[A Bleached Sanctuary] (Part 1)

Heavy.

Cold.

Dark.

Unfamiliarity.

Mind a complete and total haze, endlessly drifting in a void.

No tether, no mind, no body, that’s how it feels.

As if coming into the world from nonexistence, from not existing to being as one, from being scattered to becoming whole.

All of these feelings culminate together, combining, hurting, aching, intensifying, hurting oh so badly, so violently, what is this? Why is this happening? Why won’t it stop? How long has it been going on? Please, oh please offer some clarity.

…

The world looks white.

He opens his eyes to a forest bathed in white.

The trees, white, their leaves, white, the grass, white.

Is this what purgatory feels like? Could he be dead, perhaps?

But, how would he have died? He can’t quite seem to recall.

…In fact, he can’t recall anything. Every time he tries to think, to go back before he woke up, there’s nothing, a blankness, a total lack of anything that might have been experienced prior to waking up in this forest. It’s as if he didn’t exist before this, before waking up. As if this was the start of his life, but that can’t possibly be right, can it?

Well, what is he? He thinks to himself. A glance down at the palm of his hand. Dark, black, almost cloak like. Claws. Sharp, pointed. Much the rest of his body seems to look a similar fashion. Body feels light, weightless, like he’s floating, but he knows he has legs.

Reflection.

He needs to see himself.

Is there a body of water he can look into?

Faint trickles. Quietly rushing waves. A small waterfall.

Yes there is.

Just has to follow it. The sound, find the source.

Walking comes naturally, though it really does feel more like floating than it does walking, oddly enough. He’s in no pain, he’s completely fine, strangely enough, aside from the blank memory…

Such a strange feeling.

To know one has existed before, yet also feel as though this is their first time being alive. Almost like waking up from a deep, slumbering sleep.

The waterfall.

Well, the rocks aren’t white, like the rest of the forest, and the water is crystal clear. Let’s see what he is.

…Hmm.

Peculiar.

He finds himself staring down into piercing white eyes, surrounded by blue sclera, face nestled within a spiky red cowl around his neck, a long, wavy bundle of hair resting atop his head.

A most intimidating Pokemon, to be sure. The stuff of nightmares.

Nightmares?

That stirs something. Not a memory, an instinct, a feeling. An intense one. He clenches his hands, closing his eyes. That would be part of who he is, but… Why? As if something in his heart is meant to be spiteful, to be hateful. But with no memory of why that would be the case, it doesn’t feel right to him, emotionally aimless. Something that feels it should be natural, that he should know, that he should be familiar with, yet feels so foreign and alien.

He opens his eyes.

Another figure has joined his reflection in the water.

He ‘s only able to make out the shape of a spiked club held above his head before he realizes he needs to move, quick.

Just as the club comes swinging down on him, he manages to swiftly dodge out of the way, maneuvering his way around behind his assailant, who stumbles forward as he dodges their strike, about to fall into the water.

Without thinking, he quickly reaches his hand out and tightly grabs the clothing his assailant seems to be wearing. “Easy there.” He says, hearing himself speak. His voice is deep, a hint of a raspy undertone to it.

He manages to get a better look of his attacker now that he’s grabbing onto them. They’re rather small, smaller than he is, maybe about a foot smaller. Green, lots of green with a little bit of black. Cloaked, hooded? Definitely some kind of clothing, their arms hidden under their shroud.

“Let go of me!” A girl’s voice, young. Possibly childlike. She wriggles her way out of his grip and regains her footing, turning back around to face him, her face painted with a fierce, angry expression as she scowls at him, tightly clutching at her club. Grassy body, fuzzy orange face, yellow eyes with pupils like bright, shining stars, two fangs hanging from the top of her mouth.

He slowly puts his hands up, trying to communicate that he means no harm. “Take it easy, I’m not trying to-“

“You better be quiet before I give you a smack with my cudgel, okay?” She interrupts him, clutching at her club even harder as her covered arms wrap around it tightly. “I do the talking, I do the asking, you do the answering, nobody gets hurt. Probably. I’m not making any promises if I can’t take any chances.”

He backs up just a little bit further to put some space between him and her, slowly nodding his head in understanding, waiting for her to go ahead and speak.

Her grip on her club seems to loosen slightly, though she still looks like she’s ready to swing away at any given moment. “Okay. Now, first things first. Who are you?”

Who is he? He’s… He has a name. That’s funny, come to think of it. No memory at all, nothing past the point where he woke up, yet his name is still fresh in his mind. His name comes naturally to him as he speaks, keeping his tone calm and quiet, as if to not startle her or put her on edge. “Darkrai.”

The other Pokemon stays silent for a few moments, her starry eyes slowly looking him over up and down. “Ogerpon.” She finally responds, seeming a bit more at ease, but still on edge. “How did you get here? Nobody gets into White Forest without clearance. We would’ve known if we let someone like you inside.”

“White Forest?” That’s what this place is called? Well… Not surprising. The forest clearly speaks for itself. “I… I don’t remember how I got here. I know it sounds ridiculous, but I just woke up here.”

Ogerpon’s eyes narrow suspiciously, her grip on her club- her cudgel, rather, as she calls it, tightening slightly once again. “Likely story. How can I know you didn’t somehow sneak inside? Nobody just ‘ends up’ here.”

Hmmm, gonna be hard to convince her. Maybe he should be a bit more direct. “I’m serious. I’ve got no memory of who I am, how I wound up here, or where ‘here’ even is.” He scratches at his head a little bit, his eyes squinting. “Trying to think back before waking up gives me a searing headache. If I could remember how I got here, I’d tell you.”

Ogerpon stares skeptically at him as she arches a brow, her hooded head tilting over to the side as the little spikes on the top of her hood drop down slightly. “You really can’t remember anything, huh? …I’ll believe you for now, but only because I feel like if I keep pressing you, I’m just gonna get the same answer over and over again.” She huffs, shaking her head. “White Forest is a sanctuary for Pokemon coming in from Black City, whether they’re moving out by choice or they’re being forcefully evicted and don’t have anywhere else to go.”

White Forest, Black City, almost like they’re two direct parallels of each other. Interesting. Ogerpon continues before Darkrai can get a chance to speak. “We keep a sharp eye on who comes in, make sure there aren’t troublemakers or, ugh, investors.” Her face scrunches up as she says that last word, shaking her head. “So the idea that you somehow managed to get in here without any of us noticing? I find that hard to believe.”

Darkrai sighs, putting his arms down and gesturing them outwards to himself. “Well, I am here, I did make it in, I have no idea what to do next. And I would rather this not end in you knocking me out like it seems you were planning to.”

Ogerpon growls a bit as she finally sets her cudgel down, blunt side resting against the ground as she leans against its handle. “Mmnnh…” She hums, eyes glancing away from Darkrai, down towards the grass. “I’ll take you back to the village elder, maybe he can figure out what to do with you.” Her eyes return to meet his gaze, narrowing towards him. “Follow me. Any funny business and it’s lights out. Got that?”

Wow, he’d make it out of this without a beatdown after all? Today must be his lucky day. Darkrai nods his head firmly in response as he crosses his arms over his chest. “Crystal clear.”

Ogerpon nods wordlessly, gesturing with her head for him to follow her, finally seeming to relax, or at the very least, calm down as she doesn’t seem as ready to strike anymore, walking through an open path of trees just beside the lake, which Darkrai follows right behind, silently drifting above the ground.

---

Children.

Lots of them.

The sound of children laughing and playing is the first thing Darkrai immediately hears as they get closer to the village, able to see some small tents and little shacks just up ahead. It’s a whole settlement, a very lively one at that. Tapestries and banners of all sorts are hung up on the trees, etched with markings of all kinds, typically unown runes.

“Ogerpon! Ogerpon!” A squeaky little voice cries out just beside. A young Phanpy stumbling over their legs and rolling right up to the two, its trunk drooping as it lifts its head up towards her. “Welcome back! Did you find anything on your walk? Did yoooooouuuu…” The Phanpy’s gaze slowly careens towards Darkrai, and he stares back at the child. It’s a bit uncomfortable and a little too awkward. “Who’sat?”

Darkrai can hear Ogerpon muffling a quiet, soft little laugh to herself as she steps aside, giving more room for Darkrai. “Phanpy, this is Darkrai. Darkrai, Phanpy.” The Phanpy continues to stare back at him, not quite in wonder, he wouldn’t say, more like, trying to understand what he is and what he actually looks like. “He, well… Just ended up here, or so he says. No memory of doing so, either.”

Darkrai nods, finally speaking up. “I wish I could say more, but, she about summed it up. Woke up here, don’t know why or how. Then Ogerpon found me and tried to whack me with her stick.” He says that last part with a quiet chuckle to himself. He can catch sight of Ogerpon sneering at him the slightest bit.

“Ooooohh… Well, that makes sense! You look all big and scary so she probably thought you were a bad Pokemon!” …Ouch. He knows he’s not the most sightly Pokemon in the world, but, ouch.

“Yeah, you could say that.” Ogerpon glances back at Darkrai once more, before her gaze returns to Phanpy with a smile. “Could you let the elder know that we’re paying him a visit? Wouldn’t wanna interrupt him, after all.”

Phanpy eagerly nods their head. “Oh sure, sure! Catch you later, Ogerpon! And you too, Darkrai!” They eagerly turn themselves around and get into a ball to start rolling, though they stop only after a few rolls, glancing back at Ogerpon and Darkrai with a sheepish, embarrassed smile before just deciding to walk away normally.

Darkrai can feel a few eyes starting to lay themselves upon him, eyes of the many children and other villagers around. Some were staring in wonder, others look away, even running back to their parents because they were too scared to look at him. He awkwardly rubs at the back of his head, leaning in a bit closer to whisper to Ogerpon. “Shall we keep moving? I don’t want to cause a scene.”

“You do seem like quite the popular attraction.” Ogerpon nods before going right back to moving, her cudgel resting against her shoulder. “Or unpopular, depending on how you look at it.”

“Are you this cold to everyone you meet?”

“Just be glad it was me who found you and not Volcanion. He wouldn’t have shown you any mercy if he found a stranger like you roaming around the forest.”

Settled in the back of the village lay a tall, incredibly massive tree that reached higher than the rest, its bark and leaves bleached white like the rest of the forest, but noticeably more faded, more pallid and grayed than the other trees. Not only that, but there’s an opening carved into the side of the trunk, a door.

Peering inside, the interior of the tree had been hollowed out and converted into a living space, lit up by small lanterns placed on a few tables and barrels. Another opening in the wall in the back, a stairway leading downward into a dark abyss. Rearranging things, an Aurorus, humming to himself as he just finished lighting up a lantern for the night. His eyes glance back, long neck careening back around to greet his visitors with a smile. “Ah, Ogerpon! How may I…” His smile very quickly disappears, though, replaced with concern as his gaze lands on Darkrai.

Not the most reassuring of first impressions.

After studying Darkrai for a bit, Aurorus’ turns to Ogerpon. “Ogerpon,where did you find this, er…. Visitor?”

“One of the lakes, claims he has no idea how he got here. Just happened to wake up here.”

“I see.” Aurorus slowly nods, gaze turning back to study Darkrai more, him feeling his eyes roam over his drifting form. “Would you please outside for a while, Ogerpon? I’d prefer to have a little heart to heart with our newcomer.”

Ogerpon glances up at Darkrai, shrugging with a smile. “Guess you’re on your own. I’ll wait for you outside.”

Darkrai gives an affirming nod in understanding as Ogerpon walks back out of the great opening in the tree, body turning back to face the Aurorus, who’s hardened gaze only grew more intense now that it was just the two of them. He speaks up, voice firm. “Have a seat. We’ve much to discuss.”

There aren’t any chairs around, as far as Darkrai can tell, sitting on another’s bed would likely be rude, so, Darkrai simply, awkwardly sits on the floor in front of Aurorus, who slowly goes prone on his stomach, long neck careening down to face Darkrai. “I’m going to make one thing clear. You are not staying here for more than a day. I want you out of our village by sunrise.”

Darkrai’s eyes shift back and forth, shuffling awkwardly once again before he meets Aurorus’ gaze once again. “…I suppose that’s easy enough to follow, I’ll just lay ow and-“

“I don’t think you quite understand the position you’re in.” Aurorus interrupts, his eyes narrowing. “Had you been any other Pokemon we would not be having this little talk. But a Darkrai like you, showing up in Unova once again after all these years? It’s nothing short of an omen.”

Perplexed.

Should he feel guilty? Should he know what Aurorus is talking about? He feels as though he should, but the memories, any knowledge he may have of the world, clouded and foggy, buried deep within the recesses of his mind, a mystery to himself.

“I wish I could say I do understand, but I truly don’t.” Darkrai speaks up, angling his head up to meet Aurorus’ eyes. “I’ve completely forgotten everything, lost my memory, so I’m afraid your words and threats are lost on me.”

The Aurorus arches a brow, humming softly. “An amnesiac? You? Hrm… I hadn’t realized. Regardless, that doesn’t change my stance, or my decision to have you leave by morning. Although, if you truly don’t know, I suppose I should tell you.”

---

There exists a tale from many ages ago, back when the Earth was still populated by humans.

Just outside Lentimas Town, sitting at the base of Reversal Mountain, lay a house. In this house, lived a family. A mother, a father, a daughter and an Abra.

It was a normal life, the hidden nature of the house allowed them to live in solitude and peace, and for a long time, all seemed well.

Until one day, something horrible would happen.

Wiithout any anticipation, without warning, the daughter had fallen into a deep, dark slumber. Not just any slumber, but a neverending nightmare, one that she could not wake up from. Not on her own.

She had fallen into this endless nightmare at the behest of a malicious Darkrai, who trapped her within her dream, tormenting her in her sleep, wallowing her in despair, that she would never wake up.

There was only one sign of hope, though, only one way that the anguished mother and father could wake their daughter up. At the Marvelous Bridge, where their daughter and her Abra would oft play, there was said to be a Pokemon who possessed the sacred Lunar Wing, said to have the power to dispel nightmares.

As the mother and father left in search of this Pokemon, in her nightmare, the girl could hear a voice. It was her father’s voice. It reached out to her, saying to her, “Forget about the Lunar Wing. Please stay here with me.”

But those were not the words of her father. Those were the words of the Darkrai who had ensnared her in this neverending nightmare, telling her to give up hope of ever being rescued, of awakening from this dark dream.

The parents, finally finding a Lunar Wing, rushed back to their daughter in the hopes that they could save her. But by the time they had made it back to their house, it was far too late.

Their daughter’s life had been taken by the Darkrai’s neverending nightmare. Worried that their lives may be taken too by the Darkrai, the parents abandoned the house, and now it lays at the base of of Reversal Mountain, haunted by the spirit of the daughter who had passed away.

---

Silence.

No sound, no noises, no more speaking, nothing.

The two sit there, staring at each other, seemingly now in mutual understanding.

Darkrai’s heart feels… Heavy.

“I… Mmnnh.” His head hangs low, trying to process all of what he heard, of that story.

The strange looks and reactions of all the other Pokemon in the village had made sense.

Not because he was an outsider, but to everyone else, they saw a living legend that had come back to haunt them.

“So, you believe that I’m that same Darkrai who trapped that girl?”

“I’d like to believe that you’re not, but at the same time, there haven’t been any incidents with Darkrai ever since.” Aurorus’ gaze narrows once again. “So, for another one to appear out of nowhere just outside of our little village, I’m obviously a bit skeptical as to who you really are.”

Did he wipe his memory to forget the deed he had done?

But even so, erasing the memory of committing the act would not erase the crime.

It would only dull the pain.

Who’s to even say he’s the same one, though?

“Now. If I may kindly ask, leave my quarters, get whatever rest you need, then be on your way by morning. If I catch you going anywhere near the children… I don’t think I need to finish that sentence. You understand, right?”

Darkrai is silent for a few more moments, letting those thoughts stew in his mind before his gaze finally lifts back up to Aurorus, nodding. “Yes. I understand.” Not needing to say anymore or needing to wait for any further instructions, Darkrai stands back up, leaving the tree.

Ogerpon was waiting outside, leaning against the tree, her cudgel resting beside her as her starry eyes follow Darkrai as he exits.

He stops, turning down to face her. There’s a brief moment of silence before he speaks up. “You knew, didn’t you?”

Ogerpon gives a single nod. “My cudgel would’ve come down reeeeeal hard on you if you hadn’t gotten out of the way.”

“Hmm.” Darkrai hums, gaze looking off into the rest of the forest. “Do you think I’m…”

“How can I know what you are if even you don’t know what you are?”

Interesting choice of words. He glances back at her, the two sharing a moment of understanding with each other, as much as they can. Darkrai nods silently before drifting away from the tree, coming to rest under another as his back slumps against it.

It’s late.

The moonlight is shining through the trees.

It’s time to sleep.

Maybe he’ll find the answers he’s looking for in his dreams.