Friends Reunited

by mockstevenh

Steven is a 16 year old boy that just wants a happy life and people that love him. He still remembers the dream he had at age 12 where he is taken away from his best friend, a Shinx. But soon, he gets sucked into the world of Pokemon and discovers his old and best friend was not a dream. But things have changed. (Being rewritten!)

15. Chapter 15: City of

Hey everyone! Huh? Where did you all go? Must have scared them off. *Looks in mirror* EEEK! Who's that sexy beast? Oh, that's me. Whoops! I meant have this done much, much, earlier but I got behind on homework and was not allowed to write until I had caught up. And thank you for the reviews my faithful readers! Their all very much appreciated! Alright, this chapter's recommendation is any story by A1eXtheWr1Ter.

A few things you need to know about this chapter. It will switch PoV (Point of View) often so it may be a bit confusing. The second is that this chapter will give a bit of insight on some of the characters and their back stories, so pay attention as best as you can! Third is that if things get overly graphic I'll warn you ahead of time.

Also just in case some people get confused I'll start putting which character is what at the end of the chapters. For this chapter I'll put them right here.

Steven~Lucario
Lightning~Luxray
Erica~Shiny Mew
Ray~Quilava
Aaron~Absol
Victor~Eevee

Disclaimer: I just asked my parents and they said I do not own Pokémon!

NOW ON TO THE STORY! Nyah!

Chapter 15: City of...

We slowly entered the cloud barrier, encountering no resistance what so ever. It became very hard to see more than 20 feet in front of me as we fully entered the cloud barrier. I had Erica and Victor (who was now an Espeon) be ready to use Psychic and stop the boat or lift it in case we were about to hit a rock or something. Lightning was on watch because he could see better due to his natural X-ray vision.

"We are fine for now Steven!" Lightning yelled over to me from the front of the boat, his voice echoing through the foggy air eerily. "There is nothing sticking out of the water for a mile or so!"

"Alright!" I yelled back, my voice also echoing through the silence. It was like one of those pirate movies I saw Matt and Briana watching back in my world.

We continued on in silence for an unidentifiable amount of time. My internal clock said that it had been about two hours. Too bad I have a horrible sense of time...

Erica and Victor relaxed on the floor of the deck near the edges having stopped standing awhile ago. Lightning was on his hind legs with his fore paws on the front railing watching out just in case. Ray was down in the bathroom which is basically a hole to the bottom of the boat. Aaron sat by me watching the ocean as fog drifted over it.

More time passed and still no sign of anything. I had Ray go down and bring food up so we could all eat. He came back up a moment later with an armful of berries and one in his mouth. I asked Lightning if he saw anything. When he said no I called everyone over so we could all eat.

We all grabbed a bunch of berries from Ray leaving him with nothing but the berry in his mouth. Unfortunately, that berry was then snatched by Erica. She floated up to the top of the mast with the berry in hand giggling all the way.

"Hey!" Ray yelled to her once he realized he had been berry snatched. "Erica! That was mine!"

"I don't know what you're talking about my dear Ray." She said innocently, hiding the berry behind her. "I've had this berry the whole time."

He growled at her, but before it could get any worse I stepped in. "Here Ray," I said handing him a pink heart-shaped berry. "It was a Pecha berry right?"

He frowned as he looked from the berry to me. "But, this I your Pecha berry."

I smiled at him. "It's fine, I have other berries. Besides you seem to really like Pecha berries."

He grinned before taking the berry. "Thanks man."

"No problem." I replied with a pleasant smile. I then sat down with my berry pile and began to eat.

After we had all eaten we each returned to what we were doing and time dragged on once again... Hours maybe even minutes passed sluggishly. We entertained ourselves by playing with our tails or talking to each other.

"Guys I see something!" Lightning's voice rang through the annoying silence.

We all stopped what we were doing and immediately looked in front of the boat. There was a slight darkness in front of us through the fog and it only got darker and bigger as we got closer. It stopped after a bit and revealed a wooden bridge that just dropped off into the water. After a second of looking at it I realized it was a dock.

"Whoa!" Lightning exclaimed looking past the dock into the fog. I followed where he was looking and saw that the dock led right to it, whatever 'it' was. "There is a whole town over there guys! But I don't see anyone... Odd..."

"Alright who wants to explore?" I asked everyone. Erica's and Ray's paws shot up while Aaron, Victor, and Lightning just simply said "Me." or "I do."

"Looks like it's unanimous." I stated, "We will all Explore!"

"Yeah!"

Too bad we didn't have fear in our hearts...

~Time Skip and PoV Switch~ Aaron

We reached the town Lightning spoke of mere moments after we set off, but we did not find any life here. It was desolate and eerie. The town did not look damaged, nor did it look like any building I've seen a Pokémon make. Buildings with triangular tops were all around us. Farther past the buildings were cliffs that I could not see the top of. But it seemed that they acted as a barrier to protect the town.

We walked into the town on a paved dirt road just like the ones at treasure town. We walked down the road between the "houses" hoping to find someone, but the town was empty, and it looked like it was still inhabited. The fog only made everything all the more eerie making me wonder why the heck it was so foggy.

We came to a crossroad and stopped in the middle. I looked at the other three ways and then back the way we came. They all looked the same!

"We are going to need to place a marker here so we can find our way back everyone." Steven told us in a slightly hushed voice. "Any ideas?"

"We could light a fire here." Ray said in an equally hushed voice. Apparently everyone could feel the strange atmosphere.

"That might work Ray," Steven replied. "But a few problems. One, what are we going to use as fuel and two, What if it goes out?"

Ray opened his mouth as if to tell Steven how it would work, but then re-closed his mouth as he realized his idea would not work. His ears lowered and looked down at the ground and muttered, "It seemed like a good idea..."

Steven put his paw under his chin as his face took on a look of being deep in thought. Lightning walked up to Steven and tapped his shoulder with his own tail. Steven looked back at him and Lightning nodded. Steven had a look of questioning on his face which soon turned to realization.

"Okay everyone back up!" Steven said suddenly.

We all backed up and Steven closed his eyes. His paws began to glow with mint green energy and he suddenly jumped into the air and vanished in the fog. A few seconds later he came blasting back through the fog heading to the ground head first. He hit the ground with a boom and earth shot everywhere. I covered my eyes with a paw as I squinted for a sign of Steven. The dust settled and Steven was standing in a small crater in the center of the crossroad. He was perfectly fine and seemed to be smiling at what he had done.

"There!" He said triumphantly. "Now we have a marker!"

"Steven…" I heard Erica say quietly, her voice vibrating with anger. But he seemed to hear and turned to look at her fearfully. "You know you could have asked me to make a marker instead of spraying dirt all over us."

"Um…" He said nervously. "I was trying to make something that was completely obvious and I knew it would be a bit hard for you to tear some earth out of the ground."

"Fine." She said seeming to forgive him. "But don't do it again unless you want to have a repeat of last time."

"Yes!" He said saluting her. No one laughed at this seeing as we all knew how scary Erica could be when angered.

"Not to butt in or anything," I said slightly impatiently. "But what now?"

"Oh!" Steven said relived for the change of subject. "Well we are going to split up into groups of two. Because Ray and Victor get along well you two will be in one group and take the right path." They both nodded and set off down the path and disappeared into the mist.

"Aaron, you will be with Erica and take the left path." He said looking pleadingly at Erica. She nodded and he continued. "Lightning and I will take the front path."

He finished there and we set off in our directions. I walked by Erica who looked down at me querulously as she flew around. I looked up at her slightly annoyed by her antics but stayed calm never the less.

"So…" She started, but I cut her off.

"If you are going to ask about my past, don't." I said as nicely as I could. "I have no memory of it."

"Really?" She asked interestedly. "I think I might be able to help."

I was about to reply to her when an unearthly screech sounded throughout the village. I couldn't pinpoint the direction it came from and it made my fur stand on end making me look slightly fluffy.

"Stay here I'm going to check on the others really quick!" She commanded and floated in place with her eyes closed.

"Um…" I said after she floated in midair for awhile doing nothing. "Not to burst your bubble but what are you doing?"

"Huh?" She said opening her eyes. "Why am I still here? I should have teleported…"

She looked around at the village around us before her eyes took on a look of horror. "Crap!" She said looking very scared. "We need to get out of here now!"

"Why what's wrong?" I asked totally lost.

She never got to answer because in the next second she had vanished a long with everything else around me. I felt that I was falling all of the sudden as everything around me turned white.

~Location - Unknown~

I kept falling and falling until I landed on what I assumed to be a floor. I looked down at the ground and was met with the sight of two pale humans walking in a forest.

One of them had short white hair and two eyes that were different colors. His left eye was blue while his right eye was crimson red. He wore a white zip-up jacket that was left unzipped to reveal his black shirt. For lower garments he wore black jeans with some blue and red running shoes. He wore a medium sized sword on his back.

The other one who was in front of him had long white hair and had blue eyes. She wore a gold sweater and some baggy black jeans a long with some blue running shoes. She wore a bow and a quiver that was fully stocked.

"Hey sis?" The male said with worry in her voice "What are we going to do if we can't find Dad?"

"Oh don't worry about it!" She said confidently, but worry still shone in her eyes. "I'm sure he'll be fine! It is Dad after all."

"Okay."

They continued walking for a little while before the brother held out an arm for her to stop. He pointed into a grove of trees and they both sneaked up to get a better look.

"Pokémon…" The brother whispered. She nodded and they both proceeded to sneak around the grove. The brother drew his sword and his sister drew her bow and notched an arrow. The brother ad a scythe like appendage on the hilt of his sword and the sister had blades on the ends of her bow. They both kept sneaking around the grove until they made it past and continued walking. They had only made it about a foot when they heard a growl. They both looked around and saw a Mightyena come out of the brush in front of them along with five others. The Mightyena slowly walked towards them and the sis trained an arrow at the leader. They kept walking towards them and they in turn walked slowly backwards into the grove.

They came into the grove with the Mightyena and them not making any moves to attack the other. The brother then looked around the grove and saw that there was a man behind them. He elbowed his sister lightly and they looked between the Man and the Mightyena who had converged around the man and were growling at them.

The man had his face hidden in a hood that he wore and the darkness of the forest only aided him. He wore a cloak that hid the rest of his body making it impossible to know who he is. Then the man began to laugh. It was a high pitched, maniacal laugh that set your hairs on end. The man then said five words that swept any thought of running away from this man.

WARNING! MILD GORE AHEAD!

"So you are his Children." He said in a happy voice, as if it was his birthday.

Without thinking the sister immediately demanded, "What did you do with our father?!"

"The man seemed to become happier at her question as he replied in in a overly joyful tone, "Oh I killed him! It was quite great actually, he kept pleading for mercy saying he had to take care of his two children. But alas, I had my digs rip out his guts and before he could die I-" He stopped suddenly upon seeing the angry looks we gave him.

"Oh! I see I've mad you angry haven't I?" He said in a condensing tone. "But little children are not allowed to be angry with their elders, I think I'll have to punish you."

The boy and girl both looked at him menacingly as the man raised his right arm. The girl Shot her arrow at the man but one of the Mightyena jumped in the way and and took the shoot right through the head killing it instantly. The man fidgeted, seeming to stare at the body of the Mightyena, before bursting out saying, "YOU KILLED MY PET! I'LL-" But what ever he was going to say next was cut off as another arrow pierced his neck. He clutched his neck as blood poured freely from the pierced artery before falling on the ground and bleeding out.

A silence fell throughout the area before howls ripped through it. The howls came from the Mightyena that surrounded the siblings. The howls then changed to low growls as they stalked towards the siblings. The sister pulled out another arrow and trained on the nearest Mightyena as the brother got into a fighting stance. Then the battle for survival began.

The brother slashed the first Mightyena to jump at him clean in half and followed up by reliving another of it's head. I could only see through the Brother's eyes as he slew each Mightyena. Another Mightyena was smarter than the ones who now lay dead at the brother's feet at stood a good distance away and charged up a Shadow Ball and launched it at him. He flipped his sword around so he was using the Scythe part the stabbed the nearest body and put it between him and the ghostly ball. The body was obliterated and he dashed through the resulting smoke and stabbed his scythe through the Mightyena's skull.

He heard a scream from behind him and quickly turned around. His sister had her back against the tree and was clutching her stomach as blood oozed from three claw wounds. Her bow was in two pieces behind the last Mightyena which was closing in on her. He quickly dash over and stabbed the scythe through the Mightyena's spine. It screeched in pain before he silenced it by pulling the scythe and cutting it in half.

Seeing that all the Mightyena were dead he looked back to his sister who was now on the ground with blood pooling around her. "SILICA!" He screamed as he dashed over to her and lifted her up into his arms and looked onto her pained face.

"Aaron... I'm sorry..." She croaked as as her eyes began to dim.

"No, it's alright your going to be fine." He said as tears streamed down his eyes. He knew perfectly well that he was lying to himself, she had suffered a fatal wound.

"I'm s...sor...ry..." Her eyes lost their shine and her body fell limp. I held her in my arms as I began to cry fully now. I had finally lost everything.

I put my hand to her face as if this would somehow make her come back. I put her back down and stood up, I had to get stronger so I would not lose anything ever again. Everything around me went blank and I feel into darkness once more. But as quickly as the darkness had come, it disappeared. I stood up on my four legs and looked around at the forest. I had only one thought in my head. To get stronger.

~Real World~

I opened my eyes and looked around. I was back at the check point we made! I then remembered what had happened.

"Erica!?" I yelled suddenly. "Where are you!?"

~Time Backtrack~ Erica

"The silence is killing me!" I thought as we walked through the fog with me floating around looking at Aaron. "Maybe I could ask him about his past?"

"So..." I started, trying to find the right words but he cut me off, seeming to have guessed my unspoken question.

"If you are going to ask about my past, don't." He said seeming to struggle with being polite. "I have no memory of it."

"Really?" I asked interestedly, thinking of my Physic powers. "I think I might be able to help."

he opened his mouth to say something but was cut off by an unearthly screech that resounded throughout the village. I instantly became worried for my brother. I didn't want to lose him when I only recently found him!

"Stay here I'm going to check on the others really quick!" I commanded Aaron before concentrating on appearing by Steven.

"Um…" I heard Aaron say after awhile. "Not to burst your bubble but what are you doing?"

"Huh?" I said opening my eyes. "Why am I still here? I should have teleported…"

I felt fear grip me all the sudden as I looked around at the Village. Then it hit me like a Watergun to the face. "How could I have not noticed before!" I thought, reprimanding myself.

"Crap!" I said turning to Aaron, failing to see the Shadow coming towards Aaron. "We need to get out of here now!"

"Why what's wrong?" He asked in total bewilderment. But before I could answer him the shadow swallowed him up and sank into the ground.

"AARON!" I screamed lunging in vain at the shadow. It sunk fully into the ground and disappeared with me crashing into the spot where Aaron had once stood.

I slammed my fist into the ground where Aaron had once been. "DANG IT!" I screeched, slamming my fist once more into the ground but not making the slightest difference.

I felt a presence behind me and I quickly flew up to avoid it. I turned as I flew up and saw a shadow just like the one that had taken Aaron. Overcome with anger towards it, I thrust out my paw and launched a extremely focused beam of Dark energy at it. It cut threw it instantly causing the shadow to fade away. But I had no time to rest as a screech echoed all around me. I tensed but it became dead silent once more.

The fog thickened to the point that I could no longer see anything other then myself. I felt fear grip me as the world around me become unnaturally cold. The dread flowed irrationally through my veins as I began to panic. I felt as if I was about to die even though there was no sing of danger."Steven!" I thought desperately. "Save me!"

But no help would come. Perhaps I already knew that, but it didn't make these next moments become any less terrifying. Everything was quiet. No one was here, I was alone.

I felt tears escape the confines of my eyes and slide slowly down the fur of my cheeks. I was alone again, and I knew it. I curled into a small ball trying to make myself small and insignificant as I drifted on to the dirt road sobbing.

Then out of the fog came a crème colored fox with many tails. I only vaguely noticed this as I was too consumed in my fear. I felt something soft, warm, and welcoming curl around me silently telling me that it was okay.

"It's okay Erica," I heard in my ear. "Because I'm always with you..."

And is soon as it had come it was gone. The warmth, the soothing voice, the fur, my Pokémon mother. It sat up, tears no longer falling down my blue furred cheeks, and looked around. Not a soul was in sight, and yet, I felt as if something, something full of love, was watching over me, keeping me safe. Hardening my resolve I began to float once again down the path, to find Aaron...

~Time Backtrack~ Victor

"Stupid fog," My companion grumbled, trying to keep the blue flame on his back lit. "Why can't it just disappear..."

"Well my loyal pup." I said in a snide voice, eager to get back at him for his constant grumbling.

"I'm not a -" He began, looking at me with anger in his eyes, but I cut him off.

"Tut tut," I said grinning widely, perhaps I had a slight sadistic streak? "You mustn't interrupt your companion."

He grumbled something inaudible that sounded oddly like, "Your never like this with Steven..." But I continued on, as if I could not hear him.

"As I was saying before I was so rudely interrupted, you should just keep it out. It's not like it's going to do us any good with you keeping it lit."

"Fine!" He yelled his flame going out instantly. We continued to walk in silence for a few moments before we said anything.

"I'm sorry," I apologized, feeling guilty for treating my friend like that. "I was just annoyed at you for grumbling so much."

"It's alright," He replied, accepting my apology. "I know you weren't acting yourself."

WARNING! SLIGHT GORE AHEAD!

I opened my mouth to reply but then a... creature appeared in front of us. It was a quadrupedal... thing, that had no eyes, only bloody sockets. It looked skeletal with black leathery skin that stretched unnaturally on it. It had paws with great large claws that did not match it's unholy body. It stood about a foot higher then both me and Ray combined. I would have liked to say that it had horns with how it looked like a monster from the Distortion World, but it did not.

Not even attempting to conceal it, I shook in fear. This was not something we could beat on our own. Transforming into my Espeon form I sent a telepathic message to Ray as he stood paralyzed next to me. I did not once take my eyes of this creature in case it tried to attack.

We both took one step back (with me pulling Ray) and the creature took a step towards us. With that one step, it sent a truly horrible sound at us. It had the sound of a infant in horrible pain mixed in with the sound of cracking of bones causing us to cringe. With a shock I realized that the sounds came from two different locations. One came not from the creatures mouth, which remained closed, but from its body. The second came from everywhere else. It was like we were amidst the tortured souls of the Distortion World.

Thinking quickly, I transformed into Umbreon and focused my anger. I let the feeling of rippling electricity spread through my body before jumping above Ray and launch the Dark Pulse in every direction. The sounds of more wailing told me it hit. Using this moment of confusing a latched on to Ray with my mouth and pulled him back the way we came. Getting the message he turned allowing me to let go as we both began to run. In order to go faster, he got on both paws and began sprinting.

With both of us running for our lives, we had very little time to check for any enemies. But then again, we didn't have to. The sound of running could be heard behind us I felt intense heat next to me telling me that Ray had sent a fire attack behind us. Following his example, I sent Shadow Ball behind me, not really aiming, just hoping to confuse the enemy. It must have worked because the sounds behind us ceased after a resounding boom.

Knowing that it would only occupy those things for a short while and upon noticing that Ray was way ahead of me, I picked up the speed. As soon as I caught up with him we burst through the fog and in to the checkpoint.

~Time Backtrack~ Ray

"Stupid fog," I grumbled for the umpteenth time. It was really making it hard to keep my flame lit. "Why can't it just disappear..."

"Well my loyal pup." Victor said in a snide voice as he walked by me.

"I'm not a -" I began, feeling anger surge through my body as I looked at him.

"Tut tut," He interrupted me, thus irritating me farther. "You mustn't interrupt your companion."

"Your never like this with Steven..." I grumbled quietly, feeling distinctly pissed, but at least it was keeping my flame lit.

"As I was saying before I was so rudely interrupted, you should just keep it out. It's not like it's going to do us any good with you keeping it lit." He continued on, seeming not to have heard my comment.

"Fine!" I yelled at him, allowing my flame to go out. I allowed the silence that came afterward to continue without interruption, using it to calm down.

"I'm sorry," He apologized suddenly, looking at me guiltily. He must have not been annoyed to the point that he didn't listen to reason. "I was just annoyed at you for grumbling so much."

"It's alright," I said calmly, feeling much better that he hadn't meant to be so mean. "I know you weren't acting yourself."

WARNING! SLIGHT GORE AHEAD!

He opened his mouth to say something but stopped abruptly, staring directly in front of us with a look of fear. I turned around to find myself looking into the bloody sockets of a spawn from the distortion world.

I could only guess that Victor was seeing the same thing. My body seemed to freeze up and my senses were barely useable. "Ray, get ready to run." I heard in my head, but did not really register that it was Victor's voice. I felt a sharp pain pierce my paw as I was tugged back a step. Then the sound of screaming awoke me from my stupor and I noticed that waves of dark energy were being sent in every direction above me. I felt a sharp pain once again in my paw as I was tugged backward, away from the spawn. Getting the massage I began to run away from the spawn. Pain dulled slightly in my paw but I did not stop to check.

I only vaguely noticed that I was running beside a Umbreon, but that did nothing to hamper my progress. Taking the chance, I turned my head and shot a white hot Flamethrower pursuingcreature. Not checking to see if it hit I turned and ran harder. A loud boom broke through the air behind me and I felt the presence of the Umbreon beside me once again. I heard what sounded like a voice calling for someone named "Erica". But who she was I did not know at the moment because I saw the familiar sight of the checkpoint in front of me.

~Time Backtrack~ Lightning

We had just gone through the front path and instantly the Fog closed in around us like a blanket. Knowing that the fog was just water in gas form, I had to keep my electricity down. I had been looking for a good chance to talk to Steven alone for awhile and now was as good a time as any.

"Hey Steven, about that nightmare I had back at the bluff..." I said nervously, trying not to seem scared in any way. "Do you think that something like that could happen?"

He stayed quiet for a second, seeming to ponder my question. "Well let me answer you with another question." He said seriously. "What makes you think that it couldn't happen?"

The question momentarily stunned me before I pondered it and answered, "Well you could be possessed by a ghost of some kind, but I don't think I would end up having to kill you because of it."

"Exactly." He said with a smile. "I definitely could be taken over, but what's to say you won't be able to free me?"

Before I could answer Steven continued, "The reason that you would be able to free me would be because of our friendship. I believe that you could free me, Lightning. Nothing will ever change the fact that you are my best and closest friend."

My mouth open as I stood rooted to the spot, stunned. Shaking my head I ran to catch back up with Steven who was chuckling lightly. I guessed that my face had amused him.

"Now it's my turn to ask you something, even though I already did." He said with another chuckle before continuing on and resuming his serious demeanor. "What happened to your parents Lightning?"

I felt as if I had been drenched in ice cold water when that question reached my ears. I looked at the ground, I had been hoping not to tell him this as it would only bring back that sense of abandonment.

Noticing my sudden change in mood, Steven quickly said, "You don't have to tell me, I know that it is a touchy subject."

"No," I said, realizing I would feel much better in confiding in my best friend. "I want tell you, no need to tell you."

He stayed silent as I gathered my resolve to go back to those painful memories. "Two years ago, right after that dream where we made contact with each other, I decided to go visit my family. I felt heartened by getting to talk to you again and I felt I would at least see you again. So it made it that much easier to go back. I never told you this, but my family never actually wanted me to become a explorer. They were completely against it and had said they would disown me if I even tried to become a explorer."

"I of course was still a coward, but at that moment, I just felt as if I had to stand up to my parents. So I did just that... My father... he tried to kill me... saying he needed to rid this world of some filth..." I had tears running down my face now. I fell on to my haunches trying to say more. But before another word could come out, I felt arms around my neck and a body pressed against me.

"It's alright Lightning," He said soothingly in my ear. "I know exactly how you feel."

I felt a rush of anger and jumped back away from Steven and out of his hug. "How could you possibly know how I feel?!" I snarled at him.

He looked at me with hurt look before saying gently, "Lightning, I had a Father who shot me simply because he thought I was trash."

In those few words I felt all the anger leave me, only to be replaced by guilt. "I-I'm sorry..." I apologized with a small voice as I looked at the ground, once again falling to my haunches.

"It's okay Lightning." He said, his voice gentler still. "I know you didn't mean it."

Then once again, I felt those arms around my neck and the body pressed against me. Not holding back any more, I cried tears full of sorrow and longing as I threw my fore legs around him, returning his hug. I cried for a bit longer before, feeling a lot better, began my story once again. But I did not let go of Steven as I told him.

"After my father tried to k-kill me, I ran. I ran until I could no longer feel those horrible eyes of my father on me. When I stopped and looked at where I was I found myself on the beach that we met at. And there on that beach I saw a strange looking rock that was a different color then the rest. It attracted me. I could not resist it's pull and when I picked it up. I found it to be a Relic Fragment. The very same one that I had the day I met you." I smiled as I recounted the day we met.

"Then, years later, after we made contact in that dream, I gathered up the courage and went off to find my parents. I found the place we had lived so long ago. But all I found there was grave with nothing to tell me who it was. My parents were gone and I knew that, but that didn't stop me from looking around again and again until, I found my old resting place. But all that told me was that it had not been touched since I ran away."

"There was nothing for me to find anymore. They were gone." I finished sadly. We just sat there in silence for a few more seconds until a screech filled the foggy air.

Not wasting any time, I dashed off, back towards the checkpoint. I didn't even have to check to see if Steven was coming as I could hear his paws hitting the ground behind me. That screech had come from near the checkpoint and judging by the more fur rising screeches, some of our team members were in trouble.

~Time Backtrack~Steven

The fog surrounded us as we stepped on to the path, blighting our sight. Silence enfolded around us, allowing us to only hear the sound of our paws hitting the ground, which really was barely noticeable as it is. The eeriness of it all put my fur on end.

"Hey Steven, about that nightmare I had back at the bluff..." Lightning said suddenly, nearly making me jump and my heart beat spike up. "Do you think that something like that could happen?"

I had to calm myself down as I tried to figure out what he asked. I thought about what he asked (once I had figured out what that was) before I found a way to answer him while also asking him his own question at the same time. "Well let me answer you with another question." I told, making sure he new that I was entirely serious. "What makes you think that it couldn't happen?"

Judging by the pause, I had momentarily stunned him, or he was just thinking really hard. "Well you could be possessed by a ghost of some kind," He said slowly. "But I don't think I would end up having to kill you because of it."

"Exactly." I said, smiling at him; he had understood. "I definitely could be taken over, but what's to say you won't be able to free me?"

I felt I had to make sure he new with a certainty that I believed in him 100%, so I continued before he could answer. "The reason that you would be able to free me would be because of our friendship. I believe that you could free me, Lightning. Nothing will ever change the fact that you are my best and closest friend."

Lighting stopped with his mouth hanging open. I chuckled at the amusing sight as I continued walking, he would catch up. And almost immediately, I heard him run to catch up with me.

"Now it's my turn to ask you something, even though I already did." I said with another lighthearted chuckle, but regained my serious air soon after. This question had been bugging me ever since we had left the region. "What happened to your parents Lightning?"

The silence that followed was horrible. I knew instantly that something had indeedhappened to his parents. His eyes clouded with a look of emptiness before he looked at the ground.

Not wanting to cause him any more emotional pain, I quickly told him, "You don't have to tell me, I know that it is a touchy subject." I did indeed know that it was a touchy subject. I had after all been betrayed by my family.

"No," He replied slowly. "I want tell you, no need to tell you."

I waited quietly as he mentally prepared himself to tell me. He started with two years ago, after the dream I had where we had communicated. He then talked about how, before he became a explorer, his father had reacted to his decision. "...My father... he tried to kill me... saying he needed to rid this world of some filth..." He stopped suddenly as if he was chocking on his own words. He fell on to his haunches and opened his mouth trying to say more. I didn't want him to talk any more, at least, until he had calmed down.

I put my arms around his neck in a form of hug and held him close. "It's alright Lightning," I said him, wanting him to be okay. "I know exactly how you feel."

I didn't expect what came next. He broke out of my hug as he jumped back, getting in a offensive position. "How could you possibly know how I feel?!" He snarled at me, eyes full of hatred and anger.

I felt his words pierce right through my heart like icy daggers. The look of in his eyes hurt me just as much as the words, but I tried hard to hide how much that had hurt me and replied in a gentle voice. "Lightning, I had a Father who shot me simply because he thought I was trash."

His disposition changed instantly to a look of guilt. He looked at the ground and said in a small voice, full of regret. "I-I'm sorry..." As soon as he said that he fell on to his haunches once again.

"It's okay Lightning." I said, finding it easier to be kind. "I know you didn't mean it."

I then went over to him and once again hugged him, very glad that I didn't have a chest spike. He not retaliate, but instead, returned my hug as he burst into tears. He kept crying onto my as I simply held on to him, glad that he was no longer mad at me. Then suddenly he began talking, continuing his story where he left off in a shaky voice.

His grip tightened around me as he talked about how he had ran from his family and found himself on the beach where we met. He then told me how he had then found the Relic fragment and then skipped ahead, returning to after the dream. He told me how had gone and searched for his family's home. He continued to talk about he he had found his home only to find a grave and that no one had lived there for a longtime.

"There was nothing for me to find anymore. They were gone." He finished, his voice full of sorrow. I stayed silent, not wanting to say anything. He seemed to be fine with that as he too, stayed silent. But all that had just transpired was quickly wiped from my head, as a demonic screech filled the air.

Lightning was the first to react as he jumped away from me and dashed towards the checkpoint, at which I promptly followed. There was a chorus of more screeches that sound distinctly like infants. This caused me to run faster. I overtook Lightning and sped into the checkpoint zone. I took in everything in a instant.

Near the edge I saw Arron calling for Erica, looking distinctly spooked. I saw Ray and Victor blast through the fog from there path and Erica dash through hers. It was easy to figure out where the threat had come from seeing as Ray and Victor where that only ones that were breathing heavily. Seeing that they had no cuts or anything to tell me if they fought made me think otherwise, so I assumed that they had not encountered whatever had made that sound.

My speculation proved to be wrong almost instantly as a demonic roar came from directly behind them. "EVERYONE GET BACK TO THE SHIP!" I yelled over the roar. They all froze and snapped there heads at me, seemingly forgetting about what ever had just roared. I myself had no clue what it was but anything that could make that kind of sound is not something we want to mess with. I was going to make sure that my team made it out of here alive.

"WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR?!" I roared, not unlike what ever had just a moment ago. "GO!"

WARNING! GORE!

And they all ran back towards the boat with Lightning running to take the lead. I followed Erica who was at the back across the checkpoint, back towards the ship. But before I could even make it to the path that led to the ship something plowed into me. I was sent flying, but before I could land, I corrected myself in mid-air. I spun so that I landed on my back paws with one paw on the ground for support and another charging up a Aura Sphere. I looked at the creature that had ran into me and two words came to mind, Hell Spawn.

It's eyes were gone, replaced by red bloody sockets, and it being a quadrupedal being, stood on four paws. Its skin was leathery black and had claw on it's paws that reminded me of a prehistoric Raptor. It's muzzle was hanging agape with sharp decaying teeth. It seemed to be breathing but something told me that it wasn't actually alive. It made rattling sounds as it breathed and not once did it move.

Know that my Aura Sphere would more then likely not work due to it being a fighting type attack, I began to try and remember my family that I had shot me on that cliff. I felt anger start to flow through my veins like a poison as each memory of what my "family" had done to me throughout my life passed through my head. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw my Aura Sphere change from its normal mint green color to a blackish purple color.

I then slowly moved towards the path that led to the ship, keeping my eyes on the creature. I heard my name being called from down the path. 'Looks like they just noticed that I'm gone.' I thought with hatred coating my thoughts. I just loathed everything right now, and I didn't know why. But I didn't have anymore time to think about it as the creature charged me.

I felt my anger flare up as it came to me in slow motion. 'How dare it charge me?! How dare it even try to touch me?!' I wanted that creature dead. I wanted to see it ripped to shreds. I then noticed that I had a pitch-black Aura Sphere in my paw.

"DIE YOU FOUL CREATURE!" I bellowed as I launched the black sphere at it. As soon as the sphere left my paw, I felt my anger evaporate to be replaced with a feeling of relative peace. The sphere made contact with its head and went in a few inches before exploding. Before the smoke enveloped it, I saw its head disintegrate. I felt slightly sick at seeing that but I remembered that I had to get to the ship.

I ran onto the path and ran towards the ship. I heard a hair-rising screech as I ran but ignored it. I saw the ship already turned around along with Lightning on the pier looking like he was arguing with someone. But stopped as he heard me running towards him. I didn't even need to tell him as we both jumped onto the ship.

"ERICA, VICTOR, GET US OUT OF HERE!" I yelled to them before I could even see them. At once the ship began to move back through the fog.

I then ran over to were we put the wheel and began giving orders. "Lightning, protect Erica! Ray, protect Victor! Aaron, get up here and get ready to launch a dark type attack at anything that comes towards our ship!"

I heard the same screeches from before coming from behind the boat. I quickly went to the back of the boat and stared out through the fog. The screeching got farther and farther away until I could hear only the sound of the water below.

"Don't ease up yet!" I commanded. "We aren't safe until we are out of this fog!"

I felt a presence behind me and turned around to find... Nothing. 'Probably just all the tension taking a tole on my senses.' I thought, shaking my head before turning around to look back through the fog.

Time passed slowly with nothing happening until... "WE'RE OUT!" Ray yelled. And sure enough, the dying rays of the dusk sun flowed on to us, warming our bodies. I looked behind the ship at the fleeing fog. We were out of that place finally. I felt wind blow through my fur as I stared behind the ship across the water.

"Everyone! At ease!" I yelled to them as night crept over us, leaving us in relative darkness.. I heard a collected sigh of relief and the sounds of bodies collapsing on to the floor of the ship. I went look and saw that both Erica and Victor, who was now back in Eevee form, had collapsed and passed out.

Seeing as there was wind once again the ship would move on it's own again so I went back to the wheel. But before I could even get slightly settled and ready to stay awake a while longer, Lightning shouted, effectively waking up Erica and Victor. "I SEE LAND!"

"WHAT!?" Everyone else shouted, including me.

"I SAID-" He started but was cut off by Erica.

"WE KNOW WHAT YOU SAID!" She yelled back, looking slightly miffed. "WE WERE JUST SURPRISED!"

"Oh..." He said in a small voice.

"Lightning," I asked him kindly. "Which way?"

"Strait ahead..." He replied, pawing at the wooden floor.

"How far?"

This caused him to snap his head back to the front saying, "Oh crap."

We didn't need to ask as the ship suddenly stopped, sending us all crashing forward (except Erica who had been floating, but she then pretended that she too had been sent forward, landing with a fake "ow") on to the ground.

Looks like we had made it to some new land...

8006 words! Wow! This is my longest chapter yet! Also I really must apologize for the long wait. I meant to have this done by Halloween, but that didn't happen. I really worked hard on this chapter and it would really help if you guys/girls told me if I misspelled anything or missed a word, just any errors. If you would also please leave a review of what you thought of this chapter, it would be much appreciated! So without further ado, Nyah!