And today's special thanks goes to… Windy Rain and Tomoji-Kun for their wonderful and unique OCs!

I'm still accepting, so please submit! See chapter one for details

As the sun snuck into the dark burrow, Venom's tired eyes opened. Remembering (though foggily) of the events that transpired last night. He sighed as he smelled the air for the Cubone, but only found a small, lingering scent. The creature had left, leaving him and his sweet, sweet solitude. He sighed and closed his eyes again, deciding that he wasn't hungry enough to get up yet.

Two minutes after he fell asleep, a berry was shoved into his mouth.

Nearly chocking, Venom reared up, spitting out the awful tasting fruits. He glared down at Cubone, who was standing there, with an armful of berries. "I brought food," she announced.

Venom made a growling/groaning/hissing sound. "Why?" he asked, exasperated.

"Because I'm being useful!" Cubone said. She held up the fruit. "Want more?"

Venom sighed. "Those things are called Bitter Berries. They taste awful. Where did you pick them?"

"I found a bush near the big trees that way." She pointed with her bone out of the hole. Then, noting the distaste on his face, Cubone blinked slowly. "You don't like them?" she asked curiously.

"No," Venom hissed.

"Oh." The Cubone walked to the entrance of the burrow and tossed the berries out. She immediately walked back. "So what kind of fruit do you want?"

Venom wrapped his coils around his head and curled into a ball, trying to go back to sleep. "Go away," he muttered.

"But I want to help!" whined Cubone. "Don't you like fruit? I'll get you anything you like!"

Venom just groaned. So, Cubone continued. "I want to help you! Let me! I wanna show that I can help!" Her eyes began to tear up, and she began to sniffle.

Eager to avoid more crying, Venom reared his head and sighed, trying to be less angry. "You know what I like?" he asked. "Apples. They're big red fruits that grow on trees. How about you go and pick apples."

Cubone stopped crying at once and said, "Okay!" before running off; dragging the large femur she carried behind her, eager to please.

Venom sighed and wrapped his body into a circle, before falling back asleep. With any luck, the Cubone probably wouldn't stop trying to get the apples that grew in trees far taller than her until nightfall. That gave him some time to finally relax.

How did he get wrapped into this again?

Finding apples had been easy enough. The big red fruits hung on large trees. Their shiny red skins shone in the sun, and Cubone laughed happily as she ran to the tree, eager to please her host. Maybe he'd be friendlier if she gave him something to eat. Maybe he'd even let her stay…

However, a difficulty soon reared its ugly head in front of Cubone. The tree was several times her height. She tried jumping, but that did no good. She tried a running jump, which ended in a faceplant (thank God for the skull on her head), and she tried throwing her femur bone into the air to knock them down, but it ended up missing the tree completely. The bone sailed through the air and landed next to another apple tree.

Crying out for her sole possession (unless you want to count her skull) Cubone chased after it.

When she reached the other tree, she picked up the bone and dropped to the ground, tired. Picking apples was harder than it looked. Berries had been easier. She tossed the bone in the air like a baton, catching it when it descended, as she sat there thinking. There had to be a way to get that purple lizardy thing who had opened his home and made her feel welcome after their… rather rough beginning. It was only fair, after all! Another bone toss, and another catch as Cubone sighed. Poor purple guy… he would never get his snack…

Then, a brown and cream colored flash blurred by, leaping towards the tree she had tried to retrieve apples from before. A strange fluffy creature began to jump up and grab apples, straight from the branches even! Cubone hopped up and walked over to the tree, eager to see the strange creature. It had long, fluff covered ears on its head, which had a bright orange cap on it. It had two bright eyes, and a big smile as it bounced on its fuzzy legs, propelling it into the trees branches without any trouble at all. It filled the orange bag it was holding with apples until it was full, and then stopped bouncing, placing the bag on the ground, and began to count its loot.

"Wow!" Cubone said, as soon as she was next to the creature, who looked up surprised. "You bounced real high!"

The creature blinked. "Uh, yeah," it replied in a female voice. "I'm a Buneary! I'm really good at jumping!"

"Wow!" said Cubone, obviously impressed. "That's so cool."

The Buneary sweat-dropped. "Uh, we're really kinda common Pokémon. You've really never seen a Buneary before?"

Cubone shook her head, her eyes sparkling. "Do you think you can help me pick apples?" she asked. "My friend loves apples, so I'm picking them for him! But the branches are too high! Please?"

The Buneary smiled a bit and nodded. "Okay," she said. "I'm Bessie. What's your name?"

Cubone thought about it for a second. "Uh, dunno. I'm just Cubone."

The Buneary shrugged. "Oh well then, let's go. Let's get some apples. Does he want red or green?"

Cubone paused. "I dunno…" she muttered. "Do you think he likes green better?"

Bessie Buneary sighed. "Cubone, he's your friend."

Cubone tapped her skull, and then said, "Let's get both! Where are the green ones?"

"Oh, the green ones grow on that side of the hill," said Bessie. "Right by the woods. Those are the best apples in all of Tiny Island!"

Cubone stared. "Tiny Island?" she asked.

Bessie stared back. "You don't even know where we are? Are you new or something?"

Cubone shrugged. "I don't think I ever crossed an ocean before," she said, thinking. "I never liked water much."

Bessie sighed. "You're just a kid," she muttered. "Well, okay. Let's go to the apple tress over the hill. Come on!" she said, grabbing Cubone's hand and hoping off with the laughing reptile.

When the two reached the trees, Cubone stared happily at the large tree with the bright green apples hanging off its branches. "Perfect~!" she said in a sing-song voice as she began jumping, trying to reach the precious fruits.

Bessie easily jumped higher than the Cubone and grabbed an apple. She plopped back on the ground and handed it to the Cubone. "See?" she asked. "It's easy, if you have powerful legs like mine. Maybe Cubone just aren't made for apple picking." She shrugged.

A look of fiery determination covered Cubone's face. "You'll see!" she declared. She ran back and positioned herself, aiming for the tree. Then, after putting down her bone, charged at the tree, and executed a running jump, aiming for the branches. However, she missed completely, and ran headfirst in the trunk of the tree. The vibration cause several apples to dislodge and fall at the Cubone's feet, as she lay on the ground, clutching her skull.

Bessie ran up. "Ohmygosh!" she said quickly. "Are you okay?"

"I'll tell you when the world stops spinning," Cubone said, before tripping on her own tail and falling over. "Told you I'd get them."

Bessie laughed. "I guess you were right!" she said, offering a hand to help her new friend up. "Well, you got your green apples. You can have some of my red ones too. I don't need all of them."

"Thanks!" Cubone said. "Now my friend will be so happy!" She ran off to retrieve her bone, and then the two began to walk away from the trees when a voice cut them off.

"Help! Someone help!"

Cubone turned and saw a strange, red spider-like creature scuttling through the field. It called out to them, repeating its plea for assistance. Bessie saw the creature and shuddered. "Uh, Cubone," she began. But, it was too late. Cubone took off to the creature. "Cubone, wait!" cried Buneary. "That's an Ariados! They're dangerous!"

"But she needs help!" said Cubone, ignoring her friend. She ran up to the worried looking Spider-Pokémon and asked, "What's wrong?"

The Ariados made a relieved sigh. "Oh, thank goodness!" she said, clicking her mandibles. "I need help! My baby Spinarak was captured by a Fearow! He's stuck in the monster's nest on top of a tree! My husband and eldest son tried to save him, but Fearow knocked them down and they got knocked out! If we don't hurry, my baby will be lunch!"

Cubone gaped. "Oh, no!" she said. "That's awful!" Then, putting on a very brave face (though you couldn't see it under her mask) she declared, "Well, I don't know who this 'Fearow' is, but I'm not going to let him eat babies! Come on, Bessie! Let's save Spinarak!"

"What?" Bessie said, surprised.

"Oh, thank you!" Ariados said. "I swear I'll repay you somehow!"

"Alright!" Cubone said. "Those apples will have to wait. Come on, Bessie! We have some rescuing to do…" And with that, Cubone dragged an unwilling Bessie with her to the forest.

The forest stood before them. Large trees shrouding the area with shadow. After a few minutes of following Ariados, Bessie whispered to Cubone, "What were you thinking?"

"What do you mean," Cubone said, out loud, before Bessie hushed her.

"Volunteering us like that!" Bessie whispered harshly. "Ariados are poisonous! They can be very dangerous! How could you volunteer us so recklessly?"

"Bessie," giggled Cubone. "We need to help others. It's the right thing to do. You aren't scared are you?"

"No!" said Bessie. "Besides, I have things I need to be alive for. I have some unfinished business."

"Oh, honey!" shouted the Ariados from the front.

She ran forward into a very webby clearing. The trees were almost all liked together through think webbing. In the center of the clearing, two more Ariados sat on the ground. Both were badly bruised, and the larger one was struggling to get himself off the ground. "Gah… honey…" he muttered to the female Ariados. "Is Spike…?"

"No, dear," the female said sadly. "I dragged you and Spinner back home. But I found these brave souls," she gestured towards Bessie and Cubone. "They said they'll save Spike!"

The Ariados male stared at the two incredibly. "Them?" he asked. "They don't look like a rescue team…"

"But that won't stop us!" Cubone declared, running up to the wounded spider. "Don't worry, sir! I have experience with this bone. And Bessie is a skilled jumper. We will save your sun!"

The Ariados tried to say something, but groaned in pain. "Very well," he managed to choke out. "If you can rescue my son, I swear I will do all I can to reward you well."

"All right! Come on Bessie, let's go!"

"Wait!" Bessie called. "You don't even know where Fearow is!"

The male Ariados pointed with a leg, deeper into the woods. "That way. You'll know his nesting tree when you find a tree with the skulls of former prey that the bird killed."

Bessie and Cubone swallowed.

"Here," the female said, spitting out spider silk from its mandibles and wrapping it into a rope with her front legs. "You may need this silk. It's very strong, and you can use it to climb the tree!"

"Thanks," Bessie said, none too thrilled. She put it in her bag, along with the apples they had picked earlier.

"Alright," Cubone said, with a little less bravado. "Let's go.

And with that, they ran into the woods.

"We're lost, aren't we?" Bessie said in a shaking voice after they had been wandering for an hour.

"We're not lost!" Cubone declared. "We're exploring."

"My mother is going to throw a fit," Bessie said.

Cubone shrugged. "I'm sure she won't mind. She'll be proud when she hears you saved a innocent Pokémon!"

"I'm not sure," muttered Bessie. "Besides," she added, "we're going to be fighting a Fearow! What do you think we'll do to win?"

"I'm not afraid!" Cubone said. "I'll beat it with my tree shaking Headbutt!" As if to prove her point, she ran towards a large, old looking hollow willow tree and smacked head-first into it.

"Ow!" shouted a voice from inside the tree. A purple head poked itself out of the hollow hole. "What's going…" it paused as it looked at Cubone. Then, it gave a little shriek and hid back inside.

Confused and curious, Cubone poked her head into the hollow hole. "Hello?" she called.

"Go away!" the tiny voice replied. "There's no food for you here!"

"I don't want food!" Cubone replied. "I want to see who's here!"

After a moment of hesitation, the creature replied, "Cotton, the Rattata! Now go away!"

"Hi Cotton!" Cubone called. "Wanna help me rescue a Spinarak?"

"Go away!"

Bessie sighed, wondering why she even came. She barely knew the skull wearing lizard. Why had she even agreed on this? "Cubone, let's go! Some Pokémon just want to be alone."

Cubone hopped down sadly. "I just wanted a friend…" she moaned.

Bessie patted her back. "Well, you have me, and you have a friend waiting for you at home. Let's go and get that Fearow."

The Rattata, Cotton, poked her head out of the tree. "What?" she said, surprised. "You're going to go and get Fearow?"

"Yeah!" Cubone said, brightening up. "Wanna come?"

"Are you insane?" Cotton replied. "That Fearow is the king of the woods! He'll eat both of you! And if I came, he'd eat me!"

Cubone looked at Bessie. "H… he will?" she asked.

Bessie nodded. "Fearow eat bugs and smaller animals, like you and me."

Cubone swallowed. "Well," she said. "It's too late to run. We made a promise."

"Break it," Cotton said. "Go home and forget about it." She retreated into the hole.

"But we can't go home!" Bessie wailed. "We're lost!"

"We're not lost!" Cubone repeated.

"Look," Buneary said, hopping to the tree. "We need a guide to get to our destination. You live here, right? Can you help us?"

"I may be two," Cotton said. "But I'm not stupid."

"You're only two?" asked Bessie. "What's a little kid like you doing all alone? Where are your parents?"

"My parents are dead, okay?" angry Cotton replied.

"Oh, I'm sorry," Bessie said, embarrassed and ashamed.

Cotton huffed. "I am not taking anybody through the forest, so go away!" She hid inside her tree, and all was quiet… until they heard a grumble. Not an animal grumble, but a stomach kind of grumble.

"Are you hungry?" asked Cubone to the hidden Rat-Pokémon.

"A little…" was the halting reply. "Ever since Fearow made his home nearby, it's been hard to find food."

"Well, we have some apples!" Cubone said. "And we can share if you just take us to the tree so we can rescue Spinarak, and take us back to the Ariados' home. What do you say?"

A few seconds later, the Rattata crawled out of the tree, staring warily at the two rescuers. "All right," she said. "But I'm not fighting."

"Okay then!" Cubone said, her spirit unquenched. "Come on Bessie! Let's go!"

Bessie sighed as the Rattata lead them deeper into the woods, wondering why she had gotten involved.

However, Cotton was true to her word. She led them through the forest as quietly as she could, silent all the way. However, Cotton decided to try and make some conversation, to pass the time if anything. Besides, it wasn't as if Fearow was still hunting…

"So," she asked Bessie, "why aren't your parents here."

"Oh, my mom doesn't know I'm here," the Buneary replied as she hopped along. "I just hope I can get home before dark, or she'll be really mad."

"Yeah," Cotton replied. "Well, she'll have a good reason. You two must be pretty good friends if you're willing to do this kind of dumb stuff together…"

"Actually, we just met," mumbled Bessie.

Cotton froze and stared at the rabbit. "Goodie, I'm helping crazy people," she said.

"Hey!" Bessie said, offended. "Cubone is young. If she went alone, she'd be crushed."

"Guess you're right," muttered Cotton, searching for any wild Pokémon that might attack them. "If she's so little, why doesn't she stay with her mom?"

"Because my mom is…" Cubone began.

"Shush!" hissed Cotton. "Look!" she pointed to a pile of bones on the base of a large, grey tree. Skulls stared at them vacantly, and broken ribcages were strewn about like shattered cages.

The three Pokémon gulped in unison.

"All right," whispered a very pale Cotton. "We're here. Now, can I have my apples now?"

"What?" said an angry Bessie. "We said you could have them after we were done! That was the deal."

"But what if you don't… you know…"

"We'll be fine," hissed Bessie. "Fearow isn't around. I'll climb the tree and get down the little guy… if he's still up there… and bring him down with the web the Ariados gave us. We give the kid back, go home and forget this ever happened, okay?"

"Sounds good," Cotton said. "Just hurry!"

Bessie nodded and put the bag of apples on the ground next to Cubone, after pulling out the webbing. "Neither of you two move!" she hissed.

Cubone nodded back. "Okay! Good luck!"

"Yeah," Bessie said, looking at the tall tree. "I'm gonna need it."

And with that she bounced over the pile of bones and landed on one of the lower. She then proceeded to bounce from branch to branch, eager to reach her destination and escape this dismal place.

"All right," Cotton muttered. "She's gone. Can I have an apple now?"

"But Bessie said…" Cubone began.

"Forget what Bessie said!" an annoyed Cotton said. "I haven't eaten anything all day! Are you just selfish?"

"No!" Cubone said. "I'm friendly! I'm generous!"

"Then can at least have an apple?" Cotton moaned.

Cubone, eager to avoid being called selfish, pulled out an apple. "Here!" she said as friendly as she could.

The Rattata snatched it away and began to eat it rapidly.

Cubone blinked and shrugged. Well, she helped get the apples, didn't she? She pulled another shiny apple out and took a large bite. The sweet flavor tickled her tongue and she smiled and sighed happily.

Until, she heard the sound of a twig snapping.

Cubone turned around and saw a very, very large brown bird, eying her with a long and narrow smiling beak.

Cubone smiled. Another friend? "Hi!" she said. "Want an apple?" she asked, holding up the fruit.

Cotton turned to see who she was talking to and froze, her eyes wide with fear. She tried to speak, but the words couldn't come out.

Cubone was unfazed. Her purple friend was far fiercer looking, but he was a big softie inside. "They're very good!" she said. "Or do you want a green one?"

"Oh, no!" the bird said in a shrill voice. "I want the brown and purple little appetizers!"

Cubone looked into the bag. "Uh, no brown and purple…" she paused and looked at her hand. It was brown. She looked at the terrified Cotton; she was purple.

Two and two went to together.

"F…F…Fearow!" blurted Cotton at last.

Cubone opened her mouth to speak, but was cut off when Fearow burst forward, snapping with its long beak. The two girls ran as fast as they can, screaming. However, Fearow flew over them and cut them off. "Well, well!" the bird said. "I thought tonight's dinner would be meager, but I have two fine morsels who were dumb enough to walk right up to my home!" He grinned sadistically. "Must be my lucky day."

"Oh yeah?" challenged Cubone, putting on a brave façade. "We'll see about that, you bully!" she tossed her bone as hard as she could at the monsters head.

Fearow caught the femur effortlessly and snapped in half with his beak.

Cotton bolted away and hid in the pile of bones. However, before Cubone could join her, Fearow cut her off again, spreading his wings and lashing out with his talon.

Cubone did the only thing she could think of. She screamed.

Wow, that was longer then I thought it would be.

Please give me OCs if you want, and review. The more reviews I get, the better I feel when I write the next chapter!

See ya later, when Cubone, Bessie and Cotton fight off Fearow and save Spinarak!

Bessie belongs to new author Windy Rain, and Cotton belongs to Tomoji-Kun. Venom and Cubone (soon to be given a name) belong to yours truly. Pokémon is owned by the power that is Nintendo.