Story Notes:
Disclaimer: I do not own pokemon
A Figure and a Sword
The room is silent and the sky, dark. The clock Rotom sleeps in says 3:04 AM, and there isn't a sound to be heard. The Pokémon center is also quiet, and Vec lies on his bed with Xylina and Yakira sound asleep in his arms. Soft breathing emanates throughout the room, a hypnotic metronome of comfort and rest. The door creaks and a dark figure enters the room quietly. He moves to the edge of the bed, and raises one of his legs off of the ground. In a swift motion, he kicks the bed, and within only a moment Xylina and Yakira are both awake staring down the figure with uncertainty as they hold charged shadow balls in their hands. Vec sits up slowly, still half asleep, and wondering what just happened. After a few moments of tense silence the figure finally speaks,
"Vec, let's talk." Without another word the figure moves back toward the door, and as he leaves Xylina and Yakira both lower their attacks looking worried and confused. They both look to Vec who has a serious look on his face. Vec then feels something, and he knew this person isn't one to be ignored lightly, so he decides to comply with his demands for now,
"Don't worry about me, I'll be fine, just stay in here, and try to sleep." Vec's voice speaks with a sense of urgency, and neither Xylina nor Yakira can rise up in protest. Vec pulls on his shirt as he gets off of the bed and walks out the door. When he arrives in the lobby he notices the front door ominously open, as dark leaves blow along the ground, creating a ghostly atmosphere as the twilight sky shows dark purple on the shadows. He walks outside, feeling a breeze slightly pick up, and there he sees the same dark figure standing 20 feet from the door, down an antagonistic path. Vec begins walking towards the figure, and when he gets somewhat close, the figure raises an arm, prompting him to stop moving. The two stand for a while, staring each other down, before the figure finally speaks again.
"You should be dead." Vec looks at him with a look of confusion and offence for a moment,
"Wha-what do you mean? Is someone trying to kill me?" The figure stands in silence for a moment as he gathers his thoughts.
"The Mismagius, Darkrai forewarned her of future events, and lamentably she learned from her mistakes; hence your life." Vec is confused and tired, but this stranger seems to make no sense to him.
"I don't know what you're talking about! Is someone trying to kill Xylina?!"
The figure suddenly rushes towards him, and grabs him by the shirt, lifting him into the air,
"You are weak. When her father tried to kill you, all you could do was cower in a corner and await your death. She had to save you, what does that say about you as her protector?!" Vec's thoughts return to the encounter in the Lost Tower although he had tried his best to forget it,
(Was he there?) "How do you know what happened in the Tower?" The figure still holds him up, his arm never faltering under Vec's weight,
"I see many things, but that's not the answer to my question." Vec begins to grow uncomfortable with being held up in the air and struggles to get free, but his grip is too much and he eventually accepts it,
"It means that she loves me as much as I do her." The figure suddenly throws Vec into a nearby tree, bruising his shoulder blades. Vec yells out in pain before he feels the figure next to him again, pinning him to the tree by his throat,
"Love has nothing to do with it. You told her you would protect her, and you stood down. That is unforgivable, and you need to either get strong enough to protect those you love, or roll over and die." All he can do is sit there and try to resist the figure's message with a futile effort as trying to move causes him incredible pain. "How can she love someone as useless as you? You can't protect her, and all you do is hold her from time to time. She has saved you from death, you can't repay her." Vec looks angrily at him,
"I've saved her from death! I sacrificed my body to protect her from an icy death!"
"Yes, and look at the sorrow you caused her when you took the attack. She was in tears."
"Because she loves me..."
"You will only cause her greater pain when you finally do move on if you continue this useless charade." Vec looks at him in defiance,
"I'll never leave her."
"I could kill you right now, and your words would mean nothing." The figure tightens his hold on Vec's throat, "Do you understand your helplessness now?! You're beaten, you can't protect anyone, because the moment you do, you'll die." The figure releases Vec's neck and he falls to the ground trying to regain his breath,
"And now you've picked up another person you can't protect, the Froslass. I must say that it's a deliciously bitter betrayal of your love to Xylina." Vec crawls to his side, trying to nurse his bruises,
"L-love is a universal..." Vec is cut off by the figure planting a forceful kick into his abdomen, sending Vec skidding 5 feet behind where he was,
"Do not lecture me on a philosophy you only understand by its charismatic ways. I guarantee you that is the only bond there." Vec begins coughing as he tries to get up,
"Y-you're wrong...about everything... I'll protect them both and they will love me for me." The figure spits at the ground in front of him,
"You immature fool, if you'll only learn the hard way, then perhaps I should kill them both." Vec finally gets to his feet,
"Don't you dare touch them, or I'll..."
"Or you'll what? If you really loved them you'd be able to stop me right now. Embrace your defeats and failure; you won't be pained as much when the time of reckoning is upon you." The figure then turns and walks away into the twisted dead trees. Vec limps back to the center to have two ghosts gasp in shock when they see him and cry to themselves when he is wheeled off to one of the recovery rooms. Vecransyh's recovery process takes only a few days but the words of the figure linger in his mind and Vecransyh knows what he has to do as he sits up in the hospital bed looking towards the window, the bright sunlight shining in onto his bed,
(There's someone I need to talk to.) Vecransyh's train of thought is thrown off as he looks towards the door seeing Xylina walk in with a tray of food. Xylina smiles as she looks at him,
"Looks like you're back to your old self again. Good, because Kaza wouldn't shut up about going to Canalave for the sixth badge." Vecransyh smiles softly as he just looks at her. Xylina tilts her head slightly, "What...?"
"Nothing. So, when are we heading back to Canalave?"
"You sure you'll be okay?" Vecransyh nods as he slips out of the bed and sets his feet on the floor,
"Yeah, I feel perfectly fine." Xylina smiles softly,
"That's good. You never told anyone what happened though." Vecransyh shrugs,
"I don't really know much about it myself. It was just this guy and he was like super pissed off at me for some reason. But I'm fine now. I promise." Xylina nods and gives him a light kiss,
"Okay, well, we could set out today and get there by nightfall." Vecransyh nods,
"That sounds good. I'll meet you guys outside in a couple minutes." Xylina smiles,
"Okay, love." Xylina turns her head and winks at him before disappearing out the door. Vecransyh smiles to himself,
(You could never understand what we all have.)
A few minutes later Vecransyh walks out the front door of the Pokemon center and scratches his head as he walks up to Kaza and the others with a yawn, "Oh man... Canalave is a six day walk from here." Scarlet raises her hand,
"Does everyone just ignore the fact that I have psychic Pokemon that can teleport us to any town or city that we have been in this region?" Vecransyh raises his hand,
"I ignore it because that makes traveling to easy." Scarlet scowls,
"Well fine!! Let's just walk all around everywhere!!" Stratos adjusts the hat on his head,
"Why don't we just teleport to Canalave and spend six days there? My first birthday is in six days anyway." Everyone exchanges looks and no one objects. Scarlet releases Gardevoir from her pokeball and she stand in front of the group,
"Just like before. Everyone stand close together." Everyone does as instructed and Gardevoir's eyes glow before all of them disappear in a flash of light.
Kaza looks around at the familiar port of Canalave city and cringes slightly when he looks over to the gym to their right. No one notices Kazamaru's reaction and the group heads into the Pokemon center they appeared in front of. After checking into their rooms the group separates to do whatever interests them. Scarlet and Kazamaru are walking past the gym when Scarlet notices him looking slightly frightened as he looks at the gym,
"You okay?" Kaza jumps,
"Well... uhh..." He pauses for a moment and looks down, "No... the gym leader here is my father and he's always thought of me as worthless." Scarlet looks at him sadly,
"He couldn't mean that." Kaza sighs,
"He used to tell me on a regular basis before I left..." Scarlet stops and embraces him,
"Don't worry Kaza, when you beat him he'll see that he's wrong." Kaza smiles lightly,
"Thanks and I know I can beat him. I have to or else... I don't know what he'd do." Scarlet gives him a concerned look,
"What do you mean?" Kaza looks down,
"When we were here last we all got trapped into nightmares by Darkrai. In mine... it was a battle between me and my father and I lost. Then... then he killed all of my Pokemon and forbid me to ever become a trainer again." Scarlet shakes her head,
"No father would do that. That would just be too heartless and cruel. Your nightmare won't come true so have faith in your Pokemon and you'll win." Kaza smiles and nods,
"Thanks, I needed that."
Latias and Stratos sit in a local restaurant and Stratos chomps down on a hamburger savoring the delicious taste of his first solid food. Latias smiles as she watches him look like he's in pure ecstasy,
"Looks like you're enjoying that hamburger." Stratos looks up and swallows his bite,
"I never thought solid food could be so good!!" Stratos continues eating for a few more minutes and when he's finished all of his food he looks up at Latias, "Mommy?" Latias gives him a curious look,
"What is it hun?"
"What really happened to daddy?" Latias is silent, "When you came back you looked so sad and when you told me he was just taking care of a few things I sensed a deep sorrow in your voice and I saw it in your eyes. Then that day where we all did nothing..." Stratos looks down, "What happened to him? Did daddy die?" Latias looks up and finally speaks,
"That's what I thought. That's what we all thought until yesterday." Stratos gives her a curious look,
"Yesterday?" Latias nods,
"When you were in battle you tried to send out Arcanine but he wasn't there. It was at that moment that I realized Arcanine stayed with your father and since Arcanine is so powerful there might be a chance that he's alive." Stratos smiles brightly,
"I know he's alive. I feel it." Latias smiles lightly,
"I hope you're right." Stratos nods with a happy grin,
"And until he comes back I'm going to keep winning!"
Xylina and Yakira both sit on a bench near a tea house drinking small cups of tea. Yakira looks over to Xylina,
"So Vecransyh just disappeared?" Xylina nods as she looks at her,
"He said that there was something really important he had to talk to someone about and that he would be back in a few days at max."
"Okay...? Then why did he leave all his Pokemon in his room?" Xylina gives her an odd look,
"What?" Yakira nods,
"He left his belt with all of the pokeballs in the room. I don't know where he went but after what happened a couple days ago I'm starting to get worried about him." Xylina looks down,
"I just don't understand why someone would want to hurt Vecransyh. He's such a tranquil spirit... have you seen that guy before?" Yakira shakes her head,
"Maybe. I saw countless people during my travels from Snowpoint but I'm not sure if I've ever seen that guy before. His face was covered by that hood anyway..." Xylina sighs,
"We should have gone with him. He wouldn't have gotten hurt if we..." Yakira interrupts her,
"What's past is past. What's important is that it doesn't happen again otherwise his bruises and potential wounds could be fatal."
Vecransyh stands inside one of the rooms in the old hotel he'd been inside on his last visit to Canalave city. He looks around the dusty, dark room before he speaks in a voice of both fear and determination,
"Darkrai. I need to speak to you." There is a silence in the room as nothing happens. Vecransyh waits for a minute before calling out again, "Darkrai!!" After nothing happens again Vecransyh looks down, "I'm begging you Darkrai... please appear to me and help me... I come to you completely unarmed." Vecransyh then hears a noise and looks up to see the Pokemon of nightmares materialize in front of him,
"Never thought I'd see you again. Why have you come here if your intention is not to defeat me?" Darkrai then smiles an evil smile, "Have you come to let me lock you into an endless nightmare?!" Vecransyh flinches at the evil voice of the Pokemon,
"I've come for your help... I request of you to train me against anyone who could be my enemy." Darkrai gives him a baffled look,
"And how do you expect me to do that? Not like we could just go find technical machines to use on you."
"I want you to put me into the nightmare that you put Xylina into. I want to fight her father." Darkrai laughs darkly,
"And you expect to win?! How about I just run through the dream from her side and then you tell me if you really want to take him on!?" Without another word Darkrai puts Vecransyh to sleep and then puts him into Xylina's nightmare as a mere observer. He watches himself be slashed and horribly wounded before finally being killed in front of a crying Xylina. He closes his eyes after watching the conclusion of the dream where Xylina's father kills her,
"I've seen enough Darkrai." Vecransyh suddenly wakes up still standing and looks into the face of the ghost, "Yes." Darkrai gives him an odd look,
"You saw what he did to you. I'd have no problem watching that over and over again but why do you want me to..." Darkrai is cut off by Vecransyh,
"Repeat the dream as many times as it takes until I have the skill to kill him. I also need a sword." Darkrai gives him an evil smile,
"That's fine. No matter which way the nightmare goes I still get to see someone get killed. Oh, you're also going to feel all of the pain so you may want to avoid dying to many times. Just keep in mind that it's only a nightmare and your mind shouldn't break." Vecransyh nods,
"I understand." Vecransyh walks over to the bed at the side of the room and lays down, "Don't let me out of the dream unless I call your name or succeed in killing him." Darkrai nods,
"I'll agree to that since you came her of your own free will to be put into a nightmare for my enjoyment." Vecransyh nods and Darkrai holds out one of his claws casting dark void on him, "Pleasant nightmares prince."
Vecransyh opens his eyes finding himself in the dark, poisoned-looking forest looking around. He looks to his waist and sees a sword strapped to it. He draws it and holds it in his hand. The blade is a simple sword with nothing special about it,
(At least he gave me one.) Suddenly Vecransyh hears a noise and turns around only to feel a sharp pain in his face as a sword splits his skull. Vecransyh gasps and finds himself at the beginning of the dream again with the sword sheathed. He hears Darkrai speak into his mind,
(Okay. You're going to have to be a little more alert this time.) Vecransyh scratches his head as the pain had completely stopped,
"Why did the pain stop so quickly?"
(Because it was a fatal blow.)
"Ah." Vecransyh draws the sword from his waist and looks around. Suddenly he hears a sound behind him and jumps forward turning and holding the sword out in front of him towards the demonic looking Mismagius who looks at him in surprise,
"You're quick but you will die for clouding my daughter's judgment." Vecransyh looks darkly at the ghost,
"I know that your mind is unswayable and that killing you is the only way I'll live." The ghost smiles,
"Good luck!!" The ghost rushes him and Vecransyh parries a few of the attacks before begin swiftly slashes through the heart. Vecransyh looks around at the restarted dream,
"Dammit!"
(Having never used a sword before this is going to take you a while. Just be thankful that he only does fatal blows so you'll not feel much more then a little pain each time you fail.) Vecransyh scratches his head as he draws the sword,
"So is this thing going to be the same every time?"
(No, he will be attacking from different angles and with different attacking methods. A set chain of moves would make this to easy and personally, I like watching people die in dreams so I couldn't make this easy. Besides, you wouldn't learn many skills if you were to fight the same thing over and over again. Changing each time makes you progress.) Vecransyh nods,
"Okay..." Mismagius jumps from the trees and Vecransyh parries the blow before slashing at him. The ghost jumps back away from the strike. He lunges again and the two begin slashing and parrying each other's attacks but each and every try ends in Vecransyh's death. Darkrai grows impressed at Vecransyh's skill with a sword as he watches him die over and over again but make a little more progress each time,
"He'll land a hit before to long." The rings of metal echoes into the forest as Vecransyh blocks every attack thrown at him by the Mismagius and Vecransyh curves the blade in a slash knocking away the Mismagius' sword and slashes him across the torso. The Mismagius looks at him in disbelief as he clutches his stomach in an attempt to stop the blood flowing from his wound and Vecransyh looks darkly at him,
"You will not win." Mismagius grips his sword and gives Vecransyh a piercing glare as he rushes at him slashing much faster then before as if not caring about his own life as long as Vecransyh falls. Vecransyh does his best as he fends off the blows landing a few more to the ghost's torso before he screams out in pain as his arm is severed from his body followed by his head.
Vecransyh punches a nearby tree in anger, "I was so close!!!"
(You're almost there. Rest and continue in the morning.) Vecransyh wakes up in the bed he had lied down in before the dream had started and he sits up looking across the room at Darkrai, "It should only take you a few more tries to get to the level you wish to be at. Your mind is tired from all it has been through so go to sleep and tomorrow we will resume your nightmare." Vecransyh does as instructed and let's himself drift off to sleep. Resisting his urge to place Vecransyh into a nightmare Darkrai disappears into the shadows of the hotel awaiting the morning light to pierce the room.
Vecransyh wakes up early the next morning feeling refreshed after his sleep. Darkrai materializes into the room,
"Ready?" Vecransyh stretches and cracks his neck before nodding,
"Let's do this." Vecransyh then feels the sleep take him and looks around the forest again and he reaches to the sword now strapped to his back and draws it. A few minutes pass and Vecransyh and Mismagius are well into their battle neither of them landing a hit on the other as they both slash wildly filling the forest with the echoing sound of metal on metal. Vecransyh makes the first hit slashing the Mismagius in the torso and he staggers back clutching his wound. Instead of speaking Vecransyh runs forward and uses all of his strength as he slams away at the Mismagius that makes a futile attempt to parry his blows and Vecransyh slams the sword down breaking his sword in half and cutting him down the middle. Vecransyh waits until Mismagius' gasping breathing stops and his movement ceases. Vecransyh turns around as he sheathes the sword on his back and looks upon Darkrai who floats in front of him. Vecransyh blinks and is back in the room. He gets out of the bed and stands up looking across the room at Darkrai,
"Your training is complete." Vecransyh bows slightly and Darkrai holds out his hand, "Take my hand I want to give you something." Vecransyh takes the ghosts hand and feels a rush of energy flow through him. After it passes Vecransyh looks down at the ground breathing heavily,
"W-what did you do to me?!"
"I have granted you the sword of nightmares. It is imbued with my powers and any wound it deals will, of course, cause the victim to fall into an endless nightmare."
"And you trust me enough to give me this?" Darkrai nods,
"I went into your mind while you were in the nightmare and found out why you were doing this. You intentions are to protect those close to you and so I granted you the blade." Vecransyh looks down at his hands,
"How do I use it?"
"Call its name and it will rise to your hands from the darkness." Vecransyh nods with a smile,
"Thank you Darkrai." Darkrai gives him a sadistic smile,
"I don't deserve any praise. I make people's nightmares destroy their minds. This was my good deed for the century." Vecransyh nods and walks over to the door opening it,
"Goodbye Darkrai." Vecransyh turns around to see Darkrai vanished and he walks down the stairs from the hotel into the Pokemon center. He walks up the stairs and up to the door of his room. He smiles as he walks in to see his lovers sleeping peacefully in the bed and he walks over to the bed before lying down in between Xylina and Yakira and putting his arms around them as he drifts off to sleep knowing that he now could protect them if the need arose.
"Vec, let's talk." Without another word the figure moves back toward the door, and as he leaves Xylina and Yakira both lower their attacks looking worried and confused. They both look to Vec who has a serious look on his face. Vec then feels something, and he knew this person isn't one to be ignored lightly, so he decides to comply with his demands for now,
"Don't worry about me, I'll be fine, just stay in here, and try to sleep." Vec's voice speaks with a sense of urgency, and neither Xylina nor Yakira can rise up in protest. Vec pulls on his shirt as he gets off of the bed and walks out the door. When he arrives in the lobby he notices the front door ominously open, as dark leaves blow along the ground, creating a ghostly atmosphere as the twilight sky shows dark purple on the shadows. He walks outside, feeling a breeze slightly pick up, and there he sees the same dark figure standing 20 feet from the door, down an antagonistic path. Vec begins walking towards the figure, and when he gets somewhat close, the figure raises an arm, prompting him to stop moving. The two stand for a while, staring each other down, before the figure finally speaks again.
"You should be dead." Vec looks at him with a look of confusion and offence for a moment,
"Wha-what do you mean? Is someone trying to kill me?" The figure stands in silence for a moment as he gathers his thoughts.
"The Mismagius, Darkrai forewarned her of future events, and lamentably she learned from her mistakes; hence your life." Vec is confused and tired, but this stranger seems to make no sense to him.
"I don't know what you're talking about! Is someone trying to kill Xylina?!"
The figure suddenly rushes towards him, and grabs him by the shirt, lifting him into the air,
"You are weak. When her father tried to kill you, all you could do was cower in a corner and await your death. She had to save you, what does that say about you as her protector?!" Vec's thoughts return to the encounter in the Lost Tower although he had tried his best to forget it,
(Was he there?) "How do you know what happened in the Tower?" The figure still holds him up, his arm never faltering under Vec's weight,
"I see many things, but that's not the answer to my question." Vec begins to grow uncomfortable with being held up in the air and struggles to get free, but his grip is too much and he eventually accepts it,
"It means that she loves me as much as I do her." The figure suddenly throws Vec into a nearby tree, bruising his shoulder blades. Vec yells out in pain before he feels the figure next to him again, pinning him to the tree by his throat,
"Love has nothing to do with it. You told her you would protect her, and you stood down. That is unforgivable, and you need to either get strong enough to protect those you love, or roll over and die." All he can do is sit there and try to resist the figure's message with a futile effort as trying to move causes him incredible pain. "How can she love someone as useless as you? You can't protect her, and all you do is hold her from time to time. She has saved you from death, you can't repay her." Vec looks angrily at him,
"I've saved her from death! I sacrificed my body to protect her from an icy death!"
"Yes, and look at the sorrow you caused her when you took the attack. She was in tears."
"Because she loves me..."
"You will only cause her greater pain when you finally do move on if you continue this useless charade." Vec looks at him in defiance,
"I'll never leave her."
"I could kill you right now, and your words would mean nothing." The figure tightens his hold on Vec's throat, "Do you understand your helplessness now?! You're beaten, you can't protect anyone, because the moment you do, you'll die." The figure releases Vec's neck and he falls to the ground trying to regain his breath,
"And now you've picked up another person you can't protect, the Froslass. I must say that it's a deliciously bitter betrayal of your love to Xylina." Vec crawls to his side, trying to nurse his bruises,
"L-love is a universal..." Vec is cut off by the figure planting a forceful kick into his abdomen, sending Vec skidding 5 feet behind where he was,
"Do not lecture me on a philosophy you only understand by its charismatic ways. I guarantee you that is the only bond there." Vec begins coughing as he tries to get up,
"Y-you're wrong...about everything... I'll protect them both and they will love me for me." The figure spits at the ground in front of him,
"You immature fool, if you'll only learn the hard way, then perhaps I should kill them both." Vec finally gets to his feet,
"Don't you dare touch them, or I'll..."
"Or you'll what? If you really loved them you'd be able to stop me right now. Embrace your defeats and failure; you won't be pained as much when the time of reckoning is upon you." The figure then turns and walks away into the twisted dead trees. Vec limps back to the center to have two ghosts gasp in shock when they see him and cry to themselves when he is wheeled off to one of the recovery rooms. Vecransyh's recovery process takes only a few days but the words of the figure linger in his mind and Vecransyh knows what he has to do as he sits up in the hospital bed looking towards the window, the bright sunlight shining in onto his bed,
(There's someone I need to talk to.) Vecransyh's train of thought is thrown off as he looks towards the door seeing Xylina walk in with a tray of food. Xylina smiles as she looks at him,
"Looks like you're back to your old self again. Good, because Kaza wouldn't shut up about going to Canalave for the sixth badge." Vecransyh smiles softly as he just looks at her. Xylina tilts her head slightly, "What...?"
"Nothing. So, when are we heading back to Canalave?"
"You sure you'll be okay?" Vecransyh nods as he slips out of the bed and sets his feet on the floor,
"Yeah, I feel perfectly fine." Xylina smiles softly,
"That's good. You never told anyone what happened though." Vecransyh shrugs,
"I don't really know much about it myself. It was just this guy and he was like super pissed off at me for some reason. But I'm fine now. I promise." Xylina nods and gives him a light kiss,
"Okay, well, we could set out today and get there by nightfall." Vecransyh nods,
"That sounds good. I'll meet you guys outside in a couple minutes." Xylina smiles,
"Okay, love." Xylina turns her head and winks at him before disappearing out the door. Vecransyh smiles to himself,
(You could never understand what we all have.)
A few minutes later Vecransyh walks out the front door of the Pokemon center and scratches his head as he walks up to Kaza and the others with a yawn, "Oh man... Canalave is a six day walk from here." Scarlet raises her hand,
"Does everyone just ignore the fact that I have psychic Pokemon that can teleport us to any town or city that we have been in this region?" Vecransyh raises his hand,
"I ignore it because that makes traveling to easy." Scarlet scowls,
"Well fine!! Let's just walk all around everywhere!!" Stratos adjusts the hat on his head,
"Why don't we just teleport to Canalave and spend six days there? My first birthday is in six days anyway." Everyone exchanges looks and no one objects. Scarlet releases Gardevoir from her pokeball and she stand in front of the group,
"Just like before. Everyone stand close together." Everyone does as instructed and Gardevoir's eyes glow before all of them disappear in a flash of light.
Kaza looks around at the familiar port of Canalave city and cringes slightly when he looks over to the gym to their right. No one notices Kazamaru's reaction and the group heads into the Pokemon center they appeared in front of. After checking into their rooms the group separates to do whatever interests them. Scarlet and Kazamaru are walking past the gym when Scarlet notices him looking slightly frightened as he looks at the gym,
"You okay?" Kaza jumps,
"Well... uhh..." He pauses for a moment and looks down, "No... the gym leader here is my father and he's always thought of me as worthless." Scarlet looks at him sadly,
"He couldn't mean that." Kaza sighs,
"He used to tell me on a regular basis before I left..." Scarlet stops and embraces him,
"Don't worry Kaza, when you beat him he'll see that he's wrong." Kaza smiles lightly,
"Thanks and I know I can beat him. I have to or else... I don't know what he'd do." Scarlet gives him a concerned look,
"What do you mean?" Kaza looks down,
"When we were here last we all got trapped into nightmares by Darkrai. In mine... it was a battle between me and my father and I lost. Then... then he killed all of my Pokemon and forbid me to ever become a trainer again." Scarlet shakes her head,
"No father would do that. That would just be too heartless and cruel. Your nightmare won't come true so have faith in your Pokemon and you'll win." Kaza smiles and nods,
"Thanks, I needed that."
Latias and Stratos sit in a local restaurant and Stratos chomps down on a hamburger savoring the delicious taste of his first solid food. Latias smiles as she watches him look like he's in pure ecstasy,
"Looks like you're enjoying that hamburger." Stratos looks up and swallows his bite,
"I never thought solid food could be so good!!" Stratos continues eating for a few more minutes and when he's finished all of his food he looks up at Latias, "Mommy?" Latias gives him a curious look,
"What is it hun?"
"What really happened to daddy?" Latias is silent, "When you came back you looked so sad and when you told me he was just taking care of a few things I sensed a deep sorrow in your voice and I saw it in your eyes. Then that day where we all did nothing..." Stratos looks down, "What happened to him? Did daddy die?" Latias looks up and finally speaks,
"That's what I thought. That's what we all thought until yesterday." Stratos gives her a curious look,
"Yesterday?" Latias nods,
"When you were in battle you tried to send out Arcanine but he wasn't there. It was at that moment that I realized Arcanine stayed with your father and since Arcanine is so powerful there might be a chance that he's alive." Stratos smiles brightly,
"I know he's alive. I feel it." Latias smiles lightly,
"I hope you're right." Stratos nods with a happy grin,
"And until he comes back I'm going to keep winning!"
Xylina and Yakira both sit on a bench near a tea house drinking small cups of tea. Yakira looks over to Xylina,
"So Vecransyh just disappeared?" Xylina nods as she looks at her,
"He said that there was something really important he had to talk to someone about and that he would be back in a few days at max."
"Okay...? Then why did he leave all his Pokemon in his room?" Xylina gives her an odd look,
"What?" Yakira nods,
"He left his belt with all of the pokeballs in the room. I don't know where he went but after what happened a couple days ago I'm starting to get worried about him." Xylina looks down,
"I just don't understand why someone would want to hurt Vecransyh. He's such a tranquil spirit... have you seen that guy before?" Yakira shakes her head,
"Maybe. I saw countless people during my travels from Snowpoint but I'm not sure if I've ever seen that guy before. His face was covered by that hood anyway..." Xylina sighs,
"We should have gone with him. He wouldn't have gotten hurt if we..." Yakira interrupts her,
"What's past is past. What's important is that it doesn't happen again otherwise his bruises and potential wounds could be fatal."
Vecransyh stands inside one of the rooms in the old hotel he'd been inside on his last visit to Canalave city. He looks around the dusty, dark room before he speaks in a voice of both fear and determination,
"Darkrai. I need to speak to you." There is a silence in the room as nothing happens. Vecransyh waits for a minute before calling out again, "Darkrai!!" After nothing happens again Vecransyh looks down, "I'm begging you Darkrai... please appear to me and help me... I come to you completely unarmed." Vecransyh then hears a noise and looks up to see the Pokemon of nightmares materialize in front of him,
"Never thought I'd see you again. Why have you come here if your intention is not to defeat me?" Darkrai then smiles an evil smile, "Have you come to let me lock you into an endless nightmare?!" Vecransyh flinches at the evil voice of the Pokemon,
"I've come for your help... I request of you to train me against anyone who could be my enemy." Darkrai gives him a baffled look,
"And how do you expect me to do that? Not like we could just go find technical machines to use on you."
"I want you to put me into the nightmare that you put Xylina into. I want to fight her father." Darkrai laughs darkly,
"And you expect to win?! How about I just run through the dream from her side and then you tell me if you really want to take him on!?" Without another word Darkrai puts Vecransyh to sleep and then puts him into Xylina's nightmare as a mere observer. He watches himself be slashed and horribly wounded before finally being killed in front of a crying Xylina. He closes his eyes after watching the conclusion of the dream where Xylina's father kills her,
"I've seen enough Darkrai." Vecransyh suddenly wakes up still standing and looks into the face of the ghost, "Yes." Darkrai gives him an odd look,
"You saw what he did to you. I'd have no problem watching that over and over again but why do you want me to..." Darkrai is cut off by Vecransyh,
"Repeat the dream as many times as it takes until I have the skill to kill him. I also need a sword." Darkrai gives him an evil smile,
"That's fine. No matter which way the nightmare goes I still get to see someone get killed. Oh, you're also going to feel all of the pain so you may want to avoid dying to many times. Just keep in mind that it's only a nightmare and your mind shouldn't break." Vecransyh nods,
"I understand." Vecransyh walks over to the bed at the side of the room and lays down, "Don't let me out of the dream unless I call your name or succeed in killing him." Darkrai nods,
"I'll agree to that since you came her of your own free will to be put into a nightmare for my enjoyment." Vecransyh nods and Darkrai holds out one of his claws casting dark void on him, "Pleasant nightmares prince."
Vecransyh opens his eyes finding himself in the dark, poisoned-looking forest looking around. He looks to his waist and sees a sword strapped to it. He draws it and holds it in his hand. The blade is a simple sword with nothing special about it,
(At least he gave me one.) Suddenly Vecransyh hears a noise and turns around only to feel a sharp pain in his face as a sword splits his skull. Vecransyh gasps and finds himself at the beginning of the dream again with the sword sheathed. He hears Darkrai speak into his mind,
(Okay. You're going to have to be a little more alert this time.) Vecransyh scratches his head as the pain had completely stopped,
"Why did the pain stop so quickly?"
(Because it was a fatal blow.)
"Ah." Vecransyh draws the sword from his waist and looks around. Suddenly he hears a sound behind him and jumps forward turning and holding the sword out in front of him towards the demonic looking Mismagius who looks at him in surprise,
"You're quick but you will die for clouding my daughter's judgment." Vecransyh looks darkly at the ghost,
"I know that your mind is unswayable and that killing you is the only way I'll live." The ghost smiles,
"Good luck!!" The ghost rushes him and Vecransyh parries a few of the attacks before begin swiftly slashes through the heart. Vecransyh looks around at the restarted dream,
"Dammit!"
(Having never used a sword before this is going to take you a while. Just be thankful that he only does fatal blows so you'll not feel much more then a little pain each time you fail.) Vecransyh scratches his head as he draws the sword,
"So is this thing going to be the same every time?"
(No, he will be attacking from different angles and with different attacking methods. A set chain of moves would make this to easy and personally, I like watching people die in dreams so I couldn't make this easy. Besides, you wouldn't learn many skills if you were to fight the same thing over and over again. Changing each time makes you progress.) Vecransyh nods,
"Okay..." Mismagius jumps from the trees and Vecransyh parries the blow before slashing at him. The ghost jumps back away from the strike. He lunges again and the two begin slashing and parrying each other's attacks but each and every try ends in Vecransyh's death. Darkrai grows impressed at Vecransyh's skill with a sword as he watches him die over and over again but make a little more progress each time,
"He'll land a hit before to long." The rings of metal echoes into the forest as Vecransyh blocks every attack thrown at him by the Mismagius and Vecransyh curves the blade in a slash knocking away the Mismagius' sword and slashes him across the torso. The Mismagius looks at him in disbelief as he clutches his stomach in an attempt to stop the blood flowing from his wound and Vecransyh looks darkly at him,
"You will not win." Mismagius grips his sword and gives Vecransyh a piercing glare as he rushes at him slashing much faster then before as if not caring about his own life as long as Vecransyh falls. Vecransyh does his best as he fends off the blows landing a few more to the ghost's torso before he screams out in pain as his arm is severed from his body followed by his head.
Vecransyh punches a nearby tree in anger, "I was so close!!!"
(You're almost there. Rest and continue in the morning.) Vecransyh wakes up in the bed he had lied down in before the dream had started and he sits up looking across the room at Darkrai, "It should only take you a few more tries to get to the level you wish to be at. Your mind is tired from all it has been through so go to sleep and tomorrow we will resume your nightmare." Vecransyh does as instructed and let's himself drift off to sleep. Resisting his urge to place Vecransyh into a nightmare Darkrai disappears into the shadows of the hotel awaiting the morning light to pierce the room.
Vecransyh wakes up early the next morning feeling refreshed after his sleep. Darkrai materializes into the room,
"Ready?" Vecransyh stretches and cracks his neck before nodding,
"Let's do this." Vecransyh then feels the sleep take him and looks around the forest again and he reaches to the sword now strapped to his back and draws it. A few minutes pass and Vecransyh and Mismagius are well into their battle neither of them landing a hit on the other as they both slash wildly filling the forest with the echoing sound of metal on metal. Vecransyh makes the first hit slashing the Mismagius in the torso and he staggers back clutching his wound. Instead of speaking Vecransyh runs forward and uses all of his strength as he slams away at the Mismagius that makes a futile attempt to parry his blows and Vecransyh slams the sword down breaking his sword in half and cutting him down the middle. Vecransyh waits until Mismagius' gasping breathing stops and his movement ceases. Vecransyh turns around as he sheathes the sword on his back and looks upon Darkrai who floats in front of him. Vecransyh blinks and is back in the room. He gets out of the bed and stands up looking across the room at Darkrai,
"Your training is complete." Vecransyh bows slightly and Darkrai holds out his hand, "Take my hand I want to give you something." Vecransyh takes the ghosts hand and feels a rush of energy flow through him. After it passes Vecransyh looks down at the ground breathing heavily,
"W-what did you do to me?!"
"I have granted you the sword of nightmares. It is imbued with my powers and any wound it deals will, of course, cause the victim to fall into an endless nightmare."
"And you trust me enough to give me this?" Darkrai nods,
"I went into your mind while you were in the nightmare and found out why you were doing this. You intentions are to protect those close to you and so I granted you the blade." Vecransyh looks down at his hands,
"How do I use it?"
"Call its name and it will rise to your hands from the darkness." Vecransyh nods with a smile,
"Thank you Darkrai." Darkrai gives him a sadistic smile,
"I don't deserve any praise. I make people's nightmares destroy their minds. This was my good deed for the century." Vecransyh nods and walks over to the door opening it,
"Goodbye Darkrai." Vecransyh turns around to see Darkrai vanished and he walks down the stairs from the hotel into the Pokemon center. He walks up the stairs and up to the door of his room. He smiles as he walks in to see his lovers sleeping peacefully in the bed and he walks over to the bed before lying down in between Xylina and Yakira and putting his arms around them as he drifts off to sleep knowing that he now could protect them if the need arose.