Darkrai stood before us, its menacing eyes flared with rage and anger. Paul was injured badly, and if his injury was not tended to, he would soon fall unconscious, which was dangerous with Darkrai around... We had to escape. Keeping Paul close to me, I picked out another Poke-ball

"Show it the darkness, Absol!" I threw it, and out of it came Absol, ready to face off against Darkrai

"Absol, stone edge!" Absol stomped his foot, making piercing stones fly out of the ground, landing a hit onto Darkrai. Darkrai was stunned for a moment, before it disappeared into the shadows once more. Taking our chance, Paul and I began to run as fast as we could. We left the lake area and ran back down the rugged dirt trail with Absol right behind us, ready to defend us if needed. I looked back to Paul: he was a fast runner, but with his injury and blood loss, he was starting to lag behind me. Not wanting to leave him behind, I grabbed his good hand and began to run with him, making sure he could keep up. He was panting heavily, stumbling frequently, blood dripping from his left arm to the ground, leaving a trail of fresh red liquid down the dirt road... At one moment, he let go of my hand and stumbled, falling to his knees, panting heavily. I quickly came back for him and attempted to help him stand up, however his legs were shaking wildly. He could barely stand on his own. He slouched onto my shoulder, trying to hold himself up. He was growing very weak... He couldn't run on his own, and I wasn't strong enough to carry him... I pulled out another Poke-Ball

"Your elegance glows, Gardevoir!" I threw it, and Gardevoir popped out. She turned to me and was astonished to see Paul in such a state. I slowly handed him over to her. With her psychic powers, she was able to carry him easily

"Get him out of the forest!" I told her. "Absol and I will hold off Darkrai and join you soon!" Gardevoir nodded. Paul only gave me a weak, concerned look before he slowly closed his eyes. He fell unconscious... With Paul now unconscious, he was vulnerable to Darkrai's powers. Gardevoir began to take him down the dirt road trail, with Absol and I steadily jogging behind them, keeping an eye and ear out for Darkrai. It had suddenly disappeared beforehand, and I wasn't going to let it ambush us anymore. Paul was already injured; we couldn't afford anyone else getting hurt

Suddenly, Absol stopped me and lifted his head up, sensing something. I stopped and looked. Listened. All I heard was the wind...

Without a warning, Absol launched another stone edge into the darkness, missing his target by a hair, and there it was once more: Darkrai. Its eyes glowed, anger swelling within it. I stood my ground, and so did Absol as Gardevoir fled to the shores with Paul in her arms. I narrowed my eyes

"Absol, Night Slash!" Absol charged at Darkrai and slashed it hard with a dark power. Despite the type disadvantage, night slash hit with a critical, pushing Darkrai back slightly. It glared at us with its piercing red eyes, launching a Shadow Ball at as, which we dodged with ease

"Stone edge!" Absol stomped the ground once more, hitting Darkrai with a critical Stone edge. Taking our chance, we began to flee to the shores. The forest casted its dark, haunting shadows across us, the wind howling loudly, telling us to flee. The trees rustled and swayed, branches almost hitting us as we ran. Absol sensed Darkrai nearby and turned around momentarily, launching a stone edge its way, before we continued to run. It felt like we ran nowhere, darkness being our only way down the raven trail, but soon, we finally reached the shores. Gardevoir was waiting there patiently, Paul still cradled in her arms. I looked back and only saw darkness. Not wanting to take any more chances, I threw out a Poke-Ball and out of it came Lapras. I re-called Absol, before Gardevoir and I hopped onto Lapras

"Lapras, go! Head West, NOW!" With no hesitation, Lapras took off faster than I had seen him go before. I looked back to the island, seeing a small, dotted pair of piercing red eyes, but soon they slowly faded...

We escaped

I sighed with relief, laying back a bit on Lapras' shell, before I looked over to Paul in Gardevoir's arms. Immediately, I jumped back up and slung my bag off of my back, digging through it to find anything that could help him. Potions, antidotes, berries, TM's... Ah! Bandages! I took out a roll and began to wrap Paul's arm up, making sure I didn't do it too tightly. As I did, I began to notice just how bad the injury was: it literally burned his arm, giving the wound a gross sheen to it, piercing through his skin and hitting his flesh heavily. I gagged a little just at the sight of the injury. Despite my weak stomach, I continued to patch him up until I ran out of bandage on the roll. I looked at how I did and decided that's all I could do. Adding anything else could make his injury worse, so I decided to make a nice resting spot for him. I got out some rope and carefully tied it around his waist with Gardevoir's assistance, before tying the other end onto one of Lapras' spikes on his shell. I had no blankets on me, only my jacket, so I carefully laid it down on the shell, before Gardevoir placed Paul onto it. I wish I could've done more, but that's all I could do. Satisfied with the work, I re-called Gardevoir and kept a good eye on Paul. He looked drained and very weak, but I knew that once he rested and woke up, he would begin to heal on his own. I looked up, noticing the moon had risen high in the sky. Surely, midnight was dawning on us very soon. Darkrai had slowed us down... I sighed, wondering how Paul would take this all in: being attacked, mixing up the islands, slowed down on our journey... I knew he wouldn't take it well. He was worried sick about his brother, and if this de-tour slowed us down too much... Reggie could be doomed...

Sensing my dread, Lapras began to talk to me, concerned

"I don't know, Lapras..." I replied. "That really slowed us down... If we don't make it..." I paused. "Paul would be so heartbroken. His brother, gone..." Lapras spoke once more

"I'm sure he has other family," I replied. "His parents, aunties and uncles, possible cousins, but... You have a special bond with your sibling that can never be replicated. If he lost his brother... He's lost his closest family member, his best friend... You can't replace that..." Lapras only went silent, unsure on how to reply to my response. I suddenly yawned. All that had happened had worn me out, and with night upon us, I couldn't help it. Grabbing an extra rope, I tied it around my waist, before tying the other end to one of the spikes on Lapras' shell. After checking the knot was tight, I laid down on the shell, shivering slightly. The wind blew over us, the bitterness grasping at my bare skin. I would've worn my jacket, but with Paul injured, he needed it more than I did. I stared into the empty night, pondering what would occur, before I slowly drifted off to sleep...

A few hours later...

...

Wandering child of the earth
Do you know just how much you're worth?
You have walked this path since your birth
You were destined for more...

I slowly opened my eyes, holding a yawn back. Someone was singing... It was a little off-tone and a bit deep, but it was soft, sweet and passionate. I slowly rolled over to see Paul wide awake, sitting up with my jacket wrapped around his shoulders. He stared off into the space that surrounded us as he continued singing

There are those who'll tell you you're wrong
They will try to silence your song
But right here is where you belong
So don't search anymore

You are the dawn of a new day that's waking
A masterpiece still in the making
The blue in an ocean of grey
You are right where you need to be
Poised to inspire and to succeed
You'll look back and you'll realize one day

"Paul?" Paul whipped his head around and immediately felt flustered once he knew I was listening to him the entire time. We fell into a rather awkward silence for the moment...

"... You didn't hear anything," Paul told me

"I heard everything," I replied. "That's a beautiful song! It's so calming! Where'd you learn it from?" Paul's alarmed look dropped to a sad, almost guilt-ridden look. He lowered his head slightly

"... My brother used to sing it to me when I was younger..." he whispered. I immediately felt bad for asking... He must've been singing it because he missed his brother. He was worried for his safety, and after our encounter with Darkrai... Who knew what would occur next... Paul turned back around, adjusting my jacket around his shoulders. I slowly got up and plopped myself next to him, following his gaze up to the stars. It was so clear, you could see so many stars dotting the sky, almost like... Spilled Moomoo milk? A... Milky Way? I chuckled at my own thought, making Paul look at me strangely, but he didn't ask anything. He looked back up to the stars shining upon us. We fell into an almost comfortable silence, but I felt a little awkward... I wanted to break the silence, but I didn't know how to...

"... Can you sing more of it?" I suddenly asked Paul. He looked to me

"What?"

"Can you sing more of it? The song? I mean... If there's more to the song that is..." Paul only looked at me. "I-It's a nice song!" I stuttered. "Please? I want to hear more of it!" Paul only turned back once more

"It's better when Reggie sings it..." he told me. "He's got a better singing voice"

"You're not bad either" I complimented him. "Come on, please?" Paul was silent for a moment. He looked at me, his expression blank. After we stared at each other for a bit, he sighed. He cleared his throat, before he continued the song:

In your eyes there is doubt
As you try to figure it out
But that's not what life is about
So have faith there's a way 

Though the world may try to define you
It can't take the light that's inside you
So don't you dare try to hide
Let your fears fade away

I smiled as he sang. He wasn't the best singer that's for sure, but he had this passion that I don't think anyone else could capture, except for Reggie of course. The song is that special to Paul that he sang it with a passion like no other; soft, calm and sweet. It made me see just how much the song meant to him, how much his brother meant to him... As the song was coming to a close, I noticed he was tearing up slightly. He began to turn away from me, but he continued the song all the same. I could now hear the sorrow in his voice as he finished the song:

You are the dawn of a new day that's waking
A masterpiece still in the making
The blue in an ocean of grey
You are right where you need to be
Poised to inspire and to succeed
You'll look back and you'll realise one day

You are the dawn of a new day that's waking
A masterpiece still in the making
The blue in an ocean of grey
You are right where you need to be
Poised to inspire and to succeed
Soon you'll finally find your own way

Once he finished the song, I heard soft sniffling. I placed my hand on his shoulder, making him turn around, but he turned back immediately

"I-I'm sorry..." he said sadly. "I shouldn't-"

"No, it's OK," I told him. I put my arm around him, pulling him closer to me for comfort. To my surprise, Paul wrapped his arm around me and cautiously laid his head down on my shoulder. He sniffled a little, but shed no tears. He only looked down sadly, gazing off into the deep, deep ocean. I began to pat him on the back to comfort him, which seemed to help him, but we didn't say a thing

"... That was a beautiful song," I told him. "Thank you for singing it. I... I know it must've been hard with what's going on and stuff..." Paul only shuffled a little

"... It's OK," he replied quietly. "I... I needed to grasp the good times for a moment..." I smiled sadly

"Did your parents ever sing that song to you?" I asked him. Paul shook his head

"No..." he replied. "They never sang to me..."

"Did they read you stories?" Paul shook his head once more

"No..." I bit my lip. This didn't sound normal...

"... What did they do then?" I cautiously asked him. Paul let out a frustrated sigh. He slowly let go of me, giving himself some space. His sad, distraught look had morphed into resentment. Did... Did he resent his own parents? I shuffled awkwardly, now feeling bad for bringing up this topic... I looked to Paul, waiting for an answer...

"... It all happened once my brother settled down in Sinnoh, after he finished collecting the badges of Sinnoh. He was about eighteen years old..."