p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center; text-indent: .5in;" align="center"emspan style="font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: black;"Brothers In Aura/span/em/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center; text-indent: .5in;" align="center"emspan style="font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: black;"Chapter 2: Whispers in Shadows/span/em/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center; text-indent: .5in;" align="center"emspan style="font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: black;"As I stepped into the forest, I felt a sudden chill run down my spine; I shivered and tried not to think about the possibility of something breathing down my neck. Luke and Lauren stood at my sides, I could feel their warmth against the cool forest air, and they made me feel a bit more comfortable with traveling in this creepy place, though admittedly I was still afraid. I had always been wary when we traveled through forests, I couldn't ever explain why, but I felt like something was… watching me through the trees while we walked, waiting to separate us and pick us off, one by one./span/em/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center; text-indent: .5in;" align="center"emspan style="font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: black;""Mark?" Luke's paw lightly brushed my shoulder, and I flinched. "Are you okay? You look tense." He said gently, I could feel Stardust shaking slightly in her nest, and I released a sigh./span/em/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center; text-indent: .5in;" align="center"emspan style="font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: black;""M-maybe I'm a little bit on edge…" I replied, feeling Luke's eyes on me. My friend gave my shoulder a gentle squeeze, letting me know that I shouldn't worry. I relaxed a bit, nodding./span/em/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center; text-indent: .5in;" align="center"emspan style="font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: black;""Hey Mark?" Lauren piped up curiously. "Have you ever heard of the singing Grove?" She asked, making me raise an eyebrow./span/em/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center; text-indent: .5in;" align="center"emspan style="font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: black;""Singing Grove?" I repeated, intrigued by this strange sounding location. I heard the telltale crinkle of paper as she withdrew what I could only guess to be a map. She seemed to study it a bit before stopping; we came to a halt as well, waiting. I could feel her confusion and it worried me./span/em/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center; text-indent: .5in;" align="center"emspan style="font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: black;""Yeah, it's a clearing in this forest somewhere, people say you can hear spirits singing through the trees when you're there…" She said, her voice full of wonder. She sighed after a moment more of looking at her map, irritated./span/em/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center; text-indent: .5in;" align="center"emspan style="font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: black;""That map giving you trouble?" I asked, turning towards the sound of her voice./span/em/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center; text-indent: .5in;" align="center"emspan style="font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: black;""Ugh, this makes no sense!" she groaned, sighing and handing the map to me, I shook my head, gingerly touching the map, I felt a sort of raised line, and chuckled./span/em/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center; text-indent: .5in;" align="center"emspan style="font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: black;""It seems like this map wasn't really made to be read." I said curiously, running my hands along the map's surface, finding words within the raised bumps and lines of the paper./span/em/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center; text-indent: .5in;" align="center"emspan style="font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: black;""You can read that?" Lauren asked, impressed./span/em/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center; text-indent: .5in;" align="center"emspan style="font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: black;""Sort of, it's like I can feel where the words are instead of seeing them." I replied smoothly, handing it back to her. I started walking ahead, feeling the smooth path give way to rougher ground, Luke was at my side immediately, holding onto me and trying to keep me on the path. I stopped, hearing a twig snapping nearby./span/em/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center; text-indent: .5in;" align="center"emspan style="font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: black;""What was that?" Luke asked, tense. I shrugged, starting to move forwards again. Luke let me go, still following closely just in case. Lauren walked close behind him, her footsteps light and nervous. I trekked further into the woods, feeling that familiar chill down my spine once again. I could swear that I heard someone whisper, 'Turn back…' I sent out a scanning pulse, but didn't find anything unusual, aside from a faint Aura in the trees, among a group of others, I ignored it, hoping that it was nothing. I walked forwards, towards what seemed like a large grove of flowers, Stardust hopped up onto my shoulder, nestling uneasily against me as we traveled forwards. The moment we entered the grove, I froze, shaking. There was an Aura in the center of the clearing, a small humanoid being. I could feel a tingle as an eerie song played in my mind, a sick lullaby played by one Pokémon and one Pokémon alone; Hypno… I knew the song all too well; it had almost gotten me captured several years ago, when Luke and I were still young and inexperienced. This time though, Luke held my arm tightly, trying to pull me away, but I was rooted to the spot./span/em/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center; text-indent: .5in;" align="center"emspan style="font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: black;""M-Mark?" Lauren asked shakily, taking my hand. I couldn't reply; I was frozen in place by the Hypnosis Pokémon's power./span/em/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center; text-indent: .5in;" align="center"emspan style="font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: black;""Your efforts are valiant, young ones, but it is all for nothing…." The voice was chilling, the kind a villain in a horror movie might have. The Pokémon tried to pull me forward, to capture me, but Luke and Lauren held me firmly, succeeding in dragging me a few feet further from the Psychic type./span/em/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center; text-indent: .5in;" align="center"emspan style="font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: black;""Come on, Mark you need to snap out of this!" Lauren cried, sounding really afraid now. I gasped, stepping back a bit, I almost fell, but my friends caught me./span/em/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center; text-indent: .5in;" align="center"emspan style="font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: black;""We need to run, we can't fight him here!" I said quickly, turning towards the trees. I ran, Stardust gripping my shoulder tightly as we dashed through the ghostly forest and into the night./span/em/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center; text-indent: .5in;" align="center"emspan style="font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: black;"We finally made it out of the forest, we were gasping, sweaty, and tired, I could still feel Hypno's power pulsing from the forest, but we decided we needed to rest somewhere close by for the night./span/em/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center; text-indent: .5in;" align="center"emspan style="font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: black;"We decided to camp a ways away from the forest, just in case. I helped start a fire and set up the tents, and Luke went back to the edge of the forest to gather some berries. Lauren and I sat on the ground by the fire. She eventually piped up./span/em/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center; text-indent: .5in;" align="center"emspan style="font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: black;""So… what the heck was that stuff in the forest all about?" she asked carefully, I turned to her, folding my hands in my lap./span/em/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center; text-indent: .5in;" align="center"emspan style="font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: black;""Well… That's a long story, and I really don't want to give you nightmares…" I started, but she was having none of it./span/em/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center; text-indent: .5in;" align="center"emspan style="font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: black;""Look, whatever happened back there, it's obviously not good, I want to help you out if that Pokémon comes after us again!" she stated firmly, her hand on my unoccupied shoulder. I nodded, taking a breath of crisp night air./span/em/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center; text-indent: .5in;" align="center"emspan style="font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: black;""All right, if you're really interested." I said, sitting cross-legged by the fire. I could feel the heat rippling across my face and arms; it felt nice, like a warm, potentially deadly hug. I took a moment to compose myself, a small smile creeping onto my face as I began my tale./span/em/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center; text-indent: .5in;" align="center"emspan style="font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: black;"It was a dark, starry night. The forest clearing was calm, quiet, peaceful even. The grass was scarred and uprooted in places, marked by past battles between strong Pokémon over the ages. A large, sturdy tree stood in the center of this clearing, a massive Sitrus Berry tree that appeared to watch over the land for miles./span/em/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center; text-indent: .5in;" align="center"emspan style="font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: black;"Three figures moved into the moonlit space, two adults and a child, the young one appeared to be unconscious, held between the adults like a sack of potatoes. The duo of older humans stepped towards the large tree, where a singular Pokémon stood between the thick, gnarled roots, watching like a predatory Staraptor as the humans brought the child forth. Its eyes glinted dangerously as it stepped toward them, the adults halted, setting the child in the grass and backing away slowly. The small humanoid approached its target carefully, its right hand glowing purple as three sharp claws extended from it./span/em/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center; text-indent: .5in;" align="center"emspan style="font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: black;""This is not what I asked for." a voice rasped, seeming to come from the very shadows of the tree that stood over them./span/em/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center; text-indent: .5in;" align="center"emspan style="font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: black;""W-we couldn't capture the others master! Please, forgive us!" a woman's voice quavered against the chilling night air. The Hypno hissed as it raised its claw./span/em/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center; text-indent: .5in;" align="center"emspan style="font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: black;""No, if you cannot follow orders, then you do not deserve to continue your line!" the Hypnosis Pokémon rasped, raking the claw across the young boy's eyes, tearing a scream from his throat. The man and woman gasped, falling to their knees. The child had bloody tear trails flowing down his face, and he was whimpering pathetically, like a wounded animal. The elders tried to move towards the malicious Pokémon, but they seemed to be held back by an invisible force. The Hypnosis Pokémon glared at the humans, it's eyes full of rage./span/em/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph; text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: black;"I stopped, realizing with a chilling certainty that I was shivering. Lauren's eyes were locked onto me; she was waiting for me to continue. I couldn't keep going though, not in the middle of the night like this./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph; text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: black;""I-I'm sorry…" I began, but I wasn't able to say anything more, because in an instant I felt Lauren's arms around me, and I could hear her quietly sobbing. I felt wetness on my face, and a throbbing pain in my eyes, Lauren gasped./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph; text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: black;""Mark! Oh no, your eyes!" she cried, holding my face in her hands, I took a shaky breath. I knew that she must be terrified of me, why was she still here? I turned away, ashamed of myself. I was a fool to think she would want to stay around me in my condition; I was just a defect…/span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph; text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: black;""Mark, come on! Say something!" She was on the verge of tears, I could tell by the fragile sound of her voice./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph; text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: black;""Why are you still here? I don't deserve your attention…" I said dejectedly, trying to turn away. Her hands held my face still, and I could tell she wasn't about to leave me alone like this any time soon./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph; text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: black;""Why am I- what do you mean? I'm still here because I'm worried about you!" she was shaking, her voice quivering with fear and a bit of anger./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph; text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: black;""What?" I asked in surprise, why would she be worried about me? We barely knew each other!/span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph; text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: black;""Please… Just let me help…" she said, taking my hands. I sighed, letting her do what she needed to./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph; text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: black;""All right…" I replied, leaning back and relaxing against the soft grass, I could feel her gently dabbing a cloth on my face, wiping away the tears and blood, she gently wrapped a bandage around my head, allowing it to cover my eyes like a blindfold, not that it would really change anything. After several minutes, I sat back up, allowing Lauren to support me, even though I really didn't feel that bad, I knew it was helping her, so I went along with it. After a while, she leaned against me, and I wrapped my arm around her, the fire had died down a bit, and it was getting colder./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph; text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: black;""Sorry for freaking out like that…" Lauren spoke softly, sounding embarrassed./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph; text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: black;""It's alright, it was probably pretty freaky seeing me like that." I replied, patting her shoulder. Stardust hopped onto my head, making me jump. Lauren giggled adorably./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph; text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: black;""Aw, looks like your little buddy wants our attention." I heard Stardust chirp softly as she made herself a little nest in my unruly hair, I chuckled./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph; text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: black;""Or she just wanted to sleep on my head." I reached up and gave the little bird Pokémon a pat on the head; she seemed pleased with the attention./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph; text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: black;"A few hours later Luke returned, his footsteps were a bit heavier than usual though. I guessed it was because of the large amount of Berries he'd gathered. I heard several soft thumps as he set his haul down and walked over to us./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph; text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: black;""You two look comfortable." He said, causing us to flinch slightly./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph; text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: black;""Yeah… it was cold, so we huddled together." I replied, a little embarrassed. Lauren tensed slightly, and I caught the sound of footsteps coming closer. I tried to sense what was around us, but a rush of pain told me that wasn't a possibility right at the moment. I waited, ready to dodge out of the way of any incoming attacks, but all I heard were steady footsteps coming closer. Lauren suddenly made a small, but very obvious squealing sound before she dashed towards the sound, I heard a startled yelp from my right, and then Lauren was back, holding something in her arms. I heard a little cry from the stranger./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph; text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: black;""Happini! Hap! Happini!" it peeped, sounding confused but happy with the attention./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph; text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: black;""Aw! It's so cuuuuuuute!" Lauren squealed, hugging the small Pokémon to her chest lovingly. I heard the audible sound of a Poke Ball activating. I moved faster than I thought I was able to, grabbing her and pulling her out of the way as Luke launched an Aura Sphere at her. I turned to face my friend, shaking./span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: black;""What the heck is wrong with you?" I cried, getting into a fighting stance. I didn't get an answer; all I got was a feeling of dread at the fight to come.../span /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center; text-indent: .5in;" align="center"emspan style="font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: black;"Chapter 2: Whispers in Shadows/span/em/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center; text-indent: .5in;" align="center"emspan style="font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: black;"As I stepped into the forest, I felt a sudden chill run down my spine; I shivered and tried not to think about the possibility of something breathing down my neck. Luke and Lauren stood at my sides, I could feel their warmth against the cool forest air, and they made me feel a bit more comfortable with traveling in this creepy place, though admittedly I was still afraid. I had always been wary when we traveled through forests, I couldn't ever explain why, but I felt like something was… watching me through the trees while we walked, waiting to separate us and pick us off, one by one./span/em/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center; text-indent: .5in;" align="center"emspan style="font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: black;""Mark?" Luke's paw lightly brushed my shoulder, and I flinched. "Are you okay? You look tense." He said gently, I could feel Stardust shaking slightly in her nest, and I released a sigh./span/em/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center; text-indent: .5in;" align="center"emspan style="font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: black;""M-maybe I'm a little bit on edge…" I replied, feeling Luke's eyes on me. My friend gave my shoulder a gentle squeeze, letting me know that I shouldn't worry. I relaxed a bit, nodding./span/em/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center; text-indent: .5in;" align="center"emspan style="font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: black;""Hey Mark?" Lauren piped up curiously. "Have you ever heard of the singing Grove?" She asked, making me raise an eyebrow./span/em/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center; text-indent: .5in;" align="center"emspan style="font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: black;""Singing Grove?" I repeated, intrigued by this strange sounding location. I heard the telltale crinkle of paper as she withdrew what I could only guess to be a map. She seemed to study it a bit before stopping; we came to a halt as well, waiting. I could feel her confusion and it worried me./span/em/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center; text-indent: .5in;" align="center"emspan style="font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: black;""Yeah, it's a clearing in this forest somewhere, people say you can hear spirits singing through the trees when you're there…" She said, her voice full of wonder. She sighed after a moment more of looking at her map, irritated./span/em/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center; text-indent: .5in;" align="center"emspan style="font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: black;""That map giving you trouble?" I asked, turning towards the sound of her voice./span/em/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center; text-indent: .5in;" align="center"emspan style="font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: black;""Ugh, this makes no sense!" she groaned, sighing and handing the map to me, I shook my head, gingerly touching the map, I felt a sort of raised line, and chuckled./span/em/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center; text-indent: .5in;" align="center"emspan style="font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: black;""It seems like this map wasn't really made to be read." I said curiously, running my hands along the map's surface, finding words within the raised bumps and lines of the paper./span/em/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center; text-indent: .5in;" align="center"emspan style="font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: black;""You can read that?" Lauren asked, impressed./span/em/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center; text-indent: .5in;" align="center"emspan style="font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: black;""Sort of, it's like I can feel where the words are instead of seeing them." I replied smoothly, handing it back to her. I started walking ahead, feeling the smooth path give way to rougher ground, Luke was at my side immediately, holding onto me and trying to keep me on the path. I stopped, hearing a twig snapping nearby./span/em/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center; text-indent: .5in;" align="center"emspan style="font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: black;""What was that?" Luke asked, tense. I shrugged, starting to move forwards again. Luke let me go, still following closely just in case. Lauren walked close behind him, her footsteps light and nervous. I trekked further into the woods, feeling that familiar chill down my spine once again. I could swear that I heard someone whisper, 'Turn back…' I sent out a scanning pulse, but didn't find anything unusual, aside from a faint Aura in the trees, among a group of others, I ignored it, hoping that it was nothing. I walked forwards, towards what seemed like a large grove of flowers, Stardust hopped up onto my shoulder, nestling uneasily against me as we traveled forwards. The moment we entered the grove, I froze, shaking. There was an Aura in the center of the clearing, a small humanoid being. I could feel a tingle as an eerie song played in my mind, a sick lullaby played by one Pokémon and one Pokémon alone; Hypno… I knew the song all too well; it had almost gotten me captured several years ago, when Luke and I were still young and inexperienced. This time though, Luke held my arm tightly, trying to pull me away, but I was rooted to the spot./span/em/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center; text-indent: .5in;" align="center"emspan style="font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: black;""M-Mark?" Lauren asked shakily, taking my hand. I couldn't reply; I was frozen in place by the Hypnosis Pokémon's power./span/em/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center; text-indent: .5in;" align="center"emspan style="font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: black;""Your efforts are valiant, young ones, but it is all for nothing…." The voice was chilling, the kind a villain in a horror movie might have. The Pokémon tried to pull me forward, to capture me, but Luke and Lauren held me firmly, succeeding in dragging me a few feet further from the Psychic type./span/em/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center; text-indent: .5in;" align="center"emspan style="font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: black;""Come on, Mark you need to snap out of this!" Lauren cried, sounding really afraid now. I gasped, stepping back a bit, I almost fell, but my friends caught me./span/em/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center; text-indent: .5in;" align="center"emspan style="font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: black;""We need to run, we can't fight him here!" I said quickly, turning towards the trees. I ran, Stardust gripping my shoulder tightly as we dashed through the ghostly forest and into the night./span/em/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center; text-indent: .5in;" align="center"emspan style="font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: black;"We finally made it out of the forest, we were gasping, sweaty, and tired, I could still feel Hypno's power pulsing from the forest, but we decided we needed to rest somewhere close by for the night./span/em/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center; text-indent: .5in;" align="center"emspan style="font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: black;"We decided to camp a ways away from the forest, just in case. I helped start a fire and set up the tents, and Luke went back to the edge of the forest to gather some berries. Lauren and I sat on the ground by the fire. She eventually piped up./span/em/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center; text-indent: .5in;" align="center"emspan style="font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: black;""So… what the heck was that stuff in the forest all about?" she asked carefully, I turned to her, folding my hands in my lap./span/em/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center; text-indent: .5in;" align="center"emspan style="font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: black;""Well… That's a long story, and I really don't want to give you nightmares…" I started, but she was having none of it./span/em/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center; text-indent: .5in;" align="center"emspan style="font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: black;""Look, whatever happened back there, it's obviously not good, I want to help you out if that Pokémon comes after us again!" she stated firmly, her hand on my unoccupied shoulder. I nodded, taking a breath of crisp night air./span/em/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center; text-indent: .5in;" align="center"emspan style="font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: black;""All right, if you're really interested." I said, sitting cross-legged by the fire. I could feel the heat rippling across my face and arms; it felt nice, like a warm, potentially deadly hug. I took a moment to compose myself, a small smile creeping onto my face as I began my tale./span/em/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center; text-indent: .5in;" align="center"emspan style="font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: black;"It was a dark, starry night. The forest clearing was calm, quiet, peaceful even. The grass was scarred and uprooted in places, marked by past battles between strong Pokémon over the ages. A large, sturdy tree stood in the center of this clearing, a massive Sitrus Berry tree that appeared to watch over the land for miles./span/em/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center; text-indent: .5in;" align="center"emspan style="font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: black;"Three figures moved into the moonlit space, two adults and a child, the young one appeared to be unconscious, held between the adults like a sack of potatoes. The duo of older humans stepped towards the large tree, where a singular Pokémon stood between the thick, gnarled roots, watching like a predatory Staraptor as the humans brought the child forth. Its eyes glinted dangerously as it stepped toward them, the adults halted, setting the child in the grass and backing away slowly. The small humanoid approached its target carefully, its right hand glowing purple as three sharp claws extended from it./span/em/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center; text-indent: .5in;" align="center"emspan style="font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: black;""This is not what I asked for." a voice rasped, seeming to come from the very shadows of the tree that stood over them./span/em/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center; text-indent: .5in;" align="center"emspan style="font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: black;""W-we couldn't capture the others master! Please, forgive us!" a woman's voice quavered against the chilling night air. The Hypno hissed as it raised its claw./span/em/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center; text-indent: .5in;" align="center"emspan style="font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: black;""No, if you cannot follow orders, then you do not deserve to continue your line!" the Hypnosis Pokémon rasped, raking the claw across the young boy's eyes, tearing a scream from his throat. The man and woman gasped, falling to their knees. The child had bloody tear trails flowing down his face, and he was whimpering pathetically, like a wounded animal. The elders tried to move towards the malicious Pokémon, but they seemed to be held back by an invisible force. The Hypnosis Pokémon glared at the humans, it's eyes full of rage./span/em/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph; text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: black;"I stopped, realizing with a chilling certainty that I was shivering. Lauren's eyes were locked onto me; she was waiting for me to continue. I couldn't keep going though, not in the middle of the night like this./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph; text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: black;""I-I'm sorry…" I began, but I wasn't able to say anything more, because in an instant I felt Lauren's arms around me, and I could hear her quietly sobbing. I felt wetness on my face, and a throbbing pain in my eyes, Lauren gasped./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph; text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: black;""Mark! Oh no, your eyes!" she cried, holding my face in her hands, I took a shaky breath. I knew that she must be terrified of me, why was she still here? I turned away, ashamed of myself. I was a fool to think she would want to stay around me in my condition; I was just a defect…/span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph; text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: black;""Mark, come on! Say something!" She was on the verge of tears, I could tell by the fragile sound of her voice./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph; text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: black;""Why are you still here? I don't deserve your attention…" I said dejectedly, trying to turn away. Her hands held my face still, and I could tell she wasn't about to leave me alone like this any time soon./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph; text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: black;""Why am I- what do you mean? I'm still here because I'm worried about you!" she was shaking, her voice quivering with fear and a bit of anger./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph; text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: black;""What?" I asked in surprise, why would she be worried about me? We barely knew each other!/span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph; text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: black;""Please… Just let me help…" she said, taking my hands. I sighed, letting her do what she needed to./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph; text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: black;""All right…" I replied, leaning back and relaxing against the soft grass, I could feel her gently dabbing a cloth on my face, wiping away the tears and blood, she gently wrapped a bandage around my head, allowing it to cover my eyes like a blindfold, not that it would really change anything. After several minutes, I sat back up, allowing Lauren to support me, even though I really didn't feel that bad, I knew it was helping her, so I went along with it. After a while, she leaned against me, and I wrapped my arm around her, the fire had died down a bit, and it was getting colder./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph; text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: black;""Sorry for freaking out like that…" Lauren spoke softly, sounding embarrassed./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph; text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: black;""It's alright, it was probably pretty freaky seeing me like that." I replied, patting her shoulder. Stardust hopped onto my head, making me jump. Lauren giggled adorably./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph; text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: black;""Aw, looks like your little buddy wants our attention." I heard Stardust chirp softly as she made herself a little nest in my unruly hair, I chuckled./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph; text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: black;""Or she just wanted to sleep on my head." I reached up and gave the little bird Pokémon a pat on the head; she seemed pleased with the attention./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph; text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: black;"A few hours later Luke returned, his footsteps were a bit heavier than usual though. I guessed it was because of the large amount of Berries he'd gathered. I heard several soft thumps as he set his haul down and walked over to us./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph; text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: black;""You two look comfortable." He said, causing us to flinch slightly./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph; text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: black;""Yeah… it was cold, so we huddled together." I replied, a little embarrassed. Lauren tensed slightly, and I caught the sound of footsteps coming closer. I tried to sense what was around us, but a rush of pain told me that wasn't a possibility right at the moment. I waited, ready to dodge out of the way of any incoming attacks, but all I heard were steady footsteps coming closer. Lauren suddenly made a small, but very obvious squealing sound before she dashed towards the sound, I heard a startled yelp from my right, and then Lauren was back, holding something in her arms. I heard a little cry from the stranger./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph; text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: black;""Happini! Hap! Happini!" it peeped, sounding confused but happy with the attention./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph; text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: black;""Aw! It's so cuuuuuuute!" Lauren squealed, hugging the small Pokémon to her chest lovingly. I heard the audible sound of a Poke Ball activating. I moved faster than I thought I was able to, grabbing her and pulling her out of the way as Luke launched an Aura Sphere at her. I turned to face my friend, shaking./span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: black;""What the heck is wrong with you?" I cried, getting into a fighting stance. I didn't get an answer; all I got was a feeling of dread at the fight to come.../span /p
