Well this update took forever o-o Oopsies, my apologies.
Ash: At least you updated CLWY first xD
Dawn: True that, for once cx
Ash: T.T I'll get you, Berlitz
May: Calm down, lovebirds! XD
Me: cx Pearlshipping forever
Ugh, I know I'm probably not the only Pearlshipper in a ranty mood, but this AshxSerena crap is piffling (wat..piffling? o.o) me off! Like. WHAT. You're replacing Pearlshipping with this garbage?! Don't make me laugh...or bust buildings with my fists. XD Well, after you read, include in your reviews what you think about this business. It's DRIVING ME cRaZy!
Anyways, chapter 2! cx
Chapter 2-
The darkness of the woods was pressing in on Dawn, the cold penetrating the thin cloak she wore over her sundress, making her shiver, and hold it closer to her freezing body. Dash was bolting as fast as she could through the frigid air, which wasn't helping Dawn's body temperature, but they had to get to Dawn's mom quickly.
The trees seem to thicken and darken with each passing minute, giving off an uneasy and eery feeling, as though you were being watched but not being able to see who was watching you. The blunette squinted through the darkness, calling for her mother, but receiving no response.
"Where is she, Dash?" She called to her fire horse over the howling wind, her hood blowing off. Her mane of blue locks escaped, and her hair billowed out like a banner behind her. Dash seemed to be heading in a northeastern direction; deeper and deeper into the woods she galloped, following the path until she suddenly steered off of it and crashed through the undergrowth.
Dawn didn't protest, but the sudden change of course did startle her, and made her wonder why her mother would leave the path. As Dash lead her on, the blunette noticed the overhanging branches of trees and bushes off the path were disturbed; many pairs of feet, and six different sets of footprints had made impressions in the mushiest of places, one pair human, the other five larger and rounder than the former's.
'What the heck happened?' She wondered, too puzzled about the footprints and exerting herself with worry to realize that Dash had come to a firm halt. The horse's whinnying and stamping brought her back to reality, and the young blunette directed her gaze at the setting before her. She gasped.
It was a castle, a castle that looked as if it had been a splendid sight to behold once upon a time, but now looked aged and neglected; the once splendid garden had overgrown and suffered without being attended to; weeds crept up the sides of the castle and vines draped over pillars like supercilious decorations, adding to the castle's dark, mournful, and slightly intimidating look.
"This is...where mum ran to?" The blue-haired girl inquired, fixing her royal blue gaze on the stallion, who made a soft noise and inclined it's head solemnly, her eyes mirroring Dawn's expression, which was full of fear and anxiety.
"I will bring her home, I promise you," Dawn whispered to the horse, softly kissing Dash's forehead, sealing the oath with equal frankness and determination. The blunette turned to the wrought iron gates, and, taking a deep breath, pushed them open and proceeded to the castle's front doors.
Since Johanna was thrown in the dungeons, the fellow Pokemon of the castle had laid low, the Beast's fury scaring them out of their wits, and making them feel ashamed that the poor woman had been thus treated. They hung low in the shadows, while Khoury the Noctowl was lecturing them.
"I knew inviting her in was a bad idea! But nobody listens to me, to sense, do you? Now he's extremely cranky and the foolish woman, who by no means deserved to be imprisoned, is rotting in the dungeons for who knows how long-"
"Give it a rest, Khoury," interrupted the Gardevoir called May, who was slumped against the wall, her arms folded, glaring in the opposite direction. "The blame goes on him because he's too selfish to allow a lost woman a comfortable bed for the night."
Drew the Gallade smiled slyly at May and nudged her arm. "You are a smart little cookie, aren't ya?" He asked playfully, while she flushed a deep red and looked away. "Now, while he's blowing off some steam, we should-"
"Hello? Is somebody here?" The Pokemon froze, listening, their minds reeling, wondering if they'd actually heard a voice. They heard distant footsteps, and a minute later a slim girl in her late teens appeared around the corner, wearing a long black cloak. But what stood out most was her long mane of blue hair, almost to her waist, that seemed awfully familiar.
"Hello?" She called again, turning in circles, squinting into the darkness. "Mother? Are you here? Mother!" The blunette passed the five hidden Pokemon, who stared at her in astonishment.
"She is the one!" Drew said suddenly, and the other four turned to look at him. "You see?" He continued, when the only response he received was bewildered looks. "She's the one! The one who will break the spell!"
"Don't be silly, Drew!" Caroline the Vaporeon told the Gallade, shaking her head. "Don't you see? She's here for her mother. Don't be gettin' crazy ideas in your head."
When the other three silent Pokemon nodded in agreement with Caroline's words, Drew sighed in exasperation.
"Don't be such a pessimist! That girl is here for a reason! Sure her intention is to rescue her mother, but fate wouldn't just lead her or her mother here without having a motive behind it. You see, we have to look at this positively! C'mon, we want to be human again, right?"
Max the Eevee hugged his mother's leg and looked mournfully up at Drew. "I-I know I do. I miss Dad.." He sniffed, wiping his nose on his paw. Poor Mr. Maple. He'd lost his wife and two kids in one day; how he managed to cope was a mystery to all of them, and made them wonder if he was even still alive. Caroline nuzzled her son's head, her eyes visibly wet, but she tried to conceal it from the others. May sniffed, but managed to hold her tears back.
"You see! We can't be like this, don't deserve to be like this forever!" Drew continued, putting a hand on May's shoulder. "I miss my family too, ya know. And I bet Delia misses her son as well…"
The Pokemon exchanged looks, determined, making a silent vow to take advantage of the situation and work to see their families again, to be human again, to give closure to all who thought them lost.
But before either of them could speak again, a feminine scream was heard beneath them, followed by pounding footsteps and a slamming of a door. The Pokemon ran to investigate, fearing the worst...
Dawn hadn't encountered anyone so far, despite her calls. She bit her lip, her hand resting on the fold of her cloak, turning her head hether and tether for a light source, or maybe a pair of eyes watching her in the darkness; she'd had the feeling someone was watching her when she entered the spooky castle, and as she ascended the velvet carpeted stairs, she glanced again over her shoulder to be sure no one was following her. Nothing.
Trying to shake the feeling away, she continued walking down long corridors, past suits of armor that appeared to watch her walk by; she firmly told herself that her imagination was acting up.
"Get it together, Dawn, you need to be strong for mum," She whispered to herself, walking quicker now, glancing into rooms, turning corners, and descending many steps until she was for sure that she was lost. She called out once more, and once again was answered by silence. Dawn was about to turn back the way she'd come when she heard a weak voice:
"Dawn, dear?"
"Mother!" The young blunette cried, running towards the sound of her mother's voice. She shoved open a heavy door and darted in, first spotting a door in the corner with bars on the bottom, the rest concealed with wood.
Dawn bounded towards the corner, where she saw a pale hand clutching one of the bars. She knelt down and seized the hand, finding a large pair of blue eyes much like her own shining in the darkness of the cell.
"Sweetie, is it really you?"
"Yes, mum, it really is!" Dawn replied, fighting the urge to cry at the weak and fragile condition of her mother's. "Your hands are cold as ice! Who did this to you?"
Her mother coughed furiously, her face pale, her body shaking. She was ill, and if she didn't get immediate medical attention, she would surely die in this freezing, isolated cell, her daughter an arm's length away, but unable to reach her.
"A beast, a horrible beast did this," The older blunette choked out, bursting into a fit of coughs again. When she finished, she fixed her daughter in a stern gaze. "You must go! Flee! He will get you too if you do not!"
"A beast?" She asked, flabbergasted. She decided to let it go, for her mother was more important right now. "I will not leave you. You are a ill, you need medicine, you need to get home to bed with a steaming mug of tea. I cannot and will not let you suffer here!"
"Dawn Berlitz, I order you to leave me!" Her mother commanded, but meekly, because she started hacking and coughing again. Before Dawn could respond, a roar behind her made her start and whip around in a panic.
"It's him," Johanna moaned, giving her daughter a push. "Leave now, quickly! Make haste! Go-"
"WHO DARES TRESPASSING ON MY CASTLE!" A voice bellowed, a large shadow entering the room, a shadow with electric blue eyes. Dawn pressed against the cell, her eyes wide. But Dawn felt more angry than scared, which drove her to her feet, hands on her hips, her eyes slits.
"Me! I dare trespass!" She said loudly, her chin high with confidence that came from fury. "You must be the one that imprisoned my mother! I came for her, and I intend to bring her home."
The shadow shifted and the eyes narrowed. "She also trespassed on my home; unwelcome and certainly not wanted. It is her fault that she resides in my dungeon!"
Dawn felt her determination sink a bit; that deep gravel of a voice, full of hate and anger, made her want to crawl into a ball and cringe away. But she wouldn't let some beast push her around. "She mistakenly stumbled here, and she meant no harm. I apologize for disturbing you, but-"
"SHE IS NOT TO LEAVE!" The voice snapped, causing the blunette to step back; the strength of his voice had blown her and her attitude away.
"Please, she's sick," she pleaded, her eyes wide. "I beg you-"
"SHE WOULDN'T HAVE BECOME SICK IF SHE'D MINDED HER OWN BUSINESS!"
Dawn took a deep breath. She made a decision. As hard as it would be, she knew she must, to save her mother. "Take me instead."
"Dawn, no!" Her mother intervened, shaking the bars with the little strength she had left. "You mustn't!"
A pause. "You would...take her place?" The voice asked in a slightly hushed voice, as though he couldn't quite believe what he was hearing.
"I would. Please, set her free, keep me here instead."
"No, Dawn, listen, I've lived my life-"
"You promise to stay here forever?" The voice questioned.
Dawn nodded. Then she frowned, realizing she hadn't seen the beast's face. "Come into the light..."
There was a shifting movement, and light hit the shadow, illuminating the monstrous beast. It was a Pokemon, a Pokemon she'd only heard legends of: it was tall and had a long red and black mane of hair tied in a ponytail with a blue ring. Those electric blue eyes were rimmed by red fur, which caused them to stand out of face more prominently; he had red claws and red fur also rimmed his mouth and nostrils. The biped had a grey furred body and a dark grey collar of neck fluff. She gasped, unable to hold it in.
"You made the decision, and now it is done!" The Zoroark growled, then marched towards her, causing her to back into the cell, but he merely pushed her aside and opened the cell door. The force of his shove toppled the young blunette to floor and as she scrambled to her hands and knees, she heard a shuffling sound. The beast emerged and had hoisted Johanna over his shoulder, then took off with her.
"Mother!" She screamed, scrambling after the beast. She followed the sound of his heavy footsteps, his stride much too long, and when she managed to catch up, he was outside and she watched helplessly through a stained glass window coated in dust as the beast dumped Johanna on Dash's back and gave the fire horse a slap in the rear. The horse whinnied in fright and took off running, carrying her weak mother with her.
"Mum!" She cried out again, feeling helpless as she shrank to the floor. "Mother.." She mumbled feebly to the carpet, her body trembling. She began to sob, her palms pressed to the floor and her head hung from despair. "I...I didn't even get to say goodbye."
The blunette felt a shadow fall over her and she rose her tear-stained face to her jailer, who was looking at her with a closed expression, not a single emotion evident. His eyes held no pity, no regret, nothing, just empty orbs that stared into hers, unblinking.
He sighed, and for a second, she thought she saw a trace of pain in his eyes, maybe some kind of wish of reconciliation? But he turned away before she could get a good look, and he said, "I will show you to your room."
Dawn hesitated, still slouched on the carpet. "NOW!" He said forcefully, startling her into a standing position. With her head bowed, she followed in his wake, stumbling and trying to keep up with his long stride. She felt a couple tears escape her eyes, but made no move to wipe them. It was pointless. He had already seen her cry, and she wanted him to know how much pain he caused her.
Though she did not see it, the beast had turned his head slightly to look at her, unable to fight the temptation any longer. Her hair hung beside her cheeks, and her royal blue eyes were fixed on her feet. Despite her sadness, he couldn't deny that she was beautiful. Her cream and roses skin, her long blue locks, those gorgeous eyes, eyes that had been full of a fierce flame when she had defended her mother. He wasn't sure how to feel about her; or at least whether he should listen to his heart that was humming with glee from the arrival of this girl, or listen to his brain, which was screaming how absurd the idea of her actually falling for him. Him! A monstrous, hideous beast that had imprisoned her mother.
The odds were not in his favor.
After a couple minutes of uncomfortable silence, the beast said, "Since this is your new home, you're allowed to go anywhere you please- except the West Wing."
'Home...' "What's in the West-"
"NONE OF YOUR BUSINESS!" shouted the beast, causing Dawn to flinch backward in fright. He cleared his throat. "Right. This will be your new room." He gestured to a large mahogany door, and she tentatively stepped forward and opened it.
The moment she stepped inside, the door slammed shut behind her. The blunette wheeled around and shook the heavy knob, but the door seemed to be sealed shut.
"You will join me for dinner!" The beast's voice rang out from the other side of the door. "That is an order!" She heard his heavy footsteps stomp away down the hall, leaving her alone in her new room, which was almost as wide as her whole house back in Pallet. She glanced at the velvet windows concealing the windows, the four poster bed in the corner, the beautiful dresser and table and chairs, but felt nothing but emptiness.
'This is where I'll live forever; no friends, no more picking flowers, no more...mum.' She let out a huge shuddering breath, the realization of her decision impacting her mind, the feeling of loneliness, of being trapped.
She broke.
Throwing herself onto the feathered mattress, the sobs that she'd been fighting escaped her. She wailed and screamed into her pillow, her body tightening into a ball, the multiple emotions of fury, fear, and sadness trying to leave her.
"Deary?"
The voice startled the blunette, who sat bolt upright, staring around through puffy red eyes. She was sure the voice had come from the corner, near the dresser.
"Who's there? Show yourself!"
The shadows shifted a bit and out stepped a large cat. A big, fat cat with purple and white fur, cheeks bedecked with wiry whiskers, its tail wrapped around it's torso, and a grim expression. It's eyes, which Dawn was sure should be yellow, were a sea green, watching her with pity and concern.
Dawn swallowed. "Did...did you just talk?" She wasn't sure if she should be surprised or frightened, after all, that nasty talking Zoroark had not at all been friendly, but this Pokemon seemed docile and open.
"Yes, I find it's the only useful thing I can do," The Purugly replied solemnly, approaching the young blunette slowly. "We find it hard to accomplish anything as Pokemon, especially when our families don't even recognize us and there is no one to care for." The cat smiled slightly. "That is, until you came."
"Did you say, 'we'?" asked Dawn, tilting her head. How many talking Pokemon were in this castle?
"I did. Us unfortunate ones were cursed along with our friend, you see, and now we cannot be human again unless-" She stopped hastily, clearing her throat. "I mean, you should meet the others. I'm sure they'll be glad to have more company than just this empty castle."
"Uh, okay." Dawn was sure she was holding something important back, but she decided not to push her. "Sorry, I didn't catch your name..."
The Purugly smiled, her sharp teeth glinting in the semi-darkness. "When I was a human, my name was Misty Waterflower."
Dawn frowned; where had she heard that name? "Oh, pleased to meet you. I'm Dawn Berlitz."
The cat inclined it's head politely. "A pleasure. Now, let me bring the others." She disappeared swiftly out the door for such a big cat. A minute later she returned, accompanied by a few more Pokemon.
Dawn sucked in a breath, watching cautiously as the six Pokemon approached her bed, all with curious looks on their faces.
"Oh my dear, you look very distressed! You should drink some tea," the Vaporeon exclaimed, a tea pot balanced on her head, a warm smile across her face.
"You look like you need it!" squeaked a voice right in front of her, and the blunette found a little Eevee sitting in front of her, his tail wagging, a tea cup clutched in his paws.
"How sweet, thank you," Dawn said quietly, smiling a tad as the Vaporeon poured some steaming liquid into the cup. The blunette lifted the tea to her lips and felt the warm liquid in her throat soothing since her insides felt so empty and cold.
After Dawn finished her tea, she asked, "So, what're all your names? My name's Dawn."
The Eevee, who had snuggled into her lap, replied, "I'm Max Maple!"
Dawn smiled. "Nice to meet you."
"I am Drew Hayden, at your service," The Gallade said smoothly, taking her hand and kissing it.
"Don't be such a flirt, Drew!" The Gardevoir scolded, pushing him aside. She smiled at Dawn. "I'm May Maple, and that's my annoying little brother in your lap."
"Hey!" He protested, glowering at his sister and causing Dawn to giggle.
The Vaporeon admonished the two before turning to Dawn and saying, "Don't mind my children, all they do is fight. I'm Caroline Maple."
Dawn inclined her head. "A pleasure. Let's see, I've already met Misty…" She saw the Noctowl with his back turned firmly away from her and said to him, "Hi there, what's your name?"
The others nudged him forward, despite his grumbles and turned his hawk-like eyes on her. "I am Khoury."
Dawn beamed. "Nice to meet you. Nice to meet you all, you're all very nice to me!" She then grimaced. "Except that nasty Zoroark, he was quite rude."
The Pokemon exchanged looks; their mission to matchmake Dawn and the beast was already looking bleak and hopeless.
Meanwhile, back in Pallet Town, a distraught Gary was lounging in an armchair, one hand over his face, the other clutching a bottle of beer. The tavern was crowded and stuffy, full of talk and laughter and the clanking of beers.
"I've never felt like this," Gary admitted to his blond friend, who was sitting beside him, swigging down his beer. "Dismissed, rejected, publically humiliated! Augh! I'm disgraced."
"Don't think that way, everyone here loves you," Barry tried to reassure the auburn haired boy, who just shook his head and looked away. "It really disturbs me to see you like this Gary, looking so down in the dumps."
Gary watched him with cold eyes as the orange eyed boy clapped him on the back, grinning drunkenly. "C'mon, every guy here would like to be you, Gary, even when taking your blows!" He chuckled as the other men nodded in agreement, tipping their drinks in mock approval. Gary just shook his head, but Barry wasn't done. "No one in town is admired as much you are! You're the great Gary Oak!" The auburn haired boy felt a small smile twitch reluctantly at the corner of his mouth. "Everyone's awed and inspired by you! It's not very hard to see why." Barry winked and the crowd grunted in approval.
"No one's been like Gary!" Someone yelled.
"No one's quick as Gary!" Someone else called.
"No one's incredibly strong as Gary!" cried a third.
"Oh, isn't he a king among men!" Bianca sighed to her two friends, who both swooned and nodded enthusiastically.
Gary had stood up, his chin up, smirking at the crowd. He consumed their compliments and broadened his grin the more they threw at him.
Suddenly, the door burst open and a flurry of snowflakes came inside along with a hooded figure, who stumbled towards the crowd. They backed away. The figure pulled off their hood to reveal a pale and disheveled blue-haired woman, whose eyes were wild.
"Somebody help! Please!" Johanna Berlitz screeched, waving her hands wildly, approaching several people with bugged eyes. They backed off, wrinkling their noses.
"Please, my daughter's in trouble!" The blunette squeaked frantically, grabbing Ursula's hands and shaking them.
The pink-haired girl pulled away in disgust. "Get away from me, witch!"
"Whoa, Johanna," Gary called out, grabbing her thin shoulder and spinning her towards him. "Slow down and explain what's wrong." He studied her with malicious dark eyes, interested to hear about Dawn. Had she gotten herself in trouble over him?
Johanna took a deep breath. "Dawn's being held captive by a beast, a horrible monstrous beast!"
The townspeople exchanged skeptic looks, then broke into fits of laughter.
Johanna set her jaw. "Fine. If no one will help me, I guess I'll do it myself!" She stormed out, her head held high as the townspeople continued to erupt into gales of laughter.
"Crazy 'ole Johanna!" Someone chuckled.
"She's always good for a laugh!" Lyra chided in, and everyone stumbled over laughing once more before starting up their regular conversations as though nothing out of the ordinary had happened. (1)
"Crazy old Johanna," Gary said slowly, letting the words flow from his tongue carefully, lost in thought.
Barry, swigging down yet another bottle of liquor, looked confused. "What about her?"
"She's important to my scheme." Gary smirked, his dark eyes glinting wickedly in the fire light. "I have a plan to make Dawn accept my hand."
Despite showing confidence in the bar, walking out in the cold with a faint sleet blowing in her wake, Johanna felt absolutely powerless. She didn't know how she was going to rescue her daughter, wasn't sure if she could even locate the castle again, nor was she ignorant to the fact she was an older woman and didn't have the strength like she did in her youth.
She was alone and ill, and she didn't have the faintest idea how long Dawn would survive locked up with that beast. Her poor baby. Her only baby, her only comfort. She'd seen the fear in her daughter's royal blue eyes as she took Johanna's place, but also the determination. She knew Dawn would never let the beast keep Johanna, especially when she could bargain herself in exchange for her mother's freedom, but her stubbornness had made Johanna feel pathetic. She couldn't even protect her own daughter. It wasn't Dawn's duty to defend her mother, but she'd done it anyway.
'Some sacrifices are worth making,' Johanna had said to Dawn when she told her that they were moving to Pallet Town. Dawn had been miserable and irate the whole time they'd packed, not meeting her mother's eyes as Johanna attempted to explain they needed the money and to get it she needed more business. Thinking back on it, Johanna felt sick to her stomach. If they'd never come to Pallet Town, Dawn wouldn't have had to take her place.
"'...and soon he traveled over the lands, claiming badges left, right, and center,'" someone was saying, causing Johanna to jump. The voice had come from in front of her. She approached the voice cautiously.
"Hello? Who's there?" Johanna breathed out. The hunched figure of a woman loomed in front of her. Johanna jogged toward her, sliding slightly on the mushy street as she tried to catch up.
"'He won league after league,'" the woman told her gloves, staring at them intently as though she was scrutinizing an actual person. "'People started calling him a Pokemon Master.'"
Johanna frowned. "Miss? Are you alright?"
The woman turned her gaze to the blunette, who stepped back. The lady's chocolate brown eyes were sunken in her skin, wild and slightly vacant, as though she didn't see Johanna at all. The moonlight shone across her pasty skin, illuminating chapped lips and worry lines around her eyes; her tangled brown hair streaked with grey was tied in a lopsided ponytail as though she hadn't thought about her hair in a long time. Despite her appearance, she didn't seem as old as her image. Maybe a couple years older than Johanna, but definitely not at an age where she should have that much grey hair.
The woman had a sort of heavy sadness deeply etched in her face, her eyes shattered from a long since pain. A pain that hadn't brought any closure.
"Are you okay?" Johanna asked in concern. "It's much too cold to be walking out here!"
The woman laughed softly, tugging her wool coat closer to her frail, thin body. "I'm okay. I always take strolls around outside. Me and my son love taking walks together…" She faltered, her eyes getting that far away look again. "He always said walking clears his head."
"Oh." Johanna decided not to mention the absence of this woman's son. She seemed so miserable already, and something about the way the woman mentioned her son seemed to bring more pain to the surface.
"Well, how about I get you home, Miss? You look dead on your feet." The blunette noticed the woman's face seemed to tighten, the sadness in her eyes growing deeper. "My name's Johanna Berlitz."
The tired brunette managed a wistful smile. "A lovely name." She took Johanna's arm and looked at her expectantly. "My house is up the block. You don't mind taking me, do you?"
"What's up there?" The young blunette asked Drew and Khoury. The Gallade and Noctowl had decided to give her a mini tour of her new home, which had made her feel welcome but at the same time empty with dread. 'Home...'
They had rounded the corner of a long corridor, which had brought them back to the entrance hall and grand staircase. They'd walked around the whole castle, Khoury spouting random facts for Dawn's benefit, and offering her tips on how not to get lost. The other place they hadn't gone to was the corridor up the stairs and to the left, which looked dark and depressing, but Dawn was curious.
"What do you mean?" Khoury snapped. "We showed you the entire castle, including upstairs!"
"Not the west part of the castle."
If Drew and Khoury could have blanched, they would have. Both looked at each other in alarm and faked smiles.
"Oh, nothing's up there!" Drew chuckled. "Just some musty and broken furniture. Very dusty and unpleasant. Come come, you must want to see something more spectacular! Like, uh, like, uh-"
"The trophy room, or the library!" Khoury chided in, and both nodded vigorously.
"A library?" Dawn asked, her attention caught, wonder filling her.
Both Pokemon sighed in relief. "Yes, yes of course!" They cried in unison. "Lots of books, more than you can imagine! Right this way!"
They walked back down the corridor, not noticing that Dawn hadn't followed them. She had sneakily crept up the red carpeted stairs, not daring to make a sudden sound and alert her tour guides that she had slipped off.
Once she made it up the stairs, the blunette quickened her pace and slipped down the darker corridor leading to the West Wing.
At first, she regretted venturing into the place. The West Wing, as they had said, was musty, dusty, and so dark she could hardly make out various objects occasionally blocking her path. She thought she might get lost and bitterly cursed herself for not obeying the Zoroark. Nothing special up here.
She was wrong. Without warning, she ran straight into a door. She knew it was a door because of the dim light that outlined the edges from the other side of it. Excited, hoping to find something interesting, Dawn pushed open the door.
She got more than she bargained for. The first thing that caught her eye was the ripped tapestries and drapes around the walls, shredded pieces dangling pathetically over the windows which filtered in slivers of moon light to illuminate the room. Furniture was torn and tossed around as though a powerful toddler had thrown a big tantrum and scattered them everywhere.
The farther Dawn walked in the more shredded and broken items she saw: a busted mirror, peeling wallpaper, and a photograph.
Curious, Dawn peered at the tattered image. It appeared to be a brown-haired woman in her early thirties standing behind a boy with scruffy dark hair. She looked like his mother, in an apron with her hair tied back, her hands on his shoulders, beaming at the camera. The boy's face was shredded, ripped deliberately so she couldn't make out his features. It looked like someone had turned rogue and slashed the picture violently.
Before she could comprehend why someone would tear such a tranquil little photo, Dawn noticed a violet light out of the corner of her eye. Dawn glanced over and gasped. The source of the light was the most beautiful rose she'd ever seen encased in a glass jar. It was shimmering, suspended in midair without anything holding it up. A few of its petals had fallen off and lay beneath it, wilting and sad. Intrigued, Dawn approached.
She carefully lifted the glass off the rose and slowly extended her hand towards the rose. A sudden snarl behind her startled her and she spun around.
The Zoroark stood over her, fury in his electric blue eyes, his large paws clenched. "And what," he growled, leaning in close to her face, "DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING HERE?! DON'T YOU REALIZE WHAT YOU COULD HAVE DONE?!"
Dawn winced and stepped back, almost colliding with the table. "I'm s-sorry, I didn't mean any har-"
"GET OUT!" He bellowed, scaring her out of her wits. Dawn bolted for the exit, the sound of objects behind her smashing. "GET OUT!"
She ran as fast as she could, scampering past the strewn objects and down the stairs. She saw Gallade and Khoury waiting for her, but before they could speak, she sped right past them and out the double doors. She heard them calling her name, but she had no intention of returning.
There was no way she'd stay now.
The blunette maneuvered through the woods, her breath coming out heavy and steamy. She pushed through the undergrowth and overhanging branches, her hair and cloak getting caught at almost every interval. She was desperate to flee out of reach of that horrible beast, his frightening blue eyes still burned into her mind.
Dawn emerged into a clearing, looking around in fright for something familiar when howls broke the night. She froze, and suddenly, she was surrounded. A dozen Mightyena were closing in around her, snarling and gnashing their teeth. She didn't know why, but it was as if they had been waiting for her.
She was trapped in their ranks, and there was no way she'd escape.
She snatched a branch from the ground and raised it to defend herself. 'I'm so sorry, mum, I guess I'm going down fighting...'
o: Intense cliffhanger! Do you think so? I kind of do xD What's gonna happen to Dawn? Who was the mysterious woman Johanna met? What is Gary planning?
Your questions will be answered in the final chapter, which is the next chapter xD yep, only three for this story.
1) The line she said was the only line I had in my play cx
Ash: That's short.
Drew: x.x Here we go again!
Dawn: *sigh* as we knew he would...
Ash: T_T
Me: Haha, settle down kiddies. Oh, for you Percy Jackson fans like me, I hope you read House of Hades. I'm super close to being done and it is sooooo good! Like, beyond amazing. 'Tis a must read c;
R&R. Until next time, which will be the last for this story,
- DemonOtaku-Pearlshipper x3 (; c: