J knew Asteria did not have much time before it was too late, so he carried his friend to a nearby cave and lay her down before quickly running off into a forest. He dodged agitated Zubats and jumped over frightened Rattata, going as fast as he could. He however had been delayed by... someone.
A man.
The man had the skin of a chocolate bar and his hair came out like spikes, standing straight up. A scar crossed over his right eye and his mouth was charred. He wore a tuxedo, oddly enough. But what was more eye catching...
Was the little girl he'd been holding.
She looked to be only around seven years old, with brown hair pulled up into pigtails. She had pasty pale skin and fear filled brown eyes. Her dress was ripped up, nearly shredded. And she was tied up.
"WhY hElLo ThErE. YoU mUsT bE AsTeRiA's NeW fRiEnD tHaT I'vE hEaRd AbUuT. My NaMe Is JeReMiAh.."
Immediately, J was snarling at the man. So this was Jeremiah. Wait then the girl…
"AH yEs. ThIs Is SwEeT lItTlE AlLiSoN. CuTe IsN't ShE? SuCh A sHaMe. I dIdN't WaNt To GeT hEr InVoLvEd BuT (sigh). I hAd No OtHeR ChOiCe I'm AfRaId."
J was angered. What did this guy want exactly?
"YoU dOn'T tAlK mUcH dO yOu? Ah WeLl. I'm OnLy GoInG tO sAy It OnCe Ok? StAy. AwAy. FrOm. AsTeRiA. ShE iS mInE!"
"Well she doesn't exactly like you. So piss off!"
He began laughing at J. An insane chuckle is more correct actually.
"ShE dOeSn'T hAvE tO lIkE mE. ShE wOn'T hAvE a ChOiCe iN tHe MaTtEr! AfTeR aLl… I'm ThE oNe WiTh HeR sIsTeR. Oh DeAr, I mUsT bE gOiNg. SaY hElLo To AgAtHa FoR mE wOn'T yOu?"
And with that Jeremiah and the captured Allison vanished.
"Wait a minute… How did he know about Agatha?"
And with that he set off, this time without interruption and before long he came to an old looking cottage with a mailbox reading "AGATHA."
He politely knocked on the door and heard a raspy voice answer him, "Come in."
He quickly walked into the house and froze at the sight of 72 bubbling cauldrons and an old woman stirring them with her back turned.
"Hello there young man. My name is Agatha Louise Matilda Beauregard, but please call me Agatha. I am pleased to have finally met you Jay Bolt."
"How did you know my full name?"
"All in good time my dearie. Now… What is wrong with my precious little Asteria, hm? Ah never mind. Just take me to my little one. I need to just pack up a few essential ingredients though. If you'd like to sit and wait for a mere ten minutes?"
J just nodded his head and sat onto a sturdy looking bench. As soon as he did, the woman turned around.
She had a slight green coloration of skin and wrinkles covered her entire body. Her hands were large, a bit gnarled and crooked. She wore and old time robe and had on large glasses. Heavy boots thudded as she walked around and he noticed one leg was only made from a log.
She was a witch!
"I believe you have questions about Princess Asteria?"