Equinox
An ordinary young girl gets pushed into dare which quickly turns sour. Her world turned upside down, and with the fate of her loved ones at stake will she sacrifice herself or retreat?
Equinox
~The Courtship Of Curses~
It was warm outside. As chirping Pidgeys flew weightlessly through the sky, a gentle breeze blew through the recesses of meadows and sweet green pastures like the crisp breath of a Suicune. Overhead, the sun cast bright golden rays through the cloudless sky, illuminating the edge of the Forbidden forest, which lay twenty-one miles west of Pallet Town.
Plastered lazily against the thick lower branch of a garden tree, Clare watched the wind sweep through the grass of the meadow that spread out before her, undulating with a liquid motion. After admiring the sight for a brief number of seconds, the girl retreated into her head to live out her fantasies out of boredom; she often journeyed to this spot to get away from her sleepy home located in the village of Forbest.
Mumbling, she rolled a straw strand in-between her small, puckered lips, her mind playing pictures of forbidden objects rooted in eroticism. Reaching up, she drew an invisible ink drawing in the air with a thin, porcelain-colored arm. Discarding the yellow reed with a flick of her finger, Clare's lips drew into a thin smile, her face shaded by her straw cowboy hat.
"Clare, Clare! Get your butt down here you stinking mongrel!"
The voice registered in her ears abruptly, shattering her world of sexual fantasies and sucking her back into reality. Audibly sighing, Clare turned towards the source of the ruckus, revealing her hidden brown eyes from beneath the veil of her headgear. She brushed aside a strand of brunette hair, which revealed the excited face of a close friend. Lily usually only got this riled up if there was gossip about Millete that desperately needed to be shared.
Kicking her legs outward, Clare pulled herself into a sitting position, feeling the rough bark of the tree scratch against her back through the fabric of her shirt. "What the hell do you want, Lily? Wait, don't tell me: you got Millete to do some stupid dare again."
An expression of shock flashed across Lily's face. Her lips puckered tightly against each other as she leaned forward, looking at Clare through squinted eyes. "Woah... Do you have psychic powers or something? It's like you already knew what I was going to say..." Trailing off, she turned away and scratched at her chin, appearing to be deep in thought.
Clare laughed. "Yeah, I wish. Did you know that I can shoot laser beams out of my eyes too?" she said, popping her eyes out at Lily. "You're such a moron! I don't need to be psychic; your face is as open as a textbook. You got Millete to do something stupid, didn't you?"
Lily rubbed the balls of her naked feet against the soft earth and looked at Clare, the crimson shade of embarrassment creeping across her cheeks. She waited, silently demanding a query from her friend before revealing her secret.
"Ok, fine," Clare huffed, "what is it this time?"
Lily swelled with excitement, looking like an overinflated balloon that was about to burst; it was as if she would explode if her information wasn't divulged to a sentient creature. Her polished teeth flashed white as a wide grin broke across her face.
"Oh, Millete's totally going to lose this one," she said. "And if she does, she's gonna have to slip a Dratini into her undies!" After a brief fit of laughing, Lily continued, "Ok, so- I dared Millete to... Spend the Halloween night in the Forbidden Forest, all by herself. OOOOOOOOooooooooooooooo!" she cried, raising her hands above her head and wiggling her fingers in an attempt to look like a monster.
Clare raised an eyebrow in response. "Wow, Lily, you've really outdone yourself now," she said sarcastically. "But seriously: there's some seriously creepy stuff in that place, not to mention wild Pokemon. She could get hurt. All in all, its also Hallows Eve" Not waiting for a reply from her dim-witted friend, she muttered, "Anyways, I'm bored. Let's head to the market and bother Millete at her stall; that way we can also save Nina from being bored to death."
"Who's Nina?" Lily asked, confused.
"Millete's cousin, dumbass," Clare said, hopping down from her seat in the tree. Grabbing her friend's wrist, she smiled. "Let's go!"
At the Marketplace...
Gazing at the decorated wooden tables that made up her competitor's shopping stalls, Nina stretched, yawning from the self-inflicted torture of running a shopping stall in Forbest Village's marketplace. While her cousin Millete was attracting shoppers with her charm and witty phrases, she would stand behind her cousin's table of goods and try not to appear too bored. Today was a relatively busy day, as the market was clustered with hordes of shoppers, most of whom had come seeking goods for Halloween; in other words, good business was to be had. A handsome sum of money had already been earned, and the two girls had since agreed to split the share evenly.
On the other hand, Millete was having a fantastic time. Standing amidst the crowd in a mini skirt that showed off her well-toned legs, she hollered, "Get your berries! All kinds of berries! Pink berries, yellow berries, white berries: you want it, I've got it! Come on over and make your Pokemon happy!" She stopped then, smiling pleasantly at the line of people that accumulated at her stall. Her gleaming emerald eyes stood out against her violet hair as she whipped her head around to face Nina with the intention to give her a thumbs-up, only to find the space empty. In Nina's place, a heap of clothes lay strewn in the dirt.
Oh, no, Millete thought, nearly groaning out loud in frustration. Adjusting her gaze, her eyes fell upon Nina, clad in nothing but her bra and panties, dancing sensually to an inaudible rhythm not far from her stall. Giving her line of customers an apologetic look, she said, "I'm so sorry, I'll be right back."
Unaware of her cousin's attention, Nina continued her indecent display, only to be halted by a hand roughly clamping down on her shoulder. Spinning around, she was greeted with a very angry looking Millete, who held her low-cut shorts and shirt in what seemed to be a clawed hand. "What the hell are you doing?" Millete seethed through clasped teeth.
"Chill out, Mills. I'm boosting your sales: just watch," Nina replied, even as the line at their stall began to disperse.
Pointing to their customer-less stall with a trembling hand, her cousin hissed, "Now look what you did, you idiot! Now put your freakin' clothes back on before you get us in trouble."
Snatching her articles of clothing from Millete's grasp, Nina struck an aristocratic pose in her near stark-nakedness. She tilted her chin upwards. "I have little regard for public decency," she said in a faux British accent. When Millete failed to reply while fixing her in a criticizing gaze, Nina muttered, "Damn party pooper," as she slipped into her shorts.
While her cousin worked her way into her shirt, Millete sighed and looked up at the sky; the sun was retreating into the horizon, giving birth to a staggering display of pink and crimson colors that flooded the sky. In similar fashion, the warmth of the day was slowly ebbing away, succumbing to the chill of night. It wouldn't be long before the twin tyrants would be back.
Millete chuckled to herself. Lily and Clare weren't only the two silliest girls on the face of the planet, but they also held a special place in Millete's heart as her best friends. Idiotic and troublesome best friends, but best friends nonetheless.
Trying to gaze past various shop vendors who were packing their goods up for the evening, Nina stood on her tiptoes and craned her neck, barely catching sight of Clare and Lily waving at her in the distance. "Hey, look," she said, pointing, "it looks like those two are early, so I guess we can pack our stuff up and head out to camp sooner."
Millete's good mood seemed to vanish instantly as Lily's challenge came to mind. Earlier in the day when she was escorting Millete to work, Lily had dared her to spend the night in the Forbidden Forest that bordered the village of Forbest. According to local lore, evil spirits and cannibalistic monsters emerged from the confines of Hell to stalk the forested wilderness, hunting for any creature that dared stay out at night. Of course, Millete had long since dismissed the legends as bullshit, and promptly accepted. Now that the dark of night was beginning to eat away at the light of day, she was beginning to second-guess herself on the whole idea of camping alone.
"Hey, what's up, bitches?" Clare asked approaching the group. Strangely, she was carrying two backpacks, and opposite of her, Lily was also equipped with a rucksack.
"Hey," Millete replied, "what's with the extra backpacks?" In preparation for her trip, she had already packed, and her backpack was currently stowed away underneath her stall.
"Well, we-" Lily began.
"Thought that it would be too dangerous if you went out by yourself," Clare continued, cutting Lily off, "so we decided to come with you!"
In that instant, Millete's anxiety was alleviated, if only a little. "Who's the extra backpack for?" she asked, pointing to the extra bag that Clare had slung across her back.
"Who do you think, dumbo?" Clare replied, handing the bag to Nina, who accepted the item with a nod.
"But how-"
Clare gave Millete a devilish grin. "Me and Lily broke into your house and got Nina's stuff for her. Most of her stuff was all packed up anyway."
"Yeah," said Nina. "I'm going back to Cerulean City tomorrow for University."
Still unable to comprehend what her friends had done, Millete stuttered, "How... How the hell did you break into my house? "
"Easy," Clare said simply, "I climbed through your kitchen window like I always do, and then I got Nina's stuff for her... Oh, and Lily ripped out a bunch of pages from one of my porno mags and glued the pages to your wall."
Millete's face darkened, and she whipped around to face Lily. "You what?"
"Uh," Lily said quietly, a sheepish look on her face. "I uh, you know, glued a bunch of magazine pages to your wall." After watching her friend stand in place, looking as if she would explode, Lily shouted, "Just kidding!"
Nina slapped Millete on the back, and in turn, she stood motionless, un-amused. "Oh man," Nina said, "that was a pretty good one." She raised her fist, and Lily pounded it.
"Ok- seriously, stop it, guys," Clare said, interrupting the group. "Let's get a freakin' move on; I'm getting tired of carrying my stuff." As the others nodded their heads in agreement, she pulled off her rucksack and withdrew a flashlight in preparation for the oncoming darkness. Sometimes people didn't like her because she was always blunt and to the point, but then again, it was sometimes hard to take her seriously, especially when she donned her goofy farm girl hat.
Without further conversation, the small group of girls began their short journey to the forest as they bypassed the marketplace grounds in a matter of minutes. Before long, the gray cobblestone roads of the village gave way to the dusty brown of the dirt road that lead to the open meadows, which in turn led to the Forbidden Forest. In the silence of night, the sounds of their pattering feet against the meadow grass seemed to be much louder than they should have been, contributing to an increasingly eerie setting.
After a short while, the girls' trip came to an end as they found themselves facing the border of the forest. By this time, the sun had completely sunk beneath the horizon and the only light that Mother Nature offered was the pale glow of the moon; in the dim setting, the ominous forest seemed to stretch out in all directions in a solid mass, threatening to engulf the group in a wave of darkness.
Nervous, Millete dug into her backpack and pulled out her flashlight, turning it on to shed light on the scene. Illuminated by the light of her torch, the dead-looking trees seemed to separate from their seemingly solid form to reveal twisted, leafless limbs that stretched in all directions like the twisted bones of a skeleton. Their bark, pale and cracking, seemed to give off an aura of unhealthiness; death. Flicking off her flashlight, Millete shuddered.
"Jinkies," Clare suddenly remarked, making some of the group jump, "it's darn creepy out here."
"Yeah," Lily agreed, her voice just above a whisper; her eyes were wide with uneasiness.
When Nina and Millete failed to reply, Clare turned on her flashlight and shined it in their faces, earning a glare from her violet-haired friend. "Maybe this wasn't such a hot idea for a dare, Lily. I mean, look at those woods- who the hell would want to go in there?"
She jumped at the abrupt laughter emanating from Millete. The fear that was in her eyes just moments ago appeared to have dissipated, replaced by steely determination. "Come on, you wusses! I'm not going to turn back after walking this far. Are you guys going to run away like little girls because you're scared of a big bad forest? Hmmmm?"
Siding with Clare, Lily slowly said, "... Uh, why don't we head back? Clare's right: that forest looks way too creepy."
"Well, you pussies can have fun back in town," Millete called out as she set out on her way, trudging through the tall grass that grew in-between the forest's trees. Behind her, Clare and Lily stood frozen in place with no intention of following her. Focusing on the trail ahead, and the narrow flashlight beam that cut through the darkness, Millete continued on without them, hearing their voices gradually fade away in the background.
Crunch, crunch
Keeping her eyes fixed ahead, Millete's brows came together in a frown when she realized that the crunching sounds were out of sync with her own footfalls.
"Looks like it's just you and me now, Mills," Nina's voice suddenly exclaimed. She slapped Millete on the back of her rucksack, making a shudder of shock reverberate throughout her body.
"Jesus Christ, Nina!" Millete cried, anger eating at the fringes of her voice. "You scared the hell out of me!"
Ignoring her, Nina traced small circles around the dark path that stretched out ahead of them. Twisted tree trunks reflected the light with a dull gleam, the surface of the bark seeming to be covered in a layer of slick water; strangely, it hadn't rained in the past number of days. With a yawn, she asked, "You sure this was a good idea, Mills? I mean, it's pretty creepy out here..."
Still trying to catch her breath, Millete huffed, "Come on, Nina: do you really think that anything's going to attack us out here? The only things we need to be worried about are the Rattatas and setting up camp." After a brief pause, she added, "And we also need to prove that we're tougher than Clare and Lily."
"Whatever. I don't know why you listen to them half the time; they always get you into stupid situations, like camping in the middle of some creepy-ass woods for instance."
"Says the public stripper," Millete finished for her with a small laugh.
Her cousin's facial expression turned sour, and she stuck out her tongue at Millete. "At least I don't force you to do stupid stuff."
"Fair enough," she said, still grinning.
As the duo continued on through the tall grass, Millete's flashlight beam made a pass over a small clearing that was relatively clean of knobby roots and knee-high grass; it almost appeared as if a flat boulder had occupied the space for decades, only to be recently removed to reveal a level, earthen patch of land. Breathing a sigh of relief, she asked, "How about that area over there?" illuminating the area with her flashlight. "That way we won't have to deal with the creepy-crawlies in the grass."
Running ahead, Nina inspected the area and nodded her approval. "Works for me."
Catching up to her cousin, Millete slid her backpack from her shoulders and unzipped the main compartment, removing two cylindrical nylon bags. Setting her own on the ground, she tossed the remaining package at Nina, who immediately set to work removing the contents that consisted of composite tubing and more rolled-up nylon. In no time flat, two compact, portable tents marked the cousins' newly claimed patch of territory. This was not the first time the dynamic pair had gone camping; in their earlier years they would go on backyard stakeouts every weekend at Nina's home. Setting up tents was now a second nature and well-practiced act.
After hammering the final plastic stake into the ground, Millete rose and expelled the breath from her lungs in a long sigh, the warm feeling of self gratification overtaking her being. It was refreshing to finally be away from the village of Forbest, to finally be able to breathe in nature's crisp and untainted scent. Yawning, Millete slowly lowered herself into a sitting position in the dirt that stretched out before her tent.
In the midst of her trance-like state, a sizable pile of sticks and logs came crashing down in front of her as she was pulled back to earth, the resounding noise snapping Millete out of her daze. She didn't even notice that Nina had gone to retrieve firewood.
"Tired already?" Nina asked with a chuckle.
Reaching up to rub her eyes, she responded, "Yeah, a little bit- what time is it anyway?"
"Ten thirty," she said after a quick glance at her wristwatch, "but don't fall asleep yet, 'cause we've got to roast some marshmallows first."
Producing a pokeball from her pocket, Nina kicked the pile of wood farther away from Millete before throwing the ball into the air. After a blinding flash that signaled the release of a pokemon, the ebbing light of the device revealed a red bodied creature whose torso and extremities were adorned with yellow flame-like patterns. Quite a peculiar creature, it was: its arms were covered with crimson scales and a row of dangerous looking spikes ran down the length of its spine; two horn-like lumps on both sides of its head burned with a yellow flame, matching the fire at the end of the creature's tail.
"Hey there, Magmar," Millete said in greeting.
"Magmar!" The creature replied.
Arranging the pile of logs in a precise circular formation, Nina asked, "You mind lighting the fire for me, Magmar?"
In response to his master's voice, the pokemon nodded in a hyperactive motion and doused the pile in a brilliant wave of fire as the wood crackled and popped in protest. Millete shuddered in pleasure, feeling the warmth of the fire against her bare legs; it was so very cozy with the combined presence of her cousin, her pokemon, and the pleasant heat of the fire.
Gazing at the Magmar lying splayed out on the opposite end of the fire, Millete laughed. "He's such a lazy pokemon!" Her remark prompted a shrug from Nina as she sat down next to her, in no position to deny her cousin.
Suddenly, a piercing shriek exploded throughout the dense forest, resonating against the trees as the sound echoed off into the distance. In conjunction with the frightening sound, the lone trios' heads whirled about frantically, trying to pinpoint the origin of the nightmarish cry.
"What the hell?" Millete cried out, turning to face Nina and Magmar. She let out a muffled shriek when her wide, terrified eyes fell upon the spots that they had occupied not seconds before. What had happened to them?
Hrrng... Hrrrnnnggg...
Holding herself tight, Millete's eyes flicked around the scene in terror; the second noise had been much closer than the first- much too close for comfort. "N-N-Nina? Is that you, because if it is, I swear I'm going to kick your ass. This isn't funny!" She called out, her attempt to sound brave failing miserably.
Hrrrrnnngggg.... Hhhhhhhhhrrrrrnnnnnnngggggg....
Millete let out a horrified wail and shot to her feet when she saw a tall, skeletal figure slowly emerge from the forest, rocking from side-to-side in an uneven gait. As she prepared to turn around and run in the opposite direction, something invisible clamped around her wrists and legs, rendering her helpless and unable to move. A pokemon attack? A demented joke? Whatever it was, her heart was beginning to beat with increasing speed and intensity, unable to slow.
From the darkness of the surrounding foliage emerged what she could only comprehend as a demon. With slow yet certain footing, a human body stepped into the light of the fire, devoid of any trace of skin. Blood dripped from its torn tissue and shining muscles, which visibly expanded and contracted with every movement as it shuffled towards her with a single-minded drive. The ivory tendons imbedded in the corpse's hands shifted while it repeatedly adjusted its grip on a malicious-looking scythe; the demon's own blood continuously streamed down the tool's wooden shaft, and dripped off of the shining blade fixed at the peak of the wooden spear.
Upon seeing the skeleton, Millete shrieked and struggled at her invisible holds. She screamed louder; the monster was almost upon her.
Crunch, crunch
The skinned human carcass took two, final steps, planting itself in place directly in front of her. It reached out with a skeletal hand and cradled her chin, forcing her averted head to look at it face-to-face. A wave of nausea passed through her after smelling the monster's breath, which came out in short, shuddering gasps. There was no choice, Millete had to look.
Her violet eyes glassed over in fright as they met her tormentor, the corpse's empty eye sockets boring into her soul, ruby tears of blood flowing freely from the cavernous openings. Its lipless mouth, forever fixed in a permanent grin of death, began to move, the sound that escaped its maw sounding surprisingly feminine. And ominously familiar.
"Do you know who I am?"
Before she could formulate a reply, Millete flinched upon seeing a silver line streak through the air simultaneously to a chilling feeling that crept through her neck. It wasn't until she saw fresh blood dripping from the end of the carcass' scythe before she had processed what had happened.
The skin of her throat parted in an explosive spray of red that gushed outwards uncontrollably, covering the side of Nina's tent in a thick layer of blood. Her bonds free, her hands shot up to her throat in a futile attempt to stop the bleeding; Millete stumbled as a feeling of profound light-headedness began to overtake her body. Something was wrong.
Blood bubbled in the back of her throat as she lost control of her motor functions. Slowly, Millete's head slid away from her neck, and she blinked furiously while her severed head flipped through the air, and slammed into the ground. With darkness surrounding her vision, the last thing Millete saw was her rigid body fall back towards her, the severed stump of her neck spewing powerful jets of blood onto her face.
Faster than she ever had before in her life, Millete shot up from her sleep, the speed at which she did so nearly injuring her spine. She didn't care. Carefully, her hands traced a circle around her neck, just to make sure that her head was still attached to her shoulders. Allowing herself an uneven sigh, Millete was immensely relieved to discover all that remained from the vivid nightmare was a cold sweat that covered her from head-to-toe. In sudden remembrance of the contents of her dream, she slowly raised her hands to her face and pinched her cheeks. The pain confirmed that she was back in the real world.
But still, the explicit details of her nightmare continued to play in a continuous loop in her mind. Whose corpse was it that taunted and killed her? The voice... it was familiar, too familiar to ignore.
"Hey, Nina? You awake? I must have dozed-" she stopped upon seeing Nina lying asleep in the dirt, mumbling in fright. Surrounding her was a strange purple haze. Swamp gas? Across from her cousin and the still-burning fire, Magmar rolled around in the clutches of a nightmare, his state similar to Nina's. Oh, crap.
Rising from Nina's body like a malicious violet serpent, a wisp of the purple smoke suddenly puffed upwards into Millete's nostrils before she could stagger away. Millete stared at her cousin's smoke covered body as she felt a strange effect overcome her thinking, blocking out sentient thought with a cloudy wall of milky-white. With a fevered expression on her face, she clumsily rose to her feet and began to moving off into the blackness of the forest with jagged, spastic steps.
Catching sight of a trail of fluorescent lights, Millete began to trudge after the fantastical array of colors that registered in her suppressed brain as a kaleidoscopic tunnel of shifting hues; reds and blues and yellows and greens: it was all so captivating... The urge to reach out was unbearable, and so she did, her outstretched hands taking a firm hold on something.
The vision suddenly dispersed like a violent whirlpool that shot her back into reality once more. What had she seen? Whatever it had been, it must have been yet another hallucination, but what had brought it on? The purple cloud? Her closed eyes squeezed together even tighter.
Suddenly realizing that her hands still firmly clasped on to something, her eyelids slowly drew apart, surprise rising in her gut in realization of what she had clung on to. In her grasp was a violet phantom-like creature, who wore an expression of surprise that matched her own. A Mismagius, if she remembered correctly. Despite the strong urge to break free and run away, Millete was stopped as a voice echoed through her consciousness.
"How did a human break free from his nightmares?" The voice, distinctly male, seemed to ask itself. Millete's hold on the creature tightened upon hearing the voice.
"I don't know how I did it, and I don't care: if you don't let Nina go, someone's going to be scraping your sorry ass off of one of these trees tomorrow morning!" Millete cried hotly, her fear receding.
With a puzzled yet innocent look on its face, the Pokemon replied, "How is it that you are able to comprehend what I am saying? I was merely talking aloud, and I know of no humans who are able to speak my tongue."
Millete frowned. He definitely wasn't speaking English, so how could she possibly interpret him? "Look, I'm sorry if we disturbed you, but can you please let my friends go?" She asked, her voice taking on a softer tone. She couldn't afford her attitude to hinder Nina and Magmar's chances of being released in the inevitable debate for their release.
"I give you my condolences," the pokemon said in legitimate apology, "but I'm afraid that it is not as simple as you believe it to be."
"And why is that?"
"Shhhh," he hushed her. "We are being watched."
Her brows met in an exasperated frown. "By what?"
The pokemon replied in a hushed voice. "The Darkness. The fear within you. Through those he can see all... I believe that you humans know the God of Nightmares as 'Darkrai'."
"There's a Darkrai here?" Millete asked, puzzled. In school horror stories during her early years of education, it was said that Darkrai were a quiet, reserved race that tended to stick to themselves, taking shelter in dark places. When children would die screaming in their sleep hundreds of years in the past, the shadow pokemon was usually put to blame; the very thought made her throat constrict in tension.
"Not a Darkrai," the Mismagius corrected her, a hint of fear dripping from his voice like crimson trickles of blood from a bisection of severed flesh, "but the single deity of Hell itself. He has killed all others of his race and enslaved my friends, and yours as well so that he may draw power from their nightmares to one day rise again."
"What do you mean? Can we save them?"
Their hands still connected, the pokemon threw their intertwining extremities an awkward glance and said, "We may be able to, but I am going to require your assistance. Even then I'm not sure if there's anything that can be done..." His voice trailed off. "I cannot..."
Suddenly, the Mismagius' hands turned transparent and Millete's fingers snapped into clenched fists, the solidity of the pokemon vanishing instantly. Making clear that there was no further interest in conversation, the purple phantom turned his back on her, and without another word, he fled in the opposite direction.
With her eyes narrowed to slits, Millete gave chase to the creature on shaky legs as she dodged past roots and sparsely scattered foliage. But it was too dark to see when running at such speeds; she had left her flashlight back at the campsite. Before what she could comprehend what was happening, Millete felt her left foot catch on a wayward vine when she was just inches away from her target. She fell to the ground in a heap, badly scuffing her knees and elbows on the silty ground that lie underneath her.
She made no move to get up.
Despite the situation Millete felt herself begin to weep, her inhalations coming in harsh, ragged gasps. She cried for Nina. For Magmar. Surely their fate would be just as gruesome as her nightmare? How would they die? Of fright? Just how long would it be before their hearts stopped in their sleep? She squeezed her eyes tight to make the tears go away, to make everything go away.
A pair of firm hands wrapped themselves under the girl's arms and slowly hoisted her to her feet.
"There is a way," the unmistakable voice of the Mismagius said grimly. Apparently her tears had induced a change of heart in the creature. "Darkrai feeds off of the fear of others; it nourishes him and he gorges on that fear until there is nothing left of the being but a dead husk. If you are as persistent as you have led me to believe, then you must help me break Darkrai's concentration so he may release his hold on both of our friends alike."
Blinking away her tears, Millete asked, "But wouldn't he kill me? And why didn't I just stay asleep like Nina and Magmar?"
"He cannot hurt you... but he will have the strength to hurt you with the power he has drained from the nightmares of my friends and I. Lord Darkrai was originally imprisoned here when the essence of goodness, Cresselia, sealed him in an earthen tomb. But with the power he has gained from his treachery over the years by utilizing my companions, I'm afraid that he will not be trapped in stasis much longer," the pokemon explained. "To answer your second question: there is something peculiar about you and your human friend... But I cannot seem to distinguish what it may be. In other words, it is a mystery to me how you were able to break free of Darkrai's nightmares."
His words definitely weren't the reassuring lullaby in which she wanted for comfort. Sighing to alleviate some of her anxiety, Millete replied, "If I help you, wouldn't he just come after me once he's broken free of that trap-thing? Why should I even trust you?"
The pokemon's brows came together in a frown. "This is none negotiable. I want my friends free: they are my only family, and I'll go to any lengths, even if it means sacrificing one human to save five others. You either help me, or your friend and her pokemon "my friends included- will never wake up, remaining in forced servitude forever."
Millete stopped crying. Her jaw dropped a little. "What? You never said anything about a sacrifice!"
"There are a lot of things that I haven't told you."
In response, the girl cradled herself in her own arms. A sacrifice? It sounded like one of those shitty movies that played every Saturday evening on a science fiction channel. But Nina... Magmar...
"Fine, I'll do it," she finally said. "One life to save five others; makes sense to me, I guess... So, uh, how is this whole ritual-thing going to work out?" Beneath her light-hearted words, Millete was truly frightened. It was hard to keep from trembling knowing that by the end of the evening she would be as dead as a tree stump.
Mismagius was impressed; touched even. Within his being his own guilt raged like a tempest, the iron clamp of disgust gripping him. Why must this girl pay for what he was too afraid to do himself? Bringing this girl into a situation where he granted her no other options was totally wrong and he knew it. But under the circumstance, what else could he have possibly done?
"I will explain when we arrive there," the pokemon said. "... If you can find it in your heart later on, please grant me forgiveness." His words were unexpected.
Millete laughed with uncertainly, but it was more of a hollow expulsion of air than a giggle. She tried to smile. "I don't hold you responsible- you're only doing what you can to save your friends; in a way, I guess that we're kind of in the same boat, except, well, I'm gonna be dead pretty soon," she gulped.
Unable to find any further words of comfort, Mismagius took her hand and together they walked through the dense brush of the forest for what seemed to be an eternity. Suddenly, the pokemon stopped her from walking any further just short of a clearing. With care not to make any noise, he guided the girl into a thick bush.
"Hush, the tomb is here- look through the branches. I'm assuming that Darkrai can sense us here, but maybe he won't be able to locate where we are if we stay quiet. He is snare-"
Before he could finish, Millete subconsciously let out a muffled yelp as she pulled the curtain of branches that shielded the clearing. There was a structure in the middle of the small patch of clear land, but her vision was yanked from the sight by numerous bodies that dangled upside-down, suspended by ropes and overhanging tree branches. All of the corpses appeared to be pokemon in various forms of decay; closest to her was a hanging Rattata, its putrefied green flesh stretching over its skeleton like latex.
"He forces us to perform sacrifices in his name," the Mismagius said with remorse. "In a way, I suppose we are his 'cult' of sorts. He feeds off of the fear of the dying, as that is among the most concentrated emotions that he can leech from..."
Her tanned face drained of all color, Millete slowly nodded her head. Ripping her head away from the bodies, her green eyes fell upon what looked to be a small shrine of sorts: a stone floor covered a small area of ten-by-ten feet with a pedestal carved with ornate symbols in the center. Lying on top of the pedestal was a pyramid, its color a sleek, glossy black. Two pokemon surrounded by a purple haze, a Rotom and a Duskull, were clinging to it. To be more precise, they looked as if they were unable to break away from the strange object, their tormented faces in a similar state as Nina and Magmar.
"He only allows for one of us to leave while he feeds off of the remaining two using his nightmare curse. It is his way of making sure that none of us flee because of the bond we share with each other; call it insurance if you will," Mismagius explained, his tone of voice resonating fear.
His heartfelt explanation spurred Millete to think of something, anything, from the classes that she had attended under Professor Oak. The answer suddenly came to Millete as she pictured a light bulb flicking on inside her head. She turned to Mismaguis and whispered, "Do all of your friends have a human master?"
The Pokemon shook his head as she pulled out a few pokeballs. She always carried at least four in case she found a pokemon that she liked, but had never used one because of her pickiness.
"What are you planning to do with them? We haven't even discussed the ritual yet," the purple creature asked in confusion.
"It's just a little theory of mine, but if they don't have a master and are unbound, I should be able to capture them and force them away from Darkrai. If he's as powerless as you say he is, this should be pretty easy... And I don't have to die, which is a huge plus for me." Her voice radiated confidence, but Mismagius could tell that she was much less sure of herself than she was letting on.
Nonetheless, her theory was practical enough that it just might succeed, and the only way to find out was to try. Without a second word, Millete raised the two pokeballs. Whatever state the two ghost pokemon were in, they would probably be much easier to acquire if the Mismagius was telling the truth about their condition.
Pressing the circular buttons on each ball, the thrust her arm forward and let the spheres fly from her grasp, hurtling towards the two trapped pokemon. The girl held her breath as two explosions of white light burst from the pokeballs, the raw energy engulfing the forms of the two trapped spirits. An instant later, they disappeared into the balls.
In reaction to the capture of the two slaves, a terrifying voice exploded from the pyramid, ripping through the air towards her. "Wretched swine! You dare oppose me? You dare interfere with my affairs?"
Below the black shrine, the balls rocked from side-to-side: once, twice, thrice. The central buttons on the two devices clicked shut; she had successfully captured them, but at what cost?
"Summon and return my followers and you shall not be harmed," the tyrannous voice boomed at her.
Gulping to swallow her fear, Millete clenched her fists and rose from the bushes, gallantly approaching Darkrai's prison; despite her body language, she was sure that the creature could sense her immense fear that she kept hidden away within. Stepping onto the sand-colored platform with uncertain footing, she audaciously continued her advance one step at a time. As Millete reached her destination, she reached down underneath the pedestal and scooped up the pokeballs.
"That's funny that you call them your followers. I'd say that you treat them more like your slaves than anything else, and what's more sick is that you force them to worship and sacrifice lives in your name. As a matter of fact, I don't even think that I'd sacrifice a tuna sandwich to an airhead like you. So here's my answer: no. All life is born to live free," she replied in words that surprised herself. Thinking back on it, the tuna sandwich comment probably wasn't such a hot idea.
As she turned to walk away, the Darkrai's voice exploded outwards with a crackle of thunder. "You will regret this, wench. Once I am free, I will come to you to wreak my retribution for what you have done on this day. I will tear your fragile body to pieces, and your village will soon follow in the wake of your eviscerated corpse. I will hunt down all that you love: your cousin, the rest of your family members; they will be hung by their entrails in your precious little village for all to see."
Suddenly, a strong gale overtook the area, sending Millete sprawling off the platform as clouds of shadow swept over the shrine. The corpses of the pokemon that hung from the trees snapped free of their bonds from the force of the wind, and were sent hurtling towards the black pyramid where their rotten flesh and bone dissolved in an instant. Just as quickly as the strange storm began, the force of the wind instantly evaporated. The only evidence that the occurrence had ever taken place were the snapped ropes where the dead bodies had been hung, which now swung about in the wake of the wind.
Emerging from the bushes, the purple phantom smiled broadly in wonder. "Well done!" He cried.
"Thanks," Millete replied with an equally wide smile. "I just wish that you hadn't scared me with all that sacrificial stu-"
She stopped, her grin contorting into an ugly expression of agonizing pain. Millete doubled over and fell to the ground, tightly grabbing onto her abdomen as an involuntary scream of pain ripped from her mouth. Rushing to her side, Mismagius latched onto her arms and dragged her away from the Darkrai shrine to the safety of the bushes. He didn't know what was wrong with the girl, which frightened him more than his evil master's presence.
Millete, who was now covered in a slick layer of sweat, broke out into a fit of gasps as she un-buttoned the last three plastic nubs on her shirt, desperate to get the irritating fabric away from her skin. Her eyes widened upon seeing a brand that burned deep into her flesh, spanning at least four inches down the left side of her belly. It began with a straight line that curved left and right, becoming more and more wide the further it went down. The marking ended in what looked to be a spiked Seviper head that almost looked to be a tribal tattoo.
The pain abruptly ceased, causing Millete to take several breaths of relief. She threw an appreciative glance at Mismagius for pulling her away; without his intervention, she would probably have been reduced to a pile of cinders by now.
"A taste of things to come when I slowly kill you and those three pokemon," the Darkrai's fading voice rumbled. "I am looking forward to destroying everything you have come to cherish, and whenever you look down at that mark, I want you to remember that the pain you have just experienced will increase a thousand fold. It is only a matter-" The pokemon's voice had almost completely faded, no doubt because of his depleted power. Regardless, Millete knew that by this point she was most certainly waist-deep in shit.
An ominous silence had once again retaken the night air, effectively returning the Forbidden Forest to its natural state. The pain gone, Millete staggered to her feet while Mismagius stared at her with concern. Pointing out a path that led back to her original camp, the pokemon felt guilty because of what he had dragged upon the human; the wrath of Darkrai himself.
As they traversed the forest floor, he asked, "Please don't tell the others that we can communicate to this extent- Rotom would likely become offended, as he is the most intelligent in our group. I would appreciate if this was kept between us for the time being."
Millete nodded in agreement, though she was slightly puzzled by his request.
When the fire that marked Nina's campsite was barely discernable as a dull flicker in the distance, she stopped and withdrew both of the pokeballs that contained the Duskull and Rotom. Pressing the buttons, two flashes of light marked the release of the two ghost-type pokemon.
"You are all free to go now, I guess," Millete said while the newly-released pair glanced up at her with curious eyes. Suprisingly, all three pokemon jumped towards her feet to grovel in her presence.
Jumping back, she cried, "No, no, no! That's not necessary! It's quite ok, because I don't see any reason to thank me."
Floating before her, the crackling electric ghost known as Rotom spoke in a voice akin to an electronically synthesized voice. "No- for what you have done for us, we fully intend to repay the debt by assisting you in your future endeavors relating to the trouble we have brought upon you. Please allow us to assist you: to be your pokemon, if you will."
Beside the Rotom, the Duskull nodded with great enthusiasm, its eyes wide.
Smiling vibrantly, Millete thought back to her childhood desire to capture and own a pokemon of her own so that she might one day become a Pokemon Ranger. Now she had the chance to have not just one, but three, two of which whom miraculously spoke English. Perhaps with their help, their combined minds could figure out a way to stop Darkrai when he inevitably broke free of his prison...
"Ok, ok, I give! You can by my pokemon!" She laughed.
The Duskull, who appeared to be extremely shy around strangers, floated upwards to hand her his and Rotom's capsules. Giggling at the clearly-defined blush on the creature's face, she accepted the containment balls and pressed the button on each, summoning them back into their enclosures with a flash.
Levitating in front of her, Mismagius said, "I also wish to be caught and remain in your service... After all, I would say that we make a fairly decent team."
"Really? Thank you!" Millete replied, withdrawing another pokeball from her pocket. "But promise me one more thing."
"And what might that be?"
"No more ritualistic sacrifices, ok?" She asked with a smile, extending her hand.
Taking her hand in his cold grasp, he gave a small laugh and said, "Of course. But after all this time, you still have not told me your name."
"Millete."
"It's nice to meet you, Millete," he said, giving her hand a firm shake. Reaching out, he pressed the button on the pokeball lying in Millte's hand and promptly vanished into the object. The device gave no objections before it locked shut.
Pocketing the device, the girl breathed in a deep breath of cold air before she continued on her way back to Nina's camp. As a chilling wind swept through the trees, she mentally came to the conclusion that it would not be a wise decision to tell the others of what happened on that night. Maybe they did have a right to know of the ordeal that endangered their lives, however, it would be of no use to worry about such things; they deserved to continue on with their lives, lives absent of fear.
Now, Millete was set to forge her own path forward, but where it would lead and where it would eventually end, she did not know. Despite the unknown, one thing was as clear to her as crystalline glass: for those who decided persevere, persistence would pay off in the end. She could not let the fact that Darkrai was infinitely powerful put a stop in her tracks. Somehow, some way, she would find his Achilles heel and put a stop to his wrongdoings. But perhaps it was just a desperate fantasy of an equally desperate girl, though Millete supposed that time would reveal the answer.
Lost in her thoughts, it came as a surprise to Millete when she stumbled back into Nina's camp on shaky legs. When she saw Nina standing upright with a quizzical look stamped on her face, her emotions became overrun with joy. Dancing like a bullet, Millete seized her cousin in a bear hug that sent the duo crashing to the ground.
"I'm so happy you're ok!" She cried out, squeezing Nina harder.
Struggling against her cousin's embrace, Nina wailed, "Get off me, you goof! You're freakin' killing me!"
Millete retracted her arms from her cousin, feeling immensely relieved that her ordeal was finally over, at least for the time being. Nina reflected her affection towards her cousin by roughing up her hair. Across the fire, the now-awake Magmar watched the two friends in amusement, any trace of his original nightmare-induced state completely gone.
"Ok, Nina," Millete began, "what do you say that we head back for the night? I really don't want to stay here anymore."
"Geez, calm down, Mills. You look really spooked."
"You really don't remember anything?" She asked, her tone of voice radiating concern.
Nina frowned and fixed her cousin with a suspicious gaze. "I don't know what you're talking about; I guess I might have dozed off for a couple of hours... Wait, you didn't play a prank on me, did you?"
She doesn't remember a thing about her nightmares, Millete thought in astonishment. Clearing her throat, she said, "No, but can we please leave? That way we can hang out at my place and watch TV, ok?"
"Fine then, let's pack up and go. But you're not telling me something: did something happen to you while I was sleeping or something?"
Millete laughed unconvincingly. "No, no. I just had a little run-in with a wild pokemon. We can just leave our stuff here and come back tomorrow; I mean, it's not going to go anywhere, right?"
Still frowning, Nina said, "Alright. But are you sure that you're ok?" Reaching into her pocket, she took out Magmar's pokeball and called him back inside.
"Yeah, I'm cool. Let's just get out of here." Though she could not tell her cousin, Millete felt like it was beyond her ability to stay in the wretched forest for another second. As unwelcoming as it had felt just hours before, the best way she could currently describe it was 'bloody awful'. Taking Nina's hand, Millete marched through the tall weeds of the forest and back the way they came, practically dragging her cousin at some points during the trek. It wasn't until a little while later before they managed to reach the outer edge of the forest, emerging on the same path that they had taken on the journey there.
Stepping over the threshold of the forest and into the clearing, Millete was finally able to breathe one last explosive sigh of relief. With Nina by her side, the duo started down the road, where they were surprised to find Clare and Lily happily drinking wine over a picnic blanket.
"H- hey, numbskulls! I thought you two went home.... Ah, well, never mind- want to come back t-to my place for a slumber party?" Millete asked enthusiastically.
"Yeah, I want more wine!" The red-headed Clare exclaimed sluggishly, her voice slurred by the euphoric effects of the alcohol.
"I packed a whole bunch, because it's so nice to just-" Lily hiccupped mid-sentence "-sit out her under the stars before we go home."
Lily and Clare's good humor was pleasantly uplifting to Millete. It would be a good night to remember her friends by; because of what had transpired that evening, she doubted that it would be possible to remain within the confines of Forbest for more than a few days. As the friends began to walk home, Millete wore a faux smile to keep her fear locked away from them.
Up ahead, Clare triumphantly thrust a drunken fist into the air and fell backwards, only to be caught by the equally tipsy Lily. To Millete and Nina, it seemed that their friends had already had already drank enough to satisfy two men twice their size.
With the Forbidden Forest looming in the background, the group retreated in good spirits, none the wiser of the game-changing events that had transpired that evening.
-o-O-o-
Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.
Thanks for reading this story, I spent a long time working on this along with TehZombieWaster, who graciously put in his valuable time and effort to make this first chapter what it is. Without his idea's and solid input as co-author this story would not have been what it is, so a special thanks to him