, expression. One of his eyes twitched briefly.
"You're freaking me out, kid."
"You should see the faces he makes-"
"OkAY!" Rai snapped, bumping Mane over. "Check yourself before I wreck yourself."
"Don't threaten me with a good time!"
"Ah, let him flirt. It's funny. I don't get to see it much, and no one's ever that comfortable around me… or they are too comfortable and flirt WITH me." Rai was still frowning so she added, "If it helps, I'm more liable to help you if you treat me like an actual pokémon and not some weird divine prophet-of-Arceus type-deal thing."
Rai gave her an odd look, reading up and down Lucario before his expression changed slightly. Some of the sparkles went out of his eyes, and he closed them to take another breath.
"I'm sorry," he said, opening his eyes again. He was looking at her differently now, and Lucario noticed it. A measure of empathy. "I only just realised that… we've had to deal with a few pokémon acting really strange with us since the Temporal Incident, and it's bothered us."
Mane nodded, bumping Rai gently.
"You must deal with that all the time, huh?"
"Yep." Lucario nodded; she stood back up and stretched. "You could say that might be part of why I'm here. Thinking you two might 'get it'. Or maybe I dropped my stuff and was on the way back and ran into you. Could be either!"
"Wait," Mane said, digging into their Treasure Bag for that small sack he had tripped over yesterday. "Is THIS yours?"
Lucario brightened. "Ehh! Nice!" She snatched it up and overturned it, letting far more items than the small sack should possess fall out. It began to pile up, forcing Rai and Mane to step back.
Lucario was nearly up to her knees in items before she spotted what she was actually after. "Mmm," she sighed, chewing contently on the gummi. "I got to say, best thing about this world." She swallowed and looked at the disaster up to her knees. "Well… you'd think I'd learn." She began shovelling it all back in. "But I don't."
Once it was all back in the suspiciously-small-sack, Lucario sat back down, cross-legged, and gave them an appraising stare. "So. Team Ion. World Saviours. No Riolu with you, pity I need to talk to him, and one of your number down. Why have you come looking for me?"
"The pokemon who disappeared when time changed have returned," Rai explained, leaping right into it. "Grovyle, Dusknoir, and Celebi. Only… Meowth hasn't come back."
Lucario raised a paw. "Who's Celebi?" She considered the question for a moment. "I'm pretty sure you're NOT talking about the one that sometimes is at Mystifying Forest?"
Rai blinked. "You don't know who she is?"
"Eh." She waved a paw.
"You'd like Celebi," Mane said, grinning as he thought of her. "And Grovyle is pretty 'nice' too."
"They all played a big part in saving time," Rai explained. "And disappeared when the future was changed."
"Paradoxes," Lucario said, nodding. "Nasty things."
"You know about them?"
"Eh… I know they're a thing." She waved a paw. "Continue."
"Right. So, they all came back. But not Meowth. So, we went to the Hidden Land with Riolu to ask Dialga why."
"The big bastard said the only reason why Meowth WASN'T being brought back," Mane growled, "was because he was too injured. Apparently, they can only revive pokémon in the same, like… state they were in before., but… he said Meowth was already dying and he wouldn't make it."
Lucario nodded slowly. "Well… if you've come here to ask me to heal him, I have bad news for you."
Rai quickly shook his head. "No! No, not that. Dialga said no one could heal him fast enough."
"Mmm." Lucario didn't look so sure.
"But, that's not why we've come to you. Dialga refused to help. The other three were brought back by Arceus."
That. That caused a reaction.
"What?" Lucario hissed, jumping to her feet. Faster than they could even react, she had them both up in the air, held in a paw each. "What did you just say?"
"He said Arceus, bitch, put us down!" Mane snapped. She narrowed her eyes and dropped them both.
She stepped back. And took a breath. "Okay, I shouldn't have grabbed you. You said something pretty heavy there, something I find very hard to believe."
"Dialga said it," Rai snapped, rubbing his neck. "And who else could revive them?"
"Hmm." Lucario stared off into the distance and for an instant, she looked her age. She considered her words for a moment. "Look. Sorry for grabbing you like that. I hear Arceus, and I just want to Brick Break some spines." She gave a chop to the air. The air displacement it caused blew some leaves off a branch.
They edged back. She snorted. "I'm not going to Brick Break you."
Rai swallowed and gathered his nerve again. "Arceus definitely means something to you," he said, broaching the subject.
Lucario's gaze was not easy to bare, but he didn't look away. Lucario lifted her head slightly, more impressed. "Yes. The old bastard does mean a few things to me—almost all bad. Shitty old fence," she scoffed, shaking her head. "I'm serious. Arceus looks like it got stuck going halfway through a fence. Heh." She shook her head, lost in an old memory.
"We were hoping you'd know something about finding it," Mane said, stepping forward again. "If there is ANYONE that can bring back Meowth, it'd be Arceus. It brought everyone else back, everyone important at least, but NOT Meowth. We want to know why, and we want him back."
Lucario gave them both a hard look. "I gotta say, I think the best you two could possibly get is an explanation. And, sorry but I don't know where it is or what it's doing. Ever since I've been here, it's been asleep. This is the first I'VE heard of it being awake since I arrived. But… if Arceus really did revive those other ones…." She trailed off, face setting into an almost haunted look.
Rai gave a very soft curse under his breath. Before looking up sharply. "Look. We are going to get answers for why Scout didn't get to come back! I don't care how long it takes."
"We only really get another few weeks," Mane said, softly.
"Screw Armaldo."
"Rai…."
Lucario stuck a finger in one of her ears. "Please don't start drama in front of me," she sighed. She flicked the finger and clunked them both on the head with a Bone Rush again.
"What was that for?" Mane grouched.
"Because I can." Lucario shrugged. "You know what? Why not? Why don't I? Should I? Probably not but screw the fence-ridden bastard. You two may actually die if you don't get all this tension out of you, and I have a feeling it's not going to go away until you have the meowth back. I'll give you some help."
"You will!?" Rai brightened. All other comments she made went in one ear and out the other. Mane caught them and giggled lecherously.
"Yep."
"What do you want?" Rai asked, going straight into suspicious mode. "For this help?"
"Tch, finding Arceus is all the thanks I'll need. Just don't go back to the whole hero worship and 'oh Legendary Lucario we beseech you and please have my babies. Even though we're both ladies and you're totally not into me at all. Ugh, you two get marriage proposals yet?"
"Yet?"
"That's a no then."
"I… think we'll be fine."
"Swell." Lucario cracked her knuckles and smirked at them. "Let's eat."
I am Scout. I am always Scout.
Lucario had caused something in Scout that he hadn't experienced since he had first become aware he was stuck like this.
Laugh.
He wasn't sure what it was, but there was a lot of build-up to their meeting. Or, well, Rai and Mane's meeting with her.
Experiencing how she actually acted in comparison to what he, and clearly they, were expecting, had pulled some laughter out of him.
Unfortunately, Lucario hadn't so much as twitched when he tried to see if she could sense him. And then her later comments evaporated all amusement out of him.
Only answers at best, they could get.
She had promised to help, however, and so she walked with Rai and Mane until it was time to sleep. He wondered as Darkrai had proposed the idea. Would she have a nightmare?
Rai and Mane began to whimper and squirm against the ground at the usual time. Even so many times into seeing it, it still hurt as much as it did the first time.
His sight fell to Lucario. She wasn't squirming, but there was a very deep frown on her face. Her paws clenched down, digging into the dirt and cleaving through it like water. But besides that, she made no reaction.
Whatever she was experiencing was affecting her, at least.
And Scout hated that.
He got up and moved through the trees. He wasn't sure why he always knew what direction Darkrai was at. He simply picked a path and walked it until the shadow demon turned up.
As always, Darkrai beamed at him when he turned up. "Scout."
"Get out," Scout snapped. "Leave. NOW!"
Darkrai blinked. "I… pardon?"
"I want you gone. Now."
"But we've only just connected for the night."
"I don't care. Leave." He glared at Darkrai and was vindicated when Darkrai nodded.
"May I… at least ask why? Have I upset you?"
"Have you upset-? I cannot. I cannot. I cannot tonight." He buried his face in his paws, or at least he felt like he should be, so that's what Darkrai saw.
Darkrai bowed his head, one of his hands flexed. "Very well," he whispered.
Darkrai disappeared, and Scout paced in place, trying to remember how to breathe, only to then remember that he couldn't breathe at all. His mind was gripped with sudden panic, he couldn't breathe he couldn't breathe he couldn't-
Ican'tbreatheIcan'tbreathe.
I'mdyingI'mdyingI'mdying.
LungsohmygodpleaseIcan'tbreathe-
There was no sense, no sensation. No lungs, no stomach, no nerves, no nothing. He was nothing, how was he? He wasn't. He wasn'twasn'twasn't-
He wasn't sure how long it was before he came to awareness again, he saw fur he heard soft breaths. They weren't his and Ican'tbrea- and that was fine. Rai was breathing.
It took him longer than he should have to realise something was amiss. Rai and Mane weren't relaxed, their breathing fast and shallow and even Lucario was twitching in place.
That by itself would be alarming after telling Darkrai to leave, but for once it wasn't Darkrai's fault. A drowzee stood over Mane, chuckling under its breath as it waved its hands over him.
Singing a soft lullaby as purplish energy crackled around the three unconscious pokémon. A Nightmare. And from Mane, Drowzee breathed in, drawing his energy away in a cruel Dream Eater attack.
Scout launched himself at the interloper, hissing and extending his claws. "GET AWAY!" he screamed and slashed right through Drowzee.
It didn't even know he was there. In a sense, he wasn't. Scout gasped and his claws disappeared, it was moving onto Rai now and he felt something. Very distant, almost imperceptible, but feeling anything in his state was noticeable. Almost a tug around his naval, almost pulling him towards Drowzee.
Rai groaned out as energy began to rise from him, sucking into the long nose of the drowzee. Scout fell back as he realised he could do nothing. No one was waking up, and this drowzee would keep on going.
Scout tried to scream. It was unheard.
There was nothing he could do.