Metamorphosis (Pokémon Watties 2017)

Prelude: Part 2

The further into the Dark Lands Ayana got, the more terrified she grew. As they started going in, she was constantly screaming, looking for any form of help, but the screams soon dissolved into silent cries. All the while, she was holding a hand over her eye, trying to ignore the constant pain.

The Dark Lands were much more quiet than Axiom had ever been. Ayana hadn't seen a single person or Pokemon since the Knight had attacked Isa and fled. There was just more silence as they continued on through the Dark Lands.

As they continued on, Ayana heard some movement behind her. She turned her head, looking behind to see what it was.

Behind the two a large, wispy figure was starting to descend. The figure was majorly black, with traces of white and red near the top. Two spots of blue at the top of the figure seemed as eyes, piercing through the darkness and staring deeply at Ayana.

"Mister?" Ayana gently took a hand off her eye, poking the Knight. "What is that?"

"I'm sure it's nothing."

"Oh." Ayana put her hand back over her eye, looking down with the other to the ground.

"Are you so sure about that?"

The raspy voice echoed from behind them, echoing through the area. Chills travelled down Ayana's spine as she let out a shriek, turning to face the figure. The Knight was startled as well, nearly losing grip as he turned around.

"D-Darkrai?"

"So it seems you know who I am."

Darkrai remained unmoving as it faced the two, expressing disapproval by the way it spoke.

"Valencia was expecting much more of you. She specifically said that you were to prioritize the boy, not the girl. Yet you ignored her entirely, leaving the both of them alive and even giving the boy a sword to boot!"

"I-I deeply apologize for the misunderstanding, Darkrai! It won't happen again!" The Knight stumbled over his words, his whole body trembling.

"Now, isn't that what you told me last time?"

This time, it was the voice of an older woman. Ayana glanced around, looking for the source of the sound, soon finding a person standing in front of Darkrai. She had appeared suddenly, a cold look on her face that was partially hidden by long, pale white hair. "Honestly, I shouldn't have expected as much from you. It always is a shame to dispose of Knights. Maybe there will be ones in the future who can learn from your mistakes. Darkrai, Night Shade."

A dark cloud enveloped the Knight and Ayana, causing the latter to let out a scream. The Knight's grip loosened entirely, causing Ayana to fall to the ground. To her side, the Knight was collapsed on the ground. Another cloud came over the Knight, and he vanished. As Ayana watched, she scrambled away, soon bumping into the woman.

"So sorry you had to see that, young one." The woman stood directly above Ayana, looking down at her. "Stand up, let me see that eye of yours."

Ayana nodded, slowly getting up on her knees. She continued to hold a hand on her eye, finally removing it after the woman nodded to her. "Oh my... Who did this to you?"

"It was my friend, Isa. But he did it on accident, I know! He wouldn't ever try to hurt anyone!" Ayana whimpered as the woman placed her hand over the eye.

"Relax, child. You'll be quite alright." The woman looked to the ground, mumbling something. A greenish pink light crawled up her arm, until her hand let out rays of the soothing light. "Does that feel any better?" The woman slowly removed her hand from Ayana's face.