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Quiet guy: are you still doing this?

Kid ape: Yeah... You know. legal issues..

Quiet guy:... just stop it.. its annoying..

Kid ape:... shut up quiet guy.. Just read the story...(mumble)

Chapter 6

The night seemed to go by slowly. The ground was wet from rain that had fallen earlier that night. The smell of the damp forest floor rose in the air and covered the trees in its fragrance. Ryla sat in the entrance of the den, keeping her eyes open for her kits. Their journey should've ended by now. What was Yumi doing out with them so late? Though he was an umbreon and more accustom to the darkness, Rima and Greemy were still young and this was their first time traveling far from the den. A bad feeling began to spread through her. She couldn't help but feel something had happened. She could only hope that she was wrong. The night carried on and Ryla grew sleepy. She wanted to stay near the entrance and wait for her family, but her drowsiness only grew. She said a prayer to Arceus to watch over Yumi and her children and walked to the back of the den. She found a comfortable place and softly layed herself down. For many nights she would sleep with Yumi behind her and Rima and Greemy nuzzled on her belly. That's how she liked it. Her family together. She curled up in a ball, easily feeling the emptiness of the den as she drifted off.
Ryla woke to to the sound of ruffling outside of the den. She perked up and listened. The sound got closer to the entrance and Ryla let out a low growl. The sound stopped in front of the den. Ryla quickly and quietly got to her feet. Her body began to heat up as she prepared to attack whatever was outside. The noise started again and she saw a paw step in the entrance way. Ryla snarled and shot an ember at the intruder. There was a yelp as the flame dispersed throughout the den. Ryla then tackled the pokemon and pinned it down. She bared her fangs and her mouth almost blasted another flame.
"What are you doing here?!" She barked.
"No! please don't eat me!" Squealed a high pitched voice. Ryla was surprised at the plea of terror. The flame in her mouth dissapeared and she looked at what she had caught. She saw that the frightened pokemon was a buneary. She was breathing hard and Ryla could feel her heart beat pound against her. Ryla looked in her eyes and saw not only fear, but worry. She then looked down to the buneary's paw. It was badly burned and the buneary continued to whimper hoping not to be attacked anymore. Ryla released her. The buneary sat up and held her paw while keeping a fearful eye on Ryla. Did she just do that? She was trying to warn her that this den was occupied and not to come closer. That was the point of the warning shot. She must've put more power into it than she tried to.
"What are you doing near my den?" Ryla asked trying not to scare her anymore. It didn't work. The buneary whimpered and ran away. "Wait!" Ryla called after her. she started to go after her but stopped. She looked back at the den. Would Yumi and the kits be worried if they returned to an empty home? Maybe they really were gone. Something was telling her that it was true. That was the last thing she wanted to be real, but this feeling. She turned from the den. If her family was missing, then she had no choice but to find them. She didn't know where to look so she decided to start her journey by helping that frightened buneary and quickly sprinted after her. The woods were dark and quiet. She could smell the scent of the buneary and that helped her keep up to her. Ryla passed by several sleeping pokemon. Only two woke to see a flareon racing past them. They both let out their cries as a warning to stay away, but she had no interest in their dens. Whenever she felt she lost the rabbit pokemon, she would stop, close her eyes and take in the scent of the air. Once she caught the buneary's scent, she would race off to where the smell came from. Ryla has been around many buneary and lopunny, so she knew their scent well. This one however had a strange smell to her. It was a buneary, but it wasn't normal. Was she sick?
Soon she came close because she could hear the soft fearful cries of the frightened pokemon. Ryla slowed her sprinting to a soft hunt like tread. She watched her steps very carefully to make sure she didn't make noise and scare off the poor pokemon again. She then came to a tree that the cries seemed to be coming from. She stealthily peeked around it and saw the buneary. Her ears were down and and her cheeks were soaked from her tears. She didn't seem that much older than Rima and Greemy. Where were her parents? Is that why she was crying? Ryla mentally took a breath and showed herself. The buneary watched her come around, but continued to sit under the tree. For a moment, there was silence between them. Then Ryla spoke.
"Why did you run away?" She asked the buneary. The scared pokemon wiped her eyes and stayed quiet. Ryla came closer to her. The buneary let out a small whimper. "Don't be afraid. I dont want to hurt you. I want to help you." Ryla was close enough to see the buneary's injury. It couldn't have been her ember attack because the burn was old. Ryla looked into her eyes.
"Does it still hurt?" She asked. The buneary nodded. Ryla licked her paw and the buneary grimaced.
"Ow!" She yelped. Ryla was relieved she said at least that. Now she was getting through somewhat.
"Where are your parents?" Ryla asked. The buneary closed her eyes and turned away.
"If I told you, you wouldn't believe me." She replied. Ryla looked confused.
"Why not?"
"Because no one does. I'm stuck like this forever." Now Ryla was really confused.
"You can't know if I would believe you if you won't tell me." Ryla said. Now she was curious. She wanted to know what the buneary was talking about. It couldn't be that strange. The rabbit pokemon hesitated for a moment. She then looked at Ryla and began.
"My name is Miria. I...I used to be a human.." There was silence. Ryla looked in her eyes. She seemed truthful, but human? This was a lot to absorb. Miria looked saddened. "I told you you wouldn't believe me.." She hid her face in her ears and started crying.
"No no no, I do believe you." Ryla said to her. Miria moved her ears to see Ryla. "I knew from your scent. Its not like the other buneary here." Miria looked happy that someone believes her. "How did this happen to you?" Miria began her story. She told Ryla that she was from a place called Twinleaf town. Her father was a pokemon professor and also studied pokemon DNA. Ryla knew she wasn't a real pokemon now because she used words she has never heard before. She continued to say that her father built a machine that could alter pokemon DNA. Curious about it, Miria tried to use it on her own buneary, but somehow she ended up stuck inside the machine. Her father came along and turned it on while she was still inside. She told Ryla how painful it was when her body transformed. Her bones shrunk and her body grew the fur that surrounded her. When she escaped from the machine, she tried to find her father so he could turn her back. When she found him and she tried to speak, her father thought she was just another wild pokemon and tried to catch her. So she ran off and ended up lost in the forest. She had lost all hope of ever becoming human again and has been crying here ever since. Ryla was shocked at her story. It was so sad and now Miria had nothing. She lost everything. In a way, she was kind of like Ryla. Miria was crying by the time she finished her story.
"I just wanted to go home.." She weeped. Ryla sat next to her and put her tail around her.
"You will get home." She said. Miria looked at her through teary eyes. "I'll help you."
"Really?" Miria smiled excitedly.
"But first I need your help." No sooner than she said that, the two pokemon heard a thud near by. They looked at where it came from and saw Only shadow from the trees.
"What was that?.." Miria whispered. Ryla didn't know but, she jumped in front of Miria protectively. She let out a low growl at where the noise came from. Suddenly, two sets of eyes pierced through the shades. They fixed on Ryla and Miria. Ryla got ready to attack as a flame sparked in her mouth. Miria stepped out and spoke.
"Please. We didn't mean to bother you. We are lost and dont know where we are. Can you help us?" Ryla looked back at Miria who gave her a 'trust me' look. Ryla looked back at the two figures. They both stepped out. The two pokemon were a sneasel and a weavile. The weavile was the eldest and had a look of understanding. He seemed to have been through much in his life. The sneasel was much younger and had a look of eagerness and impatience.
"Where do you come from, young buneary?" The weavile asked.
"My name is Miria. I was once a-" Ryla jumped in.
"She came from another forest. She isn't from around here." The weavile looked at Ryla.
"And you?"
"I am Ryla. I am from this forest and have lived here my whole life."
"I dont believe THAT one." The sneasel said.
"Enough, Shade." The weavile said, quieting the young sneasel. He then looked back to Ryla.
"You say you need help?" She nodded and explained about her lost family. She told them she felt they were in danger and she needed to find them. The weavile listened while giving an occasional nod. Shade shook his head in disbelief. Miria looked at him and he looked back. He quickly turned away trying to hide his blush. Miria giggled. This was unexpected. Pokemon were more human than she realized.
"I want to find them, but I don't know where I should go." Ryla finished. The weavile looked at Miria then back to Ryla.
"I am Unayo. I am a member of The Guild. I can't help you, but maybe our leader can."
"Are you crazy?!" Shade barked. "We can't take them to The Guild! They aren't members!" Unayo looked at Shade who didn't back down this time.
"They have a story to tell. They need our help, and you will watch your tone, Shade." Shade growled and looked back at Miria. She looked back and Shade turned his head and sped off.
"Where is he going?" Miria asked. Unayo turned to her and sighed.
"He is young and very impatient. He has gone back to The Guild to warn the leader of your coming. I will speak with him. He may be of some help to you." He then turned to where Shade ran and began walking. Ryla and Miria followed. Miria looked at the Weavile and began to grow curious. Weavile weren't normal in Eterna Forest. They usually live in the forests near Snowpoint City. Why were these two pokemon here?
"You have something on your mind, young Miria?" Unayo asked. Miria gasped wondering how he knew. She remained quiet for several seconds. How could she ask without sounding suspicious? The last thing she wanted was to be left alone again. She finally spoke up.
"I was just wondering how you came to this forest. I don't usually see weavile here." Unayo chuckled.
"Young curiosity." He said with a smile. Miria smiled too and so did Ryla who was also wondering the same thing. "You are right. We aren't from this forest. The current leader of The Guild and I were both caught by a human group named Team Nebula. They took me from my home and put me in a strange place. He and I escaped from there with a handful of others and we traveled until we came to what is now our home. Shade was one of the pokemon we escaped with, though he was newly hatched at the time. I took him as my own and have been raising him ever since." Miria and Ryla listened to his story. Ryla began to think to herself. Even though he wasn't Shade's real father, he still took him in. There were pokemon that cared for their kind to this extent. She remembered how she met Yumi. He was always around a houndoom that looked after him. That's right. Yumi WAS adopted. She had nearly forgotten. The Houndoom he was with was very protective of him and loved him very much. It only made sense for him to have become an umbreon. Ryla smiled at the thought. She then looked at Miria who was still listening to Unayo. Maybe...
They all walked for at least an hour. Miria started to look around nervously. She had never been in this part of the forest before and she was starting to get scared. Ryla nudged her a bit to assure that she was safe. Miria nodded and stayed close to her. The sun was beginning to rise and in front of it was a blackened figure that blocked the sunrise.
"That is where we are going." Unayo announced. "Its an old human den that we made our home."
"Who goes there?" called a voice. Everyone stopped. Ryla and Miria looked around for the source of whoever just stopped them. Out floated a rough looking haunter. Miria looked on with awe while Ryla mentally prepared for an attack.
"It is only me, Hex." Unayo said
"Oh. I'm glad its only you and no-" he stopped mid sentence and looked at Ryla and Miria. They stood behind Unayo and looked at the inspecting ghost pokemon. "Friends of yours?" He asked shakily. Unayo nodded.
"I found them in the forest. They are in need of our help." Hex looked at them again.
"Are you sure Lectro won't mind? He's been really cautious lately."
"Lectro is my friend. I started this Guild with him. Besides he always helps those in need. That is why I am still here." Hex sighed.
"Okay." He said. Unayo then led Ryla and Miria on. They came to the figure against the sunrise. They were closer so they could see it clearly. It stood tall as the trees and was wider than anything Ryla has ever seen. They approached it and the closer they got the more menacing the place looked. Ryla felt uneasy just looking at it.
"Why does this place make my skin crawl?" Ryla asked with a slight shiver.
"I've heard that this place was haunted." Miria said. Ryla looked at her. "They call it the old chateau. We do our best to avoid it because of the stories about it." Ryla didn't want to ask but her curiosity was nagging at her.
"What stories?" She asked. Miria shivered and began.
"There was a man who used to live here with his daughter. The girl loved her father very much but he despised her with all of his being because she reminded him of his wife that he had lost. The girl was lonely because her father was always so busy. One day she was sleeping and her father was watching her. He released a ghastly and ordered it to posses her. She woke to something controlling her body, and what was controlling her had taken her to the roof. The ghastly apologized to her and jumped. The father was never found..." Miria shivered again. "They say that the girl's ghost still wanders the house, looking for her father and wanting to ask him one thing. 'Why?'" Ryla looked up and saw that they were at the entrance. She looked at Unayo who was looking back at them.
"Don't frighten yourselves." He said. "we wouldn't want this trip to go to waste would we?" Miria shook her head. Ryla looked into the open entrance to the building. Her legs shook as her instincts told her to run from this place. She then mentally scolded herself. 'Remember why you are here, Ryla. Rima, Greemy and Yumi need you. You have to find them no matter what.' She then stepped inside and Miria followed close behind. A group of ghastly appeared out of the air and began to circle them playfully. Unayo walked in front of them and smiled.
"Do not fear. The ghost pokemon here are friendly."He said to them reassuringly. "When we came here, we found them living here alone. We thought they wanted to harm us, but we soon discovered that they merely were lonely and wanted friends to play with."
'That doesn't stop them from being scary.' Miria thought. They walked into a large room with a ceiling that seemed to touch the sky. A large chandelier hung from the top and seemed as if it would fall within the year. Two paths that led upward in levels sat on both sides of the room. Ryla had never seen anything like them before. She looked at Miria remembering that she was once human. She might know what they are.
"Miria, what are those on the sides of the den?" Miria looked and smiled.
"They're called stair cases. They help lead up to places we cant reach on our own." She explained.
"And thats where our leader is residing. Come I will take you to him." Unayo led them to the stair case and began to climb. Ryla helped Miria climb the stairs when she saw that she was having trouble with her tiny arms. They reached the top and turned left. They then came to a room with a wooden box in the center of it. It seemed like there was a square hole inside it, but the hole was covered by something dark grey.
"I have returned, Lectro." Unayo said aloud. Suddenly the box flickered a light and lit up the room. Ryla looked in awe and Miria gasped. The box then flashed and displayed an electrified orange pokemon. It had blue eyes and an antenna sprouting from the top of his head. Miria exclaimed excitedly. Ryla looked to see that she was smiling.
"Its Rotom!" She squealed in delight. The electric pokemon smiled.
"Welcome back Unayo!" The Rotom said happily. He then looked at The smiling Buneary and the cautious flareon. "I see you brought company." Unayo nodded.
"These two need help, Lectro." He said. He then explained Ryla's situation. With a flash, Lectro popped out of the box and settled in front of the other pokemon.
"I would love to help." He said to Ryla. "We started this guild to help pokemon in need. I can guarantee that awful Team Nebula has them." Lectro looked at Miria. She smiled excitedly. "So you used to be human, huh?" He said. Ryla looked at him shocked. Had he known the whole time? What was Unayo going to do?
"Y...yes." Miria confirmed shakily. There was silence. Miria started to grow nervous. Unayo had a look of seriousness on his face. Suddenly Lectro burst out laughing.
"Did I have YOU going!" He cackled. Unayo simply smiled and shook his head. Miria sighed with relief. "I actually came across someone in the same situation before, believe it or not."
"Really?" Miria said.
"Mm hm. But tha'ts not important right now. We should focus on the problem at hand. We will need to gather a search party. Maybe two to be safe."
"Where are the others, Lectro?" Unayo asked.
"They are all out searching for food. We were starting to get low on rations."
"Did Shade return?" Lectro frowned.
"No. Wasn't he with you?" Unayo sighed.
"Shade.." He said frustrated. "What is with you?"
"Will you go find him?" Lectro asked. Unayo looked at him and nodded. He then looked at Ryla and Miria.
"I am honored to have met you both. Good luck to you." He then left out of the room and was gone.
"Well." Lectro began. "In order to help you, I will need the help of the other members. They won't be back for at least the rest of the day, unfortunately. In the mean time You can stay here and rest. You both must be tired." Ryla did feel a little exhausted from all the walking. Not to mention her staying up waiting for Yumi. Miria looked a little sleepy herself. "Let me show you where you can stay." Lectro then floated out of the door. Ryla and Miria followed. They passed several rooms that were home to caterpies bunearies and even fellow eevee. Ryla lost her sense of fear and a feeling of safety came over her. She closed her eyes in shame. How could she have this feeling when her family is out there somewhere. What condition were they in? were they alright? Was she right to leave the den to find them? These questions were eating away at her.
"Are you alright?" Miria asked.
"Yeah, I'm fine. A little tired, that's all." Miria didn't argue.
Lectro made a final turn and they entered another room. This one had a large white thing inside of it with smaller white things that held soft looking flaps in them.
"This is a laundry room." Miria said knowing that Ryla might've asked. "Its for things like clothes and stuff." Ryla didn't know what clothes were, and she was too tired to ask about them.
"This is where you can stay. I will come and get you when I have a party for you." With that, Lectro poofed with an electric pop and was gone. Maybe he was showing off. Ryla looked around and found a spot to lay. She went over to a laundry basket and felt the white flap inside. It was nice and soft so she jumped on and got comfortable. She was nearly sleep in a matter of seconds when she felt something tap her. She opened her eyes to see Miria looking at her.
"Are you okay?" She asked. Miria shook her head.
"I'm still a little afraid of the ghastly here. Can I sleep with you?" Ryla looked around and didn't see any ghastly. She looked at the small buneary. What harm could it do? She then invited her to jump up. Miria leaped in the basket and layed her head down on Ryla's side. This was familiar. That's right. Rima and Greemy. They would lay on her like this too. She shed a small tear and drifted off to sleep. She was going to find them. She had to.
End Of Chapter 6

So now Ryla has left in search of her family. There is no turning back now.

Other room guy: What if she just turned around and went back home?... She could still do that..

Kid ape: Shut up other room guy! I was building up the action!... ...

Other room guy: I'm just tryna make sense of the story, man. You said she cant go back. She not that far from he den... you feel me?

Kid ape: Would you sto- im finna come in there and put my foot up ya- SHUT UP! Please review before he make me put him in the pokemon center.

Other room guy: Pokemon center dont exist...

Kid ape: aight you know what?!

Quiet guy: Um... Other room guy usually brings these things on himself... so um... review and tell us what you think...

Other room guy: aight! I quit I quit! AAHHHH!