TEEN: Storm Island

[Beth Pavell]

Ph'nglui mglw'nafh Cthulhu R'lyeh wgah'nagl fhtagn No, no, I'm being silly. Wow, ok! So a compete whiplash in the plot there. I have no idea what to make of it, frankly. I kind of liked seeing Andrea by herself for a while, though. The Gym Battle was easier to read than I expected it would be. One thing I will say though, is that it looks like you call Trent "Foxworth" for a moment there ... not sure if that's an artefact from editing

 

[Misfit Angel]

The gym leader name is my fault. I did a large portion of the writing of that chapter and I'm still used to the first name we came up for him, one that didn't include his first name.

And I myself am a little bit surprised about the twist here. I knew it was coming, but not in this way. Should make the next chapter interesting to write.

 

[Caitlin]

Storm Island
Chapter 10: Ruins of Murk Row​

Andrea's labored footsteps carried her away from the village and out into the dark wilderness. Deep, feral growling echoed through the thick forest. She looked around as she ran, but saw nothing. She figured that the creature that was making these howls was far off in the distance, but whatever it was was large and certainly angry.

The screams of the panicking villagers faded in the distance as she tried to retrace her steps back to where she originally found the suspicious man that brought her to the village. The growling and roaring continued, sounding as if it was getting closer. Despite her best efforts, she didn't seem to be getting any further from the horrible noises in the distance.

After a few moments, she found herself at the fork in the road, not even taking a moment to guess where the other direction might take her. She ignored the thoughts that she might be going in a large circle just as she ignored the stabbing pains that were coursing through her exhausted legs. All that mattered to her was finding safety and shelter from the creature that continued to make those horrible noises as it stalked through the wilderness. She continued onward, following the road as quickly as she could.

The light from the lantern soon illuminated what looked like several houses. Could she have finally reached Blackwood Grove? Her pace slowed down to inspect the surroundings. The village before her was quite large, but also ruined, shattering her hopes. Nearly every house in it had fallen apart over what appeared to be centuries of time. Most of them were unrecognizable piles of rubble, but a few still stood.

She picked a stable looking house away from the main road, hoping that she might be able to hide until both the sounds of the creature in the forest disappeared and the villagers she met gave up their search for her. The door on it was locked, but a closer inspection revealed a large hole in the wall on the northern side of the house which she climbed through.

The house had seen better days. Some of the walls had crumbled and much of the furniture had fallen apart into piles of wood, covered in moss and dirt. Most of the windows were long destroyed. The chimney in the main room had fallen apart, spilling onto the floor. It wasn't pretty, but it was shelter at least.

The sound of the growling grew closer, then suddenly stopped. Whatever had appeared to send the suspicious villagers into a panic had disappeared into the darkness as quickly as it appeared. Regardless, she wasn't going to take any risks. She pushed an old, broken armoire in front of the hole in the wall, sealing herself inside the ruined cabin and hopefully keeping whatever was in the forest out.

"My dad should know what to do..." she muttered to herself as she continued to inspect the wreckage. She reached into her purse and grabbed her phone, rolling through the numbers and dialing her father. The phone beeped three times. "No... Not now!" she said, starting to panic. "Come on, come on!" she said, waving her phone around in a futile attempt to connect to the regional network. Unfortunately, the thickness of the forest blocked her phone's ability to maintain a stable connection. As soon as she'd connect, her phone would lose connection again. "Damn it!"

She had escaped both the strange villagers and the mysterious beast in the distance, but she felt that her luck was running out. She lamented at the fact that she listened to Larson, choosing to brave the stormy wilderness to beat the storm, but she also lamented that she ignored his advice to find a travel partner. Would it be her undoing? Would anyone ever find her if the worst happened?

On top of all of that, her fears of the darkness were starting to get the best of her. It was as if the very atmosphere of the forest was clawing at her sanity. Was this the darkness of the forest she had heard rumors about? Not a literal darkness, but a symbolic darkness, something that can tear down even the most confident person.

But she vowed to beat the odds and make it through the forest alive, all alone. Curses? She didn't believe in them. She was a woman of science, of logic. Curses are illogical, she thought, so surely they couldn't exist. The only reason she was feeling down on her luck was because of a lot of superstitious rumors she had heard from other people and a few bad choices on her part, nothing more.

Her sudden burst of confidence was poorly timed, however, as she was exhausted. Her many bad experiences and nearly half an hour of running as fast as she could had taken all of the energy out of her. She was afraid to camp for the night, but what choice did she have? She didn't want to risk making a wrong turn, or finding out that the road ahead of her was longer than she thought it would be.

She rummaged through the wreckage of the cabin, looking for anything she might be able to use. Most of the furniture was destroyed beyond use and several of the rooms had caved in over the decades. Nearly every room was exposed to the outside world except for one, which she decided was where she'd try to sleep for the night. In the corner of the room was an old table that she figured would be the best shelter she had available to her. The table was old and covered in dirt, moss and fungal growth, but was surprisingly stable considering the rest of the furniture had withered away.

As she was unrolling her sleeping bag under the table, she heard voices from outside the cabin. She immediately reached over to the lantern to shut it off. A dim light poured in through the hole where the window used to be. She looked outside and saw that the strange villagers were back. "You've gotta be kidding me..." she whispered to herself.

She continued to watch the villagers as they slowly strolled through the town, stopping by many of the ruined cabins on the main road and shining their torches into the broken windows. They passed by the old, crumbled well, continuing their search. Before long, they had passed through the town completely, having failed to search every house.

She was relieved at that fact. She reached down for the lantern again and turned it on so that she could see what she was doing. After she finished unrolling her sleeping bag, she climbed inside of it and closed her eyes, wishing that the darkness would go away. She didn't want to admit it, but she was homesick. She wasn't the best of friends with her oppressive mother, but at the same time, she had stability, safety and a comfortable bed every night.

She swallowed her fear of the dark and shut off the lantern, hoping that the marauding villagers wouldn't return for a second time. However, all of those thoughts quickly faded and became as silent as the forest as she easily fell asleep.

- - - - -​

Andrea yawned and opened her eyes. The sight the greeted her wasn't what she was expecting; she could see the sky and the hundreds of stars that dotted it. She sat up and looked around to find herself in a familiar field of exotic flowers of every color. The smells of the forest had disappeared, being replaced by heavenly scents of honey and flowers. She looked around and stood up, brushing her windblown hair away from her face. In front of her was the same pristine pool of water that she had seen before. She knew this time that she was dreaming.

But she didn't know where she really was. Where was this mysterious mountain top? Was it just a figment of her imagination, or was it a real place? Why did she keep returning to this area in her dreams?

She approached the spring with confidence and with a purpose. She knelt down before the water, looking into it as a small orb of light began to glow in the bottom of it. The orb rose out of the water, leaving the glass-like surface undisturbed. The orb morphed in shape, creating a faint outline similar to the one she'd been seeing previously, an enigmatic shape that she couldn't identify.

"Where am I? What is this place?" she asked. "I want an answer."

"A place of true happiness, my child..." echoed the wispy voice.

"What does that mean?"

"You will know in time," the voice replied. "You are on the correct path, but many hardships stand between you and your happiness."

Andrea looked down, trying to think of what it all meant.

"Gaze into the Spring of Eternity, my child."

She did as she was asked. Like before, all she saw was a pool of water, but shapes and images began to form within it. She saw herself in tattered and waterlogged clothing, walking along the shore of a tropical island. The images in the water were not clear of what she saw, but a look of grief and sadness overcame her face before she started to run towards the wreckage of a small boat. Before she reached it, however, the images faded from the pool.

"Now what does this one mean?" she asked. She didn't receive an answer. Instead, the ghostly faint figure began to recede into the water. As her vision began to fade to white, she shouted, "Hey! Get back here and answer me!"

- - - - -​

Andrea woke up again, this time back in the forest she remembered falling asleep in. She reached over for the lantern, finding the button on the side and turned it on. The table she took refuge under was still above her and the decaying ruins of the house around her seemed to be undisturbed. If the villagers had returned overnight, they hadn't searched the location where she had taken refuge. She looked at her R-Kit to see what the time was. 3:42 AM. Despite the time and the experiences she had the previous day, she was oddly refreshed.

She reached into her backpack, grabbing one of the granola bars that she had brought from home. It was one of the last ones she had, something that worried her. Her navigation skills weren't the greatest and she wasn't sure of just how large the forest was and how long it would be before she reached Blackwood Grove. Rather than be pessimistic about it, she looked on the bright side of things. She had faced certain doom and escaped it, not once, but twice. Her luck and determination would carry her through to the town where she could think about her next moves and possibly find someone to travel with.

She grabbed Furball's Pokéball from her pocket, pressing the button on it and holding it out in front of her. A bright flash of light occurred and Furball appeared before her. "I probably should have had you out with me the other day... you might have scared off that crazy guy."

Furball eyed his master's granola bar greedily, licking his lips with anticipation.

"I suppose you're hungry, too..." she said, handing the granola bar to him. She grabbed the final granola bar from her backpack and opened it. "Keep an eye out for anything while I try to figure out where we are."

Furball nodded, taking a large bite from the granola bar.

She sighed as she opened up the map on her R-Kit. She wasn't able to pinpoint her exact location, so she had to use her experiences and her foggy memory to find where she might be. The map listed several historical sites, from Murk Row in the east to Wolftree Cemetery to the north. She figured she'd start with Murk Row, clicking on it on the map to bring up information about it.

Murk Row, now abandoned and ruined, was a major center of commerce before the modernization of Storm Island. Once the home of the prestigious Murkov family, a group of nobles allied with the royal family, Murk Row was famous for its exports of apple cider and lumber. It was historically important, as the civil war that lead to the modernization of Storm Island began here when the two rival kings of the Storm Clan met with each other. The meeting ended with the first bloodshed of the war and the founding of the Ambervale Clan, those who were exiled to the eastern portion of the island.

The encyclopedia also stated that Murk Row was also where the jet black raven Murkrow was first discovered, also serving as the inspiration for its name. Murkrow, now common worldwide, was introduced to other regions of the world by travellers and traders from this area. Every member of this species of bird can trace its ancestry to this little town.

Now that she thought about it, she noticed that the sound of ravens was heavy in the air, their grim songs echoing throughout the forest. They had an oddly calming effect on her, as the sounds they made were a welcome change from the dreadfully quiet forest she had experienced the previous day. If birds could make a living in such a spooky and odd forest, then perhaps normal people could, too.

Taking all of these facts into consideration and Murk Row's location on the map, she determined that's where she was. Blackwood Grove was only about an hour's walk away according to the map. "Ok, Furball, I think I found out where we are... It won't be long until we've found civilization."

Furball wasn't listening, instead happily devouring the granola bar she had given to him.

"We should get going, hopefully those crazy psychopaths are asleep," she said as she gathered up her belongings. She motioned for Furball to follow her out of the wreckage of the house. As the two made their way back to the main road of the town, the sound of ravens in the distance began to quiet down. She wondered why, and was worried that some other horrific event that would involve her running away again was about to unfold. She put it out of mind, focusing only on leaving the ruins and arriving at Blackwood Grove.

Before she reached the edge of the ruins, however, a black bird swooped out of the trees down towards her. She didn't even see it until it was right in front of her. The bird easily latched onto the granola bar in her hand, snatching it and flying off. It landed in front of her, pecking at the bar with its frighteningly sharp beak.

"You bastard, that's mine!" she said.

The bird looked up at her and tilted its head to the side mockingly, cawing at her.

"Furball, go get my granola bar back, please."

The bird studied Furball as he bravely approached the large bird. As he reached the bird, it cawed with glee at him before saying, "Mine! Mine!"

"Woah, it can talk?" she asked in amazement. She had heard from her father and Larson that most Pokémon are unable to speak. She raised her R-Kit to gather information on the bird.

"Murkrow, the Darkness Pokémon!" the R-Kit said. "Commonly regarded by superstitious folk as an omen of bad things to come, especially if seen at night, Murkrow often displays an aggressive fondness for shiny objects such as coins and metal buttons. They are fiercely territorial, often forming into large flocks under the leadership of a Honchkrow. Some members of the species display the ability to learn and say words that it hears."

"Maybe I should catch one of these things... it might be useful for defending myself here in the forest." she thought. She felt that she was ready to put what she had learned from Larson at the Silvermist Arboretum to the test. "Furball, what do you say we capture this guy and bring along with us?"

The Murkrow raised its head upon hearing this. "Brawwwwk! Capture, capture!" it echoed back in a mocking tone. It left the granola bar behind as it stomped towards Furball, ready to defend itself and keep its prize.

Andrea analyzed the situation. "You're at a disadvantage, Furball. Just keep your eyes on him and be careful." she said. "Remember that Spearow a few days ago? I think this is going to be similar."

The Murkrow jumped upward, flapping its jet black wings and taking flight. "Disadvantage, disadvantage!" it crowed. The Murkrow remained within the lantern's distance, still visible to Andrea and Furball. It fluttered around in a circle, taunting the two with words it had learned from her.

"It can't stay up there forever..." she said.

The Murkrow hovered above them and its beak began to glow a soft purple. It squawked, letting out a shockwave of fuzzy purple air that radiated outward and downward, slamming into Furball, knocking him backward. The shockwave also knocked Andrea over when it reached her. The Murkrow flew off to the side, ready to strike again. With its beak aglow, it unleashed another pulse of dark energy at the two.

"Uh oh..." Andrea said. "It's just gonna keep doing that, Furball, but I have another plan. C'mere." Furball approached her as she knelt down, listening to her quietly inform him of her strategy. Furball nodded, then returned to his previous position, taunting the Murkrow.

The Murkrow charged up another shadowy pulse, unleashing it in Furball's direction, but missed. Furball ran in circles below the Murkrow, then took up a position behind it.

With the Murkrow distracted by Furball, Andrea was free to attempt a capture. She remembered her days in school when she was on the softball team, hoping that the skills she had learned there would come in useful here as well, and hoping that she even still had them. She grabbed one of the empty Pokéballs from her pocket, cupping it in her hand and analyzing the Murkrow's movements. Like a fine-tuned machine, she calculated the Murkrow's position, direction of travel and speed, took aim, then rocketed the Pokéball towards it with all of her might.

The Pokéball sailed through the air in a curving motion towards the Murkrow, striking it in the back. "Gotcha!" she said with excitement as the Pokéball opened up and sucked the Murkrow inside, surprised she even managed to hit it. The Pokéball fell into the soft mud and wobbled for a bit, before the button on it stopped glowing and it emitted a soft beep. The capture was successful!

She walked over to the Pokéball and picked it up. "I've still got it!"

Furball clapped with glee at his master's excitement, happy to see her attitude change from the sense of grim dread she was feeling previously.

She motioned for Furball to follow. "Come on, let's get going. I want to get to this town before something else happens out here." She picked up the lantern and led Furball westward, putting the ruins of Murk Row behind her as she continued her journey towards Blackwood Grove. Now cautiously vigilant, she kept an eye on as much of the forest as she could, suspicious of what else might be lurking in the darkness.

 

[Misfit Angel]

Storm Island
Chapter 11: The Outsider​

Andrea and Furball had been following the dark and misty path through the forest for nearly an hour. Much to her relief, this trip was much less eventful than her initial journey through the forest. Even better, a dim aura of light could be seen poking through the trees.

Soon enough, the ambient light was bright enough to the point where she didn't need her lantern anymore. She shut it off and breathed a sigh of relief, confident that she had at last found safety. The presence of a sign that read 'Welcome to Blackwood Grove' brought her to her knees.

"If there's some greater power out there looking out for me, thank you," she said, almost tempted to kiss the ground before her.

Furball sniffed her curiously, worried if his master had finally suffered a mental breakdown.

With her moment of gratitude over, she returned to her feet and continued onward into the town. As she walked along the dimly lit road, she noticed the people staring at her. Most just stood in silence, watching her as she passed by, but others sent their kids indoors or hid themselves. Their accusatory glares brought her great discomfort. Had she done something wrong? Did she find herself in another village of the psychopaths she had met the day before?

Her journey took her across town to the Pokécenter. She hoped she'd find a place to relax after her hike through the woods, but the strange gazes of the townsfolk began to make her think she wouldn't. She determined that she'd see if the place was safe; if not, she'd bypass the town as quickly as possible, even if it meant camping out on the northern fringe of the forest for a few days to wait out the remnants of Hurricane Adele.

Despite the rustic appearance of the exterior, the inside of the Pokécenter sported the same sleek, high-tech look of the one she'd seen in Silvermist City, which alone was a welcome sight. The waiting area was empty except for a young man with dark hair, his attention buried in the old looking book that he was holding. She sat down on the opposite side of the room from him.

"Alright, buddy... I don't think you're too injured, but it wouldn't hurt to get you patched up here," she said, grabbing Furball's Pokéball and recalling him. She began stretching and rubbing her sore legs, but before she had any time to relax, the sound of her phone shocked her so much that she almost fell out of her chair. She reached for her phone and opened it, seeing the call was from her father. "Hello?" she said.

"Andrea, there you are!" he said. "I've been trying to reach you for about a day now!"

"Yeah, sorry... didn't think my phone would lose reception so easily out here."

"Where are you?"

"Blackwood Grove, why?"

Her father was silent for a brief moment. His voice was quieter when he continued. "Good. I need you to lay low for awhile. Stay off of the main roads until I get in touch with you."

"Why, what's up?"

"You're not gonna believe this, but... I just got word that there's a warrant out for your arrest."

She was shocked. "Uhh, what? Excuse me? I'm sorry?"

"Remember that restaurant you worked at a few weeks ago? Burned to the ground. Total loss. Chaz thinks you did it."

"But... b..."

"Look, I know you didn't do it. You were over in Silvermist when it happened. I've tried to tell the investigators that, but someone seems to be going out of their way to blame you."

"Who? Who would do that? What did I do?"

"I dunno, baby. I'm going to get to the bottom of it, though, and I've got an idea of where to start." he paused for a moment. "Look, I gotta go. Stay safe." He hung up before she had a chance to respond.

She closed her phone, slumping into the chair with a blank stare on her face. The Crimson Crawdaunt, gone? All of those memories, all that hard work, gone with it... Who would do such a thing? Who would try to frame her for it?

The young man seated across the room from her looked up in silence at her, sensing the distress she was going through. "Hey, lady. You don't look too good, everything alright?"

"Huh?" she asked, looking up at him. His soft face was welcoming, but she felt she couldn't trust him. It wasn't often that strangers showed concern for her, and in the past it usually never ended well. Her cynical attitude made her question why this time should be any different. "Everything's fine."

He looked back down at the magazine he was holding and continued to read it. "Certainly doesn't sound like it. But hey, not my problem I guess."

"I've gotta get out of here..." she whispered to herself, standing up and stretching. She had only just arrived in Blackwood Grove, but was she truly safe? What if word got out to the townsfolk that she was wanted by the police? She didn't feel any more at ease than she did just ten minutes ago before reaching town.

She decided that leaving town would be the best course of action and made her way to the door. Before she reached it, however, she saw a face peering in through the window at her. "What is with these people?" she asked. She opened the door to see that a small crowd had gathered, waiting for her.

"There she is!" someone called out.

"Is she really the one?" another asked. "She doesn't look like one of them."

"She must be! Don't let her get away!"

Andrea backed away from the door slowly as several from the crowd tried to squeeze in through the door at the same time. She realized that she was cornered, however, as the only way out was through that door. She wasn't going to back down without a fight, however, and grabbed Furball's and Murkrow's Pokéballs from her pocket. She tossed them to the ground in front of her, summoning her protectors. "Stay back!" she shouted.

"Get her!"

The young man in the waiting room looked up when he heard the commotion. "Not again..." he said. "Hey, hey! What's going on?" he said as he approached the group. His question was ignored as one of the men from the group made a diving grab at Andrea, but missed. He stepped between Andrea, Furball, Murkrow and the group. "Stay behind me, friend." He addressed the angry crowd. "What is the matter with you?"

"She's with them!" one of the people in the crowd said.

"With who?" he asked as he studied her, puzzled.

"The Cult of the Lost!" the angry man replied. "Her kind aren't welcome here!"

"Not again..." he grumbled to himself. He continued to study her. "You must be mistaken. Unless I'm blind, I don't see it. Look at her clothes, look at the way she puts herself out there... she's not some crazy kook, she's a normal girl."

One of the men stepped forward. "Why would she be here now, then? Only two types of people wander the forest at this time of the night, fools and crooks."

The young man raised his voice. "Alright, no. That's enough. We're not doing this again. Not everyone who visits the town is a witch, and I'm sick and tired of this being a problem." he said, pointing towards the door. "Go home. I'll watch over her if it makes any of you feel better... if she even wants to stay in town, that is." He turned to Andrea. "Look, if you want to leave... I don't blame you."

The crowd surprisingly began to disperse.

"What is with this forest?" Andrea asked as she recalled Furball and Murkrow. "Why is everyone so crazy?"

The young man laughed. "I hear that a lot." He offered his hand out towards her. "I'm Kamin, by the way."

"Andrea," she said. She looked him deep in the eyes, trying to judge his character. He seemed like a nice guy, but was he?

"Are you going to stay awhile?" he asked.

It was a difficult choice. She didn't know anyone in the town, or whether it was truly safe to stay. What would happen if the villagers decided to confront her again when she was alone? On the other hand, she knew first hand the dangers of the forest, and figured that Blackwood Grove offered a reasonable amount of safety from those dangers. She thought long about whether she'd stay or go, causing Kamin to tilt his head and wave in front of her face to see if she was still conscious. "I don't think I have a choice. I've been out there in the forest and I don't like it."

"Alright then. I'll keep you out of trouble if you want. I don't want to leave you alone."

She took the offer. "Yeah, I don't want any trouble."

He nodded. "Just a moment." He walked over to the counter and rang the bell.

A nurse poked her head out through the doorway. "Is it safe?" she asked.

"Yeah," he said, motioning for her to approach the desk. "Leslie, I'll pick up my Nuzleaf and Heracross later, okay? I'm going to show our guest around town."

"Keep her safe, I'm not the best with treating human injuries..." the nurse said. "Be very careful, I'm afraid the townsfolk are about to snap any day now."

He returned to Andrea. "Alright, follow me and stick close. There's no telling who we'll run into out there."

- - - - -​

Nearly half an hour had passed since the two began their tour of the town, a half hour that passed by quickly and uneventfully. While the villagers continued to stare at Andrea as if she had done something wrong, none of them made any threats against her as Kamin led her through the town. His presence seemed to scare them into obedience. Perhaps he was a violent man with a soft face, or maybe he was just well respected among the townsfolk. It was something Andrea was determined to find out if she was going to stay in Blackwood Grove for more than a few hours, especially if she was going to be in his presence.

Blackwood Grove was a different, bizarre place to Andrea. Having grown up in a modern, big city, she never experienced the different way of life the people in Blackwood enjoy. It was a simple existence, but one respectable in its own right. The people were hard at work, gathering water from the well in the center of the town, refining fallen logs and branches for the new barn that was being built and creating jewelry out of small polished bones.

Their tour of the town took them to the northern reaches, towards a small house that stood next to the Blackwood Pokémon Gym. Andrea was suspicious of following a stranger into his home, but their short time together had already built a small level of trust.

"Wait here," Kamin said, tapping on a table that was pushed against the side of the house. "I'm going to see if my father is home. If the townsfolk will listen to anyone about you, it'll be him."

Andrea sat down at the table, patiently waiting for him to return. She tried to relax, but being in Blackwood Grove didn't help her do so as much as she thought it would. She tried not to concern herself with it, thinking on the bright side for once. Kamin seemed nice and genuinely concerned about her. That couldn't be said for anyone else in the town, nor most of the people she knew back in Azure Ridge.

Kamin returned after a few minutes, carrying a plate with him. "He's not here right now, unfortunately." he said. "I don't know if you're hungry, but I am."

Andrea inspected the plate that he put on the table to find it piled high with button-like mushrooms. "I'm not a big fan of mushrooms..." she said, grabbing a few.

"That's all that grows here," he said. "Unless you like dead leaves. I don't."

Andrea giggled.

"So what brings you out this way, Andrea?" he asked.

"I'm on my way to Cinder Hill to look at some geological equipment for my boss," she answered. "If I knew the forest was going to be this ridiculous, though, I would have happily gone around the rest of the island just to avoid this place."

"Yeah, it can be pretty bad for someone who doesn't know what to expect. You seemed pretty distressed when you walked into the Pokémon Center, mind me asking what happened out there?"

"A lot of strange stuff that I wasn't expecting to see... I mean, come on, it's a forest. I shouldn't have seen anything like what I saw."

He laughed. "Forests can be spooky. What did you see?"

"When I first entered the forest, I noticed the light from my lantern casting strange shadows on the trees around me... Like weird demons from those stories I read when I was a child."

"Sounds about right."

"What do you mean?" she asked.

I'm sure you've heard the rumors that this forest is cursed. Well, the people around here don't believe it's just a rumor, myself included." he said. "I'm sure you felt it... that growing sense of despair from the darkness."

"I did! What is that?"

"The curse. The darkness we experience around here isn't just literal, it's symbolic. It's like a strange shadow that lurks behind you, slowly eating away at your sanity. My father and I have spent years trying to figure out the source of it, but we never did."

"And people live here?"

"Yeah. It's not ideal, but it's the place we've chosen to call our home. Some of us stay here out of necessity, others have no option."

"That explains the crazy people..."

He laughed. "I wouldn't really call anyone here in town crazy. Untrustworthy, but not crazy."

"I didn't mean the people here. I ran into these strange people while I was out there, creeps in robes. Their faces... were something else, almost cartoonish. Crooked grins that stretched far too wide for any sane human."

Andrea's description of the people she met caught Kamin's full attention as he pushed the plate in front of him forward a bit. "These people... did they speak in a strange manner?"

"Yeah! I could barely understand them. They kept talking about a true king or something." she paused. "...Who were they?"

"The Cult of the Lost, those slimy bastards. They're a bunch of kooks who live in the forest seeking to bring back the days of the old civil war that happened hundreds of years ago. They're bad people..."

"Cult of the Lost? What is this, some Dungeons and Dragons nerd fest?"

"Ha! No, it's just a name we've come up with. They were once like us, but the darkness proved to be too much for them. Thus, they are 'lost'." He cast a glare of suspicion on her. "Now, how exactly did you meet them?"

"One of them appeared out of nowhere and led me to their village. I had no idea about them, so I walked right in without realizing just how stupid I was being." she said. "I am so incredibly lucky that I got out of there, they were going to sacrifice me in some ritual it sounded like."

"No... are they..? Have..." Kamin said, stuttering as he tried to piece his words together properly.

"What's wrong?" she asked.

"If they're kidnapping people who travel the forest and sacrificing them... Is that why we've had less visitors lately? Is that why the darkness has become more profound?" he asked. "This isn't good... We're definitely going to have to talk to my father about this when he gets back."

There was a moment of awkward silence between the two. The sound of wolves howling in the distance could be heard, as could the eerie wind that was blowing.

"So, umm... what about you? Tell me a little bit about yourself." Andrea inquired, breaking the silence.

"Me?" he asked, shaking his head. "No, there's nothing really interesting about me. What little there is... I keep to myself for a variety of reasons. Consider it a trust issue."

Andrea stared at him blankly. "So you want to know about me, but you won't tell me anything besides your name. That's what you call trust?"

"It's not my fault you're an open book," he replied. "Don't get me wrong, I am thankful that you've shared your experiences you've had in the forest. It's been awhile since I've left this place... I had no idea it was so bad out there."

Another moment of awkward silence started, this one longer than the last. Andrea sighed and continued to stare at him, her shaky opinion of him degrading with every passing moment. "What a piece of work this guy is..." she thought to herself. "Remember, Andrea, just because someone is easy on the eyes doesn't mean they're a nice guy." She tried to speak up, but the feelings of offense she felt regarding Kamin's jagged and strange personality succeeded in quieting her down.

Before long, however, Kamin broke the silence when he saw a large man approaching the two. "Father, you're home!"

"Hello, son," the man said in an unrecognizable accent. "I see we have visitor."

Andrea stared up at the man. He was the tallest man she'd ever seen, standing at around 7 feet tall, and he wasn't big in just that regard. He wore a strange, tribal looking vest that showed his massively muscled biceps and chest. He was a monster of a man, looking as if he could lift even a car. His long and frizzy black hair was braided and the tips were tied with ribbons and beads. A single white stripe, much like a skunk's stripe, ran through the side of his hair, starting from his forehead and running all the way down to the end.

"We do. She had the same exact experience as the last person that came to town... only she hasn't run off yet." Kamin said. "Andrea, this is my father, Raven Duskwillow."

"Sorry for the way people treat you, ma'am. It is tense time here in Blackwood."

"Thank you," she replied.

"Kamin, we have important task to take care of. I have received word from Blackwood Lumber Yard that the beast has been spotted."

Kamin sat up straight, listening intently. "How long ago?"

"I last heard ten minutes ago. If we leave now, we can find it this time."

He pounded his fist on the table in excitement. "Alright! Let's go. Come on, Andrea."

"Excuse me? What?" she asked. "Beast? I don't think so."

"Unless you want to deal with the people of this town alone, I suggest you come along. It's your call, though."

Andrea quickly made her decision. "I'm not staying here alone..."

"Good," he said as he stood up. "What do we need to bring, father?"

"Bravery. Patience. Quick wits." He looked down at Andrea. "Apologies if I offend, but I see only one of qualities in you, ma'am. I hope just one quality enough to balance lack of others."

"I'll try my best," she said, standing up to join her acquaintances. While Kamin had done very little to make her feel safe, she already felt safe in the presence of Raven. Despite his rough appearance, she could tell that he was generous in the way he spoke.

She followed the two through the town. Unlike before, however, the townsfolk for the most part ignored her, perhaps due to Raven's presence. She had only just met him, but she could tell that he was a well respected figure in the town, even though he was very different from the rest of them. She was put at even more ease knowing this and hoped one day that she could command the same kind of respect.

The group reached the edge of the town, passing under an elaborate wooden gateway, decorated with the crest of the Storm Clan. Various lights could be seen along the trail northward, fading into the foggy distance, but they weren't bright enough to properly travel through, prompting Andrea to reach for her lantern.

"Most important rule of forest is protection," Raven said. He reached into the leather pouch that rested on his leather sash. The Pokéball that he pulled out was unlike any Andrea had ever seen, being green and brown, sporting tribal markings that she couldn't identify. He held it out in front of him and pressed the button on it. A glowing white blob of energy poured out of it, forming into the shape of a bipedal crocodilian creature.

"Woah..." Andrea said as she studied the strange creature. Despite her lack of experience with Pokémon, she was familiar with the appearance of a majority of the species that were native to Storm Island. However, this one she could not identify, so she raised her R-Kit up to scan it. The R-Kit scanned the tan-skinned reptile, identifying it as a Krokorok.

"Krokorok, the Desert Croc Pokémon!" the R-Kit's robotic voice said. "While feral members of the species are incredibly territorial and dangerous to be around, domesticated Krokoroks are like loyal dogs. Their specialized eyes allow them to see in the dark as well as detect infrared energy and ionized gasses, attracting police and investigative agencies across the world."

Kamin reached into his pocket next, pulling out a standard red Pokéball. He tossed it in front of him, releasing a shockwave of fiery energy that began to form into a black dog-like creature. Bony plates surrounded its ankles and protruded from its back. A spooky looking skull covered its forehead, with fiery red eyes poking out from under it.

The sight of the creature sent shivers down her spine. She scanned it with her R-Kit to learn more about it.

"Houndour, the Dark Pokémon!" the R-Kit started. "Originally reviled as a terrible beast incapable of morals or even basic thought, Houndour has inspired hunters throughout the ages with its abilities and pack instincts. Its howl usually signifies the beginning of the hunt, and travellers are encouraged to be aware of their surroundings if one is heard."

"Nice bit of technology you've got there," Kamin said. "It's not often we get to see things like that around here. You said you're a scientist, right? It must be filled with a lot of information."

"It seems like invaluable survival tool, but it is up to user to utilize information correctly," Raven added.

"Alright, let's get going. Stay close, Andrea." Kamin said, leading the group forward. "Oh, I'm sure you've already noticed, but your lantern probably isn't the best light source out here."

Andrea was confused. "I don't know what you're talking about, it works just fine."

Kamin chuckled. "You'll see, then." he made a peculiar clicking noise, followed by a whistle. The Houndour instantly perked up, looking at him intently. "Give us some light, will ya, boy?"

The Houndour stopped in its tracks, taking in a deep breath. The fire around its eyes began to burn more intensely, before a sheet of flickering, bright flames erupted from the bony ridges along its back.

"We can probably handle anything the forest throws at us, but I'd recommend bringing out your own Pokémon, just in case," Kamin said.

Andrea agreed, reaching into her pocket. She pulled out one of her Pokéballs, gently tossing it ahead of her. The Pokéball exploded into a shower of jet black feathers, revealing the Murkrow she had captured earlier.

"Murkrow, eh? What's its name?" Kamin asked.

"I don't know, I haven't thought of one yet," she said. "Maybe I should go with a cliché and name her based on what I know... like Sorrow."

"Not bad name," Raven said.

"You know, it's odd. Just before I found her, I had a strange dream, one that told me I was going to suffer many hardships on my path to happiness. And there's that superstition about them..."

"When did you find it?" Raven asked.

"Around 4 AM this morning..."

"That not good,"

"What? Why?"

"Murkrow earn reputation for a reason, ma'am. Legends across world say that Murkrow encountered at night seals fate of individual."

Always skeptical of anything that couldn't be explained by science, Andrea wanted to laugh, but held it in so she wouldn't appear rude. "I don't believe that, personally. I think the dream I had was just the forest getting to me, nothing more."

"Perhaps when we return to town, you and I discuss dream? I am specialist in spirituality, I may have answers."

"Maybe," she said. The more she learned about him, the more curious she was of his origins. It was obvious that he was a foreigner of some sort, but unlike any she had ever talked to before. She wasn't aware of many people who still clung to old traditions of spirituality. Even more intriguing was the Krokorok he commanded, as well as the tribal emblems and tattoos that adorned his body and Pokéball. Her curiosity got the better of her. "By the way, that's a strange accent you have, Mr. Duskwillow. Where are you from?"

"I come from far away land of Unova, from tribe of nomads who live near Providence Bluffs, far west of big cities. I was once outsider here in Blackwood Grove like you, but I arrived at different time. Forest not so dark, the people not so untrusting."

"Wow, you're a loooooong way from home, then... must be rough sometimes."

"At times," he said. "But this is home now. I like it here, I have purpose here." He patted Kamin on the head with his massive hand. "We have purpose. And that is to protect town."

"He's been welcome here for as long as I can remember," Kamin added.

"I hope to always be welcome in town," he said. "And you. You are welcome in Blackwood Grove, too. I will speak with townspeople when we get back. They will not trouble you."

"Thank you," Andrea said. "So what should I expect out of this beast you mentioned? Have you guys seen it?"

"I have," Kamin said. "It's unreal... it's a giant Mightyena, probably as tall as you are. Rumor has it that it killed Paul, one of our villagers... he's been missing for a week, and he was last seen around the logging camp. The night he went missing, people said they saw it stalking around."

"I have not seen it myself," Raven added. "But I do not doubt reports. This forest is capable of strange things."

"And you want to go after this thing? Are you guys nuts?" she asked.

"Nobody else has. We have to before more people get hurt." Kamin said. "It's going to be dangerous, yes. That much I can guarantee you. I can't promise your safety if you help us out, but what I can say is that the people of Blackwood will very likely extend their hospitality if you do."

Andrea didn't particularly care about the opinions of those in Blackwood Grove, intending on leaving town as soon as possible. She even hoped to ditch the two at the lumber camp and head further north on her own. She had enough of the forest and all it had to offer, and her only objective was to escape as soon as possible. But until she knew it was safe, she knew she couldn't leave them.

 

[Misfit Angel]

Storm Island
Chapter 11.5: Arson Investigation​

The rain was heavily pouring down onto the streets of Azure Ridge, blanketing the roads in a small layer of swiftly moving water. Tidal surges were crashing onto the beach, but were kept at bay by a wall of sandbags. The sky was black as night as lightning skipped between the thick storm clouds, painting a grim and depressing scene.

Inside the relative safety of her home, Meredith Dennison was seated at the kitchen table, entranced by the harsh weather she was witnessing. She hadn't seen anything like it since she was a child, nearly thirty years ago. "Marv... do you think Andrea's alright?"

Marvin was studying a case file related to the 'Dark Angel', a criminal that he and his partner had been investigating. "I'm sure she's fine. She's in the Blackwood, weather doesn't exist in there."

"But she has no idea what she's doing... she has no survival skills and she's never been really good at taking care of herself. I'm worr-"

"She's fine, I talked to her yesterday," he said. "She's a smart girl, she's probably found someone to help her along, make up for her inexperience."

Meredith looked at her husband, breaking her attention from the storm. "Come on, Marv. You know just as well as I do that she's probably hiding from everyone and everything, especially since she burned the restaurant down."

Marvin looked up from his notes and stared at the table before he slowly put them down and looked at her. "I'm sorry, did I hear that right? You don't think she actually did it, do you?"

"How do we know she didn't?"

"I can't believe I'm hearing this," he said. "Andrea is our daughter, we've known her all nineteen years of her life. She's always been kind and gentle, always willing to make a sacrifice if it meant helping others. Not once can I think of a time where she's been a true troublemaker."

"What about the past few weeks?" she asked. "She's been rude, she's been secretive, she's been miserable... I really think the way that Chaz tore her hopes and dreams up changed her."

"She has been a bit touchy, lately, yes. But... Why am I even arguing this? I know for a damned fact that she was in Silvermist City when that restaurant went up in flames."

"Please, prove me wrong. I want to believe that she's innocent, but how often have your fellow detectives been wrong?"

Marvin grumbled and returned to his work, trying to ignore everything his wife had said. Tensions had been high between them since Andrea left, and he wanted it all to just go away so that they could get back to their happy marriage. He tried to drown it out by burying himself back into his work.

His investigation into the Dark Angel had gone nowhere in the past two weeks. Every time he thought he was closer to finding information about her, it turned out to be false. From questioning Fat Paulie about her connections with Team Rocket, to investigating rumors that the group was raising funds by selling illegally poached pearls, and factoring in what Andrea and Larson saw a few nights ago in Crystal Bay, he thought he would have found some useful information about her, but nothing seemed to bridge together. This had been his first truly difficult case since joining the force, and it was starting to wear into him.

Not all was lost, however. Many people within the city said that they had seen someone matching her description slinking around town. That was encouragement to continue searching for her, but he knew he needed to step up his game. Even then, just finding her would be half of the battle; What was her motive? What is she doing? Who is she working with or for, and what are their goals?

His concentration was broken by a banging at the door. He chose to ignore it, thinking that it might have been a windswept piece of debris crashing against the house, but the knocking continued. He got up and cautiously approached the door, opening it slightly to see Jack Reiserben standing there.

"Afternoon," Jack said, tipping his rain soaked hat.

Seeing his partner there shocked him. "Goodness, Jack! It's a hurricane out there, are you mad!? Get in here!"

"It's only a little water and wind," Jack said. "You do what you have to when important things are on the line."

"And what's so important that you'd be walking around in this kind of weather?"

"Your daughter, for a start."

"She's not on the line right now, she's somewhere safe."

"Is she? You know first hand the long arm of the law." Jack said. "Even if she does manage to avoid our fellow officers, we have to do what we can to clear her name before they find her."

"And I will as soon as this weather lets up."

"That's not good enough! We have a duty to protect the innocent. Crime doesn't take a day off for the weather, and neither will we."

Meredith closed the curtains and turned to look at the two. "I never knew you were so serious about your work, Jack."

"I'm serious because I don't want to see anyone else lost at the hands of Team Rocket," he said, turning back to Marvin. "I know you don't have any reason to suspect it, Marvin, but I'm convinced that Andrea's supposed involvement in that arson is being propped up by someone inside our own office. Call it a hunch."

"That's what I'm worried about... that you have a hunch. I've learned to stop arguing against them."

"Look, we've got some new evidence that's come in. Come on down to the Police HQ and help me go over it."

"Marv, no! Look at the weather outside!" Meredith exclaimed in protest.

"It's only down the street. We'll be fine."

"Even if it is just down the street, that's not our case, it'd go against--"

Jack took an aggressive step towards his partner. "Marvin, we have to act now if we're going to protect your daughter from any harm. She's been named a suspect in something she couldn't possibly have done, doesn't that sound like she's being targeted by someone from inside? I don't give a damn about what our superiors say, I am going to do what's right. She needs our help."

Marvin was surprised at how aggressively enthusiastic Jack was, but knew he was right. He looked back at his wife, hoping to see some sign of approval. "Well... if you put it that way, let's do what we can."

"Good. Let's go." he said, opening the door and stepping outside.

Marvin looked at his wife again in disbelief.

She shook her head. "You need to keep a leash on that man... he scares me sometimes."

- - - - -​

Marvin was sitting at his desk in his office, sipping from some coffee as he watched Jack go through the filing cabinet in the other room. The two were the only ones in the building, offering a silenced and relaxing atmosphere for the two to work in. The only sound that could be heard was the storm raging outside.

"So what do we know so far? I haven't even looked into this yet." Marvin said as Jack stepped into his office.

"I don't know much myself, but when I looked into it yesterday, all we had was an eyewitness report."

"Doesn't sound like much to go on."

"No. But I did manage to... uhh... convince Chaz to hand over some footage from the restaurant's security system."

"Convince?"

Jack ignored his partner's inquiry. "The eyewitness report is shaky at best. The restaurant went up in flames at about 2 AM, so it was pretty dark. And it was raining, too. However, the witness described the suspect as a young woman, maybe in her early twenties, about five feet tall. Brown hair, sporting a black bandana with a pink circle on it. Now who does that sound like?"

"That does fit Andrea pretty well..."

"But remember, it was dark, rainy, and she only saw the suspect briefly before the flames coming out of the back window of the restaurant caught her attention."

"How reliable is this witness?"

"I couldn't say, I haven't spoken with her," he said. "She identified herself as a regular customer, saying that she was usually serviced by Andrea, and that the two had become friends."

"Huh," Marvin said. "Andrea told me she never got close to any of the customers, even the ones she saw regularly."

"Yeah. No offense to your daughter, but she doesn't seem like the friendly type."

"No, that's... yeah, she's a bit of a loner." he said. "What about this surveillance video? I think that'd be the proof we need to clear her name, regardless of what an eyewitness says."

Jack dropped a compact disc onto the desk. "Let's find out."

Marvin grabbed the disc and put it into his computer. The disc quickly loaded up, presenting him with all of the restaurant's security footage from the past month. He chose the final video on the disc, labeled as the night the restaurant burned.

The camera in the main room recorded a young woman standing at the front door, appearing to struggle with the lock on the door before she finally managed to open it. As she stepped inside, she was on the phone, wildly gesturing as she spoke, indicating that she was yelling, but about what?

"Come on, get closer to the camera..." Marvin said. "Show us who you are."

The woman walked behind the front counter, again struggling with the lock on the office door. This time, she started kicking at the door before throwing the full force of her body against it, smashing it open. Marvin clicked on the view of the office, causing it to enlarge. The woman approached the desk, searching the top of it for something as she pushed the papers on it around. As she approached the other side of it to go through the drawers, her face was clearly caught by the camera.

"That's not her... I knew Andrea wasn't involved." Marvin said.

"But who is she? She looks familiar..."

The video footage continued, showing the woman ransack the desk, picking up a small key from the floor. She walked over to the bookshelf that sat on the back wall, pushing it over and revealing a safe. She inserted the key into the safe, input a password onto the security pad, then twisted the key. The safe opened, revealing a large collection of golden and silver coins, which she greedily sweeped into her backpack. She grabbed the bandana that was on her head, untied it and tossed it into the empty safe, closing it.

"Wait... What did she just do?" Jack asked.

Marvin rewound the footage to show it again.

"The bandana, she took it off, probably in an effort to frame your daughter. How did the witness know she had one if they only saw her after the fire was started?"

"Good eye," Marvin said, taking notes.

"Looks like she's heading to the kitchen..." Jack said.

The woman walked across the main room where all the tables were towards the kitchen. She went straight from the kitchen to the storage room, entering from outside of the camera's visual range, still talking on her phone. She appeared to be studying the contents of each cabinet and freezer, pulling everything out and tossing it all onto the floor. Eventually, she stopped her destructive search after finding a large, plastic container. She brought it back towards the kitchen, resting it on top of the stove. After a few more minutes of talking on her phone, she uncapped the container and poured the contents all over the stove and the floor. She turned the stove on and ignited the oil, which spread like a wildfire across the whole restaurant.

"Cooking oil... It should have been so obvious." Marvin said.

The camera in the main room showed the young woman recklessly knocking chairs and tables over as she rushed towards the door. Before she left, she looked directly up at the camera and taunted towards it, sticking her tongue out and making a devil horn sign with both of her hands before she left.

"Did she... She knew we'd find it..."

"You weren't wrong when you said criminals often display that they think they're in control," Jack said.

"Yeah. It never fails, even in the most meticulously planned cases..." he said. "I'm going to to keep looking at this footage, and all of the noteworthy stuff from the past few weeks. See who she really is."

He started with footage of the previous day, fast forwarding through it to find anything useful or interesting. The previous day seemed useless, as she wasn't seen anywhere. The same could be said for the previous two days, prompting Marvin to question whether she was even an employee of the restaurant as he suspected. However, she appeared in the restaurant the day before, taking and delivering orders. He had found a lead to work on.

Continuing to watch the security video, he opened a copy of the Crimson Crawdaunt's employee records. He flipped through them, starting from when the restaurant opened nearly ten years ago. Nobody from the early years matched the woman in the security video.

Eventually, he came across his daughter's employment record. She had been employed as a waitress for nearly two years with a fairly spotless record until the weeks prior to her termination. She was cited as a key team player in managing the restaurant while the owner's wife was in the hospital. In the end, she was fired for 'refusing to cooperate with the owner's requests', something that still didn't make sense to him.

On the following page was the newest employee to be hired, Angelique Corrente. She had been hired the week before Andrea was fired, and from what he remembered hearing about her, the two had an adversarial relationship from the day they met. He read her record, noting that she was named employee of the month only a week after being hired, and that she was promoted from waitress to assistant manager a few days later.

"That's just shady right there," he said.

Jack looked up from his computer screen. "What? Got something?"

"Not exactly, I'm just going over employee records at the Crimson Crawdaunt... Apparently my daughter and a new employee were caught arguing a lot... Then suddenly my daughter is fired, this new girl is named employee of the month and then she's promoted to the position that Andrea had been working towards for the past year? Just what in the hell was Chaz thinking? What was so special about her?"

"C'mon, stay focused."

Marvin grumbled, then studied Angelique's photo. "Wait..." he said quietly, looking closer, then back at the screen of the security footage. "Hair is the same length... looks to be the same color..."

"Hey, come over here," Jack said.

"What is it?" he asked as he walked over.

"Look familiar?" Jack asked as he pointed at the screen in front of him.

Marvin looked at the screen to see a still image of Angelique Gardetta next to the file for Angela Corrente, the woman they had been investigating for the past two weeks. The similarities between the two were too similar to be a mere coincidence. "I'll be a son of a bitch..."

- - - - -​

SUSPECT'S NAME: Angela Corrente

GENDER: Female

EYE COLOR: Blue

HAIR COLOR: Pink, natural color unknown

HEIGHT: 5'4"

WEIGHT: 107 lbs

REGION OF ORIGIN: Kanto, believed to have been born in Celadon City

KNOWN ALIASES: Dark Angel, Pink Sparkle, Bright Eyes

KNOWN RELATIVES: N/A

CRIMINAL RECORD:
Aggravated assault, Saffron City, Kanto (victim: Roger Silph, nephew of Silph Co. CEO Chris Silph)
Aggravated assault, Vermilion City, Kanto (victim: Nurse Camilla, employee at the Vermilion Pokémon Center)
Grand larceny, Vermilion City, Kanto (item stolen: Rapidash belonging to Pokémon Fan Club Chairman Gregory Hayik, item still missing)
Outstanding warrant for attempted murder, Blackthorn City, Johto (victim: Scott Johannesson, a traveling tourist from Olivine City)
Outstanding warrant for conspiracy to commit murder, Blackthorn City, Johto (related to attempted murder charge)
Outstanding warrant for petty larceny, Canalave City, Sinnoh (items stolen: briefcase full of the personal belongings of Angela Huygens, including three tickets to ride the S.S. Galaxy to Storm Island, later confirmed used by the cruise company)

SUSPECT IS ARMED AND DANGEROUS. HER WHEREABOUTS ARE UNKNOWN, BUT SHE IS BELIEVED TO BE HIDING SOMEWHERE ON STORM ISLAND. DO NOT APPROACH ALONE.​

- - - - -​

Author's note: Minor retcon to fit in with a reference from a future chapter. (May 16th, 2015)

 

[Flaze]

Keep in mind I'm pasting this exactly how I originally wrote it for the awards xD

Storm Island

All right first of all, I’m gonna say that because I was able to finish my judging with Electric I had a lot of time remaining for this, so I actually read all the chapters up to chapter 10 which is the last chapter posted prior to the start of the awards nomination period. There are two reasons why I did it, reasons that I will bring up during my judging.

Plot 8/10: Storm Island is a fic that starts off with a very simple plot, I do have to give credit to Caitlin and AC-Prescott for creating such a great setting, but I will go into that later. As of now the plot of Storm Island is very basic which consists of the main character Andrea traveling around the island and helping one of the local professors with her research. This plot is not a bad one, it’s certainly and interesting one and with the sense of adventure that the fic gives off it probably should be enough.

This is where the first reason as to why I read more than what was recommended (though making sure on the dates of the chapter) basically after I finished chapter 8 I went on to read some of the comments on chapter 9 to see if I should read it to and I noticed Pavell mentioning a twist. I read chapter 9 and that in turn made me want to keep reading chapter 10 just cause of how it gripped me.

These two chapters show how much potential there is left for the plot of this fic, at the moment it’s not exactly sure what the plot will be about, but there’s a lot of potential in regards to what could happen and it’s certainly interesting.

Setting 9/10: While I do have to wonder how big this island actually is since it seems to have a lot of towns and landmarks spread out that you would expect of a proper region. That aside, I think that this is a very unique and interesting setting. There’s many different types of cities and town that each have a different feeling to them. This translates to the landmarks too with each one of them proving to be unique in their own right ranging from beautiful rivers to unexplored abandoned caves to dark forests thick enough to shut away civilization.

The setting is one of the things that keeps this story rolling and adds to the sense of exploration and adventure that this story has as well as all the background that the island has going for it. This is something that I really enjoyed in reading this.

Style 9/10: The concept of how the style works and how it helps the story varies from person to person. For me I think that the style in this fic is very fitting, it has a very flowing and adaptable style that changes depending on the situation. It can be calm, upbeat, serious or gripping when it needs to be without falling behind, and at least for me I feel that it always manages to grip me and make me keep reading.

One thing I have to note is that despite having two writers that work on the story together the style doesn’t falter. Both AC and Caitlin manage to keep the same style of the story going regardless of the fact that they’re different people and I think this is very important in works like this, so for me I think they deserve that respect.

Characterization 7.8/10: The characters aren’t perfect but they’re likable enough. One thing I have to note is that it’s two main characters Larson and Andrea are pretty realistic, their personalities can’t be defined easily and they have many aspects to them. The supporting characters aren’t bad with some of my favorites being professor Anser and another professor that the group meets later on. Aside from that most of the characters tend to have pretty basic personalities.

The character of Andrea as well as her past and personality is something that interested me actually. She has a more complex past than what you would usually see from the first chapter which shows her as having a pretty normal life, only for later chapters to reveal that she actually has a troublesome relationship with her overprotective mother. I think her character does grow a bit as she’s suddenly thrown into this unknown world that she had always feared since she was little.

This is the second reason why I read past the recommended chapters, and that’s cause seeing Andrea by herself was a welcome change of pace. It allowed me to see her in a different setting where she had to deal with things on her own without having to rely on anyone to support her when she got scared like she did with Larson in prior chapters.

Technical 10/10: There aren’t any grammatical mistakes, at least from what I noticed it’s actually perfect. The description is good enough for me to get invested in it and make my own scenery without it getting overrun by detail and becoming boring. The flow is good and goes in tune with the pacing which can range depending on what’s going on with the story. I have to say that twice because I think that the flow is one of the best things about this fic and something I have to recognize.

Overall 87/100: I’ve pretty much said what I need to say. Again the fic’s plot is still pretty much at its start but there’s a lot of potential for what could happen backed up by the background of the island. The characters do need some work but I think that the characters that are important are good enough to hold the story up.

With that said, if I have to go up against this fic in the next awards then I’ll have to step it up a notch because it’s going to be tough.

Lastly I wanna say that you've made a reader out of me and I'll be checking this story out whenever it's updated.

 

[Beth Pavell]

We have found a witch, may we burn her? Ok, first comment - Raven Duskwillow? You know, if it weren't for the general weirdness of the forest there's no way you'd have got away with that name. Still, I suppose it is consistent with the tone of Blackwood, so ... the story is clipping along at a good pace. It certainly keeps me guessing and guessing, and the contrast between the (relative) normality of the police investigation and the kookiness of the forest is good fun to read.

 

[Misfit Angel]

Storm Island
Chapter 12: Big Bad Wolf​

"How big is this forest?" Andrea asked. "You know, from Blackwood Grove all the way to the northern end."

"About day and a half walk," Raven said. "It is very dangerous to travel road alone."

"I think she already learned that before she got here," Kamin said. "You didn't have anyone to travel with, did you?"

"No..." she said, awaiting the criticism.

"You're either brave or stupid," Raven said. "But you are scientist. I not believe you are stupid."

"I wouldn't worry about finding your way out of the forest, anyways. That hurricane is probably doing a number on the surrounding wilderness. I remember last year we had reports of rock slides up at Slate Valley. It took about a month to clean that up." Kamin said. "I'd stay here where you're at least safe from the weather for now."

"Safe from the weather, maybe, but everything else seems to be trying to kill me."

He laughed.

"I'm serious! The trees, the shadows, crazy cultists, even the 'normal' people! What next, some giant wolf?"

"We will keep you safe from beast."

She trusted his promise. He was a large, wise, and most certainly capable man. He had to be if he was as respected as he appeared to be. Yet at the back of her mind, she began to doubt if following them on their goose chase for a large, wild creature was truly a smart thing to do.

- - - - -​

The three had been walking through the quiet and dark forest for about half an hour when they had finally arrived at the Blackwood Lumber Yard. The area was set in a clearing that could see the sky, but alas, it was covered in dark storm clouds. Despite that, it was dimly lit, offering the first natural light Andrea had seen in over a day, and likely the first her two friends had seen in months. Rain was pouring down onto the buildings, which appeared to have been abandoned in a hurry, likely due to the incoming hurricane.

The lumber yard was larger than Andrea had anticipated; Large barns held dozens of logs that were over a hundred feet long. Rusted and beaten up trailers littered the area, serving as homes and rest areas for the workers. A large stack of dull, rusted saw blades nearly five feet across leaned up against the thickest tree that marked the center of the camp. Large, industrial vehicles used to chop down and process the logs lay abandoned in a line, half of them looking as if they hadn't be operable in years.

"So what are we looking for? A wolf?" Andrea asked.

"You ever see a Mightyena?" Kamin asked.

She shook her head.

"Does that thing on your wrist have any information about it? It'd probably be a good idea to know what you're up against."

Andrea tapped on her R-Kit, searching for information about the creature Kamin named. Soon enough, she had found an entry about it, displaying a large silver and black wolf-like creature.

"Mightyena, the Forest Prowler!" it said. "Mightyena is known for its ferocity, often operating with a small pack to track and take down prey significantly larger than it. Often signaling the beginning of an attack with low, deep growling, it is also known to strike from the shadows with little or no warning."

Andrea let out a laugh which bordered between psychotic and mindless fear.

"She's lost it," Kamin joked. "Come on, let's look for it. We might not even find it."

"We stick together. Strength in numbers."

The three began their search, looking for any obvious signs of the beast. There appeared to be very little signs of anything. The camp was entirely empty and quiet, despite the lights in the buildings flickering with activity. There weren't any footprints, human or otherwise, on the well travelled paths between the buildings. It looked as if the tip that Raven had received was either false, or they had come to the wrong place.

As they looked around the camp, Andrea noticed a patch of fur stuck to a tree, glistening in her lantern's light. She walked over to inspect it. There were obvious canine footprints around the base of the tree, almost as large as her own feet. The fur was coarse and prickly, like a brush, and brown in color. "Hey, guys." she said. "Come look at this."

"Find something?" Kamin asked, walking over. He knelt down and inspected the fur, then took a closer look at the footprints in the mud. "That looks right. The size, I mean."

"So the reports are true. We must find it." Raven said.

Kamin grabbed the clump of fur and offered it to his Houndour. "Here, Hellhound. Let's see if we can't track it."

Hellhound sniffed at the patch of fur, then started sniffing around the air and the base of the tree. He took off towards the center of the lumber yard, his nose pressed against the dirt.

"That's a start. We should have no trouble finding it now."

"Finding beast only half of task. Remember that." Raven said.

"I know. There's three of us, I'm sure we'll be fine... Assuming you know what you're doing, Andrea."

"And what if I don't know what I'm doing?" she asked, a palpable sense of fear presiding over her voice.

"We'll worry about that later," he said, jogging off to catch up to Hellhound.

"If you do not know what you are doing, we are here to protect you." Raven reassured her. "It has been my duty to protect people of this forest for almost two decades. You are included."

"I hope so..." she said.

"May I ask why you have come to forest if you lack confidence?" he asked.

"Because I'm stupid. There, I said it."

"I do not believe that. Scientists are not stupid. Uninformed about their surroundings, maybe." he replied. "Andrea, confidence key to being an adult. I do not know your history, but I doubt was enough to break confidence so badly. Look at accomplishments and trust yourself."

She sighed. "I'll think about it when we're done here."

Hellhound led the group in a complex, twisting path around the lumber yard, following the scent of the Mightyena like his hunter ancestors. Every now and then, they'd find more evidence of its presence, from claw marks on objects to footprints in the mud, but no signs that it was still in the area. They were almost ready to give up on their search when they heard a peculiar sound coming from one of the buildings which sounded like a rusty nail scratching along a chalkboard. As they walked over to investigate, they spotted a furry tail sweeping past the window inside the building they heard the noise come from.

"Is that it?" Raven asked, extending his massive arm out to stop the other two from approaching.

"It must be," Kamin said. "Andrea, shine that light in that window."

Andrea did as she was asked, guiding her lantern towards the window. The brown, furry tail sunk from view as soon as the light hit it. The creature's head poked upward to look at them, snarling wildly like a vicious animal. Its pointed, brown ears lowered as it glared at them.

"There's our big bad wolf... Get ready." Kamin said as the Mightyena's head lowered from view.

The Mightyena pushed the door to the building open, lowering its head as it growled at the three. Its approach was slow but attentive, watching them as it slowly stalked forward.

Raven motioned for Andrea and Kamin to stick close to him. "Stay close. We stand together."

"Got it," Kamin said.

"I need distraction, son," he said. "Catahessa, use training we received in homeland, display earth's fury!"

Upon hearing his master's command, Catahessa appeared to begin a deep meditation, sitting on the dirt road with his eyes closed.

Without even a single word from his master, Hellhound leapt to action, challenging the Mightyena with a savage roar. The two circled around each other, snarling and waiting for the other to make the first move. Hellhound acted first by charging headlong at the Mightyena, the flames on his back flickering with violent brightness. As he jumped into the air, flames erupted from his claws and mouth. The Mightyena dodged the attack, taking a swipe at Hellhound with its own claws. The two were evenly matched, attacking and dodging each other with perfect synchronization, until eventually the Mightyena seized the upper hand. With its massive jaws, it crunched down into Hellhound's torso and picked him up, shaking him viciously then threw him aside like a discarded meal.

"Shit!" Kamin said as he reached into his pocket for another one of his Pokémon. "Your turn, Andrea. I hope you know what you're doing." He tossed another Pokéball forward, revealing a small, brown creature that stood on its hind legs. A leaf sprouted from the top of its circular head, which was covered in a pointed, tribal-looking mask. It looked around and identified its target, raising its arms towards the sky and shouting triumphantly.

"Umm," Andrea started. "I don't know what to do..." she thought to herself. "Do you know anything about curses, Sorrow? Like, paralysis, or mental stuff?"

"Brawwwk! Curse, curse!" Sorrow replied, lifting off into the air. She flew high above the battlefield, hovering over the Mightyena. Her eyes began to glow a bright red as burning sparks of orange fire began to coalesce under her talons. The sparks formed a peculiar shape, much like an ancient rune, then quickly shot downward and implanted themselves onto the Mightyena's back. With an explosion of fire, the rune etched into its skin, burning it quite badly.

"Good work!" she said.

The Mightyena roared in pain, fixing its attention on Sorrow. Sorrow appeared to be well out of its range, circling about thirty feet off of the ground. However, the Mightyena was determined to punish her for her attack. Rushing to a nearby tree and with a forceful leap, it jumped to an astonishing height, bounding off of the tree with another jump and soared towards Sorrow. It latched onto Sorrow's wing with its massive jaws, bringing her down to the muddy ground with a loud splash.

"No, no, no!" Andrea shouted, reaching for Sorrow's Pokéball. Quickly and effectively, she recalled Sorrow, saving her from the beast's powerful fangs.

As she reached for Furball's Pokéball, the Mightyena climbed to its feet and charged at Andrea. Distracted, she barely had any time to react. She tried her best to dodge the Mightyena's leap, falling into the mud. The Mightyena continued through the air, landing quite a distance behind the group.

"Locke, I need you now more than ever!" Kamin said. "Slow that thing down!"

Locke the Nuzleaf sprang to action, shielding Andrea as best as his tiny body could. As the Mightyena charged at her again, he raised his arms towards the sky with a howl. Thick vegetation began to form in front of Mightyena, grasping at its feet. The Mightyena tripped over the roots and vines, becoming ensnared by them.

Kamin rushed over to Andrea to help her up. "You alright?" he asked.

Andrea pressed her right hand against her face, lowering it to see it covered in blood. She groaned in pain but stood up, focused on subduing the beast. Without a word, she tossed Furball's Pokéball out into the field in front of her.

Furball appeared in a bright flash of light, lowering down to all fours as he examined his surroundings. Upon seeing the Mightyena, he lurched up in fear, rushing to Andrea's side and hiding behind her.

"Come on, this is serious," she said. She lowered her hand again and wiped the blood off on her pants, revealing a large gash running down the right side of her face, starting above her eye and ending just below her ear.

Upon seeing that his master was injured, Furball puffed out his fur and growled as menacingly as he could in an attempt at intimidation, something that would be unlikely to frighten even a child.

"Do your best. Use your speed and size to your advantage. Distract him for us, okay?" As she watched Furball valiantly charge into battle, she began to feel light headed, but she still remained focused. She didn't realize the extent of her injury, nor did she care.

Locke assisted Furball in distracting the Mightyena, grasping him with entangling roots every time it would get close to him. The strategy was working, but did little more than anger the Mightyena.

Meanwhile, Catahessa had finished her meditation. On Raven's order, she took aim at the Mightyena, raising her arms slowly as the ground began to tremble. The trembling intensified, knocking Andrea to the ground and catching the Mightyena's attention. It was too late, however; the ground beneath the Mightyena cracked into dozens of sections, falling apart into a crater. Large boulders began to surge from the crater, ravaging the Mightyena with earth's fury. The boulders began to fall back down to the earth and a thick cloud of dust shrouded their view.

"Is that it?!" Kamin asked, watching closely for any signs of movement.

As the dust settled, the Mightyena was visibly weakened, barely able to stand. It growled loudly as it wobbled forward, but was in no condition to further defend itself.

Andrea struggled her way to her feet, grabbing a Pokéball from her pocket. She locked onto the weakened Mightyena and threw it forward. The Pokéball sailed through the air in a curving motion, striking the Mightyena on the head. It began to deform into a red blob of energy as the Pokéball opened.

"She's crazy, there's no way..." Kamin muttered to himself.

The Pokéball rocked back and forth gently, coming to a stop as it beeped softly.

She let out a deep breath of relief. "Is everyone alright?" she weakly asked.

"I am," Kamin said.

"What about you?" Raven asked.

Andrea stumbled forward to reclaim the Pokéball, breathing heavily. She took one final look at her blood-caked hand, then lost her balance and collapsed into the mud.

Kamin rushed over and knelt down to inspect her wound. "We need to get you some help, fast!"

She didn't respond.

"Shit!" he said, starting to panic. "This is my fault, I had a feeling I shouldn't have brought her out here."

"Be calm, son. If we return to town, we save her." Raven said with certainty.

Kamin reached his arms under Andrea's legs and torso, struggling to pick her up. "You sure we can get there in time?"

"I am never sure. But hopeful."

Kamin stood up and turned around, looking at Furball. "Come on, buddy, follow us. Andrea will be fine."

Furball picked up the blood-covered Pokéball, then did as he was told, following close behind as Kamin, Raven, Locke and Catahessa returned south towards Blackwood Grove. The road ahead would be as dangerous as before, but the two could spare no time if they intended to ensure Andrea's wellbeing.

 

[Beth Pavell]

Hurrah, more Storm Island! It was ok, this chapter, I won't say it grabbed me but it was a good read. I'm impressed at how well the battle scenes pan out with these more vague instructions. I didn't really expect it to hold up but it seems that I was wrong. Andrea's injury seems to be treated a little inconsistently. She's collapsing, so it's serious, but "intended to ensure Andrea's wellbeing" ... I don't know, the language there seems less intense.

You might want to double check after editing. I had to double take at Krokorok's name - I don't think you mentioned it in the last chapter and it broke the story flow a little

 

[Flaze]

It was oddly short actually, I expected it to be longer but I guess it's a good spot to end it, plus shorter chapters means more releases or maybe it just came out shorter than you planned. Either way I still liked it, not much happened aside from the battle which I think was done pretty well. Like Pavell said I think there are some inconsistencies in regards to Andrea' s woud, exactly how deep was her wound?

 

[Misfit Angel]

That should be expanded upon in the next chapter. And yeah, the writing was a bit wonky. We're in a weird place with Storm Island at the moment, as I'm the only writer for the time being, and I wanted to move on as quick as I could. Perhaps that was an error on my part.

As for the Krokorok's nickname (native american in origin, by the way), the intention was that it was known in the previous chapter. If it wasn't, my apologies.

 

[Misfit Angel]

Storm Island
Chapter 13: Shadows of the Past​

"You think she'll be fine?" echoed a muffled, familiar voice. "She's not going to die, is she?"

"No! It's pretty deep and it certainly looks bad, but at the end of the day, it's just a cut..." another voice said. "Look, don't put this on me! I told you to take care of her. I've done the best I can."

There was the sound of a fist pounding on the table. "Damn it." the voice continued. "How long do you think she's going to be out of it?"

"I can't say... I've never seen an injury like this or how it affects people. If she's strong willed, she'll pull through. If not... she's going to be here for a few weeks."

"I hope so... We have to thank her."

"So... the beast is gone?"

"Yes."

- - - - -​

"Ooooh... My head..." Andrea thought to herself. She tried to vocalize the pain she was experiencing, but had difficulty doing so. She was weak, both in mind and body. She opened her eyes, being blinded by the bright lights above her. Her attempts at sitting up failed, but her movement caught the attention of a young woman in a nurse uniform.

The nurse ran over to check on her. "Andrea?" she asked. "Can you hear me?"

She groaned again, then nodded when words didn't come out of her mouth.

"At least you're awake now..." the nurse said, then left the room in a hurry. A few moments later, she returned with a clipboard in hand, followed by Raven and Kamin.

"Wh... where... what..?" she asked in a daze.

"Save your strength, Andrea," Raven said. "We are back in Blackwood Grove."

"I'm so glad you're okay..." Kamin said.

She struggled once more to sit up, pushing herself towards the top of the bed. She ran her finger down the side of her face, taking note of the stitches that mended her cut back together. "Uuuuh..." she started. "How long?"

"It has been three days," Raven said. "Leslie did good job taking care of you. Fever almost took you."

"I'd stop poking that if I were you," the nurse said.

"Andrea, I extend town's gratitude for helping take care of the beast," he said. "That was brave of you to stand in face of adversity with such a wound."

"Yeah. You really surprised me back there." Kamin added. "When I met you, I thought you were some scared little girl, but I was wrong."

Andrea let out an unenthusiastic, confused chuckle.

He walked over and opened her hand, placing a miniaturized Pokéball into it. "I believe this is yours."

She studied the Pokéball, then placed it on the table beside the bed. "That's... uhh... what?"

The nurse placed her hand beside her mouth as if to speak to only Raven and Kamin. "She's still loopy in the head. I just wanted you guys to see that she's fine. She'll be with it this afternoon. I can't promise she'll be in a good mood, though."

"Ah, very well. Come, Kamin, we let her rest."

As she watched Raven and Kamin leave, she rubbed her finger down her scar one more time. "This... will this..?"

"If you're asking if that thing will be visible after it's healed up... Most likely. But don't worry, you'll still be good looking if that's what you're wondering." She placed her hand on Andrea's forehead to check if the fever was subsiding, but it didn't appear to be doing so. "Look, try to get some more sleep. You've had a rough week." She took a few notes on the clipboard and placed it on the table beside her, then left the room.

- - - - -​

Several days had come and gone since Andrea had woken up, days she took off to rest and recover. She had taken the time to inform those she knew about what had happened. Her father was proud of her for showing the level of bravery she did, but stressed that she should be more careful. Her mother on the other hand urged her to come home, citing her encounter at the Blackwood lumber yard as evidence that the world was indeed a dangerous place and that she wasn't ready for it. Larson used it to emphasize the importance of being a properly prepared trainer, while Professor Ansen saw it as an unnecessary risk unbefitting of a research assistant. Still, they were all grateful that she had made a recovery.

Her reputation in the town had changed, too. Since helping Raven and Kamin at the lumber yard, the residents of the village had been much friendlier towards her, though some were still suspicious of her intentions. Still, she found time to relax, taking in what little local atmosphere was present as she planned her next move.

She was seated inside the same recovery room she had been in the past few days, listening to a radio broadcast. Major topics included the arson of the Crimson Crawdaunt, the passing of Hurricane Adele and the upcoming preparations for the Dragon Festival at Castle Selgarde. As she listened to the radio, she was reading a book about aerodynamics, which was strange to find in the library of a backwoods town that barely resembled even the industrial era.

A ringing came from Andrea's purse. She dug through it to pick up her phone and answered it.

"Hello?" she asked.

"Hey, it's Professor Ansen! I just thought I'd check up on ya."

"Hi, what's up?" she asked.

"How ya doin'? Feeling any better?"

"I still feel like I got hit by a truck... But I think I'm alright."

"Good," the professor said, then paused. "I want to apologize for freaking out over the whole thing. I shouldn't have done that, especially while you were recovering."

"It's alright, I needed to learn a lesson."

"Maybe, but that's in the past. I've put you back onto the assignment in Cinder Hill and given you an extension, since I imagine you'll still need a few more days to recover."

"Thank you! I was worried I lost my chance there..."

"You did... until I thought it over." she said. "Anyways, I'm going to let you be. Take it easy, okay?"

"Will do," she replied. "Bye."

She hung her phone up, then looked around and walked over to the sink in the corner of the room, staring into the mirror. She looked at the scar on her face, then reasoned that she had taken enough time to recover. She returned to the bed and began to pack up the things she would need for another day on the town. She left the small recovery room, going down the hallway towards the lobby of the Pokécenter. She tried to sneak by undetected, but the nurse noticed her.

"Going somewhere, Andrea?" the nurse asked.

"Umm... just going for a walk." she said.

"With all of your belongings? C'mere." she said, motioning for her to come over to the front desk. "At least let me get a final look to see that you aren't getting an infection." She took a close look at the scar on her face, poking at the bottom of it. "Hmm... looks fine to me... Be careful, okay?"

"I will."

"Oh, if you're intending on leaving town... stop by and see Kamin first, will ya? He asked to see you this morning while you were asleep."

"I'm not leaving yet... I have unfinished business." She left the Pokécenter, walking out into the foreboding darkness.

- - - - -​

"Do you feel it, son?" Raven asked. "The darkness grows stronger."

"I don't think I do..." Kamin said.

The two were seated across from each other in front of a fire pit in the central room of their home. Raven was in a deep meditation, while Kamin was having difficulty focusing. Around the fire pit were six collections of scented candles representing the sacred forces that formed the center of Raven's spirituality; flames, stone, air, water, order and purity. The room was dim, lit only by the candles and the small flames in the fire pit.

"I'm just not attuned, that has to be it." Kamin said.

"There is no attunement. Everyone gifted by the Six Sacreds."

"I must not be. I'm sure in all of the years of travelling you've done, you've met people your gods don't favor."

Raven opened his eyes. "The gods favor all men, even those who do not understand the power they command."

There was a knock at the door. Kamin stood up. "I'll get it." He opened the door to see Andrea standing there.

Andrea saw the ritual the two were engaged in. "Is this a bad time?"

"No, I think we were just about finished," he replied. "How ya feeling?"

"The fever is gone, but I still have a headache. I think I'm fine."

"Ah, Andrea. Good to see recovery is going well. Please, sit with us." Raven requested.

She felt it would be a waste of time, but she didn't want to be rude to the people who've extended so much hospitality to her. She and Kamin sat down next to each other across from Raven.

"I am doing ritual from homeland, designed to reveal evil spirits. Perhaps you may see what my son does not." He dipped his finger into the burning embers, covering it in ashes. "If I may have forehead, please."

She looked at Kamin and shrugged, leaning forward. She closed her eyes and felt his meaty finger draw a peculiar shape on her forehead, well away from the cut on the side of her face.

"This is Rune of Purity. Elder Paragon from my homeland use it to find the darkness and expel it."

"Interesting," she said.

"Join me in meditation."

The three closed their eyes, silent as the night. A low, melodic humming came from Raven as he recited words she couldn't understand. Confused, she opened her eyes and looked around. The flames in the fire pit began to dim and blow around, but she felt no breeze.

He broke from his strange language to ask a question. "Do you feel it? The darkness. It manifests."

"I don't think I do..." she replied.

"Hmmph," Raven started, opening his eyes. As his concentration broke, the flickering flames returned to their former strength. "Perhaps degree of skepticism interfere with Six Sacreds. A shame."

"We're not as experienced as you are, father."

"That is true," he replied. "What brings you here, Andrea?"

She looked around at the candles and the fire pit. "This, actually. Over the past few days, I've been very curious about this forest. About where all of this darkness might be coming from and who those creeps out there might be."

"Ah, the Cult of the Lost. Unfortunately, I not have all of the answers, but I have even greater fear. While you two can not feel it, darkness is certainly getting stronger. They must be connected."

"Who are these guys, anyways? I've never heard of them until a few days ago." she asked.

"The Cult of the Lost are people who've been taken away from us. Some go willingly, others are kidnapped. They're a bunch of whack jobs still loyal to some false king of Storm Island who's been dead for hundreds of years. Or they're loyal to the promises of power." Kamin said.

"They control dark powers. Their rituals involve sacrifices of blood. They have been preying on people of forest since before I arrived on Storm Island, but we have been able to fight them off over time." Raven added.

"Where do these people come from? Do they live in scattered villages throughout the forest?"

"Yes."

"Have you guys searched any of these villages? Maybe a clue could be found."

"No. Much too dangerous."

"Hmm, yeah. That's true." She started tapping on her R-Kit's screen. "This thing on my wrist here might help, it can detect, scan and analyze all sorts of low level radiation and energy waves. I've used it before to scan crystals I found outside of Silvermist City and forwarded my data back to the Professor. Maybe if we found something these creeps have been using, it could help shed some light."

"Hey, that's not a bad idea... Father, maybe we could take her to the obelisk south of town. We've seen some of the Lost out there over the years." Kamin said.

"Are you up for it?" Raven asked.

"I think I'm getting cabin fever from staying in that little room all day. I need to get out, even if it's only for a few hours."

"Very well," he said, grabbing some sand from around the fire pit and smothering the flames with it. "We will take you to obelisk."

"Thank you."

- - - - -​

"I can not say for certain what the Lost use obelisk for," Raven said. "Their rituals far different than mine, and I can not draw comparisons."

The group was approaching a tall and jagged yet polished black stone. The stone itself looked as if it had been there for thousands of years, but stood out from the rest of the forest and the surrounding rocks in the area. Just looking at it from a distance gave Andrea the sense that it had come from outer space, but she couldn't be certain until she had taken a closer look. The area around the stone was dead; there was no grass in a thirty foot diameter around the stone, and the leaves and needles of the nearby trees were wilted and brown. There were no indications of any Pokémon in the area. The soft dirt lacked footprints, and there were no other physical signs of any potential visitors.

As the group got closer to the stone, Andrea's lantern began to flicker and falter. She eyed the two nervously, but approached closer still. Kamin's Houndour was providing enough light for her to see should her lantern completely give out.

"Be careful around this thing. Last time I was around it, I began to feel a bit ill." Kamin said.

Andrea timidly approached the towering obelisk, gently setting her flickering lantern on the barren dirt. She noticed that its surface was covered entirely in carved pictograms, but unfortunately none that she could recognize. While some obviously resembled people, Pokémon or other simple shapes like stars and rings, their meaning was lost on her. As she continued to study the pictograms, looking for anything she might recognize, she began to lose sight of what she was doing and feel light headed. She placed her hand on her forehead and took a deep breath to regain her focus.

"You okay?" Kamin asked.

"I'm fine," she said, returning to her study. On certain sections of the obelisk, she noticed small globs of purple, opaque goo. Curious, she raised her R-Kit to scan it.

"Analyzing..." the R-Kit said in a robotic voice. "Unknown material detected. Organic properties present. Cell structure detected. Deeper analysis at a laboratory required."

"Do either of you know what this is?"

Raven knelt down to inspect the goo. "I have seen it in homeland. Elders call it 'Earthblood', found in caverns under Providence Bluffs. They did not know specifics. Used in ritual of purification and healing."

"I'll send some to Professor Ansen," she said. She reached into her purse, grabbing a half empty water bottle. She poured the water out into the mud, then scraped some of the goo off of the obelisk and placed it into the bottle. She raised her R-Kit once more, scanning other areas on the rest of the obelisk.

"Anomalous energy signatures detected. Energy analysis commencing..." the R-Kit chirped. "Analysis complete. Wavelength is measured to be 10 to the power of negative 16. Frequency in Hertz is measured to be approximate 10 to the power of 25."

She backed away from the stone instinctively and quickly. "Ummm... If this is right, I wouldn't stand next to that."

"Why?" Kamin asked.

"Have either of you heard of the electromagnetic spectrum?"

Raven shook his head. Kamin told of his brief exposure to it as he studied in school.

"Basically... this thing is outputting radiation far more powerful than that observed in nuclear fission."

"It can't be. I've stood next to this thing many, many times in the past and I haven't felt anything beyond a headache." Kamin said. Despite his skepticism to Andrea's claims, he heeded her words of caution and stepped back a sizable distance, just to be safe.

"I know, it doesn't make sense. We should have died instantly just approaching it if that were the case..." she replied.

"Any ideas, then?" he asked.

"Either my R-Kit is wrong, or it has no affect on people, like microwaves or visible light. Still, it's curious... I'm going to have to do some more observations."

As she continued to scan the obelisk and the surrounding ring of stones, a bright light could be seen in the distance. It grew closer and closer, revealing an old man who was travelling alone. He was wearing a tan, woolen vest over a white button shirt. His brown khaki pants were covered in numerous pockets, each stuffed to the brim with unknown contents. Sitting on his face were the thickest glasses that had ever been created, almost opaque, sporting a neon green tinge.

Andrea noticed the man approaching, then backed away cautiously.

"It is alright, Andrea. This man is friend." Raven said. "Dr. Egon, it has been many years."

"It has," the man said. "You look as intimidating as ever. And you, boy... I fear I have forgotten your name, but my! Look how you've grown!"

"Kamin, sir."

"Ah, yes, yes... I was told that I would find you here." Dr. Egon said. "It has been a long time since we've worked together, Raven, but I know that you are still a capable man."

"I pale in comparison to you," Raven said, bowing in respect.

"You do," he said, lifting his chin upward and turning to the side. "Who is your associate here? Can I trust her?"

"This is Andrea Dennison, a travelling research assistant. She's working for Professor Ansen in Blueleaf Village." Kamin said. "She's done some brave stuff out here, I think you can trust her."

"Ah, is that right? I have met Professor Ansen many years ago, when she was Dr. Spruce's assistant. She is so sure of her work, but lacks true experience in the fields of science." He extended his hand politely towards Andrea. "She is young, like you. I can forgive her for that."

"That's an interesting opinion..." she said, shaking his hand.

"If I have offended you, I apologize," He tilted his head to the side and lowered his glasses to look at Raven. "What are you doing here, anyways?"

"Andrea is curious about darkness, so we took her to observe it."

"And what has our little scientist found?"

Andrea grabbed the small vial of goo from her purse and handed it to Dr. Egon.

Dr. Egon grabbed the vial from her and placed it up close to his thick glasses. He tilted it back and forth, causing it to slowly drain to the bottom end. "Ah! Ectoplasm! This is rare stuff, and not much is known about it. Perhaps I may collect a sample as well while we're here."

"I've also found some strange energy signatures originating from the obelisk itself. They're radiation waves that extend beyond the limits of observed gamma rays present in nuclear fission and even in outer space."

Dr. Egon took a look at the obelisk and took a few steps back. "And you're standing here, unprotected?"

"It doesn't make any sense, does it?" Kamin asked.

"No... perhaps you've stumbled on something that has escaped modern science for decades!" Dr. Egon said with excitement. "Or your measuring equipment is laughably broken. Or perhaps you don't understand how it works. That is the more likely scenario... Raven, I need the help of someone I can trust. My younger colleagues have determined that I am merely a crazy old man and have refused to help."

"What is it?"

"I have determined the location of the lost castle of Wolftree Keep. I was hoping you and your boy would join me in exploring it."

"Wolftree Keep?" Raven asked, curious of the name. "I am no expert on island history, but Wolftree Keep destroyed in civil war."

Andrea added, "Yes, I do remember hearing that in my history classes."

"Wolftree Keep was indeed destroyed when the forces loyal to Prince Haynes were exiled from the forest. But I believe that the local members of the Cult of the Lost have rebuilt it."

"Pardon my skepticism," Raven said.

Dr. Egon reached into the pocket under his woolen vest and retrieved a yellowed piece of parchment. "One of my associates intercepted this message from a member of the Lost two weeks ago, meant for another village. Give it a gander."

Raven grabbed the scroll and unrolled it. He read the single sentence, scrawled in brown ink. "Wolftree's demand calls for more gifts from the heart of purity." He lowered the parchment, then looked up at Dr. Egon. "This confirms suspicion of sacrifices."

"I would say so, yes," Dr. Egon replied. "We must act with haste if we are to discover the true intent of the Cult of the Lost."

"Where is Wolftree Keep?" Kamin asked.

"I have not seen it myself, but my associate who intercepted that message informed me that it's about a day's walk northeast of Blackwood Grove, and a day and a half north of Murk Row."

"I've never been to that section... Let's check it out, father."

"Very well. We will return to Blackwood Grove to gather supplies." Raven replied.

"Sounds dangerous... You sure we can do it?" Andrea asked.

"Your safety is paramount importance. We will scout ahead without you."

"But--"

"You must recover!" Raven said.

"No, I'm coming with you. I'm sick of people not believing in me. I'm not some frail, little flower." she insisted. "You might need all of the help you can get. While I can't offer much, the amount of data I could gather is far too much to risk not going."

Dr. Egon stood back up, placing a sample of the purple goo that he had taken into his vest pocket. "It will be dangerous, young lady,"

"I know. There's danger everywhere. But how do you think the first airplane pilot felt when she went down the runway just before she took off? Or the first astronauts? Nuclear physicists? They took risks to further our species. They understood the danger and how the pursuit of knowledge was more important."

Dr. Egon smiled. "It's been a long time since I've seen someone so young and so passionate about learning. She is right. Science and research don't know fear nor do they understand danger."

"I must protest," Raven said. "But if that is your wish, we will protect you."

Dr. Egon clasped his bony hands together and rubbed them together eagerly. "Good! Let us travel!"

 

[Beth Pavell]

I keep expecting you to go all Lovecraftian and start describing everything as "singular", and possibly "eldritch". "Providence Bluffs" eh?

It's almost as if the forest is a completely separate world. I suppose that's rather the point ... the story's taking on a bit of a fantasy tone to it. So far I'm buying it, though I am beginning to wonder how far this is going to go. I know there's just been a hurricane and everything, but if the group does find hard evidence of blood sacrifice I'd kind of expect the sensible thing to do would be to get the island police involved.

This slower chapter was fine, actually necessary in my opinion. After all the action and weirdness since this arc started, a bit of a breather was needed.

 

[Flaze]

The chapter was really good in showcasing Andrea's recovery after the events of the previous chapter as well as expanding more in regards for what´s to come. I keep getting surprised at everything that has been found since Andrea entered the forest and the plot and elements introduced just keep thickening. I don't have much else to say for this chapter aside from that except that I like how you give all of the professors different and varied personality.

 

[Misfit Angel]

Storm Island
Chapter 14: Wolftree's Legacy​

It had been several hours of relatively uneventful travel through the dark forest. While they had encountered several strange occurrences along the way, none were as interesting as what they were about to face if the rumors of Wolftree Keep's existence were true. Flickering shadows and eerie noises couldn't compare to what lay in wait, but just what lay in wait was up for debate. Perhaps the rumors were false and all they would see was a vacant clearing, or ruined foundations of the once mighty castle. But what if they were true? What were the Cult of the Lost truly up to inside?

All of these questions eluded the travellers, even Dr. Egon. His main area of expertise was the paranormal, not the dark arts. Still, with Raven and Kamin filling him in with what they've learned over the years, he theorized that they were attempting to use the natural darkness of the forest as the basis of their rituals, which in turn fueled the very darkness that gave them sustenance. He theorized that the ruins of Wolftree Keep perhaps sat on a hotspot of paranormal activity, due to the bloody history of the area.

"I wish I knew more, but I must admit that I have not given these loonies the attention they deserve," Dr. Egon said. "Perhaps I should have all along. They have a proficiency with the paranormal that I can not claim to have."

"What's it like to study the paranormal?" Andrea asked.

"Unlike anything else I've studied during my long life," he started. "The first thing you receive when you announce the subject of your research as a ghost hunter is a rude laugh. People don't believe in the stories they were told as children... But let me tell you, my research has led me to believe in them again. The night is dark and full of terrors."

"Come on, though. Demons? Ghosts that steal your soul and send you to hell?" she asked.

"Yes," he said with conviction. "Society's skepticism is precisely why you don't hear any documentation on cases of these events occurring. When you hear a story of a young girl being led away in the night by a haunted balloon, what is your reaction?"

"I find it hard to believe, personally," she replied.

"And that little girl's parents are accused of awful crimes. Nobody believes them." he said. "Meanwhile, their girl is trapped in purgatory, unable to return to life or embrace the sweet release of death."

"I still find it hard to believe. That's always been a bunch of superstitious crap to me, something that's better left to faith."

"I do not blame you. It took many years of exposure to this field of science before I began to believe it myself. Like you, as I assume you are, I was once a man of practicality. I believed what I saw, and I supported what I could replicate and study myself. I thought of faith in the unknown as a foolhardy way to live life, until I realized that faith in the unknown is exactly what science is."

"Hmm..."

"Let me ask you, young lady. Do you believe that there is life beyond the stars?" he asked.

"I do. It'd be incredibly naive to think that in all of this expansive universe, we're the only rock floating around a star to have gotten it right. But what's that have to do with faith?"

"Do you have proof that there is life out there?" he asked. "You do not. Nobody does. Yet you still cling to the idea that we aren't alone, and the idea that we'll one day meet that other civilization. That is faith and science working together."

"But once we prove things, do they not change from faith to fact?" she asked.

"I have proven many things in my quest to study the paranormal, but I have more questions than I started with. I have faith in myself and my findings, I have faith in my ideals, and I have faith that one day, we will understand the things we find to be unbelievable, and perhaps even prove the existence of the gods that our ancestors worshipped. That is why I study, and that is why I find it important to challenge that which we believe in."

She felt inspired by his words, having never thought of it that way.

"I do not like most scientists. Most scientists pompous and full of selves. But I like you." Raven said.

Dr. Egon smiled widely and bowed. "That means a lot coming from you, Raven." he said. "But, Miss Dennison, to return to your original question, what is it like? I find it very rewarding. I have helped many grieving families find closure with my research and my techniques. To help a sorrowful widow regain peace and happiness in her life is among my greatest achievements.

"Do you get a lot of disrespect from your colleagues in other fields?" she asked.

"Not just from colleagues in other fields, but within my own, too! Most view my methods as unethical or oddly contrived. They see me, as a brilliant mind, working on things they believe serve no purpose in life and look down on me with disgust. To them, I say poppycock!"

"I see," she said.

Kamin was lagging behind the group, appearing as if he was dying of the plague. "Not to interrupt this enthralling discussion, but... Shouldn't we have a plan for when we find this place?"

Dr. Egon lowered his voice to a whisper, directing it at Andrea. "I see someone doesn't understand the true value of knowledge." He raised his voice again. "Very well, Kamin. Would you like to start with the plan?"

Suddenly, Andrea's lantern begun to flicker. She smacked the top of it, hoping that a good whack would fix the problem, but the flickering persisted.

"Stop," Kamin said. "Everybody get ready."

"What's happening?" she asked.

An ominous breeze blew down the path towards the group, completely shutting her lantern off. The flames sprouting from Hellhounds's back wavered in the wind, but returned to full strength as the wind died down. A chilling laugh could be heard echoing through the forest.

Raven motioned for Andrea and Kamin to stick close to him. "Stay close. We stand together."

The otherworldly cackling continued, getting closer to the group as they formed a square to protect each other. Another wind blew down the pathway, this time bringing with it a thick, black fog that reduced the group's already poor visibility. In the distance, a pair of white wisps of light appeared, weaving through the trees and even appearing to pass through some of them. A blue light formed under the white orbs, morphing shape into a devilish grin, lined with jagged spikes that appeared to resemble fangs.

"I'm picking something up..." Dr. Egon said, pointing a flashing beacon around.

"There it is!" Kamin shouted, being the first to spot it.

As the gaseous cloud closed in on the group, a large, flopping tongue dangled from its mouth, dripping a foul smelling substance along the way. It passed over them, attempting to lick one of the unfortunate travellers, but was warded off by the Houndour spitting a stream of flames at it.

Andrea tried to remain calm as she raised her R-Kit to study the creature, but she couldn't keep her shaking arm straight long enough. It was pointless, anyways; the screen on the R-Kit had fizzled to indecipherable static and the lights along the sides of it blinked randomly. "What is that?!" she shouted.

"Most dangerous killer of forest!" Raven said.

"Haunter!" Dr. Egon said. "And a beautiful specimen! I must get a closer look!"

The group prepared for battle; Raven reached into his tribal satchel, pulling out a rustic-looking wooden Pokéball. He tossed it forward to reveal a large mole-like creature. Atop the creature's elongated head was a shiny, metallic growth that looked much like an industrial drill. The claws at the end of his stubby arms resembled spiked garden shovels. He was certainly an odd thing, distracting Andrea briefly before she returned to the matter at hand. She reached into her pocket and grabbed Sorrow's Pokéball, tossing it out into the field. She had good experiences with her so far, confident that she was a fine choice for the battle ahead.

Dr. Egon didn't call out any of his own Pokémon. Instead, he tapped a button on his own R-Kit, causing the green tint on the lenses in his glasses to shine brightly, almost like night vision goggles. He retrieved another scanner from one of his many pockets and what looked like a coiled copper antenna from another.

"Let me take the charge, father. I need the training." Kamin said.

"Understood. I will support if I must."

"Hellhound, we need to show this ghost that we're not easy prey."

Hellhound listened intently at his master's comments, knowing just what to do. He lowered towards the ground, letting out a deep and chilling bark. He ran off into battle, the flames in his eye sockets intensifying as he studied the ghost's movements. He breathed a ravenous torrent of white hot flames in the general direction of the Haunter, missing as it phased from and back into reality.

"You're not doing a good job of showing we're not easy! I need you to trap it!"

Before Hellhound could react to his new orders, however, the Haunter closed in for an attack. It lowered its massive, drooping tongue towards the ground, cackling along the way. Hellhound ignored the order, instead breathing a focused blast of fire into the face of the oncoming Haunter. The Haunter emerged from the cloud of flames completely unharmed, its tongue sliding across Hellhound's back. Hellhound froze in fear and fell over, struggling valiantly as he tried to get back onto his feet.

"Tomriin, my son may need help! Get ready!" Raven shouted. The large mole-like creature raised his metal claws, stomping forward in an aggressive and imposing manner.

"No, I've got this," Kamin said. He reached into his pocket and pulled out Hellhound's Pokéball and another Pokéball that had a net-like pattern on its blue lid. After recalling Hellhound, he threw the other Pokéball out into the field ahead of him, summoning his Parasect, Scratches.

Upon seeing the Parasect appear in front of her, Andrea immediately had flashbacks to the Silverridge Mines and hid behind Dr. Egon to use him as a shield. She wasn't sure what to be more afraid of, a giant bug or the ghost that was circling above them cackling like a witch.

"Alright, Scratches, listen up!" Kamin said, kneeling down next to his stoic, zombie-like companion. "You're at a disadvantage here, so I need you to use that technique we've spent the last week working on. I need you to pull an Astral Strike out of the hat."

Without a sound, Scratches raised his two massive claws and lifted off of the ground, teetering in the Haunter's direction like a demented crab. When it reached the area in front of the Haunter, it sat down again, motioning at the Haunter with a taunting gesture. The Haunter responded with an amused laugh and dove downward at Scratches, its wide mouth opening even further as it did so.

"That might not be good..." Dr. Egon muttered to himself. "I do hope that Kamin knows what he is doing..."

With little time to prepare, Scratches pressed his claws against the mushroom sprouting off of his back. The spotted pattern on the mushroom shifted almost like camouflage to resemble a crescent moon and a star inside it. His claws began to glow with white intensity as he struck at the encroaching Haunter. With devastating speed, Scratches lashed out at his target so furiously that the Haunter seemed to fall apart. The purple mist that it was made of fell to the ground and billowed around like a thick, dense cloud.

"Well I'll be! Impressive work, Kamin!" Dr. Egon said with excitement. He reached into the pocket that ran alongside his leg, pulling out a small metallic box with a hinged top on it. He tossed the box out towards the cloud of purple mist as it began to swirl in a counter-clockwise motion and reform.

"Thank you, sir, but we're not done yet, are we?"

"I think we are," he replied, watching as the Haunter reformed into its previous shape. "This will be a fine research subject."

With the press of a button on his R-Kit, the top of the machine flipped open and a blinding surge of light escaped. The once confident and menacing Haunter's expression changed to that of fear and horror as it was caught within the grasp of the box. It resisted and resisted, but the pull of the box was too much; the box quickly sucked the Haunter in, leaving behind a crackle of static electricity. He walked over calmly and picked the box up.

"Interesting... Spirit ward in machine form," Raven said.

"Precisely. I never would have been able to create it without your expertise, Raven." he said.

Raven smiled. "We must continue, we have castle to find."

With the threat neutralized, Andrea tried to steel her nerves and calm herself. Kamin recalling Scratches helped a bunch, as did her lantern returning to working order. She couldn't help but wonder what Haunter really was, and why it had such effects on her technological gadgets. She was determined to ask Dr. Egon when the task at hand was over. Perhaps he would know more.

- - - - -​

The group continued their travels through the forest. They discussed strategy with each other, and what they would do if they did indeed find the legendary ruins of Wolftree Keep. Andrea suggested contacting her father and getting the Storm Island police involved, though Raven stated that he had tried before. It appeared that many people across the island, including the police, didn't take the situation in Blackwood Forest seriously. Kamin figured that only with serious proof of a murderous cult would the Storm Island police feel obligated to do anything.

Every now and then, they would hear a frightening and loud roar of unknown origin, possibly indicating that they were getting closer to the rebuilt Wolftree Keep. The roar was unlike anything any of the four had heard before; Not deep like a lion's, not high pitched like a wolf's howl. This roar had a scratchy quality to it, with Andrea likening it to the roars the Azure Ridge History Museum used for their dinosaur exhibits.

The roars weren't the only imposing presence they felt. As they travelled, the effectiveness of Andrea's lantern seemed to dwindle. At first she thought the battery might be dying until she remembered the advertised thousand hour lifetime on it. But that couldn't have been it anyways; the flames on Hellhound's back were as strong as ever, yet they seemed to put out less light. Raven theorized that they were getting closer to a source of great, unnatural darkness, something they all agreed on.

"Is it alright if I admit that I'm scared?" Andrea asked.

"Of course. We all are." Dr. Egon said. "We are journeying into the unknown, with no promise of our safety."

"Then why are we doing it?" she asked.

"Sometimes we must make sacrifices for the greater good. Sometimes those sacrifices are little more than time spent, other times it can cost someone their life. Let's hope it's the former."

"You should know by now that the world is a dangerous place, Andrea," Kamin said. "That is what life is about, conquering your fears and the dangers associated with them. It seems like you haven't done much of that in your life, so perhaps getting mixed up in all of this was fate, something to prepare you for the road ahead of you."

"I never could... My mother wouldn't let me. Everything was dangerous to her, even sitting outside under the sun."

"Well, that's dangerous to me. I haven't seen the sun in over six months!" he joked.

She didn't believe it. She grabbed his arm and rolled his sleeve up, comparing her skin tone to his. All her years of exposure to the tropical sun of Storm Island had left her with an olive tone, while Kamin was almost as pale as winter snow. "You aren't kidding..." she said with a laugh.

Dr. Egon whispered to Raven. "Look at those two... They've known each other for only a few days, and they're already sharing a personal laugh."

"It is good. My son not have many friends in Blackwood Grove. We will be sad when she leaves."

"Such is the song of life, a fact I'm all too familiar with. Friendships, no matter if they're as short as a day, or as long as a decade, can be shattered in an instant with distance. Technology is changing that, but nothing can compare to the warm embrace of company."

"Yes, that is true," he said. "Is why I am here. I came in search of lost love who travelled to Storm Island. I have yet to find her, but I have not given up."

"A noble cause. It's a shame that you've found yourself pinned to the forest, protecting the people from it. Perhaps when all of this is over, you can resume your search."

"I hope."

Their conversations were interrupted by another roar in the distance, this one sounding much closer. Every few seconds, a deep concussive sound could be heard as the ground shook beneath them. Whatever had been making the noises they had heard for the past half hour was coming closer, and whatever it was was large. The sound of a tree falling over in the darkness in front of them put them on alert as they stopped in their tracks.

Andrea turned her lantern off, hoping not to draw the attention of whatever was out there. Where she had been shining her lantern, dim violet lights could be seen in the distance, passing through the trees. A strange clattering sound could be heard as they waited in silence.

"What do you think it is?" Dr. Egon asked.

"I do not know," Raven said. He grabbed a rustic, wooden Pokéball from his satchel and called out Hono-eh, his Marowak. "We must be ready for anything."

"Agreed," he replied. He grabbed a purple Pokéball with red gems studded to the top of it from his vest pocket and tossed it downward to the ground. "Illusia, are you up for the task?" he asked as another Haunter, distinct from the one they battled previously by its greenish tones, appeared.

"Sorrow!" Andrea called out, extending her arm skyward. Sorrow appeared from the trees, floating down towards the ground in front of her.

"Brawwwwk!"

The group cautiously waited for what approached them. As the purple lights drew closer, they began to illuminate what was coming towards them. A large conglomeration of various bones arranged in the frame of a frightening dragon-like creature shambled through the darkness. It crawled on all fours, keeping its massive, bony wings folded at its sides. At the ends of its arms were large, hooked claws, polished to a razor sharp edge. It took a look at the group through its empty eye sockets and stopped in its tracks.

"W-What is that?!" Andrea shouted.

"My god..." Dr. Egon marveled, raising his scanner and clicking the button on it. "The rumors are true..."

"Never in my years have I seen creature like this!" Raven said.

The skeletal dragon roared at the group, shaking the nearby area with deafening, concussive force. As if signaled by the roar, three smaller creatures, also composed of a mish-mash of seemingly random bone fragments, scurried out from the bushes on both sides of the trail. These creatures were much smaller, but fearsome in their own right; what they lacked in arms was made up in sharpened bones. They glistened in the dim light that Hellhound's fire provided, reflecting almost like metal.

"We can't take something like this on!" Kamin shouted.

"We must stand now to protect residents of the forest!" Raven said in a commanding voice. "Hono-eh! We should deal with weaker creatures first! Use whatever means necessary!"

Hono-eh grumbled through the skull over her head. She raised her arm into the air, summoning a polished bone, her weapon of choice, with a bright flash. She waved it in the air and twirled it elegantly before tossing it with a great burst of energy at one of the smaller skeletal creatures. The bone flew through the air in a curved motion, smashing into it. The creature fell apart, and the violet sparks that held it together evaporated into the air.

"The creatures are fragile. Use to your advantage!" Raven suggested.

Meanwhile, Andrea had chosen another of the creatures and ordered Sorrow to make an attack. "Use another one of your curses, Sorrow! You seem to be good at that!"

"Brawwwk, curse! Sorrow!" she squawked. She hovered over one of the skeletal creatures, her eyes letting off a dark blue, ethereal smoke. Bright points of light appeared under her talons, forming an ancient rune that Andrea was unable to recognize. The rune shot downward at the skeletal creature, impacting it and knocking a few bones into the air, but the creature stood firm.

The skeletal creature ignored Sorrow, instead focusing on Hono-eh. It skittered along the muddy path with surprising agility, jumping at her with its blade-like arms outstretched. It latched onto her back, attempting to break the skull that shielded her head open, but the best its blade-like arms could do was scratch it.

On the other side of the field, Dr. Egon was focusing on the last of the smaller skeletal creatures. "Let's erase a bit of the competition, Illusia. Reaper's Grasp!"

Illusia's cackling was chilling as she set sights on the final skeletal creature. Her mouth widened to a freakish size as she swept across the battlefield, swallowing the creature whole. With a large, cartoonish gulp, Illusia licked her lips with her massive, translucent tongue and laughed once more.

"Too easy!" Dr. Egon exclaimed. "Now, we need that dragon distracted while Raven deals with that other devil. Go, Illusia!"

As Illusia continued her rampage, Kamin was determined to help his father. "Go on, Hellhound. Hono-eh needs your help! Get that little bastard off of her!"

Hellhound ignored the command, thinking of the small creature as an unworthy opponent. Instead, he dashed off towards the skeletal dragon, snarling into a roar as he did so.

"Hellhound, no! Back! Back!"

It was too late. Hellhound was locked into a rage, focusing on what he thought was the proper target. The dragon stood up on its hind legs, drawing in the air around it. The sparks of dark essence at the center of its rib cage brightened significantly as it lurched forward, sending a visible blast of frigid, arctic air at Hellhound. Hellhound was no match, being blown backward as the gust of icy air smashed into him. The flames erupting from his back and around his eyes smoldered and faded as he lay motionless on the trail.

"Damn it! Why do you never listen?!" Kamin exclaimed with frustration. He recalled Hellhound, thinking of what to do next.

Meanwhile, Hono-eh was struggling against the smaller creature as it stabbed at her with its bony arms. She was able to hook her stubby arms under the creature and pulled it off of her back, raising it above her head. She thrust it downward multiple times, sending bone fragments flying as she attempted to dash it to pieces. At last, she was successful; the violet essence that held the creature together faded into the air.

With the smaller skeletal creatures defeated, the skeletal dragon was all that stood in the way, but they all knew that it would not be an easy fight. The dragon stood on its hind legs, reaching a towering height of nearly nine feet, as it once again drew in the air around it. It exhaled a large, billowing cloud of icy blue flames upward into the air directly at Sorrow, knocking her out of the sky. Thick, heavy icicles formed on the trees around her, causing the branches to sag.

"Locke, please... I can always count on you..." Kamin muttered to himself as he tossed a Pokéball to the ground. His Nuzleaf appeared, emerging from a cloud of leaves and howled with anticipation for the coming battle.

"Perhaps wyrm is as weak as little devils," Raven said. "Hono-eh, do as you did before, smash creature apart!"

Hono-eh raised her bone, twirling it in the air on the tip of her clawed finger. She tossed the bone with all of her might, watching it curve through the air towards the skeletal dragon, but to everyone's shock, the bone was split in half as the dragon lashed out with its claws. Hono-eh was most surprised, responding by picking up a small boulder from the side of the road and charging forward fearlessly.

"I can not risk you, Hono-eh! Return!"

Upon hearing the order, Hono-eh stopped instantly, dropping the boulder at her feet. She faded into a glob of red energy as she was recalled into her rustic wooden Pokéball.

"Tomriin, I require your assistance!" he said, unleashing his Excadrill. "Son, we work together. Shield Tomriin! I may need your help as well, Dr. Egon."

"You heard my father, Locke," Kamin said.

Locke nodded, beginning an elaborate, almost tribal dance. Long grass, leaves and choking vines began to appear at Tomriin's feet, with the leaves breaking off and forming a protective but flimsy looking shield.

"Illusia, augment our friend with your ghostly abilities. We'll need everything we can throw if we're to defeat this dragon!" Dr. Egon commanded.

Illusia nodded, floating over towards Tomriin. Her facial features faded as she split into two equally sized clouds of ethereal energy and wrapped around Tomriin's massive metallic claws.

As ready as he felt he would ever be, Tomriin took several lumbering steps toward the skeletal dragon with Locke following close behind. Tomriin and the dragon stopped and stared at each other, waiting to make the first move. Tomriin raised his claws, which began to spin quickly like a drill, making a taunting gesture at the dragon. The dragon didn't respond with anything that could be mistaken as emotion, but slowly approached, shaking the earth with every step.

"This is it... all or nothing." Dr. Egon said.

"We're not going to die, are we?" Andrea asked, hiding behind him.

"I can't promise, but we'll try our best to survive."

The dragon stood on its hind legs, taking a monstrous swipe at Tomriin, who blocked with his left claw and stabbed with his right. The bones making up the dragon's talons began to chip away as they touched the spinning blades, breaking off in large sections as it tried to overpower him. Tomriin stabbed away with his right claw, breaking off the dragon's ribs with each attack, but it seemed to shrug off each attack.

The dragon pushed Tomriin away and took a few steps back. It took a deep breath, enraging the purple flames within it. It breathed out, spitting a blue stream of ice cold flames directly at Tomriin. The flames did little against the shield of leaves that protected him, however. Tomriin lumbered forward, going in for the finishing blow. With a wide swipe of his spinning claws, he sheared off one of the dragons wings, causing the bones to shatter as they hit the ground.

The dragon roared in an attempt to scare Tomriin off, but failed to do so. Tomriin continued his assault, knocking an arm off next, followed by more ribs and the other wing. The dragon stood firmly, however, despite losing large amounts of its body.

"The violet flames must be the energy source holding it together. Illusia, that is your target!" Dr. Egon called out.

Illusia raised off of Tomriin's claws, reforming into her normal shape. She opened her mouth wide, rushing forward towards the violet core of the dragon. With a large gulp, she gathered up as much as she could, then watched as the dragon began to fall apart. The dragon roared as it lost a leg and fell over, struggling to regain its footing. Finally, the skull fell to the ground, the jaw unhinging from it. The bones sat on the ground lifelessly.

"Is that it?" Kamin asked, waiting for a surprise twist.

"I will take no risks. Smash idle bones, Tomriin!" Raven ordered.

Tomriin wandered around, using his claws to grind the larger bones down to unrecognizable chips. It appeared as if the dragon was defeated. Tomriin, Locke and Illusia returned to their masters' sides.

Kamin let out a deep sigh of relief. "Good work, everyone. That could have gone real bad."

"We must find source of wyrm now. Safety of entire forest is at risk!" Raven said.

"No... W-we should turn back, g-get some help. Who knows what else is out there?" Andrea said, her confidence in her allies wavering.

"And who's going to help?" Kamin asked.

"My father... I'll call my father. He's a police officer, he can--"

"We already explained, that would take days for them to get out here, if they even bothered to care," he said.

Dr. Egon placed his hand on her shoulder. "For better or for worse, we have a job to do now. I understand if you're scared, but you are surrounded by experienced Pokémon trainers."

"But we could still--"

He placed his index finger on her lips. "If you run away now, all that you, Raven and Kamin have worked towards will be thrown aside. Even worse, the Cult of the Lost may be working to create more of those creatures. If we strike while their defenses are down, we may be able to stop them. I we don't... It doesn't matter where you run, the entire island could be at risk. Nowhere will be safe."

She took a deep breath, trying to absorb his advice. She realized that he was right, but it did little to calm her nerves. She tried her best to fight back at the voices in her head, telling her that she would fail if she tried. "Alright. I'm with you guys."

 

[Beth Pavell]

@AC-Prescott, are you still collaborating with Caitlin? Just curious

Anyway, I love what an insane pastiche this story is. It's not quite crime mystery, not quite fantasy, a speck of journey fic and a bit of sci-fi. The different technologies turning up are fun, and I hope you keep them toned down. Magic tech kind of gets on my nerves in pokémon if it's overdone (I'm looking at you, Pokémon Hunter Sue and your petrifier cannon). The battles still surprise me in how well they work - a lot of fun to be had with the Haunter in this chapter

I have to say though, you didn't win me over with the heartwarming moment. I mean, it was ok but it didn't have the emotion in it. And then you tried to tell me that it was heartwarming which then came across as a turn off

 

[Misfit Angel]

Yeah, I struggled immensely with that heartwarming moment part. I thought about cutting it out entirely, and perhaps it would have served a better purpose in a future chapter, perhaps with other characters. But at the same time, it felt like I needed something to break up the action bits. Perhaps I can just go back and take out the reference to it being a heartwarming moment... It was originally intended to be one, as it was supposed to be Andrea cracking Kamin's shell slightly. Perhaps I've failed in putting across the fact that he is an absolute dick, and I was hoping some sort of friendly interaction would get some character development in.

Magic tech should hopefully not be a thing in this story. I will strive to find reasonably plausible scientific explanations for technology that take advantage of magical tropes, while true "magic" (which as we have seen does exist) will remain a blur.

As far as collaboration, yes and no. Caitlin has taken a different path in her life, moving to a rural setting and starting from scratch so that she can escape the pressures of city life and the people who have been holding her back. Without internet access and even a computer, she put me in charge of the series and told me that I can make any changes I wish as long as the core plots of the series remain. I was going to do this anyways, and further, she can return to the project whenever she wishes. It's been difficult, though, and it may show through the quality of the writing. I never realized how much I took her for granted when it came to idea bouncing until I was the only one doing it.

 

[Beth Pavell]

Lucky Caitlin. The rest of us have to put up with their crushing ruts [/grumbles]. No, really, I don't begrudge her that.

Heartwarming moments are hard - you need to earn them with a lot of set-up. I like Andrea and I root for her, but I think perhaps that Kamin has been too much of an NPC support character for me to be invested in, at least

 

[SerenaKetchum]

I saw this had won some awards so decided to give it a whirl I'm very pleased I did too! Awesome prose and actual emotion that is evident with the characters. I've always wondered how a co-authored story could manage to be so seamless with the writing, but this is great.

Heartwarming moment at the end too Cheers!

 

[Flaze]

All right, I know it took me a couple of days to read this (it was actually a couple of weeks) but I was finally able to read it. I really liked the chapter and I liked what you did with the bone Pokemon, I also think the battle was done a lot better this time around, though it did get a bit tiresome around the end of the chapter itself, mostly because I feel they spent too long fighting the minions.

I kind of found the Kamin and Andrea moment more funny than heart warming xD and actually now that you mentioned it I never did actually see Kamin as a bad guy, he seemed more aloof to me.