The eyelids covering the teal pupils opened with difficulty, no doubt due to the enormous fatigue the owner felt. Except that the scenery he discovered was in no way his bedroom.

....

....

....Huh?

What? What was happening? Where was he? What was this place?

The young boy straightened up slowly, sitting down, then began to observe his surroundings.

....Dark. Darker, yet darker.

....It was strange. He had the unpleasant impression of having already visited this place. But he couldn't say when.

....

-...Eh....

...? A voice? Who?

- Hey... Can you hear me?

...This voice. He didn't recognize it. It was more high-pitched and younger than usual, very different from the usual woman's.

-...I can...?

He heard a startled gasp, followed closely by an exclamation of joy.

- Yeah! Finally, I was able to contact you! Don't move, I'll join you!

Despite his confusion, Kellyn obeyed. It wasn't like he really had a choice anyway. He didn't know where he was, and it was far too dark for him to find his way!

Quickly, a noise caught his attention: resonance. Not like the sound of footsteps in a large and spacious room, but more like a cave made of pure crystal. Deep, mysterious and soothing at the same time.

As the sound got closer, the brunet tensed, ready to attack at the slightest sign of threat. Finally, the origin showed itself.

- Haha! Found you!

....

....An origami? Did he finally go mad?

- You don't look hurt... Phew! I was scared for a moment!

Oh no, he wasn't dreaming. This origami talked and moved. Well...Maybe he was dreaming.

- Hey...Are you okay? You are very quiet...Do you feel any pain?

The creature had quickly approached the boy, before getting on it's hind legs and resting one of it's paws on his forehead, looking genuinely worried.

- Hmm....You have a warm forehead...But less than before. It's a good start!

The origami heaved a long sigh of relief, further puzzling the young Ranger. He then asked in a small voice:

- H-Hum...Who are you?

- Oh! Please forgive me my dear! Looks like I forgot my manners!

The being cleared it's throat, probably more for style than anything else, then put it's paw on it's chest.

- I am the Origami Eevee ! But, you can call me Ori. It's a pleasure to meet you!

Ori stretched out his paw, a big smile on his lips, not seeming to be particularly aware of the state of confusion of his interlocutor. Said interlocutor who reluctantly shook the handful of legs/hands(?) offered.

-...Kellyn Gungnir...? Nice to meet you...?

The paper Eevee seemed to wince at his name, except that this state disappeared so quickly that the brunet thought he had hallucinated.

-....Hum, do you know where we are?

- U-Uh, no?

As the boy remained confused, the origami sighed softly, looking...Relieved?

- It's probably better this way.

- What do you mean it's "better this way"?! It's not! What the hell is going on?! Where are we?! And why for Mew's sake is there a talking origami?! Am I going crazy or what?!

The teenager exploded in frustration, not understanding what was going on around him. Strangely, Ori wasn't surprised when he saw him get angry, worse he seemed to have anticipated it.

- I understand your anger Kellyn, but know that it won't help you. Even less in this place.

The Eevee gently rested one of his paws on the Ranger's clenched hands, never taking his gaze away from the teal one.

- Come on...Calm down. Everything's alright. I don't intend to let THEM hurt you.

Kellyn blinked briefly, before looking away, nervously surveying the surroundings.

-...Who are "Them"...?

- The Monsters.

.....

-...E-Excuse me? Monsters"?

The brunet tilted his head and raised an eyebrow in doubt. Not that he didn't believe what the creature was saying, the fact that he had accepted that he could move and talk was proof of that, but he was still puzzled. Luckily, Ori didn't blame him, and gave him a sad little smile before slowly explaining:

- Right, Monsters. Well...I think that the term "Nightmares" would be more appropriate. See, normally these nightmares are harmless. Annoying and exhausting for sure, but harmless most of the time. Do you agree with that?

The teenager nodded, finding nothing to complain about yet.

- Perfect! Now, this is where it gets tricky. Because they started to...How can I say it...Go cuckoo? You may have already noticed this with your vision problems when you were awake.

Ah.

- Those kinds of black spots... That was them...?

- Precisely. Although honestly the fact that they can already manifest in reality alarms me...Thanks Darkrai I guess.

A violent shiver instantly ran through the Ranger's body, causing him to bite his lips. So his earlier state of madness was due to the consequences of his fight against the Legendary...? In a way, that didn't surprise him.

...Wait a minute.

- W-Wait- What do you mean by "already"? Was it supposed to happen?

The Eevee lowered his head slightly, thoughtful, before raising it abruptly and looking at the young boy straight in the eyes.

- Yes. Whether with or without Darkrai's intervention, it would have happened eventually. He just speeded up the process, that's all.

Kellyn remained silent, completely stunned and shocked. So, in any case, he would have cracked...?....How pathetic.

The creature, sensing his dark thoughts, climbed on top of him then rubbed his head affectionately against his cheek.

- Eh...You don't have to blame yourself. It's not your fault. And if you absolutely have to blame someone: blame the adults who didn't help you despite the obvious signs.

- B-But...!

- No. There is no "but"! Your parents are a perfect example of that! They saw that you weren't feeling good about yourself, yet they didn't do anything! And how did it end? With you taking a fit of madness!

The paper being groaned softly, as if frustrated.

- Tss...Now that one of them has been "wounded", it will sound the alarms. How ironic.

This statement alarmed poor Kellyn who began to panic.

- I-I hurted someone?!

- No! Or at least not physically. We'll just say that your mother was hauled over the coals.

The brunet's eyes widened then began to mutter rapidly while shaking:

- What did I do to Mom...? Oh by Arceus, Dad is going to kill me...! I shouldn't have, I shouldn't have, I shouldn't have-

- Hey! Calm down, everything is fine! It's not your fault, it never was. You did nothing wrong. Shh....Shh....~ Breathe my dear. Breathe...

Ori's voice rose in a soft whisper, careful not to terrify his protégé any further. Said protégé who couldn't help but crying his eyes out.

- Shh....Shhh....~ It's gonna be alright, my dear. It's gonna be alright....

As the Eevee continued to whisper reassuring words in his ear, the young Ranger calmed down at his own pace. Except...Something was wrong.

Why was his heart racing?

-...? Kellyn? What is going on? Something is wrong?

-...I-I...I don't know. M-My...My heart, it's....-

- #&$#&("^*%,'&$($,"*#(,"(#&"*#*,"()#,+&*=£¥€%¥$¥!!!!!!!!

A roar suddenly rang out from the depths of the abyss, instantly paralyzing the pair. It was...Shrill, hoarse and bloodthirsty all at the same time. Completely indescribable and anything but human.

- Oh no...! Kellyn, run!

Despite the panic in the origami's voice, the teen didn't move, completely petrified at the sight of the origin of this screech.

A woman, or at least a female-looking figure, slowly emerged from the darkness. She was...Dislocated. She walked like a spider, except that her torso instead of facing the sky, it was facing the ground.

However what shocked Kellyn the most, was not her body, nor her way of moving or the fact that she seemed to be composed only of pure darkness, but her eyes. A snow-white iris for a vermilion pupil piercing his soul through and through.

And this realization terrified him.

- You...I recognize you. Oh! Did you come back to play with us? It's been sooooo long since you last came!

The creature waddled in place, totally excited as the brunet lost more and more of his colors.

- How about we play your favorite game to celebrate your return? We're doing the same as usual, okay? I count and you hide!

The teenager suddenly widened his eyes, realizing what that meant. He had to leave, and quickly. The woman- No, the nightmare positioned herself comfortably on her paws, ready to charge. She stared at the 11th Top Ranger for a moment before saying loudly:

- 10

Immediately, the teal-eyed one's instincts kicked in, making him stand up in a hurry and then started running away as fast as his poor legs would allow him.

- 9

Why. Why why why- Had he committed such a great crime that Arceus felt obligated to punish him like this? Whatever the reason, he had a true walking nightmare after him.

- 8

- Go right! Then to the left!

The teenager followed Ori's instructions to the letter, who guided him the best he could through this endless abyss. The Eevee occasionally glanced back, making sure the creature wasn't following them just yet.

- W-What....What is that?!

- One of the infamous Monsters I told you about. She....She was a recurring nightmare during your early childhood, causing you a lot of insomnia. One day, however, they all suddenly disappeared. Since then, you were relatively at peace... All good things come to an end, unfortunately.

The origami instantly lowered his ears, pained. He blamed himself for the brunet reliving this nocturnal hell all over again. The latter would have liked to stop to reassure the paper being, except that he knew very well what was going to happen if he did.

So he ran. Faster and faster, hoping to get far enough away not to be found.

- Ready or not...HERE I COME!!~

The teenager immediately lost his colors, turning as white as a sheet. Oh no. Nononononononono-

- Kyah!!

He squealed when he tripped, and fell miserably to the ground.

- Kellyn! Are you okay?!

Ori, who had fallen at the same time as the brunet, rushed to his side and began to shower him with affection. The wounded boy could swear that the Eevee was as warm as any other living thing.

- A-Aouch...I-I...I'm fine, just tripped...

- I saw that! But that doesn't stop me from worrying! Nothing's broken?

- Hmm...I don't think so.

- Oh, thank Mew...

The paper being gently rubbed his muzzle against the boy's cheek, as a parent would with their child. However, his gaze quickly turned serious and worried again.

- I know you must be in pain, but this is not the time to stop. We must leave, and quickly! Knowing her, she won't take long to-

- Found you!~

Speaking of the Devil, there she is! The monstrosity had found them. She advanced with soft "steps", blending into the surrounding darkness.

- Aw~ Have you lost your touch? It doesn't matter, I still had fun!

The creature approached, a big smile on her lips, and royally ignoring the terrified look of the teenager. Seeing that the confrontation had become inevitable, Ori stepped in between the 2.

- Don't even try to approach him, you savage!

The nightmare paused, as if to judge whether or not the Eevee posed a threat. Suddenly, she started laughing.

- You are cute! However, you should know that we have been unemployed for sooo long....And now, thanks to Darkrai, we can FINALLY get back to work! So, I'm sorry but I have no time to waste with you, little fox!

The monstrosity swept away the paper being, sending him flying away. The brunet uttered a first cry in response to this gesture before pushing another one when he found himself face to face with the nightmarish creature.

- Aw~ Are you scared? Good, very good indeed! That means I'm not completely rusty!

The teal pupils widened and shook like hell, as their owner tried to extricate himself from the situation. Unfortunately, his assailant was blocking his escape.

- Don't try. You can't escape. Not anymore.

The nightmare put one of her hands on Kellyn's face, then ran it slowly along his cheek, looking pensive.

- /...Cold. Coldcoldcoldcold-/

- Ah...You've grown so much. SHE must be so proud.

This remark took the teenager by surprise, making him somewhat confused.

-....?

...An evil grin suddenly appeared on the creature's lips.

- But not enough.

The boy stuttered for 2 seconds before images flashed rapidly in front of his eyes, giving him a huge headache. He let out a scream of pain as he desperately tried to stop the infernal flow. This only made the monster laugh.

- It's no use. No one can fight against the flow of memory.

-...Make it stop. P-Please, i-it hurts...!

The brunet held his head while crying his heart out, but it didn't affect the dark being in any way.

- As it should be. Now...Remember. Remember the reason for our existence. Why we will never leave. Remember.

The young Ranger registered with difficulty the words of the creature that he felt being grabbed by the abyss. He tried miserably to struggle except that the pain he felt had weakened him to the highest point.

He would still have time to hear it one last time before sinking into the depths of darkness.

- This is a nightmare you will never wake up from.

---------------------

C-Coldddd-d-d

D-D-D-D-Daaaarrkkkk too darkkkk

H-H-H-H-Heeeeelp-p-p-p-p...!!!!