Ch 1: Inner Conflict

A/N: Set after the fan-sequel "Explorers of the Spirit." If you haven't played that fan-game, then I highly recommend you do.

(Aghh!)

A tidal wave of contradictory emotions crashed at once on the shores of a broken mind. The desire to dispatch the small Pokémon standing before him clashing with the desire to get away as far as possible from said Pokémon should the former desire take hold.

The abomination gripped his head and keeled over from the headache. He wanted to both burn this world, and to save it. To rule it, and to hide from it. To end all those who lived in that town, and to save them all.

Unable to bear the pain of these emotions, the abomination formed a dimensional hole instinctively and fled through it, unaware of the distraught he brought down on that small Pokemon by doing so. The tunnel led him into familiar territory, one dark, lifeless, save for the inferno that burns as hotly as the one within his spirit. His subconscious was screaming at him.

Another wave of pain crashed down on his mind. There was an inner conflict, one between the desire to follow his innate nature, and the temperance to clamp down on said desires.

After what had felt like temperance, his conscience, having to tear down these desires one by one, the raging fire inside of him eased up. Albeit only slightly. The headache slowly ebbed away, and the abomination opened his eyes. At once he realized, to his horror, what he had done. He attempted to cross into another realm, the one where the former human, the one whose identity he stole, lived. There was a diabolical set of intentions hanging in his mind. They whispered in his mind, overlapping with one another. One of those intentions was so horrific, it immediately caused him to panic and turn back through the dimensional hole he had opened up without the slightest consideration of where he was going to end up.

—

(…. Am I dreaming?)

He felt as though he was swimming through a vicious storm. The salty water numbed his senses. It was too dark to see anything, not that he wanted to open his eyes to avoid the salt spray.

(Am I drowning? Is this the end?)

In panic, he opened his eyes regardless. A mistake. The salt burned his eyes. Not that he could even see. It was pitch black, and in the center of a massive wave trough. However, there was one flicker. A tiny light in the distance that flickered on and off. He recognized what it was, the word for it etched on the surface of his mind.

A lighthouse.

The wave struck him, pulling him down in the dark abyss below.

(…. I'm fading….)

The depth took hold of him, lulling him into a cold slumber.

—

"Yo…..."

(…)

"My Buddy…"

(Is…. That?)

"….. you… worried!"

(This voice…... it sounds… familiar?)

A pair of ice blue eyes cracked open. They were met by a pair of concerned beady eyes.

"…. Breloom?" Darkrai spoke in a voice that felt both natural yet unwelcome.

Breloom smiled.

"Dude! You're alive! Yo, you had no idea how no idea how worried I was about you!" Breloom spoke chipperly.

Darkrai blinked in confusion and tried to lift his head up.

"Augh!" He winced in pain, there was something wrong with his right shoulder.

"Careful dude! You need to heal before you do that!" Breloom warned.

"Heal?… wait, what happened?" Darkrai replied. He tried remembering what happened to him. He remembered fighting… himself?

(That's right… I was fighting my other self at Temporal Tower with my partner… and then I had elected to let my spirit rejoin my body again… but then I… ran off? And there was a…. a… lighthouse?)

"Hmm? Buddy, what's the matter? You're zoinked out!" Breloom noted.

Darkrai didn't even know where to begin asking questions. So, he started with the obvious.

"Where… am I?" It was dark outside, yet his surroundings felt somewhat familiar.

Breloom chuckled, "why, you're at the Sharpedo Bluff."

(Does that mean that my partner is here! No! I cannot be here then!)

"Hmm? Is something wrong? You look unwell? Well, technically you are unwell…" Breloom went on a tangent as Darkrai frantically turned his head around to inspect the room. But his partner was nowhere to be seen.

"Does… does anyone else know that I'm here?" Darkrai asked.

"Hmm? Nah, I just found ya! You literally crashed against the boulders below the bluff dude!" Breloom explained.

"Huh? But there was a 'lighthouse' around here." Said Darkrai as he tried to remember what had happened.

Breloom cocked his head to the side, "what's a 'lait aous'?" He asked.

Darkrai blinked, "You do not know what a 'lighthouse' is?"

Breloom shook his head, "No, this is the first time I've heard of this word. The way it sounds is so weird too! You know what it is?"

Darkrai nodded, "A 'lighthouse' is-"

(!)

"Auuugh!"

Darkrai groaned in pain as another wave of pain hit him. A bunch of broken memories, sounds, and images that made no sense to him flashed by him. The memories blended together into an amalgamation that ended up with a lighthouse in the distance. He tried recalling any of the memories again, only to feel a burning pain searing through his whole body.

(….)

Darkrai fainted.

"Woah! Buddy!" Breloom panicked. He checked Darkrai for any fevers, and frowned when he felt that his friend's forehead was burning to the touch.

"I should get some help, but he also doesn't seem to want anyone to know that he is here… hmmm, think Breloom, think. Who can I drag here at this hour….." Breloom kept on pondering his options. Eventually he gave up and opted to sleep. If his friend wasn't feeling any better by morning, then he could always drag Spinda here so she could check on his friend.

After all, Breloom knew that the townsfolk would start panicking if they heard that a Darkrai suddenly appeared at the outer range of town.

—

(…. The fire… is this, my aura?)

(It's burning me…. I can't… let it consume me… not again… I have to do something!)

(There's a familiar presence here- no, that won't do. I need something else, something…)

(There it is! I feel a presence, several at that… They're small, and unfamiliar to me…. The fire… it's being sapped away, little by little… just a little more, and it won't be a problem…)

(Just a little more…)

—

Darkrai woke up. He was lying flat on his back, the rocky ceiling of the cavern hanging above him. He felt confused for a good minute before remembering what happened.

(I got caught up in the waves under the bluff, and Breloom found me and brought me here to rest. I recall he told me that my right shoulder is injured… but)

Darkrai grasped his right shoulder with his left hand.

(The pain, it's already gone? This quickly?)

Glancing around, Darkrai spotted Breloom, still asleep with a peaceful expression on his face.

(At least I didn't cause him to have any nightmares simply by being this close to me…)

It was still dark, but the sky had the faintest of pinks and pastel blue in the distance. Daybreak was nearing. Darkrai got up quietly so as to not disturb Breloom. He headed outside and closed the leaf lid of the entrance as he exited, taking note of how physically excruciating the simple task was.

(Why am I so fatigued?)

He noticed the familiar sail-like flag, it was moving about slowly. Upon further inspection, Darkrai realized that this was a tool for showing the wind direction.

(I can't help but notice that the tool itself is rather inaccurate. I think there are better ways to-)

"Not again! Aughh!" Pain gripped Darkrai's head again. Images that made no sense to him flashed in his mind too quickly for him to discern their origin.

(What… where are those places?… what are those things…. a lighthouse…)

"Yo, Buddy!"

(Breloom?)

The headache slowly ebbed away. Darkrai opened his eyes. He was sitting on the ground, his head clutched in his arms. Breloom stood next to him with a worried face.

"Yo, you should rest up some more! Do you want your fever to get worse?" Said Breloom.

"Fever? What fever?" Darkrai asked.

Breloom frowned, "you were talking to me about something strange and then you passed out. I checked on ya, and your body was burning up!"

"Hmm!?" Darkrai almost flinched when Breloom placed his hand on his forehead.

"Huh, that's strange. The fever is mostly gone… and your arm, how is it feeling?" Breloom asked.

"… it feels perfectly fine, I have no trouble moving it about." Darkrai replied.

"Wowzie! I guess your new body heals quickly! Or is it technically your old body?" Breloom went on another tangent as Darkrai spaced out again.

"Breloom… did you have any nightmares?" Darkrai asked suddenly.

"Huh? No. I slept like a baby, baby!" Breloom tried to reply with enthusiasm.

(There's something off about Breloom's demeanor. I believed him when he told me that he didn't have any nightmares, but there's something else clearly on his mind.)

"Breloom, is something on your mind?" Darkrai asked.

Breloom seized up, a habit of his, before answering, "Well yeah! You went 'poof', missing since the day I last saw you at that time tower thing!"

Darkrai frowned, "And? Is that it?"

Breloom seized again, but his demeanor changed from his normal jolly self to one of frustration. "Is that it? Do you know how long everyone has searched for you? Expedition after expedition sent out to search for you! You vanished!"

Darkrai stood up at once. "Wait... but I was only gone for a few days at the most right…. Right?"

(Don't tell me my dimensional hole stunt displaced me in time! No, it most certainly did!)

Breloom went quiet.

"How long was I gone…" Darkrai asked.

"Fifteen months!" Breloom replied.

(!)

"Fifteen… months!? But how! I… no it makes sense" Darkrai spoke defeatedly.

Noticing how distraught his friend looked, Breloom sighed and crossed his arms. "Your Buddy told me that the moment you woke up as Darkrai, you immediately made a portal and vanished through it. And that was the last they ever saw of you."

Darkrai hung his head. "I see… how are they now?"

Breloom frowned, "I suppose I will have to fill you in on everything."

—

(So, ever since I went missing, the following has happened. Chatot had revamped the old exploitative 10/90 split to a much fairer 50/50 split, and he did so because of me? There are several new recruits at the guild, including the kids I rescued from Drowzee. Team Razor Wind had long left the country, and so did the old survey team. Spinda's Project P had expanded substantially, and now Breloom leads the current survey team.)

(My partner had formed several rescue expeditions for me, all of which ended in failure. They graduated from the guild three months ago and have moved on away from Treasure Town and headed to the west of the region to help the less fortunate living there. Shaymin village was finally surveyed, and Sky Peak is now a budding tourist attraction. Cressalia had gone on low profile after no signs of my reappearance came up, and finally, my partner had given their old hideout to Breloom, and told him to share it with me should I ever show up again.)

"I know it's a lot to take in, a lot has certainly changed. It has been only several days for you though, so if you want to rest here a few more days before making up your mind on what to do next, I'll be here to help you." Breloom offered.

Darkrai smiled weakly. For one, he was happy for his partner who moved on to do good in the world, but that everyone in town and at the guild were doing well for themselves. The smile soon faded as the first rays of sunshine hit his face.

"What's the matter Buddy?" Breloom asked.

"It's just that… Everyone seems to be doing better without me around. Perhaps I should keep it that way-"

"-Don't be stupid!" Breloom interrupted Darkrai.

"The only reason that both your Buddy and I have made it this far is because of you! The only reason Wigglytuff's guild is much better now also because of you! Just stop putting yourself down dude!" Breloom cried.

"But… What if the nightmares start again? And you said that Cresselia went away after I had gone missing, what if she decided to give chase to me again?" Darkrai argued.

"As for the nightmares, we'll think of something. I can ask for help from the federation expedition team that has been working with your Buddy to search for you. And as for Cresselia, there are many Pokemon who will vouch for you over her. Don't just up and disappear on us again dude!" Said Breloom.

Darkrai frowned, "Wait, federation? Who is this expedition team that you believe can help me out?" He asked.

Breloom's angry demeanor eased. "They're a Legend Rank team from a different country. They're also members of the Exploration Team Federation. They already know that you're a Darkrai now, and that doesn't bother them at all man."

"Exploration Team Federation? Why would they send someone looking for me?" Darkrai asked.

(Another country sending an exemplary exploration team searching for me? Out of good will? Yeah, I don't buy it. They want something, I'm sure of it.)

"Look pal, before you jump to conclusions without having met them, let me explain a little more. I met this team shortly after I had become a member of the Federation myself."

"-You're a member of what!? How? When?" Darkrai interrupted.

Breloom sighed. "I went to explore blizzard island almost a year ago based on a rumor of a famed explorer named Scizor. I managed to rescue him from a dangerous Pokémon, and he rewarded me by introducing me to the Federation and giving me the Secret Rank as proof of my membership."

Darkrai crossed his arms and said, "okay, and what does that have to do with that team?"

"Don't interrupt me and you'll know!" Breloom scolded Darkrai before continuing.

"So, one day I received a secret mission to explore various hidden spots across the country, but my expedition team wasn't allowed to follow me since they didn't bear the Secret Rank badge. Assisting me on this mission was this foreign team. They were looking for one specific Pokemon as part of a criminal investigation."

Darkrai tensed.

Breloom noticed. "Dude, I said don't worry! Anyhoo, these guys are tough, like mad tough. The four of us managed to locate Giratina. I managed to obtain a very special item from him, and those guys managed to get him to talk. And boyo did he talk."

"Apparently, he hates you, but he has to tolerate you because a higher power deemed you important to keep this world from plunging into chaos, which is the polar opposite of what Cresselia had told me about you."

(What! Don't interrupt him now… I'll hear him out then I'll ask questions.)

"So I told them the story that Cresselia told me about how you and her came to a disagreement, and Giratina said that she's a liar right then and there dude. So those cool guys then set out to find you in order to ask your side of the story, but they haven't had any success. Nobody has had any success finding you." Breloom concluded.

"Did they ever tell you what their criminal investigation was about?" Darkrai asked.

Breloom shook his head. "They told me it was top secret."

Darkrai sighed.

"I know I am supposed to reach out to them and your Buddy in the event I find you here at the bluff. But is that something you feel comfortable with me doing, or would you rather wait a few days to make up your mind" Breloom asked.

Darkrai crossed his arms, "I assume that you'd rather send the word to them that I'm here as soon as possible, but you're worried that doing so might make me want to go off the radar again. Right?"

Breloom seized, then nodded. "Well, you do have the habit of running from your problems until they're right there in your face."

Darkrai chuckled dryly. "You're right, I do. I really do have that problem."

(I know nothing about this team, and I have no reason to trust them. But if my partner has taught me anything, it's to wait and see what others do before I judge them… fine.)

"Alright, but only inform this Team and my partner. Absolutely no one else… I'm not ready to face everyone in town just yet, given what I am now." Darkrai admitted.

Breloom smiled "Aww, look at you dude! You really have mellowed out!"

"Don't get me wrong. I'm agreeing with you only because I absolutely trust both you and my partner. And if the two of you vouch for this team, I will temporarily trust this team. If it's anyone else telling me the same story, I would have doubted it all from the very beginning." Said Darkrai.

Breloom nodded and said, "Good, I will reach out to all four of them. In the meantime, get some more rest dude, you need it. I'll be back this evening. There's food in the storage crates if you're feeling hungry. Later dude!"

Breloom headed off.

Darkrai watched him until he disappeared from view, then turned his attention to the sun that had fully emerged from the horizon.

(Hungry huh? I felt hungry last night, yet somehow, I woke up feeling full. Did Breloom feed me something while I was asleep? Given how much of a utilitarian he is, I wouldn't put it past him… he's a very good Pokemon.)

(Still, how did I end up in the sea? Did that dimensional hole toss me directly into the sea? Well… It did happen before… I should go get some more sleep. Just because my arm feels better doesn't mean that my headaches won't return or get worse.)

Darkrai made his way back into the bluff hideout, careful to conceal the entrance.

—

Breloom returned from his trip to the postal service. He didn't send out letters with the Peliper, but rather two glass pebbles shaped like tear drops. One for Darkrai's Buddy, and one for the foreign team. Nobody but six Pokémon, Breloom included, knows the significance of those two pebbles. That team's leader conceived this idea in the event that Darkrai had returned but was hesitant to make his presence known. A message without words.

(Wowzies, that dude thought of everything!) Breloom mused as he returned to the bluff hideout. There he found Darkrai fast asleep. It was already dark outside, since Breloom had insisted on remaining at the postal service until he got confirmation that the pebbles were delivered.

Breloom yawned and peered out into the night sky. There was but a tiny sliver left of the moon. Tomorrow was going to be the New Moon, the darkest night of the month, so he brought some Combee-wax candles with him in advance.

With not much left to do for the day, Breloom went to check on Darkrai's fever.

"… oh no."

Darkrai's body was burning to the touch.

—

(The fire…. It's burning me alive! I feel like I'm going to combust in flames!)

(I need something! I need something to stop it!)

(There's a presence here, but no- not this presence! No, I can't from this one… something, I need something or else I'll be scorched!)

(… there's a presence here… no, several, the ones from yesterday. Yes, those will do.)

(The fire is being sapped away… but not as much as before... I need more. I need to search further…)

(Yes... here, five presences one of which is too small. The other four will do just fine…. The fire, it's easing away.)

—

A pair of icy blue eyes cracked open.

(My body… I feel cold and wet. Was I sweating all night long?)

"Oh goodness! You gave me quite the scare!" Breloom shouted.

Breloom placed his hand on Darkrai's forehead. "This isn't good, your fever is down from last night, but it isn't as down as it was yesterday morning!"

(Fever? He means the fire? I want to speak up, but I feel too exhausted to do so.)

"Buddy, I think I should get someone to check up on you." Said Breloom.

Darkrai shook his head very weakly.

"Look Buddy, you're not improving, you're getting worse. I need to get someone to check on you before you end up in a coma or something! I'll tell you names, and you can nod or shake your head if you want them here!"

"Spinda?"

Darkrai shook his head.

"Wigglytuff?"

Darkrai nodded.

"Do you want me to inform Chatot as well?"

Darkrai shook his head.

"Just Wigglytuff then?"

Darkrai nodded.

"Got it! Please hang in there!" Breloom cried out, his jovial demeanor from yesterday gone completely.

Breloom darted out of the hideout, running as fast as he could.

(What is happening to me…)

—

Breloom stood on the grate before the entrance to Wigglytuff's guild. The moment the gate doors were open to him, he jumped down to the ground floor in two leaps. He ignored the startled calls from the apprentices and explorers alike.

"What the, BRELOOM! What brings you here!" Chatot squawked, fluttering his wings frantically.

"Chatot, I don't have a minute to waste. I need to speak with the guildmaster. It's an emergency!"

"Well, what's the emergency then!?" Chatot asked.

"I can't tell you, only Wigglytuff." Breloom insisted.

Chatot glared at Breloom and said, "And why is that!?"

"It's because I made a promise to only tell Wigglytuff! Chatot please! Someone's life is on the line here!" Breloom shouted.

Chatot bowed his head and squinted his eyes.

"Fine, go ahead Breloom, but I will have to demand an explanation later." Chatot finally caved.

Breloom nodded. "Thank you."

The doors to Wigglytuff's office swung open.

"Hello there, friend, friend , friend!" Wigglytuff greeted Breloom chipperly.

Breloom closed the doors and said,

"Wigglytuff… I found a blue pebble two days ago, and that pebble has a very bad fever now."

"!" Wigglytuff paused, his smile remained affixed to his face, but the joy in his eyes was replaced by the calculated wisdom of a Guildmaster.

"Lead the way." Said Wigglytuff.

—

"Buddy, we're back, please hang in there!" Breloom announced as he entered the bluff hideout.

Darkrai did not respond.

Breloom and Wigglytuff rushed to check on Darkrai. Breloom touched Darkrai's forehead.

"This is bad… this is so, so bad." Breloom whispered, his face aghast.

Wigglytuff frowned as he inspected Darkrai's temperature as well.

"This is dangerously high. Breloom, I need everyone's help here." Wigglytuff explained with a grim expression.

Breloom panicked.

"But then everyone will know that he's here! And if they see him the way he is now, they might attack him!"

Wigglytuff shook his head and said, "I will explain the situation to the town folks, but right now he needs help immediately. We have to bring him to the guild."

Breloom grit his teeth.

"I'm sorry Buddy." Breloom apologized to Darkrai as he began to lift him.

—

It only took one town dweller spotting Darkrai being carried away in the night. Within minutes, word began to spread.

Once again, Treasure Town erupted into a state of panic upon hearing of Darkrai's return. Bidoof, Sunflora, and Marill were sent out to explain the situation to the residents. It seemed that some of those living in western Treasure Town had experienced nightmares the previous night, and all the Krabby at the beach had been experiencing nightmares for the past two nights.

The guild was doing its best to quil the angry crowd. The Kekleon brothers and Kangaskhan vouched for Darkrai, claiming that he looked like he was in pain during their nightmare, and that he had left child Pokemon living in Western Treasure Town alone. Some residents, such as Xatu, were outright demanding to enter the guild so they can retrieve and exile Darkrai out of the town's borders completely.

Officer Magnezone was called in eventually by Chatot so he and the Magnemite could control the mob that was crowding outside the guild by midday.

Inside the guild, the remaining apprentices were guarding the upper level, and in the lower level, Wigglytuff, Spinda, Breloom, and Chatot tended to the now unconscious Darkrai.

"I'm sorry Buddy, I'm so sorry… I wanted to make you believe that the townsfolk wouldn't want to hurt you. I'm so sorry…" Breloom went on a broken mantra.

Everything had escalated so quickly within hours of Darkrai being taken to the guild. Breloom had to wonder if Wigglytuff made the right call bringing Darkrai out in the open, even if it were under the concealment of the night.

"His fever is getting worse and worse by the minute. I'm afraid if it keeps on deteriorating, it could turn fatal." Chatot said with a grim tone.

"I tried my best to enter his dreams, but it's like trying to swim through a sea of lava, I just can't do it without being burnt up myself." Spinda said with a dejected demeanor.

"CRASH!"

All four Pokémon got startled at once.

"It's Cresselia! She knocked the gate down! The mob is on its way here!"

Diglett's scream sent shudders down Breloom's spine. But he readied himself and stood in front of Darkrai.

"I'll protect you Buddy, no matter what."

Wigglytuff followed suit.

"This guild will never abandon its friends!"

So did Chatot.

"I have treated you so badly in the past, that I hid away from the world because of my actions… squawk! Let them see if this guild will let anyone lay a hand on you!"

And finally did Spinda.

"All I know is that you helped Breloom develop his self-esteem, and that you were targeted by Pokemon in the past just because you exist. I cannot let that continue!"

The four Pokémon stood solemnly together as Cresselia and the mob rushed towards Darkrai and his partners' old room.