Tonight, the moon is at its fullest. It is a beacon in the night, casting a radiant silver glow on the murky waves that undulate back and forth, pushing and pulling, creating the illusion that light is dancing on the water. It lacks the blinding brightness of its counterpart, the sun, but instead it possesses a soft and ethereal light that is a welcome comfort to the Pokémon that become active in the darkness.

For Cresselia, bearer of dreams, the moon is a signal that there is still work to be done.

Cresselia glides across the water, taking a moment to relish the slight chill of the waves that tickle her body. She has already accomplished a lot this night: she gave an aspiring athlete a vision of his success at the Pokéathlon Dome and whipped up a fanciful dream of an action-packed adventure through the Sinnoh region for a young girl looking to be a Pokémon trainer. She caught a particularly malignant nightmare of a rabid Poochyena and transformed the Poochyena into a faithful companion.

However, there's a feeling of terror in the back of Cresselia's mind that has been persistent throughout the night. Not even the brief reprieve of the ocean can fully suppress it. The Lunar Pokémon has always been attuned to the emotions of humans and Pokémon; after all, emotions are what aid her in finding those who are struggling so that she may give them some happiness in their dreams. This particular feeling, though, is so full of raw pain that she doesn't know if a dream will be able to soothe the hurt.

As the dark shore approaches, Cresselia can feel the pain becoming stronger, until she can feel it throughout her entire body. She sucks in a breath and urges her wings to keep moving forward. For the sake of her duty, she will bear the burden of those consumed by anguish.

She's made it. Cresselia allows herself a moment to take a few deep breaths before raising her head and locating her target. This is Sunyshore City, she recalls as she takes in the sight of the looming mountains and suspended roads. Cresselia turns her attention to one of the tall apartment buildings near the shore and grimaces as the negative emotions flare up in her again.

Cresselia hovers towards the building and peers through a window on one of the top levels in which someone didn't bother to draw the curtains. After she is assured that no one is awake in the darkness, she conjures up a Psychic and uses it to gently open the window. In an instant, a disgusting scent of alcohol and smoke hits her in the face.

Narrowing her eyes, Cresselia thinks about what this could mean. She has seen humans who have turned towards unhealthy ways of coping with sadness and frustration. Yet at the same time, those abominable drinks and powders have something akin to a calming effect that suppresses the festering negative emotions. There must be another reason behind the sharp pain that is growing in intensity and making Cresselia want to get this over with as soon as possible, no matter how much concern she is feeling for the source of this discomfort.

The Lunar Pokémon navigates around the clutter around the house, swerving around sharp pieces of broken glass bottles and collapsed pieces of furniture. She is on her way to the second floor of the house, where the negative emotions seem to be the strongest, when she sees a figure sprawled out over a sofa in the corner of her eye, furiously murmuring incoherent things in his sleep.

Darkrai has been here, Cresselia thinks with growing anger as she peers into the mind of the middle-aged man. The sight makes her want to recoil; she sees the man cradling a bloody mess in his hands, red staining his white hair and hands shaking vigorously. The empty white room only accentuates the contrast between his pale form and the blood that is strewn across his body. His eyes are wild, crazed, red-rimmed, and the tears flowing down his cheeks seem to be relentless.

"I'm sorry, I'm so sorry, I didn't mean for this to happen," the man wails, rocking the unrecognizable body in his arms back and forth. "Please...please forgive me... "

This is too much. Cresselia forcefully yanks herself out of the scene, blinking as she returns to the messy household draped in darkness. She suppresses the fury in her core and tries to focus on looking through the man's memories. As the various scenes speed through her vision, Cresselia stumbles upon a happy memory of the man with a dark haired woman and a boy who looks so much like a younger version of the man. Giving a slight nod to herself, she crafts a dream of a relaxing day spent in the kitchen with the woman and the boy and carefully sends it into the man's mind.

Immediately, the man begins to relax, with the mumbling giving way to deep snores. Cresselia lets out a deep sigh as she bypasses the man and labors through the hallway, the width of which barely accommodates her large frame. She will have to have a talk with Darkrai the next time she sees him. The two polar opposites never quite got along, with each staying true to their own ideologies. This time, though, Darkrai has gone too far; how could such a gruesome nightmare help the man to learn from his mistakes? It would only terrify him and take its toll on his body.

Cresselia uses the agony that's so palpable—now it consumes her, invading her mind and making each step feel like a thousand knives are stabbing her—to direct her to a door that's ajar. The Lunar Pokémon nudges the door open and floats into the room. It's a plain room; thanks to the moonlight that filters past the window and curtain, she can tell that the only remarkable pieces of furniture are a bookcase, a small desk, and a drawer. The organization of the room is an improvement from the mess Cresselia saw on the first floor, but it lacks any sort of decoration that she thought was common in human bedrooms.

Cresselia turns her attention to her target: the figure in the bed. She can just barely make out a head of white hair—this kid must be the boy from the memory, she realizes—as the figure is mostly enveloped by the blanket. Ignoring the strain, Cresselia uses a Psychic to gently pull back the blanket until she can see the boy clearly.

He seems to be sleeping peacefully. That is strange, Cresselia muses as she notices the boy's steady breathing. However, upon further inspection, the Lunar Pokémon realizes that the boy is curled up as if he were protecting himself from some unknown threat, with arms wrapped tightly around his knees. Not only that, but the boy's frame seems to shake ever so slightly.

Cresselia decides that she must get a better idea of what the boy is going through to craft the perfect dream. Idly, she wonders why the boy isn't having a nightmare like her father; after all, Darkrai clearly visited this household, and the Pitch-Black Pokémon never passes up an opportunity to spread his nightmares.

Delving into the boy's memories, Cresselia sees brief flashes of events in the boy's lifetime. She starts from the most recent, noticing the way the boy's father always seems to be hunched over while weakly grasping a glass bottle. Another notable source of the boy's discomfort could be from school; the boy often seems to have his head buried in his arms, with only a tuft of white hair visible.

Cresselia goes back even farther. The Lunar Pokémon is a bit confused as the memories blur through her vision. There are moments of sadness sprinkled through the boy's memory, but nothing that would seem to warrant such harsh pain. Alcoholism and struggles at school, while difficult to deal with for sure, are nothing new to Cresselia. Then, what could it be?

Then, she halts. Cresselia tries to pick out the details of a particular memory she has stumbled upon. Memories always were Uxie's forte, but if she can just get the big picture of this event, she thinks she has found the source behind the boy's anguish.

The first thing Cresselia notices is that there is a dark-haired woman collapsed in the grass. The Lunar Pokémon thinks the woman is sleeping before straining for a closer look.

Blood. It stains the woman's pale blue dress, leaking from a wound in the stomach and flowing onto the grass. Cresselia swallows. Death is not new to her either, but experience doesn't make it any easier.

Cresselia then takes in her surroundings. She sees a Gabite in the distance, restrained by many other Pokémon while police officers surround the enraged Gabite. She sees the boy's father held back by other humans, tears pouring down his cheeks and eyebrows furrowed in anger.

Where is the boy? Cresselia wonders, tilting her head. As she is turning around, she almost recoils in surprise. Somehow, the Lunar Pokémon didn't notice. The boy is standing over the woman's body with pure shock written all over his face; Cresselia can see his lips pulled into a grimace and his eyes blown wide.

She's seen enough to know that this is the root cause behind everything. Cresselia pulls herself out of the memory, blinking the scene of death out of her eyes. She allows herself a few greedy gasps of air before regarding the boy with sad eyes.

One dream may not be enough to drive away the sadness. Death lingers like a close friend, haunting those who've become intimate with it. Cresselia shakes her wings and allows one of her feathers to drift onto the boy's drawer. Then, she takes what she remembers from the happy memories of the boy and pours it into the feather.

This should be enough. Cresselia watches as the boy's breathing evens out and his arms relax to his sides, allowing her lips to curl upwards. The pain is subsiding, and the Lunar Pokémon can feel her mind becoming clear once again. Softly, Cresselia uses Psychic to lift the blanket and allow it to cover the boy once more.

Cresselia glides out of the bedroom, floating down the hallway and passing the clutter of the first room. She will have to have a talk with Darkrai soon, regardless of his disdain for her. The Pitch-Black Pokémon's usage of nightmares was far too reckless tonight. But for now, while the moon is still bright and the night is still young, she must attend to her duty.

"Sweet dreams, poor humans," Cresselia whispers before slipping out the window and shutting it, leaving no trace that the Lunar Pokémon had visited the house.

-----

In Cresselia's opinion, dreams are powerful, despite solely existing in the realm of the mind. They have the ability to impact emotions and lift humans and Pokémon out of despair. They have the ability to evolve and take on forms that don't exist in reality through imagination. They even have the ability to impact reality itself; humans and Pokémon can gain inspiration from their dreams and discover new ideas and passions.

Yet, on the other hand, nightmares hold a similar power. Darkrai has often spoken about the way in which humans and Pokémon see their worst fears coming to life and the way in which they see what could happen if they continue down the same path. They see flashes of one possible dark future and they learn from their mistakes in an attempt to steer away from that future.

Cresselia has never believed in that philosophy. Such terror only enhances the nature of both humans and Pokémon, bringing out their inner fear until they fall into complete panic and disarray. It's why she finds herself floating opposite her counterpart with harsh words bubbling up her throat.

"Well, if it isn't Cresselia herself," Darkrai croons, eyes widening in mock surprise.

"Spare me your attitude, Darkrai. I know what you did to that human. That was unacceptable, even by your standards. Did you even bother to take a look at the bloody nightmare you crafted before you gave it to the man?"

"Oh please, Cresselia, spare me your naivety. Did you even bother to take a look at the man's memories? You know what, don't even answer that. Knowing you, you didn't even try to dissect the other memories while you went ahead to look for a good one."

Cresselia narrows her eyes. "So what if I did? You know very well what my job is. I use memories sparingly so that I may craft dreams of happiness. Looking any deeper falls under Uxie's jurisdiction."

For the first time in Cresselia's history, Darkrai sighs and seemingly regards her with sincere pity. "My dear, you cannot always remain this way. Yes, perhaps that is your duty as dictated by Arceus. But have you ever stopped and wondered if, perhaps, what you're doing isn't enough? What if, in order to save someone, you must go beyond leaving a feather and calling it a day?"

"...You did something to the boy, didn't you." The words leave Cresselia's mouth in a staccato, with each syllable laced with underlying fury. How dare he touch that boy, that boy who has already had such a fright with death...!

The Pitch-Black Pokémon shakes his head. "I did no such thing," Darkrai says. "You know I do not have the power to overcome your feathers. I merely checked up on him; whether that was out of curiosity or actual concern, even I'm not sure. But, well...he's not doing well."

Cresselia's throat feels dry. She wills herself to calm down for a moment so that she may properly hear what Darkrai has to say. "Elaborate," she says softly.

"He's taking your dreams and making them his own."

"What...what do you mean?"

"The dreams are no longer your narrative. How do I put it...well, the boy is somehow aware that he's in the dream realm and he's able to control how the dream goes."

That should be impossible! Cresselia stares at her counterpart as she feels herself break into a sweat, panic beginning to creep into her body. She has never seen anyone, human or Pokémon, take control over her domain. How could this be possible?

"I must go see the boy. I will set things right and make sure that I have his dreams properly under control." Cresselia's voice is tight as the Lunar Pokémon prepares to take off for Sunyshore City. However, one look from Darkrai makes her pause.

"I won't stop you, Cresselia. I want you to help that boy, for the sake of both of our consciences. But I want you to know two things," the Pitch-Black Pokémon says. "One, you have less control than you think."

Darkrai regards Cresselia with cool blue eyes.

"And two, I gave those nightmares to the man so I could prevent his words from further hurting himself or his son."

-----

Cresselia can feel Darkrai's lingering words ringing in her mind as she speeds across the region and the towns encased by darkness pass by in a blur.

How could I have missed something like that? But...to think that the words of the boy's father are the reason behind everything? Maybe I would've missed it after all.

Cresselia blinks back tears of frustration. She's wrong. If she were more willing to cross the line to do anything for the sake of both humans and Pokémon, and if she were more willing to abandon her pride and the boundaries of the duty she valued so much...she would've caught it all. She would've delved deeper into the memories and found the true root cause.

The familiar shore enters Cresselia's line of vision and the Lunar Pokémon urges herself to go even faster. If she can make it in time, she can still fix her mistakes. She can take back control of the boy's dreams and imbue the feather with better dreams...

No. I have to talk to him. Dreams won't help someone who's learned how to create their own. Cresselia doesn't bother to be quiet and lifts the window of a familiar house with a quick Psychic. She breezes past the man who's passed out on the couch again and the furniture that seems even more out of place than the last time.

Sixteen seconds left. Eleven. Three. Cresselia floats down the hallway as quickly as she can and makes a sharp turn towards the boy's bedroom door.

Cresselia prays. Please let me reach this boy in time.

-----

The Lunar Pokémon whirls around, blinking as she adjusts to the harsh white light of the room. Instantly, she feels a shiver pass through her body.

Various messages are messily scribbled on the walls in a dark red color. Cresselia can barely make out some of them: Why aren't you trying harder in school when you know money's been tight; Why do you always break the rules? Is it to hurt me; and you shouldn't have been born are among the legible ones.

"Child," Cresselia says, voice cracking. The boy, legs dangling over the windowsill, turns his head in surprise. He clutches his left arm with his right hand, red oozing through his fingers. Red speckles dot his hair as well, ruining the pristine white color underneath.

"Huh. I wasn't expecting anyone to come here," the boy says, turning his head back towards outside the window as he kicks his feet back and forth. "I'm sorry. If I had known that you would be coming to visit me, I wouldn't have made such a scene. Maybe I would've just gone about it more quietly."

Cresselia is silent as the words stay stuck in her throat. In her mind, she is pleading, begging that the boy won't hurt himself anymore. The Lunar Pokémon thought she had seen a lot in her days as the guardian of dreams, but the experiences are never enough. They're always never enough.

"You know, Cresselia, I'm a coward. I've always been scared of everything: life, people, and even Pokémon. So, I thought I would, you know, try to be less of a coward for once. Try something different for a change."

The boy's legs still. The boy turns his head towards Cresselia again and smiles, tears collecting at the edges of his eyes. "Thank you for the dreams. I think I know what to do now."

Please don't. The boy's words are daggers that cut into Cresselia's soul. Cresselia inches closer, desperately trying to convey her feelings through her gaze.

Removing his bloodied hand from his arm, the boy looks past the frame of the window, staring at something that's only privy to his eyes.

Then, he scoots forward and falls.

-----

Word count: 3154 words

Looks like this has ended up being my first "story" on my revived account. I was considering posting this in my oneshot book but decided against it as I already made a cover for it a long time ago. It would be a shame if I didn't get to use the cover.

This kind of turned out darker than expected. As such, I'm marking it mature just to be safe. I'm also not sure if I've executed it the way I wanted to write this; I literally just finished this like 10 minutes ago in Google Docs and started pasting it into Wattpad. Definitely hasn't been checked for grammar either. Please feel free to correct my grammar and leave feedback! I'm always trying to improve, especially since I haven't really completed a piece of creative writing in a long time.

Notes (read if you want, these are just observations that I made as I was writing)

• I gave Cresselia more powers than the Pokédex describes. It's mostly things that I think would be logical for a Pokémon with control over dreams. First, I gave her the ability to sense others' emotions, because I think she would need some way to track which humans and Pokémon are in need of a good dream. Second, I gave her the ability to look through memories; however, she isn't willing to go past what is necessary for her to create her dreams. The little details go unnoticed (which is something I hope I conveyed). This comes into play when she talks with Darkrai.

• This ended up being a lot more philosophical than I intended haha. But I think Darkrai is often interpreted as a Pokémon who gives nightmares solely for the purpose of inflicting pain and being evil in general. I wanted to explore a different side of Darkrai; what if he simply believes that nightmares can be beneficial for both humans and Pokémon, regardless if what he's doing is morally right or wrong? This absolutely does not follow real life psychology (I should know, I'm taking psych right now) but Pokémon doesn't really follow the canon rules of life either. I mean, dreams aren't something that can be controlled, and they often have very little meaning to be interpreted (which was widely believed during the time of Freudian psychology). Dreams just kind of happen when they want to.

• I guess this also somehow turned into a law vs chaos kind of thing. I kind of envisioned that Arceus is the Pokémon that assigns boundaries of what each Legendary Pokémon is allowed to do; Arceus gives each Legendary domain over their own thing and also limits each of their powers. Cresselia, in this story, represents law. She remains within her boundaries and takes pride in completing her duty while adhering to the "law." Darkrai, on the other hand, pushes the boundaries a bit and represents chaos. I can't really imagine that Arceus is very fond of Darkrai (he seems to be a villain in a lot of Pokémon media) but Darkrai has his own agenda and philosophy and he will do whatever it takes to achieve his goal.

• This story focuses a lot on dreams but in particular, lucid dreaming. I've never had a lucid dream before, but I have a friend who's talked a bit about their experiences before. Essentially, there's this feeling that you are in control and you can accomplish almost anything.

• I played a lot with fantasy vs reality here, hence the ambiguous ending. This is actually inspired by my Spanish literature class, in which we read a lot of short stories that blurred the distinction between what's a figment of imagination and what's real. I have my own interpretation of the ending, though I would be curious to know what you guys think (if anyone actually reads this sad thing, understandable if you don't want to read something so triggering).

• I thiiiiiiiiink that if I ever get around to writing the novel that this was formerly connected to (Coexistence), this could still work as a sort of motivating factor behind Cresselia's actions. I don't want to give too much away though :p This story had a bit of a different plot before but I changed it after looking at my drafts and deciding the plot wasn't good enough. It was also originally a short story, but I don't think this story as it is right now fits very well into a short story format.

•This oneshot deals with some serious topics. Anyone who's dealing with emotional abuse and suicidal thoughts should seek help immediately. It is definitely hard to open up, whether that's because of stigma or self-shame, but don't ever be afraid to reach out to those who care for you. They only want for you to be happy, and they will definitely support you through the hard times. Additionally, please feel free to point out where I might have portrayed something incorrectly. I want this to have emotional value, but if it isn't accurate, then it is potentially creating a false image for people who have dealt with these kinds of things.

This is a bit of a depressing read, and I hope it doesn't affect any of your mentalities as we're still going through some pretty tough times right now. This is purely within the realm of fiction; I'm doing pretty ok right now if you're curious.

As always, stay safe and have a good day!
-Azur