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Off Route 14

Cobalion was quite the sight. Both the thief and Bridgette could see it now, flanked only by the flurry of Kabutops taking care of their attackers - and Alexa with her demands.

"No way," Bridgette said, looking briefly at the woman before she turned back toward the Legendary Pokemon.

At the same time as the thief she proclaimed, "I wanna catch it!" The two shot each other a competitive look, and then the thief backed down, recalling his recent defeat.

"Alright!" Bridgette shouted, Wailord's ball still in hand, she only needed to wait for him to get close enough, then he'd be too close to dodge her Pokemon's sudden materialization. Before she could get the chance, however, Roy sprang into action.

"Hey!" she shouted, glaring at the older man. "Better luck next time!" the thief called, slipping through the opening and Bridgette pressed her lips into a grumpy pout and followed after.

Off Route 14

Alexa wanted to protest, but keeping her safe was what she hired Roy to do. As long as he did his job, she'd have to trust his judgement even if she didn't want to. Seeing the roots go after Bridgette was just as terrifying as before, but it did put her mind at ease to know this newcomer was a victim just like them.

So she kept moving, tailing behind the twins on the Gogoat as fast as she could with Sazerac fluttering at her side. The trees on the sides of the path shifted, twisting around each other and getting progressively grayer. The leaves turned red, and suddenly it felt like they were in a different forest.

Reflexively, Alexa reached for her camera around her neck and took snapshots of the progression. Like her sister, it was second nature to her, to the point where she could take accurate photos without even looking through the lens. If she survived this, she needed proof this crazy story happened at all.

Cobalion narrowed their eyes at the Ice Wall, rows of jagged blue spikes coming from the ground. With a swipe of their Iron Head, Cobalion's antlers sliced right through a set of spikes, giving way for the Legendary to dart sideways and repeat the process. Ice broke apart in their path, slowing them down but not stopping them at all. Cobalion would be right behind them soon enough.

The farther Benedict and Manny ran north, the more they'd feel the strength of their Stalker's Aura. The source was stationary, and they were getting closer with each step, but the farther into The Stalker's domain they traveled, the more powerful it became.

As the grey trees writhed around them, the path got more narrow. Alexa was starting to feel claustrophobic, fearing they'd run out of space to run away.

Cobalion was now on the path behind them, until a branch hand blocked their path. They swatted it aside and abruptly dashed sideways into the thicket and out of sight. Listening carefully, Alexa and the others might have been able to hear tree after tree being mowed down like dominoes.

Two trees on either side of them grew explosively, rising higher into the sky like nature's skyscrapers. They peaked and fell apart into pieces from the top down, splitting into hundreds of sharp sticks that rained down towards the party. One scratch had sent some kind of murderous phantom mimic after Guigsy and Noel. With so many sticks falling down like stalactites, one scratch was the least of their worries. Impalement rose to number one.

Noel and Liam screamed. "Roy!" Alexa called, as if the bodyguard didn't notice imminent death coming from the sky.

Off Route 14

Bridgette screamed as the spike struck her arm, the force pulling her down, but the width taking her arm off halfway between her wrist and elbow.

She lay there for a second, her Kabutops bringing a blade down into another spear to keep her safe. When the teen sat up, she inspected herself.

Prosthetic limb severed in half, Bridgette pursed her lips and frowned. "I'm so grounded," she pouted before climbing to her feet.

Then, she turned to the group in all of its chaos, and shouted, "okay, what's going on!?"

The Thief, meanwhile, kept himself safe by hiding in the shadow of Kabutops, cursing its trainer for having defeated his own Pokémon.

Off Route 14

Through all the noise of trees falling down in the forest, which made sounds since there were people around to hear them, Cobalion barely registered the Hydro Pump whistling through the air behind them. By the time they did it was too late, and their sidestep did little to avoid the attack. Cobalion’s flank was struck by the bolt of water, and as their knees buckled they turned to face their enemy.

With a Quick Guard from their antlers, Cobalion parried Feraligatr’s charge downwards when it came in, diverting all the force to the ground. The Iron Will Pokémon was not sure that these humans were the ones disturbing the forest, but they were not welcome here anyway.

[En garde!] they declared emphatically, honor coming before pragmatism as they rose their head back up, leveling a subduing glare (not the move, the expression) and an Iron Head antler strike at Feraligatr’s torso in the same motion.

As Cobalion and Feraligatr engaged each other, two roots crawled out from the ground trying to ensnare their arms and legs.

Roy’s Fearow did work blowing away most of the falling spears, but could not clear all of them. Sazerac flapped her wings and created a Gust to blow away the rest that were to drop on Alexa. The reporter dived as Roy did, narrowly avoiding getting stabbed in the back. Her relief was short lived as she scrambled to her feet. The twins and their Gogoat had gone far enough ahead that they were out of sight, something that worried her to no end. “Liam! Noel!” she cried, getting no answer.

Then she caught sight of Bridgette and gasped, taking a step back to get closer to Roy and Benedict. “What the hell…” There was no blood where the arm had been severed, but shortly there would be an infected green patch on the arm stump where the spear had gone through.

The sound of Noel’s shrill scream pierced through the forest, calling Alexa’s attention back to what was ahead of them. In the distance she could see light coming through the path. Was it a clearing? A way out of the woods? Their nature friendly Stalker hadn’t attacked them again, but the roots of the trees around them were beginning to writhe. “Noel, we’re coming!” she yelled as she ran cautiously ahead to where the light was leading...

Bridgette heard the voice in her head but it was foreign, and weird. She frowned but nobody else explained anything.

Retrieving Wailord's ball from her broken prosthetic, she'd notice the green gunk. "Ew, what?"

"Come on!" The thief shouted, grabbing her by the wrist and pulling her after the group, to the spiked ground. They'd arc, trying to go around it.

"Let go!" Bridgette tried to pull to pull her arm away, but the boys grip was too strong.

"We're in danger, you idiot, nobody has time for you to keep getting side tracked." Not that I wouldn't have gotten sidetracked either, if I had any pokemon.

Off Route 14

With their eyes forced to watch the ground in Feraligatr's clutches, Cobalion could see just how the roots coming after them were rising up. The Water type hadn't noticed, and this was Cobalion's chance to take advantage of it.

A shuffle and sway backwards and to the side was all it took to activate an economized Swords Dance, yet the motion did much more. It yanked Feraligatr along only a little, which was enough to put the roots between them.

The ones that were there to grab Feraligatr's legs did so. By moving around, the ones that were meant to grab Cobalion's forelegs ensnared Feraligatr's incoming fist instead, tugging and redirecting his punch much like the Quick Guard from before. The Superpower missed by mere inches, sparing the loss of strength and defense Feraligatr would've experienced otherwise, and Cobalion could feel the heat of its power at the nape of their neck. There could not have been a closer call.

Using their newfound might, Cobalion kicked off the ground with their right legs, flipping over in the air and spinning out of Feraligatr's grasp to avoid the last set of roots aimed for their hindlegs. Now both of Feraligatr's legs and one of his arms would be bound, and Cobalion would be standing in front of him in a fighting stance.

[You are a worthy foe,] Cobalion asserted, shredding up rising roots with a flicker of their antlers. [But not the one I am looking for.]

Cobalion leapt away gracefully, heading north and leaving Feraligatr to deal with the roots. The forest floor was becoming soft from all the squirming of the Stalker's plantlife, soft enough that the roots were trying to pull the alligator underground and bury him alive.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Alexa took Roy's hand and climbed onto the bird, taking a photo of the spike laden ground. They flew forward, right into a small circular clearing where sunlight shined down.

At the clearing, Gogoat was bucking in place, calling out whatever invisible force was attacking one of his owners. Noel was on the ground, scooching backwards as fast as she could from the unseen apparition with a pointed stick going through her leg.

"Where is it?" Liam yelled, heaving a thick branch almost as tall as he was. Noel pointed straight ahead, and Liam could see human footprints appearing out of nowhere, each one a step closer to his sister. There was something there after all, and it had a presence.

He roared and swung the branch horizontally at where his phantom doppelganger was supposed to be. Noel, the only one that could see the Curse, watched as the branch shattered harmlessly against her twin's soulless mirror image, not deterring the Curse from moving whatsoever. It just kept walking. "Liam, help me!"

Liam ran at the Curse and swung blindly, missing twice before making contact with...something. It felt like human skin and bone, but cold. Freezing cold. The Curse grabbed Liam by the neck with an invisible hand and hurled him across the clearing effortlessly, rendering Liam unconscious when he slammed into a tree.

Alexa jumped off of Fearow, rolling clumsily onto the ground and rushing to Noel's aid. "C'mon, I've got you," she told Noel, helping the girl onto her feet. Noel whimpered as the Curse grew closer, clutching onto Alexa's arm so tightly that she scratched and drew blood from the reporter's arm.

And suddenly, Noel couldn't see the Curse anymore. "It's gone," Noel said in disbelief. "Liam, he's...that thing is gone." She looked at her arm where her scratch was, and it was no longer that ominous green. "Alexa, it disappeared."

"No it didn't."

Noel looked at Alexa and saw the reporter looking off across the clearing. What she couldn't see was the naked form of Alexa's sister, Viola, lumbering slowly from out of the thicket into the clearing on a straight path towards Alexa. In fact, no one could see it but the Alexa herself. Noel looked at where she accidentally scratched her friend. That scratch had taken on the green hue.

"No..." Noel separated herself from Alexa and propped herself against the nearest tree. Gogoat came to her to hold her up. "Alexa, not you too-"

"It passes, I think it passes." Alexa didn't take her eyes off the new Curse that followed her, only walking backwards at the same pace. The Curse of Viola didn't speed up, only concerned with making it to the target. "As soon as you scratched me, I-I could see..."

Sazerac spun a web of String Shot that fell across a portion of the clearing. It landed on the Curse, showing everyone else that being's position like a kid wearing a sheet for a ghost costume. The Curse stopped and ripped off the String, rendering it unseen again.

"Do you see one too?" Alexa called to Bridgette, still not moving her eyes. If Bridgette looked around, she'd see the naked form of her father coming out of the northern part of the woods, soaking wet with no life in their eyes and slowly walking directly at Bridgette. And if Bridgette got close enough, the Curse of her father would snap his daughter's neck like a twig.

"Where do we go?" Alexa asked the group, slowly walking backwards. There were no more paths to take, Liam was unconscious, Noel couldn't walk and now the fear of God was injected into Alexa. She had never felt terror like this before. "H-how do we get out of here alive? Viola, please don't..."

Of all members of the party, the one who had the best idea of where to go next was Manny. The source of the Aura still had yet to budge, and it was due north closer than ever. At the rate they had been running, if they weren't taken on a roundabout path they'd be there in minutes.

"Dad?" But it wasn't him, Bridgette knew that when she saw him naked. Uncanny and terrifying. Twisting her wrist, she'd pull away from the thief.

"Hey!" He'd shout after her, as she ran, eyes locked on to where Alexa was staring.

She didn't need to know exactly where the curse was, just its general location.

"I'm so not okay with this! World's strongest punch!"

All Bridgette needed to do was know everyone was out of the way enough. She'd make a punching motion and release Wailord with all his Body Slam power.

If it hit, it was hopeful that the weight and power would rocket the Curse!Viola toward the Phantom of her father. Bridgette couldn't stop to make sure of that, the only indicator would be that Wailord would come out of his ball okay. A second after materialization she'd recall him.

"Kabu!" She'd shout with a jump, her Kabutops ducking low so she'd land on his head before throwing her skyward.

"World's strongest punch version two!" Bridgette would cry as she'd release her Wailord at her own Curse, this one packing the weight of a body slam, and the power of Earthquake. If the Curse buckled under the weight, the Earthquake would push into the ground as well, likely destroying any roots between them and their attacker.

After all of this Bridgette would land, Wailord recalled, atop Kabutops head, fist down in a superhero landing. She'd thrust her stub towards Alexa.

"Did I get it!?"

Off Route 14

Without a trainer’s guiding hand, wild Pokémon like Cobalion could not learn moves they wouldn’t know naturally. They had to make up for it with skill instead, excelling with what they had to work with. Cobalion had already been struck from behind by Hydro Pump once. They would not fall for it again.

A third antler grew on their forehead, this one facing forward and made of a blue light. The Sacred Sword was twice the length of their body, and with its power Cobalion shifted momentum to turn their high leap into a front flip. The somersault cut the incoming Hydro Pump in half, sending two globes of water crashing into trees that fell over, their centers decimated by the attack.

The trees formed a weak but simple blockade between the two Pokémon, which also blocked Cobalion from witnessing Feraligatr’s Scary Face. Of course, this meant neither of them could see what the other was about to do. The next move one of them used would have to be tossed out blind. Cobalion could not see themselves making swift progress if this alligator was so keen on attacking. It would be faster to fight at this point.

And then a thought that was surely not their own entered their brain, making a mental mapping of the forest that showed the dark Aura to be coming from the north. [Who’s there?] Cobalion called, unable to locate the source of this Telepathy. Was it a potential ally?

[If you still wish to fight me, I see no other choice.] Cobalion stomped a foot and flared their nostrils, bracing themselves for what could come out from behind that blockade with Sacred Sword still at the ready. If nothing came, perhaps they were on the same side after all, but Cobalion would not take any chances when it came to defending their home.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“No!” Alexa cried as Bridgette announced her intentions, not because the Curse was a spitting image of her sister, but because just touching it could be a death sentence. They didn’t know enough about it to risk physical contact. But then Bridgette did not punch at all, and instead simply released a Pokémon.

The Ghost Type Viola Curse was literally unfazed by the Body Slam, passing through Wailord’s body harmlessly and still shambling right towards the retreating Alexa. Bridgette then launched her second ‘punch’, this one at her own Curse. The doppleganger of her father was unencumbered by the Wailord in a different kind of way. Just like how Liam’s attack with the branch bounced harmlessly off of Noel’s Curse, Wailord’s considerable heft did not budge the Curse of her Dad, which pushed away Wailord as if he were as light as Liam and kept moving forward as slowly as ever, something only Bridgette would be able to see.

The saving grace was that the Curses did not seem interested in bringing harm to anyone other than their infectee, and that they didn’t appear to be able to go faster than this. Roy was right, moving was their best defense.

Alexa did not have the heart to tell Bridgette her move needed a new title, but she did have the wherewithal to sadly say, “It didn’t work,” while shuffling backwards. Without even thinking about it, she took a picture of her Curse, then looked at it on screen. Viola didn’t show up in the picture.

“I won’t let this be for nothing. Guigsy…” Alexa gulped and looked at Benedict. “There’s a story behind all of this, you were right. I’m coming with you. Sazerac, get Liam up.”

Her Vivillon fluttered over to Liam to wake the twin up. His sister watched, sweating from fear as her eyes darted all over. She saw flowers growing behind Alexa, orchids to be exact. One of the orchids was bobbing, and something in its center was opening and closing from time to time.

It was only after a few seconds that Noel realized it was a red eyeball growing out of that flower.

She shrieked and pointed at it. Alexa turned around, startling from seeing such a thing, an instinctively stabbed at it with a stick. The eyeball closed permanently. No doubt there were more of them around. After all, The Stalker had to be watching them somehow.

“You pointed north, right?” Roots were unearthing themselves near the feet of those who weren’t yet infected, seconds away from making a move. The Curses were still walking at their targets. “Then that’s where we go.”