Three days late and it's 2AM. Ah well!

And to a reviewer: I have most, if not all, of Part One planned out. I don't want to spoil anything, so I'll keep my mouth shut. XD I'm glad you like my story! Same to everyone else, too!

Chapter 28
A Power Unleashed

The late daytime in Violet City bordered on twilight as the sun sunk further into the western sky. The weather was appropriate for the approaching fall; the warm temperature and the bitter cool breeze coexisted with one another, creating a calming and pleasant atmosphere this Halloween day. Buildings and streetlights were decorated with colors of orange and black, a fine accent to the purple that was the permanent color scheme of the city. Other spooky decorations haunted the yards, trees, and windows. An air of expectation of the enjoyable night ahead was sensed among everyone walking the streets.

A white, fairy-like Pokémon fluttered onto a tree limb near the Pokémon Center. Colorful red and blue triangles decorated the serene creature's belly. It kicked its small feet, smiling merrily as it watched people walk past. Not many took notice of it, overlooking its existence as a little ghost puppet perched on the branch.

"Togetic!"

Tilting its head, it looked curiously below. A Pokémon Trainer clothed in a red hoodie gestured it toward him.

"Come on," he called to it. "It's time to go!"

The Togetic squeaked happily and slipped off the tree. Flapping its little wings like a hummingbird, it landed on the boy's black and yellow hat. Its Trainer grinned as it settled onto his shoulder.

"Good, now stay here this time," Kenta said with slight relief.

"Toge," it chirped.

"I thought you were going to be less energetic than my Aipom, but I guess it didn't make a difference of whichever one of you I kept." He patted the Pokémon and continued down the road, the red-roofed Pokémon Center trailing from his sight.

Togetic hummed in a harmonious giggle of content. Reflecting its optimism, Kenta formed a look of brimming confidence and stuffed his hands in his jacket pockets as he concentrated on the street.

Once again, Kenta had yet another setback to deal with soon after he received the Pokémon egg from Professor Elm. While he was in Azalea Town, it hatched into an odd creature identified by his Pokédex as a Togepi. Professor Elm ecstatically demanded that Kenta returned to New Bark Town to show him, but upon Kenta's protest the young professor agreed to meet in Violet City instead.

However, while Kenta backtracked there, he had decided to train the Togepi to see for himself what it was capable of. By the time he reached the city, Togepi evolved, much to his surprise. This did not disappoint the professor; in fact, Elm was even more thrilled by the evolution, known as a Togetic. After requesting Kenta to keep the Pokémon with him to see if it would evolve again, Professor Elm returned to New Bark Town, and Kenta left the Pokémon Center.

"Make sure you wait at least a month before you evolve again," Kenta told his Togetic jokingly. "Alright?"

The white Pokémon watched him, clueless, but it giggled once again.

Though Kenta was more than happy to help Professor Elm with his research, he was also more than happy that the ordeal seemed finally out of the way. Without anything more to hold him back, he planned to head back to Azalea Town, and strolled along the road with his new Pokémon freely perched on his shoulder.

At the bank of Lake Alph, Marina hugged her knees and rested her head on them as she watched the sunset. The forest leaves around the ruins were showing obvious hints of autumn. Shriveling crimson, some silently fell into the water, disturbing the ever calm waters.

The day had gone eerily slow for her, as she spent the entire time wandering the area with Lake Alph in her sight, determined not to miss out on the Pokémon rumored to appear. Without much to do, her thoughts wandered about the circumference of her mind.

First and most interesting was the disappearance of Bugsy. That morning, she awoke to find the archeologists searching for him. They had looked through all the known ruins, but with no clues. Bugsy had never announced his leave, and when the Azalea Gym was called they found that the Gym Leader was not there either. In her own best attempt, Marina contacted him via PokéGear, but there was no signal at the other end. It troubled her, especially after seeing his oddly distant behavior the previous night.

The girl had questions about yesterday's events, too. After news spread of her mishap with the trapdoor and the Unown, the Ruins of Alph were quieter than ever as the visitors left in fear of their own safety. The fact that the Azalea Gym Leader had gone missing only aided this paranoia.

Marina sighed, closing her eyes and listening closely. Already, she could hear the distant laughs of the earliest trick-or-treaters in the nearby Violet City. She smiled, blindly plucking a miniature chocolate bar from the sack of sweets beside her and ate it in a single bite.

The water splashed strongly onto the shore, and Marina snapped open her eyes and gazed across the lake in an instant. She saw nothing but its calmness. A small smile appeared on her face for her sudden skittishness. It was Halloween, after all, and it would be the first she missed it as far as she could remember. Her thoughts trailed to lighter wonders, such as how her younger sister was going to spend the night. She had other friends in the town, so Marina hoped that she would not feel left out of the fun and free candy. Perhaps was just waiting by the phone, waiting for Marina to call at any given moment to pester her about calling more often. Marina unexpectedly giggled at the thought.

I wonder how Kenta and Jackson are. Lost in thought, she continued to watch, listen, and munch on sweets as nighttime fell upon her.

Though he was ready to let nothing get in his way, Kenta paused soon after he had stepped onto Route 32. Another path beckoned him.

"I haven't gone to the Ruins yet," he said under his breath.

Marina said she wanted to go there a few months before we left New Bark...right? His thoughts reminded him. Though that was because Chris went there.

"Toge, toge?" Togetic craned its neck to look at the face of the pondering boy. He glanced back at the Pokémon and then at the sky, sighing in indecisiveness.

"It's getting dark already," Kenta said. "I guess I shouldn't waste my Halloween just traveling... Maybe the Ruins of Alph have some event set up for tonight. What do you think about going there, Togetic, just to see?"

"Toge!" his jubilant Pokémon agreed.

"Ruins of Alph, it is," Kenta replied, grinning and turning down the rugged green path.

Marina tilted her head, watching the darkening sunset with a bored sort of stare.

"Hmm," she sighed. Reaching beyond her candy bag, she dug into the front pocket of her backpack. Besides that, her Pokémon egg was tucked snugly inside her light blue jacket. Though it was fairly chilly, the warm jacket combined with her blue turtleneck was too hot for her.

Marina pulled the little green ball out of the pocket, taking a close look at the old trinket. A small, intricate golden N was carved above the unscathed boundary between the colored and white halves. Unlike modern Poké Balls, however, it neither changed in size nor opened at all—she was fairly certain that it was only intended to look like the Pokémon-capturing devices.

"A Neo Ball," she repeated the words of the unknown speaker who had said them. She sighed and yawned. "It feels like there's so much I don't know, all of a sudden…" She rested her head on her knees again and relaxed. Her head bobbed lightly as she drifted to sleep.

A low roar hissed in her ear.

Marina's head shot up. What was that?

An inhospitable breeze blew across the lake. The girl shivered as a chill tickled her exposed arms and legs, and a dense fog began descending upon and around her. The call sounded again with a splash, clearer than before. It was a low, eerie baying, and it was hard to tell whether the speaker was furious or distressed.

"Could it be…?" Marina whispered, keeping her voice to an inaudible low. Her heart jumped and raced with excitement.

It's the Pokémon!

Its cry continued to break the silence; clearer, closer, and stronger. Certainly, undoubtedly, it was present somewhere—Marina could almost feel its presence, an unexplained feeling which unnerved her. The fog had grown thick, even off the lake, as if the clouds had spread through every nook and cranny of the ruins themselves.

Holding her Neo Ball, the girl uneasily stood. Her legs were shaky, a little bruised from the day before. She took a step forward, but pulled back at once, shaking off a heavy wetness. Marina looked down at the rippling water. She was not that close to the lake, she debated. Why did the water suddenly rise?

This fog just came out of nowhere, too, she added in her thoughts. This is getting a little creepier than I bargained for.

The roaring cry was heard again. She began to regret her decision to come to the lake alone, but she sighed and tried to pacify the feeling. It was a wild Pokémon, and she was a Pokémon Trainer; a battle was inevitable if she decided to try catching it. The possibility of it being a Halloween trick filled her mind, to reassure her safety, but Marina threw the idea away instantly.

That couldn't happen, she thought. It would be a mean prank to pull, and I'd have to yell at Bugsy if he popped out of the water yelling, "Happy Halloween—!"

A loud splash crashed before her, showering her in water. She flinched, and when she opened her eyes she let out an alarmed wail as a large, dark head of a creature came into view and viciously clamped onto her right arm. Panicking, she tried to yank away, but to no avail.

"Hey! Let go!" Marina said, and repeated louder, "Let. Go!"

It ignored her. With one push, the sea creature floated backwards and dragged her into the lake. The water was icy cold as it wrapped around Marina's legs. She flailed as she was helplessly pulled along with it. She kicked and shouted, hoping desperately for someone to hear her. She began to grab for one of the Poké Balls on her belt, but she stopped herself as she wondered if any of her Pokémon even knew how to swim. If she sent them out now, she feared that they would be unable to see in the fog or even keep afloat—let alone save her. She did not even know what she was up against. Whatever it was, it was huge.

As the water began to deepen, Marina found herself dangling from the creature's mouth like a rag doll. Her arm stung underneath the firm jaws binding her. She kicked its rubbery neck, splashing about as she tried to pry herself out of its grip.

"Let go of me!" she shouted.

Its muffled voice whined, and it raised its head, pulling the girl out of the freezing water. Scared and immobilized, Marina watched as the shadowy creature shifted its head to the side. Giving one great heave, it mercilessly flung her into the air. The blue-haired girl's grip on its head slipped, grasping at nothing.

The fog grew thinner, only a little, as Marina felt the freezing wind rush by her. It was for a moment, but she finally recognized the identity of her attacker, which glided rapidly through the water toward her. The Pokémon was very rare, a species nearly hunted to extinction for its useful water travel; Lapras, the Transport Pokémon. However, this particular one had a dark, impure gaze strongly contradicting its kind nature. Arbitrary anger resided in its red eyes, and the sight of it made her short of breath.

Marina screamed for help, but her shrill voice was silenced once she plunged into the lake.

Kenta halted, scanning the forest area around him. A scream echoed and drifted into an uneasy quiet.

"Did you hear that?" he asked.

His Pokémon whimpered, to his surprise, giving a concerned shiver beside him.

Kenta petted Togetic, looking around. It was silent. He resisted the urge to bolt in the direction where he had heard the cry, for the single simple reason that he did not know where it originated. No wind shifted, and not a soul could be heard aside from the crazed laughing from afar behind him in Violet City.

"That might've been a part of the Halloween events," the boy said.

Togetic opened its eyes, glaring ahead with a struggling courage. It kicked itself off his shoulder and sped through the trees.

"Hey!" Kenta called after it. Failing to grab or recall it into a Poké Ball, he dashed after it in pursuit. "Wait up, Togetic!"

Frail bubbles danced around Marina as she sunk further down. She could hear the Lapras approaching with strong swimming strokes. The current suddenly spun and grew strong. Marina squinted, her body shivering as it lost heat that the water sucked from her veins. She scrambled to reach the surface, but the possessive current yanked her back down. The more she struggled, the tougher it was to swim. She grew tired at each kick, and weaker from little air.

The girl closed her eyes, strained and stinging. Unable to hold in her breath any longer, she weakly opened her mouth. A group of bubbles slowly rushed to the desired surface somewhere above her. She choked and gagged on the water, and her thoughts vanished in agony. She clutched tightly onto the Neo Ball, which amazingly had stayed in her hand all this time.

"...rina...

"...Hey...! Marina...!"

Marina flinched at the gentle tingle of power that struggled to communicate with her. A new feeling rushed through her chest, and her neck tightened with a searing pang while her clenched hand burned with warmth. Two energies rose and clashed for control. The girl, nearly knocked out, allowed her head to throb in weakness to the forces.

"Hang...in there...!"

At last, one of them grasped her. The grip around her neck loosened. Marina herself felt a new strength—proud and righteous—coursing through her body.

"Hold on! Let me help you!"

Quickly, she gave into the unbroken, beautiful voice that called out to her. Marina's eyes shot open, her deep red irises casting a crimson glow as her pupils thinned like needles.

"Raa..."

Lapras glared listlessly as it stopped flapping its two powerful flippers. The whirlpool it had created gradually slowed to a stop, and its reckless heart failed to register the furious wind that slapped its cheek for its hostility.

The lake grew calm, settling out. The creature howled. Detesting this peace, it suddenly thrashed about in the water, having nothing else to take its anger out on. The Pokémon stared downward with a heavy sense of dissatisfaction, as it desired a longer struggle with the human girl.

It released a loud, singsong cry that scratched in horrid disuse, and the obedient mist around it began dispersing. Hissing, Lapras swam in tedious, impatient circles where Marina had fallen into the lake.

"Anno!"

The Pokémon paused as a black shadow flew by. Lapras snapped its jaws at it. It turned toward the ruins, where a stream of Unown traveled quickly toward the lake. Uncertain as to how to react to the chiming Pokémon spinning about, Lapras growled in unrest.

Suddenly, the water beneath churned, and the Pokémon watched as some of the Unown concentrated in a unified cone. A silhouette emerged with a grand splash, and Lapras's eyes flickered as it reflected a bright glow. It instantly retreated, facing the blue-haired girl that stood within a trio of Unown spinning at her feet, using their powers to keep her afloat.

In great relief, she took a deep breath of air. She held out the glowing sphere in front of her, and any remaining fog evaporated in a burst of northern wind.

Another group of Unown squealed as they split from the congregation above and spun around her hand. The white aura surrounded the Neo Ball, forming an object. The girl, unclear yet certain of her own actions, released the sphere and grasped hold of a thick, holy sword by the handle. The silvery-white blade was streamed with pulsating diamond stripes and pearl spots. It appeared heavy, but Marina wielded it like a feather.

Lapras hissed, and the girl faced it at once. Her expression no longer appeared brilliant with youth, and her brow furrowed deep in elegant anger. She was entranced, and would have been stunned to see herself practically walking on the water.

"Do not underestimate me," she spoke dramatically. Her innocent voice was doubled with another, which was the true speaker with a crystal-clear voice made of pure determination and power.

The copious choir of Unown cheered for her in the sky.

"I will protect this girl, you..." She paused, her keen gaze unnerved by Lapras' exceedingly dark demeanor. "You poor, tainted creature."

The ferocious Pokémon only screeched at her without taking heed to her words.

Icicles sparkled and encircled the intricate sword, a frigid air following suit. Marina—or what appeared to be Marina—blinked slowly as she raised it before her, ready to defend.

"Have it your way, then."

"Togetic!" Kenta called after his Pokémon.

The fairy's speed did not slow. Togetic worked its wings hard as it wove through the trees, swift and rushed. The boy just managed to keep up with its pace, pushing his way through bushes and branches. He could hear splashing ahead, but it was far from gentle; it was violent and unrelenting. Whistling of frigid wind sang through the forest, whose branches shook and rustled without end.

What is going on here? Kenta wondered. This isn't normal.

"Toge!" Togetic chirped as it leapt out of the woods. Yet it flew back slightly, whimpering quietly to itself. Kenta arrived soon after, pulling twigs from his hair. He found himself at the bank of Lake Alph, gazing across it.

"Didn't you hear me? Slow down—."

He stopped in his tracks as he saw what was happening before them.

There was a figure of a human girl out in the lake, seemingly standing on its surface. She was surrounded by a spread-out army of glowing Unown, which circled her like a cyclone. Her ocean blue hair rested on her fair shoulders, and she stood in a flawless offensive pose, both her dainty hands wielding a white sword. At the blade's core appeared to be a green sphere, which glittered even more than the brilliant gems decorating it.

What...? Who is that? Kenta thought, which was all else he could do besides stare in awe.

Yet, swimming with a deathly glower at her was a snarling blue Pokémon. A frustrated scowl was on its face, exhausted. It opened its mouth in preparation for another attack.

The girl seemed to just sigh and gently raised her weapon, her poise ever so perfect.

"Ra," the Pokémon attempted a roar. Only a puff of frost hissed out of its throat. At last, it hung its head, wheezing for breath.

In immediate response, the little female raised her head. She lowered her sword and released one hand, holding it up in the air. More of the hieroglyph Pokémon tumbled down from the sky to her aid, and a sapphire and silver-colored Poké Ball materialized above her palm. She grasped it, staring at it from every angle with an odd curiosity. But nonetheless, she took a few steps over the water, made an elegant twirl—making the lake her ballroom. With a final spin, the girl radiating with commanding grace threw the sphere.

The Lapras cried out in protest, but was cut short as it hit its forehead. The Poké Ball engulfed it within a white light before magically landing back in the girl's hand.

It grew silent, incredibly silent. Kenta barely breathed, as the girl was now closer than before. Though she carried herself about differently, he gulped as his navy eyes widened as he identified a single undeniable thing—the bandana she wore on her head.

Togetic, grabbing the hood of his jacket, watched as his Trainer opened his mouth to speak. Somehow, Kenta was able to find his voice.

"Marina?"

Hearing him speak, the girl gasped and turned her head toward him. She held her poise sincerely, calm as she gazed the boy down. Kenta tensed up. A wave of unease and confusion stirred within him as Marina's unusual, glowing crimson irises stared into his.