Hey all, this is a collab between me and TheDragonLover, who's as awesome as always with her writing. It's really interesting to try to blend two very distinct writing styles together, but enough of descriptions. Start reading and see for yourself! Try to guess who wrote what! Have fun reading as we did writing this! (hey no idle praise! xD)

Yeah, it's great to collaborate with Blazing here! It's especially fun because of our different writing styles-but I won't bore you with the details. (Ha, idle praise? Lies, I tell you!) We actually picked this idea out of a proverbial hat; it was an old fic I had planned on writing but never got around to actually putting pen-to-paper. Er, proverbially. So, here it is in semi-RP semi-story form! Enjoy!

The meeting that Arceus had called that morning ended with quite a few legends rolling their eyes at the stern alpha. It wasn't like they were going to destroy the world! ...again.

Darkrai, in particular, was feeling a bit undeserving of such accusations. I freakin' helped save the world! Or at least a part of it. Sighing, she walked out of the marble hall without pause, fully intent on finding a dark place to relax and work off the stress of sitting in-between Dialga and Palkia. Again. Whoever thought up the seating arrangements deserves a never-ending nightmare.

On the other end of the hall, meanwhile, the male half of the Lati duo was busy trying to weasel his way out of a conversation with his sister. It wasn't that he hated talking with her - he hated unnecessary talk, not all talk - but rather, he had to settle some scores. Succeeding in making up an excuse that he was going to talk to Lugia - he made a mental note to text her to cover for him later - after five minutes, Latios hastily moved in the direction of the other exit - the one nearer to where the Sinnoh Legends were seated.

You're not getting away from me...

By now, all the Legendaries had cleared out of the meeting hall, and Latios was able to exit the room without too much trouble. A bit of white hair at the corner of his vision caught his attention - there you are - and he began storming towards it with all the subtlety of a Munchlax who'd just been given the directions to the world's largest all-you-can-eat buffet.

"You're at it again," he hissed, loud enough for the other Legendary to hear as he neared her.

The dark-type arched an eyebrow at his approach, wondering what in the hell he was talking about before remembering herself. Oh, right. Nightmares. That is my shtick, isn't it? Shaking her head at her own ridiculousness, she finally turned around to face him as she calmly replied, "I'm always at it. It's my job."

Latios growled, suppressing some of his anger - not all, but some. "As it is your job to protect the world as well, wasn't it? There's nothing to protect if everyone's driven insane by your nightmares."

He shot a quick glance down the hall, then back towards the door. No one in sight, good. No need to blow up the matter... not yet, at least. Fixing his glare back on the Sinnoh Legendary, the blue-haired teen grabbed her wrist with his right hand, tugging her towards one of the side passageways of the Hall. "And while I don't give too much of a damn with regards to the fate of the rest of the world, it becomes personal when you start affecting Latias."

"Don't touch me," she hissed, snatching her arm away from his as she glowered at the intrusive legendary. "And I have done my part for the world, so can you give it a rest, already? Look," she tried to stall any further protests, holding up her palms defensively, "it's nothing personal. I gave Manaphy a nightmare last week, but he's doing fine, isn't he? It didn't traumatize him for the rest of... forever."

Latios straightened, flicking his wrist slightly and curling his fingers. "That was one day. One. Day." Technically, it's one night, a voice piped up inside of him, but he shoved it aside with a mental Luster Purge. Now was not the time for jokes. "Latias has been suffering for two whole weeks. Now, I don't know what the hell she's done to deserve that, if anyone deserves something like that at all, but enough is enough."

The blue Eon made another grab for Darkrai's arm, but remembering what happened that time, chose instead to slam his palms into the wall on either side of her head, leaning in close. "Enough nightmares. Enough trauma. She's already falling apart from all the fighting and conflicts, and you making it worse doesn't help one bit."

Darkrai was not in the least intimidated by his actions, instead glaring at him full-force now that he was nose-to-nose with her. She absolutely hated when people tried to tell her what to do; she chafed under any sort of authority, and she had already argued with Arceus earlier that morning over something she had felt was important: Balance. This punk's demands weren't endearing her to him in any way.

The Eon Legendary kept his glare on Darkrai, waiting for her to say something. Anything. An apology, a sentence justifying her actions - hell, even a curse-laden phrase insulting him and his ability to mate would do.

Anything aside from silence. Ironic as it was, he hated that.

When it became clear that she wasn't going to say anything, but rather glare back at him in some deranged form of a staring contest that would have the winner face off against Cobalion for the title of 'Most Intimidating Glare', he hissed in frustration, slamming one fist into the wall next to her head. He wasn't going to hit her - there was no need for that, really - but it was just... so frustrating. The helplessness.

"Please," he growled, "just. Stop. Move the nightmares to me or whatever. Just leave her alone."

She watched him through narrowed eyes, taking in the stress and frustration he was exuding, before she calmed a fraction - and snorted right in his face.

"Idiot." She shook her head, as if world-weary of the stupidity she always had to deal with. "Do you even know what nightmares are supposed to do?"

"You're the princess of nightmares - or should I say the bitch giving out nightmares like cotton candy. You tell me," he snapped.

This time, instead of raising her hackles at the hostility, she merely rolled her eyes. She had dealt with enough animosity from the rest of the council, and she didn't need some overprotective big brother trying to intimidate her out of her job. She had, quite literally, dealt with much, much worse.

"Nightmares aren't just something to scare children into their parents' beds." She fell into something like a lecture mode, leaning further against the wall and crossing her arms over her chest. "And they're not just something to harass that bitch of a swan with-although that's always an added bonus." She didn't even bother cracking a smile for him. Her pleasure was her own, not to share. "They're a part of the balancing act of this world; without bad dreams to counteract the good dreams, soon joy would lose importance."

"Let's say, for example," she shifted her weight, now in complete "teacher lecturing her class" mode, "that your sister was riddled for nightmares for a week. Like she is now." She held up one hand, palm facing the ceiling, and moved it up and down slightly. "This will, of course, put a damper on her day, and she'll likely be quiet and withdrawn for a bit after she wakes up."

She checked to make sure she had his attention. By the look in his eyes - hidden somewhat by the red-tinted lens of the goggles he wore, his posture - right foot behind left, ready to spring forward if necessary - and the fact that he'd hadn't punched her straight in the face yet, she probably did.

"This, of course, is particularly depressing in the short-term. Your recent actions," she added dryly, "are an obvious indicator that she has either told you about these dreams, or you have figured it out on your own.

"But, of course, nightmares are only temporary; as soon as they cease, she will be a little more at ease, a little more open to social interaction, and overall, a little happier. After a week-two weeks," she quickly corrected herself, "she will swing from close to depression to a very euphoric, almost manic state of mind."

She lifted her chin, finally inviting his input as she asked lightly, "Latios, do you know what next week is?"

"The week you go into heat?" He snapped back rather harshly in response, not at all impressed by her lecture. "If you think your balancing act explanation is going to convince me, then why has she been on the low end for... I don't know, forever? She's never had a single good dream in her entire freaking life, and you have the nerve to say that it's balanced?!"

Latios paused for a moment, sucking in his breath, then continued. "If that's balanced to you, then your scale's obviously malfunctioning majorly."

Darkrai only barely managed not to spit in his face; her face twisted in aggravation, and her shoulders jerked slightly from restraining herself. "You fuckin' moron, it's your birthday."

The blue Eon jerked back, as if shot in the head. He drew in another breath, this one shakier than those prior, lowering his hands back to his sides and looking away. He'd been so caught up in his rage-filled tirade and desire to Luster Purge the nightmares into oblivion that he'd utterly forgotten about said birthday.

"...I don't see the link between that and this." He mumbled, much quieter than before.

After a moment of hesitation, Darkrai brought a hand to her forehead and groaned. "Dammit, I wasn't going to say anything, but-" She ground the heel of her palm into an eye socket, ignoring the sting and possible loss of eyesight she was causing. "You're so fuckin' irritating, I had to get you to shut up!" She groaned again, then sighed, then moaned and threw her head back rather roughly into the wall. Thunk. "Cress's gonna kill me. Twice."

"...what." Latios glanced back at Darkrai, noting her different body language. He might've been 'absolute crap at social cues', according to Mesprit, but it didn't take a rocket scientist to figure this one out. "What did Latias get you and Cresselia to do."

Please, don't be what I think it is, you stupid, selfless red Eon...

She groaned again. "Fuck. Well," she lifted her head with a "who cares anymore" attitude about her, "guess it doesn't really matter, now that you know something's up. I'm dead either way." Exhaling heavily through her nose-not quite a snort, more like a very slow, silent "Arceus save my soul" kind of sound-she finally looked at the previously angry legend and shrugged. "It was more like, what Cress and I had planned on getting your sister to do."

She shook her head again. Me and my big mouth. She was never getting in on anything secret ever, ever again, if Cresselia could help it. Well, guess I'm going to be eavesdropping from the shadows for a while.

"Latias probably didn't tell you the truth about her nightmares, considering they were about you not being happy for your birthday." She winced at how childish that sounded. "But, I was giving her a little panic-or at least, more than she already had-to drive up a little desperation in her actions. She had procrastinated." She eyed him levelly. "I wonder where she got that from.

"Anyway," she went on before he could form a retort, "after I had succeeded in giving her more-motivation-for her cause, I was going to leave it to Cresselia to help her brainstorm in her sleep for gift and party ideas. She's way better at that than I am," she admitting sourly, "so I wasn't even going to bother. I was perfectly fine with letting her have the entire thing sorted out without my intervention, but Cress just doesn't like being fair when it concerns me.

"She actually forced me not only to give her the initial nightmare-which I, admittedly, continued out of mild spite for the swan-but to later sneak over and whisper ideas into her ear, when you weren't around and when she would be less likely to just judge herself insane. This means," now in full-on rant mode, "the damn swan made me go out of my way to break into your fuckin' house, wait until Latias went to sleep, and then think of nice things or some shit to help her think. While she was giving good dreams! Which makes no sense!"

She took a breath as her voice got a little more high-pitched, awkward as hell after admitting this but stubborn enough to finish her story. "She could have done this all by herself, but no, sheeeee wanted to "meet halfway" on the "balance" issues I've been complaining about recently, which really meant she was using me for her own purposes, once again making me the bad guy while she's out getting thank you gifts and fuckin' award medals for how fuckin' perfect she is!"

"...am I allowed to speak now?" Latios timidly asked, slightly terrified by her rant.

"I'm not fuckin' finished!"

The Eon Legendary barely suppressed the yelp that would've left him, instead shutting his mouth tight and waiting for her to continue.

Darkrai raised her arms in the air in the universal "the fuck is this shit" gesture. "That bitch is always getting the praise and fan letters and shit because she was born on the right side of this balance, while I'm sitting over in a corner doodling on the wall because fuck else am I supposed to do? It's not like anyone talks to me or says, "Hey, that nightmare about the rotting teeth? Fantastic work! I'll remember to brush my teeth more often now!" Because Miss I Shit Sparkles is over there giving kids the dreams they want to remember, and I'm giving them the dreams they force themselves to forget!

"And even if I ignore that-because, let's face it, everyone else is-there's still the issue of balance involved. I give kid nightmare about spiders; she gives dream about being a dinosaur. I give kid nightmare about a final project; she gives dream about being able to shoot lasers out of their eyes. So, essentially, not only are the good ramifications of my dreams being ignored, but they're being completely outclassed by some over-achieving bitch who wants all of the glory and fun and candy houses and shit." She took a deep breath, holding a hand to stop him from interrupting-not that he seemed to be planning to, of course. She was fucking terrifying like this: Completely and totally unhinged, Pandora's Box standing at her feet, open.

"So, yeah. Cress was all like, "Hey, let's be balanced," and I, being the skeptical person I am, was like, "HAHA fat chance of that actually happening." But I went along with the scheme because she would most likely blame me if it failed, and, what do you know? I end up being blamed because it's working! AND," she was nearly screaming by now, her face flushed with sheer unholy wrath, "she has the audacity to stand up during the meeting and argue against me when I ask Arceus about seeking more balance! After all of the shit she had just said to get me in on this, I can't-"

She grabbed her head and, finally, screamed her frustration. "I fuckin' hate her!"

Latios visibly winced as the nightmare princess - the giver of all nightmares - essentially ranted about her worst nightmare. To a person who, minutes prior, had been yelling at her for rather... admittedly-selfish reasons.

I told you to think this through! The voice piped up again, which he promptly silenced with a mental Hyper Beam. He shifted uneasily, unsure of what to do. The only thing he could think of doing would probably result in him getting Dark Pulsed in the face, chest and right leg, before being thrown into an eternal nightmare where Mew had access to all the TNT in the world.

But at this point of time, common sense wasn't exactly the solution to everything, and with an exhalation that could've been 'ah fuck it' in a mysterious, alien language, he stepped forward -

And promptly hesitated again.

You're going to the Distortion World for this! The voice screamed, before once again being silenced - hopefully permanently this time - by no less than three mental Luster Purges.

Then I can go visit Giratina there.

Shoving any doubts he had aside for the moment, Latios gently - and gingerly - wrapped his hands around the Sinnoh Legendary's body, pulling her to his chest.

Immediately, Darkrai tensed up. "The fuck are you doing?" Her voice was still high-pitched; in fact, it cracked a bit as she tried and failed to reclaim her composure.

Latios inwardly groaned. Why couldn't it be like those stories where she would just cry and not question him? "...er. Right. This is a...hug?" His hands remained around her; his grip tightened somewhat, even as his voice dropped in volume. "...and I'm sorry."

She swallowed, and she was able to ask without piercing his ear drums, "The fuck are you hugging me for?" It seemed the filter between her brain and her mouth had finally broken, after the passionate rant she had just concluded with a feral noise not too long ago.

Why the fuck does she have to make this so... difficult?! This time, Latias' brother let out a small groan. Hugging a girl in an attempt to calm her down was like striding through a minefield where all the mines were marked by shaving cream, in winter. He gulped, praying that his next words would not send him into oblivion, then spoke: "Because... hugs make people feel better? I - gyah, noonedeservesthatokay?!"

Darkrai clenched her fists and growled, "No one but me, apparently." Then, remembering what was going on, she grimaced and gently pushed at his chest. "Um. Okay. Calm now. You can... let go."

"No. Seriously," Latios took a deep breath, steadying himself. "no one deserves to be treated like that. And especially not you." He leaned back somewhat, hands moving to her shoulders - technically breaking the hug but not letting her go - and sighed.

"So don't ever say that, okay?" He mumbled, suddenly feeling much, much more self-conscious. That and the fact that their faces were only inches apart.

She watched his expression, as if looking for some sign that he was pulling her leg, or doubting his own words. When he still had that stubbornly noble look on his face after several awkward heartbeats, she sighed and rested her forehead on his shoulder. She suddenly felt exhausted. "Okay," she whispered, unsure of what else to say to that. He was pretty damn convincing.

Latios gulped again, the lack of firsthand experience at this kind of scenarios once again showing. She looked so... vulnerable, so exposed - as if everything negative about her had been thrown out in the open all at once for him to dissect and absorb. Exhaling shakily, he moved the hand on her left shoulder - it was at an awkward angle, from the way they were now standing - to the back of her head, gently pressing it into her hair. It was surprisingly soft and silky, and he soon found himself lightly stroking her hair.

Darkrai, just what the hell have you done to me...