As the day went by and Atty finished his routines, he finally had a some free time to himself, and decided to use it watching a little tv. He sat idly on the couch, flipping through the channels, his lycanroc and ninetales laying at either side of him, and his absol at his feet. He stroked around Luna's neck as she rested her head on her master's lap, murring quietly with content. Abby seemed pretty relaxed after taking the medicine given to her by her trainer, her eyes drooping lazily. Atty somehow found himself stopping on the news channel, it's main topic being of disappearances and missing persons. It was only a brief glance however, as it quickly changed to a weather report, which for tomorrow in his area was to be cloudy with a chance of rain. He gave a depressing sigh. "Looks like we'll be staying in tomorrow." The wolf pokemon looked up at him with a smile that seemed to reassure him. "I guess it's not so bad. It'll give me a chance to do some things I've been putting off for a rainy day." He took a look at the clock, noticing it was almost midnight, and gave a stretch and yawn as he sat up and grabbed his cane, Luna perking up almost immediately as her master grabbed his cane and gave the ninetales an affectionate pat on the head. "I'm gonna head to bed, Val. Are you gonna stay here with Abby?" The fox nodded with a smile. "I'll see you in the morning then. Come on, Luna." The wolf pokemon followed her master, quite lazily and ready to call it a night.
As Atty went through his night time routines, he couldn't help shaking the feeling that someone, or something, was watching him, aside from his lycanroc who waiting for him on the bed. His eyes wandered, but saw nothing. Maybe he was just imagining things since he was so tired. His eyelids were getting pretty heavy. Once he finished up, he headed to bed, laying the cane against his nightstand as he through the blankets over himself. He could feel Luna resting her head comfortably on his leg as they both slowly drifted off into a deep slumber.
Hours passed into the night. Luna woke up licking her lips, feeling a little parched. She hopped off the bed and headed into the kitchen for a drink. About a moment after she left, the atmosphere began to change. Atty's room grew foggy and chilly, enough for him to see his own breath, if he were awake. A shadowy figure entered the room, hovering above the floor, and approached his bedside. A dark hand was extended, slowly reaching for him, finally placing itself on his forehead. He let out a sharp gasp as his eyes sprung open, only to black out.
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He wasn't sure how much time had passed. Minutes? Hours? When he finally came to, he found himself in an unfamiliar location. It was dimly lit and vacant of life. A pale mist traveled across the ground at his feet. As his vision cleared up, he noticed a figure directly in front of him that wasn't there before, and fell back from shock, looking up at something that was at least ten feet tall. It was a white equine like creature with a gray, vertically-striated underside, with a similar striated pattern recurring on the underside of its mane, tail, and face. Its four pointed feet were tipped with gold hooves, and its long mane juts away from its head. Its face is gray, with green eyes and red pupils, and a green circular pattern below its eyes. It has a streak of gold coloration on its head, and ears that point upward. The neck is fairly long, with two pairs of extrusions to the sides, and a flap-like feature on the neck's underside that is colored white like much of the body. To top it all off, it has a golden cross-like wheel attached to its body by its round abdomen. There was a unique glow to this creature. Atty didn't feel threatened at all, despite its rather intimidating glare. An aura appeared around it as he began to hear a voice. "Greetings Atemis." He was a little shocked at first, but he knew that some pokemon were capable of telepathy, especially the psychic type. "I am Arceus. Let me be the first to welcome you to the Realm of the Ancients, home of the divine." He looked around, completely dumbstruck. "I'm sure you must have many questions. But they'll have to wait." Arceus turned away, gesturing him to follow. He walked beside him, eventually coming across a pedestal with a glowing orb sitting in the center. He couldn't help but stare, it's unique glow shining all sorts of colors, which could only be described as being like a rainbow like shine. "This is why I've brought you here. Look closely." Atty peered deeply into the orb, straining his eyes a bit at first due to the glow. The vision finally cleared up, revealing a horrific scene. Pokemon with a strange, reddish glow about them were hunting and killing others, both human and pokemon alike, showing absolutely no mercy or remorse for either. The very sight of it made him physically ill. He had never thought pokemon could be so vicious... so evil. He then thought about what he saw on the news channel, about the people that went missing. This was the source of it, no question about it. "As you can see, the balance of nature is in disarray, and the bond between man and pokemon is slipping. There is a great evil plaguing us, an evil in the form of a virus. Where it came from, I do not know. All I know is that it may be related to the shadow pokemon project. Where it started off to where they would attack people, they will now go so far as to kill." His attention snapped to the alpha at the very mention of it.
"I remember that. Wasn't that shut down in the Orre region over ten years ago?"
Arceus nodded, looking down at the human. "Yes. But it's possible some of the scientists responsible for it ran off with their research and have been working underground since then, tampering with the project. Making it stronger. Somehow enhancing it so that it can transmit to others like a virus. Of course, without any evidence to back this up, anything is but a guess." The deity returned his attention to the orb, gesturing for Atty to look as well. "Notice anything else? Something those pokemon have in common?" He observed carefully, taking note of each of these 'savage' pokemon. The one's he saw were a houndoom, mightyena, banette, zoroark, haunter, and shiftry. After pondering for a moment, he finally realized it.
"They're all dark and ghost types."
"Yes. So far, those seem to be the only ones affected by the virus. But that is likely to change soon, which is why we must act fast."
Atty took a long moment to take it all in. The savage pokemon, the virus, the deity before him.. He couldn't be sure if any of this was real or not. "Why are you telling me all of this?"
The alpha's attention quickly snapped to him. "Because... We need your help." Atty stood motionless and speechless.
"What makes you think I can help you? I mean, I'm only human."
"This is true. But there's something different about you." Arceus leaned in, becoming eye level with the human before it. "I watched you today. The way you care for your pokemon, and your kindness to outsiders is truly remarkable. It's a rare thing to find these days among your kind." He backed up a little, keeling slightly to the side as his leg flared up, causing him to cringe a bit and grab it. He let out a sigh.
"Even if I considered it, I'm not exactly what you'd call nimble."
"Yes, I'm aware of your condition. But what would you say if I told you we could fix it?" Atty perked up almost immediately. Was Arceus serious about this? Could he really fix his leg? Is there a catch?
"You can do that?"
"Not at this very moment. You see, my powers don't work on humans. But if you were to become one of us, then it would be no problem." Atty pondered for a long moment.
"Become one of you? You mean... become a pokemon?" Arceus nodded. "Is that even possible?"
"Mending the shape of living things is an ancient art that has served us well many times in the past. You wouldn't be the first, and certainly won't be the last." He was at a loss for words. He was filled with joy, but that quickly faded as he thought about it more. On the one hand, he'd be able to walk freely again. No more pain or restrictions. And perhaps he could understand pokemon on a whole new level. On the other hand, he would have to give up his old life, and put himself on the line for the sake of human and pokemon alike. There were so many things to consider. "You don't have to decide right away. Take some time to think it over." Arceus looked off into the distance. Atty couldn't help but wonder what he was staring at. There was nothing to see for miles. "It'll be morning soon. It's time for you to go. But first, a parting gift." A figure appeared next the human as if from nowhere. He jumped in fright when he noticed, trying to make out the figure as it came to light. It was black and shadow like, possessing a small head with a white fog-like ghostly plume billowing from its head, covering one of its bright blue eyes, with the portion on its face resembling hair. It had a spiky growth around its neck, and it had skinny arms and long black tatters hanging from its shoulders. It also had black, claw-like hands and the slight appearance of an hourglass figure. Its build made it look as though it were wearing an old, ripped cloak. "This is Darkrai. He's the one who brought you here." Arceus looked at the pitch black pokemon. "Darkrai, if you would?" The shadow took Atty's hand, placing something in his palm. He looked and saw it was a stone of some sort glowing a blackish color that eerily matched that of the shadow pokemon next to him. "If you decide to help us, then rub this between your hands to summon Darkrai. He'll take it from there." The alpha looked and nodded at Darkrai, who nodded back in acknowledgment as he placed one of his hands on Atty's head. The chilly feeling he had early returned as he gasped at the dark one's touch. What happened after, he couldn't say, as everything had gone black again.
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Atty sprang up from his sleep as though waking from a nightmare. He was wanting a little heavy, wiping some sweat from his forehead. He looked around and noticed he was back in his bed. He noticed his lycanroc sitting at the foot of his bed, who slowly raised her head, staring at him with droopy eyes and a yawn. She noticed her master's state of panic, cocking her head in confusion, and a look of worry. Atemis took a moment to calm down and collect his thoughts. "I'm okay, Luna. Just a.. bad dream." She gave a weak nod, still half asleep as she laid her head back down and drifted back to sleep. Atty looked at the window. The sun was judging by the weak light, he could tell it was dawn. He wasn't use to waking up this early, but found himself unable to fall back asleep. He sighed, slowly shuffling his way out of bed. He felt a bit of a pinch on his side as he sat up, reaching inside the pocket of his sleep pants and pulling out a small black stone. He recognized it immediately as the one given to him by Darkrai. "So it wasn't a dream then.." he said to himself. He placed the rock on his nightstand, grabbing his cane as he helped himself up and headed towards the restroom to splash water on his face. After waking himself , he headed down to start his earlier than normal day.
He went to the living room and almost collapsed on the couch, next to his ninetales, who he could swear hadn't moved at all during the night. He could say the same for the absol sleeping on the floor. He couldn't help but stare at her though. A lot of thoughts rambled through his mind, especially what Arceus said about the virus affecting dark types. The very thought of it made him sick to his stomach, even more so at the thought of Abby becoming a victim of the plague. When he couldn't stand it anymore, he decided to move elsewhere. Val looked at him briefly before going back to sleep.
The sun was barely shining outside the kitchen window, dark clouds blocking it filling the sky which gave him a gloomy feeling. Atty knew it was about time for the others to wake up, so he decided to go ahead with breakfast. But with everything on his mind, he couldn't help but feel the need for a drink, despite how early it was. A bottle of red wine sat on the counter, within reach so he could easily take a sip as needed, which was a lot. By the time he finished fixing the dishes for his pokemon, he had already drunk half the bottle, and barely had a buzz. When he turned around, he just about spit out what little he had when he saw a familiar purple, large-eared feline staring at him from the doorway, and instead swallowed hard. There was an awkward moment of silence, at least for him. Jewel cocked an eyebrow. Although she couldn't speak to him directly, Atty knew full well what she was thinking. "Don't look at me like that, Jewel, I had a very rough night." She looked unswayed, tail wagging in the air slowly behind her. Regardless, he laid her dish down in front of her. "If you went through what I did, you'd want a drink, too." He walked by her without another word, a puzzled look left on the espeon's face. What exactly did he mean by what he went through?
He proceeded to giving the rest their morning meals, but avoided any and all eye contact with them. He didn't bother to fix anything for himself, since he was too sick at his stomach to think about food. He sat alone outside the garden on his bench, hoping the fresh air and the scene of mother nature would help him relax, if only a little. It was raining, neither too hard nor light. The bench sat under an oak, which shielded him from the drizzle slightly. His eyes grew a little heavy, probably from waking up earlier than the norm, or perhaps from chugging wine. He snapped back to reality when he felt something nudge against his hand, looking down to notice his leafeon, Juniper look up at him lovingly. He smiled and patted the empty seat next to him, and she gladly and eagerly jumped up and laid across his lap. He stroked the grass pokemon gently from her neck to her lower back, causing a purr of content to escape from her. A pleasant aroma filled the air and his nostrils that seemed to help him relax more, almost like a sedative. It was hard to believe it was just the clean air a leafeon generates during photosynthesis, though how she was doing it during a rainy day was puzzling. "You sensed my distress, didn't you June?" She rubbed her head against his chest, her purrs growing louder as she vibrated against him. "Or were you just looking for attention?" A chuckle escaped from him as he hugged and kissed her on the forehead, a blush spreading across her face. Regardless of her intentions, he was glad to have her company. He was about to doze off when he felt a pinch in his side. Remembering the stone in his pocket, he pulled it out and stared at the black rock for a moment, his mind drifting away again. Juniper paid no attention though, as she was drifting off herself. But somehow she made it easier to grasp the whole situation. He twirled the stone anxiously between his fingers as pondered long and hard about what he should do.
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Arceus watched through the magical orb as Atty struggled with his decision. The alpha sighed heavily as he awaited the human's decision. He was accompanied by the lunar pokemon, Cresselia. A deep and familiar voice caught their attention.
"You were so confident about this human earlier." Giratina stood before them. "Why not change him now?"
"You know it's not as simple as that, brother." Arceus retained a calm stature as he spoke to the ghost-dragon hybrid, "Darkrai needs his consent to do so, or it won't work. It's a big decision. Atty needs time to think about it."
"Well, while you're sitting here waiting for a decision, innocents are being slaughtered, or turning up missing, no doubt being taken by those savages."
"Yes, I'm very much aware of that." The alpha frowned and gave a depressing sigh. Cresselia leered at Giratina, standing, or rather floating between the two.
"Give Arceus a break, would you? This isn't exactly an easy time for any of us." The dragon only scoffed, leering back at the psychic pokemon, a low growl coming from him.
"Stand aside, Cresselia. No one asked you." He scorned her, only to be met eye to eye when she got up in his face, showing no signs of backing down.
"Make me." The renegade snarled. The much smaller pink pokemon returned it.
"Stop it, both of you!" The alpha's sudden outburst snapped them out of their conflict, both staring at him, a look of worry spreading on Cresselia's face. It was very difficult to upset Arceus, but all the pokemon in the Realm of the Ancients knew better than to try. "I know this is a stressful time for everyone, but we can't afford to be fighting amongst ourselves."
Cresselia hung her head. "I'm sorry, Arceus." The same couldn't be said for Giratina, as he just rolled his eyes and walked away. Arceus returned his attention to the orb. Cresselia shortly joined him. "What if he refuses?"
"Then we'll just have to keep looking. I hope that's not the case with this one. The search, and this outbreak... It's been very exhausting...
