One moment, Olivie stood in a maelstrom of action. The pokemon attacking her alone or in pairs were no match, and with a cruel smile on her face she began to grow careless. Could any of these unclean buffoons even compare? She altered her movement, shifting towards form over function. A true paragon of beauty and strength could, after all, effortlessly claim victory and do it in a stylish manner. So caught up was she in this endeavor that she did not notice a dark shape, hidden by the black sky, swooping in from above. In a split second, the steel talon raked across her face, and in the next its owner disappeared again. Olivie cried out in pain stumbling backward in an attempt to keep her balance only to trip and fall flat. Clutching her bleeding face, she rolled onto her from and pushed herself onto her knees. It hurt more terribly than she could have imagined. Even as she utilized them to their utmost, she hadn't thought that her incredible offensive powers might imply that her defenses were paper-thin. None of this occurred to her at the moment, though; all she could think about was the pain. It wasn't going away, either, and when she tried to open her right eye she was greeted by a stab of agony and nothing else. The terrifying word blind echoed through her head.
In the background, Darkrai's mood did not change. ”Then again, deep down you're still a pathetic wannabe. Never has a softer heart blustered harder. Didn't I say this place shows you for what you truly are? All bark and no bite.”
Half-hearing her captor's condemnation through the thick haze that assailed her brain, Olivie tottered to her feet. The pokemon that had attacked her must have thought her defeated and turned to deal with a more pressing foe. With her one good eye, she gazed around, trying to find an escape. Tears clouded her vision, but she could make out one odd thing in the chaos: a giant creature, like a four-legged spider made of teal steel, sitting on the earth with its eyes scrunched closed. A couple pokemon were attacking it, but as Olivie watched, two grew bored and picked a fight with each other, leaving only a beat-up, puny-looking Ursaring to smack its tough exterior halfheatedly. Something clicked in Olivie's mind, and she cautiously made her way over. In this place, sneaking would avail her radiant white form none at all, so she resorted to simply dashing her way over. The Ursaring flinched when she approached, but remained still when it became clear Olivie didn't want to attack. Having sensed a new arrival, the Metagross mumbled, ”Get on with it. I'm not fighting back.”
Even with the heavy metallic distortion, Olivie recognized the voice. She reached out to touch its forehead and involuntarily stopped halfway. Her instincts screamed at her to leave the filthy thing along. You are better than in every way! Stronger! More beautiful! Don't bother with the lesser creatures! But the pain made them hard to listen to. Olivie gingerly laid her slender golden fingers on the steel surface and uttered in an odd croon, “Barnie. Get up...you doormat.”
The pokemon's eyes blinked open. They were green, not like Bernard's eyes, but perhaps like he'd want them to be. Olivie could visualize the gears turning in his mind before he said, ”Olivie?”
Withdrawing her fingers, Olivie stared at the ground. Knowing his eyes were on her made her ashamed—she could see the intimidation within them, startled at how amazing she was. Part of her reveled in his realization that she was beyond him, but part of her hated that. ”How...did you shut it out? These new feelings...like I wanna lose myself...so hard to think.”
A creaking noise rang out as Bernard hoisted himself to his feet. As best he could, he shook his head. ”It just wasn't hard for me. But I can see you struggling, so listen. What you are now came from what you really are, but its not the real you. Its like a virus trying to take control, but one that your body wants to embrace, like eating potato chips when you know you shouldn't. But you can beat it. That's what strength is: not beating someone down, but standing up for what you believe in. That's what you've been trying to teach me on our journey, right?”
A tear, as blue as the sky, dripped between Olivie's fingers. ”You're...right. Man...this is so...soppy. Gotta wake up...gotta wake up.” She looked around. Back near where she'd been fighting, Leisy and Ella were still fighting. Behind them, Darkrai lurked, but he'd risen so he could see what Olivie was doing. Even from this distance, the pheromosa could see that his eye had narrowed. Why? she wondered. Didn't the monster have complete dominion over this dreamscape? A new thought occurred to her.
Bernard raised a claw like a student lifting up a hand to ask his teacher a question. ”How about you give him the business, instead? If by some miracle we faint him, the nightmare should end, right?”
A tentative smile crept onto Olivie's face. She allowed a touch of her anger to return. As if she'd flipped a switch, gray energy started to form around her. Still holding onto her eye with one hand, she directed the other outward, and the gray energy turned vivid scarlet before shooting out as a blast. It soared toward Darkrai and hit him dead-on, causing him to recoil.
Calm malice filled his tone as he stared at her from across the distance. ”Clever kid.” Suddenly, everything had grown quiet; the other pokemon could barely bring themselves to keep fighting. ”You sure you want to do this? Look, if you don't like this way this is going, I can change things up a bit. This is supposed to be the place where you're free. Where everything is as you want it. Everyone wants to be a monster...don't make me the bad guy, little lady.”
In the background, Darkrai's mood did not change. ”Then again, deep down you're still a pathetic wannabe. Never has a softer heart blustered harder. Didn't I say this place shows you for what you truly are? All bark and no bite.”
Half-hearing her captor's condemnation through the thick haze that assailed her brain, Olivie tottered to her feet. The pokemon that had attacked her must have thought her defeated and turned to deal with a more pressing foe. With her one good eye, she gazed around, trying to find an escape. Tears clouded her vision, but she could make out one odd thing in the chaos: a giant creature, like a four-legged spider made of teal steel, sitting on the earth with its eyes scrunched closed. A couple pokemon were attacking it, but as Olivie watched, two grew bored and picked a fight with each other, leaving only a beat-up, puny-looking Ursaring to smack its tough exterior halfheatedly. Something clicked in Olivie's mind, and she cautiously made her way over. In this place, sneaking would avail her radiant white form none at all, so she resorted to simply dashing her way over. The Ursaring flinched when she approached, but remained still when it became clear Olivie didn't want to attack. Having sensed a new arrival, the Metagross mumbled, ”Get on with it. I'm not fighting back.”
Even with the heavy metallic distortion, Olivie recognized the voice. She reached out to touch its forehead and involuntarily stopped halfway. Her instincts screamed at her to leave the filthy thing along. You are better than in every way! Stronger! More beautiful! Don't bother with the lesser creatures! But the pain made them hard to listen to. Olivie gingerly laid her slender golden fingers on the steel surface and uttered in an odd croon, “Barnie. Get up...you doormat.”
The pokemon's eyes blinked open. They were green, not like Bernard's eyes, but perhaps like he'd want them to be. Olivie could visualize the gears turning in his mind before he said, ”Olivie?”
Withdrawing her fingers, Olivie stared at the ground. Knowing his eyes were on her made her ashamed—she could see the intimidation within them, startled at how amazing she was. Part of her reveled in his realization that she was beyond him, but part of her hated that. ”How...did you shut it out? These new feelings...like I wanna lose myself...so hard to think.”
A creaking noise rang out as Bernard hoisted himself to his feet. As best he could, he shook his head. ”It just wasn't hard for me. But I can see you struggling, so listen. What you are now came from what you really are, but its not the real you. Its like a virus trying to take control, but one that your body wants to embrace, like eating potato chips when you know you shouldn't. But you can beat it. That's what strength is: not beating someone down, but standing up for what you believe in. That's what you've been trying to teach me on our journey, right?”
A tear, as blue as the sky, dripped between Olivie's fingers. ”You're...right. Man...this is so...soppy. Gotta wake up...gotta wake up.” She looked around. Back near where she'd been fighting, Leisy and Ella were still fighting. Behind them, Darkrai lurked, but he'd risen so he could see what Olivie was doing. Even from this distance, the pheromosa could see that his eye had narrowed. Why? she wondered. Didn't the monster have complete dominion over this dreamscape? A new thought occurred to her.
Bernard raised a claw like a student lifting up a hand to ask his teacher a question. ”How about you give him the business, instead? If by some miracle we faint him, the nightmare should end, right?”
A tentative smile crept onto Olivie's face. She allowed a touch of her anger to return. As if she'd flipped a switch, gray energy started to form around her. Still holding onto her eye with one hand, she directed the other outward, and the gray energy turned vivid scarlet before shooting out as a blast. It soared toward Darkrai and hit him dead-on, causing him to recoil.
Calm malice filled his tone as he stared at her from across the distance. ”Clever kid.” Suddenly, everything had grown quiet; the other pokemon could barely bring themselves to keep fighting. ”You sure you want to do this? Look, if you don't like this way this is going, I can change things up a bit. This is supposed to be the place where you're free. Where everything is as you want it. Everyone wants to be a monster...don't make me the bad guy, little lady.”
