YOU HAVE NOW ENTERED AN AWESOME NEW FANFIC THAT WILL BLOW YOUR MIND!
I am the writer, Sky, and welcome to another one of my amazing Almia fanfictions! This will be the 6th story total; 3rd crossover done! And this lovely piece of work will be combine the epic world of Pokemon Ranger Shadows of Almia with the famous (and my personal favorite) Miyazaki movie, Spirited Away. I knew there'd be a right time to present this crossover and now, ladies and gents, is that time.
To those new to my fanfics, welcome once again! Can't wait to have you read! To my faithful regulars, great to see you again! You might notice some unusual writing style changes in this story due to experimentation. Bear with me for the ride!
Read, review and, of course, enjoy!
Disclaimer: I do not own pokemon or spirited away.
Claimer: I do own the changes made to them as well as original subplots.
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"Sven, do you honestly know where you're going?"
"Come on, Wen'. Of course I do!"
"Really? Cause it looks like we're lost."
Kate gradually woke up to the sounds of bickering. Took her a moment to remember where she was. The Union sent her, Keith, Sven and Wendy to a ranger base out-of-region to go to a meeting of sorts. The staraptors were migrating and Wendy's staraptor with a sprained wing. So Sven offered to rent a car and drive everyone to the destination. Kate didn't mind…till she spent several hours in a small space with four other people.
"You guys are fighting like an old married couple!" Keith joked.
"Well honey, how about we stop and ask someone for directions?" Wendy offered Sven in a sarcastic tone.
"We don't need directions, darling." Sven played along. "I can get us there in no time flat. Even if we take awhile, I don't think the couple in the backseat minds."
"WE ARE NOT A COUPLE!" Kate and Keith exclaimed.
"Then why was Kate napping on monsieur redhead earlier?" Sven smirked.
Both rangers in questioned turned a dark shade of red. Kate realized she was on Keith's shoulder. Still. Quickly, she pulled back.
"Sorry." Kate apologized in a small voice.
"No big deal." Keith mumbled, staring out the window.
Meanwhile, Sven was snickering in the front seat. Even Wendy flashed a grin. The car turned off on a road and went uphill. A left turn and the car went to an worn dirt path, resting underneath the shade of an old oak tree. Underneath were several stones, sort of resembling houses. Kate remembered the stories her mother used to tell from the picture books.
"Mommy? What are those strange stones?"
"They're shrines. Some people believe spirits live there."
"Wait…did I miss the turn?" Sven's voice brought Kate back to the present. "This can't be right…"
"Sven, look! I see the pokemart!" Wendy said.
"Hm?" Sven leaned to look.
"Right over there, on the end." Wendy pointed it out.
Yep. There was a blue building way on top of a hill, all the way at the end near some trees.
"Aw yeah. Just like Rhythmi said. Guess I missed the turnoff." Sven sighed. "This road should get us there."
"Sven, don't take a shortcut. You'll get us lost." Wendy groaned.
"Trust me. It's going to work!" Sven told her.
Before Wendy could object, the car got moving again. It followed the dirt path into the thick grove of trees up ahead. Not much light got through, making everything seem a bit darker. Strange place. There hardly seemed to be any pokemon as well.
"I think we're lost." Kate said.
"We're fine." Sven reassured. "I've got a great sense of direction."
"Why can't men ever admit they're lost?" Wendy muttered under her breath.
Soon enough, the car started speeding up. The dirt path turned to cobblestone, making the car bounce like crazy. It shook Kate so much she landed into Keith again. Keith didn't protest, instead holding Kate close to him (for stability or terrified of Sven's driving, she wasn't sure). Kate watched as the sights out the window turned to green blurs. Though…a statue stood out among it. Barely able to glimpse at it, Kate could only tell it looked ancient and almost mythical, like a legendary pokemon.
"SVEN!" Wendy shouted as the car zoomed through some thick branches. "Slow down before you kill us!"
The sight of trees vanished. Instead, something appeared in the center of the road.
"WHAT THE…!" Sven slammed on the breaks.
Kate felt the car jerk to a stop, finally settling down after the hectic ride. She noticed the thing in front of the car was another statue. But what really got her attention was the building behind it. A tall gate of sorts; a dull reddish color with slanted black rooftops. Seemed to resemble the style of the Bell Tower in Johto.
"Huh. Well look at that." Sven opened the car door, starting to get out. "Looks like an entrance."
"Sven! Get back in the car! We'll be late!" Wendy called.
Kate left the car too, curious about the building. Keith ended up following her as well. Both came with Sven as he inspected it.
"Looks old." Keith commented.
"It's not. These stones are made of plaster." Sven corrected.
Kate stared into the entrance. It looked incredibly long, leading into darkness. There was an echo sound; haunting and mysterious….yet inviting somehow. Leaves were pushed, no, pulled into the tunnel. Kate could feel it too, as if she were being pulled in herself. A strange sense engulfed her. Part of her wanted to leave while the other part of her wanted to explore.
"Come on. Let's go in." Sven suggested as Wendy joined the group. "I want to see what's on the other side."
"Hmmmm…" Wendy hesitated.
"A quick look?" Sven offered.
"We might run late to the meeting." Wendy said, still unsure.
"Don't worry. We can call the Union and have them send a message." Sven promised. "Things like that happen all the time."
"….I guess a quick look couldn't hurt." Wendy gave in.
"What do you think, rookies?" Sven turned to Kate and Keith. "Shall we go exploring?"
"HECK YEAH!" Keith fist-pumped.
"Go for it!" Kate cheered.
All four entered the tunnel. Their steps echoed into the vast darkness. Hard to see where to go.
"Everyone watch your step." Sven warned.
The cowboy ranger led the group, with Wendy right behind. Kate stuck towards the back with Keith. As cool as this was, walking through a mysterious passage, Kate got a touch bit nervous. It wasn't as if she wanted to be. Something in the air was pressuring her, trying to wipe out that enthusiasm. Keith seemed to notice this. He suddenly held Kate's hand and gave her a comforting smile. Feeling safe, Kate firmly gripped his hand and walked beside him through the long tunnel. Who knew it'd be such a long walk?
Finally, the four exited into a different room. Very solemn, seemed like it hadn't been used in awhile. There were small glass windows that let little light enter. Rows of stone columns held the roof up, with wooden benches and unlit lanturns resting underneath. A single fountain dripped small drops of water in the silence.
"You hear that?" Wendy asked.
Everyone listened. Kate heard a faint roaring and clacking. That sounded familiar...
"Hey it's a train!" Keith said.
"We must be near a train station." Wendy added.
"Come on." Sven gestured towards the exit on the other end of the room. "Let's go check it out."
The group started moving again. Kate took a glance back at the door where they came. That tiny feeling wanted her to go back that way and forget this ever happened. Why did this seem so bad? What could possibly be dangerous for Kate to feel this way? Keith squeezed her hand, turning the girl's attention to what was in front.
Kate stepped out of the dark and into the sunlight. She gasped, smile widening at the sight. A gentle breeze brushed across the valley that spread before her. Small hills of green grass, with a few moss covered stones (one or two resembled statues). There were several rundown, abandoned sheds. In the distance, it appeared to be a town of sorts.
"Wow…" Kate whispered.
"I knew it." Sven grinned.
"What are you talking about?" Keith asked.
"This is an abandoned theme park." Sven looked behind him at the building. "See?"
The structure they all left from was gigantic, a lot bigger than it appeared first coming in. Ecruteak style, just a bit more extravagant. A clock tower rested on the very top, though the clock itself seemed to be out of commission for quite some time. This building seemed to be extremely old and unused for years.
"They built them all over the place way back when. But suddenly their businesses crashed and all of them went bankrupt." Sven explained. "This must be one of them."
"How do you know about this?" Wendy asked.
"My grandfather worked in one a long time ago. I've always wanted to see what these theme parks were like." Sven replied.
"Then let's go! Off to an abandoned theme park" Keith said.
"Sure. Maybe they have teacup rides for you and your girlfriend there." Sven chuckled.
At that point, it dawned on Kate that she was still holding Keith's hand. The two let go and turned away from each other. Kate's face was pink, embarrassed to let her friends see that. Sven and Wendy started hiking up one of the hills while Keith chased after them, protesting. Kate took a step forward…
WHOOOOOOOOOOSH!
A fierce wind blew from behind her, coming from the building. Kate heard a bizarre sound coming from the building itself. She cringed from the creepy noise before joining up with everyone else.
"That was weird…" Kate said. "Sounded like that building was moaning."
"Probably just the wind." Keith shrugged.
"Oh what a beautiful place!" Wendy took a deep breath of the clean air. "We should've gotten lunch. It'd be a perfect spot for a picnic! If we brought our partner pokemon, they'd love to be out here!"
"See? Totally worth the trip up here." Sven gloated. "Do I ever steer you wrong?"
"Don't push it." Wendy sweatdropped.
The valley was immense, seemed to spread for miles. Everywhere you looked, the sight was just stunning. Kate could see trees at the very far corner. Who knew they traveled so far in so little time? Soon, Kate came upon a lone line of giant stones that stretched some ways.
"Looks like they were planning to put a river here." Sven noticed.
"Waaah!"
"Huh…?"
BAM!
Wendy tripped on one of the stones, crashing straight into Sven. Her hands were on his chest, with the green haired girl looking straight at him. Sven looked down at her, a bit surprised from the suddenness of it all.
"Interesting couple we've got here." Keith raised an eyebrow.
Sven and Wendy blinked once. Twice. Their faces changed, flustered and realization. They quickly let go.
"Hey you guys smell that?" Sven changed the topic.
It was a moment before Kate did smell it. A warm, tasty scent drifted into the air. Made Kate get a bit hungry.
"Something smells delicious." Keith said.
"Maybe the theme park's still in business." Sven suggested.
Wendy and Sven climbed over the rocks to the other side, to some steep steps. With a little help from Keith, Kate made it over as well and followed the group through the theme park. There were buildings of all shapes, sizes and colors. Some had wacky designs like pop-out flowers or wide-stretched eyeballs. Even a makikarp head statue. The signs were either too smudged to read or another language entirely. And while they were all unique, Kate could tell there was something similar about all these places.
"Strange." Wendy looked around. "They're all restaurants."
"I wonder where everyone is." Kate said.
The walk through the park was led by Sven, who tried to track down the scent. Not entirely hard, what with the smell getting stronger. Kate saw that some restaurants had lanterns strung across and even more unusual designs. Was this the center of the park, where all the action was? How cool was that? Suddenly, Sven broke into a run and went to one of the restaurants.
"I found it!" He called out to the others.
Everyone hurried the pace and joined him. It was a bar style seating arrangement. Sit on the stool, get food off the counter, kitchen in the back. There were the sounds of stream bursting from one of the soup bowls. Kate found lots of giant bowls containing different foods; all sitting on the counter. Most of it she had never seen before though it looked scrumptious. The aroma made her starving.
"Look at this!" Wendy gasped, resting on one of the stools.
"Hello in there?" Sven shouted to the kitchen. "Anyone work here?"
"Come on in, Kate." Keith said.
Kate shook her head. For some reason, she didn't want to. Granted, she was hungry but Kate felt like she shouldn't be doing this. A sense of dread overcame her once more.
"Anybody?" Sven tried once more, hoping for a response.
Nothing. The back kitchen was dark and empty. Almost as if it wasn't used at all.
"Maybe we can pay the bill when they get back?" Wendy suggested.
"Sounds good to me." Sven agreed.
He and Wendy went to get plates while Keith reached over for one of the strange foods near him.
"This is delicious!" He said, biting into it. "Kate! You've got to try this!"
"I-I don't want any." Kate declined.
"Relax will ya?" Sven said, coming over with a plate of food. "We've got this all under control."
"We were in the car awhile. You feeling carsick, rookie?" Wendy asked.
"I think so…" Kate mumbled.
She tried to shake off that feeling so she could sit down and relax. But why wouldn't it go away? Why did this ominous sense tell her this was wrong, that it was dangerous to be in this place at all? Maybe it was just car sickness after all. Kate, now feeling ill by the food's smell, left the restaurant and looked out into the empty street.
A walk would do some good. This place was interesting enough to explore and getting lost didn't seem possible. Besides, the others would be awhile before they finished up. Surely the rangers wouldn't notice if Kate was gone for more than a few minutes.
With that, Kate started to walk through the streets of the theme park.
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You know in the beginning of the movie with that feast? Always made me hungry. Got me craving chicken ramen all the time.
Anyways, hope you liked the new chapter! The next one's coming soon!