The sun had just crossed the end of the Earth leaving behind a trail of stars to dot the violet horizon. The full moon shone brightly and there was not a shadow to be found. No place to hide. Darkrai held back a gasp as pain enveloped his right arm. It was broken, he was sure of it. The tale of his hand in the death of that young child cause all around to hate him. For years, humans and Pokémon alike called for his blood. Even members of the legendary council turned a blind eye at his treatment some joining in themselves. He couldn't keep count the number of times he had returned home broken and battered to recover only for the cycle to repeat once he left his little island. Perhaps, Darkrai thought, he should stay there forever. It's what he deserved.

He sped on towards his island, the quicker he returned home the quicker he could set his arm and heal. Darkrai was so focused he didn't notice a sparkling figure fall into pace beside him.

"Darkrai!?"

Darkrai snapped his head and stopped in his tracks. Before him floated the Pokémon of the crescent moon, his counterpart, Cresselia. Expecting an attack, Darkrai braced himself.

"What happened to your arm?"

She asked reaching forward to touch it. Darkrai growled and flinched away as her paw made contact.

"Oh! I'm so sorry. Does it hurt?" Cresselia's voice was filled with concern.

"I'm fine." Darkrai grumbled.

"Don't be ridiculous." Cresselia's expression changed to one of agitation, "Your arm is injured and you look absolutely awful. Come rest on my island. It's a lot closer than your own and I can help heal you."

Darkrai narrowed his eyes and backed away from her. He knew this had to be a trap of some sort. No one had ever offered to help him before.

"Please…" Cresselia begged, "I just want to help you."

The world around him spun and he could already see dots of black in his vision. There was no way he would make it home in this condition. Relenting, Darkrai let Cresselia lead him to a rather isolated island, not one he would have expected a friendly creature like her to live on. She drifted into a cave pulling him into the darkness. Despite the fact he could see quite well in the dark fear still drowned his senses. Gently, Cresselia placed her soft paws over his broken arm. Darkrai hissed in pain.

"This is horrible. How on Earth did this happen?"

Cresselia asked, glancing up at him expecting an answer. Darkrai adverted his eyes.

"It just did."

The lunar swan frowned at his response. Keeping her paws on his shoulder she closed her eyes and concentrated. Pink light wrapped around her form before flowing into Darkrai. When the light touched his body he felt immediate relief and sighed contently as all of the pain ebbed away. Cresselia opened her eyes and grinned.

"That should do it. Try moving your arm."

Darkrai raised his arm and rolled it around a bit. It worked just like new. He met Cresselia's gaze and realized he didn't know what to say to her.

"I…well…I appreciate…ermm…" Darkrai silently begged her with his eyes to aid him.

"I think you mean thank you."

"Yes…Thank you."

Cresselia smiled sadly at him. She moved her paw towards his face and Darkrai clenched his fists. She gently moved a strand of his hair out of his visible eyes much to Darkrai's astonishment. He felt his heartbeat quicken but not from fear. That had felt nice. He wanted her to touch him like that again. Puzzled and with widened eyes, Darkrai stared blankly at Cresselia's fair face.

"Perhaps one of these days you'll learn to trust me." She sighed.

Of all legendaries to have never had Pokerus, Cresselia was one of the last Darkrai would've expected. She had more contact with the outside world than most he knew. However, he knew from experience that her wheezing breath, high fever and shivering were unmistakable symptoms.

"Pokerus?" Cresselia looked up at him, exasperated, "That sounds ridiculous."

"I'm well aware it's a silly name but you still have it."

"How long do I have?" Cresselia sighed, flopping back down on her nest.

"Well…" Darkrai pushed back his white hair, "It depends. Usually the virus only lasts about a day but it can take up to four."

Cresselia let out an annoyed groan, blinking slowly, staring at the wall as if it had eaten her breakfast.

"It seems to me you're in stage one, feeling awful."

"What a creative name..." Cresselia retorted, "Did you come up with it yourself?"

"As a matter of fact, I did." Darkrai tilted his head, amused by her irritation.

"Do you think you could contact Mesprit…" Cresselia began but Darkrai interrupted her.

"I can take care of you."

Cresselia eyed him warily.

"You've helped me so many times when I was unwell, it seems just that I return the favor." Darkrai said "I've gone through this myself, I know how it works and I can make it more bearable for you."

Cresselia considered his offer. Though she seemed hesitant, she accepted and let him go about his business. He brought her more material for her nest, padding it so that it kept her warm and snug. He also placed some off to the side of the cave. Just in case, he claimed. He picked berries from the outside and brought them to her though her appetite was pretty low. He carried water inside using a large leaf for her to drink. Darkrai stayed by her side and attended to her every need until the moon shown bright directly above.

Cresselia's condition had improved a bit and she was able to speak at great length with Darkrai. Something neither had done with each other for a long time. Darkrai felt the wall between them open, at least a crack. They began to reminisce about the past.

"Do you remember that time Mew made it rain slime?" Darkrai chuckled.

"Ick! I remember that." Cresselia grimaced "Everything got all sticky and we had to have a council meeting that day to figure out who did it. Dialga threw a fit."

"I thought it was hilarious."

"Of course you would." Cresselia smiled at him playfully "Giratina and Palkia couldn't stop laughing either. I think even Arceus was a bit amused by it."

"This was before or after the humans came along?"

"Before." Cresselia said wistfully, "They used to be so close."

"Who?" Darkrai pondered aloud.

"Arceus and the trio. Mesprit loved being around them because of how positive they all were."

"They were, but everything changed after Giratina was banished."

Cresselia nodded solemnly.

"Did you ever know why that was?" She asked.

"I believe it had something to do with the humans." Darkrai began, "Remember when Arceus introduced his plan to bring humans to our world? Giratina objected furiously, claiming that the humans would only bring pain and destruction to the world but the council's vote ruled over her. She was livid and left the gathering in a huff. The humans were brought here and soon after Giratina retaliated, destroying a human settlement. When Palkia, Dialga and Arceus came to intervene she attacked them. Arceus and the others tried to reason with her but she refused to stop. They had no other choice but to seal her away in the Distortion world."

"You witnessed her banishment?"

"I happened to be there. It was horrific." Darkrai sighed "I don't think any of them were the same after that day."

Cresselia gave a pitying look before falling into a fit of coughs. Darkrai rushed to her side waiting until she had stopped.

"Are you alright, darling?"

Darkrai mentally slapped himself as he watched Cresselia's expression crumple. He should've held his tongue.

"Apologies. I didn't mean to cause you…"

"It's fine." Her eyes drifted to floor.

"Get some rest…I'll be back."

Darkrai whisked out of the cave before Cresselia could protest. Before long he was sitting at the edge of the island with a million thoughts buzzing around his head. A blush formed under his fur. Had he really just called Cresselia darling? Not that it hadn't crossed his mind to give her some term of endearment. He felt a strange sense of déjà vu, had he called her darling before? Perhaps once or twice, but he couldn't see them clearly. Darkrai threw a nearby pebble into the sea.

I wish she would talk to me about it.

He threw more and more pebbles until he couldn't reach anymore. Darkrai glanced into the shimmering water. His own visible blue eye stared back at him past his wispy hair. The black tendrils that lay on his shoulder waved around lazily. Darkrai had never thought himself to be hideous, despite being told so by many. He gingerly moved a piece of hair out of his eye.

I wonder if Cresselia still likes me after everything that has happened.

In his heart, Darkrai felt he already knew the truth. It wasn't that she thought him unappealing, she was afraid of him just like everyone else. Somehow that hurt more. He rose up and dusted off the dirt from his skirt. Half way back from the beach he saw Cresselia floating towards him.

"What are you doing? You should be resting." He said tartly.

"I feel a lot better, surprisingly." She shot him a small smile, "That wasn't so bad."

"That's because you're in stage two. You start to feel a little bit better but things always get better before they get worse. Come let's get you back to the cave."

He motioned for her to follow. They had not made it more than a few yards before Cresselia started to tire. She set down on the soft grass, breathing heavily.

"Would you like me to carry you?" Darkrai asked.

"No…no…I'm just…catching my breath." She wheezed.

For a few minutes they both sat as Cresselia's breathing evened out. She tried to lift off the ground but kept falling back down again.

"Would you like to reconsider my offer?" Darkrai looked at her with concern.

Cresselia nodded reluctantly. Darkrai stood and scooped Cresselia up in his arms. She was heavier than he thought she'd be but Darkrai had no trouble carrying her back to the cave. He gently set her down in her nest. Bringing his claw up to her cheek he could feel the intense heat of her fever.

"If that was stage two, what's stage three?"

"In stage three you're going to feel tired."

"Mmhmm…" Cresselia hummed, "And then?"

"Next is stage four, you're going to expel your stomach content…continuously."

Cresselia's colors paled.

"You might want to get comfortable. It's not pleasant."

Cresselia gagged as the first wave of nauseous began to plague her. Hours passed. Darkrai tried his best to make Cresselia comfortable. Every time she simply moved she was overcome with sick. Darkrai managed to clean her and the cave up by the time the sun peaked it's mane up on the horizon. Suddenly Cresselia's weak paws grasped his claws.

"Darkrai?"

She stared up at him, her eyes glazed over in a daze. Darkrai had nearly forgotten the last stage, delirium. He couldn't quite remember what he had done during this but the charred remains of nearby trees had been some indication. Cresselia shivered.

"I feel so sleepy…"

"Then rest dar-Cress. Just rest."

"Don't leave me…"

"I will not leave you." Darkrai gently squeezed her paws.

Cresselia's eyelids drooped and finally shut, she let out a breathy sigh. For a moment he contemplated staying beside her until she awoke but he knew she would remember next to nothing of this day. Regretfully he let go of her paws and drifted back to his nest. His mind whirled uncontrollably trying to dig into his subconscious for lost memories.

Author's note: Hi, guys. I just wanted to thank you for reading this story so far. I hope you're enjoying it. I've already written quite a lot of material for future chapters and it is turning out a lot longer than I intended it to be. Again, thank you! ~Dawneques