Lost and Found

The birds chirped loudly as a gentle breeze blew through the empty town square. The streets were suspiciously quiet, giving off an eerie silence as the young man strolled through the town. His brown hair rustled in the air, falling over his bright green eyes. He blew it out of his face with an upturned lip and sighed. He was getting tired of this. He scanned the new town and searched for any signs of life.

Well, it wasn't new to him, anyway. Hell, every "new" town he came across looked just like the last one he had left. The small black, cat-like creature at his side sighed also, prompting a glance from his owner. "I guess you're tired of seeing the same stuff over and over too, huh Umbreon?"

"Bre," it answered in a tired tone, rubbing against his leg.

"Think we'll find a lead here?" he asked, and was answered by a rolling of the Umbreon's eyes. "Come on, I've got a feeling about this place. We could actually find something here."

"Umbre, breon," it muttered as they continued their trek through the deserted settlement. They traveled down what seemed to be the main street of the town and stopped in their tracks at what lay in the middle of the road.

A huge stone sculpture, crafted in the image of a large bird, dominated the street as water poured from its mouth into a small pool at its feet. Its back was adorned with large scales, giving a menacing look about the creature. It had a massive wingspan, and large feet; the sculpture depicted the bird as if it were just about to take off into the sunset. The bird's mouth was wide open, seeming to be issuing a war cry, a general leading his troops into the fray.

He was dumbstruck by the skill and care that had been obviously taken to craft this piece of work. He whistled and glanced at Umbreon with a smile. "That's quite a fountain. It must have taken years to make something like this. I've never seen anything more beautiful in my life." Umbreon purred softly and moved forward, sniffing the stone of the fountain.

"I see you have taken quite a shine to Lord Lugia." A young girl appeared out of nowhere, startling him. She smiled at him and pointed towards the fountain. "We don't get too many visitors here, but in the rare instance that they do arrive, they're always in awe of Lord Lugia."

He smirked and turned to her, she seemed to be about his age. "Well, some of the most beautiful things in the world can be found in the most overlooked of places." She laughed and brushed a stray strand of blonde hair out of her eyes.

"My, such flattery. And you don't even know my name." He grinned.

"Well, may I ask what it is then?"

Her blue eyes sparkled like diamonds, reflecting the clear pool of water in the nearby fountain. "Whatever happened to being a gentleman and going before me?"

"Whatever happened to ladies first?" he countered playfully. She sat down on the edge of the fountain with a sigh and looked up, smiling.

"I'm Sierra. Welcome to Shadowstone. And you are...?" The young woman held her hand out, grinning.

"My name's Gary. Gary Oak," he answered grasping her hand and shaking it. "This here's my traveling companion and resident glutton, Umbreon. We're from Pallet Town."

Sierra's eyes lit up brightly at the mention of his hometown. "Pallet Town? Isn't that the same place where the Pokemon Master is from?" Gary nodded and chuckled.

"Yeah. His shadow is kind of hard to get from under. But I'm still trying," he added with a smile. Both of them laughed quietly and fell silent again, the only noise coming from the soft trickling of the fountain. "So who built this thing, anyway?"

Sierra shrugged. "No one knows. Legend says that Lugia saved this town from destruction hundreds of years ago, and this was constructed as a symbol of their gratitude. Many people around here believe that the water that flows here is sacred, and if you drink from the fountain, your dreams will be fulfilled." Gary scoffed loudly.

"Well, that sounds very interesting, but I don't believe in that kind of stuff. It doesn't make sense that you place your faith in your dreams by sipping some water. Dreams come true only to those who are strong enough to get up and make them come true themselves." He paused and laughed to himself a little. "Of course, knowing my friend, he'd take a jug and guzzle down all the water in the fountain."

Sierra giggled. "So what bring you here anyway, Mr. Oak? We don't get too many visitors around here." Gary smiled and patted Umbreon on the head.

"We're just wandering travelers, passing through. We're looking for something."

"Like what?" Gary wagged his finger and smirked.

"Sorry, it's a little personal." Sierra nodded and opened her mouth to speak, before being cut off by the tolling of a loud bell that echoed through the empty streets.

"Well, I have to go now, Mr. Oak. If you're in need of a place to stay and food to eat, don't hesitate to come to the church." Gary smiled and nodded as she rose and began to walk off towards a large cathedral down the street. He blinked to make sure he was seeing things correctly. I'm pretty sure I didn't see that when I came in here..., he thought to himself.

He watched after her for a moment, until she disappeared from sight into the humungous church. "Just my luck, Umbreon. She's a nun. Well, I don't want to impose on anyone in that church, so let's see if we can find any restaurants first." The creature nodded, and the duo continued their trek throughout the town.

Both had searched the town almost three times over, and not only were there not any restaurants open, they couldn't find another soul in the area. No animals, no people, just...nothing. It was as if someone had snatched everyone from their spots on the earth and whisked off with them to some unknown place.

Gary sighed loudly and slouched. "Well, looks like we're gonna have to go that church after all. I hope they still have some food left. It's getting kinda dark." Umbreon nodded and glanced at the setting sun, igniting the sky in a wildfire of color, as the tiny pinprick light of the stars followed right behind.

"Church, huh? You sure don't strike me as the religious type, youngster," a raspy voice said behind them. Gary and Umbreon whirled around to find an old man sitting in a rocking chair, swaying back and forth silently and smoking a pipe on the front porch of his house. The building was separated from the road by a thin white picket fence, and the grass looked freshly cut.

"Who are you, old man? Where have all the people in this town gone?" The old man took another puff from his pipe and chuckled.

"Just an old man who enjoys looking at the stars, that's all. Say, we don't get too many of your type around here. What brings you around our humble town?" Gary growled impatiently and walked closer, leaning against the fence.

"You're not answering my question. What has happened to all the people in this town?" The man just sat there, staring into the sky and rocking back and forth.

"They've all gone to worship. Don't know when they'll be back. Are you going too?"

"No, I just want to find a place to stay. It seems awfully strange that a whole town would stay cooped in a church for this long."

The old man chuckled and took another long puff. "Well son, not everyone shares your philosophies on life. You don't realize it yet, but you will. Not everything is what seems...nothing is absolute."

Gary furrowed his eyebrow, puzzled by his statement. "Well, it's been very interesting to talk to you, but I should be getting back to the church." He turned to walk off before being stopped by a call from the old man. Gary sighed and turned around. "What is it?"

"That's a pretty little doohickey ya got there, son. Where'd ya get it?" Gary grabbed the small pendant that hung around his neck, a yellow and green yin-yang symbol.

"My father gave it to me. I've had it as long as I can remember." The old man's eyes wrinkled as he smiled brightly.

"Well, make sure you take good care of it, son. A relic from the past can pave the way for an exciting future." Gary glanced at the pendant and then back at the old man, who just sat there, smiling. "One more thing before you go, young man," he said as he leaned forward in his chair. His voice grew quiet, his face deathly serious. "You're going to find what you're looking for here, and then you won't. Questions will be answered, while countless others will be raised at the same time."

"What are you talking about?" he asked, surprised at the old man's prediction. The man's face returned to its previous cheerful self as he chuckled and took one last puff from his pipe. Slowly, he rose up from his chair and headed across the porch to the front door.

"You should get to the church, kiddo. It's gets a little dangerous around when it gets dark." With that, the man disappeared into his home. Gary took off and leapt over the short picket fence and yanked open the door.

Empty. The man had disappeared into thin air...just like everyone else in the town. Gary glanced at Umbreon. "Do you smell anything?" Umbreon's nose wrinkled as it sniffed the air, searching for any lingering scent of the old man. Finally it shook its head; there was no trace of him.

The house itself seemed to be very neat, it just hadn't been lived in for quite some time. Cobwebs littered the empty, darkened hallways, and dust was caked on top of everything. Gary stepped forward straight into a cobweb and gagged, ripping the delicate silk from his face.

"Ok, this is starting to really creep me out. Let's check the house and see if we can find anything. Umbreon, Flash." The creature nodded and caused the yellow rings that crisscrossed its body to glow brightly, illuminating the area around them.

The wooden floor creaked loudly with every step from Gary as they examined the house. The air inside held a spicy yet rank scent that hung in the air like a veil. Soon, they had searched the entire downstairs area and found nothing.

"Come on, Umbreon. Let's check upstairs and get the hell outta here. I don't want to be here any longer than we have to." Both of them made their way to the staircase and climbed the steps, each stride accompanied by a loud groan that almost made Gary jump each time. Suddenly, Umbreon stopped in its tracks and began to growl lightly. "What is it?" Gary squinted to see through the darkened house. While Umbreon's Flash was helping, it still didn't fully brighten the area around them.

"Umbreon, will you quit it? There's nothing out here." Umbreon continued growling and crouched, as if preparing for an attack on the unseen enemy. All of a sudden, a loud creak echoed from the end of the hallway at the top of the stairs.

Gary and his partner snapped their heads in the direction of the sound, startled. Umbreon began to growl even louder, setting Gary's nerves even more on edge. "Umbreon, whatever comes outta there, I want you to hit it with everything you got. The creak sounded again, this time even closer.

"Ok, Gary. It's nothing, the house is just really old and maybe that's just the pipes..." he said to himself, trying to convince his heart from pounding like a jackhammer. It wasn't working. A small figure skittered across the floor and twitched its whiskers, letting out a small squeak.

Gary almost collapsed from holding his breath. In the glow of Umbreon's rings, a small purple Rattata scampered across the floor. Gary groaned loudly and leaned against the wall, before tossing a small ball that lay on the ground at the creature. It dodged the projectile and squeaked loudly as if in mockery of Gary's frustrated throw.

His heart still pounding like crazy, he glanced at Umbreon and tried to chuckle away his fear. "See, what'd I tell you? This place is probably filled with all sort of pests," he said, his voice barely quivering. Umbreon rolled its red eyes and started down another blackened hallway, poking its head through a door that lay at the end of the corridor.

Gary followed right behind, and stuck his own head inside the room before inspecting the area. He had stumbled onto the master bedroom of the house, which was also laced with cobwebs, the light of the now full moon shining through a nearby window.

He made his way through the room, swiping down any cobwebs that came near him. He glanced at the one of the walls and spotted a bunch of old photographs hanging. He examined a picture and whistled loudly. "June 2, 1947; Lugia Fountain," he read off the dusty frame.

The photo itself was of a young couple, both of them smiling brightly for the camera. A large fountain of a Lugia could be seen in the background, spouting water from its beak. They seemed to be no more than twenty-two or twenty-three, about Gary's own age. Clad in formal attire, they were hugging each other tightly, obviously in love.

He chuckled to himself and suddenly fell silent. He had always longed for someone like that...of course; he knew it was completely out of the picture for him. Romance and him went together like oil and water.

Maybe that was why he often found himself envying him. Gary knew it wasn't right to, but he couldn't help it. They always looked so happy together, and Gary sometimes hated him for it. Stability, fame, a great woman by his side...Gary knew he couldn't compete with that. All Gary knew how to do was fight and travel, and he did both extremely well. But that was all he did, just an endless cycle that kept repeating over and over. He kept telling himself he would stop once he had reached his level, but Gary knew better than anyone he was lying to himself. He could never reach him, no matter how many matches he won; no matter how many miles he walked, no matter how many trophies he would hoist over his head in victory.

It was a pointless crusade, yet he still carried through with it. It was the only thing that kept him from just crawling into a wall and giving up; that unattainable goal that he had convinced himself he could reach, that he would someday match up to him.

Gary shook his head, trying to clear the thoughts that were barraging his mind and turned to find Umbreon. They had been here long enough, there was nothing to be found in this deserted domicile anyway, and he was getting tired. "Let's get outta here. There's nothing in here but dust and forgotten memories."

The floorboards creaked loudly, causing Gary to roll his eyes at Umbreon. "Umbreon, smack that Rattata out of-," he was abruptly cut off as a small black figure squealed and leapt onto Gary's face.

It screeched wildly, lashing out with its short tentacles into Gary's face, stinging him repeatedly. Gary screamed out in pain and surprise as he collapsed to the floor, struggling with the unknown creature, dust flying into a cloud around them. The being's shrill cries echoed into his skull, bouncing around in his eardrums wildly.

A thin, dark mist began to dispense from its body, filling his nose with a disgusting scent that burned his nostrils. Umbreon bounded over and slapped a paw at the organism, slapping it against the nearby wall, intent on protecting its master. It shrieked in pain and slid out of the nearby window, disappearing into the night.

Gary fell to his knees and retched loudly, almost vomiting at the horrific stench it had given off. Spitting a large amount of saliva onto the dusty floor, he finally crawled to his feet and coughed loudly again.

"T...thanks, Umbreon. I owe you one big time," Umbreon nodded and rubbed against its master, intent on leaving the premises. Gary nodded and headed towards the door, and left the house in a hurry, breaking into a full blown run through the empty streets, Umbreon following close behind.

The moon hung overhead in the night sky as the duo arrived at the massive cathedral, and stopped in front of the massive wooden doors. As Gary raised his hand to knock, the door swung wide open, revealing an older woman smiling brightly at him. "Oh hello! Are you a traveler?"

Gary nodded, too tired to speak after sprinting throughout the streets of the entire town. The woman placed a hand on his shoulder and slowly led him and Umbreon inside the church and sat him down in a nearby chair. "My, what happened to you, young man?"

"Some...something attacked us. We have no idea what it was," he gasped between gulps of air. The woman's forehead wrinkled as a frown spread across her face.

"Oh my goodness! Yes, it does get very dangerous around here at night, and we have had some reports of travelers being attacked."

"What are those things?" She froze for a moment, as if searching for something to say before smiling brightly again.

"Oh, you needn't worry about that, young man. The important thing is that you're safe here now. Would you like some food? You must be starving." Gary raised an eyebrow at the woman's complete dismissal of his question, but nodded.

"Yes, I or my Umbreon haven't eaten for quite some time. You wouldn't happen to have a place for us to stay for the night, would you? We wouldn't want to impose, though."

She clasped her hands and smiled. "Oh, we have plenty of room, no need to worry about that. Just follow me. Oh wait, let me get the door." She turned and began to push the large wooden door. The hinges creaked loudly and echoed throughout the sanctuary as the door slammed shut.

"Now, what would you like to eat?"

Gary yawned loudly as he rubbed his belly and grinned at Umbreon. The woman had prepared a huge dinner, and he was starving. He and Umbreon didn't as much eat the food as they just inhaled it into their mouths. The church seemed to be very empty; he hadn't seen anyone there since they had arrived, and when he had asked about Sierra, the woman just dismissed it the subject the same way she had acted when he questioned her about the creature that attacked him.

While he appreciated their hospitality, he had given Umbreon the signal to be on his guard. Something just didn't seem right about this place... The sound of his loud yawning echoed throughout the stone walls of the cathedral, as he followed the directions the woman had given him to find his room.

"Geez, Umbreon, you think we'll ever find it in this huge place? It's like a maze or something," he remarked as he rounded another corner. At the end of the stone hallway lay a wooden door, and Gary smiled. "Well, let's hit the sack. I'm barely able to stand up."

"Bre," his companion answered, the fatigue visible in his voice. He shoved the door open to reveal a small room with a window, giving a view of the full moon in the night sky. A candle was lit in the corner of the room on a wooden table, giving off a faint yellow glow throughout the room. Gary sighed as he spotted the bed and plopped down on top of it, enjoying the comfortable mattress. He was too tired to change out his clothes, and just wanted to rest.

"Bre, umbre," Umbreon said as he curling up into a ball in the corner of the room and falling asleep instantly. Gary chuckled and shut his eyes also, falling asleep. He was almost completely out of it before he heard a shuffling near his door.

Gary's eyes snapped open and glanced towards the door, and then at Umbreon, who was fast asleep. Quickly, he leaned over to the edge of the bed and placed his feet on the stone floor quietly, trying not to scare off the intruder. He inched over to the door and grasped the handle, and viciously yanked the door open.

The hallway was long and dark, but...empty. He squinted to see if he could spot something in the shadows of the hallway, but found none. Raising his eyebrow, he glanced over at his slumbering partner, then back into the empty hallway. "Someone was here...I know they were," he said to himself quietly. Taking a deep breath, he left his room and quietly shut the door behind him.

Gary began to walk around the large church, his footsteps quietly echoing off the stone walls of the building. His eyes scanned every crevice he came across, spotting for any clues that would indicate if someone had come this way to his room. As he arrived in the sanctuary, he glanced up at the stained-glass window, which glowed from the moon's light.

Dozens of candles littered the massive room, giving off even more light as he walked down the red carpet that lay in the middle of the rows of pews. Another shuffling noise from behind him, and he whipped around to spot the pursuer. The room was empty except for him, but Gary still remained wary of his surroundings.

"Who's there?" he called out, his echo mimicking him as it bounced off the walls. "If someone is following me, I suggest you come out now before you get hurt." Gary spoke loudly, if only trying to calm himself down. He didn't like being scared; it made him feel weak, and he already felt that feeling enough as is.

He examined the room before turning around and walking up to the pulpit that lay at the head of the room. He looked it over, even though he had no idea what he was searching for. Something wasn't right with this place, and was going to figure out what it was.

He ran his hand along the smooth wood absently, and felt something strange. "Hmm?" he said to himself as he took a closer look at the pulpit. Something was jutting out from the polished wood, and he rubbed his hand over it again. "I wonder..." he said out loud as he pressed his hand down.

The button clicked loudly, and a loud scraping sound sliced through the tranquility of the room. He turned around to see the stone floor behind him slide open, revealing a long staircase that lead down into the heart of the church.

"Holy shi-," he stopped as he saw a dark blur out of the corner of his eye. He whirled around and raised his hands, ready to fight. He might only be at half strength without Umbreon, but he was still quite adept at hand to hand combat. "Show yourself!"

Again, something whizzed towards him from his left. He waited for his chance and ducked, swinging his fist into whatever was rushing him. His hand hit nothing but air as the figure leapt over his head and landed a crushing blow into the base of his skull.

"You son of a..." his voice trailed off as his vision grew dark and he collapsed to the floor, unconscious.

The sun shone brightly through the trees as he checked all of his supplies that lay on the table and went over his list. Behind him, he could hear the door to the mansion opening, footsteps on the freshly cut grass growing closer.

Umbreon mewed and rubbed its head against him, signaling that someone was approaching. "I know, Umbreon. Do me a favor and go grab some Hyper Potions from his stash. He's not gonna miss 'em." The black creature nodded and scampered across the massive lawn and disappeared inside the mansion, passing up the figure that was approaching him.

"You're going to go look for him, aren't you?" the voice asked as Gary began to fill his backpack with the supplies he would need. He nodded and shoved his Pokegear into the front pocket and zipped it up.

"Damn straight. I don't know what he was thinking, just disappearing like that, but I'm going to find and drag him back here, kicking and screaming if I have to." The voice chuckled and grew louder as she approached him.

"Why are you going after him? With him gone, you'll be Pokemon Master since you came in second place." Gary flinched at the expression. All the work he had done, all of the grueling training he had put himself and his pokemon through, and all he could achieve was second place.

"If I become Master, I'm gonna gain that title by beating him. I'll never take a second-hand title from anyone, no matter how high it is. I earn everything I get, and I take handouts from nobody," he snapped as he shoved another carton of food into his bag. "Anyways, I'll be gone for a while. I don't know how long I'll be gone, but I'm not coming back without him."

He felt a hand on his shoulder, stopping him from placing the items in his bag so fiercely. Secretly, he had loved her. He didn't know if it was just his jealousy that caused it, or if it just sprang up on him overnight. He loved her and he hated her at the same time. She was just another reminder of how he could never measure up to him.

"Please be careful, Gary. You know you can be just as rash as he is, given the right opportunity. I don't want to somebody else to disappear too." He placed the last item in his bag and slung it over his shoulder as he turned to face her.

He couldn't even bear to look in her eyes; he feared he would just drop the bag and take her for his own right there. But he couldn't; he wasn't a backstabber. No matter how much his envy would eat at him inside, he couldn't betray him. Just another thing he hated about himself.

"I'll be careful, I promise." He painfully stretched a smile over his face, hopefully trying to fool her. She smiled back at him and rubbed her hand over a small bulge in her stomach.

"When you do find him, tell him his family is waiting." Gary flinched again, but recovered, hoping she didn't notice. He looked her over one more time, her fiery red hair glistening in the afternoon sun.

"I'll be sure. Umbreon, let's roll! I want to get at least to Pewter before sundown!" he yelled behind her. Soon, Umbreon came bounding out of the mansion, two large containers nestled in its mouth. Gary grabbed the Hyper Potions and placed them in the bag and waved to her.

"See ya round. I'll try to back as soon as I can," he called out as she returned his wave. Turning around, he straightened the bag on his back and turned his head to Umbreon. "Well Umbreon, let's go."

He jerked awake, slamming his head into the nearby stone wall. With a loud cry, he grabbed the back of his head, and cursed loudly. "Well, looks like you're finally awake. Such language," a voice said, taunting him playfully. His head now throbbing, Gary looked up and spotted Sierra, leaning against the nearby wall. A mass of candles lay in the corner, lighting the area.

He seemed to be lying in a cave, as he heard the small, steady dripping of water in the small cavern. "Sierra, what the hell is going on?" Sierra chuckled and continued leaning against the wall.

"Well Mr. Oak, you were getting a little too close to Missy, and she doesn't want that. She's almost at the point to where she can escape this hellhole and get out of here, and you were about to screw that up. But it's a good thing you came, because you can have the honor of being the last body to feed her."

"What the hell are you talking about?" he asked fiercely, climbing to his feet.

"Missy was banished to this town quite a long time ago, but she only awoke about sixty years ago. She's needed to regain her strength, and only human bodies could refill her energy. I've been slowly giving her the townspeople, but unfortunately we ran out of supply over ten years ago. So, I've just been feeding her any random traveler that happens across Shadowstone."

Gary's eyes widened with surprise. "I've seen you before. You're that woman in the picture in that house where I was attacked!" Sierra flicked her hair behind her head and smiled.

"Oh yes, that was before I found Missy. Stephen was one of the first that I fed to her. Missy has kept me and my companion Lola young all this time. Don't you just love immortality?"

"You've been feeding this 'Missy' thing...people? I can't let you do that. You will be stopped, trust me." Sierra laughed loudly, her voice echoing off of the walls and piercing his ears.

"Please. You're not stopping me." Her eyes shifted to the left, looking behind him. "Or her." Gary turned around and ducked just in time to dodge a swing from the woman who had fed him earlier.

Swiftly, he grabbed her outstretched arm and slung her over his shoulder. He quickly followed with a kick to her ribs and shoved her across the rocky floor, her body sliding to a stop at Sierra's feet.

Sierra clapped and smiled brightly at him as the woman rose to her feet, apparently unfazed at his attacks. "My, you do possess quite a bit of skill. You're going to be a great snack for Missy." She glanced at her companion and grinned. "However, we're just going to kill you now."

Both of them pulled out a small red and white ball, each the size of a marble. With a tap of their fingers against a small button on the sphere's face, it grew to the size of a baseball. Sierra brought her arm back and tossed the ball to the ground, her actions being mimicked by her partner.

Both of them landed to the rocky floor and opened with a loud crack, followed by a large flash of light that blinded Gary for a moment. Two surges of energy stretched out from the balls and morphed into two large birds that nearly filled up the cave.

The bird on the right landed to the ground with a thunderous crash, its silver wings glinting from the faint glow of the candle. Its wings spread with a loud clank, as if they were being snapped into place by a machine. Its beak was pointed, and obviously sharpened to a fine point.

The other bird spread its wings and let out a large cry, as its legs landed softly to the ground, almost without a sound. Its mane flowed majestically onto its back, the colors of red and yellow decorating the feathers.

Gary took a step back from the Skarmory and Pidgeot, trying to increase the distance between them. Without Umbreon here, he was screwed, and he knew it. Maybe this was it...he was finally going to go down. He always thought he would die in a fight. He hated being right. Sierra chuckled. "It's too bad you came at this time...I kinda liked you." She jerked her head to Skarmory. "Skarmory, Steel Wing."

Skarmory let out a shrill cry and stepped forward, its metal talons crashing loudly against the stone floor. Gary backed up again, until his back was against the wall. There was no way out. He glanced over to the small opening of the cave; it was too far away. By the time he got two steps out, he would be ripped to shreds by the Skarmory's dagger- like wings.

Gary closed his eyes and sighed as he raised his hands before him. If he went down, he would go down fighting, even if he stood no chance against a pokemon like this. Sierra laughed loudly. "You're actually going to try to fight a pokemon by yourself?" She giggled loudly again. "Skarmory, go ahead and kill him now. Missy's getting hungry."

Skarmory shrieked loudly and rushed Gary, its metallic feathers raised to run him through. As Gary braced himself for the impact, a volley of small stars shot across the air and collided with the rock above Skarmory, sending a shower of stone onto the metal bird.

"Umbreon!" Gary exclaimed loudly as his partner sat crouching near the entrance of the cave. Quickly, Gary dashed towards him, as Sierra's companion ordered Pidgeot to attack. "Umbreon, Flash!" Gary closed his eyes and dove towards the ground as the rings on Umbreon's body glowed brightly, sending a blinding streak of light throughout the cavern.

Pidgeot cried out in surprise and careened into a wall, unable to see. Sierra and her companion yelled out in surprise also as Gary jumped to his feet and ran towards the entrance. "Come on Umbreon, that won't last too long!"

Umbreon growled and dashed through the entrance of the cave, following a long staircase back up into the church, Gary following close behind. They both could hear the sounds of Skarmory and Pidgeot recovering from Umbreon's surprise attack, and the rock walls of the staircase shuddered as the birds began to rush after them.

They ran for what seemed like forever, following the stone steps as they curved upwards towards the church, their pursuers not too far behind. Finally, the entrance came into view, and the duo burst from the underground into the sanctuary.

Frantically, Gary swept his hands over the pulpit, desperately trying to find the button that controlled the sliding stone that blocked the entrance. Finally, his hand brushed against it, and he slammed down on it. The stone entrance slowly began to slide across, blocking the way.

Gary caught a glimpse of the two birds rushing towards the entrance before the stone settled and blocked the entrance to the cave, locking them underground. His heart beat like a jackhammer as he leaned against the pulpit and sighed loudly. "Well Umbreon, looks like I owe you two."

He chuckled and turned to go to his room before a loud scraping sound filled the sanctuary. It was the sound of metal scratching against...rock. Gary's eyes opened wide as he realized what they were doing. "Umbreon, go to our room and get my bag. Now," he said sternly. His partner complied and bounded off, headed towards their room.

Gary took a deep breath and tried to steady his heart. They were going to have to fight them; otherwise they would never get out of here alive. He could hear the stone block start to give way to the barrage of Steel Wing attacks the Skarmory was launching upon it; knowing his luck, the efforts to cut through the block were sharpening its wings even more.

Suddenly, Umbreon came rushing out from the nearby hallway, Gary's backpack nestled in its teeth. "Ok Umbreon," Gary explained as he took the bag and slung it around his shoulder, "we can't fight these guys head to head or they'll crush us. We're gonna go with the plan we used to beat that Machamp, got it?" Umbreon nodded its head and scampered off to a corner close to the stone block.

Gary himself hid behind one of the many stone pillars that littered the sanctuary... He couldn't fight the pokemon directly, but he could use the environment to their advantage. He pulled out a Hyper Potion and glanced at the label. He might use this to heal Umbreon if he was hurt.

The stone block finally gave way, as their pursuers leapt out from underground and searched their surroundings. "Where are they!?" the older woman yelled as Pidgeot flew into the sky to take higher view.

"They're not too far...they're not stupid enough to try and outrun us out of town. They're hiding somewhere. Skarmory, go smash down all these pillars," Sierra ordered. Taking a deep breath, Gary took his pendant and kissed it for good luck like he always did and glanced at Umbreon.

The pokemon looked at him with its red eyes and nodded. It knew exactly what to do. "Umbreon, now! Darkness Shroud!" Swiftly, the Umbreon's eyes glowed brightly as the very light around them began to dim quickly, encapsulating the entire area in complete darkness.

Gary grinned in the darkness; this trick always worked. Even though the effect wouldn't last long, it was enough time they needed to get in a first strike. Without him even saying anything, Umbreon let loose a barrage of Swift attacks, smacking the Pidgeot dead-on.

The pokemon's perfect night vision coupled with its skillful aim caused the Pidgeot to thrash wildly in the darkness, sending Gust attack after Gust attack throughout the church, knocking pews and everything else over, but missing their intended targets completely. A loud crashing sound echoed throughout the massive room.

As the effects of the Darkness Shroud began to wane, it was obvious that the sanctuary was a wreck. Pews were knocked over; some were completely thrown across the room. The gigantic stained-glass window was shattered, allowing the glow of the full moon outside to enter the room. Miraculously, the only that that hadn't been touched were the large groups of candles nestled in the corner.

Sierra's companion swept her eyes across the ruined room, searching for her enemy. Suddenly, she heard a sound from behind her. As she whirled around, the last thing she saw was a large metal staff rushing towards her.

The weapon collided into her face with a loud smack, cracking her neck and sending a large spray of blood from her broken jaw onto the floor. Her body collapsed into a heap on the ground as Gary stood over her and shook his head.

Sierra turned and spotted him standing over her now dead partner and growled angrily. "You're going to pay for what you've just done." Gary turned his head and narrowed his eyes menacingly.

"No Sierra, you are. You've killed tons of people....trust me, whatever I do to you will never be what you truly deserve. And after we take care of you, we're going to destroy whatever this 'Missy' thing is."

Sierra growled again and raised her arm. "Pidgeot, rip him to shreds now!" Gary just stared at her and pointed behind her.

"You're a little late." Sierra turned and gasped. Pidgeot was now crushed under a pile of rock, Umbreon standing over its lifeless body. "I didn't want to kill it, but I did what needed to be done. Its mind is corrupted by whatever you're working for. All of your minds are."

"Skarmory, slash that creature into pieces!!" Skarmory complied and rushed Umbreon, its wings glinting in the light of the room.

"Umbreon, Agility." The metal bird let loose an onslaught of slashes and swipes with its razor-sharp wings, claws and beak; but every attack was skillfully avoided by the small black pokemon as it leapt around and evaded it.

Suddenly, Umbreon slipped on a loose piece of rock that had slid away from the pile that lay on top of Pidgeot's body. Skarmory saw this as its chance and let loose another barrage of attacks on the pokemon, each attack hitting its mark perfectly.

"No!" Gary cried out as Umbreon collapsed to the ground, bleeding from the numerous cuts and slashes. Sierra chuckled and turned to Skarmory.

"Skarmory, smash its head." The steel bird nodded a placed a talon over Umbreon's head, preparing to crush its head against the stone floor. All of a sudden, the metal bar that Gary had held crashed into its head with a loud clang.

Skarmory's metal body reverberated from the collision of metal against metal as it swung around and stared at Gary. With a loud cry, it stomped across the room, intent on slicing Gary into pieces for his attempt to save Umbreon's life.

Gary yelled and dove to the side as the bird brought its talons down, barely missing him. The stone floor shuddered from its attack as it turned and screeched loudly, preparing for another attack.

Skarmory slashed with its wings, the air whistling as it sliced through the air and pierced Gary, leaving a long cut along his left arm. He cried out in pain as he collapsed against a wall next to the group of candles.

The blood flowed freely down Gary's arm and dripped onto the stone ground. As Skarmory prepared to finish him off with one last swipe, Gary ripped the cap off of the Hyper Potion he held in his right hand and dumped its entire contents in his mouth.

Sierra laughed loudly, mocking his attempt to stay alive. "You honestly think drinking a Hyper Potion is going to heal your arm?" She laughed even louder.

Gary's face stretched into a smile as he grabbed a candle and held it in front of his mouth. He spat the potion into the flame, igniting the liquid and turning his mouth into a miniature flamethrower. The fire spread out from the candle and landed on Skarmory, liquid flames catching his metal armor on fire.

Skarmory screeched loudly in pain as the flames licked at its armor, and it collapsed to the ground, writhing wildly and thrashing its wings everywhere in an effort to douse the flames.

With a loud cry, Gary grabbed a long metal staff that held a candle on the end and ran towards the bird, stabbing the creature in its eye. It shrieked loudly again as it was blinded in its left eye, unable to see. Struggling to finish it off, Gary spotted a small soft spot in Skarmory's armor and ran the weapon through, piercing its flesh easily.

Skarmory's movements were erratic and wild at first, but it slowly began to slow and settle down as its life ebbed out of it. Finally, the Skarmory stopped moving, its life gone from its body.

Sierra stood there, amazed and shocked at what the young man had done. "You...you can't be human." Slowly, she backed up towards the underground, away from Gary, whose outfit was ripped and tattered, his arm bleeding heavily. "Missy's going to kill you! I'll make sure to that!" she yelled as she turned to run underground.

Suddenly, a long black tentacle snaked from the stair case and wrapped itself around her, yanking her underground. Gary's eyes opened wide with surprise, as her screams echoed down into the cave below before they were abruptly cut off.

The ground beneath his feet rumbled loudly, as if an earthquake was starting right under his legs. The stone underneath him began criss-cross with cracks; something was breaking out. Gary struggled to his feet and limped over to Umbreon, straining to pick him up and escape.

The rock collapsed and caved in, the force knocking Gary to the ground. His eyes opened wide as...something began to crawl from under the church. "Freeeeddooommm," a raspy voice whispered throughout the room. A black blob of mist and flesh, tentacles writhing about its body, began to emerge from the cave.

Tentacles lashed out and embedded themselves into the stone wall, as it used them to pull itself up from the abyss. The same scent that Gary had smelled in the old man's house flooded the room, the mist drifting in his nostrils.

Gary couldn't take it, and he emptied the contents of his stomach onto the floor, and then threw up some more. The stench was unbearable; he could feel himself getting lightheaded from the fume of the creature.

"Freeeedddoooommmm," it rasped again as a tentacle snaked across the floor and wrapped itself around Gary's body. His strength was gone; there was no way he could fight back now. A small slit in the blob's body opened wide, revealing row after row of razor-sharp teeth. Gary didn't think it was possible, but the stench inside this...thing's mouth was worse than the smell its body gave off.

There was no way out now. He had no more energy left; he could barely pick up his own head, much less defend himself against this abomination. As the tentacle drew him closer, a humming sound filled the room.

Using what was left of his strength, he turned his head to the source of the noise. There sat Umbreon, barely able to stand, the yellow rings on its body glowing brightly as it absorbed the energy from the moon's beams.

Tiny white dots of light appeared in the air and became attracted to it, attaching themselves to its body as it collected more and more energy from the moon high in the sky. The light enveloped Umbreon, until it was no longer black as night, but glowed the color of silver.

The energy released, sending a massive beam of energy towards them. A shockwave blew through the church, obliterating the stone pillars that littered the room and heading straight for Gary and the creature both. Gary smiled as the light enveloped him, and everything went dark.

The morning sun shone on his face as he opened his eyes and rolled over. The green grass below was wet with fresh dew, dampening his clothes. Gary smiled for a moment before snapping his eyes open, remembering what had happened to him. "Umbreon! Where are you!?" he exclaimed as he leapt to his feet.

"Calm down, Gary. Umbreon is fine...he is asleep over there," a voice answered. Gary turned around and collapsed on the ground at what he saw. A bird...a large white bird with purple scales adorning its back was towering over him.

"L...Lugia!?" he exclaimed, unable to believe what was in front of him. The bird chuckled and nodded its head.

"Yes...and you are lucky that I arrived when I had. A few more minutes with the kind of wounds you and your Umbreon had received during battle would surely have killed you, had I not healed you." Gary looked over his body; you couldn't even tell if he had been hurt or not, save for the long scar that adorned his left arm.

"Thank you, but why did you come?"

"The Chosen One and I had sensed a disturbance in this area, so I came to see what happened. I'm very impressed Gary; I've never seen a human defeat a Missingno before."

Gary leaned against a nearby tree, struggling to take it all in. "A Missingno? I thought that thing was just a story that parents told their kids to make them be good." Gary's own father had told him the legend of the Missingno once.

Lugia shook its head. "No, they are very real, and very evil. You've done a good thing today, Gary. I already know you are anxious to leave, so your things are next to Umbreon."

Gary turned and strolled over to Umbreon, slinging his bag over his shoulder, before stopping and turning to Lugia. "'Chosen One'?"

Lugia chuckled and flapped its massive wings, lifting its huge body into the air. "He told me I would run across you eventually. He has a message for you: Stop looking for him. He will return as soon as he can."

Gary chuckled and ran a hand through his brown hair. "Well, if he knew that you would run across me eventually, he should know I'm not going to stop looking for him until I find him and drag him home myself." Gary turned to leave before stopping again and turning to Lugia.

"You give him a message from me: I will find him, and when I do, I'm bringing him home, whether he likes it or not. His family's waiting for him." Lugia nodded.

"Very well, Enforcer. I shall make sure to relay the message to him." Gary raised an eyebrow at the bird's statement.

"Enforcer? What are you talking about?" Lugia merely chuckled and turned to fly off.

"You will see." With that, he flapped his wings and took off, disappearing into the horizon. Gary stared after him for a moment, then walked over and shook Umbreon awake.

"Come on, Umbreon; let's get the hell outta here." Umbreon stretched out and yawned before getting up and following Gary through the empty streets of the town. He stopped at the fountain in the middle of the main street, and stared at his reflection in the rippling water.

He fingered his pendant and looked over at Umbreon, then back at the fountain, as if contemplating something. "Ah, what the hell." Gary cupped his hand and took a sip from the water of the fountain. Wiping the water onto the leg of his jeans, he grinned and turned to Umbreon.

"Well, let's go see what the next town's got." The duo walked off, out of the town, not knowing exactly what their next destination would be. Taking one last look at the empty town, the duo turned disappeared into the forest.