>>>WARNING<<<
The following fanfiction contains highly detailed and graphic depictions of extreme violence, angst, and horror not suitable for all readers. Viewer discression is HIGHLY recommended.
...seriously. It's some fucked up shit, man. If you can't take violence, death, swearing, angst...all that good stuff, then you will NOT want to read this. Otherwise, enjoy. ^^
It's a work in progress, so it's not totally finished yet, but it's something I've worked very hard on and am quite proud of. Reviews are welcomed, but be nice, please. I don't like meanies. They're....mean. T-T
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Descending Darkness
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I remember that day perfectly; like I'm living it this very moment. As if this was all happening before my eyes.
It was a cool summer day of some month that escapes my memory. Human terms and time passage mean very little to me; it stopped having value after the first few centuries. I'm disgusted with humans, and want nothing to do with them. They scorn me. They hate me. They curse me. But what do they know about me? Nothing. Have they even made so much as an effort to learn? No. Humans know all. They know everything there is to know. They, the high and mighty human race, would know what is and what is not! How dare one question their extent of knowledge! Humans; the most grotesque cacophony of ignorance and stupidity all bundled together into a homonid sack of crap that I've ever had the misfortune to meet. You know what, I'm almost glad my powers terrify them so. I get a nice kick out of seeing the high and mighty members of the arrogant human race scream and writhe in terror as they come to the realization that they're completely helpless and at my mercy. Maybe things would turn out nicely if they were nicer to me. Maybe, if they tried to be my companion, I would have mercy. Maybe, if they even made an effort to understand who and what I am, I would have the heart I know I have and spare them the torment.
They don't. They won't.
And neither will I.
These things are always present in my mind, but they never bothered me too much; I'd long since become desensitized to the pain. Harming innocents, terrorizing helpless souls...boring. The same old thing, day-in and day-out. It doesn't even make me flinch. I've even gone so far as to think maybe I was given this role because they deserved the pain; because Arceus knew, perhaps better than I do now, that they're selfish, ignorant creatures worthy of only the greatest pain and torment for their sinfulness. In that case, Arceus is simply a lazy bastard that doesn't want to waste the Judgment attacks and made me do it for Him instead. Does that high and mighty asshole even realize what this job has done to me? How it's torn me apart over the millennium? How much pain I've felt? Surely He does; He's the God Pokemon, after all. The Original One. The omnipotent God that He is would know what I'm going through, since He's so wise and all. If that's so, why is it that He doesn't give a rip what happens to me, his servant, who has done nothing but do what he fucking got told to do in the first place, no matter how much it hurt? What did I ever do to Him, huh? Why is our Lord Arceus so heartless?
That didn't matter to me; I was desensitized to the pain. It wasn't even discomfort anymore. And it wasn't on my mind.
I sat there in my crater - a dark, damp, cold hole in the ground; a perfect place for a pokemon like me to relax - hovering several inches above the ground, eye closed in contemplation, my mane and shoulder spines flowing as though in an invisible breeze in my meditative state. I'd been like this for quite some time now, though the exact length of that time eluded me, reflecting on memories both old and new, mulling them over, pondering...waiting. For what? I can't be sure. Maybe I was waiting for some kind of divine revelation to appear before me...not that Arceus would ever waste his time giving me such an honor. I think I was waiting for some sort of resolve to solidify within me; some amount of nerve to gather that I could grab and run with to do what I planned to do. As soon as I figured out what I was planning to do, I was going to have to find the courage to do it.
The reason for my meditation? I was in love. In love with my polar opposite.
It's pathetic, really; it would be the equivalent of Groudon falling helplessly in love with Kyogre, or Dialga with Palkia. It just doesn't work. Think about it: the being of darkness; the being of healing. The pokemon of nightmares; the pokemon of soothing dreams. The Pitch-Black pokemon; the Lunar Pokemon. She is loved and cherished by all; I'm the abhorrence of the world. Her presence is met with smiles and relief; my only greeting is a scream of terror and something hard being flung at me from the nightstand. Even our homes are completely different; I sit in solitude of the dark, desolate isle of Newmoon Island, while she basks in the warmth of Fullmoon Island, surrounded by all the friends and companions she could ever ask for. You'd think we would repulse.
You'd be wrong.
My past is one of angst and isolation in the utmost darkness. When I wasn't plaguing the world with nightmares, I was forced to live in my own, shunned by everything I came into contact to, even the light itself. Ever since I can remember, I've been hated. People would just as soon shoot at me as they would look at me; the only looks I got that weren't ones of hate were of the empty eyes of the dead, the victim in my grasp scared so much that their heart seized up and they went into cardiac arrest - a heart attack. Literally scared to death.
Anywhere you go, anyone you ask, the name "Darkrai" is regarded with fear and disgust; I'm a dark, soulless monster, they say. I'm the spawn of evil, they say. I have no heart.
That's funny...I have to have a heart, because it's always breaking.
I tried my best to make friends at first. I was scorned and shoved away, sent into the exile I had come to know so well. Those that I felt that could be trusted later turned out to be some kind of fanatic or poacher, trying to capture me and detain me so they could burn me at the cross or sell me for a quick dollar. I hoped that I could find someone who could understand - if I couldn't, I just wanted someone to listen. To hear out my story. I know it's hard to understand, and I didn't expect them to, having not been through such a thing themselves, but I just wanted them to try. Try to get to know me. Try to understand why I was who and what I had become. Why I turned out to be this way.
They didn't listen. They already "knew" the whole thing. I was a monster that needed to be vanquished, or a block of gold needed to be added to their stockpiles of wealth.
I suppose it was after the first millennium or so that my hope turned to hate. They didn't know me. They didn't know who I was. They still don't. Yet they claim to have me all figured out, and feel comfortable scorning and hating me for the creature they've decided I am. Who are they to judge me? I'm the one being wronged in all of this! Not them, me! I was the victim! Why did they punish the one that had it the worst of them all?
A century passed before I gave up hope. Another few centuries went by before I replaced it for animosity. I was a cold, heartless monster, just like they decided I was. There was no talking them down, by Arceus, so I might as well just prove them right, and make them regret it. I became the demon they depicted me.
Until she came along.
Cresselia was...oh, sweet Cresselia. Sweet, precious Cresselia. She'd been following me about for quite some time; always was I on the move, so never did our paths cross, her always following my shadow to cleanse those that were being tormented by the unspeakable nightmares I bestowed on them. She, too, had come to hate me from seeing my work first-hand, and early on she had vowed to stop me, always trying to outrun my nightmares in an effort to come closer and confront me. One day, our paths finally crossed, and she hoped to smite me to end the reign of terror I had bestowed upon the land.
She was surprised by what she saw.
Instead of the monstrous demon she imagined me to be, Cresselia found the mighty lord of darkness Darkrai huddled in the corner of a crater, hugging his "knees," tears freely streaming from that one, ravenous blue eye. Instead of evil, she looked in that eye and saw pain; hurt, angst, misunderstanding. Loneliness. The last raid had been too much for me to bear; having not broken down like this for nearly a millennium, all of my pent-up emotions suddenly burst forth all at once, exploding out through my mind and ravaging my already tortured conscience. Instead of challenging her to a duel of fates and beginning some kind of epic showdown, I feebly dragged myself towards her, hugged her shadow, and wept, begging again and again for death; for freedom from this pained existence.
Cresselia was stunned. She had never, ever anticipated seeing me for what I was now: a cowering, hysterical black mass, curled up into a ball on the ground, staining the earth with bitter tears. She watched me for a good long while, listening to my moans and sobs with hard eyes, as if suspecting foul play. Eventually, that hardness softened, revealing to me emotions that fluently changed from suspicion to confusion, disbelief, until finally it began to shift towards...pity. Sorrow. Compassion. Such a warm, nurturing pokemon...she knew I was misunderstood. She eventually managed to calm me, telling me she understood why I was like I was, and that she truly felt remorse for my predicament. She told me that if there was anything she could do, that she would do it, and that I shouldn't hesitate to ask it of her.
I stared at her in shock. Nobody had ever said that to me before. Nobody had said anything to me before, except in the form of curses and insults and pleas for mercy. I don't know how I was supposed to respond, but I did so in the form of a hug. The being of darkness threw himself forward to embrace the beautiful lunar swan before him, pressed his head into her plumage, and wept.
She hovered there and embraced me for hours until I finally passed out from hyperventilation.
And now, here I hovered, deep in a meditative trance as I pondered my feelings, trying to gather some kind of nerve to confront the pokemon I loved. I loved her; of course I loved her. I'd been aware of that for quite some time, though I'd been suspecting these feelings over for several centuries. An old, withered ball of hate and spite tends to take a while to figure out what love means on its own. But, now I knew it - I was in love - and I had to decide what to do with it. What does one do with something like love? Silly question...they offer it to the other. If they return the feelings, then the love is mutual, and the happiness can flow. Both can be at ease in one another's presence, knowing that their love is assured and wouldn't change for the world.
But what if she doesn't return the feelings?
I felt a chill run up the length of my spine, dropping a lead weight of dread into my stomach that I hurried to direct my attention away from. There was no sense worrying about that sort of thing now; I needed to build my courage, not chop it down with the dreaded "what if?" scenarios that would give even me, the pokemon of darkness, nightmares. Ironic; something as small as personal feelings was all it took to give the infamous Darkrai trouble sleeping at night.
...stupid thought. Of course I had nightmares. I had them most of the time I slept, in fact; haunted by the things that I'd done in the past, what my life had become. I felt and dreamt just like everyone else did. Not that they'd ever tell you that.
I batted the idea back and forth numerous times, scaling up and down on my teeter-totter of doubt, trying to find some kind of balance between the two. Eventually I just swallowed my tongue, took in a deep breath, and flew into the air, directing my course towards Fullmoon Island, mouthing the words I knew would never come when I got there. This was something I had to do, regardless of how afraid I was.
I was scared. Darkrai, the lord of darkness, was scared out of his mind.
But there was no turning back now. I needed to do this. I was tired of always drowning in angst and depression, having to put on a cold, unmoving front to keep my being from spilling out all over the ground. I couldn't keep living like this. I needed to be happy. I needed Cresselia.
I flew up until my altitude was too high for the clouds to continue, turned in the direction of Fullmoon Island, and took off towards it as fast as I could.
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No sooner did I arrive at Fullmoon Island, I was treated to the usual sights; there was no fog or veil of shadow shrouding this island like it did my own, allowing the warm, bright sunshine to beam down and heat the earth, causing me to cringe at the sting of it touching my skin. Unlike the rough, bare earth of Newmoon Island, Fullmoon Island was a tableau of greens, browns, and pinks, formed together by the trees, grasses, and countless flowering plants flourishing all across the island, looking like a million Celebi had exited their time warp as a group and caused a wall of lush, beautiful plant life.
I scowled. It was too bright, too...lively for my tastes. The humble, sobering chill of a deep, dark shadow...that's more like it. Chill and blackness; that's where Darkrai finds comfort. This place was just too festive for me, but for Cresselia, it was perfect. Often times I would find her floating around, hovering happily about the fields of flowers, breathing in their fragrance and feeling the tickle of grass on her underbelly, happy as a clampearl just to be around the scenery I curled a lip at. She wasn't here, though, for which I was thankful; this place was always too damn warm and bright. Sinking down and fusing into the shadows of the blades of grass, I flowed between strands of black towards the hill farther off, where Cresselia had built her nest. When she wasn't basking in the sun, she was dozing in the shadows, which I was happy to embrace.
I was surprised to find her cave empty, her nest disheveled and cold from having not been used. I frowned. Generally, when Cresselia wasn't in the meadows, she was sleeping in her cave; if she wasn't in her cave, she was in the fields, admiring the flowers and humming a little tune to herself. If she was in neither place, she was out for a stroll around Fullmoon Island, flying at high speeds along the coast, taking in the beauty of the ocean. That wasn't any good; if she was flying, she could be anywhere right now, and it would take a while for her to tire and come back. I could already feel myself getting anxious; waiting wasn't usually a problem for me, but today, things were...different. I had so much to tell her, and I had to wait? That just wouldn't do. I needed to talk to her now!
Frustrated at her absence, I was about to leave and try to track her down when something caught my eye; a light shimmer. I glanced over at Cresselia's nest, noticing the light dust that has covered the woody fibers and vines weaved throughout her bedding. Narrowing my eyes, I lowered myself in closer, the air disturbance from my hovering causing a small puff of purple dust to be displaced into the air. I inhaled-
A few of the dust particles flow up my nose, burning the inside and causing my lungs to shudder, evoking a gag. I could feel the burning spreading down my throat into my gut, tinting my flesh purple as it rapidly spread through my system. Coughing in surprise, I quickly pumped a Refresh out, sighing in relief as the soothing warmth spread through me, skin returning to it's normal black pigmentation. PoisonPowder? I shook my head to shrug off the last of the disorientation. Why is there PoisonPowder in Cresselia's nest? She can't learn that move, can she?
My eye widened in realization. Someone tried to poison her. Cresselia's in danger.
Without hesitation I twisted around and tore out of the cave, summoning a plume of purple spores in my wake from the air displacement. I had to find her. The love of my life was in danger. She could need my help.
As it turned out, my hypothesis was right on the mark.
I found them in a clearing in the forest, the grass and earth torn up and blasted away in places, a few trees splintered and toppled, showing where something - or someone - had been smashed into them. Cresselia was on the far side of said clearing, barely hovering in place, head drooping as her neck wavered with the strength necessary to hold her head up. I saw two pokemon - a tall, burly Breloom, and a large, stocky Empoleon - standing poised before her, ready to strike. There were a pair of humans behind them - “trainers,” no doubt; I hadn't a doubt in my mind that they were here to capture Cresselia and enslave her, as they did every other pokemon they came across - but I paid them no heed at the moment. All I could think and focus on was Cresselia.
Cresselia raised her head up to face the attacking pokemon, outline shimmering as she channeled a Confusion attack. The Empoleon quickly ducked in front of the Breloom for whom the attack was meant, barely moving as the psychic energies just about bounced off his metallic hide and deflected back into the air on a million planes, almost completely unaffected by the attack. The Breloom leaped up on the Empoleon's shoulders, jumping off it as it leaped towards Cresselia, fists clenched and glowing an angry red as it prepared to land a Fire Punch on the Lunar swan.
I wouldn't allow that to happen. Almost without thinking I fused to the shadows, darting rapidly through the shade in the grass before I ended up directly between the charging Breloom and Cresselia's prone form; I could tell by the purple hue her body had that she was poisoned. Damn it, I came too late! The Breloom swung-
-just as I materialized out of the ground, upper-cutting a Sucker Punch directly beneath its chin. The Dark-type move wasn't particularly effective, but my power was far beyond being limited by things as petty and trivial as type disadvantages and match-ups. My kind didn't take on Dialga and Palkia on its own because it was weak, after all. The Dark energy, though dissipated slightly by the Breloom's atomic structure, was more than enough to lift the Fighting-type up off the ground, sending the mushroom pokemon flying up through the air back towards where it had come, crashing into its surprised blue teammate. I didn't watch long enough to see their stunned faces as they collected themselves, rushing to Cresselia's side. "Cresselia!"
Disorientated and dizzy from a combination of fatigue and poison, Cresselia lifted her head to look at me, straining as though her neck was made of lead. There were countless bruises and abrasions across her body, tufts of her silky plumage burned away or torn out from the battle, looking well and truly exhausted. How long had they been battling her? "Dark...rai..?"
I wiped a trickle of blood from her forehead, eye growing hot as tears threatened to form. I could already feel the moisture building up...what had those brutes done to her? How could they do this to something so precious and beautiful? "Its okay, Cresselia...I'm here now. I'll keep you safe. I won't let them hurt you."
"Dude!" the one boy exclaimed, green scarf being tossed slightly by the arm that shot up to point at me. His blonde hair was shaped ever so vaguely like horns, perhaps hinting at his tenacity beneath the juvenile appearance. "Check it out! It's Darkrai!"
"Darkrai?" the brown-haired boy repeated, running his hands through his bangs, panic apparent. My presence was clearly not anticipated when they plotted this little fiasco. "Aw, geez, Barry, now what? This wasn't according to plan!" I could smell the fear radiating off of him, all but making him tremble in my shadow. Foolish though they were, at least they were smart enough to know that they should be afraid; very afraid. Maybe they weren't as stupid as I thought.
Of course, humans have a tendency to prove me wrong all the time.
Barry smirked, getting a gleam in his eye similar to the one a man gets when he realizes there's a pot of gold sitting out there, and all he has to do is come out and take it. His orange eyes flashed with greed; I could tell exactly what he was planning without even listening to what came out of his mouth. "This is awesome! Better than we hoped for!"
"W-what? What the hell are you talking about, man? We agreed to capture Cresselia-"
"But now Darkrai's here!" Barry interrupted. "Think about it, Kenny: this is perfect. Now there's two of them; Cresselia for you, with all her graceful moves and elegance, and Darkrai and his powerful darkness for me! One for contests, the other for battles. It's perfect; one for each of us! Now we don't even have to share!"
Kenny looked quite reluctant, giving me a fearful glance as I hovered there, taking in the full extent of Cresselia's injuries. The fear coming from him was rippling now; being debated in an internal conflict within himself. "I-I don't know, Barry...it's Darkrai. Like, the Darkrai. You remember all those stories about him scaring people to death? To death, man!"
"Oh, please," Barry groaned, rolling his eyes. "Those are all just a bunch of things meant to scare children and make people squirm at night. It's just a pokemon; the two of us can take him!"
Kenny shook his head. "I don't know..."
Barry huffed. "Well, alright then, if you're going to be a baby, then I'll just have to catch it myself!" He stabbed a finger at me, addressing his pokemon. "Empoleon, use Hydro Pump!"
The emperor pokemon had long-since recovered and gotten to its feet, happily obliging to its order. It reared back as if taking a big breath, then fired a massive column of water directly at me, froth spiraling around it like energy or shock waves.
Quickly I grabbed Cresselia in my arms and shot to the side, dodging the pillar of water that punched a dent into the ground where we'd been with relative ease. I flew out of range to the edge of the clearing, using some rocks for cover. I slowly lowered to the ground, sliding Cresselia's prone form to the grass as softly as I could. I could tell by the noises and yells that the trainers weren't pleased with my disappearance, unwilling to let me go without a fight. Fortunately for them, I planned fulfilling that need for combat...but they weren't going to be so pleased with the outcome. "Stay here," I told her gently, though I doubted she would be going anywhere. "I'll be right back."
Shakily she rose her head, looking at me with a pleading expression. "D...don't hurt them..."
I frowned at that comment. How was I supposed to fight and defend her without hurting someone? I knew Cresselia always loved humans, but that request...I couldn't fulfill it. These monsters came here to hurt my love and take her away from me to fulfill their own selfish desires. They needed to be taught a lesson; made an example of. They would rue the day they set foot on this island; I promised myself I would make them regret coming here. Let them truly find a reason to fear the name "Darkrai." "I'll keep you safe," was my only reply before sinking into the ground, fusing with the shadows beneath the grass.
I would make them pay.
Barry swore, looking all around in the trees for where I had gone. "Arceusdammit...where the hell did it go? Empoleon!"
The blue bird glanced behind a tree, then turned back to it's master, shaking its head.
Kenny coaxed his Breloom, swearing in unison when the mushroom pokemon gave him a similar response. He let out a frustrated sigh, turning to Barry. "Damn it, man, this sucks. It took us forever to find Cresselia the first time!"
"I know!" Barry snapped, shaking his head angrily at the surrounding shadows. "Just...keep looking! We'll find it eventually." Deciding they could use the extra help, Barry whipped out another pokeball and brought forth a Roserade from the ensuring pink energy. "Roserade, help Breloom and Empoleon find Darkrai!"
Three to one? Oh well; I could beat cheaters as well.
I sauntered around in the shadows a bit, following the enemies that didn't realize I was directly beneath them. Coming up from underfoot, I sprang out of the shadows, seemingly coming from the very earth itself and shoved the Breloom up into the air, who I took completely by surprise. It barely had time to let out a yelp before I pumped a Shadow Ball into it's back, black energy crackling as it burst into the creature's flesh, sending it sailing through the air a second time. The Empoleon snapped around in time to take a burst of Dark Pulse to the face, black aura splashing over it, weakened only slightly from the type disadvantage. Roserade seemed taken completely aback, staring at me in something akin to awe. Darkrai don't just come around every day, after all, and surely my reputation proceeded me. Not that I cared.
Both trainers yelped in surprise at my sudden arrival, taking a moment to recover, which gave me plenty of time to shoot over, reach back, and plant a Shadow Punch into the face of the Roserade, who hadn't even had enough time to twitch its arms to attack.
The Breloom and Empoleon staggered to their feet, the latter of which had a large black smear across his face and neck where the Dark Pulse had hit, smoldering an ominous black. The Breloom just looked annoyed, leaning back to crack its back as the Roserade rose up from its spot on the ground, rubbing its jaw with one bouquet-hand. None looked overly pleased with my dramatic and sudden entrance.
The trainer "Barry" grunted in irritation at the mark left on his Empoleon, shooting a look to "Kenny," who nodded and flicked a pair of pokeballs out. A Machoke and Floatzel materialized out of the ensuring pink energy, at which I scoffed. Now it was five against one? These humans were pretty determined to catch me.
They were going to be disappointed.
The pokemon all began to take up positions around me, confidence growing as they realized how outnumbered I was. The Empoleon clacked its beak, clapping its metallic wings together before opening them up, bearing the metal claws near the edge and trying to look intimidating. The Machoke and Breloom chuckled in anticipation, cracking their knuckles, the latter of the two swaying its tail eagerly. The Floatzel cracked its neck, licking its chops as the Roserade brought the ends of its thorny whips out from its bouquet arms, grinning. "You're about to get owned," it sneered.
I sneered right back. "What makes you say that? Five to one leaves you at the disadvantage."
The Roserade scoffed, the others chuckling as Kenny and Barry both finished whatever plan they were going over. Next came a flurry of orders; "Roserade, Growth! Machoke and Floatzel, Focus Energy! Empoleon, Metal Claw! Breloom, Spore!"
The Roserade's outline grew blurry as it forced itself to grow slightly, the Floatzel and Machoke clenching their fists as their skin shimmered red. The Empoleon rushed in with the edges of its wings glowing silver as the Breloom doubled over to point its head at me, a flurry of green spores erupting from its mushroom cap. The Empoleon gave a surprised noise when I suddenly faded out of reality, digging in its feet to skid to a halt, only to take on a wave of Spores as they raced through the space I had been a moment before. The Empoleon grunted in annoyance, holding its breath to avoid taking in the Spores, as if it would do any good; I materialized behind it, clutching my fists together and landing a Faint Attack into the back of its head. Its metallic hide hurt my hands, but it didn't matter; the already drowsy Empoleon was knocked out cold, flopping heavily to the ground, breathing lightly.
I sneered at the appalled Breloom in mock-appreciation, flicking my wrist at the downed bird to place a Nightmare attack on it. I could see it twitching uncomfortably, face contorting in pain as the amped-up equivalent of the attack tore through its mind, powered up from my natural ability to inflict nightmares. It was asleep, but by no means was it going to be feeling refreshed when it woke up. I was tempted to unleash a Dark Void into it, rather than the watered-down natural equivalent before me, but I couldn't; I was needed to inhabit the Empoleon's nightmare in that, and though it would be much more effective, I wouldn't be able to battle the others, which could give them more than enough time to have a welcoming committee at the ready by the time I came out. So, I just let it writhe in discomfort and turned to face the others. It should consider itself very, very lucky.
Both Barry and Kenny blurted out orders at once, making it hard to sift the two out. Their pokemon mustn't have had the problem understanding like I did, as they all dove in to get me at once. The Roserade snapped out its thorn whips, ends glowing purple in a Poison Jab as the Breloom and Machoke dashed in, fists glowing from a Brick Break and Rock Smash, both of which would be very effective should they hit me...if they hit me. See, that's the thing about the shadows: they're pretty hard to catch.
I sank into the ground to hide in the grass, grinning at the sound of bodies colliding above me. I appeared over to the side, unleashing a Dark Pulse before they could recover and managed to blast the Breloom square in the chest, knocking the Machoke back with the aftershock, whose back had a rather painful-looking mark where the Poison Jab had landed earlier. I snickered as I watched them stagger about before I realized I forgot about one of them; I turned to find the Floatzel when it was on me, sinking its fangs into my shoulder, red seeping up where its teeth broke the skin. The Bite wasn't particularly effective, but it was enough to generate considerable pain and piss me off, hence why I grabbed it by the head and flung it over my shoulder, slamming it to the ground. The Breloom became a blur as it zipped over and struck me with a Mach Punch, which I had no chance to dodge; the force of the blow sent me flying back a bit, though I did manage to collect myself after a little while, floating in place as I tried to force air back into my lungs. Little fucker...
The gears in the trainers' heads must have started turning, as they started getting clever. Kenny ordered his Machoke to use Cross Chop, charging in at me with arms out like it was going to give me a bear hug. Instinctively I absorbed back into the shadows beneath the grass, going forward to pop up behind it-
"Now!" Barry blurted. "Roserade, Sunny Day!"
My luck flip-flopped in an instant. I felt a searing pain as the sunlight in the world above intensified to unbearable magnitudes, violently shoving me back into the physical realm as I shielded my eye from the burning heat. The Machoke, which was now directly on top of me, grinned and leaped into the air to hit me, arms swinging and chopping across my torso in an X-shape as I struggled to orientate myself. Pain exploded across my chest, causing me to howl in pain as I was sent flying back, right into the lap of an awaiting Breloom, who sent me hurling the other way with its Low Kick like I was a soccer ball towards its teammates. The Roserade cheered in delight as its thorn-whips snapped out to catch me, digging into my flesh tightly as it slammed me to the ground and dragged me in like a lassoed Tauros.
I grunted in frustration and reared my arm back to slash its vines with Shadow Claw, but the grass around me suddenly came to life and became tentacles that snared my hands and yanked them to the ground, the Grass Knot effectively incapacitating me. To further restrict my movement, the Floatzel opened its mouth and blew out an Icy Wind as it stood directly on top of me. The unbearable heat from the sun turned to crippling frigidity as frost formed around my limbs, muscles seizing up from the blistering chill of the ice-type attack. What little hope for movement and escape I had was now completely drained.
The Roserade snickered, thorns continuing to dig into my shoulders and draw pricks of blood from where they burrowed into my flesh, mixing red with my black skin. The Machoke cracked its knuckles as the Breloom planted its foot into my gut, summoning an "oof" as the air again was forced out of my lungs. The Empoleon chose this time to approach, staring down at me for a moment before spitting out the stem of a chesto berry, which it had been keeping in its mouth like a cigar. Its iron-hard foot stomped down as well, causing pain to shoot up my spine as the Machoke added its two-bit as well, the Roserade and Floatzel joining in to what was becoming a full-fledged beat-down. They weren't even using moves anymore, now mindlessly landing fists and feet and knees wherever they could find free space available on my body, each blow like a cannon ball dropping on me.
Bones broke; I could feel the sharp snaps more than I could hear them over the stomping and grunting above me, indescribable pain tearing through my body like flames, the heat of which burned more than that damned sun ever could, though I'll admit it wasn't particularly pleasant itself. Constricted by vines, Grass Knot, my seized muscles, and the blows that continued to pin me down and threaten to pound me into the ground, I was completely helpless as bruises and wounds ravaged my form, turning my black body a tableau of bloody reds and browns. I had no way of moving or otherwise defending myself at this point; I was completely at their mercy, and every spike of pain that was added made it that much harder to retain consciousness. I was quickly losing this fight. Soon I would be captured, enslaved by those two brute humans, and sentenced to the life of a captive pokemon in the confines of those damned pokeballs...
Cresselia. Her pink, helpless form came to mind as my vision tinted black at the edges, imagining her whimpering, hurt and alone behind that rock, listening as I was beaten into a pulp...no. No, I couldn't let them beat me. I had to win. I had to win for Cresselia. I had to protect her. Cresselia needed me!
Pulling up what little strength remained in me, I funneled my energy forward, closed my eyes, distanced myself from the pain, and unleashed the very move that has almost single-handedly earned me my infamous, terrifying reputation: Dark Void.
The move wasn't performed like it normally would be, however; considering that my arms were pinned and locked to the ground, I couldn't very well form the dark energy out in front of me and pump the sphere into whoever was unfortunate enough to suffer my wrath first. That would still leave me out in the open, even if I was capable of performing it, and considering the fact that I was getting the hell beaten out of me, I didn't want to remain in the physical world at that moment. Left with one other option, I chose the only alternative to using my attack: I became my attack.
My body faded out of reality, becoming a black blanket of ethereal energy in the shape of my form, the surprised pokemon around me suddenly aware that they were punching and stomping on the ground where I had been. The Roserade - whom I had taken a particular disliking for - yelped in surprise when the dark blob suddenly began to mold around its body, shaking its thorn whips in a panicked attempt to free itself, but to no avail; I held firm, spreading up the vines like a viral mold until I came in contact with its head, where I instantly flowed into its skull, leaving behind a wispy black aura where my form had been. The puzzled Breloom, Empoleon, Machoke, and Floatzel took a step back and stared in fear and concern as their green Grass-type companion collapsed like a sack of potatoes, eyes fluttering shut as it was forced into a deep, dark sleep.
I spilled into the pokemon's mind like a pitcher of ice water, sloshing about briefly before I let out a sigh of relief, now completely detached from the pain that had been ravaging my body. I saw the Roserade off in a cognitive corner, confused and frightened, searching out blindly in the abyss that surrounded it, calling out the names of its companions. I grinned; this was going to be fun.
The Roserade suddenly screamed as an overwhelming sense of violation came over it from my reaching into its mind, flipping through the pages of its conscience like an idle browser at a library. Don't even, I growled to it, my voice rumbling and infinitely deep from my current state. The screams were amusing, but I was a little busy reading through its life. Don't fight it. This is my domain.
My words went unheeded, of course, and I settled for listening contently to its screams as I flipped through its mind, oblivious to its discomfort. This pokemon was like many others; it had become friends with the pokemon of its team; the Staraptor and Heracross I had yet to see, the Empoleon, its trainer named Barry. Typical of most Grass-types, it had a deep love for the natural beauty of nature, one of its favorites being the field of flowers where it had grown up. It had a family prior to being caught, which it distantly missed and wasn't even aware of. It had begun to form feelings for the Breloom of the boy Kenny, whom I presumed was the same Kenny that was trying to catch me. I chuckled darkly, not even restraining myself so I could further unnerve the tormented Roserade. The ones with feelings for another were always the best; I could get a lot of mileage out of this one. This is going to be fun.
Frightened by my comment, the Roserade babbled as it demanded what I was doing and that I release it immediately. Naturally, I ignored it, instead plunging it down into the darkness further towards one of my favorite places...
________________________________________________________
Roserade abruptly stopped babbling as she realized she was alone, the feeling of the Darkrai's claws sifting through his head faded from her awareness. She sighed in relief, brushing herself off with its bouquet arms as she took in her surroundings. She was standing amidst a large, endless meadow, the field of green before her eyes stretching on as far as the eye could see, the faint outline of a windmill gently rotating its rotor in the distance. The sky was tinted a purplish black, the sun completely missing, making her wonder briefly what was illuminating this place before she allowed herself to relax, taking in a nice, deep breath of the breeze that brushed past her, causing a few of her flowers to flutter slightly. The air was so clean here, so pure...she loved it. It reminded her so much of home. But as beautiful as this place was, she couldn't stop to take in the scenery; she needed to figure out where she was and what happened to her friends. "Hello?"
No sooner did she call out was Roserade alerted of a presence behind her, snapping around with her thorn whips glowing purple, ready to Poison Jab whatever was behind her into a coma. "Who's there?"
"It's just me, love."
Roserade's breath hitched, instantly diffusing the toxins flowing through her whips. "B-Breloom?"
The Mushroom pokemon stood before her, tail swaying gently, staring at her longingly with those glistening black eyes of his...what was he doing here? Did he get sucked in, too? While that look he was giving her and his tone of voice was a little...strange...she didn't put much thought on it, hurrying to more important matters. "Breloom, what's going on? Where are we? Did that Darkrai ge-"
Breloom surprised her by stretching his arm out and putting a crimson claw to her lips in a "shh" gesture, stepping up to meet his arm, still staring at her like before. "It's okay, love. It's just us now."
'Love?' 'Us?' Roserade, though slightly flattered and embarrassed by his endearing terminology, shook her head, hating the red that crawled across her cheeks. "Breloom, I...look, we've got to-"
Breloom shook his head, a smile tugging at the edges of his mouth. His arms looped around her waist, arms stretching around to embrace her and pull her towards him.
Roserade's breath hitched, suddenly aware that she was being embraced, face flushing red in embarrassment. What had gotten into him? As nice as this was, they didn't have time for hugs. "B-Breloom..."
The Mushroom pokemon just chuckled, stepping up a bit closer while resting his head on her soft, flower-like head. "So tense...just relax, love," he cooed, voice having this odd soothing quality to it. "It's just you and me now. Relax. Take a nice, deep breath, and just relax."
Though blushing profusely, Roserade muttered out a "kay," feeling oddly inclined to do as he said. She closed her eyes and took in a long, deep breath through her nose, grinning slightly at the tickling sensation the light traces of spores emanating from him created in her nose. The normally poisonous spores were completely harmless to her, doing nothing more than caress the insides of her nose, kind of like the way he was stroking the back of her head...those claws felt wonderful. They could rend her in half without a second though, but the way he fondled her, cradled her against him...Roserade was completely undone, pressing up against him, bouquet-like arms coming up to loop around him, nuzzling into his chest. Whatever this was, it was wonderful. She got to hug her dear Breloom, be alone with him at last...she wouldn't want to be anywhere else. "Oh, Breloom..."
Breloom chuckled, running a clawed hand up and down her back, smiling at the light coo of approval he got from her. His black, glassy eyes stared down at her longingly like pearls, suddenly tinted with a spike of sorrow. "...I'm sorry."
Roserade peeked up to look at him, a light smile on her face. "Don't be. I love it like this..."
Breloom smiled a bit, though he shook his head. "No, I mean...I'm sorry."
Roserade's warm grin turned to a look of concern, tilting her flower-like head at him. "What for, love? Whatever it is, I'll always forgive you."
His eyes pinched shut, as if her words struck a chord. "I...never wanted to hurt you..."
Now genuinely confused, Roserade shook her head. "You didn't hurt me, Breloom. What are you talking about?"
"I never meant it to happen," he continued, as if unhearing her, eyes pinching shut a bit tighter. "I didn't mean for it...to...I mean, I never..."
"Breloom...it's okay, really. I..." Roserade's eyes widened slightly as she became aware of his claws beginning to dig into her back, wincing slightly. "That hurts, Breloom..."
"I-I never meant...I didn't want to do it..."
Roserade started to become unnerved, trying to pull away, finding his arms to be gripping her too tightly. She could feel his muscles clench around her, claws forming fists on her back...she paused briefly, looking up at him, the way his beak pressed shut...was he...hurting? In pain? "Breloom..."
Breloom didn't answer, a film of sweat beginning to trickle down from his mushroom cap. Roserade wanted to pull away now, but stopped when she became aware of a flickering light behind him, and the smell of...something. Deep, coarse, burning her eyes...smoke? She looked up to Breloom again, genuinely concerned, peeking around his arm slightly to see what was wrong. She gasped, eyes popping open. The seeds on his tail were on fire, sending small plumes of smoke up into the air.
Rather than try to put them out, Breloom only cringed and shook his head. "I-I'm sorry...I never meant to hurt you..."
"B-Breloom!" Roserade cried, shaking him slightly to get his attention as the flames began to stretch up his tail to the base of his spine. "Snap out of it! You're burning! Breloom-"
"I'm sorry...I'm sorry...I didn't want to..."
Roserade tried frantically to get his attention now, but it was as though he was in a trance, simply absorbing the pain as the fire continued to consume him, going up the length of his back, down to his legs, red claws now aglow from the flames that burned through him like kindling. The heat was now prickling at her skin, but try as she may to get him to let go or snap out of it, all he would do was babble about how he was sorry, as if oblivious to the overwhelming heat. She screamed now, trying to break free of his grasp, unable to do anything but stare up in horror as the fire consumed his flesh, now reaching around to torch his face, flames and heat spilling down his front. She screamed in terror as the fire threatened to consume her as well, watching the skin of the pokemon she loved bubble and flop loosely like the skin on chocolate pudding that had come to a boil, the pale flesh now beginning to melt and drip from the heat. The skin of his eyelids peeled off his eyes, revealing the black sphere that stared out blankly, tinged with sorrow as they turned to liquid and sloshed down his face like tar, spilling onto her body and evoking a horrified scream. She could now stare directly into his skull as the skin of his neck peeled away, his jaw hollowing as his mouth and tongue spilled out through the bottom of his jaw, the appendage flopping uselessly down his rapidly liquefying front as it writhed, shriveled, and began to burn like the rest of him...
Roserade finally managed to break free of him, screaming in disgusted horror as she realized his arms had simply broken off, the dismembered and rapidly liquefying limbs splattering flesh onto her feet as they hit the ground. She turned to run, only to realize that the field surrounding them had been engulfed with flames, the sky choked by a tornado of black smoke that began to spin and spiral all around, picking up fire and becoming a massive, spiraling vortex of flame that seemed to stretch up into the heavens. She could only watch in horrified awe as the tornado began to shift, lifting up off the ground to morph into a round shape, color turning from a vibrant orange to an angry red, a glowering violet, until it turned to an almost icy-blue, edges solidifying and becoming more defined as it took up more and more detail.
A single, massive blue eye glared down at her, a tiny white spherical pupil tearing through her flesh and boring into her soul, sucking her in through the endless terror that began to engulf her-
Roserade screamed.
And screamed.
And screamed.
Drifting away into nothingness, Roserade only continued to scream as the darkness closed in, consuming every fiber of her being, terror-ridden voice echoing ominously off of the endless oblivion...screaming...screaming...
_________________________________________________________
The sound of laughter quickly drowned out the distant sound of screaming, the harsh, cold voice belonging to none other than yours truly. No matter how many times I put these people through this kind of torment, it always gave me a sick sense of satisfaction that chilled my already frigid heart to temperatures low enough to freeze helium solid. Nature lovers: pyrophobics to the core. It always ended with an eye glaring at them, and they always acted the exact same way when I pulled them down into nothing...how sadistically tickling! I could never get tired of such a spectacle!
Finally yanking Roserade up from the nothing I had plunged her into, I allowed her to have scream in full chorus until she realized that the images were gone, and that I was laughing. Instantly she became filled with a delightful combination of humiliation, anger, hate, and outright hysteria, all of which poured into my being and spread through me, warming my being...ahh, sweet nectar. Delicious, delicious fear. It's enough to make an old Legendary laugh...which is exactly what I did: laugh. I laughed maniacally, filling the infinite void we hovered in with a chorus of resounding laughter that only served to fuel her humiliation and hurt which, in turn, served to feed me and fuel my contentment. Like all the others, she began to sob, cry, weep, scream, rant...and I only continued to laugh. I loved her pain. I adored her abhorrence. Her humiliation and hysteria chilled me from the inside out, filling me with a satisfying frigidity that I can only compare to as joy. Sick, twisted, demented joy, but joy nonetheless. I couldn't get enough of her misery.
After a little while, my laughter began to die down, now chortling in contentment as I listened to her rant and ramble on. "You bastard! Y-you...sick...twisted fuck! Mindless savage! Brute! M-monster!"
I frowned at that last one; I'd been called many a bad thing in my lifetime, but "monster..." simple, yes, but I never liked it. Too...no. Just no. I scowled, then smiled cruelly as I summoned up a vivid image of the pokemon she loved burning alive, staring down at her with eyes that melted out of his head, evoking a horrified, hysterical round of screaming that brought back my sinister laughter with a vengeance. Completely powerless and at my mercy, Roserade began to sob now, terror spilling freely out of her and serving to feed me, let out pained, sobbing whimpers as the gravity of the situation set in.
I laughed for a while longer before falling silent, grinning maliciously at her from everywhere around her, taunting her with my omnipotent presence. What's the matter? I sneered, gaining delight in the way she flinched at the sound of my rumbling voice. You're not afraid, are you? Oh, that’s not a good idea; fear fuels me. I feed off of your misery and terror. Your being afraid makes me all the more powerful, and makes it so much easier to torment you.
Roserade stopped whimpering, trembling as she looked out blindly at the darkness, searching for something that stared her down from every possible angle all around her. I was the darkness. I was the void. I didn't embrace the darkness; the darkness embraced me. "How can you live like this?"
My amusement faltered by her sudden questioning. Mildly interested, I decided to humor her, possibly to use this to shove back at her. It's quite easy, really; your terror gives me fuel. I feed off of your agony. Weren't you listening?
Roserade sniffled, shaking her head. "I-I know...I know that, but...how do you live like this? H-how can...a-a-all this pain...a-and darkness...m-make you happy?"
I hesitated, pondering her question. I don't know why I was actually listening to her, or why I was actually considering her words. Truth be told, I hadn't really thought about it that much; the darkness and pain were all I knew, having been desensitized to it long ago. Since I was immune to it, that meant that I couldn't feel from it. Ergo, it didn't make me happy. Hence my answer; It doesn't.
Roserade seemed just as surprised as me that I had answered like I did. "Then...w-what...does?"
Cresselia.
Roserade, now completely taken aback, stared out at the darkness dubiously. "...seriously?"
Seriously, I replied tersely, annoyed that I had actually taken the time to talk to my victim like I had. Cresselia gives me purpose. Where everything else is dark and empty, Cresselia is warm and bright. She gives me hope where nothing else does, and makes me smile where no one else can. She's the only one that truly understands me. And for that, she has my heart.
Roserade was silent, completely stunned by my heartfelt answer. I, too, was silent, considering the meaning behind what I said. I meant every word I said; though unsure of why I was saying this to who I was, my sincerity was not at all doubtful. Cresselia is my only true light; even I, the being of darkness, can't live in complete nothingness. Like all other beings, I needed a light; an engine to drive me forward. Cresselia was my light. In the absolute darkness I was forced to live in, Cresselia boldly shone her light where no one else would, guiding me through the nothing like the warm-hearted soul that she is. She's a friend to me, and the only friend that I'll ever have. She means everything to me. She's my love; my heart. The one piece of me that makes me whole.
I realized my mistake just as Roserade did, who put on a wicked smile as she remembered what situation this was; I was her enemy, and she wanted to fight. She wanted to hurt. I was to be defeated, and she was willing to do it in any way possible. Opening her mouth, I knew the words before she ever spoke them, though what came out of her mouth struck me like a bullet to the heart, regardless: "She'll never love you."
For a brief moment, my world stood still. The darkness stopped churning as my heart skipped a beat. Roserade must have sensed what affect her words had, as she continued to smile until her malicious grin stretched from ear to ear, sneering out into the darkness that seemed to have simply ceased to be. I knew what she was doing - striking me where my defenses were weakest; her words were meant to do me harm, hurt me, make me more susceptible to defeat, and knew that I couldn't give in to her - but the pain remained the same, no matter how much I tried to tell myself what was going on. The words echoed through my head repeatedly, spiking straight through me with every last sound: She'll never love you. She'll never love you. She'll never love you. As I began to try to reason with myself, I came to the startling conclusion that...Roserade was right. Cresselia was a warm, loving spirit who spread joy and happiness wherever she went, healing wounds and erasing the scars that the terrors of night brought them. She loved, she healed, and she brought joy. She would always love the people that she healed and brought smiles to, because she knew they were good of heart, and that their intentions were pure. But take a look at me: a denizen of darkness. The incarnation of fear. One who feeds off of the misery and agony that I inflict upon other, laughing devilishly as they writhed in pain and fed my inner rancor with the misery it endlessly hungered for. I took joy out of watching my victims scream. I got pleasure out of their pain. My intentions were as foul as they could be; misunderstood and abused though I was, I had become the very thing that I hated others for labeling me. I had become the very demon that humans had created out of my image.
How can Cresselia love me? I asked myself. How could Cresselia ever come to love a cold, twisted creature like me? The answer was cold, brutal, and simple: she couldn't.
She'll never love me.
At that moment, something within me snapped.
The darkness that had been tranquil and silent suddenly boiled and burned a bloody red, erupting like a volcano and evoking a terrified scream from the only other inhabitant of this suddenly cataclysmic oblivion. Seething with rage, I brought out every last horrifying thing I could come across and flung it at her, drowning her being with fear and smothering her soul with horror. But that wasn't enough; I now freely slashed at the terrified pokemon, hacking pieces of her being clean off her and discarding it to the nothingness, savoring the taste of her being coming apart before my hand. The pain she felt was unspeakable; never before had I ever come unglued like this, and had I an eye to see with, I think I would have been seeing red. Her agony was...so...delicious. She was incredible-tasting. It was like I'd gone without food my entire life, then suddenly treated to the overwhelming sweetness of the plumpest, finest pecha berry in all of existence. The inner demon within me took in a mouthful of blood, and it wasn't about to stop. I needed more. More pain; more terror; more! More, more, more!
So frenzied was I, consuming the terrified being in my grasp, that it took me a while to realize that I had consumed every last bit of her that I could fit my being around. All that remained of Roserade's terrified mind were scraps and fragments of fear and sorrow, drifting in the nothingness like the scales that remained from a Sharpedo frenzy on a Magikarp school at sea. Nothing but bloody dust and the echo of a scream that resounded off of every last piece of this endless oblivion before that, too, faded away, and I was left with nothing but the realization of what I'd done. It frightened me how uncontrollable my hunger for pain had become. Every last ounce of my being was screaming out in hunger, my inner rancor suddenly thrashing against the confines of my being and shrieking for more, more, more...it was frightening to see what had come unlocked.
Perhaps even more frightening was that I didn't care.
I exploded from the darkness like a beast straight out of Hell, prying myself out of Roserade's silent, empty mind and flinging my being into physical reality, unleashing a Shadow Ball the very instant I gain awareness. The Breloom and Machoke that had been leaning over her body were sent flying backwards, a burst of black energy exploding between them. The Floatzel and Empoleon, along with their respective trainers, gave a collective cry of surprise from my sudden entrance, snapping around from whatever they were doing to face me. There were two new arrivals to the scene, both of whom I remembered from Roserade's memories: a Heracross and Staraptor, the latter of whom was airborne. The logical part of me knew there would be more of a fight now, especially after they saw what I'd done to their comrade, but the demon that had been unleashed couldn't be more delighted. The more pokemon they sent out meant more terror, which meant more energy for me. More terror. More fear! More! More!
Before the trainers could even an order, I slammed head-on into the Staraptor, which had the misfortune of being directly above me when I shot out of Roserade. The pokemon was taken by surprise, not putting up a fight as I grabbed it by the neck, angled us down, and shot towards the ground, flying as fast as I could straight downward like a bullet. The Staraptor finally managed a distressed caw and reached up with its talons to pry me off it, but it was too late; just as abruptly as I started did I stop in mid-air, letting go of the pokemon to send it down the rest of the way to the ground, which was only a few meters or so. The Predator Pokemon barely had time to flap its wings before it slammed into the ground head-first, giving off a sharp crack as it hit the ground. Every muscle in its body simultaneously cramped tight for an instant before it went limp, legs dangling down at an awkward angle. It didn't move an inch.
Barry snapped out of his stupor to cry "Staraptor!", pointing the pokeball at his pokemon to return it. The red laser lanced out of the ball's central button and collided with the staraptor's still form, paused, then shot back to the ball as if it had been struck. Barry blinked in surprise, trying again to recall his pokemon, but to no avail. The boy didn't seem to understand that his pokemon was dead.
Contrary to the "all brawn and no brain" theory I'd assumed was true, the Machoke was the first to put two and two together. It looked to the Staraptor, then to Roserade, who was staring blankly up at the sky with a vacant expression. She was completely awake, but because of my damage inflicted onto her, her mind was completely nonexistent. She was brain-dead. The Machoke suddenly snapped a glare at me, expression screaming of pain and disbelief. "You bastard!" it screamed, rushing in towards me as its fist glowed white as it prepared to fuse a Focus Punch with my head. It wouldn't have any such luck.
The Machoke swung its Focus punch, grunting in annoyance as I ducked down to the side, the white side of its hand grazing my cheek. I came around to its back, dodging to the side as it swung around to strike me, grabbing its arm, pulling it over my shoulder, and flipping the pokemon onto its back, smashing it into the ground and knocking the air out of it. Immediately it tried to curl up into a ball so as to hide its weak spots, but a Shadow Claw raking its shoulder threw it off, instead causing it to kick out and try to hit me. I merely hovered up higher to dodge before coming back down to plant a Shadow Punch into its gut. It doubled over and didn't retaliate, but I didn't stop there; I reared back and landed another black-fisted Shadow Punch, this one aimed in the region of its heart, planting another Shadow Punch there to follow up, then another, and another, and another... My arms were a blur of black and purple energy as Shadow Punch after Shadow Punch landed in rapid succession, planting the attacks as fast as I could bring my arms up and down again. Punch after punch found its mark, and by the time the Floatzel slammed into me with an Aqua Jet, the Superpower Pokemon was already long-since dead, blood freely leaking out of its mouth as it spasmed uncontrollably, the left half of its chest completely caved in, crushing its heart along with nearly all of its ribs and spine, hence why it twitched so insistently.
Even though the Floatzel and its Aqua Jet plowed me into a tree, I couldn't be happier; the fear radiating from the others now that three pokemon were out of the picture...delicious. It was making my mouth salivate; I hadn't felt this energized in centuries!
Shoving off of the tree, I tackled the Floatzel, who grabbed me and threw me back towards the tree, which I used to rebound off towards it and land a good Shadow Punch into its gut, staggering it and causing it to stumble backwards, doubled over. I fused into the shadows beneath the grass - the Sunny Day had long-since worn off from the battle, sparing me the pain of having my skin prickled by its accursed rays - in time to avoid a Megahorn attack, the Heracross digging its horn deep into the trunk of the tree behind me. It cursed rapidly in frustration as it realized it was stuck, sticking out of the trunk at a 180 degree angle with its horn buried up to the top of its head into the wood, completely horizontal.
The Floatzel scanned the ground rapidly with panic-stricken eyes, turning to face the noise behind it in time to have a Night Slash rake across its neck. Blood spewed out of the wound and splashed my front, its eyes widening as it let out a silent scream and stumbled backwards, desperately trying to breathe in the air that refused to enter its lungs. It was dead in moments, paws still at its red-soaked throat.
I turned to face the Breloom that howled in rage, becoming a blur as it launched a Mach Punch in my direction. I couldn't dodge it, I knew, so I didn't even try, instead creating the beginning of a Shadow Ball that splashed out crackling purple-black energy across the Breloom's front as it plowed into me. The punch hurt like something awful, sending me sailing back a bit, but the fear and grief radiating off of it alone was enough to rejuvenate me, hence why I sneered and rushed towards it, another Shadow Ball building up in my arms. It swung at me an instant before I fused to the shadows, coming up behind it and thrusting the ball of dark energy into its back, knocking it onto its chest. I stayed out of range of its swinging tail enough to pump a Dark Pulse into its still exposed back, hitting it hard enough for the crackling black electricity to race up its spine and distribute the damage all along its spinal column, some of which leaked into its brain. It spasmed violently, gasping some gurgled comment as blood spurted out of its mouth, just before I pumped another Dark Pulse into its back, which broke its back completely. The force of the blow was so powerful that a hole was burned straight through the Mushroom Pokemon's back, charring the earth beneath it a smoldering black from the foul aura.
The Heracross still stuck in the tree screamed in anger and grief, both of which pleased me greatly and made my inner rancor squirm in delight. I rewarded its treating me to its torment in the form of a powerful Shadow Ball into its side, which hit it hard enough to snap its horn clean off and sent the screaming, pain-stricken pokemon sailing, blood spurting out of the hole in the top of its skull. I placed my palm on its face, covering its mouth briefly to muffle the screaming, before pumping a Dark Pulse into its face point-blank. When its body hit the ground, there was a massive chunk missing clean out of its head burned black and seared shut at the edges, roughly in the size of my hand.
The only remainders of the battle - an Empoleon looking like it was in shock and a pair of wide-eyed, pale-faced teenage humans - stared at me in awe and horror, eyes drifting over the shattered, broken forms of their now lifeless comrades and partners. It took a moment, but after a while, the pain and fear that poured from them, spawned in even greater amounts from their angsty screams and moans, filled me with a twisted sense of joy. How wonderful it was for my enemies to squirm at the sight of their failed companions, realizing that they were fools to come and challenge me. What sick, grotesque delight I took in their agony. The demon unleashed from within me was on cloud 9, basking in the grief of my victims greedily, like a warlord in the blood of his enemies. Speaking of blood, the hot splatter across my front had a peculiar, almost therapeutic quality to it. Briefly I imagined what it would be like to be completely submerged in said liquid, soaking in it as though it was rose-scented mineral water in a sauna...
Barry shook his head in disbelief, the gravity of the situation finally clicking in as he looked over all the dead pokemon he'd worked so closely by these last few...it had to be years. He'd grown so closely to them all, and now...they were all dead, all on his watch. All but his starter. His face completely drained of color as he took a step back, eying me with a look that positively reeked of terror. "We gotta get the fuck out of here!" he blurted, now rapidly backpedaling away from this macabre scene.
Kenny nodded numbly, now without any remaining pokemon on the field. He waved over the remaining Empoleon, coaxing it to follow. "E-E-Empoleon! L-let's go!"
The Emperor Pokemon didn't respond, eyes locked on me as I hovered towards it, eyes glazed over in grief that I could feel a mile away. The pokemon was likely in a state akin to shock, not moving an inch, staring blankly at me as I hovered in close enough to touch it. It didn't move at all as I reached back and prepared a Shadow Punch into its face. The pokemon opened its beak to either scream or say something just before my fist made contact, my hand somehow fitting perfectly into its open mouth and down its throat slightly. It gagged at the object lodged down its throat, and my face lit up in sadistic delight and amusement just before I unleashed a Dark Pulse from said hand, funneling the attack straight down into the pokemon's gullet. Its stomach appeared to bulge and suddenly collapse downward, bloating an instant before the attack exploded out its backside, creating a massive hole in its body large enough for me to fit into, the edges burned black and smoldering from the sheer intensity of the blast.
Barry grabbed his bangs at the sight of his precious starter pokemon crumple to the ground, dead before it even touched the earth, hot tears of grief streaming down his face. "No!" he screamed, shaking his head wildly, yanking on his hair as if trying to tear it out. "No, no, no! No!"
In response to his insistent babbling and denial, I simply retorted "Yes!" and laughed in dark delight. Both humans were now standing a dozen meters away, neither willing to believe what they were seeing, disbelief apparently causing the concept of escape to slip their minds. It would be a costly mistake; I grinned and primed a Shadow Ball, ready to thrust it towards them and end this-
"Darkrai!"
My blood ran cold at the sound of that shrill scream, nearly losing my hold on the Shadow Ball I'd been building up; carefully diffusing the potent Ghost-type energy, I turned to face the source of the exclamation, heart skipping a beat. "C...Cresselia..."
The Lunar Swan I loved hovered nearby, her plumage and body not hosting any of the damage that I had remembered seeing so clearly a short while ago. She must have used Recover to heal herself after the poison had worn off. The look on her face was as clear as day: shock. Surprise. Horror. She was horrified.
Slowly, as if weighed down by the shock, Cresselia turned to examine the sights I had assembled for her: a headless Heracross, the horn its kind was so proud of embedded deep into a tree several meters away, only a jagged spoke of bone exposed out of the wood; a mangled Machoke with its chest caved in, its left arm sticking out at an awkward, unnatural angle from the size of the crater formed out of where its heart should be, blood trickling out of its mouth and soaking into the earth around it; a Breloom lying face-down on the ground, a hole in its back clearly exposing its scalded and fracture spinal column and the black-charred ground beneath it, still smoldering a sinister black; a once-proud Staraptor sitting upside down, its head dug into the earth slightly, beak pointed down at a 45 degree angle, neck shattered in countless places; a Floatzel with its paws resting on its slit throat, red staining its paws, its entire front, and my own chest; an Empoleon laying in a crumpled heap, a smoldering black hole stretching from its open mouth all the way down to its hips, the blast having punched a massive chunk of its back out on the exit; a Roserade breathing weakly on its back, staring up blankly into the sky with hollowed eyes...she was hurt by this sight the most, as it was very unlikely that even she could fully heal a pokemon in such a state. I winced at the pain that emanated from her, making sure not to ingest any of it and fuel my now quelled rancor. There was no pleasure to be taken from her pain.
Shaking her now pale head, Cresselia turned to face me, eyes glimmering in condemnation and...sorrow? Pity? Grief? All of these? It was so hard to tell. "Darkrai," she said quietly, voice barely above a hoarse whisper, "what have you done?"
I shook my head at her weakly, trying to come up with some kind of logical explanation, my mouth working dryly as I vied for words to form. Nothing came. Try as I may to justify my actions, no words would come. Instantly I felt ashamed and mortified at my actions, her...beautiful, expressive eyes...instantly sobering the demon that had been drunk on blood and angst all this time. It left behind only me, shamefully hiding in the corner of my mind to let me take the full weight of the situation for which I couldn't explain myself. What was I supposed to say? What was there even for me to say?
Movement caught my eye; I glanced over to see Barry having collapsed to his knees, still gripping his head, staring in horror at what had become of his pokemon, tears streaming freely down his face, feeding small waterfalls that spilled onto the ground...Kenny stood nearby, eyes locked on me, frozen in fear and confusion, unsure of what to do...guilt turned to anger in a heartbeat. Why did they have to come here? Why did they try to capture me? Why did they hurt Cresselia? Why did they have to be here? If they didn't come, they wouldn't have had to experience what they were now. None of this would have happened if they hadn't come.
Cresselia must have felt the change in my demeanor, for she tensed. "Darkrai," she half begged, half warned. "Don't do it. They're just children, Darkrai...innocent, foolish children. They didn't mean any harm. Please...don't hurt them. I beg of you. Please..."
Oh, Cresselia...sweet, caring Cresselia. Always thinking of others and their well-being before even her own. Never once did she consider the wrong these insolent wretches had inflicted on us. How dare they come to her island, her home, and try to capture her? How dare they threaten not just her but me with a life of enslavement, bound to those accursed pokeballs and forced to fight battle after arduous battle in the name of their own petty fame amongst their own kind, who were too absorbed in their own worthless lives to take any interest in theirs? How dare they. How dare they. They had to be punished; they needed to be taught a lesson for their insolence.
But did they really? Cresselia had a point; they were youths, and like all youths, they were clouded by their own dreams, the very aspirations driving them forward obscuring the path they needed to take to get there. They made a mistake, as do we all. They'd lost enough; hadn't they learned their lesson already? Who was I to judge them for their near-sightedness? Not just that, but Cresselia...she told me not to hurt them. She said it before; she said not to do them harm, a request that I so blatantly ignored. I hadn't laid a hand on them, but the emotional scars from this traumatic day would likely follow them for the rest of their lives, likely even after her best efforts to heal them. I had already wronged them as much as I possibly could. The Darkrai she knew wouldn't do this; the Darkrai that loved her wouldn't commit such a sin. What happened to that Darkrai? Where was he now? What had he become?
I hovered there for the longest time, completely unmoving, fists unconsciously clenching as my eye bored into them, repeatedly looking between the humans in question. They were young, blind...but did that excuse them? Could they elude my wrath so easily? Was Cresselia's word here worth the consideration to stay my hand, or was her overly selfless attitude clouding her judgment? I sat there in silence, staring the two humans down, an internal war between my heart and the demon that had been awoken within me raging through my soul. The battle was intense.
In the end, I guess the demon won.
The sound of a Night Slash generating on my arm caused Cresselia to jerk slightly, breath hitching as she saw the murderous look in my eye. "Darkrai..."
I didn't respond, eye locked solely on the humans that had wronged us...specifically, the one having collapsed to his knees, blonde hair tussled from his having grabbed it, tears running down from his red-tinged eyes, green scarf draped mournfully down his chest. Rage began to build within me. How dare he come here and try to enslave us. How dare he threaten to take away my Cresselia. How dare he! He had to be silenced; be made an example of! Let humanity remember what it means to wrong the lord of the night, the denizen of nightmares! Let all humans know of the foolishness to cross Darkrai!
I lunged forward; Cresselia screamed my name, which I ignored. None of that mattered now; not my love, not my name, nothing. All that mattered was me, the trainer Barry, and the glistening purple energy shimmering on my arm. He would pay. He would pay.
There was a blur of motion, and I swung my arm, the Night Slash cutting through flesh and bone alike. Blood sprayed up, splashing across my face. Something heavy hit the ground. I could feel the death begin to form as the life of my victim seeped away.
But it wasn't Barry's.
The human in question remained where he stood, fallen to his knees, eyes wide and staring at me with the utmost fear, completely motionless with said emotion. There isn't a scratch across his entire body from even an insect bite, let alone a wound with severity comparable to that of a Night Slash. But then, I thought, feeling a sense of dread hit my stomach like a lead weight, who did I hit? Suddenly aware of the way my heart blasted through my skull, I slowly, fearfully, turned my head to the body that had leaped in front of me to shield the human from the blow.
A wonderful move, Night Slash. It made a nice combination of power, speed, and efficiency, hence why it was one of my favorite and most commonly-used physical attacks. That and Shadow Claw, but because of its move-type, Night Slash fit in better with me, making it my most powerful up-close and personal move available. A combination of my type, its high critical hit ratio, and considerable power made it a pretty nice finisher for most situations, and its ability to slice clean through even bone and natural armor made it a very nice choice in any situation, given its cutting power. Combined with the type advantage, the power-up from my genetics classified as "Dark-type," the power with which I struck, its cutting potential, not to mention the doubled power of the critical hit...when I looked over to see what I hit, all things considered, I guess it wasn't a surprise to see that I had nearly sheered her in half.
Cresselia.
I could scarcely breathe, let alone move in to investigate, the feeling of blood on my hand and face suddenly an appalling, unwelcome one. I wanted to look away more than anything in the world, but a combination of shock and dread kept my eye locked on Cresselia's still form, unable to look away.
The power of my Night Slash, though in this case horrible, was to be admired; all the way to the other side across Cresselia's flank did my claws tear through, slicing through her delicate plumage, flesh, and bone like she was made of tissue paper, the only thing keeping her from splitting into two separate halves entirely being a feathery strand of flesh along the curve of her back above her severed spine. Her organs were clearly exposed, her upper half having been pulled away from the lower half by her colliding to the ground, her blood and bowels now freely spilling out across the ground, a red river mournfully flowing down the slight incline. It was evident that she was dead - honestly, well and truly dead - but her eyes seemed to focus on me, the traces of sorrow and pain forever frozen onto her face showing the feelings of betrayal that she had been experiencing. It was as though she was staring right at me, wondering "why?" up until her very last moment. As though she'd been looking right at me until the very end.
The situation hit me like a ton of bricks propelled by an Ice Beam: Cresselia was dead. And her blood was on my hands.
My heart hammered like a Ledian's Comet Punch; I was surprised that it hadn't stopped completely, blood racing through my veins harshly enough to threaten cardiac arrest. Hot liquid streamed freely down my face from my eye, mouth agape, unable to move, unable to speak...my throat burned like I had swallowed a Qwilfish. Blood pounded in my ears, causing my head to throb with every heartbeat that thrashed through me. It took me a while to realize that I was screaming, unable to stop, unable to properly express my grievous realization. I killed Cresselia. I murdered her. I struck, and she received the blow. I killed her. I killed her. I murdered the love of my life.
As soon as I could summon up coherent thought, my first question was...why? Why did this have to happen? My Cresselia...sweet, loving Cresselia...why? Why did she have to die? My precious...my life...my only reason for living... Why, Cresselia? Why did you have to die on me? Why did I have to kill you? I just wanted to tell you how I felt...that I loved you. I loved you, Cresselia, I truly did. I wanted to tell you. I wanted you to know that I loved you. I wanted us to be happy, Cresselia; I wanted for us to be together, to be happy. It's all I ever wanted, Cresselia. I wanted to love you. Why? Why does it have to end like this? Why do you have to be slain by my hand? Why did you shield that human? Why-
That human.
My blood stilled for the briefest of instants...just before it began to boil. My face contorted in rage, fists clenching hard enough for my fingertips to dig into my flesh and draw droplets of blood. Him. It was his fault. She was dead because of him. He did this. If he hadn't come here, none of this would have happened. If he hadn't made me into this monster, Cresselia wouldn't have had to sacrifice herself to save him from me. It was all his fault that this happened. It was all HIS fault. HE made me into this. HE did this to me; to Cresselia! HE did this! It's HIS fault! HIM! HE did this! Not me, HIM! This was all HIS fault!
I turned to face the bastard that did this to me, my eye burning a hole through his head with the pure heat of my hatred. That disgusting little Wurple...he did this. He was the one responsible. He was responsible for Cresselia's death.
Realizing that I was staring directly at him, Barry's heart ignited with fear, suddenly aware of how much danger he was in. He rose to his feet, ready to run for his life, when my eye blazed an infinite, icy blue, pumping a Mean Look directly into his being. Catching the full force of the move, Barry completely froze, suspended in place as if by magic, eyes wide and fearful as they stared into mine, unable to pry himself away from my glare. Oh, how I wished looks could kill; he'd be dead a thousand times over, if this were the case.
I would have loved nothing more than to pump every last Dark Pulse into that little wretch's head as I could until he vaporized completely, something stayed my hand; the rancor was reignited, the demon within me springing back to life as it realized what terrible things could become of this. The boy deserved to die...no. No, he didn't. He didn't deserve to end so suddenly. He didn't deserve the cold embrace of death. He deserved to suffer. He should suffer for what he's done.
Slowly raising my hand to the terrified boy's face, I reached over, clutched his head in my hand and, restraining the urge to squeeze his skull between my fingers, I closed my eye and channeled energy through my being, becoming a Dark Void before vanishing into his head. He deserved the cruelest, coldest nightmare I could conjure up, but something gave me a better idea. Rather than taking his fear-stricken mind and dragging it down with my into the abyss, I did something I hadn't before: I grabbed him, shoved him aside, and replaced him, making sure that little bastard could bear witness to everything that was about to happen. I had a feeling of what this would result in...and I wanted him to see as much as I did myself.
Barry's eyes opened. He was on the ground now on his hands and knees, gasping for breath, trying to be rid of the foul taste that spread through his being like the plague. He shook his head to clear it, vision blurring, blinking a few times to clear the fog that shrouded his world. He pushed up off the ground to stand upright, shaking his head again to clear it. Everything felt so...strange...like he was detached; distanced from the world around him. It was...just so...strange. What did that thing do to him?
Barry turned to face Kenny, who looked just as confused as he felt. He couldn't really blame him; neither of them had any idea what was going on. First they tried to get Cresselia, then Darkrai came, then it...went crazy, and...now, their pokemon...Cresselia...what the fuck was going on?
As if reading his thoughts, Kenny shook his head, face as starch white as a Togepi's shell. He looked over to the broken, shattered forms of their pokemon... "Arceus," he muttered. "I...I-I can't...believe it..."
Barry wanted to say something - anything, even if it was wrong - but try as he may, he couldn't do it. He couldn't get his mouth to work, or for the words to form in his throat. That was strange...he couldn't even turn to look at the pokemon. He could only stand there and stare at Kenny...wait, why was he smiling? There was nothing to smile about at a time like this!
Kenny just shook his head again, turning to look back at Barry. "Alright, well...I guess we need to get back to Canalave City and call the..." He stopped, tilting his head quizzically. "...are you okay, dude? You seem kinda...funny."
Barry tried to say "No, I'm fine," but the words wouldn't come. No noise came from him, and his mouth refused to function. What was this? Why couldn’t he move?
Kenny was a bit unnerved by Barry's silence, that smile starting to really creep him out. Something didn't seem right about this. "...dude, you don't look so good. Are you alright? You feel funny? Here, why don't you sit down..." Kenny reached out to put a hand on his shoulder-
Barry was just as surprised as Kenny when his arm suddenly shot up and slammed around Kenny's throat, clamping his windpipe shut. Barry tried to yelp in alarm, release Kenny, ask what the fuck was wrong with him, but he couldn't do it. Something was wrong: he couldn't control his body. Something was keeping him from doing anything. Something was forcing him from doing what he wanted. Something was controlling him. Something-
Darkrai, he realized, summoning my dark, throaty chuckled from somewhere behind him in his mind. It's Darkrai. This is his doing. I'm not in control. He's in my head!
So true, I told him coolly, causing his mind to quiver in fear. Except it's my head now.
Kenny's eyes widened in surprise when he saw his friend grin wider, revealing his pearly white teeth from within his head. Two and two seemed to fit together in his head, because he began to act accordingly, gripping Barry's hand in an effort to free himself. "Fight it," he gagged, scarcely able to form the words. "F-fight, m...man...don't...l-let it...t it do this...!"
"Too late," the boy gripping his throat sneered, voice boiling with darkness and satanic delight that didn't belong to him. "I've already won."
Kenny choked out something I didn't care to decipher, far too pleased with Barry's begging to pay any heed to his companion's discomfort. Please don't! No, no! Don't hurt him! Please! I-I'm sorry, alright? I'm sorry! I-I'm sorry, I'm so sorry, just don't do this! Don't kill him! Please!
Kill him? I thought in mock-surprise. Why, whatever gave you that idea? Now that you mentioned it, though, I think I'll do just that. Thank you for the suggestion, dear boy.
Barry continued to babble, begging for his friend's life, but his pleas fell on deaf ears, my only response being the raising of his free hand. There, Barry and Kenny stared in awe and dread as the pale skin of Barry's arm appeared to shudder, the image of his pale flesh turning to a cloud of dust that peeled away to reveal cold, dark flesh, a three-fingered hand - my hand - angled over to face him, claws flashing a ghastly purple. Both he and Barry could only watch in horror as I brought my arm back, clenched my fingers together, and plunged a Shadow Claw directly into Kenny's chest.
There was a spurt of blood backed by Kenny's gagging as Barry silently screamed "No!", both of which caused me to beam in dark delight as I wriggled my fingers slightly, the cold sensation of air on my wet skin suggesting that my attack had come out through his back, my movements only making him gurgle on his own blood. I forcibly ripped my claws out of his chest, grinning at the feeling of something snapping as I did so, the red beginning to leak out of the boy's mouth splurging out, dampening Barry's shirt and turning a patch on his scarf a sickly brown from the green and moist red. Pleased by his sickening gags and Barry's screams to stop, I grinned even further and brought Kenny in close to me and stared into his face, locking eyes with him watching as the pain and fear spiraled around in his head, forcing Barry to watch right along with me. Still gripping his throat, I gazed into his being, only continuing to grin as the life in his eyes began to dim, blood loss and physical trauma taking its toll.
Kenny died right there in my grip, and I made Barry watch the entire time.
When his body went limp, head tilting lifelessly to the side, staring blankly off to the side, Barry's screams reached a whole new octave of pain and grief. You bastard! he howled. Y-you...murdering...demon! Fucking demon! You killed him! You fucking killed him!
I ignored his petty insults and obvious accusations, using my arm's strength the fling Kenny's lifeless body off to the side to lay with his fallen pokemon. Instead of responding, I reached into his conscience and began to flip through his mind, going through his memories and knowledge, intruding him to the fullest extent. Through my violating, I learned that he, too, had a family: a mother, as well as a father named Palmer, whom he greatly admired. That could have some use later on...alongside Palmer was a boy named Paul, who he had come to view as a bit of a role model in being a trainer, and envied quite a bit for his strength...he wanted to meet him some time. I might just grant that wish.
Farther back, I found his knowing of two boys, Ash and Brock, who he had come to like a bit...plus a girl named Dawn, whom he knew from his childhood alongside Kenny. He had feelings of guilt for forgetting her name, as well as mild infatuation and a hesitant, wishy-washy need to see her again and make up for hurting her feelings...hmm. How very intriguing. Perhaps they would get a chance to meet again, though the reunion would be anything but happy...
Sensing my withdrawal from his conscience, Barry watched through my eyes as my blood-slick arm vanished, replaced by the image of his own pale, skinny arm, and gulped in fear as I began walking, a weight of dread landing somewhere within his formless body. W-w...where are you taking me?
I flicked back in his mind for a moment, then returned to him. The shore, I informed him, referring to the boat that he and Kenny had taken to get here. We're going to Canalave City...and then we're going to make a few phone calls. You're going to see your friends again.
M-my friends? Wh...why... Realization hit him like a ton of bricks, renewing his fear and abhorrence, frantically trying to keep me away. N-no, no, no! Don't do this! Please, I-I'm begging! D-don’t...d-don't hurt them... Knowing his pleas were useless, Barry receded slightly, curling into a ball in a cognitive corner and started hysterically sobbing, his wailing moans filled with dreadful knowing that the very worst was about to befall him. He was completely at my mercy, and I wanted to make him suffer. So suffer he would.
In the course of the next few days, Barry was going to become the single most miserable human being alive...and I was going to enjoy every last moment of it.