I highly recommend to read the story while listening to the Ost that i wrote before the beginning of the scene (Ost that i obviosly don't own and support the authors), the link to the playlist is in the comment.
CH. 3 THE DARKEST DEN
Specialist
Early Morning/Sunny Day
"Good Morning everyone." Sonia greeted the class with a delightful tone.
"Good Morning, Ms. Kleio." replied the entire class altogether, including you.
"So let's start right away with the introductions, OK?" said Sonia.
"Then I will begin, my name as you all should already know is Sonia Kleio, and I'm your history and homeroom teacher as well."
"I currently live in the same dorm as most of you, therefore I accepted to be a dorm supervisor too, as you are the first class of students I will guide, I hope to create a lot of good memories with all of you."
During her entire speech Sonia kept her cheerful attitude and spoke with enthusiasm, the class applauded at her speech with regard.
"OK! Now starting from the first guy on the right side, you guys introduce yourself to the class too." said Sonia.
"Marvin, you can start." said Sonia at the end.
"Hello everyone in Marvin Nelson, and-"
As everyone takes his turn to introduce himself, you briefly rethink at this morning events.
You waked up at 6:00 you prepared yourself, you putted on your uniform that consisted of a burgundy red blazer, a button down white shirt, a long black trouser, a pair of black shoes and a black necktie with a diagonal red line drawn on it.
You headed downstairs toward the canteen, you saw Gloria and Hop standing in the line, but being a little behind of them, you had to wait till you sat together with them before you could greet them.
"Good Morning."
"Hey, Good Morning."
"Yo, Victor, slept well?"
You greeted the two after joining them.
You notice that Hop wore the school blazer over a black t - shirt without necktie and purple shoes.
Gloria's outfit was similar to yours, save for the black skirt and black leggings she was wearing.
She also wore a white bottom up shirt and the same necktie, she had her brown boots.
For being a galarian school, that are known to be very strict with their dress code, Twin Kings High is like that only halfway, while the school makes it obligatory to where the blazers and the trouser (skirt in case of the girls), it allows the student to be more creative with the shirt, socks and shoes, as long as they aren't too flashy.
The necktie is not obligatory, while accessories and makeups are not allowed.
This dress code was made so that the student will not feel oppressed, and they can in a minimum way express their personality.
"From the dorm to school I practically spent the morning in their company." you thought looking at Gloria that was sitting next to your left.
Hop was sitting next to her on the opposite side.
You stop thinking of this morning occurrences as you notice that soon it's your turn to introduce yourself.
After the blonde girl on your right finished, you stood up, and you began introducing yourself,
"My name is Victor Sandmann, I came from Anville Town in the Unova region, nice to meet you." you said with a modulated voice.
After your introduction, you sit back in your chair, it is now Gloria's turn to speak and unlike for the others, this time you listen attentively to her.
"Hello, I am Gloria Tyr, I'm from Postwick, and I am looking forward for a nice time together." she said with a limpid tone.
And as Gloria sat down, Hop got up to introduce himself.
"I'm Hop Mercury, I came from Postwick as well, and I hope we get along." he said loudly.
"Mercury?" whispered someone from the back rows,
"Wait can he be..."
"Now that I look at him... he kinda resembles him..."
"No way..."
The murmurs were interrupted only by Sonia appeal at the class.
"What was that all about..." you thought glazing over to Hop, he doesn't seem to be giving much weight to the whispering about him, even Gloria seems to be ignoring what just happened, you decide to not pry any further.
Youthful Lunch
Lunchtime/ Sunny
After lunch, you and Gloria went to rest in the courtyard. Hop took a moment to go to the bathroom.
While you were waiting, you and Gloria talk about which places to visit after school.
"How about going to Central Wyndon?" the girl said enthusiastically.
"After all, we didn't get to visit it yesterday." she added.
"Anything you wanna buy there?" you ask her.
"No, I just wanted to explore the place and memorize the important spots." she replies.
You wanted to ask her about the murmuring toward Hop this morning, but you decide to mind your own business.
You are soon joined by Hop as well, and you ask him if he had a particular place he wanted to visit.
"Obviously!" he said right away.
"Gloria, do you remember that I moved to Wyndon for a whole year, when we were in elementary school?"
"Yes? Why?" she asked puzzled.
"Do you remember me always talking about a super secret place that only I knew?"
"I remember something like that, yes, where are you trying to say." Gloria was starting to get impatient.
"I'd like to show you that place, I'm sure both of you will like it."
"Huh?" exclaimed the girl unenthusiastically.
"Why should we go there in the first place. We already decided to head to Central Wyndon anyway right?" she says seeking your approval.
"Come on, I promise you won't regret it."
"Why don't we go?" you ask Gloria, trying to convince her.
"Eh? You want to go to?!" Gloria asked surprised.
"Yes, I'm curious to see this 'secret place' Hop is talking about."
"Yes, Victor, bro, I knew I could count on you!" Hop said excitedly as he put his arm around your shoulder.
"Hehe..." you laugh uncomfortably.
"Well, then it's decided! Is two versus one Gloria, come on give up and come with us!"
"After school, will we go to my secret place." declares Hop all fired up.
Despite Gloria's protests, you finally decide to go to Hop's secret location.
Joy
After school/ Sunny
After the lessons are over, you and the other two set off to go to the "super secret base" with Hop leading the way.
On the way to the station you encountered and say goodbye to Sonia who recommends that you return in time for dinner and that the curfew is at 8pm.
The vast majority of students decided to make a trip to Central Wyndon.
Gloria heard some girls talking about an ice cream shop that apparently had a good reputation in the capital and the were heading the to buy some, she sighs as she continues to follow us.
"Come now, Gloria. I promise that we will go tomorrow to Central Wyndon, OK?" Hop tried to cheer her up.
"Yeah whatever."
"Hey, Victor." the girl whispers to you in a low voice as not to be heard by Hop.
"Why did you decide to follow Hop instead of going to Central Wyndon as we were planning to?" she asks a little annoyed.
"Curiosity, I suppose." you simply answered.
"Curiosity ?! Just out of curiosity?" she repeats, visibly disappointed by your answer.
"Hehe..." you laugh awkwardly, her expression doesn't seem to change in the slightest to your laugh.
"A secret place in this big city? Now THATS what gets my attentions." you think to yourself.
"But, it will be to embarrassing to tell her."
"... At least right now."
15 minutes later.
You took the line to Winscor, apparently the secret base was there.
"What a coincidence." You thought as soon as you get off the Skybus, looking around the station, you remember yesterday's misadventure with irony.
You notice that Gloria also seems to be rethinking of yesterday's events, but she had a sadder rather than amused expression.
Going back to this place helps you remember something you have being wanting to ask someone since yesterday, "Hop..."
"Yes, what is it?"
"Yesterday, when Gloria disappeared, didn't you notice her absence?" you ask doubtfully.
The question seems to make Hop nervous, as he stops abruptly and looks at you in panic with embarrassment, the strange thing is that Gloria also panics after you ask him the question.
"We- well of course I notice her disappearance!" Hop said agitated, you can see that he is clearly lying.
"Y-yes, how can he not notice my absence, right Hop!" Gloria reaffirms
"But didn't Sonia say that they noticed your absence only after I was taken away from the group"
"S-sure, but I thought she went at the restroom or something, and it's not like I didn't make a big deal about it, after finding out she was missing." Hop said nervously.
Gloria continued to support the excuses that Hop gave.
As strange as it seemed to you, you decided to let it go, as the person directly concerned didn't seem upset about it, rather she seemed to be helping him to cover the whole thing, and in the end it was clear that they were hiding something they didn't want to talk about.
25 minutes later
After exiting the station you walked towards the place where Hop's secret base was, to get there you passed through a residential area, an elementary school, a swimming pool and a public park.
"Hop." Gloria groaned with an annoyance.
"Aren't we there yet?" she snorted.
"Come on, a few more minutes, and we'll be there." Hop encourage his friend.
"Tell me about this place, Hop." you said at one point.
"How did you find it out?"
After a minute of silence Hop replied, suddenly his tone became more serious.
"I am not the one that discover it... "
"My brother found it, when he found it out years ago, apparently people used to work there." As he spoke, you notice that Gloria's expression also changed from annoyed to worried as she listened to Hop.
"But since then it was abandoned, people stopped working there."
"He said that it was the most peaceful in this chaotic city. And he wanted me to go with him."
"I have been in that place once though.", he laughs as he said it.
"Are you sure, you remember where this place is?" you ask nervously, after hearing his words.
"Don't worry." reassured Gloria.
"When it comes to memorizing the way, Hop's is a living map."
"Since, we were children, no matter how many times we lost ourself in the forest we use to play in, he will always find the way back home." said the girl.
"Impressive." you say.
"Too bad he had this habit of leaving people behind and disappear, I almost got lost one time because of him." Gloria's tone of voice changes again from pleasant to annoyed.
Hop laughed at the merits and complaints addressed to him, "You know, I had a good time in this place this..." he said with sadness.
"This is why I wanted you guys to see it." the boy then concluded, pointing with his index finger at something in front of us.
It was a rusty old gate, the gate to an amusement park now in ruins.
"Welcome to my super secret base."
You in Wonderland
You have entered the abandoned park, immediately notice that for being an amusement park and relatively small compared to every other park you have ever seen. Furthermore, you move away a little without leaving the rest of the group to better investigate the cabin located at the entrance of the park where presumably the staff would have welcomed the visitors, there was the map of the place drawn on the wall of the cabin and the presumable name of the amusement park,
"Wild Area..., this place was called Wild Area..."
While you were investigating, Hop excited said,
"Just like 6 years ago nothing has change." Hop was running here and there in front of the forecourt, Gloria beside him seemed more worried than anything else.
"Hey, guys..." she turns to us a little nervous.
"I'm I the only one to have a terrible feeling of us being here."
"What? You afraid." Hop asks her braggart.
"Wh- I never say that!" the girl answers loudly.
While the two were teasing each other as usual, you scan the map of the park.
"Actually, I agree with Gloria too." you think.
"This place as some strange feeling to it..."
From the map you learn that the park landscape was designated hexagonal, a plaza of modest size around which the various attractions have being built, which would all be accessible from the main square, the entrance where you are at the moment would have been to the southern part of the park.
"We didn't come here to just look at the entrance, Hop will probably take us inside or something.", you thought.
"I know that Hop has being here once and that he have a photogenic memory, but let take a photo just in case."
Snap
You take a picture of the map with your smartphone in case you need it.
"Relax, I've already told you I've been here once, there is no reason to be afraid." Hop and Gloria seem to have finished their bickering by the time you reunite.
"Ok, now that everybody is ready, let start the tour at Hop's super secret base, the Wild Area." he shouts enthusiastically, after which he starts running towards the main square further north.
"Wild Area? Hey!" Gloria yells, trying to stop him, but the boy doesn't stop in the least.
"Ugh, here we go again." she snorts, rolling her eyes.
Without wasting time anymore, both you and her start chasing after your friend.
15 minutes later
You have been exploring the place for a while now, the attractions we explored were the most common you could find at an amusement park; a carousel, a roller coaster, a mirror labyrinth (we didn't enter), a modest-sized Ferris wheel, a pendulum ride and a free fall tower.
Of the six, only the labyrinth of mirrors seemed to be completed, all the others were constructions that remained unfinished.
All the rides were now rusty and in full decay, so you didn't get too close to them, keeping a safe distance in case one of them collapsed, much to Hop's chagrin of course.
"Ok now to the last attraction." Hop said walking towards the west part of the park the only one you haven't visited yet
"Darkest Den..." you read looking at the photo taken minutes ago, the Darkest Den, what kind of attraction could have a name like that you thought.
"Gloria."
"Yes."
"What is the Darkest Den?" you ask the girl thinking that perhaps this Darkest Den was a famous attraction in the Galar region.
"Let me see." she asked, gesturing to show her the phone.
"Um, never heard about it." she finally answered.
"Hey! Hop!" shouts the girl recalling the attention of her friend.
"Yeah!" Hop turns to us as he continues walking backwards without looking over his shoulder.
"Ever heard about an attraction called, Darkest Den?"
"Well, yes, is the place we are heading toward right now." he answered.
"How does it look like?" you ask him.
"Why not take a look for yourself, we already there anyway." he turns to the strange structure that stands before you.
A small Gothic style manor painted in black and red.
Compared to the other attractions now in ruins, this last one seemed to be strangely fine and untouched by the passage of time.
There were some cracks here and there and other signs of aging, but nothing drastic as the other attractions.
"So it was just a haunted house." Gloria said a little disappointed.
"What else did you expect from a place called Darkest Den?" Hop almost rightly counters.
But there was something wrong, "...the dimensions." you say addressing the two.
"This 'manor' is too small to be a haunted house."
"There is just no way possible to fit that many rooms in it." you point out to the two.
"Well now that you are pointing that out..." said Hop, who immediately began to doubt his words.
"You have never being inside!" Gloria asked.
"Nope, Lee didn't allow me." Hop said putting his hands behind his head.
"Lee?" you ask him.
"Yeah, my elder brother." Hop answered.
"He said that it was too dangerous, so he never got inside himself."
After spend countless minutes looking at the manor, you and suddenly Hop decides to break the silence.
"Well, im going in!", he said enthusiastically.
"Yeah me too." you said enthusiastic as well.
"W-ait, what do you mean, going in! It's too dangerous!" Gloria scolds you two, trying to stop you.
You start opening the door of the manor to get inside,
"Argh! You jerks wait for me." shouts the girl running towards you.
After entering in, all your predictions turned out to be correct, the manor was not in the least a haunted house, and consisted of a single large desolate room.
The door was neither sealed nor closed, so getting in was easy.
The room was completely deserted; no furniture, no decoration, nothing at all, if it weren't for 'something' in the center of the room.
Seeing that there was nothing around you, that thing got all of your attention, you approached it.
"What the hell..." Hop said confused, it was not the only one both you and Gloria are perplexed in front of the strange circular rock structure.
The structure was made up of hexagonal rocks all of various sizes that when attached form a circle, leaving the center of the aforementioned structure empty.
The central hole was quite large, you, Hop and Gloria could fit in together.
"What do you think this was for?" Gloria asks you and Hop.
"Hard to say." Hop answers.
"..." you remain silent, as you have no answer.
A minute later after relooking around, you decide to finally leave.
As you were about to leave you turn to Hop,
"Hey."
"Huh?"
"Can we can back here again?" you ask him.
"Well, I would like to see that thing again after I made some researches."
Hop looks at you for a moment, "Sure. Let's come here again together." he then replies with a smile, making you smile too.
You look at the structure one last time and then rush to join your companions towards the door.
However, an unexpected thing happens.
Suddenly a piercing screech forces you to your knees.
"Ugh!"
"Victor!" shouts Gloria noticing your distress.
As you squeeze your head in excruciating pain, a series of images and voices follow one another in your head, which are too quick to hear or see. But you can hear a sentence, a sentence said by a disturbing and eerie voice.
"Let begin the Trial."
After hearing these words, every pain, every voice and every image ceases in your head, and behind you, you feel, warmth and illumination coming from the structure, the rocks were lighting up.
You turn around to take a look and just then, a large purple beam of light is released from the center of the circle, reaching the ceiling where it stopped.
"What the heck !" Hop yelled.
You and your friends, who had rushed to your aid, are in front of a pillar of purple light. Because of the shock none of you manage to utter a word, in all this mess the first to move is you, who approaches the column of light extending your arm to touch it.
"It could be dangerous, it could be harmful..." you think as you were about to touch the light.
"However, for an unknown reason I wan- no I have to get inside it."
"Uh? Hey! Victor wait!" Hop and Gloria wake up from their astonishment and notice what you were doing.
Before they could stop you, however, you have already jumped into the beam of light, and consequently they end up in it too, the light does not hurt, but to your surprise you discover with horror that the floor inside the circle has disappeared, and now you are falling into the hole not knowing where it will end up.
"KYAHHHHHHHHHHH!"
"WOAHHHHHHHH!"
"AHHHHHHHHHHHH!"
You all screamed as you were falling, the were no end to be seen, and the fall seems to last forever as you saw no end.
And while you thought you were doomed to fall for eternity,
You see something at the bottom, its earth, it was a ground.
"GUYS! PREPARE FOR IMPACT!" you shout at the two.
"WHAT?!" is all you get as an answer.
Before you could warn them again, it was too late, suddenly you stop falling and hit the ground painfully.
Locked Doors
Fortunately, the impact wasn't lethal, given the length of your fall.
The others seemed fine too as they immediately stood up massaging her back in Gloria's case, and his left arm in Hop's, in your case you briefly massaged your right shoulder.
"Ouch!... What was that for!" Hop said, looking like he was about to curse.
"Hey, where the heck are we?" Gloria gasp, looking around.
As soon as your senses return you also notice how anomalous the place was.
"What is this place?" Hop said surprised.
The sky was magenta red and seems to be covered by a dark purple aurora, something small seemed to shine in the sky, but you can't tell if it were stars or dust.
Around you the landscape looked like a desert with rocks of various sizes everywhere, luckily you did not fall on any of them as there were none near your 'landing place'.
"We fell from that 'things' hole, right?" Hop was looking for an answer, but all of you were quite confused and agitated.
"Does that mean that we are still inside the Darkest Den?" Hop said.
"Are you saying that this is all part of the attraction?!" Gloria retorts.
"That's impossible." you think looking at the sky, "That sky is way too realistic."
"Is this a dream?" you look around again and then up hoping to see the point from which you fell, but nothing, it seems that you appeared out of nowhere in the sky, and you fell here in the middle of this desert.
"Are you guys alright at least." you then turn to your companions remembering the leap you took to get there.
"Yes, thankfully..." Gloria replied.
"What about you, Hop?" you ask the boy.
"Kinda..." he answered a little distracted.
"Good." you get back to looking around you again hoping to find anything; a door, another hole, an exit, anything that can bring you back.
"Let's look around." finally you say to the two.
"B-But..." Gloria was squirming with anxiety.
"Seems like we have to find our way out," Hop interrupts her,
"And here doesn't seem like theirs something like a door or anything."
"You are right, Victor, we have to find all the way out somewhere else." Hop looks at you with serious eyes.
You nod with your head that you have understood, both of you look at Gloria, who after a moment's hesitation, she also nods with her agreement, and so you all set out.
As you investigated, the three of you began to speculate as to where you might be.
"Hey, so you think that this might actually not be a secret attraction, or something like that of the amusement park?" Gloria asked you.
"The sky is too much real to be man made." you answer her.
"You are not completely wrong," the girl sighs, "A- actually I have been having this feeling that, t-that we are not in the Wild Area park anymore." she finally says.
"You too." Hop says confirming your concern, you too felt this feeling, but you didn't want to share it with others so as not to make things even more tense.
"Hey Victor, I don't mean to blame you or anything, after all I was the one that brought you guys here," Hop turned to you, "But can you explain to me why you get close and leap inside the light?" the question also made Gloria attentive to, together with Hop, scrutinizing you perplexedly.
"I-I don't know...", you timidly reply to the two
"You don't know?!" they exclaimed together.
"I heard a v-voice that-" as soon as you were about to justify yourself to the two, something incredible in front of you happens, that leaves you speechless, Hop and Gloria initially do not notice it, but seeing your expression they turn around too, and they also remain amazed from seeing another column of light similar to the one you jumped into, rising in the distance. As well as the first, it also appeared out of nowhere for no reason.
"W- woah is that-" Hop gasp.
"It has to be!" Gloria said onward.
"Our way out!" you say finally.
"It has to be near." you say after thinking how far it should have been. "Come guys, let's go toward it."
After saying this you start running towards the position of the pillar of light hoping to find a way back home.
Later.
As you hurry towards the pillar of light, Gloria suddenly shouts you to stop
"HEY, S-STOP!"
"Uh?" you and Hop stop suddenly, looking at Gloria with confused faces.
The girl had a scared look on her face, and with her trembling arm she points to one of the many rocks that stood around.
"I-I sa-saw someth- something moving." she finally says bracing herself.
"A-are you s-sure." you ask fearing the worst.
The girl nods her head yes.
When you and Hop started looking at the spot Gloria indicated, and in fact you notice shadows that are moving, NO, they are detaching from the rock, they have no legs and are levitating in the air. Some piece of the wall does stick to their tail? You don't know what it is.
A thought runs through your head.
Shadow
"Shit, I was hoping to get out of here without meeting anything on our way.", you thought.
"This situation is just way like in those Sci-Fi novel."
"Guys..." you try to wake your companions from the state of paralysis in which they have put themselves.
"Guys... we have to make a run for this one."
While you were speaking, the black figures who had detached themselves from the rock have put themselves in an attack position, they are undoubtedly hostile.
Their purple eyes meet yours, they then let out a distressing bark, and dart in your direction.
"RUN!" you yell at the other two as you start running away in the direction of the pillar of light.
The three black figures are incredibly fast, it is only a matter of time before they reach you, they are too fast, even faster than an animal, they cannot be animals, much less be humans, but then what are they?
Hop stumbles upon a stone and falls to the ground as you run.
"HOP!" you and Gloria both yell as you approach a swearing Hop.
"Shit shit SHIT, why did I have to fall NOW!"
The black monsters approach and appear to have every intention of attacking you.
Not knowing what to do anymore, you put yourself in front of Hop and Gloria trying to shield them with your body "HEY, WHAT ARE YOU DOING YOU CAN'T FIGHT THEM!" Gloria yells at you.
Awakening
They are getting closer to you and just when you prepare yourself for the worst, and it happens again, your head starts to hurting, and you hear a voice, as you hold your head in pain.
"How brave, standing in front of the danger, even knowing that you have no chance of fighting back." you look around perplexed.
"Well, not that I'm surprised or anything, after all, you are me, and I am you."
The monsters are now a few meters away from you,
"Very well, you shall now unleash your power to save the one dear to you, look in your right hand."
Doing as the voice tells you, you notice you are holding a blue fruit in your hand, you don't know when or how it ended up in your hands, but you don't even have time to say something that the voice commands you to bite it.
"Eat the fruit, unleash your potential and ravage thy enemy." without losing another second you bite the fruit and swallow the piece you have torn, just at that moment the monsters were about to attack you, but a powerful gust of wind sweeps them away, pushing them away from you.
"You may protect your friends now, but do not forget, now that you have bitten the fruit you may never plead ignorance from now on..."
"Pokesoul." you whisper.
Your headache stops, and you look at the monsters with a grin on your face.
You throw the rest of the fruit you haven't eaten into the air from which an immensity of blue-colored energy is released, from which appears a bipedal figure similar to a dog.
Knowing what it was, you don't get nervous about it, while the figure stands by your side, he introduces himself,
"I am thou... thou art I... from the determination of thy heart I was born. I am Lucario guardian of the aura, and from anon on forth I shalt assist thee in thy battles to come."
Having said that you put yourself in a fighting position, ready to face those monsters that previously seemed terrifying, now not anymore.
In all this Gloria and Hop witnessed it all with their mouths open, unable to say anything, such was their amazement.
You give them a smile to reassure them and let them know that everything was fine.
Wait and See
One of the monsters launches into the attack, you subconsciously order Lucario to defend you, which he does without much trouble, managing to repel the monster.
"Volt" you order to Lucario, who in response puts his hands in front of him summoning a blue bolt that strikes the monster disintegrating it.
The other two monsters not at all intimidated by the power of your 'spirit' both throw themselves at you, you order to Lucario again to defend you, but this time it doesn't make it to defend you from the double attack, and you are hit by one of the monsters. However, the damage wasn't as severe as you expected, you focus again on the battle and proceed to annihilate the remaining monsters with two more Volts. Defeated the last of the monsters Lucario disappears, while you fall to the ground exhausted.
Locked Doors
...
You heard voices calling for you, they are begging you to wake up, you finally recognize them, they are the voice of Gloria and Hop.
"Dude! Come on, wake up."
Opening your eyes, your senses slowly return to you, you also see Hop and Gloria who are worriedly watching over you, you notice that you are still in that strange place where you have fallen.
"Oh finally." Hop breathes a sigh of relief.
"Hey, are you alright?" asks Gloria thoughtfully instead.
"Yeah, more or less..." you answered still numb.
"Man, you were absolutely amazing back there!" Hop said excitedly.
"Back then? Oh, right!" you whisper as the events of before come back to your mind, the strange black creatures, the fruit you bit, and finally Lucario your-
"Pokesoul!" Gloria said, "This is how you called it, right?"
"... Right."
"So cool! Man, where did you learn to summon such a thing? Plus that fruit I see you eating it where did you get it? And-"
"Hop!" the girl interrupted Hop, who was filling you with questions you could not answer.
"I don't think even he knows what happened to him." Gloria said, being right.
"Exactly, as Gloria say, I don't know much about this Pokesoul, so I can't really answer you questions." you admit.
"Believe me, I'm the same as before, I'm still Victor!" you declare to the two to reassure them.
"We will talk about that after we get out of here." told you Gloria pointing her finger at the column of light behind you, Gloria says, "After you pass out, me and Hop dragged you all the way till the column, since it will be dangerous to stay in the place where we were attacked."
Now that t you think about it, the surrounding landscape has changed, not only are you closer to the column of light, the place was greener, and it was full of trees, and in front of you there was a lake, in which stood the same structure of hexagonal rocks that had brought you here.
After regaining energy, and getting back on your feet, you approach the column of light, you have a strong desire to return home, but not knowing if this was actually the way out is very scary.
Gathering courage you decided to jump anyway, after all the other alternative would have to be attacked by those things again and surely none of you wanted it, not even you who had recently obtained this strange ability that apparently makes you run of stamina after using it, not to say that you do not know in the least how to recall the fruit from which it freed itself and disappeared, and it did not seem like a fruit that you could find here or anywhere anyway.
"Ok after my three, we jump." Hop said then, you and Gloria nod your heads as to say yes.
"One ..."
"Two ..."
"Three, Jump!", after having counted the last number, all three of you jumps into the circle, being enveloped by the purple light.
Once again you are falling into the unknown, but this time you feel safer than the first time you fell, it may be because you jumped of your own will, or perhaps because you were hoping to go back where you came from.
After several minutes of nothing you see again a glimpse of the other side at the bottom, and you warn your teammates to prepare for impact, and this time they get ready.
Only this time no impact, the light pushes you out, each of you manages to land on your feet without falling, immediately after landing the first thing you do is look around, and luckily the place it looks familiar too, it was the insides of the Darkest Den, the manor you were in before the accident.
You in Wonderland
"Hey... is this...?" Gloria whispers
"Did we... make it back?" Hop says.
The two run outside to confirm their doubt, while the light goes out behind you, you are the only one to notice it.
"Yooo, we are back!" you hear Hop scream from the outside.
"Finally, the nightmare is over!" you hear Gloria yell too.
You, hurry out to, and as soon as you are outside you are greeted with the beautiful orange sky of the sunset, you are truly back in your world. Hop and Gloria hugged and hardly didn't burst into tears.
As you happily watch the other two celebrate, you see the sun going down,
"The sun is setting, Crap the sun is setting!, It's already that late !?" you say out loud, drawing the attention of your friends.
"Shoot, Looks like we were in there for quite a while. This is not good, Sonia is gonna chew as alive if we don't make it in time." Hop complained.
"Come on, let's get moving, we will figure out what to do eventually, after we get back to the dorm." Gloria said, and with that all three of you started running again towards the exit of the park, destination Winscor station, you turn around for a moment as to take a last look to the Darkest Den, then you refocus on the path in front of as you headed towards the main entrance.
Hours later, back at the dorm in your room.
"Listen, I think that we shall keep this little adventure of our a secret."
You think back to Hop's words as you walked back to the dormitory, you were lying on the bed in your room.
"People will not take us seriously anyway, plus if somebody else discovers that place is gonna fall into that pit and be in danger more than anything else."
You all agree on this decision, due to tiredness and the fact that you have arrived home, you decide to continue your discussion tomorrow.
Despite the vicissitudes you managed to get to the dormitory in time for dinner, you find Milo and let him know that you are back, after which Gloria and Hop decide to go to the canteen for dinner, instead you decide to go back to your room, in how much you felt more tired than hungry.
After giving them the goodnight, you get to your room, you took off your uniform and put on your sleeping clothes, then you laid down on your bed on which you are right now.
Like every time while thinking about the day's events, you fall asleep without realizing it.
The Poem of Everyone Soul
You wake up again in a familiar dream, the velvet blue themed restaurant, you remember being here before. In the background, a woman's singing accompanied by a piano was audible.
On the other side of the table you were at, sat a visible elderly man you remember meeting before, you remember his name being, Oak.
Next to him this time, however, was a slender young woman with fair skin, blue eyes and pink hair. She had a pink lipstick and a mole under her mouth. She is wearing a unique blue velvet waitress dress, and she had a white and blue moth-like bow with pink circles on it. On her feet, she wore blue heels.
The woman looks at you smiling, her dress reminds you of the one the unovan waitresses from bars and cafeterias wore.
"Welcome back to the Velvet Room. Don't be alarmed you are fast asleep in the real world...
I have summoned you within your dreams." Oak welcomed you.
"I see that you have recently awakened to your potential, your Pokesoul." he said, already knowing about your Pokesoul.
"The Pokesoul you have acquired... It is a side of you that shows itself when you confront the everyday hardship surrounding you. You may think of it as ... a mask of determination to hide behind while tackle adversities. Your most powerful ability, however, is that of the Type Null... briefly explained your power is like the number zero... empty, yet holding infinite potential within itself. ", he explains to you.
"Anyway, I shall introduce my assistant Klara, just like me she is a resident of this place." Oak present you his assistant, whom she proceeds in introducing herself.
"My name is Klara, the pleasure is all mine." she said in a sensual voice.
"As you are my master guest, I will be helping you through the journey that's awaits you. But ..." her expression and her smile grow more wicked.
"Do not expect me to do it for you without any retribution, for each of my services I will be demanding a favor." she giggled.
Her gaze sends a shiver through your spine.
Done talking, her expression returns to that of before, polite and friendly.
"You will have to forgive my assistant for her impertinence, dear guest, she can be very annoying at times, I invite you however to seek her aid during this upcoming journey of yours you will not regret it." Oak said resuming speaking.
"As my assistant already highlighted, this is a space that only those who have entered into a contract may access, Therefore I want you to hold on into this."
You obtain a key from Oak.
"From this night forth, you are our guest in this Velvet Room. Your destiny will require you to hone your power, and for that, you will inevitably require our help. There is but one price for this assistance... You must abide by your contract and assume responsibility for all decisions you may take."
"Responsibility?" you wonder perplexed, despite having understood a little of the things they had communicated to you.
"The trial as already began and this time something very high is in stake."
"Then I wish you a safe journey, my dear guest, till the next time we meet, farewell."
Everything around you darkens again as you fall back into sleep.
End Chapter 3
Author's Note
Hey, welcome back, I hope you have had a nice holiday, happy new year, and let's hope this year is better than the previous one.
I came back with another chapter, and nothing all I have to say is that it was certainly the hardest to write, but it was also the one that pleased me the most after I finish writing it.
As I promised things are starting to get interesting, Right?
Before leaving, I wanted to say that soon I will open an account on Deviantart where you can see drawings and images relegated to the series, but do not expect much, I am still but a writer, not an artist nor a mangaka.
Till the next time, farewell.