Ask to Join Behind Closed Doors (Mature)

[EdgyCarrotPeels]

The discussion thread the rules, plot and Character sheet can be found here: https://pokecharms.com/threads/behind-closed-doors-mature.19896/

Warning: This role play will contain mature content which may upset some people. Read at your own risk

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CHAPTER 1. THE CARNIVAL
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​

The sky was grey and the ground was flooded in a thick heavy mist, consuming anything it touched with its smoky grasp. It covered the lush green grass which lay at the side of the fairground in Nimbasa city. The sun was nowhere to be seen and neither were any signs of life. The most inviting thing about the place was the smell of warm donuts caressing the air from a nearby closed food stall.

It was completely deserted with no people or Pokemon in sight, until a clown dressed in white stepped out of a huge circus tent. He had a big red nose and white pale skin which matched his white overalls, with a big black cross painted over each eyelid. In his left hand he held a bright red balloon which contrasted the gloomy atmosphere. A grin was spread from cheek to cheek as he made his way towards the Ferris wheel, its bright colourful lights flashing to a silent beat and illuminating the dense mist along with the other carnival attractions. A low chuckle left the clowns red bloodstained lips as he watched the ride rotate effortlessly.

There was a gentle cold gust of wind as he stood there staring, the only sound being the uncomfortable creaks the rides made from tilting slowly in the dead breeze. ​

 

[Retr.0]

Oliver ducked down behind a trash can. It was a cold night, or colder than usual at least. There was a nice scent of food. Oliver loved the carnival, but not for the reasons most people did. Although it was open most of the time, every now and then they would close. Those were the days Oliver liked. He could easily sneak in and grab enough food for dinner without being noticed.

In front of the Ferris Wheel he noticed a clown. That’s odd, he thought, why is a worker here one their day off? To Oliver this was quite different to previous visits. Usually his only worry were the few, unmoving, cameras scattered around the park. It didn’t matter though, he had snuck around worse than a measly worker. Oliver made his way towards the pretzel stand and grabbed one. Dinner for one. He couldn’t get greedy or else the people who ran the carts would notice. They would question why they were missing food. They would buy more, better, cameras. He couldn’t afford for them to do that. Next he made his way towards the Pokémon food stand. Spiritomb didn’t eat so it didn’t need any. Fritz didn’t have a mouth so he didn’t need any either. Yam was only one that needed food. He grabbed a little bit and shoved it in husband pockets. Dinner for two.

On his way out Oliver spotted the clown again. Usually he wouldn’t be bothered by this but he couldn’t help but be curious. Who in the world would bother putting on a costume and makeup so they could sit at a closed amusement park? He wanted an answer. Oliver slowly made his way towards a nearby trash can. He was going to watch clown.

 

[EdgyCarrotPeels]

[WARNING: BLOOD]

The clown stood there silently watching the Ferris wheel croak around slowly in the cold night breeze. His eyes locked on the lights which shone upon his ghastly make-up. It wasn't until he felt the presence of someone else watching him did he then turn his head slowly and eerily down the path that ran through the centre of the Carnival. His red eyes scouting it quickly but surely for any signs of life that wasn't him. It was probably a Pokemon from the wilderness, but he couldn't risk it not being. He pulled out a long sharp knife from his right pocket and let go of the red balloon that was in his left hand. The knife had smudges of red on it which the clown licked off, the sweet metallic taste of the blood causing him to hum in delight.

"Come out, come out, wherever you are..." He said in a little tune. His wide grin still plastered from cheek to cheek. His eyes still scouting from side to side vigilantly as he slowly began to make his way down the fun fair path. The light illuminating his white face paint in many different colours. Colours which didn't match the mood of what was going on.

 

[Vaporeonn]

A young woman crashed into a man's chest, throwing him a bit off balance. "Oh, help! Somebody!" she cried out, not she afraid to voice her agony. The man was stunned, but pulled the woman back by her shoulders. Only then did she seem to realise what she has done. "Oh, I apologise," she put a hand on her chest. The man couldn't see well due to the flashing lights, but he noticed the guilt in her eyes. "I was just... distressed..."
"What happened?" he couldn't help but ask, a strap of his backpack slowly falling off his shoulder. He reassured it.

"A man- He stole my bag!" the girl continued, looking down, but a flash of realisation appeared in her eyes. She looked up, meeting the man's eyes. He blinked. "Is it possible you could help me out?" she asked. The man was now even more surprised, being pulled into something he had no intention of particparting in, too quickly at that. "Oh what am I saying?" she threw her face into her hands. Soft sobs could be heard, and the man felt uncomfortable.

"Th-There, there now," he moved his head downwards so he could look at her. "Don't feel bad! I'm sure I can help you," he said. It wasn't what he was planning on doing, but such a pretty girl falling into his arms couldn't have been a coincidence. No, it couldn't have been. He knew he needed to make most of this situation. "Could you find the man who did it? I'll teach him not to steal from a lady." At that, the woman's face lit up, but then worry came over her.

"Oh, I'm not sure... What if he escaped already?" Her mood was ruined again. She looked across the man's shoulder, and suddenly, her eyes sparked up. "There! The one on the red hoodie!" She pointed. "If you could be so kind..." The man smiled reassuringly.
"Of course. I'll return quickly, and you'll have your bag soon."

"Wait," the girl suddenly said, putting her delicate hand on his arm, "Won't your bag slow you down? I wouldn't want the same happening to you... I wouldn't be able to live with that." The man was now back at feeling confused, but entrusting his bag to this petite woman couldn't possibly be a bad decision. She may not have had a point, but if it meant calming her down, he was ready to do as she said. After taking his bag off, the girl smiled, and the man ran towards the red figure.



... So easy, Aspen thought to herself, after quickly skipping from the scene. She guessed it'd probably take the man a few minutes to realise he couldn't find the "culprit", and possibly a few more to gather courage to get back to her with empty hands. The rest... Well, he wasn't that stupid. He'd probably realise his mistake, and search for Aspen, but... He won't find her.

Aspen walked towards the abandoned booth, where her friend was neatly hidden. "Hello, Hugo," she dropped the bag in his lap. A red hoodie was next to him, obviously taken off in a hurry. Hugo looked up at her with annoyance in his eyes.
"This is the last time I'm doing this," he said.

"That's the third time you've said that," Aspen noted, taking the hoodie off the ground and putting it on. It was cold. Too cold. But she didn't think too much of it. It was carnival time, and carnival time meant money. A Pokemon as dark as the night sky, only exposed by its circular yellow markings, slithered its was towards Aspen's legs. "There you are, Orion," she cooed, dropping down to pet him. "I had a busy day."

"No way," Hugo said, pulling out a laptop from the stolen bag. Aspen didn't understand much about technology, but she knew Hugo would want that as soon as she saw the poor man take it out. That's one way to choose her victims.
"Thought you'd like it," she said, getting up. Orion still followed her. Slight worry crossed her face. "Don't those things have tracking devices, or something?"

"Nothing I can't fix," Hugo cracked his knuckles, and got to work. Aspen chuckled. Hugo – hacker genius. He could probably type his way into any government computer if he wanted to. Sadly, he didn't share the same ideals as his friend. Not that Aspen minded his different morality. It was nice to have someone to cancel hers out.

"I'm gonna look around some more," Aspen said, leaving Hugo on his own. He could get quite short temperer if something didn't go his way while hacking, or whatever he did. She walked out, Orion close behind her. Aspen out a PokeBall in one of the hoodie's pockets – her other Pokemon, Kiba the Axew, resting in it.

After some time, Aspen was away from the crowd. Orion hissed, and she knew something bad was starting. He had a sense for that. Even without him, though, the view of the lonely Ferris Wheel was frightening enough, paired with the even cooler wind startng to blow. "Yeah... We should leave," Aspen said, although not before noticing a figure near the Ferris Wheel. Shivers went down her spine, and she walked back, hiding behind some wall. She didn't even get a good look, but she... Felt something. Bad. This was a terrible idea. She should've stayed with Hugo.

 

[Retr.0]

What the hell? The next few moments that occurred Oliver could only describe as a series of unfortunate events. The clown, somehow, had sensed him. Then he pulled out a knife. This startled Oliver, and he stumbled back. He had crossed his safety zone. Although he hadn’t made much noise he had fallen into the view of a camera. His face was hidden but just the fact that he was there meant they would make it even harder to sneak in.

Oliver didn’t have much time to think about that, there was a murderous clown looking for any sign of life. Maybe he could distract him? Oliver pulled a pokeball from his pocket and his Yamask popped out. “Yam,” he whispered, “go hover around that man. Make him think you’re the only one here.” With that order the ghost type took off.

Now that he could move a bit more freely Oliver made his way out of the park, zigzagging around the cameras field of view. It was then that he noticed a figure in the dark duck behind a wall. Dammit. What were the odds of two people being here? Very low, but it had still happened. The figure had a smaller build. Oliver analyzed his options.

1. Stay here and eventually get caught
2. Go and fight the clown with the knife
3. Go and fight the shadowy figure

He went with option three. As he moved towards the wall he made the decision that if the person around the wall had a weapon he would call out Fritz, his Lampent, and run while they were distracted. Olivers plan was set. He turned the corner and swung. The world seemed to be moving slowly now. Slow enough for him to get a good look at the figure he had seen before. It was a girl who seemed a bit older than himself. She wasn’t in a carnival uniform and she didn’t appear to be armed. He hadn’t thought of one thing - what if the figure wasn’t worker? Oliver had made a mistake. He twisted himself so his punch would miss.

She would probably report him once everything was said and done but it didn’t matter. He recovered from his missed punch and looked at her with determination. “You,” he pointed at her, “we need to leave. That dude won’t hesitate.”

 

[Vaporeonn]

Shitshitshit. Aspen was glued to the wall, the cold surface digging into her skin. She was breathing heavily, too frightened to move. She wanted to run, but wasn't able to tell when the right moment was. Orion was positioned closer to the end of the wall than Aspen. She could feel how tense he was. She was breathing heavily, and could feel her heart beat hard. She couldn't predict what could happen next – it was frightening, not to have a single clue. Predictability was what calmed her down in stressful situations. This situation, though? Aspen couldn't imagine any outcome except for...

Suddenly, she felt a whip of air in her face, snapping her out. Aspen flinched, her head softly hitting the wall behind her. As she quickly recollected herself, she realised what it was. A fist? A boy. He looked just as nervous as herself. Orion hissed at him. Aspen tried to examine him better when the boy looked up at her. Their eyes locked, and then he started to speak. We need to leave. This dude won't hesitate. It replayed in her head, trying to make sense of it. But the boy needed a reply quickly, so she nodded as soon as she processed it. "Yeah. Alright."

 

[Azelfie]

Savanna sat silently in contemplation in the dark and musty atmosphere. The air had a somber atmosphere to it, just crossing the threshold of being unsettling. The sky was dark and melancholy, clouds floating by at a slow pace, with Murkrows occasionally flying by. She sighed and laid her body down on the bench, taking a bite out of a doughnut before offering a piece to Zap. The Joltik happily took the small piece, and because of his size, struggled to even bite on it.

She closed her eyes and rubbed her closed eyelids, tired beyond even what she was used to. Reluctantly, she stood up from the bench as the joints in her legs adjusted to the feeling, painfully, but gradually. Zap crawled on her shoulder to look a the lowly Ferris wheel, locked in a spiral that would not cease as long as time persisted. She walked quietly toward the amusement park. It would be nice to recollect on trivial memories to ease the pain. Or, in that regard, drink it away. She contemplated the proposition for a bit before shaking her head. She knew this would only hurt her in the long run.

 

[EdgyCarrotPeels]

The Pokemon surely distracted the clown and quite frankly started him, he didn't expect something fly out towards him. He then began to chuckle lowly getting louder and louder as the laugh turned more into a dreary hum. The tune being sinister like a lullaby, but out of the main carnival tent stepped another clown. This one was wearing a red and black striped colour scheme, except his face which was still white with blood smudged all over it. He also already had a blood-stained knife out.

The second clown joined in with the hum, except his was more of a growl. Both clowns exchanged looks and looked towards where the people were hiding. They nodded and made their way over, ignoring the Pokemon which was attempting to distract them.

 

[Retr.0]

Oliver heard laughter, which broke his confidence completely. Surely he still hadn’t been spotted but he was still being pursued? He got a short telepathic message form Yam. They didn’t fall for her being a wild Pokémon. They? How many? He got no response Yam was most likely ok and hovering around the air trying to keep up the act.

As he looked around Oliver came to a realization, they were cornered. On one side of the carnival there was an entrance. On the other side it was closed off. One entrance and one exit. It was dark so normally he would just try going around unnoticed but this time was different. First of all it wasn’t just him now. If he was alone he probably would’ve attempted to pass by. This time there was a girl and an Umbreon which he had no clue what stealth skills they had but considering she didn’t appear to be a street rat he guessed they weren’t very good. They could fight but once again, he had no trust in the girls hand to hand. That plus at least one clown had a knife. He could try a Pokémon battle. This he seemed would be good because the girl had a strong Pokémon. But, if the clowns had weapons they were probably looking to kill or capture. Plus he still didn’t know how many of them there were.

Oliver was overthinking it and wasting time. He looked at the wall they were hiding behind. A stone wall, most likely for a bathroom. He looked behind him, a few tents and a single food cart. Then an idea sparked. What if they didn’t go around the clowns? What if instead the pursuers went around them? It was high enough that he would have to boost the girl and be pulled up by her. That would take teamwork but he had a hard time thinking under pressure.

“Alright,” Oliver whispered, “I’m gonna boost you up to the roof. Once you get up I need you to pull me. Ready?” He crouched down a bit and put out his hands. “Oh, and you should put your Pokémon back in it’s ball.”

 

[Vaporeonn]

Aspen closed her eyes and counted to three. Being nervous wouldn't get her anywhere. She tried clearing her head up and thinking of what to do, but she didn't know what he danger was. She had assumed they were in danger, since the boy looked frightened. And the atmosphere didn't feel safe, either, which was aided by a subtle fog. Great. She felt like she was in the middle of a horror movie. Orion stopped glaring at the boy, and turned his focus on what was behind the wall – he wasn't peeping out, just positioning himself to be ready if whatever comes. So, it is serious, Aspen finally concluded.

The boy suddenly crouched down and whispered a plan to her. He would serve as a stepping stone for the roof of the building they were behind, and then she would have to pull him up. Aspen was okay with the plan – she had decent upper body strength, and almost no one would suspect them climbing up a house – and she would've agreed immediately if she wasn't still in her dress, but it wasn't the time to voice petty concerns. It was dark. "That sounds like a good plan," she whisperer back. But the boy told her another thing, concerning Orion. You should put your Pokémon back in its ball ... Except there wasn't one. Aspen found Orion as an abandoned Eevee, back when she was a young child, and even though Orion considered Aspen his trainer, he wasn't officially. She had tried capturing him, but no PokeBall would ever work. "He doesn't have one," she wanted to keep it simple. "But he's pretty swift and unnoticable." She hoped the boy wouldn't mind. It wasn't her fault.

Aspen approached the kneeling boy, and tried finding support on the wall before stepping on his hands. Once she did, she stepped on them with one leg, and tried gripping the top of the house wity her free hand, then quickly put the other up there as well. She pulled herself upwards while the boy was pushing her, and though it wasn't that easy, it all ended quickly. Now it was time for Aspen to pull the boy up. "Here," she whispered, extending her arms. Then she thought about Orion. How would they get him up? We'll figure it out. Orion was smart. He would be able to escape if he couldn't climb up.

"Come on," she called out to the boy.

 

[EdgyCarrotPeels]

The laughs were getting louder and louder as the Clowns made their way down the path, scanning for the trespassers. It was clear there was at least one other person there with them. They began to spread across the path now, trying to clear more space, their faces plastered into grins. The smiles consisted for what felt like forever, but it was because it wasn't their actual faces, it was just latex masks. Nobody would be able to tell unless they got too close to the walking dangers. And nobody would want to get close to people who seemed so hostile for an apparent no reason.

------

Meanwhile, on the roof where Aspen was there was another person. A person who quickly grabbed her on the shoulders and pulled her back, not allowing her to pull the boy up. He forced a hand onto her mouth to mute any screaming, and slowly turned her around to face him. He put a finger on his own lips and whispered "Shhh. I won't hurt you."

He was dressed a little weird for an average person. He had white shaggy hair which was slightly whiter than his pale skin. He had a white silk glove on his left hand and a light blue cape over his left arm. He had a light blue bow tie and white shirt. His trousers were the same shade as every other tone of blue on his clothing, perfectly matching his sky blue eyes.

 

[Vaporeonn]

(ooc: I changed up the last bit of my previous reply so Aspen didn't have Orion up on the roof with her.)
bic:

It happened fast, too quickly for Aspen to realise what was happening. One moment she was waiting for the boy to grab her hands, and the next, she was face to face with an unknown man, his hand on her mouth. Not that she would have screamed – in terrifying situations, Aspen would freeze up. As the fear slowly took less control of her, she took the time to look at the man. He was dressed strangely, more so as someone she would see in a theatre play than on the street. What was the reasoning for his attire? Could he have been working with the men who were chasing the boy from before? I am so done for, Aspen thought. Wonderful. She would die at the hands of a freak.

"I won't hurt you." he said. Like hell he wasn't. Why else would he grab her like that and separate her from the only help she had? To make friends, definitely. "Sure," she bitterly replied, clinging onto the sleeves of the hoodie she had on. She remembered the boy not being able to get up the roof. Aspen felt guilty. She had to help him. But Orion was with him, and she in case he didn't have Pokemon of his own. Still, that shouldn't be an excuse for leaving him back.

Tears formed in her eyes, and she tried blinking them back. This was too much for what was supposed to be an easy pay day. Why did she even think about going to the Ferris Wheel? "What do you want?" she asked, trying to sound composed.

 

[Azelfie]

Savanna stepped inside the amusement park, taking in the scent of popcorn and doughnuts, which put her mind at ease. She smiled for a second before her face shifted into one of worry. She heard laughter, not childish laughter, but a disturbing, low version, melting into a hum-like sound. She tensed up, quickly darting behind a wall and listened for more noise. The laughter drew louder, more clear and terrifying. Her heart beat accelerated to a surprisingly fast rate.

This feeling of danger drawing closer, the unknown just lying in wait was the one thing that scared the living shit out of her. Zap also sensed this danger, cowering deeper into Savanna’s pocket. She wasn’t making any noise, but she was afraid that whatever lied beyond that wall could hear the near silent intake and release of oxygen.

 

[Retr.0]

Laughter. Louder this time. They were coming closer. Oliver had succeeded in getting the girl up to the roof and was airing for her to help him, but nothing happened. He waited for a long few seconds, patiently. Where is she? Surely she’ll come back, at least for her Pokémon. But nothing. Great. He was back at square one. Small running space, few hiding spots, either way he’d be caught easily.

He had one option. Well, one that wouldn’t turn out to be an immediate failure. He had to stand his ground. He popped his Spiritomb and Lampent from their pokeballs. Hopefully the abandoned Umbreon would assist him, but he had no way of knowing for sure. Yam was still missing, he silently hoped she was ok.

The laughing was somehow closer now. They were almost there. His Pokémon were in stance for battle. The Umbreon belonging to the girl seemed ready for a fight. Good, at least someone would help. Oliver glanced towards the roof again. Still no girl. He flashbacks to a few moments ago. She had said “That sounds like a good plan”, which had sparked his confidence again. Lesson learned. Coward. Oliver turned towards he corner again. Just a few more seconds...

 

[EdgyCarrotPeels]

The clowns laughed loudly, their horrifying chuckles echoing throughout the disturbed carnival, their feet stomping along in their over-sized clown boots. They both exchanged a simple glance of many meanings and split up towards two walls. One of the clowns stomped towards a dark muddy wall, peering his head over where Savanna was tucked away hidden. The white clown had made his way towards another wall, this one was where Oliver and the Pokemon were hiding. But as both clowns got ready to strike, a loud bell starting ringing in a piercing high tone. After a few seconds it got quieter and the carousel in the center of the park start playing obnoxious carnival music.

This took both of the bigger clown men by surprise and made them turn around, charging towards the source of noise and ignoring the people that they didn't know they were about to find.

---A few moments earlier---

"It's clear that you and that boy down there don't understand what you're getting yourself into by being at this fairground." The male spoke in a serious and somewhat concerned tone, taking his hand away from his mouth and keeping his glove-less hand on the girls shoulder. "By being here you have both messed with my plan and got yourself tangled into something serious." His face remained expressionless. "Anyway this isn't the time to talk, we need to get-" And he was cut off by the bell. The loud ear ringing bell. "Shit. I'm not ready." He muttered to himself, turning his back to the girl which was on the roof with him and jumped down the other side, running towards the carousel.

 

[Vaporeonn]

Aspen listened to what the man had to say, as there wasn't much else she could've done. She wasn't sure if he'd snap if she tried to run, so she stood still, trying to understand the situation they were in. What had she ruined by entering the fairground? She wanted to know what his plan was, as she was sure she wouldn't be able to figure it out herself. More importantly, was it possible that she (and the boy who she stumbled upon) got herself into something she wouldn't be able to get out of by just walking away and forgetting about it? The short conversation gave her many questions and worries.

Aspen flinched at the sudden noise. The carousel? Whatever it was, it managed to grab the odd man's attention, and he left her alone. She was now free, but it took her a moment to make a move. She approached the edge of the roof, and kneeled next to it. "Hey!" she whispered to the boy – she wasn't sure if the danger was gone. Luckily, he was still there. "Sorry you had to wait. I was... I'll tell you once I get you up," she said. She was hoping Orion and the boy were alright, and was glad it turned out to be true.

 

[Azelfie]

The sudden cacophony of noise surely took Savanna by surprise. The laughter seemed to end as hurried footsteps went toward the opposite direction. Her heart skipped a beat or two before going back down to its normal pace. She sighed somewhat loudly and rested her face in one of her hands.

“What the hell is this place...” she whispered, her usually calm voice quivering and uncertain. A singular bead of sweat fell down from her forehead and onto the ground, the sound of which hit her like a bullet. She finally gathered up her senses and peered around the wall from which she was hiding. After deciding that the coast was clear, she quietly took a step forward. Fearing the source of the laughter would return, she dashed behind another wall and panted, not out of fatigue but out of fear. She cautiously glanced to her right and her breath hitched again. An Umbreon and Spiritomb, accompanied by a human, seemed to be hiding behind the same wall. Coming to the mindset that they were friend and not foe, she spoke, intentionally keeping her voice extremely low. “Let’s get the hell out of here.”

 

[EdgyCarrotPeels]

The clowns hurled themselves towards the noise, their stubby legs taking them as fast as they would allow them to. The mysterious man from the roof peered from behind the main body of the spinning carousel, his head down and looking ready for for to be done. The clowns eyes both lit up with tasteful delight as they leaped towards the man, he cautiously moved out of the way and made his way onto the spinning roof. "Up here you two!" He shouted at the monsters below. But they didn't seem to take the bait, the white clown pulled out a walkie-talkie from his blood stained pocket, the voice which spoke through it was rough and croaky.
"Don't fall for it. There's more of them. Come back and we can discuss a new plan." The transmission ended with a short burst of white noise.

The clowns scowled at the man on the roof and walked back towards the big circus tent, the other clown following. Their heavy footsteps disappearing into the darkness as quickly as their sudden appearance. The man from the roof looked confused and scouted around worried, why hadn't his plan worked. It clearly was something to do with the intruder that he bumped in to. This was bad. But even if his plan failed so far, he needed a way to finish it before it was too late.

 

[Retr.0]

One. Two. Three. Oliver counted in his head. Nothing happened. No clowns, no knives, nothing. The girl from before called down to him. “Sorry you had to wait. I was... I’ll tell you once I get you up” she had said. Sorry? Questions flooded his head. Why hadn’t the clowns attacked? What was so important that she would just leave him there? And third of all, what was that sound? A strange ringing sound could be heard in the distance.

After climbing to the top with the help of the girl Oliver looked around. No clowns to be seen. Odd. Not even a few minutes ago he was prepared to fight for his life and now they had vanished. He sat down. There was a man on top of the carousel, which was now on. Was he the cause for the disappearance of the clowns? Maybe. “So,” He looked at the girl, “what’d you have to say?”

 

[Vaporeonn]

Aspen pulled the boy up with a bit of hardship. He wasn't heavy, but he wasn't light either. Thankfully, they managed. “What’d you have to say?” he asked. Aspen looked towards the carousel, and furrowed her eyebrows. "See that man there?" she pointed. It was dark, and the man wasn't noticable, but Aspen hoped the boy could see him. After a brief pause, she continued, "He grabbed me just before I could help you. Then told me how we messed up his plan and got ourselves into something dangerous."

She shuddered slightly, crossing her arms in a defensive manner. The wind made her realise her cheeks were still damp, judging by how cold her face felt. "Gave me a proper fright, too," she said. "I wasn't sure what he was about to do. I didn't mean to leave you behind, I was just ... scared. He ran away as soon as the carousel went off, but..." Aspen looked away, and tried to focus on something else. Orion was doing alright down there, and seemed to have calmed down – So, the danger is gone now, she thought. The Umbreon was looking at the roof until something else grabbed his attention and his head snapped to the side. "What is it?" she asked, not anymore in a whisper now that there wasn't anything to be afraid of. She immediately regretted it, as Orion could have been looking at potential danger.

Aspen looked at the same direction as Orion, but all she could see was dark... Then... Someone across the road, hidden behind another wall. The girl squinted her eyes to try and get a better look. It looked like another girl, but Aspen wasn't sure. "Hey, uh there's someone else over there," she said. She was about to call the boy by his name, but realised they hadn't introduced themselves yet. Better late than never.

"I'm Aspen, by the way. Thought it'd be easier for you to know. Should we check out who that is though?"

 

[EdgyCarrotPeels]

The man with the pastel blue cape and snow white hair climbed down from the carousel and made his way over to where he had bumped into the girl before. Surely she would still be there, and she was. But with two other people. Why had she brought her squad of friends to the closed carnival in the middle of the night? There so many questions he wanted to know the answers to. The issue was that he didn't want to approach knowing more people were there. What if they weren't her friends and they were actually a gang or someone out for fresh blood? He couldn't risk it so he hid behind a set of dumpsters and listened in to their conversation, just so he could have an understanding of what was going on.

 

[Retr.0]

“I’m Aspen, by the way. Thought it would be easier for you to know.” Oliver nodded. “Yeah, let’s check it out. My name’s Oliver.”
He returned all three of his Pokémon to their pokeballs and jumped down. After all that he had stayed up there for a couple of minutes. Then he realized, the man Aspen had mentioned was still probably nearby. Had he heard him state his name? Actually, it probably didn’t matter. Even if he had heard he didn’t know his last name, meaning he couldn’t get in trouble with the police.

Oliver turned towards Aspen. “So... what’re you doing here?” He said as he began making his way towards where she said someone was hiding out.

 

[Vaporeonn]

Oliver. It fit him, Aspen thought. It might've been a weird thought, but the girl would occasionally find it hard to match the face and the name of a new acquaintance, simply because the name didn't fit them. It wasn't difficult now. Sometimes she worried that her name didn't match her face. As a young girl, she'd stare at the mirror, and try to figure out if it did. But it was hard for Aspen to detach herself from... Well, herself, as she already knew her own name, so she always looked like an Aspen. Sometimes, she'd introduce herself to new people with another name, expecting a certain reaction, among the lines of "Oh, you don't look like a Rebecca!", but no one ever mentioned a thing. It was weird. Aspen was a weird kid. She knew that.

The two of them got down from the roof. Aspen felt odd – like she was being watched – but decided that it was just paranoia due to what had happened earlier. The girl's Umbreon approached her, and stayed close to her feet as they walked. “So... what’re you doing here?” Oliver asked. Aspen dug her hands into the hoodie pockets. What was she doing there, really? It made no sense to hang around a deserted Ferris Wheel when looking for people to scam. She finally shrugged. "I don't think I have a clever answer to that," she said. "I don't even know what I was looking for here." Aspen stopped so the boy could catch up with her. "I know my answer was vague, but, what about you? What are you doing here?"

 

[Azelfie]

Savanna was caught off guard when she heard a voice calling out to her. "So... what're you doing here?" The voice asked. Her breath hitched as sh faced in the direction of the voice, and was relieved that it didn't look like anyone who would deliberately hurt her. "Oh, uh..." Her breath was caught in her throat as she spoke. "To be honest, I don't know what I was thinking." She chuckled. "I guess I was just trying to remeber some things." She stood up, looking around cautiously for anybody else. "I'm Savanna, by the way," she said. She then focused her attention on the exit of the theme park. "We should probably get the hell out of here.

 

[Retr.0]

“What about you? What are you doing here?” Yet again the girl was pushing his limits of trust. Of course, Oliver recognized that he had brought it upon himself when he asked the question, but it still bothered him. Should he be truthful and explain that he swipes food from the carnival while closed? That would possibly bring a feeling of sympathy, which he didn’t need. So he lied. “One of my Pokémon wandered over here so I followed them.”

Then another figure appeared from around a corner. A girl who said she went by the name of Savanna. It was weird, the way she was so casual about jumping into the conversation. One second she was hiding, the next she was, as calm as can be, taking to two random strangers. Almost as if she was unaware of what had happened a few minutes ago. “We should probably get the hell out of here.” Savanna stated. So she did know? Oliver simply nodded as a response.

Sure, he had a scary encounter with murderous clowns but he still didn’t feel eager to leave. Although against his general nature, he felt a sense of curiosity. Who were those knife weilding maniacs? Why the hell were they there? Who was the man that had confronted Aspen? Why was he there? Oliver wanted answers. So he thought of a quick plan.

Stage one, slip away from the two girls. Of course, he wouldn’t just leave them there. Oliver would wait until they had already exited the area. Until he had a chance to go explore he decided he would continue the conversation. “So, what’re you two going to do? Once we leave, I mean.”

 

[EdgyCarrotPeels]

The pale blue and white male still stayed hidden, listening in to it all. He didn't want to intervene to tell the unlikely group of friends that they couldn't go just that easy. But he had a gut feeling that they knew what they were doing. The girl now named Aspen which he had met on the roof knew that they were involved in something bigger. The boy called Oliver seemed to have a plan, his curiosity of the unknown was clear. The unexpected girl called Savanna was the biggest of his worries, as she didn't have any idea what was going on compared to the other two. The caped man however decided to stay down and out of the way and to trust his intuition, he was rarely wrong, but that could change.

He looked around behind him and spotted a glowing in the distance, but it seemed more like a red eye so he decided to go back and look at what it was. As he got closer it seemed to look like a Pokemon which was trapped within a coil of barbed wire. It was clear something or someone had done this to it. It was a Yamask. Was it the same one that boy sent out earlier? He instinctively got a knife out of his pocket and starting trying to cut away the coils safely.

 

[Vaporeonn]

"Oh!" Aspen was startled by the hiding figure joining the conversation. She wasn't even aware they were that close to it. It turned out to be a girl, around Aspen's age, called Savanna. She seemed kind. And a bit naive, or at least that was the impression Aspen got. Putting down her guard so quickly... Not even Aspen did so, and she was around Oliver for longer. "I'm Aspen," she introduced herself back.

“So, what’re you two going to do? Once we leave, I mean.” Oliver was getting quite nosy. There must've been a motive behind it, Aspen thought, but she held it to herself. She didn't care much. "No idea," she said, sighing. Orion curiously examined Savanna, circling around her. As he usually did with new acquaintances. After a moment or so, he deemed her alright, and quickly got back to Aspen. Her first impression was right, then – she wasn't bad.

The girl turned around, and realised she has forgotten the way back. "Does anyone have a clue where to go?" she asked, a bit embarrassed. Aspen didn't think she had a bad memory, and she would've surely remembered where she came from – what was up with that?

 

[Retr.0]

“Does anyone have a clue where to go?”

Once again Oliver had an inner battle. He knew exactly where they were. He had studied the majority of the parks layout in order to be able to do sneak ins, but would they find it suspicious? He hoped not. “I do.” He piped up. “The exit is this way,” he walked a bit ahead of the two girls and waved, “C’mon, let’s go.” And he continued walking.

That’s when it hit him. Yam had not come back from her earlier mission. Shouldn’t she have come back by now? Of course, he had expected she’d explore a bit but still. He hadn’t even received a telepathy message about her staying longer. Sure, he would be returning to the area soon but couldn’t help but worry. Oliver “By the way, have either of you seen a Yamask floating around?” He turned towards Aspen and Savanna. Maybe. Just maybe they could help him.

 

[Azelfie]

Savanna paused for a second. Perhaps she was being too carefree about the whole situation. She acknowledged the other two's names, Oliver and Aspen. They seemed like decent people, and seemed to know a fair share more about where they were than she did. She was snapped out of her daydream as Oliver told her and Aspen to follow him. She decided to stay quiet, since she thought she would be a nuisance in her current situation. Zap, on the other hand, quivered in fear in Savanna's pocket at the whole ordeal. Sure, he had faced scarier things before, but it seemed like the entire park was out to get him.

"By the way, have either of you seen a Yamask floating around?" Oliver asked. "Sorry, 'fraid not," she responded, not trying to sound like she didn't care all that much, because she was worried about the boy's Pokemon. She wanted to send out Ketsu, but she feared he would give away their current position.

 

[Vaporeonn]

Oliver knew the way back. That was good – thankfully, he paid attention. The other girl, Savanna, kept quiet, and Aspen assumed she decided to stay calm as a sort of precaution. Naive, but not stupid. Orion walked next to his trainer with certain grace in his step, his elegant figure ruined only by the hairless patch of skin covering the entirety of his left back leg. It used to hurt him, Aspen recalled, especially as the small Eevee she has found him as. As he grew, the pain faded entirely it seemed, but it was still a sensitive spot. A sudden, drastic change of weather, for example, would throw him overboard and the irritation would distract him. If a gust of wind blew right at it, the Umbreon would freak out against his will. Which was why Orion walked with his left side facing a wall, or another surface.

"...Have either of you seen a Yamask floating around?” Oliver broke the silence. Savanna said that she hadn't, and Aspen sadly, had to agree. "I didn't see anything either." Poor guy, she thought, losing his Pokemon in a place like this. If Orion went missing, Aspen would flip the whole place upside down to find him before even thinking – which probably wouldn't be a good idea, what with all of the danger building up. She subconsciously moved her hand into her hoodie pockets to check if her Axew Kiba's PokeBall was still there – she let out a sigh of relief, realising that it was. Orion felt sympathy too, though more for the Pokemon being away from its trainer. The Umbreon nudged Aspen's leg, and the girl looked down. As their eyes locked, she knew what her Pokemon was trying to say. "We'll help you look for it," she told Oliver. She thought of it as returning a favour. It was only fair to lend help after the boy offered his own. Not that she wanted to spend any more time anywhere near the Ferris Wheel, and if it was any other day, Aspen would dash away as quickly as possible, but she couldn't let Oliver down... Twice.

Orion departed as quickly as Aspen said what she had. It wasn't easy for Aspen to agree with that, as one missing Pokemon was enough, but she knew the Umbreon could cover more area in the same time the three of them could. Orion stayed hidden in the shadows, moving swiftly, relying on his senses to guide him. His eyes focused, his ears perked up... He could hear something. Rustling. The Pokemon tensed up, and made his way slowly towards the target. His movement was still elegant, yet fear striking, like a wild cat preying on a victim. Slowly... He could see the boy's Yamask trapped. Then a man next to it, knife in hand. Orion started to gradually speed up, when a gust of wind hit him on the left side. The Pokemon hissed, every nerve in his body spreading the pain until it got to the head, throwing him off balance. Orion barked at the air, revealing his position. Still, he looked at the Yamask and the mistery man, waiting for his vision to get normal again.

 

[EdgyCarrotPeels]

The barbed wire was attached to the struggling Yamask well, but he slowly worked his way through it with his knife, hoping to free the struggling Pokemon soon. The man had almost finished cutting through the wire before a bark of some kind startled him, in a flash he turned around to see what the fuss was about and it looked like an Umbreon. It wasn't weird to have wild Yamasks and Umbreons around here, but to have two near him at the same time seemed a little strange, especially in such a gloomy place.

He finished cutting through the wire quickly and let the Pokemon free before moving slowly towards the Umbreon. It didn't seem that dangerous, otherwise it wouldn't show it's in pain in front of another person. It was probably a trainers lost Pokemon, so he got out a patch of soft cloth which could be used for covering wounds and moved even closer to it. He held out the fabric for the Pokemon to sniff "Here. Let me help you." He said softly, and noticing the Pokemon hairless leg. "Let me wrap your leg up in this. It should help if you've hurt yourself." He inched his way right next to the pained Pokemon.

 

[Retr.0]

Oliver was touched that Aspen had offered to help look for his Pokémon, but at the same time he wasn’t too worried. Yam was pretty capable of taking care of herself. He was about to say something until her Umbreon took off. Rather than looking to see how Aspen reacted to it he decided to run after it. His Pokémon he knew he could both talk to and trust entirely. That Umbreon, he recalled, didn’t even have a pokeball to return to.

As he followed the creature Oliver wondered why he was compelled to help immediately. Was it genuine worry for the Pokémon? Or because of the girls offer to help look for his own? He had no clue.

Once Oliver caught up he looked at his surroundings. A man with a blade was close to Yam. The man was also luring the Umbreon towards him. Why were there so many freaks at the carnival? First clowns and now somebody trying to harm Pokémon? “Hey!” He shouted. “Leave them alone!” Oliver reached into his pocket and pulled out his Lampent’s pokeball and sent him out. Oliver was prepared to fight. “Fritz, smokescreen!”

 

[Vaporeonn]

(ooc sorry this took so long, was out of inspiration/busy with school. Hope it's not too late.)
Bic

Orion backed away from the strange man as soon as he started walking towards the Pokemon. But something about him didn't seem dangerous. He wanted to help. Still tense, the Umbreon stopped moving and waited to see what the man would do next. He seemed to have freed the Yamask from whatever it was stuck in, and now, he took out a piefe of cloth. Most likely for the wound. There was no way for Orion to tell the man that the wound wasn't fresh, and that no amount of cloth could heal it. So, Orion let him get close and figure it out himself.

A shout startled the Pokemon, the man no longer the center of attention. It was the boy Aspen had acquainted, Oliver. Orion was neutral about him, but had sensed the love he had for his Pokemon, so he deemed him fit to stay with Aspen for the time being. Oliver sent out his other Pokemon, obviously thinking that the man had hurt his Yamask. Again, there was no way to settle things in a manner the two men would definitely understand, but Orion tried to get his point across by positioning himself in front of the strange man.