Chapter 171 – Lord of Nightmares

North Null Village was in pandemonium. From the distant horizon, dark meteors arced through the red skies and demolished entire buildings, shattering light crystals and leaving corrosive craters in their place. Civilians fled into a Dungeon portal meant for travel and were hastily given light crystals to wear if they ended up in Kilo. They were running out of those. Some would have to take refuge in the Dungeon itself.

As higher class Pokémon ushered disoriented Class D Pokémon into the portals, Darkrai remained behind with Cresselia and their specialized forces. Even more ran down the roads to join their ranks.

"Everyone's coming," called Star, flying quickly until she was just in front of Cresselia.

"Good," Cresselia said.

Darkrai tried to calm his nerves. Every explosion rattled him. "Everything we've tried to throw at him doesn't work," he reported. "Even our sentinel beam washes right away!"

"It's just for show. Fire everything!" Star said. "It'll weaken him at least a little!"

"They're close to abandoning the post," Cresselia said. "But… okay. Maybe if we have a few people giving more power to it, maybe a human? Some Legends can, too. Marshadow was always good at powering them."

The ground rumbled from a nearby blast. None of them were close enough to strike where Darkrai stood but they were getting uncomfortably close. Could Alexander see them from so far away? Was he just guessing?

"Let's move," Star said. "The crystal spire! The others should be heading there, too!"

Darkrai drifted after them. Something caught his eye in the corner of his vision. By the time he turned to face it, Star had already dashed in the way and held up a purple barrier.

Then, there was a flash, Darkrai's whole body compressed against the air, and all sound left him save for a high ringing.

He was on his back. Burning ash and stray black embers gently rained down in grotesque, beautiful destruction.

Muffled shouts were all he could hear amid the ringing but the ground rumbling told him the fighting didn't stop. Had he passed out at all?

Something wrapped around his arm and flooded him with healing energy. Darkrai gasped and pushed himself upright, seeing a horrifying monstrosity in front of him. Scales, vines, intense eyes, but not a Pokémon he recognized. Some kind of horrible fusion—a mutant!

"Are you okay?" it asked.

"Y-yes," Darkrai said. "Wh-who are you?"

"Migami. Get to safety, okay?"

"No, I—I need to help. I'm better now!"

"Fine." Migami disappeared. It could teleport?

Darkrai took a moment to figure out where the spire was and then glanced at Alexander's previous location. Skies, he was a lot closer now. He could see where he was from the origin of each dark blast. The sky swirled above him in a vortex, the very weather darkening to his presence.

Cresselia. He had to find Cresselia. She was too proud. If he wasn't by her side there was a chance she would try to take Alexander out on her own. He was a coward who knew when to run. And ever since Cresselia had been there for him all those years ago, he owed everything to her.

"Ah!" There she was at the top of the crystal spire. She shouted something down below and the spire lit up. She ducked beneath the observation tower as a mote of light emerged from the very tip of the gray spike. Each crystal lit up starting from the bottommost diamonds, all the way to the top where the light was like a tiny, marble-sized sun. A hum rattled Darkrai's head and fizzled his wisps.

Then, concussive force warped the light around the spire, trailing behind a beam of energy—a Radiant Hyper Beam.

But Alexander drifted left, dodging the attack easily—or so Darkrai thought. He was too pessimistic.

Suddenly, the Hyper Beam split into ten different beams, curling and weaving through the air. At the tip of the spire, Migami was holding some kind of pink gem—a Psychic crystal?

Alexander's distant movements suddenly turned frantic. He ducked beneath one of the beams only for a second one to graze him. Two others closed in on either side but he spiraled through it and neutralized another with a Shadowy blast. The beams all curled inward to catch up to Alexander. One struck his back, sending him plummeting halfway to the ground. He endured.

He was so strong. That blast would have vaporized anyone else. Perhaps even Darkrai himself! But that's what Alexander had become. A one-person army. A whole army inside of him, all so he could…

What was he aiming for? Power? He had power. What more was there?

Something tickled the back of his neck.

"Ugh, it ain't workin'," Azelf growled.

Darkrai yelped and spun around. The three pixies were floating there, covered in ash from the recent explosions.

"What are you doing?!"

"I was tryin' t'give you a little willpower," Azelf said.

"You seemed stressed," Mesprit said, holding his hands anxiously. "But we need to keep fighting!"

"Too late." Uxie sighed.

At the top of the spire, a second Radiant Hyper Beam tore through the skies, sending a reckless scattershot of twenty small beams toward Alexander. This time, Migami disappeared, too, racing the beams to Alexander head-on.

"Ahhh!" Darkrai held his head. "They can't do that! They aren't supposed to do that! No going alone!"

"They were frustrated," Mesprit said. "They missed so they're trying to end it now, Guardian to Guardian. But Alexander outclasses them…!"

"If Alexander truly has the 'anti-Hands,' the Voidlands fragment of power that is opposite to Kilo… then Migami is not just fighting a Guardian. They are fighting a god."

"Why is the Mispy third of them allowing this?" Mesprit squeaked.

"Because she's drowned out by two idiots."

"H-hey! My other half isn't like that!" Mesprit said. "Azelf, tell her! …Azelf?"

"He left while you were worrying."

"And you didn't stop him?!" Mesprit grabbed Uxie by the shoulders.

"I was busy talking to you."

The volley crashed into the distant forest. Storms brewed, whirlwinds of Shadow picking up whole trees and making them dance into the clouds.

Azelf had thankfully not run to join Migami. Instead, he was at the top of the spire talking with the others. Darkrai followed with Mesprit and Uxie, overhearing the conversation.

"So what, they went t' fight?!"

"W-we couldn't stop them!" said a trembling Ledian. "How do you stop someone that… m-massive, who can also Teleport?!"

Over many rows of trees, Alexander clashed directly with Migami. But this time, there was a delay in Alexander landing a strike. Was he waiting for something?

Migami had no such hesitation. They blasted him point-blank with a Solar Beam, the light splitting across his heads to make several beams on the already scorched ground. Alexander blasted back, completely missing when Migami Teleported behind him and jammed an ax into his back.

The phantom of Qitlan emerged from the wound and grasped at Migami, tearing part of their face clean off. Migami snarled and, with a contortion of vines, kicked off Alexander while healing, the wound healing. Alexander chewed on what had been torn off, saying something to Migami like a taunt.

As Migami's wounds closed, Darkrai, holding back a retch, scaled the spire with the other pixies.

"He's too close," Mesprit said. "Alexander is still trying to make his way here. He wants the town!"

"We need to evacuate everyone."

"It might be Tanneth," Darkrai said. "She's part of Emily, right? If he wants to take the pieces of Dark Matter."

Cresselia spiraled around the spire and floated on the lower observation deck to speak with Darkrai. Countless little beeps of the radar and other technologies chittered in the room.

"Tanneth was evacuated already," she said. "Should we start evacuating everyone?"

Darkrai hesitated. "He'll just follow," he said. "How long can Migami stall? We need proper backup… why are the others taking so long?!"

"It was all short notice," Azelf said. "Ain't like walkin' here is easy anymore. Kilo's all… scrambled!"

Darkrai glanced at the brawl just in time to see Migami bite off Alexander's left arm's head. Black blood gushed out of it. Then, it coagulated into an undead cloud of wraiths that latched onto Migami's mouth. They spat a Dragon Pulse and gained more distance as Alexander's wings writhed into more snarling wraiths.

He was unstoppable. The wraiths, too, were all unstoppable. He had so much Shadowy power that even their spire shots did nothing. They… wouldn't be able to fend him off like this. They'd evacuate North Null Village, but what then?

"Darkrai," Cresselia said. "Darkrai!"

"S-sorry, what?" Darkrai jolted upright.

"It's time to go. Azelf and the others will call for Migami to return. Psychic link." Cresselia drifted down the spire.

"And what then?" Darkrai asked.

"What?"

"…Nothing." He drifted after her. "Let's evacuate everyone."


And thankfully, that was nearly done. Everyone had gone through drills of this very event. By the time they'd checked homes and houses, almost everyone had already fled. A few stray, docile Void Shadows who'd gotten lost were ushered along, while some more hostile ones fled and were beyond help.

North Null Village, beautiful in the darkness it had to work with, had fallen quiet. A tapestry of dusty red streets trampled with footprints of all sizes told a story of abandonment in a single hour. Appliances still ran in a few of the buildings, glowing dimly with the power of faded Radiance. Darkrai heard a radio in a building two doors down blaring static and occasionally distorted commands and updates from South Null village. Because it couldn't have been anywhere else. Every other settlement had been abandoned, destroyed, or… consumed by Alexander. The South would be the Voidlands' final bastion after this.

Soon, Darkrai and Cresselia were all that remained, along with a distant Migami, who would be agile enough to outspeed Alexander. But perhaps only by a minute.

Migami was stubborn. They kept trying to fight and clash with their limitless energy but Alexander was just as persistent. And Alexander outpaced them. It wasn't enough. Their attacks were graceless and Alexander had gotten a read on them. They had to rethink their strategies, find a new approach… Anything. That was what Uxie transmitted to them.

And, finally, they'd gotten through. Migami roared in frustration and slammed Alexander into the earth with one final strike, pinning him down with axes they'd regrow later.

Darkrai watched Migami fly toward them, covering the whole distance of town in the time it took for him to draw a single breath.

Wordlessly, they passed through, twitchy and crazed. The distortion bubbled from their power. And Darkrai nodded to himself.

"Let's go," Cresselia said. "We have to keep running before he realizes which Dungeon we—"

Darkrai held Cresselia's forehead and pressed against her mouth. Cresselia yelped but melted into it. When she pulled away, and he got to see her beautiful, rosy eyes, he had second thoughts. But Alexander's distant roar as he emerged from the soil reaffirmed his resolve.

"See you later," Darkrai said.

Cresselia was about to ask a question when Darkrai shrouded her in darkness. She screamed. The horror was not against him but for him. He knew why. And it was too late.

The darkness faded and Cresselia lay in a gentle crescent on the ground, sound asleep. She didn't suffer bad dreams near him. Never did. Or maybe she was good at hiding it. Gently, Darkrai carried her through the barrier, but he did not pass through it. Someone grabbed her and tried to peek through, but he put up a dark shroud. Nobody would dare pass through without falling asleep.

He hoped that was enough of a signal that they wouldn't return.

His heart was hammering. The wisps of his head bubbled like a campfire in the rain. Alexander was in the skies, scanning the town. If he was lucky, truly lucky, Alexander wouldn't find the distortion at all. But he had to prepare. He placed a small portal of darkness on the ground that would explode with any disturbance, even the air of a hovering Hydreigon.

He hid in a nearby home of the silent town where he'd be able to intercept Alexander if he moved closer afterward. He went over what he'd say, how he'd stall, how he'd react, over and over in this reckless, horribly reckless, improvised distraction.

And the thought did flit in Darkrai's mind that he could flee. It wasn't too late. Maybe the trap he laid would be enough. Maybe he could ask for backup. But that would risk everyone. This? Only he would be lost. The little cowardly Legend who fled and died during the Dark War. He had no strength and everyone knew how to counter nightmares. They already lived in one.

Alexander would find no use in him, but so much use in everyone else. This was the way.

These thoughts steeled Darkrai as he waited for the tyrant Hydreigon to leave and wander toward the portal. Though the chances were slim, if Alexander triggered the trap, he'd fall asleep, and perhaps Darkrai would be a hero. But barring that stroke of luck, he had to be ready to block the way… and stall as much as he could.

But Hydreigon didn't step. How would Darkrai hear him? They merely… floated through the air by some spectral power. Or, Alexander did. Hydreigon were very rare Pokémon. When was the last time Darkrai had seen one other than Alexander himself? There were rumors that Alexander killed them all and Voided them to be part of his army long ago, but that was baseless. Surely.

Darkrai tried to listen a little harder…

Soon, he realized he didn't have to listen. The sheer aura of power and malice was enough to make his wisps crinkle into his neck. What a dreadful aura. It was coming closer. Closer. It was hard to breathe.

Darkrai couldn't remember what it was like to see the sunset. But he had a feeling it wasn't this sinister. The dusty purple ground darkened and a miasma of black smoke crept along the road, heavy with gnarled, spindly fingers curling around every corner. Darkrai floated higher so it wouldn't grasp him. Contact alone might've been corrosive.

He dared to peer outside.

And that's when he finally saw Alexander up close. Ten… twenty feet at most, a dark nucleus surrounded by clouds that snuffed out what little light was allowed to exist in the Voidlands. His arms were scarred with black scales and part of his face had been healed over with more darkness. Part of his face had melted into a permanent, wraith-warped snarl.

And he was five feet away from where Darkrai had prepared a Dark Void. Just a little closer…

Darkrai tensed. The pillar erupted—and Alexander was too fast. He hovered backward and completely avoided it, though he went from idly approaching to fully alert. Darkrai steeled himself one last time and emerged, holding his hands together with his charged attack.

"You." Alexander's voice rattled in Darkrai's head even from there like the buzzing of so many insects crawling through his skull.

"I—I'm here to stop you. Even a second, even a minute… it will buy them time to destroy you. Look at… look at you. I thought you wanted to run this kingdom for everyone once. A long, long time ago, at least…"

"Do you think I care?" Alexander said.

"Just… why?" Darkrai asked.

Alexander drifted closer but Darkrai held his hands up quickly, threatening him.

And… Alexander stopped. He recognized what would happen. He wasn't beyond reason.

"What are you going to do?" Alexander taunted. "A Dark Void like that would put you to sleep, too. What then? Will you gamble… on who awakens first?"

"I'm… not strong. You know that," Darkrai said, voice trembling. "I've always been… a-a coward. Always tempted by darkness to strengthen me, but I resisted! All this time, I resisted! And… if you claim me… th-the only way I'd ever fight for you is as nothing but a hollow Void Shadow. None of my powers… would go to you. I would resist…"

"So many say that." Alexander's smile curled unnaturally upward. "So many were wrong. Do you know how many I have already claimed? Do you know how many… were so much more than you?"

The oppressive atmosphere constricted Darkrai's chest.

"You didn't even fight in the Dark War. You ran away. You fled the village that had taken you in when the source of darkness had killed Cresselia. You left them to die. Do you know how I know that?"

"I—I'm different now. I've saved this village and I'm saving everything from you, too… right now!" And despite barely being able to breathe, he felt some warmth push against that miasma. He could maintain himself.

"I will wait one day," Alexander said, "if you kneel to me now. I need… to gather my strength again anyway. It would benefit both of us… wouldn't it?"

A day. Could he keep Alexander asleep for longer than a day? Would he be able to resist that darkness if he knelt?

…No! He couldn't be tempted.

"No deal," Darkrai said, taking a careful breath.

"Really?" Alexander said. "You'll put me away for… a little nap, in exchange for your soul? Is that how little you're worth?

"You wouldn't make this deal if you thought you could get… more another way," Darkrai said. "I learned… I learned that tactic. Owen used it on you, too, didn't he?"

And suddenly, Alexander's smirk froze. His eyes, those red-pinprick eyes, darkened.

"Don't move," Darkrai said. "Or… I'll put you in a nightmare. The nightmare I know you have, Alexander."

"And what would that be?" Alexander said, the buzzing becoming the rumble of gravel.

Darkrai's resolve finally solidified. He knew that once he said this, there would be no turning back. Alexander would attack. Darkrai would defend. And for both, their worlds would become darkness, and perhaps one of them may never wake up from it.

He was ready. Even in the worst outcome… he'd bought everyone time.

"That Owen would banish you… for a second time. And that you would be left… with nothing. That the power you control… will consume you. That you won't have anything… not even your name."

The winds stopped. Alexander hovered in total silence. Darkrai wondered how correct he was. Alexander didn't laugh. Did that mean something?

"All you want is power," Darkrai said. "Why? What's the point of it?"

Now frowning, Alexander snorted and shook his head. "Life has no point," he said. "It is an existence to climb to the top. I am transcending this. Climbing further than any mortal deserves, as decreed by the gods who created us. I am powerful because I can be. I dominate because I can. Why… should I ever hold back?"

"That's all?" Darkrai asked. "It's just… power? Power for the sake of power? Nothing more?"

Alexander chuckled. The rattling rhythm nearly knocked Darkrai's breath out of his body. "Are you just stalling for time again?"

Darkrai was about to answer. Alexander advanced first, so swift, so surprising, Darkrai nearly missed his opportunity.

But he'd been ready. And, luckily, being surprised was a trigger to release the attack. Dark Void expanded through the whole block before Darkrai realized he'd done it.

Just before it blackened him and blotted out all light, he saw the look of shock on Alexander's face.

And that, as he clutched at Cresselia's charm around his neck, was enough for sweet dreams to claim him.


Night fell. A bonfire burned in the middle of Fae Fae Forest to keep the night from growing too cold. Surrounding it were Team Alloy, their Trio of Mind counterparts, and Cresselia. Demitri shuddered in the cold, but the fire was too hot. Owen's flame was so much more controlled.

Backup had arrived but had been dismissed just as quickly. It was too dangerous to enter North Null Village. They were instead assigned to organize the refugees while they figured out their next move.

Cresselia had tried to pass through the barrier only to collapse into deep sleep almost instantly. That was as much a signal as any that Darkrai didn't want them passing through. And the fact that Alexander hadn't followed…

Darkrai bought them some time. They could heal Cresselia, but facing Alexander was too risky.

"Can't we jus' use Chesto Berries?" Gahi asked again. "I ain't sleepy."

"Not against the King of Nightmares," Mesprit said. "Mundane protections just don't work against Legendary Pokémon. Maybe he's holding back, but I get the feeling Darkrai put everything he had into this one…"

WHAM.

Gahi's fist slammed into one of the pastel tree trunks, startling everyone.

"Couldn't do a thing," Gahi hissed. "Couldn't… ev'n land anything that mattered. Now we're all hidin' here… Darkrai's out, 'bout ter get killed maybe…"

"Gahi…" Demitri reached toward him but hesitated on grasping his shoulder.

Gahi kept punching at the tree, leaning the whole thing an extra angle or two with every strike. The scales on his knuckles chipped away, leaving little bloody streaks. Mispy, sighing but without her usual annoyance, charged a Heal Pulse. Gahi held up his hand to her and stepped to the other side of the bonfire, curling his wings and tail around himself.

"Don't let those wounds settle, Gahi," Demitri said gently. He reached one hand to the tree and, with a gentle nudge, pulled it back into place.

"We completely underestimated how strong a single Pokémon could be," Mesprit said, despondent. "That kind of power would have been enough to take on all of Kilo Village at once. Yet Alexander was just… mildly slowed down by everything we threw at him. How did he get so strong, so fast?"

"He obviously had that as a final plan," Azelf muttered. "Maybe he wanted ter keep that kingdom intact, 'til he got desperate. Maybe it just never occurred t'the guy."

"No," Uxie said. "Something this obvious would have been done long ago. There was a risk."

"What's the risk?" Mesprit asked.

Uxie shook her head. "I don't know. I'm only deducing our unknown variables. I don't know what they actually are."

"Right…" Mesprit sank a little lower.

"St-still," Demitri said, "we were up close and held our own. We just… lost our stamina. We were pushing hard to keep up."

Mesprit and Azelf looked at one another. Uxie nodded and crossed her arms.

"I think… we need to do our desperate measure, then, before we're caught off guard."

Gahi stopped his muttering to glance at them. "What's that, then?"

Mispy gave a knowing look to Demitri. His chest felt cold.

"You don't mean…" Demitri's axes on his tail accidentally got lodged in the tree. "Ah—sorry," he apologized to the tree. Mispy frowned and silently repaired the gash while Mesprit spoke.

"You know, all things considered… we aren't too different. Funny how that works out," Mesprit said. "We were… hesitant for a long time. Because… b-because we'd still be giving up ourselves, and you, yourselves. But it needs to happen. We need to… become whole again. A soul's a soul, and we're sharing it… and weakening ourselves while divided."

"Tch." Azelf looked away. "Hate that we're doin' it fer power, not… 'cause we're ready."

"We have been ready for a while," Uxie countered. "But now we can turn a catastrophe into an opportunity. It's as you said… we are similar. A trio. We even looked up to our halves of Jirachi."

Team Alloy collectively winced.

"…At a point in time, at least."

"Can't wait ter figure out how he resolves," Gahi muttered. "…Rhys… is still around… ev'n if he's…"

Demitri couldn't bear to look at Gahi with that one. Rhys' soul was around, yes… but 'Rhys' was so wholly eclipsed by Dialga that it frightened him what would happen with Mesprit. Such long lives…

Then again, their lives were also long. It was only due to how Rhys died that… he was so faint. But not gone. Maybe he could come back.

Or maybe 'Rhys' was… tired.

"So, are we ready?" Uxie asked.

She faced Mispy. Azelf faced Gahi. Finally, Demitri stared at Mesprit… but in his eyes, Demitri only saw doubt. Concern, uncertainty. Demitri wasn't sure why. Gahi was headstrong—he would certainly try to get it over with first. Mispy was logical and saw the benefits outweighing the risks. And Demitri acknowledged both. Yet…

Uxie reached toward Mispy. Azelf held his hands out for Gahi. Mesprit… did not. And Demitri, too, was frozen. He wasn't very smart. He hesitated all the time. It took those two to drive him forward to take these risks. But—

"Wait," Demitri blurted.

The other two pairs stopped.

"What?" Gahi said. "C'mon, we were havin' a moment."

"I… I don't know if we should do this yet," he said. "It… Something doesn't feel right. Think about it…"

Mispy frowned, looking skeptical. Demitri shrank back, his claws trying to find something to hold other than his tail.

"…Bah, c'mon. Mispy's the thinker an' she thinks it's alright," Gahi said.

"But… aren't we doing this a little rashly?" Demitri said. "Th-think about it. We're weak. We're still barely able to keep ourselves together when we fuse. We're… broken still. If we fuse now… we might lose our lifeline."

"Lifeline?" Mispy repeated. Then, a moment later, she glanced at Uxie with a more meaningful look. "Oh."

"Those three are the ones keeping our tempers sane when we're Migami," Demitri said. "We don't even know if we can fuse after that happens! And say we still can… If they fuse with us… Will we always have that? Or will we never have that?"

Mesprit's expression turned horrified. "W-we won't lose like that! We won't… just be subsumed by those instincts, right?"

Meanwhile, Azelf exploded into the debate with, "Hang on, if we ain't even able to fuse… then we'd totally lose! Fusion's all we've got that messed Alexander up! …But c'mon, it's totally gonna work, why wouldn't it?"

"…No. We don't know for sure," Uxie admitted. "…Thank you for spotting this, Demitri. We were behaving rashly. We have no need for fusing right this instant anyway. Alexander is dormant and he makes a show of all his arrivals. We will know when he wakes up."

Mispy nodded as well, offering an encouraging smile to Demitri. Gahi, meanwhile, grumbled something and crossed his arms in a way almost identical to Azelf.

"It'll work out if we try," Gahi said. "We're hesitatin'. Any time we hesitate, stuff goes wrong. C'mon, we were about ter get it workin'. It'd work out!"

"But can we afford that risk?" Demitri said.

"It ain't a risk! I know it'll work!"

"How?"

"Gut feelin'." Gahi tapped his chest. "We'll be jus' fine."

"Gahi, I…" Demitri shook his head. "I'm sorry, Gahi. But I can't accept pure guts here."

Gahi looked like he'd been slapped across the face.

"B-besides," Demitri added. "Think about Owen. He's probably hoping to see us one last time, minimum. What if we… change forever somehow? What then?"

"Tch…" Gahi whipped his tail on the ground. "…Don't like this," he spat. "But fine. I ain't gonna go ahead." He glanced at Azelf, who nodded reluctantly.

"Thanks, Gahi…"

"But we still need to work toward this," Uxie went on. "We aren't just waiting for Owen. Why don't we ask Palkia to compile research notes on you three? It'd be nice if we had Nevren, but…"

"Oh, that's true," Demitri said. "If Palkia can give us an answer for how it'd turn out… then we can do it!"

"Better not experiment on us again," Gahi grumbled. "…Alright, whatever. So what now?"

"I think we three will go ahead to find Palkia," Uxie said. "Why don't you… stand guard over Cresselia, try to wake her up, and then catch up with us?"

"That's fine," Demitri said. "Thanks, you three…"

"Aah, don't mention it." Azelf dismissed Demitri with a wave and drifted away from the campsite. "C'mon! Ain't gonna stall now!"

That… sounded passive-aggressive. Demitri let it slide and the Trio of Mind left them.

He sighed, feeling uneasy, but less uneasy than before. It would have to do. Now, as for how to wake up Cresselia—

"Oi, oi! Wake up already!" Gahi was rattling Cresselia like a giant maraca.

Alarmed, Demitri jogged to him. "G-Gahi! Don't shake sleeping Pokémon! Especially the Pokémon of sweet dreams! You'll get nightmares forever!"

"Bah! Darkrai's not around, ain't he?" Gahi said, setting her back down and crossing his arms. "She's out cold. Ain't wakin' that up."

Mispy rubbed her forehead.

"Maybe," Demitri suggested, "we need to do something special to wake her up…"

"How 'bout we put her hands in water?"

"I think that does something else…"

Gahi grumbled and drifted closer, crouching until his head was on the ground at Cresselia's level. "Well, there's gotta be some way ter wake her up…"

Mispy slid over, frowning pensively, and glanced at Demitri. He shrugged.

Gahi was starting to poke her cheek. He was about to poke her eyelid when Demitri said, "Um! Let's try something other than that…"

"Geh." The Flygon rolled his eyes and stood up.

"Hmm…" Mispy approached next. She brought a vine next to Cresselia's mouth, then her nose. "Through… her nose…"

"What about it?" Gahi asked.

Mispy placed a vine beneath Cresselia's nostrils. The Legend of Dreams' brow furrowed and her body squirmed in discomfort. She opened her mouth and gasped, but it seemed uncomfortable and unnatural to her.

Mispy squeezed a little harder around her muzzle next. Suddenly, Cresselia took in a great gasp and her eyes shot open. Mispy quickly let go.

"What? What?" Cresselia said after a snort. "Where… what happened? Darkrai, where is Darkrai?"

"Still in the Voidlands," Demitri said. "But… I think he used Dark Void on himself and Alexander. You know, to make sure it hit… I think he hit everything in there. And it must've worked. Alexander isn't here."

"What…" Cresselia looked around. "We're still in the Dungeon…"

"Yeah. An' the wraiths ain't botherin' us, meanin' Alexander ain't givin' out commands er whatever."

Cresselia let out a shaky sigh. "Darkrai…" Her little fists trembled.

"I'm… sorry," Demitri said. "I know this isn't… easy, but we shouldn't let it go to waste. We have a little more time now. Let's regroup. Maybe we can ambush him when he's asleep, right?"

"Right." Cresselia sighed. "Right. Darkrai… He's usually so afraid. I want to honor his… bravery here. His courage to risk so much for us. Did you already send word?"

"Yeah." Demitri nodded. "We just wanted to make sure it was safe first. I think we got our answer."

Cresselia spotted a supply bag nearby and pulled out a light crystal on a necklace. She slipped it on.

"Let's go to Destiny Tower," she said. "There should be another Dungeon mapped to near North Null. We can send fighters through there to bombard Alexander while he's down."

"How long will that take?" Demitri asked.

"Couple kilos fer me," Gahi bragged.

"For a real strike? It might take an hour or two."

Recognizing the urgency, and after asking what an hour was again, Team Alloy and Cresselia departed. Demitri spared one last glance at the rift into the Voidlands… and then followed the others to the recon squads to get out of the Dungeon.

"Wonder how Owen's doin'," Gahi muttered. "Hope he's havin' a good vacation…"

"Gahi…"

"I know, I know," Gahi said. "Jus' irritated. Necrozma was the one who sent 'em back. He's… researchin'. Longer he has, more time he'll get, yeah? He'll find an answer… Always does…"

At this point, buying time was the best they could do.

Hopefully, Demitri thought, it would be enough.