Prize for:
@Namohysip
Prompt: Two legendary Pokemon (of your choice) have to get along / wortk together after a higher authority orders them to, for one reason or another.
Summary: After Darkrai has one too many drinks and goes on a joyride around the world, plunging several people into nightmares, Cresselia is tasked with healing the afflicted. There's just one problem: she's been ordered to work with the chaotic Hoopa. This is going to be a long night. Prize fic.
Midnight Mishaps
Moonlight filtered through half-closed blinds. A young woman laid in bed, her face illuminated by thin beams as she twisted and turned and whimpered in a tangled mess of sheets.
A figure floated above her, watching her suffer her nightmare. Then they glowed, focusing as they pulled a feather from their chest and placed it on the sleeping human.
At once, the woman calmed, her tormented expression relaxing.
Cresselia let out a relieved sigh, watching the human for any remaining signs of distress as she thought about how she ended up here.
Arceus stood before her in all his glory, expression – as always – unreadable. His hoofsteps echoed in the opalescent white and gold walls of the hall of origin.
The wispy pokemon to his side stood out like a blemish. Darkrai tapped his claws together nervously as Arceus began to speak.
"Dearest Cresselia, we have a task for you. Yesterday, your counterpart had a few too many spirits and thought it would be a great idea to go galavanting across the globe." Arceus turned his head to Darkrai, who shrank beneath his withering gaze. "You are to go to the homes of the afflicted and heal them, lest the humans revolt against our kind."
"Understood," Cresselia replied in a firm voice. "Just tell me where to go and I will leave at once." She turned, ready to leave at his word.
"There's one other thing," Arceus said, giving her pause. "Due to the geographical spread of the afflicted, we have arranged help so that you might travel fast. You will be working with…"
"Heyyyyyy Cressie!"
Cresselia suppressed a groan, turning to look behind her.
No one was there.
Then she turned to her right and jolted away from a grinning face. Teasing laughter followed as her assigned partner, Hoopa, pointed and backed off. She frowned disapprovingly.
"
Hoopa," she growled. "We have a job to do. Can't you take things seriously for
once?"
"Ha! You should have seen the look on your face!" Hoopa chortled, zipping circles around her. "Lighten up, why don't ya? We got a loooong trip ahead of us."
"Don't remind me." Her tone was flat as she turned away from the sleeping human. "Come on, let's just get this over with already."
"If you insist." Hoopa sighed and shrugged, then grabbed the ring hanging from his right horn and tossed it into the air. It grew larger and suspended in the air, creating a foggy portal to elsewhere.
Cresselia swept a scrutinizing gaze over the portal. "This better take us to the next home."
"Hey, girl, what do you take me for?" Hoopa floated up to the top of the ring, lounging against it. "Does this look like the face of someone that would screw with you for funsies?"
Yes, Cresselia thought, though she kept it to herself. It wouldn't be the first time Hoopa caused someone trouble on assignment. But she went through the portal, nonetheless.
The room they emerged into was large, the walls covered with photos and shelves that were filled with trinkets from across the globe. Against the far wall was the bed, surrounded on either side by nightstands with an alarm, pokeballs, and even more trinkets.
There were two humans trapped in a nightmare here, tightly embraced as if trying to comfort each other even in their dreamworlds. Cresselia frowned. She never liked seeing the results of Darkrai's nightmares. But some sights were more disheartening than others. Quietly, she repeated the same process as before, relieved to see their tension fade.
A clattering sound from behind made her freeze. It was followed by an exclamation of "Hey, Cressie! Check it out."
She turned to find Hoopa with pieces of jewelry and other trinkets hanging from his horns, and some sort of human garment draped over his head. He waved his hands back and forth with an impish grin.
"What are you
doing?" she hissed, grabbing hold of the garment with psychic and putting it away. "Don't make a mess, they're not supposed to know we were here!"
"Relax, Cressie, it'll be fine." Hoopa backed away from the enraged psychic, his smile never fading. "I'm just having a little fun."
"A little
fun? You're putting this operation in danger! We're not supposed to be
seen. It brings humans back to our domain in search of power. This needs to be taken
seriously. Why can't you get that through your thick head?"
"I
am taking this seriously," Hoopa growled, waving his hands. "It's not my fault you don't know how to have a little fun on the job!"
Cresselia fought the urge to strike the impudent ghost with a psychic strike. "This isn't a joyride, we have a job to do! And keep your voice down, or you'll wake–"
A bright flash interrupted her, followed by a painful, electrified blow to the back of her head that sent her reeling backwards. She hit the wall with a dull
crack, then was pelted by a dozen small trinkets. As she shook her head to clear her vision, Cresselia saw the hulking form of an electivire standing protectively in front of the bed, scowling. Behind him, the humans were awake. One gaped, while the other held a pokeball in one hand.
"Thank you for helping," Electrivire growled, slamming his fists together. "But you should go. My humans don't like uninvited guests."
"Hoopa, get us out of here!" Cresselia yelled. She whipped back and forth in search of the ghost, but saw nothing. Then she felt a hand grab hold of her tail and yank. Next thing she knew, she was pulled through a portal on the ground and ended up in the forest.
As soon as they were out of danger, she whirled on Hoopa. "What were you
thinking?" she yelled. "You could have got us caught!"
To her surprise, Hoopa didn't argue. Instead, he just sighed and looked away. "I know, I know. I'm sorry. I messed up. Just… You're so serious all the time, even outside of assignments. I was just trying to lighten the mood."
Cresselia sucked in a deep breath, then counted to ten as she let it out. "I'm always serious, especially on assignments, because it's dangerous not to be. When you work around humans, you have to be cautious. They may not be strong, but they make up for it in ingenuity. And when you come across one – or worse,
many – with a thirst for power… well, without caution, you put yourself and everyone in the world in danger."
Hoope was silent for several moments. Then, finally, he sighed. "I get where you're coming from, though I promise the reasons for my actions were sincere. I'll… try to keep my chaos to myself, at least until this assignment is over." He reached a hand out. "Deal?"
Well, it was probably the best she could hope for. Besides, After this mission she could go back to ignoring Hoopa and just do her job. She reached out a paw and shook hands. "Deal."
"Hoopa, where did you go?"
Two targets later, Cresselia turned away from the human's bed to find Hoopa missing and the door ajar. Cursing under her breath, she exited the room and looked down the hall. A glint of gold caught her attention, and she turned just in time to see Hoppa slide down the wooden banister and disappear from sight. Seconds later, there was a crash.
She looked behind her, swore again, then darted down the stairs.
At the bottom, she found an overturned shelf, dozens of books scattered around the floor with Hoopa in the middle. He looked up at her, grinned, and rubbed the back of his head. "Uh… oops?"
This was going to be a long night.
