Pokemon Mystery Dungeon
Shadows of Ganderosa
Chapter 11
A New Perspective
(Ryan)
Team Rapture was walking away from the altars. Ryan's head was rushing with questions about the different aspects that the fake altars had missed. Why didn't Hazel realize they weren't real? Wasn't it obvious? The writing was all wrong, the erosion was wrong, and that stone was obviously a key. Why doesn't anyone think about these things? Why is it left up to me? Why- his thoughts were interrupted by a low-volume noise that was getting louder with each passing second. Ryan stopped moving. He perked his head up as to catch more vibrations.
"What is it?" Dillan asked.
"Something's wrong..." Ryan stated. "Listen..."
Ryan tried to hear what the noise was. It had a sound like a "thud". Footsteps?
"Ryan-" Hazel started.
"Shh." Ryan interrupted. No, not footsteps... They're too far apart. Maybe... a tail... A massive tail... His thoughts were interrupted by a scream echoing through the cavern. It was a child's scream. Ryan didn't think about his next move, he didn't have any time. He darted underneath Hazel and started running in the direction of the scream. He tried to listen for another one. He ran for about three minutes; though he didn't hear anything. He ran until he came upon a massive room. It had a massive structure made of stone with crystals all over the walls. There were also windows throughout the structure. There was a massive crystal hanging above the building. It casted light throughout the room.
What is this place? He examined the building. He tried peering through windows to see some sign of a kid. Movement from the third floor caught his eyes. He looked towards the window to find a figure obscured by shadow lurking by the window. Ryan grimaced. Dang it... The figure retreated from the window. Ryan ran towards the building. He started climbing it by using the crystals as foot holds. He climbed towards the window that the figure was in. He peered into the room. It was a small rectangular room with a door along the left wall. There was a bed of straw as well as a desk. Ryan crept through the window into the room. He was very cautious for fear of an attack. He walked across the floor slowly over to the table. He watched the door cautiously as he leapt onto the table. There has to be something to tell me about the kid... He scanned the contents of the table. There was a book labelled "The Dark and the Light". There were papers scattered all over. Ryan searched the papers for a sign. He flipped through page after page yet found no sign. Ryan hopped off of the table. He was about to go through the door when he heard a voice call out from the window.
"Baht!" a rhyperior called. "Baht! Get down heah right now!"
A mismagius floated towards the stone pokemon. It stopped and said, "Yes Leon?"
"Baht! We have intruduhs!" Leon said. Ryan swore under his breath.
"Don't you mean, 'Bart, we have intruders'?" Bart asked.
"This is no tahm to get on me because of mah accent! This is urgehnt!"
"I haven't seen any intruders." Bart told Leon in a shrill voice.
"Don't take thaht tone with me!"
"It's the only one I use." Bart said.
"Whell let Borras know about the issue!"
"I will let Borris know, Leon sir." Bart turned away from the rhyperior and floated upwards. Ryan moved away from the window quickly to avoid being spotted. He heard the thumping the ryperior's tail on the stone floor as he entered the building. Dang it! Now I have two more kidnappers to deal with.
"Dill-" Ryan began. He then realized his gabite companion was not there. He had left them behind in the cave. Are they alright? Were they... No, the wouldn't have been captured. The rhyperior, Leon? would have said something... Alright. They're safe... for now. I need to find that child before it gets hurt. Ryan walked over to the door and opened it carefully. He peered through it to find a pathway with three doors along the walls. They all had labels. The one on the left wall said, "Leon". The first one at the right wall said, "Bart" whine the one at the end of the hall read, "Stairs". Ryan looked up at his door. The sign read, "Borris". Oh no...
"Borris?" Bart called. Ryan saw the tip of Bart's hat come through the ceiling. Crap! Ryan quickly slammed the door shut with a loud, "Bang".
"Borris?" Bart called again. "Is that you?" Gotta hide... Ryan looked around the room frantically. His eyes moved towards the bed. No... Underneath wouldn't work... He looked towards the desk. Too exposed... His eyes wandered back to the bed, then the window. Maybe-
"Borris." Bart called through the door. "I'm coming in."
No more time. Ryan made a mad dive for the bed. He slid across the stone floor, scraping his chest, and disappeared in the hay. Ryan quickly turned around, covered the hole, and watched as Bart floated through the door.
"Borris?" he called. "You in here?" Under normal circumstances, Ryan would have jumped at the chance to take on the mismagius; but these weren't normal circumstances. If he were to battle the pokemon, he risked the fight alerting the other pokemon; thus them using the child as a hostage. He couldn't risk that.
Bart drifted to the desk. He looked at the papers that were formed in a messy pile. Ryan held his breath in an attempt to remain unheard.
"If someone is in here, I will not be held responsible for what I do to you." He drifted over to the bed. Bart started scanning the room. He waited for three minutes, trying to listen for Ryan. Ryan's heart was beating quickly as the pokemon floated inches from his hiding spot.
"Hey kidnappers!" A voice called out from the window. To Ryan's horror, he recognized the voice as Hazel's. "Nice place you got here! Where'd you get it; on the corner of dumb and lame?" Ryan sat there in horror as Bart drifted along towards the window and through the wall. After about ten seconds, Ryan came out of his hiding spot and dashed towards the window. The rhyperior from before came out of the structure and ran towards the exit of the massive room. He stopped by Bart's side.
"Is she gone?" Leon asked.
"She just left." Bart told the rhyperior.
"Then we cahn still catch her!" with that, Leon charged down the hall with his tail thumping against the ground. Bart mumbled something to himself that Ryan couldn't catch as the mismagius floated along the path to follow his companion.
Ryan looked along the grounds for a sign of Hazel. There was nothing. He pulled back from the window and sat down to gather his thoughts. Okay... Hazel is obviously leading those pokemon away from this building for some reason... Dillan might have been with her; though what's more likely is that Hazel led them away so Dillan could get inside. That's it! Ryan was about to shout from excitement when he thought about an issue. There's another pokemon in this building. The rhyperior said to tell someone called... Borris... that there were intruders. If I shout, I alert him to our presence;then again, he probably saw me when I came here... I need to find Dillan.
Ryan broke from the window and walked stealthily towards the door. He opened it and walked down the hall towards the stairs. He opened the door which revealed a set of spiral stairs going up to the fourth floor or down to the second. Ryan walked down the stairs to the first floor. He looked around the ground level; but he found no sign of Dillan. That's when he heard a "thud" against the ceiling. Ryan doubled back and ran up the stairs. He opened the door to the second floor and found an alakazam standing over Dillan with it's spoons in hand. Dillan was unconscious.
"What did you do to my friend!" Ryan shouted.
"Exactly what I am going to do to you." the alakazam said calmly as he raised his spoon. Ryan knew what it meant when a psychic pokemon raised it's hand. The pachirisu didn't struggle to break free of the psychic field around him. He focused on the electric current that pulsed through his cheeks as he summoned all of the energy in his body to flow forth as a continuous electrical blast. Ryan's thunderbolt connected with it's target. The alakazam took a step back.
"You fight strongly for a pokemon of your size."
Again with my height?! Doesn't anyone have the least bit of respect?! Ryan gritted his teeth. The alakazam slammed his spoons together in a cross and then he disappeared.
"Teleport?!" Ryan shouted. "Really?!"
"Yes." the alakazam spoke softly from behind Ryan's ear. He grabbed Ryan's arm and they both warped.
It was the worst feeling in the world; as if he had been sucked through a straw and spat out into a mushy pile of glop and fur. Ryan vomited on the floor. The alakazam stood there, waiting. When Ryan was done losing whatever breakfast he had left, he looked around for a moment. They were on the building's roof. The crystal that hung above them was shinning in an array of colors. The light was as bright as a rising sun. It wasn't enough to cause any damage to Ryan's eyes; yet just bright enough to make him instinctively squint. Ryan turned around to face the alakazam who was standing up with his arms crossed.
"Are you done?" the pokemon asked.
Ryan was still gritting his teeth. The taste of his stomach fluids lingered in his mouth.
"Why not attack me now and get it over with?" Ryan asked.
"Because I like a challenge." the alakazam stated. "My name is Borris of Team K. P. You have invaded my home and my base. Prepare to lose."
Ryan's anger turned into confusion. He's a kidnapper and this is a fight! Why is he playing fair? Why is he being formal about it?
Borris made the first move. He clinked his spoons together and a barrier formed around him. It sunk into his skin and created a see-through, glossy skin. Ryan wasted no time for his attack. He summoned a bolt of electricity from his cheeks as it arced into Borris' chest. Borris made no attempt at dodging. He took the attack head on. Ryan grimaced. They normally try to dodge... To Ryan's astonishment, Borris was unfazed by the attack. His skin sparked from the attack. Borris clashed his spoons together and a pinkish aura surrounded his spoons. Ryan tried to avoid the alakazam's gaze as to avoid his move, but the alakazam was faster that Ryan anticipated. The pachirisu's fur stood out as if it had static. His muscles tensed. Ryan gave of another jolt of electricity. Borris absorbed the shock as he raised his spoons and made a throwing motion towards the ground. Ryan flew up into the air and came smashing down with force. He felt his tail twist unnaturally. Ryan gave a yelp of pain. His muscles relaxed as the aura faded from Borris' silverware. Ryan gritted his teeth and dashed towards the alakazam. Borris clashed his spoons together and warped away.
Ryan scanned the roof as he shouted, "Stop running like a coward!"
"I am no coward." the alakazam said calmly from above. Ryan looked up just in time to see the pink slash flying towards his face. Ryan jumped away from the attack at the last second as the pink arc smashed into the floor. Borris drifted downwards slowly.
"You will not beat me with such uncoordinated attacks." the psychic pokemon stated.
"Do you want to talk or fight?" Ryan questioned.
"I want you to try."
Ryan stood there, wondering. I hate this guy! Why is he so calm? He won't fight me! I need him to stand still! He's so unpredictable! I need to do something to get him to fight!
"Should I just put you to sleep like your friend?" Borris asked. That made Ryan mad.
"What did you do to him?" Ryan shouted.
"Nothing permanent, I assure you. He's just sleeping."
I need him to fight... What can I do? ... That might work.
"Let me tell you something." Ryan said, trying to get a hold of his anger. "I know about the child." Borris' expression fluctuated. There. "You won't keep him here any longer. He's coming with my team, you hear?"
"No he isn't." Borris said sternly.
I need to find a way down stairs... Ryan's eyes drifted to a hole on the other side of the roof. The only obstacle standing in the way was Borris. Alright. Now we're talking.
"You can't stop me and my team."
Borris' lip curled into a slight frown.
Ryan rushed the alakazam. Borris clashed his spoons together in order to avoid the attack, or in this case, the fake-out. Once Borris was out of the way, Ryan did not care where he warped to. He darted for the hole in the roof.
"No!" Borris shouted as Ryan dived down the stairs. Once Ryan was out of sight, he sat at the stairs. He heard the air current fluctuate as it always did when someone was floating at high speeds. He waited for the right moment. When Borris turned the last corner, Ryan tackled the alakazam and sunk his teeth into Borris' leg. Borris gave a cry of pain. Ryan then nuzzled his cheeks against the yellow fur. Borris fell and banged on the stairs as his paralysis tightened his muscles. Ryan stepped out of the way as the alakazam slammed into stair after stair after stair until he fell to the floor of the fifth story. Ryan ran down the stairs and leaped into the air. He stuck out his elbow and let all of the energy in his body impact Borris' skull. Borris gave a groan of pain as he went limp on the floor. Ryan felt a surge of pain come into his elbow. He stood up, checking his arm. It wasn't broken, just bruised. He checked the alakazam. He was still breathing, just unconscious. Ryan felt all of the adrenaline leave his body. He felt tired from the fight.
Ryan panted as a pokemon walked up the stairs. He got up, ready for a fight, but relaxed when he saw the blue fins of his friend.
"Dillan." Ryan said.
"Hey." Dillan responded. "What happened? Where did you go?"
Ryan explained why he left. As he recalled the scream, he remembered their mission. He looked at his surroundings. There were five doors. Four of them read "Storage" while the fifth had a piece of paper tapped to it. The paper read, "Jeremy's Room". Ryan looked on with confusion.
"What's wrong?" Dillan asked.
"That room's sign says "Jeremy's Room"." Ryan stated.
"So?" Dillan asked.
"Jeremy is the kid we're suppose to save. Why is his name on that door?"
"Wanna find out?" Dillan asked as he strode to the door. Ryan followed. The door had a knob on it, so Dillan fiddled with it as he tried to open the door. Finally, Dillan stepped back, looked at his claws in annoyance, and let Ryan give the door a try. Ryan jumped at the handle, grabbed it, and opened the door cautiously.
"Jeremy?" he called.
(Ten minutes ago: Hazel)
Hazel knew it was probably their only option, but that didn't mean she had to like it. Dillan's plans always seemed to go only so far; one could even go to call it a half plan. They were never completely thought out. She would have protested, but the longer they argued about it, the longer Jeremy has to suffer. She couldn't live with herself if something happened in the time it took her and Dillan to come up with a plan. Even though this was true, she still wanted a better plan.
"Did I mention how much I hate this plan?" Hazel asked sarcastically. The two were outside of the building. The light from her tail started burning brighter the more she thought about the situation she was in. Dillan was inside the structure, peering out through a window at Hazel who was out in the open.
"Do you know of another way to get to the kid?" Dillan asked with a nervous smile.
Hazel gave a sigh. "No." she said. "but I'll let you know when I come up with a different idea."
"For now," Dillan started. "stick to this one."
Hazel went up to the door of the structure and knocked three times. She took a deep breath and shouted out the best insult she could come up with. "Hey kidnappers! Nice place you got here! Where'd you get it; on the corner of dumb and lame?" Her cheeks started to turn a shade of scarlet. Hazel knew it was ore of an insult to her than the kidnappers; but that didn't matter. She only wanted the enemy's attention. A large stomping could be heard through out the structure. A mismagius came out of a wall on the third floor. Hazel looked at the ghost type with a mixture of shock and fear. Why is it always ghost types?! Her face tensed into a look of complete horror. She whipped around as fast as she could and darted towards the exit like Dillan planned. She dashed into the tunnel. She didn't dare to look back. Memories of her past came rushing back to her like a venomoth to a flame. No! she yelled at herself internally. Focus on the job! She could feel her inner demon's grabbing at her emotions and twisting them up in knots. She started thinking about that one night. Hazel tried to push those thoughts out of her mind as she took a right turn. She didn't realize the rock imbedded in the soil. Her foot collided with it as she rolled forwards. As hazel tumbled on the ground in somersaults, random pebbles dug into her skin with a dull pain. When she stopped tumbling, she instinctively checked her tail flame. It was still burning. Blood rushed to her ears when she felt vibrations in the ground. She looked back; but she couldn't see anything. The stone walls were only illuminated by her tail. She got up, not caring about the stone that clung to her body. She started running back down the hall.
She ran for about fifteen minutes. She found herself coming into the altar room. She started walking again in an attempt to feel for vibrations in the ground. She didn't feel any. Hazel went over to one of the altar and sat down. The memories flooded her mind. She couldn't stop them this time. She couldn't stop them in Poltress either; notwhen the dusknoir grabbed her. They were too strong. She remembered her mother. She remembered the night; that one night that would stay with her until she died.
Hazel had just finished dinner. She looked down at the medal she had won for finding the most objects in a certain area. For Hazel, it has child's play. Her, Dean, and Hailey had ventured into places way more terrifying than her dad's berry field. They had found all ten of the bandanna's they were tasked with searching for and won. Naturally, Dean took most of the credit, but Hazel knew it was just a private joke that the machop had with his friends. They all knew that the team's bond was the real reason they had one; or at least, that's what their parents kept telling them.
"You did well, Sig." Hazel's dad said from his seat at the table. He always sat next to her; he was funny that way. He was like a B.F.F. and a father rolled into one. He would tell the little charmander stories every night about the adventures of Great King Maxamillian. Afterwards, he would tell her how much he loved his Sig. "More than the sky itself." he would say.
Hazel's father was Kalen Prince. He was a bipedal pokemon that was about five-foot seven. His green body came down like a lizard's to a leafy tail. His head was also like a lizard's. His chin was red. His green head revealed yellow eyes.
Hazel always wondered why the grass type wasn't afraid of her; seeing as how she's always on fire. She might have said it was because he loved her, but that didn't explain why he was attracted to her mother. She had the same body; except for the big wings. Hazel's mother had a long neck that stretched out to a head with a pair of horns on the back. Her blue eyes were full of passion. She was a little chubby for a charizard, but that didn't matter to Hazel. Her mother's tail came out to a point that was lit by fire. Hazel loved everything about her mother; from her chubby stomach, to her passion for cooking. She made the best food in Ganderosa.
"Thanks, daddy!" Hazel said with a smile; though she didn't take her eyes off of her medal. Hazel's mother came over to Hazel and kissed her forehead.
"He's right, you know." her mother said. "You did wonderfully. I have o doubt you'll take after your ancestors."
"Who were they?" Hazel asked.
"Sig," her mother started. "Your ancestors were great pokemon who did great things. They helped a lot of pokemon. Of course, there was the occasional bad apple, but most of your ancestors were the best and the wisest pokemon ever. They formed exploration teams just like you want to do with your friends. There's no doubt my little Siggyberry is going to be in one of the greatest exploration teams ever."
"Daddy!" Hazel complained. She hated it when her parents called her "Siggyberry"; though, in reality, she wanted them to say it. To call her something different felt like a change in the family dynamic; and she hated anything normal becoming something different.
"Nope!" her dad said with a defiant smile. "To us, you'll always be our Siggyberry."
Hazel smiled a little before lunging at her mom with a hug. She then broke off and tackled Kalen. He fell off of his seat to the floor. Hazel was on top of him while he had his back to the floor.
"Alright Sig," Kalen said. "Time for bed."
Hazel didn't mind going to bed. As much as she liked having the most fun possible, that wasn't possible without Dean. The machop was her best friend. He was always open with his opinion which came off as rude to other pokemon, but Hazel knew him better. She knew about his parents. To her and Hailey, Dean was as big as a softy as they came; though Hailey usually remained silent about it all until they were alone. Hailey was pretty shy. She always told them it was because she wanted to focus on the mission at hand, but Hazel thought it had something to do with her past; something about her parents. Other than her silence among strangers, Hailey was a starly who loved to talk with her friends. Hazel wouldn't get to see her friends soon until she was finished adventuring in her dreams.
"Okay daddy." Hazel said as she hugged her father tightly and lovingly. Her tail drifted closer to the sceptile. He didn't mind. He knew her tail only burned when she was overwhelmed with painful feelings. Hazel broke from Kalen and tackled her mother. She pressed on her stomach as hard as she could and her mother gave her a bear hug. Hazel giggled as her mother picked her off of the ground. She carried her off to bed as Kalen followed.
Hazel's mother sat Hazel in her straw bed. The roof leaked as the rain came down. Her dad said that the king raised taxes and is making it hard for pokemon to live in a nice home. Hazel didn't mind. She liked the "plop"s of the water in the bucket that was nestled under the hole. On the other hand, her mother hated the water. She said that it would hurt Hazel in her seep; though Hazel never thought it would be so bad. She had felt plenty of pain before and her dad said she had a high tolerance for pain. That didn't stop her mother from worrying. Hazel sat up straight, waiting for Kalen to tell her a bed-time story like he always did. Hazel's mother kissed Hazel on the forehead before leaving the room. Hazel's father came in with a massive book like he always did. The book's cover was damaged from water and dirt, but the insides were still secure. The pages flowed nicely through Kalen's fingers as he flipped through the pages. He usually read the book while sitting in his chair that was always next to her bed.
He sat down and said, "Now then. How about I tell you the story about-"
He was interrupted by a scream. Hazel didn't know who was screaming, but it continued. Hazel's father grabbed Hazel by the waist and picked her up. Hazel had barely any time to react. her father carried her as he ran through the house. He carried her down a flight of stairs into the cellar. It was an empty room with one large door. He set Hazel in the room, looked her in the eyes, and said, "Stay here, Sig."
"Daddy," Hazel started. "What's going on?"
"Stay here." he told her. Hazel's father ran towards the exit, grabbed the door, and slammed it shut. The force brought the wooden plank down into position, holding the door in place. Hazel ran over to the door and tried to open it. The wooden plank was too heavy for her to open the door. She sat there, listening. The screaming was gone. She could hear Kalen yelling from upstairs. There were thuds across the ceiling. Hazel didn't know what was going on. She was terrified. She wanted to know what was happening. That's when it went from terrible to catastrophic. To a child s\who is terrified, that fear needs a name, a face. That face came through the ceiling. The scuffling on the ceiling ended. That made Hazel look up. That's when she saw the pokemon. It was floating, but it had two feet. It's gray body was like a pear. The head had a flowing scarf coming off the neck. The pokemon had one red eye. It stared at Hazel with a nasty glare. It's hands weren't connected to it's body. They seemed to float in front of the pokemon eerily.
Hazel retreated to a corner and cowered. She let out horrific, bloodcurdling scream high enough to break glass. The pokemon came closer. It raised it's hand; its fingers were straight out like a knife. There was a slamming on the door. The wood split in half as Hazel's father came running in. Something was horribly wrong. He was missing an arm. He was grabbing at the wound as he charged the dusknoir. The ghost pokemon dropped his hand, but Hazel's father stepped in the way. He took the full blow to the head. Hazel's father gave a cry of pain. A trail of blood led across the floor from the doorway to Hazel's father. He stood up slowly. Hazel was too scared to do anything. Kalen's expression was of pain, anger, and 's leaves grew into a blade of glowing grass. Hazel's father reacted as quickly as possible. He slashed relentlessly. He didn't seem to notice the seven-year old in the corner, being traumatized by the attacks and the brutality of her father.
Hazel broke out of the memory. Tears filled her eyes. She couldn't help it if that memory is what overtook her whenever she found herself face-to-face with a ghost pokemon. Hazel hadn't noticed the vibrations in the room. She got up slowly and looked down the corridor cautiously. There was a pokemon being illuminated by the blue light. It was the rhyperior, Leon. He was walking towards the room. Dang it! He's still after me...
"You have intruded upon our home." a pokemon said shrilly from behind Hazel. She looked behind her to find the mismagius inches away from her nose. Hazel tensed and started flailing her arms in a feeble attempt to smack the pokemon. She started screaming from fear as she darted towards the rhyperior. She didn't know what she was doing. She wasn't thinking about the major disadvantage she had put herself in by running towards the rhyperior. When she realized the major disadvantage she was put in, she stopped. Leon stopped in his tracks as well. He stared down the charmelion.
"Now," he said with a grin. "thehr is nowhehr to run."
Hazel looked back to find the mismagius blocking her path. Leon was right, Hazel was trapped.
"Leon," Bart said with a hint of urgency.
"What?" Leon asked.
"I need to go. Borris needs help." With that, Bart faded into the right wall.
"Baht!" Leon called through the hall. "Get back heah!"
Hazel relaxed a little. She wanted to hope it wasn't a trap that Bart left; she had to. If she didn't, Hazel wouldn't be ably to fight Leon. She knew that was the option, otherwise, her friends would be over-run. Hazel retreated into the altar room.
"Not so fast!" Leon shouted as he raised his hand. A hole could be seen in his palm. Leon's arm kicked back accompanied by a noise like a shot gun blast. A stone hurled towards Hazel's head. Hazel fell to the floor in an attempt to dodge the rock. The stone made a "fwizz" noise as it flew over Hazel. Hazel struggled to her feet as she clawed at the ground in an attempt to get out of Leon's range. A few more rocks flew by Hazel as she rounded the corner. The blue light showed worry on Hazel's face. Keep it together, Sig... Focus on the opponent. He's bigger than you and probably stronger than you, but you don't need to beat him; just weaken him and give the other's time to finish their battle, then we can all deal with rocky.
Leon whipped around the corner with his tail dragging against the ground. Hazel jumped to the side as the stone smashed into the wall like a mace. It sent small pebbles that pelted Hazel's face. The end of her memory started coming to her head. She tried to focus on the fight; but she remembered Kalen's relentless attacks against the dusknoir. Tears came to Hazel's eyes. She blinked them out as she sent a flame-thrower in Leon's direction. She let the memory of her mother fuel the flame. Leon took the blast head-on. He flew through the flames like a devil in hell. The rhyperior's face revealed fear and worry. That stunned Hazel. That slip in focus left an opening that Leon took. He threw his hand into the earth. Stones jutted out from underneath Hazel. The stones threw her into the ceiling. A dull pain clouded her thoughts. The pain increased and she grabbed her head. Leon stood there with a worried frown. He glared at Hazel.
The running from earlier took it's toll on Hazel. She tried to get up, but due to the pain from the attack, the exhaustion from earlier, and the memory that clawed at her thoughts, she collapsed onto the floor.
Her mind drifted back to her father as he decimated the ghost with one arm. He kept going until the ghost pokemon's screams stopped. Kalen had killed a pokemon in front of her eyes. Hazel looked on in horror at the scene that had unraveled from a peaceful evening that was just like any other; now it was a nightmare Hazel wanted to stop.
"Daddy!" she cried. Tears were streaming from her eyes. Kalen had taken a look back towards his daughter, then he collapsed. "Daddy!"
Thirty minutes had gone by before the Labensian Exploration Team arrived. When they came down into the cellar, they rushed towards Hazel's dying father. There were two pokemon who carried the dying sceptile away while one rushed over to Hazel. Hazel started screaming when the pokemon came closer.
She was a was a bipedal bird with gorgeous purple feathers; but something about the lighting made the pokemon's features look evil to Hazel. She felt an instinctual feeling to cower from the pokemon that she couldn't explain. Later in life, she would come to refer to this feeling as a sort of sixth sense that forced her to fear ghost types. Hazel screamed even louder the more the ghost type approached. When the oricorio realized it was she who was causing Hazel to scream, she backed off with a look of concern and worry. Another pokemon walked up to Hazel. This pokemon didn't have the same feeling or look as the oricorio, so Hazel didn't fear it.
The pokemon was a quadrupedal pokemon with pink and vanilla fur. It had ribbons coming off of it's neck and ear. It's blue eyes soothed Hazel in a way that a mother does a child. The sylveon wrapped its ribbons around Hazel and lifted her onto its back. The ribbons felt like silk. It then walked out of the cellar and upstairs.
When Hazel was upstairs, she found herself in the dinning room. There was the table, the sink, the wash tub, and a tarp across the floor over an object. The tarp concealed most of the object except for the crimson and blue wings of Hazel's mother.
"Mamma?" she called to the tarp.
She got no answer. She never would. Hazel shouted futilely at the tarp. She tried to get off of the sylveon but it wouldn't let her. It held Hazel there softly, yet firmly. Hazel struggled with all her will to break free in the hopes that she could help her mother. She watched helplessly as the sylveon removed her from her house, from her old life; the life with a mother to call her own. The next time she would sit at the dinner table, it would be with her broken family. Kalen would go into depression; but he would try his best to keep Hazel on her feet. Hazel's life, Kalen's life, would never be the same. Hazel's screams would be in vain. She would never get her mother back.
Hazel woke up from the dream, tears in her eyes. She was sitting up. She looked around the room. The rhyperior was there. He was sitting down in front of her. He had a look of concern on his face. Hazel looked at herself. She wasn't tied up or gagged or anything else she could think of that someone would do to their prisoners. She was fine.
Leon saw she was awake. He stood up and said, "You alhight?"
Hazel was stunned by the question. It was full of compassion. "I-" Hazel stumbled. "I'm sorry?"
"I asked if you were alright." Leon said.
"Uh..." Hazel didn't know what to say. She dried her eyes and her cheeks. What's going on? Why is he being nice? Hazel said the only thing she could think of. "What do you mean?"
Leon thought about the question. "I mean, your dreahm. You have been crying."
The rhyperior sounded full of compassion, but Hazel was very confused by what was going on. "Why are you acting like this?" Hazel asked. "We were just fighting! What's going on?"
"Whell," Leon began. "You see, my partnears told me you guys were not bad pokemon. Whe thought you guys were going to hurt hour friend."
"Your friend?" Hazel asked.
"I'll tell you everything I can on my end, but I can only tell you so much... I am not the bhritest pokemon. It would be best for my friends to explain everything else."
"No offense, but I don't trust you."
Leon looked hurt, but he cntemplated his words. "If I was a bad pokemon, you would need to come with me anywheys."
"Why is that?" Hazel asked suspiciously.
"Because if I was bad, my friends whould have yours and you whould come whith me to see them again, no?"
Hazel gritted her teeth. He has a good point. She had to go with him either way. She couldn't abandon her friends. Also, if he was telling the truth, she wanted to get to the bottom of this. If he isn't a bad guy, he's not making a very good argument... Nevertheless, Hazel agreed.
Leon bowed and motioned his hands towards the door with a, "Ladies first."
"Again," Hazel said. She didn't want to be rude in case he was telling the truth, but she also didn't want to take any chances. "I don't trust you not to blast my head off at the last second. You go first."
Leon gave a shrug and took the lead back into the tunnel. Hazel reluctantly followed.
(Author's Notes)
Hey guys, MasterKnight here! I just wanted to say two things.
One: I hope you guys have a better understanding of Ryan and Hazel's mindsets. Also, I hope you guys liked that little switcheroo on the perspectives. It was hard to do.
Two: THERE IS A POLL! It's not a poll about which character you think is best; but a poll about the future of the story. When Team Rapture gets to Palando Town, (If they even get there! Mwahahaha!) there is going to be one of two things happening: A. Team Rapture goes through some dungeons (Like three or two), I drop some more hints about the plot, develop the characters a little more (if you guys think the characters need more development, choose this option. If not, the other one), and I show off some more of my "fantastic" writing. (One can dream) or B. We dive deeper into the story/plot and you guys can have fun with that. Choose wisely! This will affect the story as you know it! (Not really... It just sounded like a cool thing to say)
Anyways, Thanks Guys! I just want to say, the shout outs will be happening Saturday. Again, if you follow/favorite me or my story and don't want a shout out, PM me. (Rambling Alert!) It doesn't matter to me either way. I'm just happy you guys like the story enough to stay until this point! Thanks for reading! Until Thursday, have a good week! (P. S. I'm gonna try to get a chapter out Saturday, but I'm getting slammed with work from school and a job, so I might not be able to post a chapter this Saturday... ;-; I WILL TRY! Have a great day!
