The Patron Quadrilogy: The Legend Begins

Chapter 45

Warning: This is gonna be a long one.
Tuesday, October 17th, 10:15 a.m.
Brimstone Pub

"Solidad is dead," Brendan said silently, but still loud enough to be heard. The room fell silent and everyone was horrified.

"Oh, Arceus, no," May whispered. Brock was silent, but his fists were clenched so hard his knuckles turned white. Dawn was saddened by the loss of a fellow Coordinator, and Ash's other friends all were in a stunned silence. The Lieutenants were also silent. Giri and Damian both lit small fires in the palms of their hands. Nathan and Marilyn did the same, and Flannery and Zinnia followed suit. Wally raised up his own hand and also lit a flame on his palm.

The Patrons, like everyone else, were silent for a few moments, sad and disturbed at the knowledge of Solidad's death. Red eventually broke the silence with a single word.

"How?"

"They don't know, but Silver and the rest of Group B all believe that Harley killed her," Brendan said.

"But, he wouldn-" May said before faltering when everyone else looked at her.

"What did you just say?" Blue hissed. "You don't think that the Patron of Darkrai would kill Solidad, the Patron of Cresselia?! Are you an idiot, May?"

"Hey, Blue," Brendan growled. "Shut the hell up and don't take your anger out on her. It's not like she asked for any of this. Solidad was her friend as well. She got along well with virtually everyone. She's just as upset as you are."

"Brendan, did you not hear what she said?" Blue shot back. "She thinks that Harley wouldn't have killed Solidad, the Patron of his Legendary's worst enemy!"

"Harley and Solidad were dating!" May shouted. Everyone fell silent upon hearing that. "I'm sorry, you're right. There's no one else who could've killed her. Especially since he's killed so many people. But, damnit, Solidad told me she and him were in love!" She tried to keep her voice steady. "She'd tell me that Harley wasn't a bad guy, and she'd tell stories of the strange but funnier times the two had together. I never felt any hate in him whenever Solidad was around, so I know she was telling the truth. I can understand him wanting to kill me, but I can't bring myself to believe that he'd kill the love of his life knowingly."

"According to Groudon, this wouldn't have been the first time the Patrons of Darkrai and Cresselia fell in love. Matter of fact, a long time ago, they wound up marrying and raising a family together until the Patron of Mewtwo came to defeat him before he lost his mind to Darkrai. And he gave in willingly."

"Wait, why didn't they just destroy his Item? Then he wouldn't be a threat, right?" Dawn asked.

"Unfortunately, the Patron of Darkrai is, tragically, unique," Alex, the Patron of Uxie, replied. "Technically, calling him a "Patron" after a while isn't really correct. You see, unlike other Legendary or Mythical Pokémon, Darkrai's Item didn't need Arceus' involvement. No, something much darker created it. The Item of Darkrai actually allows him to transfer an overwhelming amount of his Energy and even his very being into both the Item itself, and whoever wears it. And the result is-"

"Demonic possession," Blue said aloud, a realization dawning on him. "That's why he killed Solidad. He wasn't himself. Darkrai's taking over his body."

"Wait, if he can possess his own Patron, why didn't he do it way back when his Patron and Cresselia's Patron married?" Ash asked.

"Because Arceus had learned about what had been done. She ordered Cresselia to remake her Item. Only Cresselia was capable of what Arceus intended," Alex continued. "One of the core features of her Item was the ability to prevent Darkrai from fully possessing his Patron, or rather, his victim. That's why those two were able to marry and why the Patron of Darkrai never lost his mind. In fact, the only reason he was killed was because the Patron of Cresselia was nearing the end of her own life. The Power she possessed was getting weaker, and Darkrai would've possessed his Patron completely when she died."