Hello my few followers. Sorry this chapter is a day late. I've had a HUGE week and weekend and so this chapter is a bit rushed and I am ultimately unsatisfied with it, but I figured I should post something so here it is :)

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"Dad?" I called as I stumbled closer to the tree line I had seen through my window, "Where did you go?" I could have sworn that I had seen him outside of the window. I wasn't losing my mind, it was him. It had to be him. I could never forget that figure. I couldn't have possibly seen his face but his outline, his hair, his stature, everything about that figure standing by the tree line was my father.

I was barefoot and in my pyjamas as I padded over the grass. Eventually the ground became scattered with dirt, rocks and fallen tree bark, all digging into my feet and making me wince with each step. Before I knew it, I was at the tree line, peering into the forest, squinting in the dim light. I could hear the pokémon's eerie chatter, and the aura that I got from the forest sent shivers down my spine.

"Dad?" I whispered into the darkness, slightly scared being out there on my own.

Suddenly, a Pokémons' wailing blasted at my ears, making me cringe and step back from the trees. The Pokémon kept on screeching, and I held my hands to my ears. It sounded like it was in trouble, or in pain. Its helpless cry brought tears to my eyes.

'But there's a Pokémon in there! It's hurt. I can hear it.'

The memory startled me. But then I realised… the crying of that Pokémon was exactly like the one all those years ago.

'Well then we'll have to go in there and help it. Together. You and me, Serena.'

"But where are you dad?" I mumbled pitifully. He wasn't with me this time, and I was scared. I felt a tear spill down my cheek and I hurriedly wiped it away. I was not going to cry. Not at a time like this. Not when that Pokémon in their needed my help.

I took a deep breath and treaded into the forest. I followed the Pokémons' cry until it felt like it was so close and so loud that my ears would explode, but I still couldn't see the Pokémon. The dimness of the forest wasn't helping either.

The Pokémons' wails seemed to echo from all around me, and I turned on the spot helplessly, trying to find where it was coming from. I tried to see through the darkness, but I could barely see my hand when I stretched it out in front of me. I felt panic set in. Which way did I come from? Where am I?

The ground rumbled beneath my feet, and it felt familiar. Like laughter. I felt cold.

Stupid girl. The dark and cold voice echoed into my brain, audible through the Pokémon that was wailing somewhere in this forest.

"What the hell do you want?" I screamed, my head aching and my limbs growing heavy.

The ground rumbled again. You're trying to save that Pokémon, aren't you? How admirable, little Serena.

"Answer me!" I fought through the emptiness that was settling over me like an icy blanket.

But you can do nothing, just like your father could do nothing. Speaking of whom, isn't that what drew you out here? The voice mocked.

"Where is he?" I pleaded, "Give him back to me."

The voice chuckled, As you wish.

To my left, a shadowy figured blinked into sight. I turned in utter shock. There he was, my father, just standing there, right in front of me. He smiled and I took a step towards him, then another, and before long a sprinted towards him and threw my arms around him. He hugged me back. "My little Serena." He whispered.

"Dad," I choked back tears.

"Why did you come here?"

I pulled away from him and turned my head in confusion. "Because you…. The Pokémon!" I remembered the wailing, and tuned my ears in on it, but all that there was, was silence. "What happened to it?"

"You don't remember?" My dad said.

I turned to face him, but he had disappeared. "Dad?" I shouted, desperate, "Dad! Where did you go?"

"Right here," the voice came from behind me and I spun around to see his shadowy figure, but it seemed… transparent now. His face was shrouded in a black mist, which glowed with two red dots where his eyes should have been.

You should remember what happened all those years ago, Serena, The voice had taken over my fathers, and it drilled into my mind. It made a tsking sound. I'm disappointed in you. Shall I refresh your memory?

"No…" I cried, "No!"

But my vision was turning black, and I couldn't stop the sudden pull of the memory.

'Well then we'll have to go in there and help it. Together. You and me, Serena.'

Together we tracked through the forest, following the wails of the injured Pokémon. Eventually we found it, a little Pidgey, and its wing was broken. I fluttered on the ground, trying to righten itself, but falling flat each time it tried. It cried out for help, and its wails were cracked with pain. It broke my heart.

Cautiously, my dad and I approached the helpless Pokémon. It squawked with concern when it noticed us, but eventually calmed down enough for my dad to gently lift it up in his arms.

"What have you done to yourself?" My dad said to the little bird Pokémon, his voice layered with sadness. The Pokémon chirped, its call laced with the same sadness, mixed with its own pain.

"Daddy," I whispered, a tear spilling down my cheek, "Will the pidgey be ok?"

My dad looked at me, and I could see the hurt in his eyes, but I didn't understand it. "Yes, Honey," he said through gritted teeth, which I thought was supposed to be a smile, "It'll be all ok. I'm just going to take the Pokémon away for a moment, ok, Honey? It will be fine, I'm just going to stop its pain."

"Ok, Daddy!" I exclaimed, "That's good."

"Say good bye to the Pokémon, Serena," my dad said sadly, for some reason, "We may not see him again. Once his pain is gone, he will be a free Pokémon. He will travel wherever he wants and play with all the other Pokémon."

My dad carried the Pokémon away into the bushed, and I waited where I was. I smiled when the pidgey's crying was stopped, because

I knew that my dad had helped the bird. He had saved it.

...

I opened my eyes, a tear sliding down my cheek. I hadn't realised back then, when I was so young, what the fate of the helpless little Pokémon was to be. I had no clue about what my dad had actually done. Of course, I had realised it a few years later, but by then, my dad was already gone.

You know what happened to the Pidgey, Serena, The voice boomed, causing me to remember my situation.

I realised that I was still in the forest, lying on my back in the soft dirt. "Yes," I said weakly, barely audible to my own ears.

Death is everywhere, Serena.

"I know."

Do you know what happened to your father, Serena.

"No," Now tears flowed freely, as I understood what the voice was trying to imply.

Don't give in child, came a whole new voice in my head. This voice seemed calmer, and much more peaceful. Don't let it affect you so. Do not fret. I will protect you from this evil for now. You must focus on the tasks that you are about to face.

And with those words, the voices faded into nothingness and I was let sitting in the grassy plane, all alone, wondering if I was losing my mind. Both presences - the dark, menacing one and the peaceful one – were gone.

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Thanks for the support peoples and please keep on letting me know what you think :) PM and reviews are so appreciated :)) And it's now late so goodnight