Chapter 7: A Dark Omen
"And this does what, exactly?" Rissoella asked, inspecting the tube's label.
"It's sunscreen, it'll keep you from getting sunburn." Zach pointed at the label. "It can be painful, so I figured you'd rather have it."
"From the UV rays, presumably..." Rissoella mumbled to herself, turning the tube over to inspect the back.
Deep within her, she felt a rising feeling. Unease? Anticipation? Something lurched inside her and she dropped the sunscreen in an instant, grabbing the nearest rack in the Pokémart.
Kirlia, sensing the emotional distress, immediately sprung forward to stabilize Rissoella, grabbing her leg and holding it steady.
Whatever the feeling was, it vanished, leaving a cold emptiness in her nerves.
"Li-lia?" The little voice asked. Rissoella looked down at Kirlia for a moment, and then at Zach who'd spun around.
"Are you alright?" He asked.
"I'm... I'm fine." Rissoella nodded, trying to place the feeling. "I don't know how to describe it..."
Kirlia looked at Zach with concerned eyes, her red horns glowing softly for just a moment.
He simply nodded, gesturing for Rissoella to follow him out of the store.
Kirlia led them, looking around carefully for signs of disturbance and finding Poipole sleeping in a backpack. Her horns glowed once more, as a flock of birds flew overhead.
"There's something wrong." Zach said, watching them. "Those starly are saying as much."
"So it wasn't just a feeling?" Rissoella asked, carefully lifting Poipole onto her shoulder. She still couldn't figure out what allowed Zach to understand Pokemon so well, but Kirlia's psychic powers were slightly more logical.
"Can you keep up with me?" Zach asked, beginning to walk and then jog. "If you can't, stay here."
Rissoella hurried after him as Kirlia leapt to his shoulder. The pair picked up speed in the opposite direction the Starly were headed, beginning to sprint. Rissoella couldn't imagine keeping up with them, but she did her best, even if the jostling did wake Poipole up.
Rissoella was panting and gasping, following Zach and Kirlia into the woods. Her shoes were beginning to snag and catch on roots and stones, so she slowed down, but Zach slid into a crouching position behind a tree, scouting out the area, before leaping into it and perching on the branch.
"What... what is it?" Rissoella puffed, her lungs burning from such a long run. She held her knees to keep from falling, realizing how much she'd pushed her limits.
"It's an expedition team..." Zach whispered.
Rissoella gathered herself enough to approach the tree and look around it, seeing one of the old ruins and a large vehicle outside.
"The ancient buried ruins you mentioned, right?" She asked, inspecting the old stonework of the structure.
"Something's wrong." Zach mumbled, as Kirlia gestured towards a crate they are carrying, a concerned frown spreading across her little face.
Poipole stirred, hiding in the backpack. He must've been uneasy.
The expedition crew placed the crate, carefully undoing the seal and lifting a large bowl into the air. It looked metal, and extremely heavy, as the two workers struggled to hoist it out.
They stepped forward, but one stumbled, and Rissoella was caught off guard as Zach leapt at her, tackling her to the ground. The earth shook and groaned violently, and the air grew cold and thick.
Zach got off of her, and she sat up to look at the bowl they had dropped.
A giant, cracked vessel that gave her an ominous itchy feeling rumbled on the ground. The people around it were stunned and uncoordinated from the seismic shock. Beneath them, the dirt twisted and writhed from the evil power of the artifact.
As if a ripple on the water's surface, the ground moved in waves, doubling back and engaging towards in the center. The bowl began to lift, dirt and stone gathering below it as it began to resemble a four legged pokémon.
"What... is that...?" Zach whispered, clearly on edge. Kirlia stood in front of them, to defend them from the creature.
Thoughts of fear and anguish ripped through Rissoella's mind, but they didn't relate to the feeling she had felt before. It was as if a person within her was terrified of the creature on a personal level.
The creature turned to the ruin, looking up at it, before slowly lowering it's head.
"Get back...!" Zach reached out. Rissoella caught his hand and stumbled after him, as another seismic shock sent them both into the ground once again. The earth had split by the ruin, and she could feel the earth giving way.
"Poipole...!" Rissoella yelled. Poipole understood the situation, and immediately emerged from the backpack, firing a burst of poisonous adhesive into the dirt around them. It hardened nearly instantly, holding them steady as the Earth behind them ripped open and collapsed.
The truck, the workers, and the mysterious artifact tumbled into the abyss below. The ruin was opened.
Rissoella grabbed the edge of the hardened terrain, looking down into the darkness.
Kirlia was speaking vocally to Zach, who was discussing theories with her.
"What... what was that?" Rissoella finally turned to look at him.
"I-... I don't know." Zach said, holding his chin in thought. "I've never seen that pokémon before, but... it couldn't have been one. The real being was that metal vessel."
Kirlia nodded, indicating she'd figured out as much.
"Was this what you felt? Back at the PokéMart?" Zach asked.
"No, it wasn't this at all. Maybe two separate things happened?" Rissoella looked at him. "One felt familiar..."
"Then maybe it has to do with how you got here." Zach suggested. "Maybe they were using that pokémon to gain entry to the ruins, looking for it."
Rissoella looked into the abyss once more, marvelling at the blackness below. Light dared not enter, as if a black fog lingered within.
"I've got a bad feeling." Zach said, carefully standing up. "Nice job, Poipole, that poison is actually very helpful."
Poipole seemed proud of the quick action, but Rissoella was busy contemplating the possibility of another wormhole event. Had Chondrus succeeded in creating another, or was this the result of something else slipping through?
Perhaps by breaking the dimensional barrier, Rissoella had weakened it. She may not be the last to cross through.
"Wait, where are you going?" Rissoella asked, noticing Zach beginning to climb off of the glued rock.
"I think, whatever it was that they were looking for..." He climbed down into a cluster of stones, a couple of them tumbling down into the darkness. "...is probably still down there. I also don't like the possibility of whatever that thing was being free."
Kirlia leapt gracefully, landing on his shoulder without effort and balancing with her psychic power.
"You don't have to come with, I'll be back soon. If you head back to Southpasture, I'm sure the professor will take care of you." Zach said, climbing further.
A moment passed and the rocks behind him rumbled and collapsed, from the weight of Rissoella stepping onto them and leaping to safety.
"I'm not giving the professor time to dissect me." Rissoella said sternly. "Besides, you need adult supervision."
"I'm...! I am an adult!" Zach scolded, a smile cracking through his mock frustration.
"Then you and I can handle this." Rissoella said, adjusting her coat and holding her glasses for the next jump onto the stone structure, finding it sturdy.
Kirlia and Zach led the way, as Rissoella felt the darkness she'd known for so long seeping in.
Hoooh, okay. Apologies if this one is a little rough, I haven't updated this story in a while and I needed to figure out how to write again.
Hopefully you caught what this mysterious pokémon was from the description, but if you couldn't, it's a real treasure.
Of Ruin.
...you get it? Like the pokemon tha-