Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Broken Ideals

Chapter 51: Darkness's Embrace

 

Chapter 51

Darkness's Embrace

Erebus, the plagued Darkrai, still lay collapsed before the victorious Cubone with eyes shut tight.

Terron looked upon the monster with a blank stare, his thoughts still running empty and all feeling in his body gone. The forest surrounding him remained silent, for now that he was no longer in a nightmare, there were no creatures that could attack him. He was the only one who was left in the Darkrai's home.

Almost the only one. I believe you forget the ones who came with you to defeat Erebus. Your friends, as you would call them.

His plagued self said no more as it retreated into the hidden reaches of his mind. With its impromptus leave, all of his thoughts came flooding back to him. The sudden rush startled Terron for a moment, but he was quick to recover as memories of the battle came over him. And with those memories, he remembered the fates of the Pokémon that were with him.

As his heart beat violently in his chest, he scurried off to the one closest to him: Zekra. He found that she was still collapsed under one of the many trees sprouting around the forest, still streaming with a black haze. For just a moment, Terron hesitated, thinking that his friend was long gone and only her plagued self remained. Surely, if he woke her up, she would attack him and turn him into a Plagued One as well.

No, she's not a complete Plagued One. Terron then realized. Fully plagued Pokémon don't sleep. If they're ever defeated, they completely lose their forms. Zekra's still got a body even though she's passed out.

With that comforting thought in mind, Terron reached down and slowly shook her.

"Hey, Zekra?" he asked gently. "Can you hear me?"

The Zorua didn't stir. Terron grimaced as he shook her more vigorously.

"Zekra! Wake up!"

One of her ears twitched, and soon, a pained scowl followed. Terron felt his heart soar as Zekra's eyes sluggishly opened. The wisps oozing out of her fur quickly ceased to be.

"What happened?" she asked wearily. "Where's Erebus?"

"Gone," Terron answered. "We defeated it. It's over now, Zekra. We've won."

Zekra's eyes widened. With a groan, she hurried to her feet and glanced around. It didn't take her long to spot the motionless Darkrai sprawled out on the ground in the distance. She gasped as she brought her gaze back to Terron.

"Erebus is dead," she breathed. "You killed it after it took me out… which means all of the Mystery Dungeons in the world are gone now. It can't plague anybody anymore…"

"Yeah, but let's not celebrate just yet. We need to wake everybody up and then maybe go check Erebus one last time to make sure it's actually dead. We don't want to make a stupid mistake like just assuming it's dead after all."

"Right," Zekra said, quickly composing herself. "We'll meet up by Erebus after we get everybody. So, I guess I'll go get Zev and Novus while you look around for Chloe and Yimtri. That alright?"

Terron internally flinched at the Sableye's name. Hundreds of thoughts immediately flashed through his mind, all of them reminding him of the grim "truth" Erebus had revealed to him. According to the plagued Darkrai, Yimtri and Terron were once the same person, the human that Terron thought he was.

Just the mere thought of thinking about the Sableye made Terron sick to his stomach. To think that the one he had despised so greatly in the past was, in fact, a part of him. He didn't want to believe it was true, yet the very thought kept clinging to him, insisting that it was, in fact, the truth.