#frayed nightmare

[zombiethatsarobot]

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Frayed Nightmare

An Archive of Our Own, a project of the Organization for Transformative Works

SECOND WIND

An Archive of Our Own, a project of the Organization for Transformative Works

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[zombiethatsarobot]

Small chapter for Frayed Nightmare!

Hope you enjoy!

Chapter 27

Darkrai and Theo gently drifted on top of the ocean's water. It was so still that it looked like glass, with only the little ripples of the small waves distorting the reflection. Darkrai laid on his back, holding Theo in one arm, asleep. He stared at the night sky. The clouds had burned away from the light of the moon, revealing a crescent that was pink in hue. He rolled his eyes and tried to look away, until he couldn't anymore and stood up. 

“What do you want?? Stop mocking me!” 

Darkrai shouted at the moon, pointing at it with an indignant claw.

He heard a laugh coming from the moon, yet no one dared show their face. 

“As if I need to make a mockery of you, Darkrai… you do that yourself!” The voice taunted.

“How long are you going to play this charade of being the good guy? Let alone pretending to be more powerful than you really are… if the mortals found out you were cut off, they'd eat you alive… and who'd protect the boy then? You are not suitable to even protect him now! All it takes is three words… and you're dead…” 

The voice trailed towards Theo who was peacefully sleeping. 

“Afterall, he's not yours to have. I WAS THE ONE WHO BROUGHT HIM and I can easily take him away from you… like you did with your niece and nephew. Child killer, have you no shame?”

Darkrai growled and quickly picked up Theo and held him close to his chest.

“They made their choices when they tried to harm the boy! I have no remorse and I'll kill you too if it comes to that!”

The voice taunted him some more,

“You really think you know what you're doing? Theo doesn't belong with you, he was sent here to save the world! You're denying the safety of every single living being just to save one life! He has a piece of my power after all, if he's to be with anyone, it should be ME! That's where his place should be, right by my side!” 

Darkrai growled, showing his teeth.

“You are the LAST thing I'd ever let near Theo! I don't care if he's the key to saving the world! He's just a child, not a hero! I'm taking him back home from where you took him from! I don't care if it's far from here or even another plane of existence! I'll make sure he's home and away from your clutches!” 

The lunar voice laughed at him once more. He felt a hand hanging on his shoulder and pressing down, as if they were being hung onto. 

“Oh please, you have no idea where his home is. Let alone his true origin… You are way over your head. It'd be best for you to leave him to me so I can help him fulfill his destiny-”

Darkrai instinctively jerked his arm, pulling Theo away from the invisible force and grabbing onto the arm of the said being. This revealed the invisible being as none other than the lunar goddess herself, Cresselia. He stared at her in the eyes and spoke through his teeth.

“You will only get him from my cold dead arms you, wench…”

Cresselia scoffed and jerked her arm away. 

“Fine, if that's how it will be… but be warned, wraith… I am always watching… You can't keep Theo from his fate forever… You won't make it before he's even at the shores of Sinnoh itself! And I will spit on your dead body when you inevitably die from the consequences of your actions… mark my words, Darkrai”

The voice fades as the projection of the goddess disappears. 

Any fatigue Darkrai felt immediately went away. The mere thought of Cresselia coming to physically take Theo at any moment genuinely scared the Nightmare. He checked his arms, afraid that Cresselia took him when he wasn't looking. Only to see Theo blissfully sleeping, burying his face into his red crest. Relieved, Darkrai sat down and kept his eyes open. He wasn't going to let his guard down, even for a second. Throughout the night, he kept checking on Theo and keeping his eyes on the horizon. Soon the sun will rise and he won't have to worry about the lunar goddess for awhile. But he still couldn't shake that dreadful feeling he had. Knowing Cresselia, she was going to pull strings and he must prepare for that. 

As for Theo, he worried more about his fate. The boy was so young, yet he was sent to save the world? That didn't sit right with the nightmare god. As crazy as that seemed, the world was much crazier if it needed a six year old to save it. It got Darkrai thinking, was he doing the right thing? He never remembered doing anything good in his life, let alone his past lives. Yet this felt like it was the right thing to do… but why? If what Cresselia said was true, is it right to keep him away from his fate? To doom this world so that Theo can stay in blissful child ignorance? That can't be right… right? Cresselia was correct about him not knowing where Theo actually lived, but it had to be in Sinnoh! Theo said it himself, despite it being somewhat unreliable due to his lack of memories. 

Regardless, he was determined to take Theo back home, wherever it may be. Maybe he can even find the help to get his memories back and get to the root of the problem. Until then, the boy was safe and sleeping soundly in his arms. That was all that mattered to Darkrai. 

[zombiethatsarobot]

A bit of a Frayed Nightmare ramble!!!

Look, I wanted to rant about some stuff about my fic and didn't want to draw it out

So if you don't want to read this you can skip lmfao!

You still here? Cool!

So I wanted to really talk about the structure of the fic and what's going on in the world. Including the pantheon

You see, this fic is like a Greek play/tragedy. A LOT goes on in the background and for good reason too. And we, the audience, are technically apart of the fic too, the questions asked can be directed to the audience as well as the characters. Sure, I know, cliché of me to do that but it's looked kinda fun lol

As for the background movement, no matter how many steps Darkrai and Theo take, the gods take several more. Honing onto their location, being watched and judged accordingly. No action is left unseen and they will trully never be alone. For every actionin this world is caused by another, whether in the forefront or background, its never by accident. Even Darkrai shows these traits despite being cutoff from his god like power. As we seen when he played along with Captain Lucario's plan. He knew that killing Tama and taking the Primordial Orb would invoke the wrath of Scylla. He also knew that they'd celebrate their victory and party. Making them inebriated and off guard. A dark manipulator of circumstances. But we see how he doesn't exactly think things all the way through. Because now Scylla is dead and him and Theo are stuck on a small lifeboat, in the middle of the ocean with no plan. They only have the mercy of the sea to pray for. Darkrai knows Kyogre will find out about the death of his two demigod children and he will nit be pleased about it. But that will be the least of his worries...

So yea I know I have made a couple chapters of some undead creatures and seem to forget about them... but trust me I HAVENT! THEYRE NOT DONE YET! As I said before, every step a character takes, the others take an additional several steps towards them. We will be seeing more of these creatures and learn about them as time goes on... and I'll give you a hunt, they're not dimwitted undead/infected. It's actually not an infection at all! (But I won't say anymore until the time comes lol) let's just say there's more of them than the characters have definitely not escaped them, far from it in fact.

As for the many "villains" in this story that we've seen so far... they're not really villains, merely obstacles in Darkrai's path. The real villains are winding up in the back, coiled and ready to strike when the time comes... but they won't appear until much later... you see, these antagonists are actually thinly veils lessons Arceus has made for Darkrai. They are, in a way, parts of Darkrai that are flawed and evil. Now he's not trying to make darkrai perfect, far from it... he's trying to show Darkrai as to why he was cut off and how it was his [Darkrai's] fault. These antagonists are their own down fall. Their actions cause their demise in someway. For example, Scylla had the orb and could've swam away... but her pride got the better of her and she died by Darkrai's hand. Captain Lucario was greedy and thought he had the right to command the orb. which got him eaten. Tama was gluttonous and angry. He tried to eat Theo but Darkrai stopped him before that could happen. And he kept aiming for the boy, so Darkrai killed him... if he had ran away or even ignored the boy, Darkrai wouldn't have killed him... there is more of these that will occur in the story as the journey goes on. And darkrai will see it once it hits a certain point...

Now for the Pantheon Talk!!!

Now there is a lot of gods to go over so I won't talk about all of them... but I'll talk about a few major ones that play a role in the Frayed Nightmare story.

Cresselia, Giratina, Zygarde, Yveltal, Shaymin, and Regigigas.

Now we know most of Darkrai's story through the pictures and drawings I've made... But where is Cresselia, his counterpart?? The truth is, Cresselia is always there, in the form of a Cresent moon. Mocking Darkrai and his inability to even garner any praise from the mortals. Darkrai is her favorite target for her vitriol and snide remarks. Despite how most moral depictions of her being a soft, caring, and graceful goddess. Being merciful, kind, and gentle with those around her... truth is... she's not that. She is as cruel as Darkrai was in the passed. She just hides it by granting mortals with peaceful dreams or even removing Darkrai's nightmare in general. She has done the same things as Darkrai but she did them in a different way. Mortals flocked to her for protection and in turn, forced them denounce their original beliefs and joined her cause. She rules her court with an iron fist and often had jealousy over anyone who gets a little more praise than she does. Her most vile sin is how she picks and chooses who she helps... if she doesn't get something out of it, she won't lift a finger. Often times, her bargains consists of the mortal giving up their free will to serve her in order for her to break a curse or heal someone from Darkrai's nightmare... and she too has her own curse to spread if she is wronged in anyway. A sleeping sickness that can never be broken by normal means can spread. Cauing the victims to sleep and never wake up, with their body slowly withering away from lack of food and water. Now the only way to break this curse is ironically, Darkrai's nightmare... but that also is a bargain a mortal must make in order to save their loved ones. All in all, Cresselia make seem like a wise and caring goddess, but the truth is far darker than it seems...

Now for Giratina.... the queen of rot, the fallen god, the favorite of Arceus' children... Giratina is what you call the antithesis of Arceus. She is cruel and uncaring. All she desires is to overthrow Arceus and rule over the mortals for she believes she can rule them better. She was sealed away and due to this, her anger is unruly and unmatched... if she is released, all of hell will break loose... she is the master of manipulation and can even manipulate most gods. Cresselia being one if them... but don't let this fool you, she is more than willing to do things herself... she has many loyal followers in every island, every region, it only takes one word and they will do her work.

Now for Zygarde!!!

This is a tricky ine, as they are as mysterious as they are powerful. The God of balance and judgement, Zygarde takes many forms. But mist see them as nothing more than a grub... a measly worm... but even 1 grub can overpower both Yveltal and Xerneas combined. Which is why even Yveltal himself stays clear of his creator. Zygarde is spread across the regions as these grubs or cells. They can never meet unless they absolutely have to. If he combines all his cells, that means the land you see is about to be judged accordingly. Often mistaken for Arceus, Zygarde is a rather powerful god who will smite large quantities of living beings or even bring them back to life if he sees fit. He is also the judge of the dead. When a mortal dies, Yveltal will transport their soul to Zygarde and he will send them to where they need to go... or send them back as a ghost type to work out unfinished business. He is not black and white, he is aware of nuances and circumstance. But he does not tolerate pure evil and will sort them out. The only souls he can't judge are the gods themselves. They are important to the world can can't be removed no matter how much he hates them. But he is the one who delays their rebirth as long as he can until he can't no longer. He's also the reason why Yveltal dares not to step out of line in most cases. The rules he made for his children are simple and if one dares to break them, they are swiftly punished and made to become a tree or a cocoon. It's like a timeout but their power is still in the world. They just can't outright use it to their whim until their timeout is over.

Now for Yveltal... bacon birb...

He is one of the most evil gods out there. Both the God of death and chaos, he brings his miasma of disease and sorrows upon the world. He also is the one who takes the souls of mortals to Zygarde on two ways. Either by eating the corpse or by swooping in and taking them. Which affects how Zygarde judges the soul. If eaten, the mortal is marked by their sins and Zygarde reads the tests on their skin of every evil deed they've done. If they were carried away, they're deemed a good soul and is given a choice for reincarnation or to go to the afterlife. Either way, all will meet him in the end. Despite being evil and chaotic, Yveltal has STRICT rules for him and his followers. If they dare attempt to break the rules, they are swiftly eaten by Yveltal himself. One if these rules is that his kin cannot eat the living unless told otherwise. Very rarely does he try to act on his own accord, but when he does, it's never good. Often the cause of many wars, famine, and pestilence. A feast for him and his followers and a bunch of paperwork for Zygarde and Xerneas. One of his main favorites to eat are gods. For they are divine to taste and never rot naturally. So he has to be the one to clean them up if they happen to die. But his followers aren't allow to partake in this special meal, in fear if them growing powerful, Yveltal forbades them from even taking a nibble.

Shaymin time!

Shaymin is a mischievous god. They play by their own rules but they aren't evil. Quite the opposite, in fact. They are the cure to any disease or curse that revolves around corruption. Often, they are seen cleansing burnt forests with new life or even whispering the cure to diseases in the ears of doctors and mages. Due to this, most dark gods want them dead, so they hide away. Only rarely do you see them wonder outside of their hidden home. They often have a trail of flowers and plants follow them thanks to their life giving properties. It's the perk of being one of Xerneas' siblings afterall.

Now last but not least... Regigigas!!!

The 2nd creation from Arceus' earth, Regigigas is the one to thank for all your islands and mountains. A golem who served Arceus well, Regigigas pulled all the continents on his back to form the diverse world we know today. When his job was done, he was allowed to rest enterally until he is needed again. However, he grew lonely... due to this loneliness, a terrible tragedy happened... known as the Regi Slaughter....

So the story goes, When everything was still settling and mortals were new to the world, Regigigas felt lonely and asked Arceus if he could build others like him.

Which Arceus said yes and Regigigas got straight to work. Building the Regi's we see now, he breathed life into them and they woke.

Well when he tried to introduce the Regis to the mortals, they attacked. It was unprovoked, the Regis began to destroy and maim any mortals they saw.

To protect the mortals he loved, he began to destroy the Regis he created... until only 3 were left... regirock, regi-ice, and registeel.... he couldn't bring himself to destroy his first creations... so he locked them away in theor respective temples so that they would never hurt anyone... and no one can find. These elaborate maze like temples are designed so that none can enter and none can leave.

In shame, Regigigas vowed to never create life again and sealed himself away... as he saw he was responsible for the deaths of many innocent lives...

But despite this, he knows ALL that happens in the earth. Every disease, every war, every cure, every celebration and tragedy. He knows it all. And if asked nicely, he may share some history and knowledge with you... but you have to find him first

[zombiethatsarobot]

Hey guys hehehehehehe late night chapter post of Frayed Nightmare!!

A bit of warning, the last chapter does have strong depictions of electrocution so if you don't like that stuff you might wanna skip it!

OTHERWISE! I HOPE YOU ENJOY!

CHAPTER 22

The boat swayed with the waves, the creaking of wood made the ship sound alive. Theo shook in his tiny cage, nestled by some pipes along the wall. He could see behind Captain Lucario's desk and the back of his legs. Holding onto one of his tails, he tried to test the lock on the cage to see if it was truly locked. Sticking his fin out of the bar, he delicately pulled on the lock. The small clinking of his finger touching the metal caused the shadowy being to lunge at him with unblinking eyes and sharp teeth. It startled the boy and made him fall back into the forest corner of his cage. 

His yelp alerted Captain Lucario and he scolded the shadowy gremlin. From his tone, he was speaking through his teeth. Like how some disgruntled parents would when their kids misbehaved.

“SABLEYE! At ease, we need the boy unharmed for the plan to work. You can have your fun when we're done with both of them, understand??”

The gremlin cackled and nodded as he scampered away on all fours. 

Theo felt his eyes fill with tears as he cried in fear. This annoyed the captain, so he placed a blanket over the cage to muffle his crying. It was thick enough to block out most of the light in the room, but it didn't help with Theo's fear. 

Through the pipes, Darkrai could hear all the commotion going on in the captain's quarters. He could hear every sniffle and yelp Theo made in that room. It made his heart ache and his anger boil. He wanted to hold Theo close yet he was too far away and weakened by this band around his wrist. His crying didn't stop, in fact it sounded louder, he needed to comfort him. He needed to tell him everything was going to be ok. He'll save him and die trying. 

Testing the waters, he tried speaking into an open pipe in an attempt to soothe the boy. Keeping his voice down so that only the boy can hear him.

“Theo, can you hear me? Are you ok?”

Theo heard the dark whisper of his guardian and moved a bit closer to the open pipe. 

“Dad?? Dad! I can hear you!”

“Shh! Keep your voice down! I think these are communication pipes used to talk across the ship. Others can hear this conversation if we get too loud”

Darkrai said, trying to keep his own voice was getting any louder. 

“Theo, listen, I don't know what's going on here, but I will get us out… for now, we have to play along. Don't try to escape, they'll get suspicious and amp the security here”

“But how? How will we escape? That band he put on you- it- it stopped you!”

Darkrai steadily lifted his arm as the band made his body feel very heavy, but he also felt weirdly stronger with each attempt of moving around.

“I know… but I wont stop trying. I'll find you and when I do, I'll get us out of here, I promise… until then, just play along”

“ok dad…”

Darkrai made a grumble to Theo calling him dad. He didn't feel like correcting the boy at this time, so he let it slide. However, Captain Lucario heard the boy talking and uncovered the cage to scold him. 

“OI! QUIET DOWN!” 

Darkrai heard as the voice trailed away from the pipe and what sounded like him moving Theo away from the pipe, effectively ending their conversation. This made the nightmare angry as he growled. His mind began to plot. His darker thoughts bubbled from the recesses of his mind and onto the surface. Oh the ways he would make that dog suffer once he makes a move. These thoughts contained many different ways to cause as much suffering and pain as possible. From endless nightmares or ripping hom limbs from limb, the dark god himself was creative in the art of pain.

It almost filled Darkrai's heart with delight until he caught himself. These dark thoughts, these nasty plots of cruelty, how could he ever think of such things? What would Theo think if he saw what he imagined? Theo would be terrified of what he saw, he'd fear Darkrai just like the rest. He couldn't allow himself to be so depraved, like the visions he saw when his eyes closed. He won't allow it, he was better than that. Atleast, he felt he was.

. . .

Day by day, he noticed how infrequent anyone came to check on him. The only times anyone would come down was to give him food and water. Admittedly, they were feeding him so much it felt like they were fattening him up to eat him later on. All this food and lack of supervision, he started to try and move more and more despite the band making his body slow and heavy. Little by little, he felt oddly stronger and healthier. His body grew more and more stronger despite his lack of power. However, he still had to act as if he could barely move. Being hyperbolic is how weak he was and having the guards push the food close to him so he could reach. Often slumping over to his side and keeping his back to the guards to sell the act even more. He could tell they hated it, just from the amount of Cheri berries they kept giving him even when he told them he hated how they made his stomach hurt. They kept feeding him the same berry over and over again. 

At first, he wouldn't have accepted the food, as he feared they'd poison it or neglect to feed Theo. But when he heard Captain Lucario through the pipeline, explaining that Theo had to eat or else, he knew this was a part of his escape plan. This fueled Darkrai's decision to not only eat, but to overcome the band on his body. When no one looked, he started his daily routine of forcing himself to stand, punching the air, doing sit ups and push ups, anything to keep his mind and body moving was key to their escape. Once in awhile, he'd hear Theo speak about him despite not exactly knowing what he was saying. But he could feel it was him telling the captain that “his dad will get him.” Despite how encouraging that sounded, he wished Theo wouldn't taunt the captain so much. If he stopped giving the boy food, he'd go on a hunger strike. Luckily, it seemed the captain didn't care for taunts, but it didn't help with Darkrai's anger towards him. 

Darkrai's body had become bigger throughout the days he spent in that cage. It would've been about a few weeks since they first sailed out. Moments at a time, the captain would allow Theo to see Darkrai. Albeit he was still in that cage and they couldn't be left alone or even be allowed to even touch. Always a few inches away. Still keeping the act of being weak, he only opened one of his eyes when he spoke to Theo. Often the boy would plead for him to reach out but Darkrai was keen on his pathetic act. The only indication he gave the boy was a wink. A wink of mischievous planning, an act of cunning. Theo was oblivious to what the nightmare was even doing, but deep down he knew his guardian was up to something and kept his mouth shut. 

“oh, my poor sweet boy… Is that you? I can barely open my eyes, they're so heavy, I can barely move…” Darkrai said in a weak voice, overplaying his condition and even flopping his arm as if he can barely lift it.

“Theo… have you been eating…? You fare better than I have and yet I fear they neglect to feed you…”

Theo covered his mouth so as to not giggle at Darkrai's acting. 

“Yes, I've eaten! But have you?” Theo asked, feigning his worry.

“I have… but I have trouble, this band is so powerful… they have to push the food close to my face so I can reach… the Cheri berries they feed me have made my body bloat and even heavier… please my boy, don't tempt the captain's anger… do as he says my boy…” Darkrai gave him a cheeky wink right before groaning and acting like he was too weak to talk like an actor in a dramatic Greek play.

The captain took Theo away, like he did the last few times. Seeing him climb up the steps and close the hatch doors, Darkrai sprang to his feet once more. His body was still heavy but he was no longer bothered by it. Just like he did since the beginning of their journey, he started his routine all over again. He had mastered this band, as it had no more power over him. Soon, the captain will have no more power over him. 

CHAPTER 23

The day had finally come, the ship came to a halt in the shallow waters. The sudden stop woke Darkrai from his trance. The hatch doors open and in comes the captain of the ship with two burly crewmen. The nightmare laid there in a pathetic manner. Feigning weakness, he groaned and made an effort to slowly turn to face the captain as he opened the cell. 

“Rise and shine, Darkrai! You're going to be working for your keep now!”

The two cremated grabbed darkrai by his shoulders and put him on his feet. Restraining his arms from moving. They struggled to keep him up, one even commented on how heavy Darkrai had become. The nightmare snarked, 

“I told you Cheri berries made me bloat…” 

They hoisted him up to be at eye level to captain Lucario.

“Well! I'm glad you made yourself comfortable! Now you might be wondering, why do I have you and the boy. You see, I need you to use your sneaky nature to steal something for me”

“Sneaky? But I can barely move! How can I steal anything if my hands can barely be lifted above my head? I'd be too slow!” Darkrai said as he flicked his wrists in discomfort.

“You don't have to be fast, just sneaky… you see you will be going into the lair of Tama… the scourge of the beach! He's inept and vain! Despite your weakened state, you can easily steal something from him if you're quiet enough… and you and the boy, I swear, I have to really hone in to even hear you two! And who better to steal something while someone sleeps than the boogeyman himself! I mean that's your specialty afterall, stealing kids right from their beds. That's something you do, right? That's how you get your boy?”

He asked this, not expecting Darkrai to answer. Darkrai had to restrain himself from outright lashing out from the captain's comment about Theo. Darkrai spoke, his voice laced with venom.

“What do you want…?”

“You see, that's what I like about you, straight to the point! I need you to steal the Primordial Orb. You can't miss it!”

“And if I get this… will you let me and the boy go?”

“Yes yes you two will be free to go and frolic to wherever you need to go!”

Darkrai perked up a bit when he said this, the way he conveyed his tone, he could tell he was lying. In a twisted way, Darkrai was actually happy that he lied. It meant when the time came to strike, he won't feel guilty for what he'll do to him. 

The old wraith nodded along as he was carried to the end of the ship and dropped onto a lifeboat. There, Theo was thrown aboard with the captain. Dropping down, the two crewmen set the lifeboat onto the water and began to row to shore. A steady fog blanketed the shore, covering the large mouth of a cave formation. Once ashore, there was a single large stake that stood at the teeth of this cave. Darkrai knew what this was. Eyes widening, he turned back to Captain Lucario as both Darkrai and Theo were tied to the stake on Lucario's command. 

He watched the two workers stepped back and got on their knees, along with their captain. They bowed and kept their heads down to avoid eye contact.

“You're sacrificing us!!” 

Was all Darkrai could say as the ground shook and the stake began to move. The sand beneath their feet fell as the shaking continued. The stake in the ground began to rise, leaving Darkrai and Theo hanging by the rope wrapped around them. They weren't tied to a stake, they were tied to the crown that sat on Tama's head.

Theo screamed in fear as Darkrai comforted him. A large claw grabbed both Theo and the wraith with a surprisingly gentle grasp. With one in each claw, they were brought to Tama's eye. It was hard to see as his shiny shell gleamed as if a constant light was on him. He examined them closely, weighing their worth. Making a deep humming sound, he eyed the nightmare up and down before turning his attention on Theo. Seeing his tail lights glowing intrigued the behemoth. Then he saw the backside of his fin, a mark of a god. A worth more than gold. He gave Darkrai another glance and visibly grimaced but decided to take him regardless. His greedy laugh echoed through the cave as he took the two inside. Still bowing, Captain Lucario and his men looked up to see if Tama was gone before standing up. The shine of Tama's shell reflected off of walls of the cave until he was deep enough for it to disappear. 

In the cave, Tama laughed and chanted to himself, 

“OH OHOHOH OH! I STRUCK GOLD!!! I STRUCK GOLD! LOOK UPON ME AND SEE MY FINDINGS THAT MAKE MY HEART SWELL WITH GLEE!”

He said this while looking at Theo, but when he looked at Darkrai, he cringed. 

“Well, maybe this piece of gold has some dirt on it… BUT IT'S GOLD NONETHELESS!”

Inside the deep crevice of the cave, piles of gold and riches lay about. A warm yellow glow filled the area as if a fire was steadily burning. Darkrai's eyes trailed onto the floor as they entered a room carved within the cave’s wall. The piles of gold ended where bones began. Various species laid across messily within this room. Their bones were bleach white and clean of any flesh. Darkrai looked up at Theo who was shivering. 

“It's ok, Theo!” Darkrai shouted as he tried to get his arms freed. 

“Oh? What do we have here??? A nightmare protecting something so precious??? It's enough to make me cry! Alas everything is not ok, not for you anyway!”

Tama threw Darkrai against the wall and spat out a viscous fluid that instantly froze Darkrai onto the wall. 

“I'll let you marinate for a bit before I start picking at you…”

He then turned to Theo who was still in a cage. 

“As for you… I have something special!”

His voice trailed off back into the room filled with gold, leaving the nightmare alone. Shivering from the cold ice surrounding his body, he looked at his wrist where the band was. The band was cracked and his body felt light again. He smiled even though his body shook from the sudden cold blast of air. His plan had already begun to form as the giant lobster walked away. Slowly he started to flex his muscles to slowly break the ice, so as to not make a lot of noise. 

Once freed, he lurked in the shadows, his natural habitat. He slowly followed the scourge and stayed in the dark corners of the cave. Watching and waiting for the right moment to strike.

. . .

Theo couldn't see much from the cage he was in, but he was able to see the large shellfish gleefully grinning from ear to ear. His chitinous armor shined as bits of gold and coin stuck to it. The glare of it made Theo's eyes hurt, but he didn't lose focus. He knew this giant was bad news and was planning to eat him just from how his mandibles salivated. He sat Theo down on a pile of gold as he cleaned off a spot to sit in, everything had to be perfect for such a rare occasion. 

The demigod sat down leisurely and picked up Theo's cage.

“OH SUCH A DELICATE MORSEL! A TREAT FOR A GOD SUCH AS I!”

With his huge claws, he delicately opened the cage's top and pulled the small fish boy out from within. Such delicate and gentle work for such nefarious means. Theo had to act quick, he was being lowered right into his greedy maw. Then he saw the many paintings on the walls, they had pictures of both Tama and some red Gyarados terrorizing mortals for fun. Some even showed him in all his glory.

“WAIT! WAIT! BEFORE YOU EAT ME! Who are you?”

This gave the demigod pause, 

“WHO AM I? Have you been living under a rock??”

Tama asked now curious as to why this mortal had no idea who this majesty is. It felt offensive that someone wouldn't know who HE is! Though, it wouldn't hurt for a little conversation before dinner. He humored the fish boy and said in a grandiose tone, he was very cocksure of himself.

“YOU, YOUNG BOY, ARE IN THE PRESENCE OF THE ONE AND ONLY… TAMA! THE SCOURGE OF THE BEACH! THE SON OF KYOGRE!”

He struck a pose that caused Theo to get whiplash from being thrown around in his claw.

“IT SEEMS YOU MORTALS HAVE BEEN IGNORANT TO MY NAME LATELY. . . I GUESS I SHOULD START RELIVING THE GOOD OLD DAYS AND MAKING IT KNOWN AGAIN!”

Theo gulped nervously,

“W–w-well! I am only 6! I just got here! I can't help it!”

Tama stared at him,

“6?? You mean 6 centuries old? DON'T TRY TO FOOL ME, DEMIGOD! I KNOW A MARK OF A GOD WHEN I SEE IT!”

Tama said as he pulled on Theo's fin, showing a faint feather mark on it.

“Don't try to play dumb with me, I know how much anything is worth... JUST BY LOOKING AT IT! I don't care if we are distant cousins or some hero sent to stop the end of the world-” 

He said the last part mockingly, as if he heard that tale a thousand times. 

“IT ALL ENDS THE SAME! YOU SAW THE BONES IN THAT ROOM, AND THAT'S WHERE YOUR STORY WILL END!”

Theo was hanging by only the fin pinched between the claw of this monster. It hurt and it took everything in him to not scream and cry. Being lifted above Tama's head, he could tell he was going to be dropped into his mouth, so he shouted to distract him again. From his viewpoint, he was able to see one of the paintings better, Kyogre was in it and it had Tama and the same red Gyarados there too. 

“Wait!!! WAIT!!! If I'm such a rare treat to have, wouldn't that red Gyarados be angry you ate me without them???”

The crustacean paused again, now clearly annoyed that his meal won't shut up.

“wouldn't that red Gyarados be angry you ate me without them- I TRIED TO EAT MY SISTER, SCYLLA! But it would've taken a week because she's absolutely humongous and I got better things to do- NOW SHUT UP! YOU'RE RUINING MY MEAL!”

Again, Theo was raised up into the air above Tama's head. Like an emperor dropping a grape in his mouth, he released his claws  and allowed gravity to do his work. His eyes were closed as his mandibles opened so he could solely focus on the taste and savor every last bit of Theo's holy blood. 

CHAPTER 24

Falling from Tama's claws, Theo screamed as he braced himself for his doom. The large lobster wasn't paying attention to his pleads as he awaited the sweet taste of a rare meal. From the shadows, Darkrai lunged out and caught the boy before he could fall into the living meat grinder. Cradling the boy in his arms, he watched the demigod sit up when he didn't feel Theo enter his mouth. He let out a loud bellow and charged at the nightmare. His legs scuttled across the gold coins embedded into the floor. Shaking the piles of riches and causing them to avalanche. 

Darkrai flew above the rock wall, narrowly being hit by the charging beast. 

“YOU! GET BACK HERE!!! I WON'T LET YOU STEAL MY MEAL!”

The giant bellowed.

Darkrai landed on the rocks Tama was sitting up against and zapped him with a beam of electricity. However, it bounced right off his shell and back towards the nightmare. Luckily, it missed him. Tama laughed at Darkrai and taunted him as he rushed him, 

“HA! YOU'RE GONNA HAVE TO TRY HARDER THAN THAT! MY SHELL IS IMPENETRABLE!”

His Crowned head collided with the rocks that Darkraicwas standing on, but the nightmare was too quick. He jumped once more and climbed onto a high ledge. 

“Darkrai! He's too big! What are we going to do???”

Darkrai smirked and patted the boy's head. 

“Just stay here! It's all part of the plan-”

He was grabbed by Tama's claw and dragged back into the arena. 

“YOU'RE NOT GETTING AWAY THAT EASILY!!”

He bellowed as he slammed Darkrai against the jagged rock wall and threw him right into the rock slab, cracking it in the process. 

The nightmare lay there for a moment, dazed and seeing double. He blinked his eyes and regained focus, seeing Tama climb up the wall of the cave to grab Theo. Quickly, he got back on his feet and zapped Tama's legs, causing him to fall down on his back. As he struggled to get up, Darkrai took advantage of his position and blasted the dangling stalactites above. One by one they fell on top of Tama, covering him in dust and rubble. 

Everything went still, both the boy and Darkrai caught their breaths. Slowly, the nightmare floated to the ledge to check on Theo. Standing there, the boy ran up and hugged Darkrai tightly, burying his face into his chest as his savior wrapped his arms around him. He shushed and soothed the boy as he cried, processing what just happened. 

“It's ok, it's ok, shoooooosh… I got you…” Darkrai whispered. 

Although their moment was tender, it didn't last. From the pile of rock, it began to stir. Darkrai noticed and looked back to see Tama rising from the dust, now enraged. Darkrai quickly let go of Theo and told him to stay put as he dealt with Tama. 

Darkrai flew back down and taunted Tama. In the middle of his mockery of the demigod, he noticed the underside of Tama's belly was no longer covered in coins or shell. It was bare and pulsating with his rapid heartbeat. 

“What's this? Did a god get struck down by a lowly mortal?? I thought your shell was impenetrable!”

Tama roared as he charged towards Darkrai. In his fit of rage, Darkrai slipped into the shadows and slithered behind  Tama as he broke another rock wall. However, a bright blue glow came from the rock as Tama destroyed it with his head. Rolling down the broken pieces of stone stared an orb with a unique symbol on it. There was no doubt in Darkrai's mind… this was the Primordial Orb he was told to steal. 

Tama shook his head and noticed how Darkrai stared at this orb, a relic of his father's, something many have tried to steal before, and failed doing so. 

“He put you up to this, didn't he…”

Tama rumbled as Darkrai snapped his head towards the wounded demigod. This moment of clarity stunned Darkrai.

“I'm almost tempted to let you take it… so you can watch as his body fails him… and see him go mad… it means so much to that damned dog but he's too much of a coward to even steal it himself… so he brings a fallen god… to do his bidding… Tell me, how much did he offer to pay you?”

Darkraied stayed quiet as he growled in his throat. Tama's eyes narrowed as he noticed Darkrai's true motive.

“You're not doing this for money…”

His head and eyes trail up to the ledge where Theo was peeking out from. 

“That boy doesn't belong to you, boogeyman… He belongs to the God that brought him here… You are nothing more than a pretender… You can't possibly think you're able to save the boy? Raise him? That's not you! That's nothing like you! All you do is hide in the shadows until the moment is right… before you snuff out any light you see… How long can you keep this ‘good guy’ act? We both know, you are nothing more than a coward… and like most cowards… THEY DIE RUNNING!”

The demigod reared up to charge, his legs extending to attack. 

Tama rushed and swung his claws around aimlessly as he went to crush Darkrai in his path. He was going for both him and Theo when 

ZAP!

A bolt of lightning came from Darkrai's arm and through his clawed fingers. The demigod fell back, convulsing violently as the electricity surges through his body. Darkrai paused for a moment to see if Tama would move. When he did, he stuck him again and again. Relentlessly, the nightmares true face appeared in that moment as he ruthlessly attacked the demigod while he was down. But he didnt care, why would he? He hath no care for Theo's life. That was all the reason the dark wraith needed to enact such a cardinal sin. 

The lightning tore through Tama's insides and ripped his heart into pieces. Steam and smoke poured through his orifices as Darkrai continued to electrocute him from the inside out. Only when Darkrai felt tired did he stop. He watched for a minute to see if Tama was still alive, the smell of burnt shell filled the air. Darkrai hovered over the body and saw Tama's face was burned out. 

He was dead.

[zombiethatsarobot]

A HUGE upload for Frayed Nightmare!!! I hope I didn't keep you long!

Now do you guys perfer the shorter posts or the longer ones?

Let me know!

CHAPTER 13

The boat swayed from the rough sea, everyone who remained gathered below the deck to claim a bed. It was dreadfully quiet, no one dared to speak under a whisper. A few soft sobs could be heard as they mourned the ones they have lost. Darkrai managed to get Theo and May a bed of their own. The old Garchomp grumbled a response he couldn't understand as he helped her lay down.

“Rest here, you've done enough…” Darkrai whispered to May before turning to Theo.

He clinged to Darkrai's leg as he felt sick with fear. His tail lights flickering as the boat swayed.

“Theo, you need to catch some rest-”

“I don't want to! I want to stay with you…please?” Theo said with a shaky voice.

The nightmare picked up the boy and held him despite his muscles aching. But he'd do anything if it meant the boy wouldn't be afraid. That would be hard as everyone was afraid, not only of their circumstances but of the possibility of getting lost. With the waves getting bigger and the night beginning to rise, it would only take one blind turn to doom them all.

With the light of the lantern dimming, most of the townspeople began to sleep, with only a few staying up.

One of them approached the old nightmare, with May resting, Darkrai was the only one they could look up to at this moment. Setting aside their disdain for the nightmare, they had to get answers.

“Um… sir… do you know where we're going? Or more importantly, if the ship is going the right way”

Darkrai opened one eye to look at the pokemon who was questioning him. He pulled out his orb and tried to open the map.

“These are self steering boats, they are made on a track to go to the SeaSide City port… If we play our cards right, we can get there in 2 days. Just take this moment to rest and-”

“What about food or supplies?? We just dropped everything and ran! Will there be enough?? You've done nothing but sat here and coddled that kid of yours! You're a Rescuer, right? Why aren't you doing your job??”

Theo began to stir from the yelling and Darkrai's blood boiled. With the boy in his arms, he held back his tongue, but he wasn't, the pokemon would've gone flying with a smack. Darkrai gritted his teeth and kept his tone low and stern.

“Sir, I need to watch your tone, you're disturbing the other passengers…”

The other pokemon was about to shout but Darkrai gave him a glare that cut down his confidence. He mumbled a small apology before sulking away.

Darkrai looked at Theo who was half way asleep, then back at everyone who was staring at him. The pokemon was right, they hadn't actually checked if there was enough supplies or if there was any to begin with. He placed Theo into the nook between his head and shoulder and went out onto the deck for privacy. In reality, he was about to explode with anger and just needed to get out of that cramped space. He pulled out the orb and tried to make contact with the other ships.

“Ampharos, anyone, can you hear me? Everyone is restless and it's starting to get on my nerves”

There was a pregnant pause before a voice came from the orb,

“Oh thank the All Father! I was starting to think you guys didn't make it!”

Mr.Ampharos practically shouted from the orb.

“Well we lost 18 people… I don't know what happened but they were just…gone! May and I tried to save them but something pulled them into the depths”

“Oh no…”

“That's not all, May is about worn out and everyone on the ship is worried about supplies… I'm not a sailor, do you know where the food and supplies are? Im at my wits end and-”

Darkrai started to ramble a bit, it was so unlikely of him.

“Is the boy ok?” Mr.Ampharos asked, snapping the old wraith from his rambling.

“What? Yes he's fine, he's just sleeping but-”

“Then don't worry about it, take a deep breath Darkrai. You can look in the morning, you need YOUR rest. If you don't, you can't protect him or everyone else.”

Mr.Ampharos’ bluntness shocked Darkrai, but he didn't question it. He was the guild master after all. If anyone knew what to do, it was him. So if he told him to rest, he might as well take his own advice and rest while he still can. Seeing that Mr.Ampharos was right, he took a couple deep breaths and calmed down.

“Right… right… thank you Mr.Ampharos. I'll contact you in the morning”

He put the orb away and walked back to the sleeping quarters. He ignored the stares and just placed Theo in a bed and sat on the floor next to him. Closing his eyes, Darkrai began to rest for the first time since getting on the ship.

CHAPTER 14

The sea had become calm and flat as a cool mist settled upon the water. The constant creaking of the ship has put Darkrai in a deep, restful trance. He hadn't known how long he was in this state until he felt someone shaking his shoulder. Without opening his eyes, he let out an acknowledging hum.

“Darkrai…? Darkrai! Please get up…” the voice was small and quiet despite it yelling.

“Dad, please!”

This caused Darkrai to instantly wake from his meditation. He looked down to see Theo was shaking his arm. The boy can see Darkrai was bewildered for being called “Dad” so suddenly and was corrected.

“You mean Mr.Darkrai… Remember I'm not your dad”

“sorry…” Theo said meekly and looked at the wooden flooring.

Darkrai saw his look and sighed. He quickly changed the subject to avoid awkwardness.

“What's the matter? You woke me up or something… didn't you?”

Theo perked up a bit, “Well May has taken control of the ship and she's giving out food to everyone! I thought you wanted some so I brought you your ration”

Theo gave Darkrai a knapsack of various berries and apples. He gave a half smile and nodded.

“Well, thank you Theo”

He took a bite out of an apple and stood up. His joints popping from being in one position for so long. He stretched and picked up Theo before heading towards the deck outside. He saw a line of everyone getting their rations and May distributing to them. Darkrai levitated past the crowd and stood by her and helped as some kids were getting agitated by the lack of food. They talked while they were handing out the rations.

“Oh, so you're up finally?” May said to jokingly jab at ol’ pitch black.

“I wasn't sleeping, I was merely resting my eyes”

“Yea, resting your eyes for almost an entire three days”

“Three days???”

May nodded, “yea, three days and most of this morning”

Darkrai was astonished at this fact. He thought he was resting for a couple hours but DAYS???

“I didn't want to wake you since you've already done so much. But your boy there was quite helpful while you were resting. I'm almost tempted to have him as my right hand- err- claw!”

Theo giggled at May's joke while Darkrai just rolled his eyes at it.

He took a moment to look out into the mist just to see how thick it was. At Least the desk could still be clearly seen but anything beyond the railing was covered in a blanket of fog.

“Has it always been this foggy?”

May nodded, “yea, ever since someone said they saw Rayquaza the waves have stopped. Then this fog came in due to the lack of wind”

Darkrai felt a bit uneasy at this information. Rayquaza wouldn't come down unless Groudon and Kyogre were fighting. Even then they still don't come down from the ozone just because of a petty squabble, it was beneath them to do so.

“You sure it was Raquaza they saw?”

May shrugged, “I wasn't there to see it but with the lack of weather, other than the mist, I can't deny it”

Darkrai's eyes narrowed a bit as he looked on into the mist. If Rayquaza was actually here, there wouldn't even be mist. Something in his gut told him this wasn't the doing of that storm God, but he kept it to himself to leave room for doubt.

Once all the passengers were given their food, May and Darkrai closed the crate and set it aside. With everyone going back under the deck, Darkrai and May finally get a moment to talk about their predicament without any getting nosey.

“So… how long before we run out of food?”

“a week, it seems losing 18 pokemon gave us a bit extra… I feel bad for saying that but it's true. There's almost 100 on this ship and a quarter of them are kids”

Darkrai nodded along as she talked,

“The orb says we will be there in 2 days but it's been more than that. The orbs do not account for weather and ocean conditions. With no wind, these boats don't have the power to move”

May huffed and rested her face in her claw as she looked out from the fog.

“What about pirates? We're sitting ducks if we don't get moving”

May shook her head, “Actually there are no pirates… atleast not in these waters”

Darkrai nodded, “Let me guess, bad weather conditions?”

“No, we aren't sure, my theory is that it's too risky to get stranded without a motor out here. They can be both loud and a pain to operate without certain pokemon to fix them if they run down”

“Maybe we should invest in one in the future”

May chuckled at Darkrai's deadpan remark.

“Always the witty one… aren't you, my lord”

“Whoa ok, you've been calling me that since the catacombs! What's that all about? I know for sure you're not one of my followers, they all died a long time ago and you don't look nearly that old”

Darkrai said, defensively.

May calmly tried to explain herself despite his dismay.

“Well you're a god… right? Isn't that customary to address you as such? Afterall, you never steered me wrong ever since I devoted myself to you”

Darkrai paused, there was conflict in his eyes.He doesn't remember the last time he actually was addressed as such. Then again, he doesn't even remember most of what his past lives were like. Merely flashes of carnage and war, but nothing to indicate any real status. He sighed and crossed his arms.

“Look, just forget it, Whatever god I was that you worshiped is no more. I hardly count as a god now. I don't even deserve your worship. You should just let it go and live out your life without having me all wrapped in it… besides… you'd be alot happier being a Rescuer than one of my followers… ”

He headed towards the upper deck to get away. May tried to stop him but decided to let him go. He could tell May didn't mean to hurt him like this but he just didn't want to talk about it anymore. He just wanted to distract himself from it. All until Theo piped up hearing the whole conversation.

“Wait, you're a god? Like a superhero with cool super powers?”

Theo was awestruck despite Darkrai's horrified look on his face. He didn't want to burst the boy's bubble, he was too young to understand. This boy's innocence was all he had left, he couldn't let ruin that by correcting him.

“Um, yea… a superhero…”

He didn't like saying the last part. It felt wrong to call himself a hero.

“Really?? That's so cool! I don't know why everyone is so mean to you since you’re a superhero!”

Theo pouted and crossed his arms.

“Maybe they prefer super villains instead”

Theo said matter-of-fact.

“Um Theo, it's a bit more complicated than that. Why don't you just keep it to yourself…”

He had an idea pop in his head.

“Every superhero has a secret identity, we can't have you telling everyone about this little secret of mine. It would ruin my identity! So I need you to keep this secret between us, ok?”

Theo nodded and said “shhh!” gesture as he smiled and giggled.

“Now, what did you hear?”

“Nothing!”

“That's right, nothing… nothing at all”

He readjusted Theo on his shoulder and kept a lookout for anything that may lurk in the mist.

CHAPTER 15

The mist hadn't left since that morning, even with the wind picking up the mist was thicker now. So thick, no one could even see the railing of the deck. In fear of someone going overboard, May instructed everyone to stay inside. Despite their cramped living, no one questioned it. Through the windows, they could see just how intense the fog was. May have even tried to contact Mr.Ampharos but it seemed they weren't fairing well. A storm popped up and caused them to go off course from how severe it was. Seeing how they couldn't do anything about it, they sent their best wishes to them.

Just like routine before, Darkrai and May gave everyone their rations. Only they found they were a bit short on food. Darkrai forgoed his rations and gave them to Theo and followed May to the cargo quarters to see there were crates that were opened and rummaged through. There was no trace of the food however, no apple cores or paper wrapping. It was like they just vanished.

Darkrai growled and stormed up to the living quarters where everyone was to find the culprit.

“WHO DID IT?!” he bellowed.

“WHO TOOK AT THE FOOD?!”

Everyone looked around in confusion yet none stepped up. So Darkrai upped the ante,

“No one is going to step up? Well guess what, we are all out of food and no sign of shore! The food we gave out was the last we had!”

Everyone began to look at eachother and panicked. Whatever food they were eating, they stopped and stored it away on their person. Kids began to cry as their parents soothed them. To make matters worse, May came from the lower part of the ship.

“Oi, big man! We have an issue!”

Darkrai followed May back to where the cargo was and showed him something that he missed. There was a hatch that opened to the outside. Below was the ocean, a mere ten feet from where they were. Darkrai growled and slammed the hatch shut and locked it. He stormed to the foggy deck out and let out a frustrated yell. It spooked Theo to the point he started to tear up but Darkrai was too upset to notice. He ran his fingers carefully through his hair, he didn't know what he was more upset about. The lack of food, the idea that someone on board was eating all the food and destroying the evidence, or the fact they were still far away from any kind of land mass.

He ran through many thoughts and ideas as he paced around. He needed to think of something before they starve. His train of thought was interrupted when something caught his eye. Cutting through the fog were large, sharp rocks which blacken stone and jagged teeth. Within the rocks was a ship, it had long since been wrecked and deserted. With it so close to them, Darkrai could even see some crates inside the boat.

Seeing such a hopeless display gave Darkrai an idea. A hopeful idea, but it was risky.

He quickly contacted May through to orb,

“Hey, there's a wrecked ship out here! No one seems to be on it but there could be something we can use”

“Is it one of our ships?”

“hm? No it's too small but it doesn't look like it was here for long either. I'll take a quick look.”

“Darkrai, don't you even think-”

Darkrai hung up the orb before May could finish.

“Theo…” Darkrai coaxed Theo from hiding behind his head and placed him on the deck. His tail lures were faintly glowing.

“Can you do something for me?”

Theo gave Darkrai an unsure nod. Seeing his hesitation, the old wraith hatched a plan.

“Ya know, every hero has a trusty sidekick to help them out. I need to look for more supplies on that ship there. Thats why Im asking you to do this one thing for me”

Theo looked up at him with big eyes.

“I need you to light your tail lures as bright as you can”

“As bright as I can?”

“As bright as your little yet mighty self can muster! I need to find my way back afterall! Think you can do that?”

Theo had a determined look on his face and began to make his tail lights glow brightly. So bright that Darkrai had to look away.

“Perfect! Now stay here! I'll be back”

Darkrai began to fly towards the wrecked ship, looking back to see if he could still view Theo's light. Seeing the bright yellow glow gave him a sense of achievement before he swooped down into the wrecked ship.

The boat was cracked over like an egg shell. The inside was totally ripped out but it wasn't empty. From where he was from the ship, he could only see the crates, but up close, he saw something glistening. Deeper he went, he saw it was a pile of money just sitting there idly. Various treasures and valuables were scattered on this large pile of coins. It was off-putting as anyone with sticky fingers would take this opportunity to take this money. Yet it looked undiscovered. Luckily, whoever this money belonged to, Darkrai had no interest in it. His eyes were on the many crates that were gently being washed by the waves near the pile. His tunnel vision activated as he made his way down to the water where the crates were. Passing the bones and tiny crustaceans watching him fearfully.

Darkrai hovered over one of the crates and used his claws to pop it open. There he saw various dried fruits and other preserved foods. Without thinking, He placed the lid back on and carried it back to the ship that was still close by before going back to grab another. Again, he popped the lid, checked the contents and took it back to the ship. With each trip, he gave Theo an encouraging pat on the head.

When he got there with the third crate, May was furiously chewing his ear off from how idiotic his plan was… until she saw the crates.

“Wait, you got this from the ship?? Is there more?”

“Yes there's more but I'm not risking another trip” Darkrai said as he gave Theo a high five and his tail lights dimmed. Placing him on his shoulder once more.

May gave him an inquisitive look, “Why?”

“Because there was a pile of money where the crates were. I wouldn't doubt it's a trap or a cache of some kind. I only took what we needed. These crates have preserved food in them, they'll last us much longer. But we must keep an eye on them so no one gets too snackish again”

May looked to see that the ship was too far away to chance another trip, so he nodded and helped Darkrai secure the crates. Once secured, Darkrai heard Theo yawn and he drifted to sleep.

“Looks like your boy is tired, why don't you to the sleeping quarters and I'll keep watch of the crates and we can switch when night falls”

The nightmare agreed and walked back to the lower deck to announce their stroke of luck.

CHAPTER 16

Night soon fell and the mist finally cleared. Nothing really eventful happened as May stood guard. The only thing that was mildly entertaining was the distant thunder storm blowing past them. It was too far for it to hit them but the light show was fun to watch. She tapped on the orb and looked at how far they were to SeaSide City. They were close but with how much the orb had to recalibrate on time, she didn't trust that it would be a day before they got there. More like another three at most. Still, she held hope that they would get to solid land.

In the shadows, she noticed a familiar figure walk up from the lower deck. Relieved, she put her orb away and stretched. The old wraith had come up from the sleeping quarters to relieve May of guarding duty.

“Took you long enough, I was thinking you'd fall asleep again!”

“Yea, Theo is out like a light, but he was making some friends with the kids there. Now, you go ahead and get some rest. I got this”

He stood by and watched as she walked down to get some shuteye. Unlike her, he didn't need a lantern to see. His eyes were adjusted to the dark conditions. It also helped that the clouds were blocking the light from the moon, he hated seeing it. Especially when it was a crescent moon. In a weird way, he found delight in the moon being covered by clouds.

As he sat out by the crates, he hummed a random tune to himself as he looked up at the sky above. Once in a while he'd see windows to the stars above. They were much prettier when there wasn't any light covering them. He could see all the constellations and playfully made his own by tracing them with his finger. He couldn't help but feel so relaxed and in his own little world. The soft sound of the water, the perfect amount of darkness for him to see the stars, and none of Cresselia's light was shining through the clouds. Best of all, there was now more food on the ship and Theo wouldn't starve. Sure, they were stuck on a boat but it was better than fighting whatever those monsters were back in Pokémon City.

Darkrai felt himself closing his eyes a bit and listening to the sounds around him. The splashing of water, wood creaking, muffled conversations below, and even the wind whistling into the sails. However, he started to hear something peculiar. It sounded like it was inside his head but it wasn't his voice. He tried to drown it out but it was persistent. It was faint but clear enough for him to hear. It sounded like a prayer, a prayer just for him.

He thought it was a cruel prank given by some psychic but then he remembered his nature and how it would be impossible for him to be tricked like this. So he listened in, hearing the prayer loud and clear. He never heard of a prayer for him until now. Maybe with the quietness of the sea, his mind was clear enough for him to pay attention.

“I don't know if you can hear me… but if you can… I don't wish anything of you… all I ask is for you to be well… even in such a dark time”

Darkrai recognized the voice, but he wasn't sure if he was right. He sighed and the voice was gone soon enough. He couldn't help but run his fingers through his hair once more, feeling the broken crown that his hair covered.

CHAPTER 17

Around early morning, there was a sudden shake from the boat. Dsrkrai looked out to see if they hit something but there were no signs of rocks or debris. Again, the boat shook, only this time it felt like something hit it from below. It woke everyone up and they began to pour out from the living quarters to investigate. Even May came out with little Theo sleeping in her claws.

“Darkrai! Did we hit something?!” She shouted at him with urgency.

“I don't know! I can't see anything in the water-”

The ship suddenly stopped, as if it was grabbed by something. It made everyone lose their balance and some went over the railing along with one of the crates. Darkrai quickly got the passengers back onto the deck before they hit the water.

“EVERYONE, INSIDE NOW!!!”

Rain drizzled on them before it began to pour. Lightning and thunder soon followed. The water beneath churred and frothed as a vortex formed. Sucking the crate under the water with its greedy maw. Mixture of screams and gasps came from the passengers as something rose from the vortex and towered over them.

A wall of thick red scales glisten with droplets of water running down its back. Find the size of sails cascade across with razor sharp ends and intricate patterns. Its body, long and heavily armored, wrapped around the ship with ease. The monster let out a bellowing roaring that made everyone's ears ring with pain.

“What is that thing?!” May shouted as her ears were still ringing.

Everyone looked at the red sea serpent in shock and horror. It was much bigger than any gyarados they have seen or heard. Darkrai remained as stoic as he could as the serpent bent down to view the ship, almost expecting them to give a sacrifice of some kind.

“YOU… THIEF…”

The dark wraith quickly got between the serpent and the other passengers.

“I don't know what you want but we don't have anything to give. Please, just let us through. We have children on board!” Darkrai said, trying to reason with the beast.

“WHO CARES… YOU STOLE… FROM ME… NOW I TAKE… FROM YOU!”

The red Gyarados snapped at Darkrai, narrowly missing and hitting the deck of the boat with a loud crack. The ship nearly toppled over from the impact. Scared and guttural screams came from the ship. Darkrai quickly turned to see that the deck and sails were smashed in. Wood crumpled into itself, exposing the inside. Some passengers got hurt but none were killed.

Shaking their head, the serpent looked at the passengers with hunger and malice in their eyes. Before they could act, Darkrai zapped the monster with a simple electric attack. This caught the monster's attention and they turned to chase him. Darkrai let them away from the boat, giving May a chance to get the ship out if there.

Darkrai was now in open water, distracting the Gyarados with blasts of lightning from his claws. The red terror kept trying to bite and snap at Darkrai. Often flailing their head around, spewing scalding hot water at him. From a distance, it looked like someone trying so desperately to kill an annoying fly. No matter how fast the beast was, Darkrai was faster. In all his cockiness, the old wraith didn't see the large tail looming over him. It came down on him like a guillotine, smacking him so hard it made him skip across the water like a stone. The only thing that stopped him was the boat instead.

Hearing Darkrai hit the side of the boat, the passengers looked on in horror as the nightmare fell into the water, unconscious. Everyone was in shock and didn't move as Darkrai fell deeper into the water…Except for one.

One of Mudkip's parents ran and jumped off into the water and dove down to grab Darkrai. Despite their smaller body, their fins were able to allow them to swim down and lift Darkrai back onto the surface of the water. Once surfaced, Darkrai woke up coughing. He spat out the salt water he swallowed and quickly hoisted up the two of them back on the boat.

“Thank you…”

May greeted them as Theo was still in her arms, asleep.

“What should we do? We can't move!-”

A shadow loomed over them as the red terror began her attack once more. Darkrai trusted his arm as a crack of thunder came from the sky onto him. Redirecting the lightning, he zapped the Gyarados with a loud BOOM! from the electricity. Sending the serpent back, leaving a deep wound on the side of her face. she roared in pain and decided to find her meal elsewhere, but not before diving down and smacking her tail against the water. Creating a massive wave that lifted the boat and pushing it through its current.

Everyone held on for dear life as the ship was at the mercy of the wave.

CHAPTER 18

The strong waves took the ship far and fast. Pieces of it torn off, flying into the water behind them. The ship shook violently as everyone braced themselves. Looking out, Darkrai could see what looked to be land and they were barreling towards it. He weakly crawled to May and Theo and covered them as the ship got closer, with no sign of stopping. Everyone closed their eyes as they held on, some even prayed to whoever would listen.

From the shore, dock workers looked on to see the ship heading right for harbor. They tried shouting to stop the boat but seeing the wave pushing it from behind, everyone ran to safety instead. Calling out to their bigger workers, they emerge from the water. Seeing the charging ship, they rush in and try to stop the ship before it crashes into the pier. They pushed with all their might but the boat was still too strong. It took four large Wailords to finally slow the ship down enough for it to dock safely.

Everyone on board was shaking as the ship finally stopped. Some were so scared that they were as stiff as a plank of wood. Darkrai's claws were buried deep inside the wooden railing as he slowly opened his eyes when he noticed they stopped. He looked back at May and Theo. May was only scratched up but otherwise unharmed. Theo was surprisingly just waking up, he had slept through the whole ordeal.

“hm? Darkrai? Why is your hair all static-y?”

Darkrai looked at the boy in bewilderment, he couldn't believe Theo was sleeping through all that happened. He hadn't noticed how long he was holding his breath until he tried to speak but he was winded. He let out a loud exhaled gasp before his body finally relaxed.

“N-not now Theo-” Darkrai said, exasperated and tired.

Some of the passengers even looked at Theo with annoyed glances. It wasn't until one of them took a few wobbly steps towards the pier that he finally started to notice the state of the ship. Horrified, Theo ran up and clinged to Darkrai's arm. There was an audible growl of pain from the old nightmare.

Dock workers lined ramps up to the ship and tied it down, helping everyone off. Well all except Darkrai, they refused to touch him, but he didn't need their help. The old wraith walked down the ramp and onto the pier where May and Mudkip's parents greeted him.

“You alright? You look a little pale-”

Was all Darkrai heard for Mudkip's father until he collapsed from exhaustion and sea sickness. May caught the old wraith before he hit his head and harmed Theo.

“We need a medic, quick!” May shouted as her and Mudkip's father gently laid Darkrai on the ground.

May took Theo with her as the medics went to check on him. Of all the passengers, he was the worst one. His body was much weaker than it looked. Fighting that red Gyarados was the straw that broke his back. May covered Theo's eyes as the medical workers took Darkrai away.

It was all a blur for Theo as he felt his world collapsing again. So much had happened at once, he didn't notice the conversation May was having. He only felt himself being passed into someone else's arms and being taken away. Further from where Darkrai was and seeing May frantically try to contact someone from her orb. He closed his eyes and covered his ears as everything went black.

. . .

All the passengers from the ship wobbled onto land and released the breath that was stuck in their chests. They had finally made it to land, but they were not in SeaSide City. Their course to SeaSide was distrusted and they ended up on the small island of Sentha. Far from where SeaSide City was. Regardless of that, no one was keen on going back on a boat. Not anytime soon that is.

The guild there was small, a mere sailors guild that often just patrolled the seas for capsized boats and just shipped goods across the water. However, they were not really equipped to deal with so many people, but they managed. Using the empty rooms.of the guild and a closed hostel, everyone was able to get their own room for once. Being crammed into such a small space had made everyone antsy for some privacy.

Mudkip's parents were no exception to this rule. Despite having to watch Theo and take care of their own son, they were glad to have a bed to themselves. Mudkip's father placed the small boy in a leaf bed as he tucked Mudkip in the bed right beside Theo. Once he tucked the two boys in, he left into the room beside theirs. His wife looked at him in worry.

“The boy hasn't said a peep since that old wraith had to be taken to the hospital… I didn't think he was THAT bad off. And his boy, he slept through it all! There must be something wrong with him if he can sleep through that mess!”

Mudkip's father sighed and sat on the bed, rubbing the fins above his eyes in exhaustion.

“There's nothing wrong with the boy, he's just a kid. Don't act like our son hasn't slept through a hurricane before. He's just very young and special. The boy has his quirks but he's still a child. What's normal for him isn't always going to be normal for us. He's Darkrai's son after all, who am I to say what's normal for him”

He said as he turned the light off. In the darkness, his wife sat up, still too worried to fall asleep.

“But why did you save him? You could've been killed by that thing that attacked us” Mudkip's mother said as she turned to him.

“Because he saved our son, no one else was going to save him” Mudkip's father said bluntly as he laid back.

And he left it as that, plain and simple. His wife nodded and hummed a bit before laying down by her husband and sleeping.

“Do you think we'll get our home back from those monsters…?”

“I don't know… for now, let's just sleep”

. . .

The boy tossed and turned, trapped in his own little nightmare. Yet he was wide awake. He feared what would happen to Darkrai and yet he was always reassured by his sleepy friend, Mudkip. Theo felt bad for waking him so he turned around to face the window outside. He could see the Crescent moon in the early morning sky. In a way, it almost felt comforting, as if he was being watched over by an angel. He smiled and felt his eyes grow heavy as he drifted to sleep once more. His lures began to give off a faint pink glow, giving everyone a restful and peaceful sleep.

CHAPTER 19

Late in the afternoon, the head of the Sailor's guild had arrived. Docking his boat into the port, he turned to his right to see the torn ship. He almost went overboard when he saw the horrid state it was in. It was a miracle that it was still afloat. Hoping from the deck onto the pier, he landed on his feet to investigate the torn up ship. There, his dock workers rushed to him to tell him all that happened. Seeing there was no other way around it, he searched for whoever owned the ship.

Using his aura sense, he saw the event unfold in front of him. The fight, the large wave, the passengers nearly being starved due to food thieves, the captain huffed at such abhorrent actions. His heart went out to the people but he can have this pile of junk in his bay. Continuing the path, he followed the most dominant aura trail, leading to the hospital. It wasn't exactly a hospital, it was just their clinic but it had more supplies than most clinics out there.

The captain found himself inside the packed waiting room of the clinic. This was understandable as the patients were the passengers who were on that damned ship. Pushing through the crowd and medics, he continued to follow the trail until he was in a room in the far back. He stood at the doorway, looking inside.

May sat, crouched down on a chair that was way too small for her. Her head was in his hands as she looked down, muttering something. In the bed beside her was none other than Old Pitch Black himself. But instead of a fearful figure, he looked weak. Despite this, his aura was the strongest one the captain could follow.

The captain cleared his throat, causing May to jump, she didn't see him standing there. She looked up to see a bipedal pokemon in the doorway. Bright blue and yellow fur covered them with two pointed ears, one had a gold earring in it. His piercing red eyes looked at May in a way that made her feel a bit uneasy.

“Is that your ship in MY dock?” the captain said in a curt tone. He seemed to be chewing on something in his mouth as his hands were behind his back.

May stood up to her full size, she didn't like this fella, there was a shifty nature to him that she picked up immediately.

“Yes, well no, it belongs to the Rescuers-”

“Well you Rescuers are gonna have to pay for a new boat. The one you rode on is nothing more than a floating pile of splinters-”

The captain looked at Darkrai with mild disgust.

“And you have to bring HIM along too?”

May growled at the captain for his disrespectful comments.

“And who are YOU exactly?”

The captain smirked and leaned against the doorway.

“Captain Lucario, and you shouldn't be so hasty. I'm the one who is paying for all of this after all. But you and your pal there are going to pay me back”

May crossed her arms and huffed.

“Mr.Ampharos is my boss, not you…”

Captain Lucario looked at May, then at Darkrai, then back to her once more. He sensed her aura waver a bit.

“You sure HE'S not your boss?” referring to Darkrai who was still laying on the bed.

“Look, I don't care for who follows what but nothing comes for free. I got mouths to feed and workers to pay so you will help… Mr.Ampharos may be your boss but he's not here and it's you two who technically ran the ship. So you two are indebted to me. Don't worry I don't do interest, I just need you to work off what I paid for and you can go where you need to go…”

He grabbed a napkin and spit some seeds out before throwing it away. He smirked knowing he got her by the neck now.

“Now tell me, why the hell are you here of all places…”

Chapter 20

May explained all that happened to captain Lucario. He made a face like he was sucking on a lemon.

“You're telling me the dead rose from their graves and started attacking everyone and converting the living into their undead mass? Am I getting that right?”

May growled/sighed in exasperation, “YES! That's exactly what I've been telling you!”

He laughed at such a ridiculous story, almost busting a rib in the process of his grand laugh. May crossed her arms as she watched this blue dog laugh in her face.

“Well that's not the only thing… our ship is the way that it is because some red Gyarados tried to sink it”

Captain Lucario stopped his laughing fit when she mentioned the red Gyarados. He straightened up and looked at her.

“Wait, a red Gyarados???”

For once he looked serious, a flash of a cunning smile came across his face before it went back to his naturally stoic position.

“Oh I see, you ran into Scylla”

“Scylla? Whos that? Some bitch with an anger issue-”

“DON'T DISRESPECT HER!!! I mean- it isn't wise to disrespect her… The ocean has ears ya know”

May raised an eyebrow at captain Lucario's sudden outburst.

“Scylla is the daughter of the ocean, speaking ill of her can make our journey… difficult to say the least. Did you give her an offering to keep her away?”

“What? No! We had no food! Someone ate all our food and dumped it in the back to destroy evidence!”

“Maybe that's why she was so mad, you kept giving her the scraps. Next time you adventure out to sea, maybe have some extra food on board…”

May felt her eye twitch in anger when he kept ignoring her explanations. Looking at the clock, Captain Lucario decided to leave. He had much to do and so little time to do so.

“I've taken enough of your time… I want you and him at my ship the moment he wakes up”

Before leaving, May tried to pull out her orb to contact Mr.Ampharos, for which Captain Lucario took the orb from her claws.

“HEY THAT'S MINE-”

“Not until you pay off your debt to me, you can get it back when it's paid off. Call it insurance… for me that is”

May wanted to attack but she knew better than to do so in broad daylight. When he left, she sneakily took Darkrai's orb and sent an S.O.S. message to the other Rescuers, then she placed it where no one could find it, knowing full well if the captain saw it, he'd take it away. Whoever this captain was, he sure doesn't act like a sailor, May hoped and prayed Darkrai had a plan when he wakes up.

. . .

Darkrai's mind stirred as he laid there, he wasn't asleep but nor was he awake. He had gotten weaker and weaker that it seemed like he was actually sleeping now. He wasn't having any dreams or nightmares, but his mind wasn't empty. No, he was seeing visions, memories he doesn't quite remember. Old buildings, temples, and war. Fire rained down on villages and cities, yet he couldn't do a thing about it. He could see a being that looked like him. The only difference was the red crown that sat on his brow. A horrid monster slaughtering troops and bringing upon the age of darkness upon all below him. It frightened him, for he knew it was him. Despite not remembering doing any of these atrocities. Was Uxie punishing him, or is he suppressing these memories in an attempt to have a new life. Would he even deserve such a gracious gift of having a second chance? Or was this just the inevitable end, a cruel tragic comedy of change, regression, and corruption that will take place in the future.

Would he even be capable of becoming that thing? Such godly power yet he was weak like the mortals around him… Theo must think of him as a hero yet he doesn't feel like one. Lying to him on the boat felt wrong yet he thought it was the right thing to do. What would Theo think if he became that monstrous being he was seeing before him? He wouldn't think of him as a hero. He would see him as the monster he was deep down. Yet… he felt a semblance of hope in his blackened heart.

CHAPTER 21

A few hours later, Darkrai had woken from his trance. He looked around to see May sleeping in the chair beside him. Seeing the night sky, he quickly searched for Theo. The townspeople were awake since they spent all morning and afternoon catching up on lost sleep. However, their disposition towards Darkrai hadn't exactly changed since they got off the boat. In fact it gotten worse since he was the only Rescuer awake at that time. Still, they kept their mouths shut and only showed their disgust by giving him a scowl from behind. Even if he did save them from Scylla, they were still wary of him. To be fair, Darkrai didn't quite like them either since they were willing to just leave him and Theo behind back at Pokémon City, but he didn't go down to their level to show his disgust towards them. He simply floated past them as they gave him a wide berth in his path. This did make it easier to find Mudkip and his parents watching over Theo. The two boys were playing, well Mudkip was playing, Theo was dragging his feet.

“Oh come on, Theo! Chase me! You're it!”

“okay…. ” Theo said as he scooted his feet.

Seeing Theo, he quickly rushed to him as did Theo when he saw his guardian. Though, his tiny legs weren't as fast as Darkrai's incredible speed. The old wraith caught him in his hands as he scooped him up. Theo hugged Darkrai tightly as his little fins could. He was almost smothering Darkrai in his hug.

“DARKRAI!! YOU'RE BACK!!! What happened???” Theo said almost in tears.

“I just got a bit seasick is all, no need to worry” Darkrai tried to play off his condition so as to not worry the boy.

“Well about the time he lightened up, he was sulking all day until you arrived” Mudkip's father said as he chuckled. However, his wife stayed quiet as she was deathly afraid of Darkrai still.

“Thank you for watching him, I hope it wasn't too much trouble-”

“Oh it's fine, the boys were playing a bit out here as we kept an eye on them… though the captain that runs the guild here isn't quite happy with all of us being here. Do you know when we are going to get back on track to SeaSide City? NO RUSH! but I don't like the way this captain is running things… They even scrapped our boat just a few hours ago”

Darkrai looked out on the dock and sure enough, their boat was long gone. Only the captain's ship remained. The look on his face was enough to show Darkrai didn't know either.

“I don't think anytime soon”

“So we're stranded??” Mudkip's mother said, breaking her silence.

“No- well i don't know. Look, let me talk to the captain and see what's going on. I know we're all antsy but we can't lose our heads here” Darkrai took another look at the ship once more before leaving to find May. He didn't want to confront the captain by himself.

Theo sat himself in the nook between Darkrai's head and red crest. He had a mild look of fear on him as he got a better look at the dock workers passing by. There was something about them he wasn't quite sure about.

“Darkrai… do you think we're stuck here? Everyone looks so mean”

Darkrai looked at Theo and shook his head, “I… I don't know… just stay close to me, alright? I don't like the look of these workers either”

Darkrai was at the clinic when he felt someone grab his shoulder quite roughly. Causing Theo to hide on the other side of him.

“Oi, Wraith! Cap'n wants ya, now!” the larger dock workers said as he practically pushed Darkrai towards the ship. For which Darkrai stopped him and felt his blood boil in anger from the pokemon grabbing him.

“Well I will go when I get my colleague-”

“No tome, you'll do for now”

There was a tense stare down before the worker kept pushing Darkrai, and in turn, Theo around. This infuriated the nightmare and he pushed back.

“DON'T YOU TOUCH ME. I GOT WHERE I PLEASE, WHEN I PLEASE.”

The worker was surprisingly unphased by the nightmare raising his voice. The worker just flashed what looked to be a weapon around their waist. Darkrai hissed under his breath as he knew fighting was not an option with Theo on his shoulder. Not to mention he was weaker now, more than ever.

Darkrai begrudgingly walked with the worker and glanced at the townspeople who saw what happened… but did nothing to stop it. They looked the other way and went on with their business.

Theo didn't know what was going on but he clung to Darkrai and tried to hide as close to his red crest as possible.

“Dad? Where are we going? You said you were getting Miss May-”

“SHH! not now Theo, stay hidden” he whispered under his breath as they were graciously escorted to the ship and into the captain's quarters.

The door was flung open and Darkrai was pushed in. Sitting there, on a leather chair was none other than Captain Lucario. He had a map sprawled out on the desk that separated them. It had many notes on it, mainly focusing on a certain location. He couldn't tell what it was but he did see a city marker right beside it. Reading the map upside down, he noticed it said “SeaSide” on it. Before he could continue reading, Captain Lucario covered the map with some books, making a loud noise that made Theo jump.

“So! You're awake and present” the captain said nonchalantly as he grabbed a cigar and puffed it.

“What do you want?”

“oh, straight to the point! I like that…” the captain said as he leaned in.

“I was hoping your partner would be here but you will do just fine… but first…”

He snapped his fingers and suddenly a shadow rushed in and placed a brace on him. He heard Theo yelp as the same shadow grabbed Theo, cackling with a wide grin, the shadow held Theo tightly, covering his mouth as to not let him scream. Revealing themselves to be a sneaky sableye.

Darkrai was going to attack but then he felt his energy being drained when he tried to do anything. His body fell to the ground as if a giant weight was placed upon him. The more he fought the more the weight increased. It angered him how powerless he was right there, and Theo seeing him like this made it worse.

The captain walked to Darkrai on the floor and bent down towards his head.

“That wasn't wise, now was it?” he said, taunting Darkrai a bit.

“Look I get it but this is just a safety precaution. Once you pay off your debt to me… You and yours are free to go”

He stood up and ordered his men to take Darkrai away. Theo tried to scream out but then the sableye placed him in a cage. Darkrai made note of this as they took him to the brig and locked him up. He didn't know what they wanted, or what they wanted from him. But one thing was for sure, when he gets his hands freed… hell WILL break loose.

For now, all he could do was sit in that cell as the ship set sail into the unknown.

[zombiethatsarobot]

[zombiethatsarobot]

your dadrai stuff is legitimately so so underrated and cool because not only do i severely rock with the ideas of unstoppable forces being capable of kindness and warmth (even if it's in the littlest way possible) but it being with darkrai who is universally cursed to be this eternal boogeyman and a plight amongst all is something else. something about how theo slowly turns from this 'small, unimportant brat' in his eyes to his only light in the darkness he had long lived in and so used to that even in the situation in which the boy perishes, darkrai grieves. bears that faulty, darkened heart to the world and sees it as it full of rage for someone who means the world to him. the boogeyman, the walking nightmare, the restless shadow and opposite in cresselia's wake, what lies beneath that crimson collar and a gaze of ire and chill? a heart and mind that were shaped to be a certain way by circumstance, or someone who could've been something else had he meant something to someone the way he did to theo? could the pitch black be loved, and could it be changed? could it hold and care when its red teeth glisten against the moonlight, daring all those who come flee? has darkrai ever imagined himself in a position to be one to care for a mortal, one as small as the kid? could he ever envision himself to care when no one else could? could he ever see himself undoomed from the fate bestowed upon him, or was it simply time that would dictate how things would be? if theo never showed up, what would darkrai see himself turn himself to be?

whoops, went too far on all that. sorry. but anyways, your stuff is really awesome and i hope to write something like that one day (:

Omg tysm!!!!! You have no idea how much that means to me! And your writing is AMAZING 👏 😍

You should write one day, I'd love to see it!

As for Dadrai's fate, the fell god used to have power, authority, riches, respect, and fear from mortals. But It was taken away due to his arrogance and lack of heart. And yet in his second life, he still tried to reclaim his lost power and died horribly doing so. This third life of his, the present one we are seeing unfold huehuehue, is finally starting to get it right. All of this, all his rehearsals and tests were all given to him because he needed to learn. And for once he's starting to see the lesson. He may not remember all the terrible things he'd done in his past lives, mere flash backs here and there... but he still suffers the consequences from them. Even if this present life didn't do anything "wrong" this time. He still has to reap what he sowed and it did take a toll on him... until Theo came around.

Theo may not be his biological son bit damn it, thats HIS boy. That's HIS son.

Darkrai didn't want him at first because he had no experience in caring for kids. Why would the boogeyman know how to be gentle and soft?

It took him time but he learned to love something other than himself. And not only did he learn to love his som, but also learned compassion and kindness for others. And being mortal, he also learned how horrid the gods treated mortals and he felt so guilty.

All the respect and authority he wanted was only just fear. And when he sees the chance to get his full power back, he refuses because he fears he'll go back to being the heartless Night King again... and he'd forget his Son... the light of his life, the star in his night sky... he fears he'd lose him if he did so...

For once, the boogeyman is afraid

[zombiethatsarobot]

HAPPY HOLIDAYS PEEPS!!

Here's 3 more chapters before I go quiet for the holidays!

CHAPTER 10

Darkrai hurried to get the two children to safety. Often he looked down to see if he could see if any of the horde broke off to chase him. To his dismay, he caught glimpses of them from above, they were chasing him and bringing their rot with them. Luckily, he was much faster than them, so he flew down to the gate to the city. He caught his breath and looked up at the guards who were standing by and warned them of what was to come. 

“You two! Get inside the walls! There's too many for you two to handle! You'll be overtaken! Let me inside So I can warn Mr.Ampharos, he needs to know!”

The guards looked at the wraith with concern from how panicked he was.

“Sir, we were just instructed to not let anyone in or out no matter what! Im sorry but we cant let you and the kids in-”

“LISTEN HERE-” Darkrai nearly lost it but he stopped himself before he escalated.

“Me and another Rescuer were permitted to exit to search for the distress signal that was sent… I found two of the three Rescuers, let me in so they can be safe! They're kids! Hell, just take them and I'll stay out here!” Darkrai made a gesture to put the kids in front of him to emphasize his plea. However, the guards still refused.

“I'm sorry sir, but with the warning that YOU gave the night prior, we were told not to let anyone in or out! You should've been here earlier! Now, go!”

The guards now pointed their spears at him.

“Fine…”

Darkrai flew away, passed that playing by the rules only got him and Theo locked out and Mudkip without his partner. He decided to go through the back way despite it being harder to get through and the risk of being caught by the horde. 

“What are we going to do? Can't you just fly over the wall?” Mudkip said as he looked at Darkrai.

“I can't…” he put Mudkip down while he placed the still silent Theo in his other arm.

Using his free hand, he shot a small projectile above the wall and it was zapped by the Wall's defensive barrier. Mudkip gasped at how sudden the electricity came out. He quickly hid behind Darkrai, who was still looking for some kind of opening for them to get in. 

“Damn it! They sealed this place up tighter than Kyurem's mouth-”

“Oi! Darkrai! Pick up the damn orb, you old wraith!” a weathered voice came from his orb.

Pulling out the communication orb, May's face appeared as a projection from the orb.

“Oi! You got the kids, right? I tried to contact you but it seems whatever is going on here is jamming the signal so I'll make this quick! Get to the docks! There's a secret passageway you can enter through, but hurrying! It seems some of those THINGS are getting the same idea! Hurry!”

The orb sputtered as the signal jammed once more. Darkrai scooped up the kids and headed towards the docks. He knew that these things weren't just some bumbling mass of undead from stories and movies. There seemed to be a method to their madness yet he couldn't decipher it. He glanced at the kids to check on them once more. 

“Theo? Theo are you ok?” he asked but Theo didn't want to talk, he was completely shut down and covering his ears. 

“Mudkip, what happened? Theo was with you and Pikachu when all this happened”

Mudkip gave Darkrai a sadden look, “We were just trying to find Mr.Gengar and then they just appeared and took Theo away but I dont know what else happened…”

Darkrai's eyes widened in concern and he gave Theo one last once over to make sure he wasn't bitten or scratched. The sudden toss in the hair made Theo yelp as Darkrai caught him. The poor boy was shaken and Darkrai jerking his fins and flipping him around wasn't helping.

“Sorry, just making sure you were still alive…”  Darkrai said as he determined Theo was OK and continued their trek to the docks.

There, The dock was beginning to swarm with the dead but the saltwater crashing against the seawall made them back away from the entrance. Some tried to step into the water but they quickly retreated as the water seemed to hurt them. The entrance was just above the water line, so the dead couldn't get in. Sitting there was Miss May. She saw the old wraith and gestured for him to hurry as the dead began to notice his presence.

With the tide growing higher, Darkrai had to act. He held the two kids tightly in his arms and he rushed into the entrance, nearly bumping into May.

“Took you long enough! I just had to escort the dock workers inside! This place hasn't been swept in years”

She kicked some seaweed and already off her foot before leading the way back. Darkrai's arms grew tired and he made the two kids walk. 

“Ok, you two can walk now… follow Miss May” he rubbed his arms from being sore.

“This way, these catacombs are tricky and can get you lost in a hurry” May said as she held up her orb to light the way.

Mudkip was glad to not be in the arms of the black wraith but Theo still stood there, covering his ears. His steps were more like scooting than real steps. It was clear he was so scared that he couldn't bring himself to move. Darkrai noticed May and Mudkip leaving and grew impatient.

“Theo? Theo I need you to toughen up here, kid. I can't be carrying you all the time. You got to get moving… I can't leave you behind! Miss May and Mudkip are going and we can get lost if we don't stick close!”

Seeing Theo still being so frightened, Darkrai sighed and sat down by him.

“What's wrong? You've been quiet for a suspiciously long time… ” Darkrai thought about it as he saw May and Mudkip going further away. 

He looked back at Theo, “Are you scared because I got mad at you?” 

Theo made a small “mhm” as he placed his head on Darkrai's leg. 

Darkrai nodded, he was a bit too harsh with his yelling back there. 

“You know, I'm not MAD mad at you… I was just scared that you gotten hurt… I shouldn't have yelled at you like that Theo… Im sorry” he said this as he patted Theo's back. The small boy made a small noise to acknowledge he forgave Darkrai. 

“I know youre upset but we need to catch up, we cant afford to get lost… Do you still need me to carry you?” 

Theo nodded his head and Darkrai sighed. 

“Alright, come on” He said as he picked the book and and rushed to catch up to May and Mudkip.

. . .

At the gate, the two guards kept their eyes on the treeline. They couldn't let anyone in or out as ordered. They hated that they had to enforce this rule but it was an order to help the people, not their moral standing.

 One of the guards, dozed off a bit before seeing something rush in the treeline. He blinked, a yellow blob scurried just beyond their vison. 

“Hey, what was that??” He was now wide awake and alarmed.

He took a few steps towards the tree line to get a better look. He saw it again, a small, yellow thing in the line of darkness.

“We cant leave post, leave ot be!” the other guard said quite coldly.

“Lets just make sure its not some trick… I'll be quick” despite the other guard's warning, he went anyway.

Cautiously, the guard left his post and walked to the border of the treeline.

The yellow blurr crawled from the darkness, it was Pikachu. 

“Wait, is that a kid??” one of the guards exclaimed as he dropped his weapon for a moment. 

“Hey! Get back here!! Grab your weapon!” the other yelled, but they didn't listen.

“Oh hush its just a kid-”

Pikachu rushed and attacked the guard with demonic speed. Aiming for his face and neck, she slashed the guard with sharpened claws and teeth. Something that a normal Pikachu wouldnt have. The guard managed to kicked her off as he held his face in agony.

The guard screamed out in pain as he felt a darkness take over him as he looked on to his friend for help, but his friend only watched on in horror as he looked at the treeline once more. A horde of red, glowing eyes stared back at as his friend joined in redden glares. He stood up and could only watched as his body moved on its own and his throat closed from speaking. He was now one with the horde and walked with them as one.

The lone guard tried to call for help as the horde rushed him and clawed their way through him and the gate. Old wood was no match for the brunt of the horde. 

CHAPTER 11

At the catacombs, Darkrai, May, and the kids made it to the basement of Rescuers HQ. There, they were met with not only Ampharos but the entire city population beind held inside. 

“Oh good heavens! You all made it!” Mr.Ampharos said as Darkrai handed Midkip to him before he got up himself.

“Not everyone Im afraid…” Darkrai said as Mr.Ampharos just noticed Pikachu wasn't there.

“What happened?? Where's Pikachu?” 

Darkrai shook his head, he didn't have the words to explain. That was all Mr.Ampharos needed to know what happened.

“No… Poor Pikachu… their parents will be distraught…” Mr.Ampharos looked at the crowd of Pokémon that were hiding there with him.

Miss May crawled up from the catacomb entrance, “Mr.Ampharos! We need to think of the next steps!” 

She started spouting of to Mr.Ampharos as he led Mudkip to his parents, while Pikachu's were looking for their own child. Seeing if their child was there with him.

“Miss May… Now is not the time for this…” Mr.Ampharos said as he looked at Pikachu's parents who were distraught to see their child had not come home. A mournful cry came from Pikachu's parents as they figured out, wordlessly, that their child won't be coming back to them.

Darkrai stayed in the shadows as to avoid the others from seeing him. He watched as the parents cried for their lose. He slowly looked down at Theo who stood next to him. He couldn't help but feel a sense of grief for them.

“Why do they cry…?” Theo asked Darkrai as he felt himself tearing up from how said the two Pokémon were.

“. . .” Darkrai said nothing as he held Theo's fin. 

“I want to go talk to them…” Theo said as he pointed to Mudkip.

“I think we need to give them space, Theo- THEO!”  Darkrai whisper yelled as Theo walked through the crowd. Immediately he came our of hiding and everyone gasped when they saw him. It was quiet and still. Theo paused for a moment and grabbed Darkrai's hand as they made their way to Mudkip and his parents. Everyone was avoiding them, keeping them exactly at arms length. Quiet glares of disdain filled the room as Theo lead Darkrai. Even Pikachu's parents paused their mourning to share their disgust at the wraith, deepdown, they believed he had something to do with their daughter's absence. 

Finally, they made it to Mudkip and his parents who were cradling the scared child. 

“Mudkip…?” Theo said sheepishly

The parents looked at Theo and Darkrai and tensed up before Mudkip crawled from his mother’s arms to greet them. 

“Theo, youre talking again!” 

Despite the bleakness of the situation, thee two kids still had a bit of joy left in them.

“Mom… Dad… Theo’s dad- I mean- Darkrai saved me from those monsters” Mudkip said as he introduced them.

His parents were still a bit in shock to be so close to Darkrai, but seeing that he did save their child they weren't TOO scared.

They still were silent as the two boys played in the limited room they had. They still didn't like that Darkrai was there but word spread of his heroic deed of saving the boys… but it didn't make him feel any better. 

CHAPTER 12

With much insistence from Miss May, Ampharos agreed that there had to be a mass evacuation. Calmly, Mr.Ampharos used the orb on his tail to get everyone's attention.

“EVERYONE, LISTEN UP! We have to get to the docks and board the boats!”

There were questioned muttering between some people there. To just up and move would be hard for some of them but it had to be done.

“I know this is hard for us but it has to be done! We cant stay here, we got three boats large enough to fit everyone, but tue catacombs are a different story… we can only take a few at a time! Families will go first. Please follow Miss May, she will lead you to the boats safely. The rest of you get in a line to make this easier! I dont want any pushing or shoving” Mr.Ampharos finished.

Everyone began to follow as ordered as Miss May started to lead small groups to the docks. Surprisingly, the dead that were there were gone, making it easier to put everyone on board.

Darkrai, Theo, and a few more Rescuers helped section off groups and led them to the catacomb entrance. 

Back and forth, back and forth, May and the Rescuers guided the townspeople to the boats. When the first two boats were full, the Rescuers were able to set sail towards SeaSide City, off the coast if Hoenn.

It was tiring but fortunately, only around 20 Pokémon were left. May felt her old bones ache as she climbed up the steps to the basement.

“ok… last few, come with me… ugh…” Darkrai noticed May was looking tired and helped her up. 

“May, take a small break, I'll lead them” 

Miss May shook her head, “no, my lord… I cant rest just yet”

Darkrai was taking aback at the “my lord” part. He chalked it up to a slip of the tongue. 

“Are you sure? You look drained!” 

Darkrai argued but the old Garchomp just waved him off.

Theo had wondered off as he heard a strange noise coming from the doors that led to outside. He watched as the doors began to jerk and crumple from something slamming into it. His heart pounded as he felt the same stiffness wash over his body. He tried to scream for Darkrai to noticed what was happening but he could only squeak. 

The door splinted as the dead came piling in. Fearing the wrose, Theo braced himself but Darkrai yanked him into his arms and rushed to the entrance. Everyone was in a panic to get in and nearing trampled May if she hadn't gotten out of the way. 

“Hey! What the hell-” 

“No time! Get in!” Darkrai pushed May into the entrance as everyone run into the catacombs. 

Darkrai slammed the door above him, shutting out any light. It was a blind run for everyone. May's orb was kicked during the scuffle with the panicked townspeople. 

With the darkness, they immediately stopped running as they only saw Pitch black. Darkrai caught up to them, being able to navigate such darkness with his vision. 

With Theo's help, he found May's orb and gave it to her. Illuminating the tunnel, the townspeople looked at them for answers. They could hear the cellardoor breaking from the horde but they were in a section of the catacomb that May didn't recognize.

“What are we going to do! We're trapped here! thanks to you!”

“THIS ISNT MY FAULT! ITS THE REACUERS FOR PUTTING US LAST!”

May tried to calm down everyone but they were quickly getting more agitated. Darkrai noticed a smell of seawater and the cool ocean breeze coming from one of the tunnels. Using this knowledge, he stepped in and growled at everyone,

“BE QUIET! EVERYONE!” his distorted voices silenced any would be protestor. 

With the silence, they all could faintly hear the ocean breeze coming from one of the tunnels. Darkrai held Theo up so that he can give out more light, “Everyone, follow me and not another word!”

Theo giggled as Darkrai held him out like some kind of torch. Reluctantly, they all followed, the smell of seawater becoming stronger with each turn. 

It all went smoothly until they were at the entrance, the last boat was sailing without them. Without warning, the remaining townspeople attempted to swim towards the boat despite Darkrai advising not to. 

“May! Theyre going to drown! We havw to stop the boat somehow! Or something!”

Darkrai said as he looked out into the sea, seeing the waves begin to churn.

“Dont worry about them! Worry about Theo and yourself, my lord! I can handle them!” 

May pushed Darkrai and he took off for the boat. He wasn't going to question why but she was right. He had to get Theo to safety and possibly get the boat to slow down. 

He watched from above as May zoomed passed him and tried to get the remaining people onto the boat. She could only take two at a time and was slowed tremendously. Darkrai grabbed one of the Pokémon she couldnt carry but they were immediately pulled under the deep water. He instinctively levitated higher from the water and watched as the remaining pomemon were plucked from beneath the deep blue. The water had streaks of red in it that quickly washed away from the waves.

Theo buried his face into Darkrai as he looked away in fear. 

“Shh- Shh- its ok!” Darkrai consoled Theo as he rushed to the boat, practically dropping onto the deck. His body ached as his ears rang from his heart pounding. A wave of relief washed over him as he saw May slammed into the deck, saving two of them. 

May, finally collasped from exhaustion and Darkrai cautght her before she hit her head. He couldn't help but look out from the railing, seeing the glimpse of red threat through the waves.