Umbra awoke as Cryso put him onto his shoulder, and heard something like icicles. He looked to Cryso's hair and remembered it was all shiny, and played with it a little bit, making noise against his claws. He made his own melody, using the different length hairs to make different notes. As he realized they were coming upon the rest of the group, Umbra sank lower and lower on Cryso's shoulders, hiding from the monster.

As he realized that they were talking to the monster and he was no longer angry, he hopped off Cryso's shoulder and played in the snow again. He crept up behind Sparky, and pelted him lightly with a snowball. Umbra crept forward a little more and covered him with snow. As he ran away, laughing, he got an idea. He made himself a good snowball, and threw it right at the mean black-haired-one-with-guns' head.

Umbra burst out laughing, rolling around in the snow, until finally jumping back onto Cryso's shoulder, sticking his tongue out at the one called Jet.

(Adversity, Jet has brown hair. just letting you know.)

Jet entered the ghost train. It was kind of like the subway trains in his world, just less supernatural. He noticed Trevor and the Red-Head looking worn out by their powers. It is true they did more in the fight than him and that was the consenquences. Unlike them, he did not give the monster his most powerful attack. He just shot it in the face which did good damage but not as much as Trevor or Red-Head. Once he was in the train, he grabbed one the poles and stood there patiently. He looked at Spence sitting there with a grin. That was one thing he liked about Spence, his optimism. Jet found it hard to be optimistic, his life was a tragedy so far, the only good recent thing that happened was being transported into another world with these people and creatures. He still found the sneasel annoying.

I looked at Umbra, "Will you stop that. If Jet gets angry enough by you irritating him then I won't stop him from getting a hold of you." I walked in the train car and held on to one of the poles near Jet.

"So this dark forest......how will we be able to navigate threw it and get the Light Shard?" I looked out of the window as the dark scenery past by. "This world holds so many secrets and problems. The problem is which secrets need to be found and which need to stay hidden."

(Sorry Paco >.<)

Umbra stuck his tongue out at Cryso but hopped off his shoulder as he walked in. He stood at the door, nose twitching as he sniffed the train. He was nervous, what if it was a trick and he was going to crush them all or something? He remembered that one of the shardy things were in a glacier, and he stepped into the train, taking a seat on the floor, next to Cryso's legs.

Jet nodded at Trevor. "I know as much about this world as you do, which is absolutely nothing. This forest is most likely extemely dangerous with a high probability of dying. But hey, we got to do what we got to do to survive. That is reason why we have the abilities that we have. We are destined to be here for some reason that I don't know." Jet then looke out the window. "And about the secret thing, you never know which ones to discover. That is why their secret."

Shaking the snow from her yellow coat, Sparky decided to take a nap. She curled up between Spence and Keyleria, instantly falling asleep.

"High probability of dying, huh?" I murmured, giving a chuckle. I placed the food bag to the floor under the seat. Almost empty... That wasn't good, I thought.

I smirked, lifting my arms up and resting my head, "I don't think they are secrets exactly, just things we haven't learnt or discovered yet. That's what an adventure's all about, right?"

I crossed my arms, looking to Sparky and Keyleria who had already gone to sleep. I smiled weakly, "Well, looks like they have the right idea. Let's all just take a rest for awhile. Dark Forest was supposed to be a day away anyway."

I rested my back as best I could before taking in one last look at everyone around me. I looked to Keyleria beside me, who I was worried about the most, "Yep, everybody here is real..." I mumbled to myself, closing my eyes.

((We'll reach our destination later on after we all had a sleep and something goes down on the train.))

Jet agreed with Spence. "I guess that is what adventure is about. Jet left the pole and laid on a seat. "Wrll, I'm going to take a nap, wakr me up when we get there." Jet then fell asleep and into the comfortness of his dreams.

Umbra was wide awake, and he looked from the red-headed female, to the one with the big sword, to the Pikachu. They were all asleep, and the brown-haired one was fast on his way. The only ones remaining awake were him and Cryso. Umbra's sentry training kicked in, and he jumped up onto the seats opposite Sparky, Keyleria, and Spence.

Umbra spun around a few times, squishing the soft material on the bench. He laid down and closed his eyes, leaving them just a slit open, so he could keep watch over the others.

(Crunchy, if you wanted him to actually fall asleep, assume he accidentally dozed off, otherwise, he's just keeping watch.)

I smiled and looked down as I listened to Jet and Crunchy's responce to my 'secret' statement. "That's a riddle my people invented to show the paradox of secrets. Both of your answers are right but the real one is that there is no right answer, just choice."

I sat down next to Umbra and watched out the window as the land flew by. "I'm coming for you Victor. I will find you and have my revenge", I whispered to myself. I continued to look out the window and eventually fell asleep from the hypnotic scenery.

I always had a hard time sleeping. But when I did, I would always dream about her.

When I came to, I batted my eyes awake. I just couldn't sleep for very long, never had. I stared across the room and out the window, shadows of trees passing us by. How long has it been now? And how long has it been since I came to this world?

I then thought about Age. What did he mean by the void? Was that where we came from, deep down inside the world's heart? I sighed. If I thought any harder I'd probably make myself disappear completely, I chuckled. But then, I got to thinking. I wondered what would happen if I did make myself disappear... Would I appear in the void? Does that mean I would've died...? Or are we sent back to our own worlds...?

I looked over everyone else. It seemed like they were sleeping soundly. That was good. We'd probably need it. I grinned.

I then looked across to Keyleria with curious eyes. I wondered if she was awake. Dragon of the Darkness Flame, I think that's what she called it. Honestly, I really wanted to tell her personally to never use it again. I frown at her arms. Was she even able to use them after that attack? Well, if anything happened, I’m sure Sparky would protect her. She seemed to have taken a liking to her. Besides, after eating enough of this food, I was sure she would heal completely. Hopefully.

And then there was Trevor. I eyed his softly chiming hair. What was happening to him? I thought back to when we found both the Magi King and their daughter crystallised in ice, completely petrified, unable to do or say anything as the one they loved brought devastation upon the Continent. What was this curse Trevor had to bare?

---

The train came to a stop. I walked out gazing around the tall trees around us which curved into a twisted cavern. It must have been morning, but it still looked and felt like night.

I turned back to the Hollow who transformed back into his ghostly six-armed form after everyone had boarded off, “...So the Light Shard is somewhere in this forest, right? Where do you think we’ll find it? And... Do you really think once we retrieve the Shard, the villagers of Hope will return to normal?”

“Yep! They will, it’s been written. The Light Shard is guarded by something very fierce and evil... All Light Shards are. They may be the pieces of Light from the World’s Heart, but what spawns from the power of the shattered pieces are dark, if not in the right hands. You’ll find out sooner or later, but the Light Shard is in the darkest most hidden place of the forest. Now go and get it! I’ll be waiting at Hope, bye---!!“ And so he vanished.

I crossed my arms, the bag in my right hand. “Hmmm... Power of the Light Shards. Doesn’t sound too good to me.”

Umbra felt the train slowing, and watched as bigswordman left. Umbra stood up and dig a great big cat stretch, yawning loudly. He turned around, looking at Cryso. He started poking Cryso, waiting for him to wake up. Umbra jumped onto Cryso's shoulders, eager to be off the train, which seemed had seemed to be closing in on him ever since he got on.

I jerked up as I felt something poke me. "Hmph, morning already?" I looked down at Umbra. "Well at least I have my own personal alarm clock. Come on." I said as he jumped on my shoulder.

I walked off the train and looked around after the Hollow disappeared. "He could of at least told us where the Shard was generally located." I touched one of the trees, it was like stone. "I doubt these trees are still alive. From what I can tell they're as hard as rocks."

I checked inside the bag, sighing a little inside, "Well, we don't have much to eat... We better have something now to keep our energy up. Even with its rare healing capabilities, we still need to eat something."

I gave the Pikachu and the Sneasel an apple each, took out the loft of bread and split it dividedly between the four of us. I took the remaining bottle and had a mouthful of milk before handing it to Keyleria.

"Here, have the rest. It looks like you need this more than I do. I hope it gives you enough strength for this venture," I tried not to let her on that I knew about her arms.

I ripped at my quarter by my teeth and started munching, throwing the empty bag over my shoulder, "Well, that's it---" I said with a mouthful of bread, "I guess in the mean time we'll have to pick up anything that looks edible along the way," I half-kid.

I gulped down what I had left, clapping my hands of the crumbs. "Well, whenever you guys are ready."

"Pika!" Sparky had already gnawed the apple down to the core, "Let's get going, Spence!"

We walked for ages into the darkness of the woods. Trevor was right in assuming these trees had been killed and petrified into something almost as hard as stone. Was this somehow part of the curse the darkness befell on the world?

We suddenly came to a stop, a fork in the road. Two paths, two directions. They both looked like the same deal, but to be sure we covered the area completely for the shard, we had to be positive and split up.

I turned to the guys, “Alright, guys, we have no choice...” I crossed my arms and thought to myself for a bit, putting them down when I had a plan, “...Alright, since Trevor and Umbra work well together, as well as Keyleria and Sparky do... Umbra, go with Trevor to the left road, Sparky, follow Keyleria to the right. So Jet, I guess that splits us up... So go with Trevor. I’ll stick with Keyleria. We should be able to work effectively in threes.”

“Any questions before we set out? If you get in a bind, just... I don’t know. Call out for help or something,” I chuckled as I scratched the back of my head. I wasn’t exactly great at planning things out.

Umbra raised an eyebrow at the bigswordman's not-so-well-thought-out-plan. His head feather lowered at the thought of being stuck with the gun-human, but at least he had Cryso with him. Umbra sat down, he watched how the Pikachu ate his apple. Umbra had only tried plants once, and it was for medicine. Umbra put the apple up to his mouth, and grudgingly took a bite and chewed. He hated it, but at least he got to eat.

Umbra stood up when he was done with the apple, and jumped onto Cryso's shoulders. "Bad plan... but you the leader. I follow."

Universe
Pokemon World. From Kanto, but trainer abandoned me in the Hoenn Region.
Name
Aaron.
Age
12 years of age.
Weapons
Claws,paws, and teeth.
Abilities
I always land on my feet. I can silently track almost anyone. Great at catching small birds and rats.
Personality
Loner, lashes out at people, sad, feels unwanted. Was once happy and carefree, but the world crashed down on him when he lost a match against Steven's Skarmory.
Description
I'm a Shiny Persian. Slightly dirty coat, always looks sad. Instead of a ruby I have a sapphire. I carry a bag full of berries strapped to my right side like the Kevlar vests they put on some military dogs.
History
My trainer's mom gave him me, her Meowth as his first pokemon. I quickly grew strong, and after only 6 weeks I evolved into a Persian. I easily beat any opponent I faced, taking down gym leaders, and even the Indigo Plateau Elite 4. After I wiped the floor with them, my trainer and I went to Saffron City to scare away Team Rocket. After they fled, we went to their base at the game corner. I once again destroyed them, even Giovanni lost with ease. After this we went to their Warehouse, where the real evil takes place. I slashed all of the cage bars off, then the freed pokemon did the rest. After I defeated the 2 Admins, they were just confused, not truly evil like Giovanni, Oscar and I were applauded. Then we swept through the Johto region. We stomped out all remnants of Team Rocket still hanging on to the thread of hope that Giovanni hadn't forgot about them. We headed to Hoenn. We stopped Team's Aqua and Magma from destroying the balance of nature, and swept through each and every gym leader. It seemed as if the bond between my trainer and I was unbreakable. We faced our greatest challenge of all time. Ever Grande City's Elite 4. Sidney was a joke. My shadow ball shocked Phoebe to no end. Glacia's team was slashed to pieces. Drake was slightly annoying, but I still destroyed him. The most powerful trainer we'd ever faced was next, Steven Stone, the Champion of the Hoenn Region. I beat Claydol quickly, Aggron was difficult, Armaldo was harder. Skarmory was impossible. I had lost. Oscar went to the desert and set me down in it. I almost couldn't find my way out. I joined a Clan of Zangoose and Delcatty who attacked trainer's pokemon. I had begun to give up on my life. One day, as I was laying down on a rock blaming myself for my trainer abandoning me, something that felt like Steven's Armaldo cheap shotting me in the gut hit me. The world began to spin and...

What are you most afraid of?
Abandonment and rejection.
What do you dream about?
Of finding a nice trainer who won't abandon me.
Who is your best friend?
My best friend was my trainer Oscar, but now I have no friends.
What do you want to be in the future?
I don't know. I just want a friend.
What kind of nightmares do you dream?
The nightmares I have are of that horrible battle against Steven.
Who or what do you love the most?
I love nothing right now.
What do you hope to gain from a new adventure?
A nice trainer who isn't going to abandon me if I lose a battle, and friends.
What would you give to return to your home world?
For now, almost any place is better than Hoenn, Johto, or Kanto.
__________________________________________________________________

I awoke with a headache, and pain. Everywhere, I got up slowly. "Where, where am I? Is anyone there?" I see movement in the distance, I move toward it and find a bedraggled group of humans and a couple of pokemon at a fork in a trail. I ready myself to counterattack anything they do, and jump in front of them. "Where am I? What is this place? Who are you? How come I can talk now? Mew... What's going on?"

Jet nodded at Spence. "I guess your the leader here, so I'll go with your plan. I have a bad feeling about this though. If we go down our seperate paths, what are the chances of meeting back up." Jet was not thrilled about being teamed with the sneasel, but he did not really care. He just did not want the others to die and know he could have done something to prevent it.

((Rule #1 for horror/slasher films: NEVER split up. Way to play by the rules Crunchy, haha. This should be highly interesting.))

"Well one of the good things in the plan is that each group has an equal amount of power so to speak. Each group has a Pokemon creature, an Elemental, and a close combat specialist. So I guess that makes things a little better I guess." I shrugged a little and half smiled.

Taking Keyleria's idea of a flare also, "Yeah and I guess I could shoot a fountain of water up if we run into some trouble as well."

I looked at Jet and Umbra, "Shall we?", and I began walking down the path.

((Slade: Yeah, change your character. Thanks for removing your sig, but you only needed to remove the one image. Just make sure your character doesn't steal the other's fire, and make a new character that has different abilities. I'll delete your first profile after you send me another, and perhaps send me your new one by PM. Thanks.

redt: Haha, yeah. But since when did I play by the rules?))

"Leader?! No way am I the leader! I was just making a suggestion, that's all!" I laughed nervously, sighing, "...Well, good idea Trevor, Keyleria. We'll use those signals to alert each other. If we don't find anything in a few hours or so, head back and we'll meet up here."

I turned to Keyleria, "Yeah, let's go. Be careful you guys, see you on the other side."

We started walking our separate ways.

---

A little ways into the seemingly lost woods, I was beginning to think this wasn't such a good idea at all. Maybe Jet was right. The plan seemed right in my head. Maybe I just didn't think things through enough. I hoped the others were okay. Oh relax, I thought. They were tough, I was sure they would be able to look after themselves. I closed my eyes, trying to reassure myself.

Clearing my thoughts, I looked to Sparky and Keyleria walking beside me. I huffed with a puff. Maybe this was the time to tell her what was on my mind.

"...Keyleria," I spoke with a calm and serious tone, "I don't know what you were trying to prove back there... But that, Dragon of Darkness Flame magic? I never want to see you use it again. I know what it did to your body. How could you be so reckless?" There, I said it, I thought. But maybe it just wasn't my business. I just hated seeing people get hurt. I continued my pace as I stared forward.

Meanwhile, above them in the thick of darkness, being undetected, something or somethings were watching the two groups ever so closely.