Jaret King belongs to aggies2015

Viola Almach belongs to Ariesbird

Juliet Grey belongs to Dolcebrio

Seria Day belongs to Kittynip

Ryuu Sinclair belongs to Tendou Souji

Cody Frost belongs to Hodge Podge '97

Victoria Reed is belongs to Lord Farquaad


Ryuu was nearly out of sight and Virgil found it difficult to keep up. Thankfully, he wasn't the only one. Jaret, Viola and Juliet were all there beside them, moving as quickly as they were able. Somehow, Ryuu was still able to move much faster than they were despite carrying the extra weight.

"He's really moving," Virgil grumbled. Jaret left the remark to silence, just as everyone else did.

"Hey," They all stopped and turned to juliet, none of them noting Ryuu vanishing far into the cave. In seconds, Viola had already seemed disinterested, her features falling back into the usual analytic person she was quickly becoming known for; Virgil and Jaret were the only ones paying actual attention to her. Juliet found a sudden shyness run through her for a short moment.

"Aren't you gonna say anything?" Jaret gave Virgil a familiar elbow in the side. "What? It's just a question." Juliet interjected.

"Did any of you see the expression on his face?" The question caught Viola and Jaret's attention alike and Viola looked to her with a nod. Jaret gritted his teeth with a countenance something just under feral.

"What did you see?" Jaret felt Virgil's eyes shift on him again. He was quite aware that Virgil was seemingly always on edge whenever Ryuu was brought up. It was more than likely because of his own reactions, but it didn't matter.

"He was...angry. Way beyond that actually. More like seething. I can't even describe it.

"What else?" Virgil made a face at Jaret's low growl. At the very mention of Ryuu's name, Jaret was nearly exploding with hostility. It was much worse. How was it that the memories in Violet City burned so strong in his mind? Juliet shrugged.

"I don't know. It was really quick. Then he darted off saying we needed to get to the srine before Marus, wherever that is. Besides, Ryuu showing any real emotion is just plain weird. He's always operating around that photo fetish of his." Virgil wrinkled his nose in disgust.

"Did you really have to say that?"

"Yeah, because it's probably true."

You guys, take a look at this." None of them heard Viola, so she poked Jaret, who jumped startled. He tripped over himself then, tumbling into the ground. He sat up and rubbed his face a bit before getting back to his feet.

"Ow...you could've just asked Viola."

"I had, but I had been standing there for nearly ten minutes, so I decided I had to get at least one of you guy's attention. You just happened to be the closest. She laughed. "But still, look where we are. We're here in the Dragon's Den, and in this fork in the passage no less." Virgil scanned his surroundings, realizing Viola had a point, even if he didn't understand why she had made it.

"How did we miss that...?" No one bothered to answer. "No really. Can one of you gu-" Vila raised a hand to hush him.

"Do you hear that?" They were all silent. Faintly in the distance of the left path, they could hear the clamor of rushing water.

"I'm not quite getting it." Jaret's voice softened in admittance.

"What I'm saying, is that Ryuu is carrying a unconscious Seria in his arms and she's covered in her own father's blood..." The memory cut fresh and she saw a twinge of emotion in Virgil's face and the somber self-cursing that both Jaret and Juliet had made. Viola cleared her throat and pushed the image away. "He may be trying to salvage what little of her innocence she has left. It would be quite disturbing for any right-minded person to wake up covered in blood..."

"So you're telling me that you want us to split up to have a chance at finding the Holy Land and keep an eye on Ryuu?" Juliet inquired. Viola nodded and Jaret shrugged.

"Fine by me," muttered Virgil.

"I'll go after him then." Jaret skimmed over thei faces, finding oddly that there were none of them that objected. "If he tries anything funny, then I'll take care of him." The words were more so to himself than anything. His hands were balled into fists then he was abruptly sprinting into the dark before disappearing after Ryuu.

"I suppose that leaves us three." Viola said with a sigh. She wore a seemingly defeated tone and Virgil sighed at her expression in annoyance.

"Fine, I'll keep an eye on him. I know that Ryuu will get under his skin and make him do something stupid anyway." This time Viola went to object but he hushed her and then turned to go after Jaret.

He was stopped suddenly as Viola gave a yank on his collar. He nearly stumbled, and nearly tumbled back onto her.

"What was tha-"

"We need to draw out a plan first. We don't want to go running blindly into another one of those traps Marus has planned do we?" Virgil shook loose from her grip and he dusted himself off then.

"If you don't want me to go looking after your boyfriend, then just say so!" Viola flushed.

"N-no, it's nothing-"

"Too bad for you he's a friend of mine. Good luck on getting me to listen!" Virgil turned toward the left path as well and was soon sprinting after the other two trainers. Viola shook her head a few seconds later.

"How did I let that happen?" Viola cleared her throat again. She had in earnest been taken aback by such a bold comment that her reaction more than likely gave away exactly how she felt about Jaret. She had expected teasing from Juliet, but instead got nothing. She didn't turn to confirm what she had suspected.

"Juliet," There was no response and Viola let out another sigh and she turned if obly to humor herself. Juliet had left as well, leaving Viola there at the fork alone. Viola looked to the right path, the only other possible placer she could've gone. "Oh great, now what do I do...?"


Virgil kept up his pace then suddenly slid to a halt. His lungs were burning with the smell of coal and rock. It was a wonder that he wasn't choking.

"Hey Viola," he said through choked breaths. "Got any ideas on how to clean the air?" She didn't give a response and he grunted. "Are you really that mad about me calling you out? I mean, it was something anyone with common sense could see. There was still no answer and he frowned. "Hey, would you say something?" He turned then to find that Viola wasn't there at all. He had left not just her, but Juliet back at the crossing paths as well. He had hoped they would've followed him as a means to break the indecisiveness of the situation.

Instead, they let him run off.

He cursed and started off again back toward the crossing paths.


Juliet figured that she should've stayed in place. Hell, she probably should've warned them. Viola was probably pinching her brows in frustration wondering how in the world could she find her or Virgil when there was only one of her and two paths. Of course, she didn't think Viola saw what she did, nor would she or Virgil understand. Every single person she had met had all been only-children,. At least that was true as far as she knew anyway.

Still, there was something strange about what she had seen and completely impossible as well. Juliet had caught wind of her when she had been staring at her with those eyes. Prominent and a developing iris of green. She had always told her that those eyes of hers would pull guys like a magnet. It appeared as though captivating eyes were a traits bequeathed to them by their mother.

"Eve..." What was she really looking at? What had she really seen? How was something like that even possible? She came to a steady halt, aware just then of the multiple stings of the cuts on her legs. She spared a glance to her blouse, and then to her hands, finding that neither looked too spectacular.

Something grabbed hold of her and she turned. Her eyes met her sister's. Juliet felt her breath hitch. It was her. It was really her.

"But how...?"

Eve wound her arms around Juliet tight, her face awash in tears and it brought Seria to mind. The elder sister felt a horrid amalgamation of guilt and disbelief. Juliet felt herself frowning. But why? Eve was here with her, alive. But none of it made sense.

Eve's crying slowed to a small hiccup, but there was nothing more. Eve rubbed her eyes, a genuine smile painted across her features. But still, Eve remained quiet. It was an eerie quirk to Juliet, especially considering that in life, she had always been optimistic and always talking. Eve's smile dropped, noting Juliet's own grim melancholy.

"Eve...You...can't be alive..." Juliet saw the pain on the girls face, as almost s if she knew she wasn't really there. It was such a bittersweet reunion, Juliet thought. She would've never looked to Eve with such a sadness before.

A flicker was cast in Eve's eyes. Couldn't she speak? What kept her from doing so? Juliet had tried her best to read that sudden shift in Eve's face. It was something akin to acknowledgement. They were-had been sisters. Eve seemed as though she understood her sister's horror, and why she looked upon her with such disbelief. How long had it been since she had died? Was death such a massive event that it made her own sister fear her?

Juliet wanted to shake it all away like a bad dream. She shouldn't fear her own sister, even if she was somehow here. She had essentially raised the girl, her mother taking the duty off her hands sparingly; she had been far too busy flaunting their fortune. She had even been the most devastated when she had died, given that her parents did share that same pain. It had only struck her that much deeper. An elder brother of hers had set out years prior to that. She wondered if he had even the slightest idea of what had happened. Juliet just wanted to know, to understand.

"Eevee, talk to me...Why...how are you-" The girls eyes lit up. "Alive...?" And then they darkened again. Eve shook her head timidly, almost fearfully. Juliet read the words on her lips, taken aback by the fear that had suddenly been scribbled into Eve's face.

No.

Juliet paused. There was no voice to Eve. She had read her lips, but no sound came from them.

"I couldn't hear her...?" Eve took a step back. "Wait!" Eve shook her head again and turned on her heels to flee. Juliet kicked off after her, dodging the crevice and uneven land of the cave as she worked her way through an increasingly narrow path. The distance between them was closing rapidly and she reached out for Eve. She was close, so very close.

Until her foot caught something.

Juliet blinked once and she was soon laying flat on the cave floors. Her body ached and she felt that some of those menial cuts had widened a bit. Her carefully picked shorts were mottled in a mixture of dirt and blood. Ordinarily, she would've cared, but it was outweighed by much more pressing matters.

She was there on her stomach for a fleeting moment before getting back to her feet, though her right foot felt as though she had smashed it against a brick wall. Her eyes adjusted to the dimness and she found Eve just beyond her eyesight. Juliet only made an effort to watch her eyes. People had often told her that she was a dead giveaway because of her eyes; she wondered if Eve shared the same trait. Juliet found nothing and cursed her luck. Maybe she was the only one with such a handicap. Or maybe she was just bad at reading people.

Eve stayed rooted in place, watching her with those same eyes. She appeared frightened of something, but not of her, though having the look directed at her was hurtful all the same. At least she knew how Eve felt when she had done the same thing to her. Eve was obscenely passive. her loss of innocence reminded her so much of Seria that it made that same feeling of guilt stir in Juliet's chest. A part felt as though Seria was actually replacing her actual sister.

"Why...?" She had asked that question so many times and overtime, Eve would remain passive and in observation. The silence weighed on the tension even more until it snapped. "Why won't you tell me anything!? Why can't you speak to me...?" Juliet's voice wavered. "I just...want to understand...I deserve that much, don't I? I know it's my fault. I should've been there to save you...but just...help me understand..." Eve made a slight cringe, but responded underwhelming-ly with a simple shrug of her shoulders, still accented by sullen eyes.

Her sister's hysterical voice cooled, but she did not slump to her knees. Juliet was a bit too prideful for that, even if her emotions were being tried to the utmost limit.

"I was there...I saw you and I did it." She pulled something from her pocket. "No matter what, I always make sure I have this..." Juliet chuckled to herself. "You wouldn't believe all the trouble I went through to keep this from getting stolen.." It was a small, golden locket in the shape of a heart. It clicked open and Eve gazed upon it with a horrified squeak. There were two sides to it, each with a picture not unlike every other locket of its kind.

What had cut deep to the bone was that it had a very familiar picture on the left side. It was the both of them, both sisters posing in their own accord or something like it. Juliet had originally gone for appeal, something she had seemed to always have a talent for, but Eve had decided to rush in at the last moment, intentionally throwing the picture off and the camera had clicked, resulting in a very awkward Juliet and a proud Eve. juliet had told her that she'd never live it down, but instead, she had kept it as a keepsake.

The other one was a world apart,and eve ran a hand through her sandy brown hair, more so because that was the first thing she had noticed was missing in gratuitous amounts. Her eyes fell across the rest of the distorted face, her face. It was shredded beyond recognition and the whole of it was left nothing short of mesh. A piece of her face had actually been missing, making for a horribly gory photo.

And Juliet kept that as well, as a reminder.

Eve gagged at first. She remembered the snippets of pain here and there, how the Luxray had torn her hair from the roots, how they had clawed her systematically, gutting her, biting her in a tortured rage, or how her skin tore like paper under their claws. Her hand passed gently over her face, through her hair and then to her eye.

"Do you understand?" Eve was quiet. "Do you, Eve...?" Juliet huffed slightly in frustration. Eve nodded and her mouth trembled a bit. A moment, later, Juliet was falling backwards onto her bottom and Eve was scurrying away. This time, Juliet left her to be. She knew that Eve had felt exactly what Juliet had been feeling since that day. There was still nothing explaining why Eve had been standing there before her, completely revived and appearing as she did in the locket. Eve was running, but it felt like she was running from something else and not her.

There was a small squeal, something like a whine. She glanced down and found what she probably had tripped over, and why her leg hurt so damn much.

An infant Larvitar clutched to her leg with a warming smile. It mad a small yip and clutched lovingly to her leg.

"Oh geez..." Juliet frowned again and the Larvitar grinned back at her. It let go and stepped back from her a small bit. She knelt down to the Pokemon then. "Sorry, but..I'm a little busy. I can't be 'mama' right now." Larvitar cocked his head absently before grinning yet again and jumping to her. Juliet caught the Pokemon , though it knocked her over. There seemed like there wasn't a choice. The Pokemon had probably imprinted her and she was now essentially "mom".

A garbled noise cut through the cave then and Juliet turned her attention to a massive flare of lights. She cursed when she realized what techniques it had been. She knew a Teleport when she saw one, which only meant Victoria had shown up, again with her Cossette.

"I just have the worst luck..." A Gardevoir was there, its "dress" flowing elegantly, even if Juliet knew the Pokemon otherwise, but now, she was sitting captive to a Pokemon thief who didn't seem quite so stable. She turned her attention and it was as she feared. Victoria Reed sat there, propped up against the wall, a poke-ball already in hand.


A/N: I sincerely apologize for such a wait and such a short chapter. I would type a full explanation here, but that will be covered on my profile. As I've said, my access to a computer cut hideously short, but the story is not dead and I do have another chapter that still needs to be typed. Also, I was forced to use wordpad in order to have this typed up and I don't feel too great about it. However, I do appreciate you readers Thanks again.

~Reknownst