Shield and Soul Adventure: Episode 2, To the Great Raging Lake [Part 1]

(My moderator/adventure partner is Kurai)

Steven walked into the city of Violet, expecting it to be more of a... well... city "not a lot to this place is there?" He said to his friendly followers. He looked around for anything of interest, until he spotted a tower. Something about the tower drew his attention, maybe it was because of how much taller it was to the other buildings, or maybe it was of another speculation, whatever it was, it drew his attention.

Alex and Noivern silently followed Steven down the path into the city, waiting for him to speak about the tower before they responded. "Sometimes it's the quietest places that are the best," Alex spoke. "Yes, much so... Areas like these allow people to unwind from the stress of daily dues, to spend time with nature and wild pokemon. I like these kinds of places," Noivern responded afterward.

Steven withdrew his distraction from the tower and focused on the speakers "very true, very true" he responded. His gaze went back upon the tower and decided that since Alex and Noivern were following him, he could walk close to it to get a better glimpse of it. He would ask about it, but since wasn't from around here, she wouldn't have much of a clue, andmit would be useless just to walk inside and instantly back out if there was no significance to it. Steven led the march of the three close to it, and decided that when he done scoping it out, he would look at other places around here.

To Steven's, possibly, amazement, there was something of interest with the tower. A figure stared towards him from one of the front windows, and not just a normal figure; it was a shadowy figure, outlined with black and purple. It had red eyes, no mouth visible as it gazed deeply towards Steven, almost as if staring at his soul.

To Steven's astonishment, he seen a figure staring at him deeply, and with seeing a black and purple figure with red eyes, he could only think of one thing, ghosts. "Hey guys... or... er... ladies... we should check this tower out, seems interesting" he called out, he turned around to face the girls, seeing upon there answers

Alex and Noivern both directed their attention to Steven when he spoke towards them. "It doesn't sound too bad for a start," she spoke to Alex in whisper, the trainer simply nodding her head in agreement. After conferring for a few more moments, they both looked back to the trainer standing in front of them. "Sure, why not," she told Steven. "But please, not too long. We'll need to find somewhere to check in soon. It's about three in the afternoon." The shadowy figure, after the two had given their answers, seemed to mysteriously have vanished from where it had been, though an eery whisper spoke to Steven as if attracting him towards the tower for investigation.

[Begin the building of a side-plot~ ;3]

"Alright, shouldn't be to long" he says, upon hearing an eery whisper, he felt a jolt of excitement, but not showed it. He walked up to the door and opened it. He quickly looked around, but it was to dark at the moment, so he fully stepped in so the outside light isn't messing with his and so his eyes can adjust. He again looked around for any sort of light he could use.

If it appealed to Steven's tastes, there was a selection of two different light sources. There was a flashlight, the likes of which was not turned on; however, there was also a small lantern, capable of shining light in a wider range than its counterpart, but not as far as the flashlight. Alex and Noivern quietly followed Steven into the tower, unsure of what they'd encounter nor what was waiting to encounter them. They wouldn't hear when a whisper spoke to Steven, beckoning him to find a way up the tower a floor or two. "One... Two... Stairs for you..."

Steven took the lantern, he felt the larger radius will not only help him see, but also help Alex and Noivern see. "One or two stairs... alrighty then" he said, he lit the lantern, held it up, and walked around looking for a set of stairs. Once he found it he climbed to the next floor and said "stay close" he said before searching around

"I don't think you need to tell us that," Noivern spoke to Steven as she and Alex had already been doing so. "Even for a second floor this is creepy," Alex whispered to her pokemon, sticking closer to her side than she was with Steven. "Good... Good... One more... To the top we go," the voice whispered to Steven.

Steven kept looking around, holding the lantern out in front of him "Just one more floor, it'll be ok" he said in attempt to calm down the girls, he wasn't exactly sure this was to good of an idea, but life is all about taking risks. He finally took sight of the stairs and started walking up, looking back to make they didn't get lost in the dark.

Alex and noivern tried to follow Steven up the stairs, but they found themselves, mysteriously, lost. They weren't on the third floor though, as evidenced when Alex spotted a small window and looked out of it. "Noivern... Where exactly are we," she asked before her pokemon shrieked, Alex turning and facing something she couldn't even see in the darkness. She then shrieked herself, both yells echoing down the floors to where Steven was on the staircase. "Come on now... One more floor... Hehe..." As if mysteriously, when Steven would reach the top of the staircase, the floor would close in, preventing him from escape if he even was willing to anymore.

Steven looks around behind him, he doesn't see the girls, he stops before reaching the top "Alex? Noivern?" he starts heading back down to look for the girls, ignoring the voice telling him what to do "Where did you go?" He continues looking and calling before he hears a shriek and rushes upstairs, as that's where he thinks that's where it's, and then, the floor closes up "Oh... this doesn't look to good..."

"Just a few more floors," the voice whispered to Steven, Alex and Noivern's echoed screams becoming silent after a little while. "If you want your friends, to the top; the top the top the top!" The voice, having sounded a bit playful yet mysterious before, was now dark, solemn, and threatening. "What're you waiting for? Do you need a hand?" An illusion would pass by Steven's face of a hand or two. Unbeknownst to him, the illusion was created by a pokemon.

(Enjoying the creepiness? o3o)

(Very much so!)

Steven ignores the voice's last comment of needing a hand, he wasn't even entirely phased by seeing the illusion, being a trainer who only uses ghost and steel, he's gotten use to all ghostly illusions and what nots. 'Don't worry Alex and Noivern, I will find you' he thought to himself as he kept rushing through the floors and trying to reach the top floor.

It would take Steven a few minutes or so to climb each staircase to the top; however, it was possible. Upon reaching the top of the tower, the floor, for a second time, closed beneath him. Alex was there, unconscious and on the ground, any possessions missing. There was a blanket laid over her, her eyes cracked open, her hair spread out from her head. Her face had a few claw marks on it, each red which meant she had been attacked recently. "Welcome to the top," the voice laughed at Steven. "Found your friend; does she look okay to you? We think she's adorable." The voice then laughed at Steven darkly.

He looked at Alex in complete shock, he honestly didn't mean for her and- "Wait... wheres Noivern?!" he demanded aggressively as he looked around, both for Noivern and the attackers, always keeping the lantern in front of him to keep his area of view lit. He decided it would also be best to keep one hand down to his side and placed on one of the pokeballs, ready for any attacks.

"My my, what do you mean," the voice questioned Steven mockingly. "Who is this 'Noivern' that you're speaking of?" Moments after it spoke, Alex's eyes opened a bit more as her head tilted towards Steven. "Run," she muttered, pokemon surrounding Steven, different colors of eyes staring at him from the shadows.

"You pests can't scare me off that easily!" he says, not hearing Alex as his focus is on the voice, he takes the pokeball he was holding onto and throws it out, appearing out is Haunter "Haunter!" it calls out, looking around at the eyes and Steven, realizing that there is a big possibility of a fight.

"But would you really hurt her," the voice questioned Steven, noivern approaching from behind where Alex was laying. "We don't think so..." The pokemon, eyes cold, staggered forward as though unaware of her movements. The pokemon's claws were red, and not just because of nature; there was blood present. The pokemon snarled at Steven viciously, threatening him if he should keep his pokemon withdrawn from its ball. "We just want to talk... So sit down, why don't you?" Bands of fabric seeped from the ceiling towards Steven to restrain him, if at all possible.

"Creeps, keep the fabric away from me, I prefer to stand when having a serious talk" Steven commanded, and Creeps did as told, floating behind Steven, ready to swap away any fabric that comes near. "If you wanted to talk so bad, you could've left the other two alone" he says, clenching his fists. He looked at Noivern with disgust, thinking of how much trouble he had put the two in just for a little sight seeing.

Noivern's gaze directly met Steven's, Alex keeping an eye on him as events transpired. "But why do that if taking them both was the only means of getting you to come up," the voice questioned Steven. "Admit it... You wouldn't have come this far without purpose..." "They're right you know," Noivern telepathically spoke to Steven, the pokemon's head tilting to the side. "Admit it..." The pokemon really wasn't herself. "We won't talk with you freely roaming... So be a good sport... Sit down." Noivern looked to the ground, a few bands of fabric surprisingly raising from there, latching to Steven's feet before pulling them forward to hopefully knock him down. The fabric was really just an illusion, but who wouldn't fall for them if they seemed realistic enough?

The fabric worked as planned and he fell, but it didn't help that wasn't going to try his best to stand back up anyways, Haunter even getting the fabrics off his legs. Steven got back up "As I said, I prefer standing when having a serious talk, not out with what you planned on saying!" he says, he would prefer not to go out with violence, but he has a trick up his sleeve if need be.

Noivern's stare became more crude as Steven resisted the voice's want for him to sit. "The more you resist, the more endangered she becomes," she spoke, pointing towards Alex. "We'll drain her; take her life and then do the same to you..." Steven had, really, no choice; he either became restrained and withdrew his pokemon, or observed to see if Alex would be murdered by whatever surrounded them all. Either that or he tried to escape with Alex, but would he attempt that with no stairs?

He sighs, then sits on the floor "Then this must not be all important to be wasting time for me to sit" he says to see how far he can get into maddening the voice but keeping it safe as well, this is his only plan to see how dangerous this 'character' truly is and how careful he'll have to be