Hallow Town; Sector 66, 1892 "The Cold Era"
*Yawn* "What a dream. Gasp! Today is the day!" Aiden jumps out of bed with intense excitement. "Today is the day Professor Eldridge will give me my first Pokemon! Today is the day I become a Pokemon warrior! Woahhh!" He lands too quickly on the wooden floor of his quarters in the professor's orphanage and slips, falling flat on his back. "Owww.." He mutters in a daze as someone approaches the opened doorway. "Awake already, I see? I'm hoping you don't start your journey as carelessly as you seem to have started your morning. Hahaha!" Aiden looks up, still flat on his back, gazing upside down. There stood Eldridge, smiling in the doorway. "Master Eldridge!" Aiden stands up quickly, paying a respectful bow to his elder. "Gather everything you will take with you on your mission child. Once you do this, meet me at the center boneyard on the edge of town. Aiden, it's finally time, your induction awaits." Eldridge says proudly to his pupil. "Sir!" Aiden responds while continuing to bow. As Eldridge disappears into the dark corridor of the orphanage, Aiden feels as if nervousness has moved in where confidence and excitement should be. -Aiden's thoughts- "This is it… Today is the day I begin my quest. I'm 13 years old now and I've trained tremendously for this, failure is not an option. Team Rocket has tainted this world and has made it so no one can fight back without getting slaughtered like livestock, I'll put a stop to them once and for all.
The rocket militia and their pokemon are extremely powerful and cruel, and the king is the most terrifying. Master Eldridge is giving me his blessing along with my first Pokemon, there's no way I can let him down. I wonder what Pokemon is destined to be my partner. Whatever it is.. I do hope it accepts me as a worthy partner. After all, a bond is only as true as the mutual respect that it must contain, that's what Master Eldridge has always told me and his words have only led me to a guaranteed conclusive truth." Aiden quickly gathers his things and gears up for his journey. His inventory consisting of: seasonal outfits (Snow/rain overcoat, full finger rubber alloy gloves and Boot protectors), water bowl, rice bowl, chopsticks, a shelter tarp and sleeping pelt, sparking flint and tinder, 38 count 9" projectile daggers, 120 ft spool of fishing line/steel hooks, gunpowder based projectile explosives 300 count, along with his father's pendant and the clothes on his back.
Fully equipped, Aiden rushes down stairs, says goodbye to his friends and the professor's aide Miss Joycelia, and heads for the front door to be on his way. "Aiden!" Miss Joycelia stops him in his tracks holding a packed lunch, a row of X25 healing potions and a satchel of X50 Pokeballs (Monster Capsules). "Aren't you forgetting something?" She says with a warm smile. "Thank you Nurse Joy, you've been so kind to me my whole life, I don't know what I would do without you ma'am!" Aiden said to her as he packed everything into his bag. Joycelia begins to tear up as she throws her arms around young Aiden and embraces him tightly. "I've always believed in you Aiden, your spirit carries many ties into destiny. Don't ever change the way you are… One day Aiden, I believe you will bring light to this dark dark world. The world is a dangerous place, so remember to always remain vigilant. Don't ever give in to the darkness. Bring the light with you everywhere you go." Nurse Joy was the first war orphan Master Eldridge had ever rescued besides Aiden, though she was only 8 years old when he took her in, she's shaped up to be a kind and compassionate mother figure to all of the rescued orphans, including Aiden. She hugs him tight and lets him go. "Don't worry Nurse Joy! I won't let you down." He says with a smile on his face. She watches him leave the orphanage with tears in her eyes.
-Nurse Joy's thoughts- "Go and find your destiny young one. Master Eldridge and all of us are always with you." Aiden emerges from the orphanage and looks back at the great tower Eldridge constructed all those years ago, in honor of and memorial to everyone who gave their lives in the final battle of Hallow town and even beyond that. Since then, Hallow town has been uninhabitable by Team Rocket troops, for only few beings on the planet could survive travel through the eerie acres that surround the town, essentially protecting the town from further enemy invasion. Even those with the ability to fly, perish mysteriously while flying over this hellish forest of death.
The level of casualties have stopped being documented a long time ago however the professor's orphanage has rescued many abandoned and lost children who somehow survived the forest's desolate journey. Currently, Eldridge's tower is the only livable shelter in Hallow town, and is large enough to be considered a stronghold. The whole point of its existence is so Eldridge can shelter and protect any passerby war orphans as well as to expand the reach of modern technology for geographical understanding of navigation, upon the research and study of people and Pokemon nature alike.
"I'll make sure war never hurts this place ever again." He says as he anxiously heads towards Center Boneyard at the edge of town to meet with his mentor. Despite the town resembling a place hit by nuclear fallout, Aiden and the other orphans considered Hallow Town their true home. As Aiden ran down the desolate, long dirt roads, he passed many uninhabitable homes that were destroyed during the Hallow Town massacre and salvaged for parts by Eldridge in order to construct his Pokemon tower orphanage.
Aiden felt as if his ancestors were watching over him on his journeys. "This is my journey, my fate, and my destiny." Aiden thought to himself. "I'll become a hero just like master Eldridge and his Father before him Lord Xiro! My parents Ava and Desmond were the most amazing, though I never had a chance to meet them, I know they are with me always within the confines of my very spirit! So that means I'm obligated to never let them down.. I will become a hero, just like you.. that's a promise!"
As he looks forward through the sunset lit town, Center Boneyard approaches. It starts to lightly rain, Aiden could see the faint silhouette of his professor's shadow standing in the dim rays of the sunset while rain gently showered the graves of the fallen. The sun slowly descends over the scene, rain and breeze dance around the graveyard as Aiden walks through the vine wrapped metal gate."Master Eldridge!" He approaches his teacher.
"I'm ready sir!" The Liberator smiles a warm heroic smile. "Hahaha! You sure are my boy! I can proudly say that you have conquered the trials, suffering and grief that your training has brought you throughout your lifetime. I have decided that I haven't any knowledge left to pass onto you child. Though room for improvement has its inevitabilities, your journey's from here on will teach you the rest of what you need to know to fulfill your destiny. Today you graduate from my tutorials, today Aiden, you are a Pokemon Warrior! Congratulations Aiden, your parents would have been so proud of you."
Eldridge grabs a Pokeball from his pocket and hands it to Aiden. "This is Eevee, also known as the Eon Spirit. Are you familiar with this Pokemon?" Aiden throws the Pokeball and summons Eevee for the very first time. He smiles as Eevee jumps into his arms with a heart warming glow. With excitement in his eyes Aiden replies. "Yes sir! The Eon Spirit is a warrior's familiar or guidance companion sent from the creator Arceus in Outer Haven! Eevee is also a multi-evolutionary Pokemon, meaning it can evolve into various different elemental versions of itself! Eldridge smiles "Hahaha! I've taught you well my boy! I'm so proud of you! Now you can find your true potential within yourself and your new partner. However Aiden this journey will not be easy, I want you to listen to me carefully my boy." He takes a scroll with a mysterious small stone attached to it from his satchel and hands it to Aiden. "Take this scroll message to Crowley of the Ancient Dragons, he's an old friend of mine. Convincing them of alliance is normally an impossible task, for they have locked themselves away ever since the Team Rocket raids began. You are the one person in all of Agoria that can get through to them, I know this in my heart Aiden. The Dragon Clan's stronghold exists within Wyvern Pass where the mountain terrain is so treacherous, only the elite and worthy may cross over into their domain. Wyvern Pass exists beyond the Eerie Acres that blanket our humble home of Hallow Town. I believe in you child, make your mother and father as proud as you have made your instructor. May Arceus guide you in all of your journeys Aiden!" He leaves him off with that.
"Thank you Master Eldridge, I vow to never fail! That's a promise!" Aiden and Eevee walk towards the winding path through the graveyard that would lead them to the entrance of the Eerie Acres. "Well Boy, I hope you're ready because it looks like we're going through the haunted woods first unfortunately." Eevee whimpers and looks a little scared. "It's okay buddy!" Aiden reassures Eevee. "I'll never let anything hurt you, we're friends now and I never abandon my friends. That's a promise!" He says with a smile. Eevee feels confident in its partner's abilities and presses onwards.
*"You should really train that Eon Spirit before leaving town." "Gasp!" Suddenly an eerie voice startles Aiden and Eevee. They turn to face whoever or whatever just snuck up on them. They shudder in fear as a young man appears, leaning against a building wall just off of the path. He stood there with his arms crossed and his eyes closed with a calm uninterested look on his face. He wears sleeveless armored apparel that resembles a skeletal structure complete with a cowl and cape that looked almost like black fire coming from his back and shoulders. The sword and shield that hangs from his back looked ancient and scary to Aiden. The man also had markings that covered every inch of his flesh besides most of his face. Six Pokeballs line the back of his belt, indicating he isn't an ordinary warrior. "Who are you?" Aiden replies with false confidence in his words. The mysterious man opens his eyes and they are blood red. His glare pierces Aiden and Eevee with fear, leaving them almost paralyzed in their tracks.
He walks towards Aiden with a stoic stride, the markings on his flesh begin to crawl around on his skin and his cowl floats as if a dark spirit surrounds him and possesses his ghostly aura. He stops beside Aiden standing adjacent to him facing the opposite direction. Aiden senses a confusing yet familiar waft of energies. "I sense you can handle yourself in battle, but you have no tactics involving your partner here. The world is an unforgiving place for the weak and ill prepared. I don't recommend you leave until you know how to fight with your Eon Spirit." The eerie man says. "I don't know who or what you are sir, but I have an important task to take care of! So if it's all the same to you scary guy, we're just gonna be on our way." Aiden replies hastily trying to end the interaction as Eevee cowers on Aiden's shoulder. Aiden and Eevee speed walk away from the mysterious man. "Train with your Eon Spirit, kid. Those Dragon lovers won't be convinced of an alignment without a battle, and a good one at that." The young man said as Aiden gets farther away and closer to the edge of town.
"Wait, how did you know..." Aiden says as he turns towards the man. "Huh!? He's just… gone!" The young man disappeared without a trace. "Well that was strange wasn't it boy?" Aiden says to Eevee. They both walked another couple blocks before the entrance of the Eerie Acres grew closer. "Well Eevee it's just you and me! Time to be brave and venture forth, no matter what stands in our way!" Eerie still silence met with a cold breeze as the rain finally stopped. "Heheheh…" "!" Aiden suddenly senses danger and prepares to defend himself. "Who's there!?" He says aloud. "Show yourselves! I know there's more than one of you! So come out and face me!" Aiden's confidence was only a facade, he was truly horrified at what may come out of hiding, for he knew something was waiting to ambush him at the entrance of the Eerie Acres. "Hehehe… Hey, you're pretty smart for a squirt. Too bad you ended up here." Two tall, rugged looking men stepped out from the shadows smiling a wide stomach turning, rotten smile. Their decaying teeth were blackened with grime and blood, as if they had been chewing on raw meat for the entirety of their despicable lives.
"Looks like you were just in the wrong place at the wrong time baby boy! Give us everything you've got including that little Pokemon of yours, it's not got much meat on it's bones but it'll make a fine jerky roast! Looks like you'll suffice for our main course tonight kid.. I wonder, which one of you tastes better slow roasted over an open fire? Hehehehe…" These men are nothing but low lifes and delinquent cannibals, who must have been hiding out at the edge of town after somehow making it through the Eerie Acres. They smelled of something utterly foul and they looked roughed up, like their journey had been all but kind to them. The path of corruption they have chosen, has led them inevitably to this very moment. Right now Aiden and Eevee are in a troubling situation and must use all of their wit and courage if they want to leave here alive. *Whooosh!* "!?" Suddenly the eerie young man from earlier appears in front of Aiden and Eevee, a ghostly aura following in his path. "Huh? Who the hell are you?!" Said the bandit to the mysterious figure, though he offers no response. He stares at them blankly with his glowing eyes of pure crimson. He then looks back at Aiden and says, "I'll take care of this."
The bandits felt extremely uneasy about this opponent before them, awaiting their next move as fear began to rattle down their spines. "We found this little war orphan, so piss off! He and his possessions belong to us!" They both pull weapons from their backs, one with a short sword and the other with a sickle and chain. Aiden and Eevee are frozen in place, paralyzed with fear. "Last chance you red eyed freak, get the hell out of our way and we won't add you to our menu! Walk away now!" The eerie young man continued to stare blankly offering no response. "Have it your way!" The bandits yelled as they threw two Pokeballs in an attempt to summon their partners, however the Pokeballs shake only once and do not open. Something prevented them from summoning, something dark and cold. "What!?" The cannibals began to tremble, for they realized the eerie young man standing before them was no man at all.
"What.. what are you!?" They yelled as they were now the ones paralyzed with fear. "I know men like you.. Scum of the earth.." the young man said as he takes two single steps towards the cannibals. "Men like you crumble before creatures like me.. dissolving into your fear and pity like prey to your predator." The young man's inscriptions begin to glow and wildly dance around his flesh while his eyes glow even brighter than before, piercing the ever tormenting darkness that surrounded the thugs. Wind begins to rapidly blow the scenery, carrying the eerie moans and cries of tortured spirits. "You feast on the innocence of helpless children and young Pokemon alike. You leave your putrid stain on the lives of those who cannot yet defend themselves, only to gorge your gluttonous appetites." His voice sounded more distorted as if he had multiple voices coming with every fear inducing word he spoke. The cannibals scream helplessly as they stare into the eerie young man's eyes. "Stop! Please!" They pleaded as they were brought to their knees. The eerie young man looks up and says,"Looks like you were just in the wrong place at the wrong time.."
The thug's screams then transitioned into choking and wheezing. As they began to grab for their necks helplessly, their bodies twisted and cracked into contorted positions and every orifice on their faces began profusely bleeding and leaked heavily onto the earth beneath them. The moon and stars in the evening sky reflect themselves onto the puddles of gore as well as the eyes of the eerie young man. Aiden and Eevee are frozen and traumatized from witnessing the cannibals shake violently as their insides are turned to a boiling stew and made a compulsory exit through their nostrils, ear canals, mouth and eye sockets. Their bones protruding through every joint and tendon severed by shattered bone, and through that, the wounds created oozed their very essence. Death would be their only blissful relief.
The young man looked back over his shoulder at Aiden with the sinister shine of his menacing glare, he smiled a wicked half smile that startled Aiden, making him fall on his back just barely catching himself. Soon the bodies of the cannibals lay still and lifeless, cold and dead. "Your suffering is over for now.. scurry away to your gods and answer to them.." The eerie young man said with his voice returning to it's normal singular tone as it was before this horrific encounter. "What.. What have you done to them?!" Aiden says with terror shivering like the driven snow through his voice.
"You'll learn what this world does to innocence eventually.. You'll find your place among darkness, where all of the light hides beneath the shade. Your path begins with these wretched Acres, a place where only the most violent of creatures live and the stench of death permeates throughout. Remain vigilant, the Acres aren't as forgiving as these lowlife cannibals were." The eerie young man disappeared into a shrouded dark mist as his voice carried over. "Look for me on the other side kid, if you are true to yourself, you will make it there and if you do, I might just tell you my name.."
Aiden quickly gets up onto his feet and yells, "Wait!" *Aiden's thoughts* "What just happened!? That was the most terrifying thing I have ever witnessed.. who is he? WHAT is he?!" He looks at his petrified Eevee and says,"I guess there's nothing left to do but press on little buddy. Think about it.. if he has the ability to do that to them, and he hasn't done it to us, then maybe he will be a powerful ally! We have to find him and learn his name and maybe his secrets too. Are you ready to keep going Eevee?" Eevee nodded in agreement and put on a brave face as they pressed on past the mangled puddle of the cannibal's remains, and finally breached the infamous Eerie Acres.
Arc 3:
The Phantom Sun;
EERIE ACRES
As Aiden and Eevee walked past the sharpened black brush and rotten vegetation, they entered into almost pitch black darkness. The only visibility available to them consisted of only five feet in front of their eyes, though that was even blurred by the immense darkness. As Aiden walked, he could make out many pairs of glowing eyes and mouths in the distance as well as the wailing, sobbing and disembodied moans from lingering ghosts of the past. Looking up made it seem like the trees and brush had somehow grew together and formed a sort of ceiling for the forest. "Hyyyyyp, noooooo." A sound abruptly cut through the mesh of whispers and groaning, breaking the dreary silence. "Gasp! What was that?" Aiden said out loud. Suddenly a large Hypno appeared out of thin air before Aiden. "Gyaaahh!" Aiden yelled out in fear as he raised his arms trying to shield himself from the unsettling creature. "Hyyyyp, nooooo." The Hypno said as it then disappeared just as quickly as it appeared before. Aiden then walked more slowly and cautiously as he did not want any more surprise encounters. The manic whispers and desperate violent screams of ghostly entities filled the air along with the smell of carcase and rotting flesh.
He looked around and tried to make out any objects or figures in the dark, however to no avail nothing could be clearly seen. Eevee cowered on Aiden's shoulder as Aiden petted it's head gently, trying to comfort it as much as possible but the truth was, Aiden was just as terrified and uncertain as Eevee was. "Don't worry Eevee! We're gonna make it through this safe and sound, That's a promise!" Aiden said to his petrified partner. "I've got an idea, I'll make us a torch!" He said with confidence. Aiden walked towards the edge of the thin, winding trail and felt around for a tree with branches he could break and bundle together to make his torch. "Here's a perfect one!" He says as he reaches for a brittle branch on one of the thousands of menacing looking trees that seem as if they were weeping eternally. *Snap!* He broke the branch and severed it from the tree. "Graahhhh!" "Huh!?" Suddenly Aiden realizes that the tree he just snapped a branch off of was no tree at all, to his own horror the tree was alive and snarling viciously as it uprooted itself and began to chase Aiden. As the tree moved, Aiden noticed a dead body hung from a branch, looking as if the person had committed suicide out of desperation of losing their way in this hellish forest. He didn't get a good look at the body but from what he saw it looked as if it was half rotten and had been hanging there for a long time. "Ahhhhhh!" Aiden sprinted as fast as he could through the pure dark, cradling Eevee in his arms, protecting him as he bolted blindly through the forest with adrenaline coursing through him wildly. As he's running he notices most of the vegetation he passes also begins coming to life and chasing him as if he disturbed their slumber.
Aiden looks back just to peek at the horrors unfolding behind him and notices all of his enemies are pokemon! Suddowoodo, Carnivine, Yamask, Haunter, Trevanant, Phantump, and many more were chasing him like a horde of the undead, not showing any sign of stopping. He ran until his heart felt like it was going to fly out of his chest from beating at such a rapid pace, meanwhile Eevee is so afraid it can't even open it's eyes as Aiden carries it in his arms. He can feel the ground trembling beneath him with the heavy stampede of steps behind him on the forest floor as they get closer.
Finally as Aiden manages to get some distance between him and the horde, he sees a narrow passage off of the main trail. "That's it! If we can make it there we can hide out for a while, and maybe find an alternate route out of this freaky place!" He says to Eevee, out of breath and panting. He picks up to full speed, he needs to get as much distance as possible between him and them if this is going to work. "Rrrrg! Here we go!" He makes it to the cut, and throws himself into the brush of the narrow passage. The brush is rough and prickly resulting in Aiden and Eevee getting cut up pretty bad from the impact. However, the horde runs by ignorant to their location and continues barreling down the forest's main path in hopes of finding Aiden. *Pant* *Pant* "We… *Pant* *Pant* We did it buddy!" Aiden says to Eevee completely exhausted. Eevee is laying in the dirt out of breath as well and damaged from the breyers pretty badly. "Oh no! Are you okay boy?" Aiden says, concerned about his partner's injuries. He examines Eevee and pulls out one of the potions Nurse Joy gave him and some bandages.
"There you go bud. This will fix you right up." He cleans Eevee up and picks him back up cradling it in his arms again. "I'm so sorry Eevee, I promised you I would never let you get hurt and I failed you already.. I'm so sorry my friend. Can you ever forgive me?" "Ee...evee!" Eevee replies weakly as he leans up to Aidens cheek and licks it gently before falling back into his arms. "Thanks buddy, i'm so lucky to have a friend like you." Aiden then lays down his tarp and places Eevee gently down on it to rest while he tends to his own wounds. *Tends wounds* *Healing* "Ahh.. There we go. Good as new! Alright Eevee are you ready to keep going?" Aiden says. Eevee nods and walks off of the tarp. Aiden packs the tarp up and everything else they had just used and presses on down the narrow passage. As they walk Aiden hears a voice crying up ahead, and this voice was different from the disembodied voices that carried throughout the forest constantly. This voice sounded real, like a human girl was sobbing in the distance. Aiden was afraid but he knew that there was no turning back and they had no choice but to follow the crying voice. It seemed to him that the closer he got to the voice, the more he could hear only the crying and nothing else, everything else was completely still and silent. "Hello?" Aiden said reluctantly, in attempts to call out to the voice. The voice offered no response, it only continued to weep and sob eerily. Aiden shivered as a dense cold swept over him and ran chills down his spine.
As they walked forward the sobbing grew more violent and seemingly uncontrollable, Aiden could now make out a figure sitting knees up and facing the opposite direction of Aiden. It was a young girl, she couldn't be any older than Aiden was. Her skin as pale as snow and her hair as black as coal, she sat there with her face buried in her arms and knees crying hysterically. As Aiden and Eevee got closer, the crying got more hysterical. "Hey are you okay?" Aiden said, still as reluctant as ever. She was now screaming at the top of her lungs with a piercing screech as she cried and shook violently.
Aiden now felt colder than ever as if he were shirtless and soaking wet in a snowstorm. The wind began to pick up and blow the brush and trees, whipping everything around relentlessly. "Hey! Stop crying! It'll be okay!" Aiden yelled through the storming wind and the screaming little girl. The girl stopped crying and stood up, slowly turning towards Aiden while the wind whipped and slashed everything around them. "AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" The girl looked into Aidens eyes and let out the most vicious scream he had ever heard from any living creature in his entire lifetime. Her face, as it revealed itself, looked mutilated with flesh ripped and torn from itself. "AHHH!" Aiden and Eevee covered their ears as the girl disappeared in a flash.
The wind stopped, the crying stopped, Aiden opened his eyes and uncovered his ears and the girl was gone. He no longer felt freezing cold, then the disembodied voices and whispers came back. "I… I don't even understand how so much horror can exist in one place, especially a place so close to home." *Sniff* *Sniff* "Huh? I smell something… I think it's.. Smoke!" Aiden looks forward and he could see thick smoke that now blanketed the already impossibly thick darkness. "Let's follow it boy! Maybe that's our way out!" He said to Eevee with excitement. They began to run through the smoke trying to hold their breath as long as possible, but the smoke wouldn't let up. "AHHHHHHHHH!" In the distance they could hear the screaming of that little girl again. "Is that her again?" Aiden asked, as they continued to run through the smoke desperately trying to find a way out of the hell in which they had found themselves. They ran as fast as they could, as they were finally making out shapes through the smoke. "Hey! I see a house!" Aiden yelled to Eevee. Through the smoke was a tiny cottage that looked like no one had lived in it since long long ago. "Where almost there! Keep going Eevee!" As they made it out of the smoke, before them was the cottage they saw however what they didn't expect was for it to be on fire burning rapidly. Within that they could hear the unmistakable cries for help and painful screams of those who got caught up in the flames.
"AHHHHHHHHH!" "AHHHHHHHH!" "Help! Help!" Screaming and crying, it sounded like children trapped inside the burning home. Though Aiden was unsure if the flames had gotten to them yet by the sounds of the screams. "We have to help them boy!" Aiden quickly ran up to the front door and tried to push it open, he could hear banging on the other side of desperate victims trying to escape. The door wouldn't budge no matter what Aiden did to try and open it. "Hold on! I'm gonna get you out! Back away from the door!" Aiden had an idea hatch into his mind. He reached for his bag and bundled up some of his gunpowder explosives and attached them to some fishing line. Then he tied the bomb to three different throwing daggers. His plan was to blow the door open with enough firepower to at least loosen it if he couldn't successfully breach the cabin.
"Okay! Here I go! Everyone back away from the door! I'm going to blow it open and let you guys out! Please stand clear of the door!" Aiden tried to warn everyone banging on the door to back away but they continued to bang on the door screaming in pain and agony as if they couldn't hear him at all. "Please back away! I don't want to hurt any of you! Please! I'm trying to save you!" Aiden pleaded for them to back away but quickly realized he had no choice, he needed to blow this thing open now or these people were all gonners. "Alright! I'm doing it now!" Winding back, he launched the three daggers and beamed them directly into the middle of the doors. He watches as the flames ignite the explosives. *Booooooom!* A wicked explosion instantly crumbles the door, reducing it to nothing but ash and debris. Likely the rush of sudden oxygen caused the explosion to magnify. Aiden runs into the burning building without hesitation, and bursts into the doorway, effortlessly pushing past the flames. He could still hear the screams of the victims as the smell of burning, melting flesh creeps into his nostrils. *Sudden change* *Subtle rushing of wind* "...Wh.. What's going on.." Aiden says calmly in extreme confusion. It seems the cabin he had just entered was not on fire nor could he hear the screaming anymore, even the smell of burning flesh only slightly lingered. "I.. I don't understand, how is this even possible.. I know this place was on fire, I know it for sure.. And the screaming, the victims.. It all seemed so real..." Aiden looked around the cabin, it was burned to the point where over half of it was exposed to the outside. Everything inside was either charred and black or just simply ash, there was no sign of life whatsoever only, sorrow. There was however, a wooden eating table and two seats that looked like they were used recently. There was also a horizontal slow roast pole over a fire pit with rocks surrounding it on all sides, as well as blood stains everywhere with charred pieces of bone within the ashes.
At this point Aiden was beyond confused, he felt more psychologically tormented. He didn't know what to believe anymore, what was in front of his face or what was in his mind. "Eevee, you saw that too didn't you boy? You saw the fire and you heard the screams?" Eevee looked at Aiden confused and distracted with fear. "Hmm… Maybe I'm just letting this place mess with my head.. We shouldn't get sidetracked from our mission. Let's find a way out of these woods once and for all, buddy!"
Eevee liked the sound of that, it climbed up onto Aiden's shoulder again as they pressed onward, walking out of the cabin ruins. *Thud!* "Owww…" Aiden tripped on his way out and landed on his face, Eevee expressed worry for his partner and his mental state. Aiden got up onto his feet and cleaned himself off as Eevee jumped back up onto his shoulder. *Whoooosh!* "Huh!?" Suddenly, the little girl from earlier appears in an instant! Everything freezes as Aiden feels the cold creeping up his spine just like before. She stares into his eyes with hers glowing a raw, dead yellow and lets out a wickedly horrendous screech as her jaw unhinged like a snake's would. "GYAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" Aiden and Eevee, face to face with this banshee of a spirit, feel the full intensity of her screeching. It clawed at their eardrums and scratched through their minds disgustingly. "GYAAAAAAAAAAA!" As it carries on, Aiden is frozen in place as she places her pale, veiny hand on his forehead covering his eyes completely. *Flash!* -*Aiden is being shown a vision of what happened to the little girl*-
"Hahahahahaha! Round em up Vero! Hahahaha! We're gonna eat good tonight! *Stab* *Stab* Said Xato the Cannibal to his brother Verroh. *Stab* "No! Please! Let us go!" Said Dahlia, the lost war orphan. "Ahhh! Dahlia! HELP!" Yelled Dahlia's kid brother Navi. "HAHAHAHA! Quit struggling boy! Accept your fate! *Stab* Think about it like this, Pokemon eat each other in the wild, it's called the circle of life son.. Survival of the fittest, you and your little friend here just found yall's selves on the wrong end of the food chain! *Stab* *Stab* Hahahahaha!" Said Vero the Cannibal. "Looks like yall were just in the wrong place at the wrong time.. Hehehe…" "AHHHHHHHHHHH! Navi! Noooooo!" *The despicable Cannibals capture the brother and sister. They then kill them slowly for their own sick pleasure.. While stabbing into them violently, they cut off pieces of the children and force them to watch while they eat the small, raw pieces they cut.. Then they proceed to cook their remains and eat it all, leaving nothing but bone, teeth and fingernails.* "Now that was a good meal! Hehehe…" Said Xato. "Your damn right Xato, now.. Let's make sure everythings under wraps here. Leave all the inedible sick children in the bedrooms, bar this place up and let's burn it to the ground! Hehehe.."
"No… Those thugs from earlier.. They were the ones who did this.. This should have never happened.. I'm so sorry they did this to you." Aiden says. As he came out of the vision, the girl continued to wail and scream. The wind continues twisting around the scene violently, though now Aiden reaches his arms out to the wailing spirit before him and embraces her calmly with confidence in his actions. Slowly the screaming tones down to a calm him, then to silence. "You're safe now.." Aiden says holding the spirit close to him. "Leave it to me.. You can rest now.." The girl fades into black and materializes into her normal, calm looking self and then fades into the light, joining her brother on the other side. Aiden drops to his knees and begins to tear up as he stares blankly. "I will never, let anything like this happen ever again.. Dahlia.. Navi.. I'm so sorry.." *Wind Blows faintly* Aiden looks up and gets onto his feet, "Let's do this Eevee. We need to get a move on if we ever want to get strong enough to protect anyone." Eevee nods in agreement and follows it's partner's lead. Aiden's path is clearer now and his mind is now in a much better place.
Eevee begins trying to get Aiden's attention, letting him know that it senses something. "Eeeeevee! Eeeveeeee!" It yelled repeatedly, pointing Aiden in the direction of a sleeping Zubat that was hanging upside down off of a tree branch with its wings folded over itself like a blanket. "Alright! Good eye Eevee! Time to make our first catch! Aiden and Eevee sneak up to the sleeping pokemon trying not to wake it, as to have the advantage. "Now Eevee! Quick Attack!" Aiden yelled as Eevee sprung into action running up and kicking off the two trees in order to reach the Zubat. "Eeeeeeveeeee!" Eevee made contact with the zubat knocking it down to the ground. "Great job boy! Now one more time!" Eevee launches another quick attack at the falling Zubat and misses! Zubat dodges the Eevee in midair and counter attacks with supersonic! "Get out of the way boy!" Aiden tries to warn Eevee but it gets caught in the attack. "Eevee!" The Eevee tries to regain its vision and equilibrium but crashes into a tree and hurts itself in its confusion! Zubat then uses leech life, but misses Eevee as it snaps out of confusion! "Alright! It's not over yet! Use swift attack!" Aiden says to Eevee, it then launches a barrage of energy shaped like throwing stars at the target and makes perfect contact for this attack cannot miss.
"That's the way to do it! Nice one boy! Now let's finish this!" Aiden yells as he throws one of his pokeballs at the weakened Zubat. Zubat goes into the pokeball but struggles every inch of the way in a tug of war. The ball shakes once.. "Come on.." Then again. "Almost there!" Then it shakes once more.. And locks! Aiden caught Zubat! "Yeahhhh! I Caught Zubat!" Aiden jumps up and down with intense excitement in celebration of his new team mate. "The road ahead will be rough, but I promise Zubat, we will work together and create an unbreakable bond overtime and I'll keep you safe every moment you stand by my side!" Aiden says to Zubat as he heals it with another one of his potions from his bag. They continue on down the narrow pathway, this time with a confident stride and a purpose in their steps. As they continue along, the voices of the spirits begin to dwindle and the darkness begins to fade. Aiden sees a light at the end of the crooked pathway they have been walking for a while now. "There it is! We did it Eevee! We found an exit!" They start to jog towards the light and notice someone is waiting for them, a figure leaning up against a tree with his arms crossed, his eyes closed and his head down.
"Took you long enough, kid." the eerie young man said, standing there as mysteriously smug as ever. "It's.. *Pant* *Pant* It's you again!" Aiden says to him. "Don't talk, just listen.. We don't have much time before that angry mob of pokemon catches up to you." The eerie young man said with haste. "Beyond this exit is a barrier set up by Team Rocket that wraps around the entire perimeter of the forest and Hallow Town. Beyond that is a campsite with five Team Rocket Grunts patrolling the forest's opening. You won't be able to handle them all at once in head on combat so you're just going to have to figure something else out because I'm not here to hold your hand and fight all of your battles for you, kid.." Aiden gulps in fear, thinking this might be the end for him. "Isn't there any other way? What if Eevee and I start digging a hole!? Then we could.." The eerie young man cuts Aiden off abruptly and says, "Didn't you hear anything I just said? Those pokemon you pissed off back there are actively looking for you and it seems like they're ready to tear you apart.. You really think you have enough time to dig a hole underneath this barrier that's probably buried twenty feet underground? Use your head, kid.." The Eerie young man begins to walk away into the darkness of the forest slowly.
"Wait! You said if I make it through, you would tell me your name!" Aiden yells out to the man. "You're not out of the woods yet kid, I won't bother entertaining any dead men walking.. Keep your head down and stay alive.. If you can manage like you have so far, I'll tell you my name for sure, kid." He replied as his voice trails off and he disappears into the darkness. "Okay! Time to make a plan I suppose.." Aiden wonders to himself, "Let's see, maybe I can make some explosive blades and get a good visual on them from up in a tree and take them all out one by one from the shadows!" Eevee looks at Aiden excited as ever wagging its tail. "Alright! You like that plan boy!? Yeah!? Let's do it then!" Aiden says to Eevee as he grabs his bag and begins to craft his explosive blades. *Craft* *Craft* "Perfect! I've got six Boom Blades! Ready to go! Now to climb up high and get a good visual on my targets." He looks around for a tree high enough to see over the wall. "There!" He points to a tall, thick tree that was wide and had many climbable branches.
They rush over to it and begin climbing upward. "Keep going Eevee! We're almost over the top!" Aiden says out loud. They climbed to the point where they could see clear over the wall and had a clean visual on the campsite. "Okay stop here.." Aiden says quietly to Eevee, "I can see them perfectly." As Aiden poked his head over the wall, he could see a campfire and three out of five rocket grunts. He made sure to keep himself hidden well behind the thick tree branch and the wall. "This is perfect! They'll never expect anyone to be up here! I can see two men and a lady, but the scary guy said there were five of them." Aiden's thoughts * "Two of them must be somewhere else! I even have them separated, this was a perfect plan!" *
The three Rocket Grunts in sight were all around the campfire with their guards completely down. One of them was sleeping and the other two were having a deep conversation and appeared to be smoking drugs of some kind, passing the smoke between them occasionally. Aiden made no mistake in his plan, and watched their every move for about 15 minutes or so just to make sure he didn't alert them in any way, or that the other two didn't immediately come back and join the ones in sight. He listened in on their conversation but it had nothing relevant or useful to Aiden. They only rambled on about how in the future, people are going to discover an island with an abundance of currently existing but alternate form pokemon, and how those pokemon will look insurmountably more ridiculous than their original forms. Aiden wondered back to himself of a tale that Master Eldridge told him of an existing island just like the one they spoke of. *Aiden's Thoughts* "Hmm.. I guess they weren't really far off.. Impressive for a couple of Team Rocket dummies." But that was neither here nor there, Aiden decided it was time to put the two grunts out of their misery.
He knew he needed a distraction to try and lure them a little closer so he wouldn't miss considering he was still a good distance away from them. Aiden reaches for a flimsy tree branch near him and breaks it off of its base. He wraps the tree branch with the dead leaves from off of the tree he was on, and ties it all together with his fishing line, wrapping up a nice surprise explosive bundle hidden in the leaves. After that he ties the other end of the fishing line around the tree he stood on. He then ties his dagger to the branch making it into a spear which gives it proper weight and aerodynamics, then ignites the dead leaves on the opposite end and spears the branch into the ground not too far off from where he was. Now the trap was set, the fishing line went from Aiden's current location to the where he threw the spear. "Huh? Woah man, what was that?" Said the female Rocket Grunt to the male Rocket Grunt. "I don't know, it looks like fire! Lets go check it out!" He replies to her.
"Yes.." Aiden says to himself. As they make their way over to the burning branch, they are hesitant and frightened. The male walks closer but stays back as they carefully examine the burning branch that was sticking up out of the ground. "Well? Go check it out!" The female says. "What!? Why me? You go check it out.." He cowardly says back. "Ugh! You are such a wimp! Just go check it out you dork!" She says. "Fine…." He starts inching towards the flame and as he gets closer he reaches out to grab it. "A little closer.." Aiden says to himself as he stalks the grunts. The grunt grabs the stick and pulls it from the ground with a forced yank. He holds it in his hand and notices a blade tied to it, suddenly he feels a tug. "Bingo!" Aiden says out loud as he pulls the fishing line hard enough to sever it from the branch and tie up the fiery budle tight enough to move the flames closer to the hidden explosive, exposing its tiny wick to the fire! "SHIT!" *Explosion* *BOOOOOOM!* With a detonating bang the branch explodes in the male grunts hand and blows his arm clean off, sending him into immediate shock. As he lies there twitching in the dirt, he slowly is bleeding out and will surely die soon. "AHHHHHH!" The female grunt lets out a blood curdling scream as she falls backwards looking at her friend's face, half roasted with his hair and eyes still firmly ablaze.
Aiden took this opportunity to take down the second target, for he knew her screams had to have alerted the other grunts. To his surprise, the sleeping grunt by the campfire remained asleep. "Here's one for you too!" Aiden yells as he lobs an explosive dagger directly into the grunts forehead effectively silencing her. Seconds after the blade stabs into her head, the explosive ignites and her head splits down the middle and pops into chunks of greymatter and bloody fragments of skull. "I'm sorry you had to see that boy.." Aiden says to Eevee. Eevee was frightened by the ordeal, but seemed to understand the situation fully.
"Heh, what do ya know? The kid's a natural.." The eerie young man said to himself as he watched from the darkness. Aiden's main concern now was the two missing grunts, he decided to leave the sleeping one alone since he slept through two explosions that happened only feet away from him. "Guys?! What happened over there!?" In the distance Aiden hears a voice yelling over to the campsite. "Guys! What was that?!" They yell again as the voices get rapidly closer. Aiden quickly returned Eevee to it's pokeball and tried to hide but it was too late, they had made it to the campsite and immediately spotted the two bodies of their former comrades and Aiden standing next to them. "What the hell!? What are you doing kid!? Who the hell do you think you are!?" Another male Rocket Grunt with yet another female Grunt, that explains why they were gone for so long. Neither of them looked any older than 18 years old. Aiden stood there frozen as they quickly made their way closer to him.
"Answer me dammit! Did you do this?! How did this happen?!" The male grunt said to Aiden again, this time grabbing Aiden by his shirt collar and lifting him. "If you won't tell me what happened i'm just going to have to assume you did this to our friends! You wouldn't want me thinking that you did this, would you? I guess we're just gonna have to…" *Whooosh!* *Slice!* Suddenly, something flew by the female Rocket Grunt at such lightning speed it was almost invisible to the naked eye. The male grunt lets go of Aiden then all of a sudden the female grunt begins gurgling and appears to have blood leaking from her mouth and nose.
"Kiaya? What's wrong!? Kiaya!" The male grunt says to her as her head begins to separate from her mouth. *Gurgle* *Gurgle* *Gurgle* Her head was severed as it fell to the ground with a sickening thud, exposing her bottom jaw with her tongue flopping uncontrollably over her bottom row of teeth. Blood splatter and brain fluids drenched the dirt below her body that fell limp after taking two wobbly steps towards the male grunt. The male grunt stares with his eyes wide as his face is painted with her blood.
"AHHH…!" The male grunt begins to scream but is quickly silenced as a sinister hand reaches into the back of his neck and rips his tongue out along with his spinal cord. Aiden falls backwards as he witnesses these horrific fatalities. The Rocket grunts head goes back, bending unnaturally into a contorted pose, like a body without a spine would. The body takes a couple of slow steps forward and then collapses into the dirt. "Heheh.." Behind the corpse stood the eerie young man with the grunts spine and tongue still firmly grasped in his hand. "Looks like you made it to the other side, kid. You did good.." He said to Aiden with a wicked half grin looking intensely at Aiden.
Aiden gets up off of the ground and says, "Do you always have to be so terrifyingly brutal?" The eerie young man scoffs at Aiden. *Scoff* "You're one to talk.." He replies as he uses the spine to point to the corpses of Aiden's victims. "Explosive projectiles aren't really my style, but they most certainly get the job done.. Way to think on your feet kid. However you froze up there towards the end when the last two targets spotted you.. That kind of rookie mistake can cost you your life if you aren't careful. Nonetheless, you and your Eon spirit are still alive and well.. You did good." Aiden was glad he made it out alive but he didn't feel good about what he had to do to make it here.
"Now that i've made it out, I want some answers.. Who are you and why are you helping me? Why haven't you just killed me like you've murdered everyone else we've encountered together? How did you know those pokemon were chasing me back there in the forest? How do you move so fast? Where did you get that sword and shield you carry? Oh! And what's with your cloak? Are you on fire or something?!" This is the first time Aiden felt somewhat level headed speaking to this man so he took the opportunity to onslaught his many questions. "Look kid, I understand you have questions, we all do. Though, most questions people ask before they have the chance to really think about if they really want to know the answers. Most questions reveal their own answers as time passes, but others remain only a mystery and nothing more. Those are the questions that people regret finding the answers to, once found."
The eerie young man stared blankly in silence as Aiden stared back in confusion. "So… That's it? That pretty much tells me nothing!" Said Aiden with a disappointed look on his face. "Maybe I gave you too much credit earlier..." The eerie young man says sarcastically. "Come on! Would you at least tell me your name like you said you would?" Aiden said pestering the young man further. "Oh that's right, I owe you that much don't I?" He replied. "You can call me… Anzu." Aiden's face suddenly shined a huge smile. "Anzu! So that's your name huh?" He said, looking at him with anticipation. "Um kid, why are you staring at me like that?" Anzu asks. "Well...?" Aiden says expecting something from Anzu. "Well what kid?" He replies this time more annoyed. "Well.. Aren't you gonna ask for my name?" Aiden says with extreme excitement. Anzu walks up to Aiden slowly with a menacing look on his face. "Huh?" Aiden feels cold now and begins to shiver, he is frozen in place. *Anzu reaches out his hand and places it gently on the top of Aiden's head playfully*
"I already know who you are.. Aiden Monarch.." Anzu says to him, breaking the cold tension. "What? How!? How do you know me? I've never seen you once in my entire life.. Huh?!" Just like that Anzu disappeared into thin air again as his voice carried over, "Worry about what's important, kid. Beyond this campsite, there's quite a stretch of land before you make it to Wyvern Pass. You've been through alot, you should find a secluded place to set up camp for the night and rest until morning, see you then, kid.." Suddenly his voice dissipated and Aiden felt like dinner and sleep was a fantastic idea for Eevee and himself, so he then found a nice spot a couple miles away from the Rocket camp site.