[IC 2] A Voice that Reminds Me of You
He hadn't come home.
Ever since Dialga had gone out that day with that blinding headache, he hadn't come home yet. Sure, she had encountered him in the central meeting area, arguing with their fellow deities and in some cases, even attacking them. But... That wasn't her Dialga. Just as she had said so many times, that Dialga with the misguided ideals was just a fake, a monster made in the image of her husband.
She was swimming now. As far away from the main gathering place of the island as she could get, hidden away in the lovely home by the large lake that they both, together, had claimed as their own. The waters were cold, freezing almost, but the Space Goddess didn't seem to mind. Swimming helped her relax, helped her clear her mind, helped her think.
Dialga had seen her past, that much was true. He had seen the pain and fear and hopelessness she had endured. And somehow, that had driven him insane. Closing her eyes, Paru turned in the water and dived down, reopening her crimson gaze once she was a few feet below the surface.
She knew her lover was protective of her. She knew he wanted her to be happy, to be safe, to forget. And that's exactly what she had wanted to do, to forget. But as long as he insisted on being told the whole story of her phobia, she would never be able to close that chapter of her everlong life. His prying curiosity would keep it open.
Now far below the surface of the lake, Palkia twisted around in the chilly waters to look up. The light that streamed down was dim, broken. It was strong in the sky, but by the time it reached all the way down there, far below in the semi-encompassing darkness, it was weak, feeble. Suddenly, a thought struck her;
Was this how her Dialga felt?
Trapped deep in the darkness of a sea of insanity? With the the light of his friends only strong enough to show him the surface he couldn't reach, and otherwise too weak and broken to do any more than remind of the world he so desperately missed and wanted to return to?
She had seen glimpses of him, of her blue-haired lover, in those crazy eyes he now sported. He wanted to be free, just as she had once wanted. He was bound by his own Red Chain and suffering his own form of pain and no one knew it but her. But with everyone else so bent on literally beating some sense back into this new Time God, what was she supposed to do? He was out of his mind and homicidal, assaulting their friends in her name, but... She still loved him, and didn't want to see any harm befall him.
If you knew something terrible was going to happen to someone you loved, wouldn't you try to stop it before it could happen?
But just as Palkia was about to ponder the ways to save her husband, her train of thought was thoroughly derailed by the abrupt pain in her side, causing her to release a few bubbles of air in surprise. Sure, she had been submerged for quite a while now, but even as a human she could hold her breath for an ungodly amount of time, so it wasn't possible the pain was caused by a lack of air. Nor were there any other Pokémon around to be potential culprits.
No, the pain... It was more like a dagger to her side. Or rather, a Dragon Claw. Concerned, Paru propelled herself to the surface of the frigid lake, emerging a few moments later with a splash and a heavy sigh. She would've then made her way to the shore, but another surge of pain had her hissing and dipping back under the meager waves briefly. Coming back up, she sputtered water and shook her head. Her side, and even part of her lower torso... Why did it hurt?
It took the pale Goddess quite a bit of time to finally make her way back to the pebbled shore of the expansive lake; The thorn in her side effectively crippled the otherwise able-bodied swimmer. So she took a few moments to catch her breath before decided to examine her side. And she was thunderstruck by what she found.
From out of no where, a large and ugly bruise had appeared, tarnishing the white skin on her side and even spreading onto the area below her breasts. What the hell had happened?! That hadn't been there before she had decided to take a swim! Gingerly, she brushed her fingertips against the wound and hissed again as a result; It was still tender, too!
"What the hell is going on?!"
This wasn't the first time a mysterious wound had appeared on her slender body in the past few days. Ever since Dialga had changed, tiny scrapes and sores had begun to litter her limbs, but they had been minuscule; Never this large or serious. Did this have something to do with the Time God? Was she feeling his pain? Or the pain of his victims? Or maybe something else?
Who's suffering was she enduring?
Ever since Dialga had gone out that day with that blinding headache, he hadn't come home yet. Sure, she had encountered him in the central meeting area, arguing with their fellow deities and in some cases, even attacking them. But... That wasn't her Dialga. Just as she had said so many times, that Dialga with the misguided ideals was just a fake, a monster made in the image of her husband.
She was swimming now. As far away from the main gathering place of the island as she could get, hidden away in the lovely home by the large lake that they both, together, had claimed as their own. The waters were cold, freezing almost, but the Space Goddess didn't seem to mind. Swimming helped her relax, helped her clear her mind, helped her think.
Dialga had seen her past, that much was true. He had seen the pain and fear and hopelessness she had endured. And somehow, that had driven him insane. Closing her eyes, Paru turned in the water and dived down, reopening her crimson gaze once she was a few feet below the surface.
She knew her lover was protective of her. She knew he wanted her to be happy, to be safe, to forget. And that's exactly what she had wanted to do, to forget. But as long as he insisted on being told the whole story of her phobia, she would never be able to close that chapter of her everlong life. His prying curiosity would keep it open.
Now far below the surface of the lake, Palkia twisted around in the chilly waters to look up. The light that streamed down was dim, broken. It was strong in the sky, but by the time it reached all the way down there, far below in the semi-encompassing darkness, it was weak, feeble. Suddenly, a thought struck her;
Was this how her Dialga felt?
Trapped deep in the darkness of a sea of insanity? With the the light of his friends only strong enough to show him the surface he couldn't reach, and otherwise too weak and broken to do any more than remind of the world he so desperately missed and wanted to return to?
She had seen glimpses of him, of her blue-haired lover, in those crazy eyes he now sported. He wanted to be free, just as she had once wanted. He was bound by his own Red Chain and suffering his own form of pain and no one knew it but her. But with everyone else so bent on literally beating some sense back into this new Time God, what was she supposed to do? He was out of his mind and homicidal, assaulting their friends in her name, but... She still loved him, and didn't want to see any harm befall him.
If you knew something terrible was going to happen to someone you loved, wouldn't you try to stop it before it could happen?
But just as Palkia was about to ponder the ways to save her husband, her train of thought was thoroughly derailed by the abrupt pain in her side, causing her to release a few bubbles of air in surprise. Sure, she had been submerged for quite a while now, but even as a human she could hold her breath for an ungodly amount of time, so it wasn't possible the pain was caused by a lack of air. Nor were there any other Pokémon around to be potential culprits.
No, the pain... It was more like a dagger to her side. Or rather, a Dragon Claw. Concerned, Paru propelled herself to the surface of the frigid lake, emerging a few moments later with a splash and a heavy sigh. She would've then made her way to the shore, but another surge of pain had her hissing and dipping back under the meager waves briefly. Coming back up, she sputtered water and shook her head. Her side, and even part of her lower torso... Why did it hurt?
It took the pale Goddess quite a bit of time to finally make her way back to the pebbled shore of the expansive lake; The thorn in her side effectively crippled the otherwise able-bodied swimmer. So she took a few moments to catch her breath before decided to examine her side. And she was thunderstruck by what she found.
From out of no where, a large and ugly bruise had appeared, tarnishing the white skin on her side and even spreading onto the area below her breasts. What the hell had happened?! That hadn't been there before she had decided to take a swim! Gingerly, she brushed her fingertips against the wound and hissed again as a result; It was still tender, too!
"What the hell is going on?!"
This wasn't the first time a mysterious wound had appeared on her slender body in the past few days. Ever since Dialga had changed, tiny scrapes and sores had begun to litter her limbs, but they had been minuscule; Never this large or serious. Did this have something to do with the Time God? Was she feeling his pain? Or the pain of his victims? Or maybe something else?
Who's suffering was she enduring?