Ch.4: Defend the Map at All Costs! Ravenfield Brothers Team-up!
The sun slowly dipped into the horizon as the Eeveelutions wandered the streets. It has only been a few hours since they spoke with Professor Geno. They were confident he could find an answer to this unusual map, but that didn't quench their nerves. They couldn't stop thinking about the possibility of the idol being real. That kind of power was terrifying to think about. But, out of all of them, Wes was thinking about it the most.
The idol, from what his father had told him in the past, could do virtually anything. Magic had its limit on what you can do. Magic required a strong magical aura and, even then, using too much of it at once can burn someone out. Magical artifacts don't require magical aura to activate, just concentration. Anyone was capable of using the idol, which was both horrifying and awesome for the Umbreon.
As someone who can't naturally access his magical aura, using the idol would allow him to unlock that power buried deep within him. It would be amazing.
Though, there was the one problem. They didn't know what the idol was. Myth or reality. Then again, if he had the idol during those times, he would have probably hid it away too. He would have convinced multiple generations of Pokémon to believe that the idol was nothing more than legend. Apollo was smart in doing such a deed. It always amazed him how the legendary hero never became mad with such power. It really showed how much self-control he had.
Deep in thought, he never heard his brother trying to speak to him. "Wes? Wes? Wes!"
He shook his head. "Who?! What?! Where?! How?!" He looked at the Flareon. "Oh, hey bro. Need something?"
"You just zoned out there for a bit. Anything on your mind?"
"Well…"
"Thinking about the map, aren't you?" Ella spoke up, surprising the Umbreon. "I know you well enough to know you're thinking treasure. And that idol really did catch your interest."
He smiled sheepishly before frowning. "Yeah…I just can't stop thinking about it. I mean, that kind of legendary power in the hands of…well, anyone, is just jaw dropping. Look at me. I can't even use my magic without the Star Amulet. That idol can grant anyone magical power. It's simply amazing."
Flint narrowed his eyes. "Wes…you know the idol isn't real, right?"
"Of course it is. Dad said so."
"Yeah, he said that when we were kids. But we're not kids anymore and I have enough common sense to know something like that wouldn't be created so foolishly. Like I said, the idol was created thousands of years ago, according to legend. If it was real, it would have been unearthed by now."
Wes shrugged. "You never know. It could have been hidden in another dimension."
"If that were the case, why hasn't it been found in that dimension? Look, I'm just a little skeptical about that thing existing. And I want it to stay that way."
The younger Ravenfield raised a brow. "Wait…are you scared of the Idol of Origin?"
He sighed. "Childhood fears…"
Ella smirked. "How could that possibly frighten you? You said it's a myth."
"Even so, fears can last up all the way to adulthood. Wes may have thought it was cool, but I had nightmares of that tale. Every so often, I would have a nightmare of some evil guy holding the idol and doing horrible things to me. I would run to my parents and sleep with them for the whole night.
"I eventually outgrew the nightmares. Though, finding that map does tear open some old wounds in me."
The Espeon lost her smirk and placed a comforting paw on his shoulder. "Sorry…didn't me to-"
"It's fine. It was silly of me."
Wes looked down. "I get what you're saying Flint…but you have to admit. Going on an adventure to find the Idol of Origin would be awesome!"
He rolled his eyes, but smiled. "Okay…I hate to admit it, but you are right. Like I said, I do enjoy some adventuring from time to time."
He punched his arm. "That's the spirit!"
"But seriously, YOU have to admit the idea of the idol being real is a little out there."
He stuck his tongue out in response. "Hey, that's what YOU believe. I, however, do know it's real. Dad would never lie to us."
"I love Dad and all, but you can't believe everything he says. Frankly, I think you get it from him."
"Get what from him?"
"Wes, you have a tendency to lie without thinking."
"That is not true," he said with a pout. "I'm a very honest person. Like the time I told Mom about you stealing from the cookie jar."
"That was you."
He blinked and rubbed his chin, trying to recall the point of time. "Oh…right, yeah." He chuckled a bit. "Never mind."
Ella rolled her eyes. "You two just love poking fun at each other, don't ya?"
The Umbreon chuckled. "We can't help it. It's too much fun."
She smirked. "Glad I didn't have any siblings. Probably had to deal with constant hair pulling."
Flint shrugged. "Wes and I had to deal with each other for years. But, we're brothers 'til the end."
He placed his arm around him. "We Ravenfields need to stick together after all!"
He returned the gesture. "Couldn't have said it better myself."
Ella rolled her eyes and chuckled. "Well, how about we head out for dinner? We haven't had a meal together in so long."
"Oh yeah!" Wes jumped up in the air and pumped his fist. "I'm so hungry, I could eat a table!" He rubbed his chin. "Wait, can I eat a table?"
"You're not eating a table," Flint deadpanned.
Ella got between the two brothers and wrapped her arms around them. "How about we go somewhere nice? We always ate out at the Enchanted Bar. A change in scenery wouldn't be so bad."
"I suppose I could chip in with the bill," Flint said.
"Same here!" Wes cheered.
His brother narrowed his eyes. "Wes…budget."
He blinked and smiled nervously. "Uh…mind covering my meal?"
Ella rolled her eyes. "Sure. But tomorrow, you might want to head to another town and get those jewels exchanged."
"Done and done!" he exclaimed with a salute. With that, they made their way to a nice restaurant, hoping to have a fun time together.
The sun has finally set on the town. While the Eeveelution trio enjoyed some dinner, Geno was busy trying to decipher the map. Something was fishy about it and he intended to get to the bottom of it.
He gathered as much material from the secret room and brought it into his class. He flipped through many of the torn up books, trying to find some form of clue. He took a guess that the missing pages had something to do with the idol. It was a safe bet. Question is, why go through the trouble of tearing them all out if the room was hidden away? This mysterious person must have been paranoid to leave clues behind. If that was the case, he must have covered all of his tracks.
But, being an expert at unearthing secrets, Geno was determined to find something useful. This wasn't the first time he had to decipher maps. Though, he will admit, this one puzzled him. Most generic maps gave a detailed path on where the treasure in question was, leaving out certain details such as traps or dangerous wastelands. Others left a series of riddles to test the hunter's wits and minds. Then there were the occasional 'The item is in this area!' maps just flat out tell you where to go.
This one was different. It only showed a detailed outline of the Mysto Region. No extra details, no riddles or clues, nothing. If it weren't for the discontinued paper, this would be mistaken for a typical drawing done by a student.
Geno sighed and placed the map down, rubbing his temples. "Maybe that's all it is…just a drawing." He leaned back in his chair, placing his foot against the desk and rocking himself back and forth. "We've already established this guy may have been crazy. Maybe he just found this and thought it was a map."
He wanted to just go home and get some dinner, but he wanted to have a solid answer for the trio. Five or ten more minutes would suffice. Just enough time to come to a definitive answer.
He straightened himself and picked up another book to look through. Before he opened it, he examined the cover. This one was roughed up, almost like it was used more. Or whoever wrote in it was in a fight. And, judging from the burn markings and bloodstains, a fight to the death.
Curiosity rising, he opened the book and scanned through the pages. This wasn't a fairy tale or textbook, it was a journal. The farther he went into the book, the less faded the words were. It was hard to tell who wrote this, but it didn't matter at the moment. Perhaps the last page had any clues.
He stopped on the last few pages. This one was written in the same text on the map, most likely for secrecy. Made sense as this ancient text was seldom used. He took his translation book out, along with a pencil and paper. This was going to take a moment, but it might have some answers.
Pages flipped back and forth as he matched symbols to English letters and words. Sentences started forming. He mumbled them to himself as he wrote:
'It was a trap…it was a trap from the start. He led me here and now he wants the answers. I couldn't let him take them. This wasn't how it should have gone. The temptation nearly corrupted me. But it awakened him once more. I couldn't let this be the end-'
Geno flinched as he turned the page. Dried blood was stained on it. Something told him he was in a battle. He shook his head and continued to translate:
'I am now continuing from my last statement. The Shadow King has found me. We fought, but I was overpowered. He is far stronger than I anticipated. He managed to land a clean shot through my torso. I managed to find cover and patched up the large wound. I fear I am going to bleed out if this continues on.
'My research will lead to the Earth's demise if I didn't do something about it. Luckily, I have come prepared. Before our encounter, I hid away ten keys that would lead to the Idol of Origin. Even if he finds the tomb, he will need these to open it. Ten separate locations. I worry he might find them, but I have prepared for that as well-'
A blood stain covered another section of the text. Geno groaned, but continued on:
'-will ensure they stay out of his hands. The keys are linked to the map. It will tell him where they are. But it won't happen. I've soaked the map in a special potion that will ensure their safety. It can be reversed, but the Shadow King has no expert knowledge on potions. By the time he figures it out, he will have died from old age.
'He is closing in on me. My fate is sealed, but the world shall be protected. He will never see this book ever again. If anyone finds this, do not let the Shadow King find it. And do not the trust the man known as-'
The text, along with part of the page, was burned clean off. Geno closed the journal and rested his face in his hands, lightly shaking his head. "It's real…there's no doubt about it…"
The journal entry boggled his mind, especially the last part. Do not trust the man known as who? What did that even mean? But one word did come to mind easily…Shadow King. He felt his heart practically stop saying the word over and over again in his head. He knew about the Shadow King all too well. If he has returned, that was practically solid evidence this map wasn't a fake. Either that, or the mystery man was indeed crazy and was imagining things. So badly, he probably injured himself.
He felt somewhat relieved by how this mystery man took the time to hide away the keys and hide their presence on the map. But one thing puzzled him about that. There was a decently sized gap between the words 'well' and 'will'. Was there something important there? Who knows? Even if they were to remove the stain, no doubt this guy was in a rush to write all of this down. The fresh ink probably got smeared by the blood, making the text illegible. Heck, even the words he could see were somewhat smeared.
He sighed and leaned back in his chair. This is one of the biggest discoveries ever made by Pokémon kind. A possible lead to the idol would spell good fortune out to whoever found it. The first image to pop into his head was Wes. The thought, despite how grim this all was, made him chuckle a bit. He was going to tell him the map was possibly real. He could already see him packing his bags for an epic trip to some far of places in Mysto. Heck, he's probably already planned to go on an adventure for it.
He shook his head and looked at the book again. Well, there isn't much more he can investigate on. Still, is this enough to go off the assumption the idol was real? The only thing that was historically real was the Shadow King. But the chances of him being alive were incredibly slim. How could it be possible?
"Maybe there's something I missed…" He took out a book from his desk and was about to flip through it when he heard a knock on the door. He took the materials on his desk and placed them briskly into his briefcase. "Enter."
The door opened and a Slowbro janitor entered the room. "Hello sir…sorry to disturb you, but I'm going to be locking up soon."
He nodded. "No worries. I was just about to leave." He placed the last of the papers away and closed his briefcase. He stood up and followed him out.
"You don't normally stay this late, Jonathan," the janitor commented. "You must be busy."
The Scrafty chuckled and rubbed the back of his head. "Heh, yeah. I was just handling some papers. Guess the time kind of slipped by."
Slowbro rolled his eyes. "Happens to everyone from time to time."
"True. But thanks for getting me. There was a good chance I would have missed dinner if I stayed too long."
They inched closer to the door. They were too engrossed into their conversation that they were unaware of the black vapor seeping through the front entrance. It slithered passed their feet or traveled up the ceiling, blending stealthily with the dark hall.
A strand of shadow stood up, moving like a snake. It even hissed a bit. It sensed the area, searching for their target. It could sense it a remnant of its power in a classroom down the hallway, unaware it passed the target on the way in. It slithered towards the room, followed by the mass of shadows and seeped under the door.
As Jonathan and the janitor made their way to the door, the professor patted down his sides, feeling for something. He frowned. "Shoot…"
"Problem?" the janitor asked.
"Forgot my house keys back in the room."
He smiled. "I can wait a few minutes."
He returned the expression. "Thank you." He started heading back. "I'll only be a minute."
He made his way to the door and opened it. He walked up to his desk and opened one of the drawers. He rifled through it, not immediately aware of the presence in the room. Something stared down at him, its vision clouded with darkness. It eyed the professor with the desire to kill. Still keeping its eye on him, it slowly slithered down the wall.
Jonathan pulled out his keys, chuckling a bit. "Would have been a problem if I forgot you." He pocketed them and prepared to close the drawer when he heard a slight whisper. His instincts told him it was just the janitor, but a second hearing of it made him second guess himself. It sounded…sinister.
"Hello?" he called out. "Is anyone in here?" He received no response. This wasn't the first time he's been in this kind of situation. It was probably a student playing some sort of prank. Any minute now someone was going to jump out to try and scare him. He's dealt with a few pranksters beforehand.
So why was his heart beating so fast? Because he was lying to himself. He's been in this room for hours. He would have noticed a student in here a while ago. Something else was in here. And he didn't like the sound of it either.
He kept his cool, trying to play out the situation. "Alright…well, whoever you are, you might want to leave soon. We're about to lock up for the night." As he spoke, he slowly reached into the drawer and pulled something out, holding it behind his back. He used his leg to shut the drawer. "We wouldn't want you locked up for the night now, would we?" He backed away from the desk. "So…you have a goodnight…okay?" Still no response. "Alright…" He sighed and made his way to the door.
The presence whispered sinisterly to itself as it inched closer to him. Its vision slowly turned red as its intent to kill grew stronger. Its stomach was growling angrily. It must feast on this creature of flesh and bone. It must get what was requested from the master. It must.
Jonathan reached for the doorknob when he heard a horrifying screech from behind. He glanced back just enough to see a monstrous shadow rise up from the ground, baring menacing claws. It showed its terrifying set of teeth that were sharpened impressively. The end of it was a ghostly tail, withered and tattered.
The professor could see his reflection in the shadow's blood red eyes, which were locked on to him. The monster flexed its claws and lunged forward, screeching a sort of war cry. It looked as if it was about to catch its prey without a hitch.
Click.
Its eyes widened as the Scrafty pulled a weapon out on him. A flintlock pistol of sorts. He pulled the trigger and fired an erratic ball of light that crashed into the shadow's face, knocking him into the wall. It screeched in pain as it slowly deteriorated into nothing. It fell apart into strands of shadows before fading away.
Jonathan panted heavily. If he pulled the gun out a second too late, his face could have been slashed off. He wanted to take a moment to relax, but he knew he couldn't. If one of them was here…that meant there were more around him.
With a glare, he pulled out a bag of tiny beads and loaded them into the gun. "Show yourselves! No use hiding anymore!"
They finally responded to his call. Shadows started forming from the walls, floor, and ceiling, taking on the shape of horrifying monsters of varying forms. They flexed their claws out and released a horrifying screech that made him drop his briefcase and cover his ears.
He shook his head and growled. "Why are you here?!"
"Map!" one shouted angrily, its voice distorted evilly.
"Master need map!"
"Map! Need map!"
They chanted 'map' over and over, inching closer to him with each repeat. He backed away to the door, but he saw it was covered with shadow beasts, also chanting map. He pulled the trigger on them and blasted them out of the way. He ran to the door and tried opening it, but it was locked. "Dammit…" He pressed his back to the door and blasted anyone that got to close to him.
He was fortunate he had this gun on him for emergencies. The light beads were only used to stun or blind intruders. But, on shadows, they worked effectively as bullets. However, he had limited ammo and these things were practically multiplying. It looked as if more and more were forming from the walls.
As he kept them at bay, he could hear, or rather feel, a hard knocking on the other side of the door. He glanced briefly through the small window in the door and saw the janitor with a panicked expression. "Jonathan, what's going on in there?!"
He fired off a few more rounds before shouting, "Get help, now!"
"Help?!" He saw the shadows in clear view and screamed. "WHAT THE HECK?!"
"Quit stalling and get some wizards here or something! I can only hold these things off for so long!"
"But-"
"Are you deaf?! I SAID GO!" With a flinch, the Slowbro janitor stumbled on his feet and ran down the hall, exiting the building in a full sprint.
The professor sighed, then glared once more at the shadows. "Alright, no more games!" He formed a Focus Blast in his hand and smashed it against the door. It blew off its hinges and skipped across the hall, burning from the blast. He grabbed the briefcase and ran into the hall. He fired off more rounds, nailing them all with pinpoint accuracy. But he knew they weren't trying to be careful. They were deadly determined to get the map from him.
He formed a second Focus Blast and threw it down in front of them, blocking them off in a flash of light and dust from the explosion. Having a moment of breathing room, he tore off his sleeves and wrapped them around the briefcase before strapping it to his back in a tight knot.
He stretched a bit before holding his gun out. A swarm of shadows flew through the smoke with their claws out, screeching wildly. He pulled the trigger, rapid fire, and blasted multiple shadows into strands. He jumped out of the way, letting the remainders fly pass him in their fury, giving him the opportunity to blast them in the back.
He turned on his heel and ran in the opposite direction, hoping to get far from them. He should be worried about them going outside and hurting civilians, but he wasn't. If he was correct, these weren't thinking creatures. They were operating off of one command: get the map. They were going to chase him until one side falls. And he was severely outnumbered and outclassed.
He ducked behind a corner and steadied his breathing. He checked his gun and saw he was out of ammo. He had one bag of beads left, giving him at least five minutes of protection. As he loaded them in, he could hear the shadows tearing through anything they could sink their claws in to. He saw a trash can, which was horribly slashed and mangled, fly pass him.
As he sat there, a horrible thought occurred to him. What if no one comes in time? These creatures were supposedly long gone for hundreds of years. They'll think the janitor went mad. They will eventually discover that something horrible happened, but, by then, he will have been killed and the map will be long gone. And a history professor was the only one defending it?!
He shook his head, trying to shake off the worries. He couldn't think about the negatives right now. He had to trust his judgment and just hope someone came in time.
A purplish-black ball of fire flew down the hall and nailed the wall, disintegrating it almost instantly. He peeked around the corner and saw them staring down it. They caught his scent. "Fantastic…" he muttered sarcastically.
Flint and Ella chuckled as they watched Wes try and balance silverware on his nose. They got some looks from the other customers, whether they were casual ones and just went on with their business or disgusted ones from what they assumed were uptight snobs. But they didn't care. This was their night out after so long. They wanted to enjoy this time as much as possible.
Wes picked up another fork and placed it on the spoon he had already balanced on top. Almost instantly, they fell back onto the table. He laughed. "Well, guess I have no future in the circus!"
Ella smirked. "Too bad. You already have a clownish personality."
He smirked back and pinched his nose, making a honking sound with his mouth. "Well heya kids! Wester the Clown is here!"
Flint shook his head with a laugh. "Somehow I can imagine you wearing oversized pants and a rainbow wig."
"I think I have a rainbow wig." He opened up his bag and checked inside.
Ella rolled her eyes. "So, guys…" She lowered her voice into a whisper, "How do you think Professor Geno is coming along with the whole map situation?"
Wes pulled his head out of the bag and rubbed his chin. "Well, personally, I think he realizes it's real."
Flint sighed. "Wes…"
"Still a nonbeliever, bro?"
"Magic is a complicated concept on its own. The ability to warp reality on a global level is a different story. So yes, I still have my doubts about the idol's existence."
"Aww, come on. Just imagine all the possibilities, which are practically infinite!"
"I rather not mess with something that could turn me into a madman."
He shrugged. "Fair enough." He placed a melon ball in his spoon and slammed his paw down on the end. It flew in the air and landed in his open mouth. He licked his lips with satisfaction. "But still, not passing up an opportunity to go treasure hunting."
"You'll be wasting your time…" his brother muttered.
Wes looked at Ella. "What do you think?"
She shrugged. "Hey, I can't use magic like you guys. And I just learned about this idol thing. Don't go asking me if something is real or not."
"Ooh! Maybe Hal knows!"
"He's a pirate. He follows the same treasure hunting policy as you. Eavesdrop, then search."
He chuckled. "And to think I hate pirates."
Before they could continue on, they heard screaming from outside, alerting everyone in the restaurant. The Eeveelutions looked at each other before rushing outside to see what the commotion was about.
They skidded to a halt upon exiting and saw Slowbro stumbling over himself. "What the…" Flint muttered.
"Is that the janitor?" Ella questioned.
Wes ran over to him and helped him up. "What's wrong?" He got…some form of response.
"Shadows! Creepy! Monsters! Terrified! Help!"
"Uh…can you repeat that?"
He kept speaking with incoherency, leading Ella to groan and walk up to him. "Hang on." She grabbed his uniform collar and slapped him across the face repeatedly, leaving a large red mark on each cheek. "Are you calm?" He nodded. "Good." She dropped him and stepped back.
He caught his breath and shouted, "There are shadow monsters attacking Professor Geno!"
"Shadow monsters?"
"Attacking?"
"Geno?" They looked at him with confused expressions.
He flailed his arms wildly. "I'm not lying! I saw it with my own eyes! They had huge teeth and frightening claws! And-And-And-And…"
He would have continued, but Wes placed his paw against his lips. "Hush." He perked his ears up and listened carefully in the direction of the college. He could faintly hear gunshots going off…and screeching…from hundreds of different voices. Voices that didn't sound normal. "Guys…I don't think he's joking…"
Jonathan dodged another claw swipe and shot the shadow's face. He jumped back from more swipes and from a few fire attacks that would have killed him.
His clothes were a mess. Half his suit torn across the torso and his pants were nearly turned to shreds. He kept a hand on his arm, which was bleeding. His face and body were covered in bruises and cuts. He panted heavily as he fired with his bleeding arm. Even pulled the trigger felt like a challenge. Each pull shot a surge of pain up his body. He ignored it as best as he could and continued firing.
The shadows screeched with each shot destroying them, but they kept increasing in numbers. It was becoming too much for the professor. And it was about to get worse. He pulled the trigger on his gun again…
…nothing fired out.
"No! Not now!" He looked up as they towered over him with their claws flexed out. He glared and threw the gun at them, passing through their bodies harmlessly. "Stay back!" He threw down a Focus Blast, using the shockwave to push them back. It gave him enough room to escape the crowd.
They screeched angrily and threw balls of fire at him. He narrowly escaped the blasts, each one turning anything they touched into ash. But the real problem was he had nowhere else to escape to. He was trapped.
As if nothing could get worse, one of the fireballs nailed his back. Or rather, the briefcase.
He fell flat on his face as he saw the case being reduced to ash. The contents from inside, miraculously unharmed, scattered across the floor. "No!" He crawled over to them and reached for the map.
He was within fingertip reach of it when a hand lowered down and picked it up. He looked up and saw another shadow monster. This one looked different from the rest. He looked much more sophisticated and intelligent. He must have been their leader.
Nightmare chuckled. "I must say, you put up quite the fight without any magic." He held up the gun he used. "And with a useless relic, no less." He set it ablaze and tossed it to the side. He tapped the map against his palm. "You must know what this is for."
Jonathan growled. "Give that back…"
"I'd gladly oblige, but I don't take orders from lower lifeforms such as yourself. You put us through the trouble of retrieving this." He opened it up. "And now, the location of the idol is within our…grasp?" He looked at the map closely, seeing nothing but the outline of Mysto. "What is this?"
They must not know the map is coated in the potion. Jonathan realized. Guess the man in the journal was correct. They aren't experts on potions.
Nightmare opened and closed the map, hoping for a change to occur. The realization slowly frustrated him. He looked down at Jonathan and turned his arm into a blade, the edge becoming a sinister purple. He picked him up with his tail and placed the blade against his throat. "What sort of trickery is this? Where is the real map?"
He chuckled weakly. "You're looking at it. That's the real deal."
He looked at the map once more and growled. "Where is the location of the keys? We must have all ten to find the idol!" He glared at the professor and dropped him. "You're hiding something from us…"
Should have seen that coming. He inched away from him, clutching his arm. "I don't know anything…"
Nightmare glared and morphed his arm back to its normal form. "You're lying." He floated pass him and passed the other shadows. He looked at them and snapped his claws. "Kill him."
They screeched and lunged at the Scrafty. He clenched his eyes shut and braced himself.
Nightmare was expecting a bloodcurdling scream, along with the sound of flesh being torn. So you could imagine the surprise on his face when three Shadow Balls soared pass his face and nailed the shadows, knocking them away from Jonathan.
The Being of Nightmares narrowed his eyes at the front entrance. "Who are you three?" he asked threateningly.
Wes tipped his hat with a cheeky grin. "Nice to meet you, Mr. Spooky. Thought we'd come by and crash the party."
Jonathan got to his knees and panted. "Cutting it a little close, you three. What are you doing here?"
"We heard you were in danger, so we came to help," Flint explained.
"And that guy wasn't kidding about the shadow monsters," Ella commented, looking the boss shadow up and down.
Nightmare glared. "I have no time for this. Dispose of them, now." The shadows got up and screeched, preparing to charge.
Wes held his paws up and shook them. "Whoa buddy! Let's think about this for a second! You don't want to kill us!"
The boss shadow raised a brow, then halted the shadows for a moment. "Oh, and why is that?"
"Well, you see, killed us wouldn't be good for your plans. Especially since I know the location of the Idol of Origin."
Nightmare's eyes widened. "You…WHAT?!"
"Huh?" Flint and Ella uttered in confusion. Wes glanced at them and winked. They offered a silent 'Ooohhh' and winked back.
The Umbreon continued, "The thing is, we wiped away the pathway to the idol. I'm the only one with a good enough memory to remember the exact path to it!"
The boss shadow's claws extended into large, beastly ones. "You will divulge the pathway to the keys, now!"
Wes stuck his tongue out. "Catch me if you can! Come on, Flint!" He nodded and they made a bolt down the hall.
"After them!" Nightmare shouted. The shadows screeched loudly and chased after the escaping Eeveelutions. He grabbed Jonathan by the shirt collar and lifted him up. "So, you were planning to deceive us? Clever, but a foolish mistake." He raised his claws.
However, he seemed to have forgotten there was a third Eeveelution among them. And she made her presence noticed again by psychically removing a broken trophy case from the wall and smashing it on top of his head. He lost his grip on the Scrafty and went limp.
Ella ran over and helped Jonathan up. "Are you okay, Professor?"
He coughed and rubbed his head. "I'll live…"
She nodded. "We need to get you out of here." She wrapped his arm around her neck and carefully guided him to the exit.
Their escape was cut short when the doors slammed shut. They turned around and saw the trophy case incinerate into ashes. Nightmare rose up off the ground and turned his arms into evil looking blades. "You shouldn't have done that, little lady."
She inched back cautiously. She then heard Jonathan whisper, "Ella, he has the map in his hand. We can't let him escape with it."
She whispered back, "Can't we burn it or something?"
He shook his head. "No. If he catches onto our ruse, his army will wreak havoc upon the world to find the keys needed to find the idol. The map will assure us he stays on a certain path."
"Okay, but how am I supposed to steal a map from this thing?"
They looked up at the shadow as he floated closer, brandishing his blades. They gulped, knowing this wasn't going to be easy.
Wes and Flint dodged the fiery attacks being thrown at them. The shadows hacked and slashed at them, destroying everything they passed down the halls. They were barely getting any breathing room from the monstrous beings.
As they ran, Flint shouted, "So, you have a plan?"
Wes chuckled sheepishly. "I'll be honest, I didn't think this whole thing through."
This made his brother deadpan. "Of course you didn't."
"No need to whine about it." Wes looked around, trying to find something to block off the shadows and buy them some time. "Got any ideas to shake them off our tails?"
Flint closed his eyes, trying to come up with something. "Just one. Do as I say when I say it." They looked back and saw they were getting closer. "Three…two…one…STOP!" They skidded to a stop and let the shadows fly by them. "Now!" He formed a large Shadow Ball and fired it at them, with Wes following suit.
The ghostly attacks nailed the shadows and blasted them into the walls. It didn't do much to slow them down as they were getting back up, but it was enough time for Wes and Flint to make a beeline to the gymnasium.
The shadows screeched and slithered down the halls, sniffing them out. They could smell them in the room. They extended their claws and sliced down the door.
Wes and Flint stood at the other end of the large gym, getting into their battle stances. "Ready?" Flint asked.
Wes reached into his shirt and pulled out the Star Amulet. He placed his paw on it and it glowed, turning his fur purple. "Ready!"
The shadows screeched loudly and formed balls of dark fire, launching them at high speeds.
Flint got in front of Wes and held his paws out. "Blockade Reflector!" A large, orange shield appeared in front of them and blocked the attacks. As the name implied, the flames jumbled together and fired back at the attackers, setting them ablaze in their own flames.
Seeing an opening for an attack, Wes jumped off of Flint's back. "Aww, you don't like being hit with your own fire? Then try this on for size! Infernius!" His cheeks puffed out and he fired the white hot ball of flames down on them. They screeched in agony.
Flint smiled as Wes landed next to him. "Nice one, bro!"
He bowed. "Why thank you."
Their eyes widened when they saw more and more shadows poured into the gym, practically doubling…no, tripling in the ones they took out.
"Oh, come on!" Wes complained. "How many of these things are there?!"
The Flareon jumped back. "Wes, I think these things are capable of multiplying."
"What was your first clue?"
"Whatever the case, it'll be pretty hard to take these things down permanently."
Wes smirked. "So, let's go all out!"
"I'd rather not destroy the college!"
"Would you rather die and let Mr. Spooky take the map along with him?"
He hated it when his brother had a point. It scared him sometimes. "Erg, fine."
"Good. Think you can keep up?" he teased.
Flint got into his battle stance again with a smirk. "Trust me, I'm more than ready."
The shadows screeched and dive-bombed them. The brothers nodded at each other and jumped in opposite directions, making the shadows crash into the floors. They got up and split up to take on one of the brothers.
Wes cheerfully jumped over one of the shadows and kicked it in the face. Two came up from both sides and sliced at him. He ducked and did a breakdance move to land two well placed kicks in their torsos. He jumped away from more of their fire attacks. He noticed how they made neatly made holes in the floor. "Don't want to get hit by that!"
He rolled out of the way of another one and formed a Shadow Ball. He infused his magical aura into it and turned it into a brighter shade of purple. He fired it and annihilated a good chunk of the shadows. Two more came up from behind, but he was prepared. He back flipped over them and landed on one of them. He gripped their shadowy body and slapped it. "Get along, little doggy! Yeehaw!"
The shadow madly tried to buck him off, only making Wes cheer louder. He waved his hat in the air, feeling like he was at the rodeo. The other shadows tried to slash him off, but he made the one he was riding slam into them and knock them off course. He flew his unwilling steed into the air and dive bombed some behind him. He was having the time of his life.
Flint, however, was having a tougher time holding them off. He fired Flamethrower at them, which only barely fazed them. Unlike Wes, Flint mainly new defensive and supportive magic. It didn't help his opponents were living shadows, but he still managed. His Shadow Ball was able to affect them nicely. Plus, while he isn't as keen sighted as his younger brother, he could tell he was frustrating the mindless shadows.
Every time they got in close to him, he blocked them off with some sort of shield or barrier. Their attacks kept being bounced right back at them whenever he used his Blockade Reflector. It was becoming bothersome, but they will not stop until they ripped the Fire-Types throat out.
Flint jumped back from some slashes and pressed his back against the wall. "That all you got?" He looked up and saw there were more hovering over him. In fact, they had him completely surrounded. "Ah crap…"
Wes was riding his shadowy steed when he saw his brother in danger. "Hang on, bro!" He tried to fly over to him, but a bunch more shadows blocked his path. "Hey, out of my way!"
The shadows inched closer to Flint, who was shaking perversely. That's when an idea crossed his mind. "Wait a minute!" He closed his eyes.
The shadows were unsure of what he was planning, but they won't let it stop them from killing him. They lunged right at him with claws sticking out. It almost looked like they were going to get the kill, but something unusual happened. Flint vanished in a flash of orange light. Sounded strange enough, but the stranger part is what happened during the flash. Each of them felt a strike against the side of their face and were sent flying in multiple directions, some into each other. The force was so strong, it turned their heads into wisps of shadows.
Flint panted as he held his head. He was in the middle of the gym, catching his breath. "Man, that gave me a headache…"
Wes crashed down in front of him, with his steed squirming angrily to get free. "Hey! I forgot you knew that Time Stop spell!"
He chuckled. "Comes in handy when in a pinch…"
They looked down at the shadow Wes high-jacked, who was still trying to escape. This made the Umbreon roll his eyes. "Fine, I'll let you go." He, however, smirked and bit down on his tail. He spun around, building up momentum, and tossed the monster into its allies. "Woo! I should attend the rodeo sometimes!"
Flint rolled his eyes with a smile. "Even in the face of danger, Wes Ravenfield doesn't know when to get serious."
"Hey, I am serious!" he shouted playfully before punching his shoulder.
He laughed. "Yeah, sure." He punched him back.
Despite being mindless creatures of darkness, the shadows were greatly annoyed that they weren't striking fear into their opponents. In fact, they were laughing. This infuriated them!
"Fear!" one of them screeched.
"Fear us!"
"Kill! Kill! Kill!"
The brothers looked up as the shadows were suddenly rising off the ground and merging with each other, while continuously chanting 'kill'. Together, they began to form into a large dragon. Wings began to take shape on its back. Its arms were bulky and its claws were so sharp, it could cut diamond. Its tail swished back and forth, smashing the wall behind it.
Its red eyes pierced down at the brothers, whose eyes were wide in shock. They smiled nervously. "Hehe…so, still mad that I used one of you as a horse?" Wes joked nervously.
It replied by inhaling some air, getting ready to launch an attack.
Hal was cleaning in the back of the store when he started hearing a bunch of commotion outside. Normally this town was quiet. Not much noise to complain about and mostly nice locals. So it was quite rare to hear a loud uproar of shouts occurring from outside his shop.
He placed the chalice he was cleaning down and headed out front. If a fight broke out, he was usually the only one mature enough to put an end to it...though, every so often, he just watch and see how it'll play out. Can't blame him, really. It was how he was raised when he was younger.
He opened the front doors and, somewhat to his disappointment, there was no fight. However, there was something else. A Slowbro trying to get the attention of the Wizards Department. He could tell from his erratic movements that something had him spooked. And it was drawing a crowd of people around him, either watching him in concern or some laughing at how crazy he looks. Too be honest, Hal would probably be laughing too. But he could tell something was wrong. He narrowed his eye and walked over.
Slowbro pounded his fists against the door. "I'm telling the truth! There are evil shadows attacking the college!"
"Go back to whatever mental ward you came from!" someone from the crowd shouted.
The janitor flailed his arms. "I'm being serious here! They're attacking Professor Geno! We need to stop them now!" Most of the crowd laughed at him. He dropped his head in shame.
Hal moved his way through the crowd. "Excuse me, pardon me…" He groaned as they kept bunching up, making it harder to get through. "HEY! MOVE OUT OF ME WAY, YE LANDLUBBERS!" Everyone jumped back from the former pirate. He massaged his aching shoulder. "Thank ye." He walked over to the Slowbro. "Now then, why are ye making a scene, boyo? Ye're acting crazier than me first mate, and trust me, he was never right in the head."
His eye widened as he saw the janitor drop to his knees and clasped his hands together. "I keep telling everyone! We're under attack by shadow monsters!"
"Someone put a straightjacket on this guy!" someone shouted, most likely the same guy from before.
Hal glared at the crowd for a minute, before saying, "Listen lad, I'm not saying ye lost yer marbles, but do ye have any proof?"
The entire crowd jumped upon hearing an explosion coming from far away. They turned into the direction of the sound and saw the college was on fire. What caught everyone's attention was the color of the flames. They were purplish black.
"That enough proof for you?" the janitor whimpered.
Hal narrowed his eye and rolled up his right sleeve. "Yep…"
A large occupied the gym wall. The dragon growled at the Ravenfield brothers, whose eyes were still wide with shock. The fireball was inches from hitting their faces, but it luckily soared over their heads. Now they'll remember to dodge the next time this dragon's attacks.
Wes chuckled nervously. "Well…that was quite the attack…"
Flint smiled in terror. "Y-Yep…"
The dragon roared at them, prompting them to dash out of the gym. The monster chased after them, smashing through the wall and stomping down the halls.
Wes looked back to see how close the dragon was. He was pretty close. "Any ideas, Flint? I don't moves or spells are going to do much on this thing!"
Flint clenched his eyes shut. "I'm thinking, I'm thinking!"
Wes looked around quickly before an idea of his own popped into his head. "Wait, I know! Let's blast him with the Mystic Beam!"
"Wes, that's dangerous in an enclosed space! And I can't even use the Mystic Beam!"
"True, but you do know the Magnification Ring spell."
Flint looked to the side, recalling the spell. Yes, he does remember practicing it a few years ago. Any attack that passed through the rings doubled in strength. The maximum number of rings that can be created are 100. Flint can only create three so far. Still, for a supporter like him, it's a really useful move. And combined with his Flamethrower…
He smiled. "Alright, but we need to slow Ugly over there down!"
The young Ravenfield snickered. "Leave that to me!" They stopped at an intersection in the hallway and went in opposite directions.
The dragon stopped at the intersection and looked both ways, unsure of who to go after.
"Hey, you overgrown gecko!" The dragon growled and looked in the direction Flint went. He hopped up and down and stuck his tongue out. "I bet you can hit me!"
A challenge the monster gladly accepted. It inhaled deeply and breathed a stream of flames. Flint placed a barrier around himself and endured the stream.
With the dragon distracted, Wes got to work. He jumped onto the dragon's back and pulled out a journal with a purple magic circle on the cover. Inside was a list of magic circles he could perform. Each had a different effect and he had one in mind to keep this beast still.
He slammed his paw down on it. "Ensnarement!" A magic circle appeared on the monster's back. The center of the circle contained a star shape made of chains. He jumped off as the circle sprouted chains and wrapped around the beast efficiently.
The shadow dragon stopped his assault on Flint and looked back to see chains were wrapping around it. Being a shadow, it could easily mold its body to escape. However, when it tried, the chains sent a purple electric shock that made it tense up like it had muscles being contracted. It roared in pain and squirmed, trying to move, but it was stunned in place.
Wes tipped his hat. "Ready bro!"
Flint adjusted his sweater vest and smirked. "Let's send this thing packing!"
Purple energy began to swirl in front of Wes, taking the shape of a ball made up of mystic energy.
Flint clapped his paws together. "Magnification Rings x3!" Three orange rings appeared in front of him, lined up and aimed at the dragon. Flames built up in his mouth as he prepared to fire Flamethrower.
The energy stopped building up in front of Wes. He smirked. "Mystic Beam!" he shouted as the ball transformed into a large beam of mystic energy that soared right at the dragon. Its light burned brightly down the hallway, making the dragon roar in pain. And it wasn't even hit by the attack yet. Speaking of attack, Flint fired his Flamethrower, sending it through the rings. With each ring it passed, it doubled in size. It turned from a thin stream of fire into a large inferno of flames.
The dragon could see both attacks coming from its peripherals and could only other one word. "…kill?" The attacks collided with each other, with the dragon sandwiched in the middle. It roared in agony as its body withered away from the destructive force bombarding it. Light completely enveloped the room, leaving the brothers temporarily blind.
Eventually, the light died down, allowing the brothers to get their bearings in order. Once they could see properly, they looked around to see if any shred of the dragon was left. Nothing. And no shadows were coming to attack them. They must have won.
They smiled and ran over to each other, rewarding themselves with a high five. "Woo! And that's what happens when you mess with a Ravenfield!" Wes shouted in excitement.
"You said it! Who's awesome?" Flint asked with a wide grin.
"We're awesome!" They high-fived again and wrapped an arm around each, laughing at their victory. "Hehehe…yeah…" He sighed and looked around. The adrenaline in him was dying down, making the Umbreon think. Something was nagging in the back of his head. "I feel like we forgot something…"
They heard shouting coming from near the entrance. They looked at each other and gasped. "Ella! Professor Geno!"
Ella grunted as she lifted a mass of stuff in her Psychic and threw it down on Nightmare, who easily sliced through it. She has been shielding Jonathan from any more harm. Unfortunately, it was taking a toll on her body. She wasn't use to fight like Wes or even Flint, for that matter.
Nightmare smirked. "You put up a valiant effort to protect your teacher, but this ends now." He formed a ball of flames in his hand. He held up the map in his other hand. "And once I give this map and that Umbreon to my master, we'll finally have our prize." He held the map up in the air and broke out into an evil cackle, making Ella narrow her eyes angrily.
A short 'yoink' was heard overhead. Nightmare blinked and looked at his hand. The map was missing. "The map!" He glared at the black blur landing in front of him. "You!"
Wes smiled with the map in his mouth. "Me!" He spat it out and waved it in front of his face. "Lookie at what I have!"
"You will hand over that map immediately!"
He snickered. "Nope! Keep away!" He kicked it over his head.
"Huh?!" He turned around and saw Flint. "Hand it over, runt!" He soared at him.
"Wes!" Flint called out before throwing the map. Nightmare made a u-turn and went after it.
Wes caught it again and threw it back to Flint, who threw it back to him, who threw it back to him, and so on and so forth.
Nightmare was getting tired of being messed with and roared. "Enough!" His tail split in two and wrapped around their necks. He lifted them up and tightened his hold, slowly choking them. "I will not be made a fool of! Do you know who I am? I am the Being of Nightmares! I will not succumb to your games!"
Wes and Flint were turning blue from lack of air. "Dude…chill…" Wes wheezed.
Ella gasped before growling angrily. "Let them go!" She jumped up and fired Shadow Ball in his face. He retaliated by slapping her across the face, sending her flying across the floor.
Jonathan stopped her from slamming into a wall. "Are you okay, Ella?"
"…I'll live…"
The professor glared at the shadow, who was close to ending Wes and Flint's lives. Unable to keep up his concentration, Wes' fur color returned to normal.
Nightmare laughed. "Game, set, and mat-"
A bluish green slash sliced through his tail, evaporating his hold on the brothers. They dropped to the ground and gasped for air.
The boss shadow growled. "Now what?" He turned to the entrance.
Hal stood at the front door with his arms crossed. "Lad, how do ye keep getting yerself into these kind of predicaments?"
Wes coughed and rubbed the back of his head. "Years of practice…" His throat was a bit sore.
He shook his head. "Typical…" He glared at the shadow. "As for ye…get lost before I get serious."
Nightmare lowered himself to the ground and clenched his fists. "Do you think I fear you, Krocorock?"
The former pirate sighed. "I'm giving ye one last warning. Leave this place now or I'll be cutting off more than just yer tail."
The Being of Nightmares form a blade with his arm. His tail grew back just as quickly. "Do your worst." He lunged at the Krocorock and slammed his blade down on him.
Hal, with a bored expression, lifted his right arm and blocked it. The shadow gasped. He didn't even make a dent in his arm. How was that possible? He stopped his blade with flesh and bone? What madness was this?
"Ye aren't from around here, are ye?" Hal pushed the blade back and gripped his wrist. "So I'll give ye a history lesson. Around here, I'm known as Hal. But to any lowlife who was foolish enough to challenge me…" He twisted his wrist, making a clicking sound. Shocking the shadow, he began to pull his arm off. "…I'm known as Captain Specter." He threw the prosthetic arm to the side.
Concealed underneath was a short blade, about as long from his hand to his elbow. It glowed in a bluish green aura.
The shadow narrowed his eyes, recognizing the weapon. "The Sword of Silence…"
"That's not all…" Hal gripped his eyepatch and threw it off, revealing another trinket. A golden eye with a blue slit pupil in the center. "The Eye of Silence."
Nightmare floated back a bit. "Powerful weapons…the sword granted the user enhanced magical power. And the eye allows one to see into the future. When combined…they grant the user the power to wipe out a region with a single slash." He clenched his fists. "Such amazing power…embedded into the body of some old geezer? Disgraceful."
Hal's eyes widened and he face-planted. He got up and growled. "Old geezer?! Now listen here, ye twat! I was a respected pirate back in me day! I will not stand here and let some withered phantom call me old!"
"Enough!" Nightmare lunged forward, thrusting his blade. "I shall slaughter you and claim the sword and eye for my master!"
Hal narrowed his eyes. He could see his movements instantly. He knew exactly where he was going to strike. So predictable. With swift movement, he blocked the strike to his neck and pushed the blade back. "Then come and take it."
Nightmare roared angrily, turning his other arm into a blade, and going all out, slashing at Hal in bloody rage. Hal placed his real arm behind his back and skillfully blocked each and every one of the slashes, never missing a beat. It only frustrated the shadow further and made him swing harder. With a smirk, Hal stopped and sped out of the way, making the boss shadow blink twice in confusion.
Hal appeared behind him and stuck his blade out, charging up magical power into it and firing a beam of energy right into his back. Nightmare roared and jumped out of the beam before lunging at him. The former pirate jumped over him and slashed downward, smashing him against the ground. He pushed himself up and fired a volley of dark fire at him. He saw each of them coming and slashed in omnidirectional patterns, practically creating a barrier around him.
He landed and dashed forward, ramming his body against the shadow. He slashed left and right, tearing through his body. It kept regenerated, but it kept getting hacked to pieces. Nightmare wasn't sure how much longer he could endure the old man's assault.
Hal ending his barrage of strikes with another energy bema that sent him through the roof. "And stay out!"
A roar was heard and Nightmare smashed back in. "You will not stop me!"
He glared. "This ends now!" He raised his sword and began charging magic into the blade. Wes, Flint, and Ella gasped.
"Wait Hal, don't!"
Jonathan stared in confusion. What's got them scared?
Nightmare could sense a mass of charging energy seeping out of the blade. It was almost suffocating. If he were to be hit by that power, it would certainly be unforgiving. He had to end this battle quickly.
He morphed his arms into blades and came charging at the old Krocorock. "Die!"
Hal smirked. "Mystical…Slash!" He slashed forward, releasing a massive wave of energy.
Nightmare's eyes widened. Oh…crap. Instantly, he was consumed by the wave.
The power shot through the roof of the building and practically touched the clouds in the night sky. Crowds of people gasped in awe, staring at the magnificent sight unfolding. They could feel the aftershock lightly sway pass them.
Once the light show died down, they raced towards the college to see what has happened. One stayed behind. Vivian. She stared at the college with a look of concern. "Wes…Flint…"
Within the college, everyone was coughing as dust particles entered their lungs. Flint took his hat off and waved it in front of his face. "Well…that happened…"
Wes repeated the action with his own hat. "I hate dust…" He placed his hat back on and looked at Hal. He was standing in the same position he was in when he fired the slash. He sighed, knowing what just happened. "You okay, Hal?"
"P-Perfectly fine, lad…" His voice sounded strain, as if he was holding back an excruciating amount of pain.
Flint coughed and placed his hat back on. "You threw your back out again, didn't you?"
"…maybe…"
Jonathan coughed and picked himself up. "What the heck…" He looked up as the dust began to clear. His eyes bugged out upon seeing the level of Hal's destructive attack. "You have got to be kidding me…"
Half the top of the building was completely missing. Green energy seeped off the perfectly cut outlines of the large hole made, making it a clean cut basically.
Ella patted the professor's back. "Yeah…Hal has a tendency to overdo it."
Speaking of the old pirate, Wes and Flint were helping him realign his back. "There you go."
Hal sighed and cracked his back. "Ow, ow!" He shook his head. "Never gets easier…" He looked up at the large hole he made and sweatdropped. "Uh…I'll…pay for any damages…"
Jonathan sighed. The damages were the least of his worries at the moment. "Wes, do you-"
"-have the map?" He held it up with a proud smile. "Yeah I do!"
Ella walked over to the wreckage. She looked at them with a shrug. "So, did we kill him?"
She got her response, but not from the people she wanted it from. The ground exploded near her, making her jump back and run over to the others.
Nightmare rose up into the sky and screamed in fury. "You fools have made a mockery out of me! This will not go unjust." They all got into their battle stances, but he raised his hand to stop them, confusing them. "However, I have been heavily damaged from this old geezer's attack. I must retreat for now."
"Come down here and say that to me face, freak!" Hal shouted, being held back by Wes and Flint.
Nightmare narrowed his eyes. "But know this. When we meet again, things will not end the same way. Our king will get the Idol of Origin and your world will plunge into a never ending Hell."
Wes stepped up with a glare. "What king?"
The shadow laughed as he rose into the air, storm clouds rolling in. "Be warned, Umbreon. You may have stopped us, but you've only delayed the inevitable. The Shadow King will rise again. All shall fear his power. Beware the power…of the Tribe of Shadows!"
Lightning flashed across the sky, blinding the group. When they looked up, the boss shadow was gone.
The gang looked at each other, looks of confusion and shock plastered on their faces. Wes chuckled uneasily. "S-So Flint…still think the map is fake?"
Flint shook his head, with his jaw dropped in horror. "This can't be real…"
It was about to get worse. They began hearing the sound of shouting coming from outside. They peeked through the shattered windows and saw practically the whole town coming up to the front of the building. They had mixed expressions of anger and worry. They were demanding answers. They wanted to know what was going on.
Ella flinched at the size of the crowd. "So much for secrecy…"
Wes turned his attention away from the disorderly crowd and looked at Jonathan with concerned, narrowed eyes. "Professor…what's the Tribe of Shadows?"
The Scrafty feared answering the question. His life was put in danger just to protect that map. He worried about pirates or bandits, but not something of this scale. This was far worse than anything he could have imagined. With the storm clouds matching the mood of this tense moment, he found it hard to speak. He was unsure of how to answer. He feared what was to come next.
He found his voice and said, "…I fear a great evil has been awakened."