Five days have passed since Melissa decided to stay with Sophia and Aaron. During that time, the brunette has been teaching the ex-roserade everything she knows about being a woman, letting her know how do dress and take care of herself; her teachings have been more in depth than Aaron's.
Sophia was currently located in the guest room, sitting on the bed within the room and using the laptop Melissa gave her. On the screen was various pictures of clothes that Sophia wanted get, each one filling the ex-roserade with glee. The clothes on screen were currently on sale at a nearby clothing store that Melissa planned on taking Sophia to.
"They're all so pretty, I want to try them all on...' She thought.
A sudden crash emerged from the kitchen, interrupting Sophia's awe at the clothes. She closed the laptop and went to the area to investigate what happened. When she arrived in the kitchen, she saw Melissa sitting on the ground next to the refrigerator. Near the brunette was scattered pieces of a plate and small pieces of bitten food, which must have fell onto the ground well Melissa fell.
"Dammit," she groaned in low voice. "What's the stupid combination to this thing?!"
She was referring to the lock Aaron placed on the refrigerator door, which effectively kept Melissa from opening it. She got up and tried to pry the lock off with her hands, but the lock stayed connected to the handles of the fridge, not letting her through. The brunette pulled harder, but soon lost her grip and fell to the floor with a large thud, groaning in pain afterward. Sophia, who was watching from the doorway, couldn't help but chuckle at the brunette's attempts. Melissa however overheard the ex-roserade's laugh and whipped her head towards her location, smiling as she did.
"Sophia! You know the combo to this thing, right?" Melissa asked quickly, earning a nod from the white hair girl. The brunette's smile increased before she said, "Weeeell? What is it? I need to know! I'm starving!"
"She's not going to tell you," Aaron said, appearing behind Sophia in the doorway, glaring at Melissa. "And you're not eating any more of my food, not until dinner."
"Whaaaat?!" Melissa whined. "But that's hooouuurs from now! Please Aaron, I'm begging you!" She tried using the lillipup eyes trick that Sophia was secretly teaching her behind the black haired teen's back. The brunette's attempt however failed, due to Aaron not being effected by the eyes.
"Clean up that mess," he told the brunette before returning into the living room.
Melissa pouted at her failure, then turned to Sophia. "Why didn't it work?" she asked.
"You're not putting enough cuteness and sadness that's required into the stare." Sophia answered, getting a annoyed groan from the brunette. Melissa reached out to the broken pieces of the plate, cleaning up the mess she made and cursing the lock while doing so. Sophia laughed quietly once more before she started to return to the guest room.
"Another person has gone missing today." A voice from the TV informed, gaining Sophia's attention. She saw that the television was tuned to a news channel, which had a picture of a teenage boy's face. "If anyone has any details on his last known whereabouts, please contact the Unova Defense Force with this information, thank you."
Sophia heard Aaron sigh, noticing that he was sitting on the couch. "That's the fourth person that went missing this week," he said while holding his head with one hand, covering most of the stern look on his face.
"People have gone missing?" Sophia asked, learning about this just now.
Aaron gave her a small nod. "Some of them were pokemon trainers. They and their pokemon have disappeared without a trace," he said quietly, seeming depressed.
"What is it?" Sophia asked, sitting down next to him. "You never look this sad."
"It's... nothing," he whispered. "Just remembering the past is all." Sophia put one of her arms around him to slightly embrace the teen, trying to cheer him up. He cracked a small smile at her actions. "I can always count on you for a smile, huh?" he said, making the ex-roserade blush a bit.
At that moment, Melissa entered the room, finished cleaning the mess in the kitchen. "What's going on?" she asked.
"We were talking about some of the people that have gone missing," Sophia replied.
The brunette went silent for a couple seconds, her expression darkening a bit. "Missing people, huh? The ones that disappeared without a trace?" She questioned, earning a nod from the ex-roserade. "Sounds exactly like what happened to Ryan," she whispered.
"Ryan.' Sophia recognized the name. He was another childhood friend of Aaron and Melissa. He, like the brunette, accompanied Aaron on his journey, acting as a encyclopedia on pokemon. On the rare occasion were the party's spirits were down, he would crack a joke or two in an attempt to cheer them up, usually succeeding in doing so.
However, just about a week before Aaron retired, Ryan vanished without a trace, which confused Sophia. She knows that he would never leave without saying something first, and yet he disappeared, leaving nothing behind.
"He was... like a brother to us," Melissa whispered. "Always smiling and saying puns that would make you cringe. And now, he's just... gone."
The room was filled with an uncomfortable silence after the brunette said that. Aaron and Melissa stared at their feet with pained looks on their faces, both saddened at the memories of their missing friend. Sophia frowned sadly at the depressing air and tried to think of something that would lighten up the mood.
"H-hey, we shouldn't be moping around," she finally said, breaking the silence. "I know, how about we go shopping like we planned? That'll brighten up the mood."
Melissa glanced at the ex-roserade, then smiled lightly. "Yeah, you're right, we shouldn't be all sad-like," she said. "Let's go, it's a nice day outside anyways." The brunette approached the door and opened it, revealing the heavy rain that poured outside. Thunder echoed through the skies, showing signs that the storm wouldn't let up. Melissa glared at the darkened clouds above, not happy with the outcome. "Screw you too, nature!" she yelled.
Sophia grabbed two umbrellas that were near the door, handing one of them to Melissa. She put on a pair of black boots, then looked back at Aaron, who was still sitting down on the couch with his head down.
"Aren't you coming?" Sophia asked.
"O-oh, right." Aaron looked up at the duo near the door. "I'll meet you guys at the store, I'm gonna stay here for a bit."
Sophia gave him a small nod before walking outside and opening the umbrella, which shielded her from the heavy rain. Melissa did the same, then lead the way toward the store, leaving Aaron behind at the house.
As the duo made their way through the city, Sophia felt a wave of unease wash over her. She didn't know why, but she felt as if someone was watching her. However, every time she would glance behind herself, she couldn't make out a single soul following them. She decided to walk closer with Melissa, doing whatever she could to feel safe. Once they got to the clothing store, they saw a sign on the door that read 'closed'.
"Oh, that's just perfect!" Melissa yelled, angered by the sign. "Absolutely perfect! My luck is through the roof today, isn't it?!" She glared at the dark clouds above, letting the rain fall on her face. "Well nature, do you have anything else to throw at me?! Because if you do, get it over with already, I'm dying to see what it is!" The rainfall increased, earning a low growl for the brunette.
"Now now, there's no need to get upset. I'm sure it's raining for a reason." A sudden voice called out from behind the duo, making them turn around to see who said it. A woman was standing there, dressed in a militaristic outfit that was mostly black and purple. Her face was covered in a black mask, and a dark purple helmet was on her head. "For all we know, this rain could be putting out a fire, or watering plants, or it might be helping someone in a pokemon battle." She continued.
The mysterious woman took a step forward, which made Melissa and Sophia take a step back. "W-who are you...? What do you want?" Melissa asked with small traces of fear in her voice.
"Oh, that information is not really important right now," the woman said, then looked toward the ex-roserade. "Come with me... Sophia? It's Sophia, right?" she asked.
"Wh-what...?" Sophia whispered, shaking in fear. "H-h-how do you know my name...?!"
The woman laughed quietly. "Sweetheart, you'd be surprised how many people know your name and what happened to you," she said, which made Sophia incredibly silent. "Oh? You thought that it was secret? Well, to general public, sure. But to us, we know all about what happened to you, my dear little roserade."
"She knows?!' Sophia felt terrified at this point, not knowing what to do. "How does she know?!'
"'We'?" Melissa questioned quietly. "Whose this 'we'?"
Rather than answer her vocally, the mysterious woman just snapped her fingers in the air. From the shadows, several people and pokemon emerged and approached the duo. The men and women wore similar outfits to her's, but instead of having a purple hue to the clothes and helmets, it had a dark green to them. Sophia backed up even more as they got closer. Melissa however stood in front of the ex-roserade in a defensive stance, wanting to protect her friend.
"If you think I'm just gonna let you take her, you're terribly mistaken," she said in a shaken voice, but stood confidently in front of Sophia.
The woman sighed at the brunette, not impressed by her bravery. "You look like you have potential, you could've been a worthy asset to our cause." She grabbed a handle to a certain object that hung from her hips. "But right now, you're in our way. And people who decide to get in our way..." She pulled out a sword from its sheath, then held it towards Melissa. To the duo's shock, the blade was covered in a yellow fire-like substance. "... Must be exposed of." She finished.
Not a second later, the woman dashed toward the duo, holding up her sword to strike Melissa down. The brunette's eyes widened as she got closer, and she shut them tight once the woman swung the sword at her, bracing for the slash.
"Melissa!" Sophia screamed in terror.
Clash!
The sound of metal hitting metal rang through the air, along with sparks flying all around. A figure stood in front of Melissa, blocking the mysterious woman's strike with a saber; said saber was covered in a blue fire-like substance. When Melissa opened her eyes, she gasped at the person in front of her.
"A-Aaron?!" she yelled.
Aaron pushed into the sword lock, keeping the woman's weapon at bay. Not only was his saber covered in the fire-like substance, but the rest of his body was covered in it as well. Both Melissa and Sophia were horribly confused as to what was happening.
The mysterious woman gasped, her eyes were filled with surprise and terror. Taking advantage of his opponent's shock, Aaron quickly rammed his foot into her stomach, kicking her away from the sword lock and forcing back several feet.
"I-it's him!" the woman shouted at the other men, women, and pokemon. "Capture him!"
Following her order, the men, women and pokemon charged at Aaron, pulling out various weapons that could cause serious bodily damage. The teen walked forward, not deterred by the group of people charging at him. Two men jumped at him once they got close enough, preparing to strike him with their blades. Aaron held up his saber and blocked the strikes, not putting much, if any, effort into it. Then, he pushed the men back and slashed them with incredible speed. The two men gasped at the sudden cuts, then fell over to the ground, motionless.
"Did... did Aaron just...?' Sophia thought.
"Bastard!" Another woman ran toward him with a war hammer, preparing to swing it at him. Aaron ducked before the strike could hit him, then slashed his saber at the woman's abdomen. She, like the men before her, gasped in pain before slowing falling to ground, writhing in agony. A bisharp charged at him soon afterward, swinging a night slash at the teen. Just like the strikes from before, Aaron dodged the attack by side stepping, then proceeded to hit the metal pokemon with saber, making it collapse.
"What... what's going on...?" Melissa whispered, not believing what she was seeing. "This... this is a j-joke, right? This is all just some sick joke, right?!" she whispered to no one in particular.
"Get the white hair girl!" A sudden cry came from another group charging at the duo. "She's the objective!"
A shiftry was the closest one charging at them, its eyes filled with malice. But before it could get too close, a green sphere flew threw the air and crashed into the dark type pokemon. It cried out in pain as it was thrown back towards its' comrades, crashing into them. Sophia looked to were the green sphere came from, seeing a silhouette stand on top of the store's roof. The bodily figure was feminine, and her hand was extended toward the group that was charging at them before.
"Did she make that sphere?' Sophia questioned in her mind.
The silhouette jumped down and landed next to the duo, making herself visible. Her outfit was similar to that of a Unova Defense Force uniform, but it was green and had pieces of light armor on her shoulders, forearms, chest, and legs. The helmet she wore, however, was different from a UDF's. The helmet covered the top portion of her head, but the rest was visible, showing off her rather pale skin.
The woman pulled out two sabers and stood in front of the duo in a defensive stance. Like Aaron, she too was glowing in a fire-like substance, but it was green instead of blue. Aaron approached the woman and stood by her side, taking a stance as well. They glared at the forces that tried to attack them, ready for battle.
"We... we can't take them both at once! Not with the forces we have right now!" One of the opposing men exclaimed to his comrades. "Fall back!"
The men and women pulled out metal spheres from their pockets and threw them at the ground. A second later, a thick smokescreen covered the area, making it difficult to see. Once several seconds passed, the screen started to disperse, showing that the opposing forces have disappeared. The bodies that were cut down were gone as well, leaving behind small pools of blood.
Several more seconds of silence filled the air, no one uttering a word. Sophia stared off into the distance, trying to figure out what just transpired. Melissa was on her knees, her eyes were wide as dinner plates, filled with shock. Rain continued to fall onto the group as they remained quiet.
"... Alright." Melissa finally spoke up, breaking the silence. Aaron and the woman next to him glanced her way as she stood up. "I have one question for you, Aaron." She slowly made her way to the teen. Once her got close enough, she grabbed him by the collar of his shirt and brought his head close to her angered face. "What the hell is going on here?!" she screamed.
"Good question.' Sophia thought lightly.