BQ “I do not believe in coincidences. I imagine we will have to find both your missing Pokémon and this lighthouse’s resident ghost if we are to solve this mystery. But such a task requires your cooperation.” The boy glanced between Bridget, catching the Shellos that she had moments ago asked if it was his, and Quinn, who was insisting on looking for his missing Pokemon together, and he was clearly growing more anxious. He tugged at his faded shirt and kept casting glances at the trapdoor. As if debating if he wanted to just take off and escape. But then his eyes turned towards his stash. His comic books. His snacks. His pouches of berries...his berries? Those weren't there before. He shook his head and looked back at Quinn. "You just want to distract me so you can steal my things! You can't trick me that easily!" Just then they all could hear the sound of laughter echoing around the space. In spite of the eerie nature of the noise the boy's face broke out into a smile. "And now you've done it. You better get out of here before it comes to drag you to the abyss!" JA Anneliese tilted her head as she watched Jacklyn's expression of joy. As the girl turned to her she attempted a fist pump as well, though it was much slower and less energetic than Jacklyn's had been. Was this some sort of victory ritual she was unaware of? She would have to ask Jacklyn when she got back to the surface. She had actually tried to say something but only bubbles came out and Meredith gave her a look of concern which convinced her not to try again. When Jacklyn waved to Meredith the Shellder shut its shell in embarrassment but, a few moments later, the shell opened slightly and she gave a nod, or rather moved her whole body in a nod-like motion, to Cherry. Now that the excitement was over Annelise was drawn towards the statue again. She felt...strange as she got closer to it. It wasn't entirely pleasant of a situation. But it also wasn't exactly unpleasant. She reached out and grabbed the statue.    ǝ̴̡̢̨̟͉̻̬̜̘͚̼̙̩̻͙͎͇̺̈́̔͌̏ͅq̵̧̗̦̮̤͖̠̀̈́̐̒̉̀̔͊͠ȍ̸̜͇̱͓̙̖̠̟̳̓̋̈́̇̇͌ʇ̵̢̫͖̼͓̭̰͈̮̪͔̈́͊̔̈́͒̉̓̐̏̈́̏̍͂̊̈̓̚͜͜͝͝ʇ̸̰̤̩́̈́́͊ú̶̢̮͚͇̼̰͍̞̤̝̤̮̬̹͙̰͎̥̦̩͇̩̋͒͌̈́͠ɐ̴̧̡̛̭͖̪͈̖̘͉͔͎̱͚̫̲̭͚̲̬̼́̀̅̍̈̄͒̄̒̀́͒͋̂̽̿̒̿͆͘͝͝͝ǝ̵̧̧̢̗̘̝͕̙̘̤͔͓̭̬͍̣̠̙̘͑́̈́́͜ͅɯ̷͈̤̲̟̟̯͚͈̯̳͙̘̩̻̼͑̀̑̌̔̓̋̕ͅş̷̧̼̝͍̲̖̫͖̺̰̰͕̭̻̹̮͍̟̀͂̽́͌̽̅̽̚͝͝ɐ̶̩̳̪̟͓̩̰̜̥̩̼̈̈͂͂̃̓̊́̅̈́͐͛̽̌̋͋͝͝ʍ̶͔̹̐̆ʇ̵̢̧̢͙̙͇̝̪̫͚̼̘̟̥̀̄̉̆̀̈̉̆͑̈́̈́̉̈́̕͘͜͜͝͝ᴉ̶̢̡̲̬̖͙̗̯̳̥̘͚͋̏͗͆͐̚ͅś̶̺͆̌̅́̏̊̚ͅɐ̸̛̝̮͓͓̝̩̻̫̤̦̝̗̳͍͚̦̠͈͎̠̲̠̱̊̂̈́̾̐̀̊̓͑̏̒̈́͂̄̋͆͌̈́̚͜͝ǝ̶̜̩͕̫̞̈̂̓̆̑̂̄̈̍̉̎̂͑̊̎͗͗̉́̀̃̚͠ͅu̶̢̨̧̪͕̖̱̣̠͇̻̭̣͇͉̻̱̭̭̩̺͚̬̾̇̍͑͑͜͠ᴉ̸̡̛͎̭͈̟̳̞͙̙͍̘͉͌͛̂͐ɯ̵̘͙͒̋̎́̾̄͑̕̕̚͝ǝ̴̠͔̤̬͊̍̎̉͒̑̏̂̓͂q̸̨̛̰̱̼̦͇̱̳͖͈͓̳͕͕͙͇͋͊̌̃̿̂͂̊̓͑̋̈̋̌̔͘͜l̸̨̛̤̣̬͈͈͍̪̱̙̱̦͉͈̫̳̞̞̼̠̥͎̽̓̒́̿̾̔͂̿͊̐̏͑̆̌̅̀̈̚͜͝l̸̡̘̦̰̠͇͖̜̗͍̫̼̇̂̋͆̏͂̓́͐̉̒̀͆̈̈̒́͝͝ͅͅᴉ̵̛̯̑̐͗̇̓͠ʍ̴̨̛̖̻̯͛͐̾̋̽͆̌͊͗̔̆͑̾͑̈́̔͛̚͜͠p̷̧̼͇̘̞̘̤̟͉̜̙̦͕̬̖̖͉̠̔͂̒̒͑̑̏͆̏̊̔̚͘͜ļ̸̢͙̤̩͕̱̯̂̅͛̈̓͐̈́͊̎͑̆́̂̊̀̍͛̄̂͐͐͠͠͠ɹ̶̢̤̞̦̭̜̪͉̹͚̬̜̦̫̬̹̦̪̓͆͂͂͛̌̽̔́͋͐͗͒̀͗̍̔̿̈́͗̿͊͘͜͜͝ǫ̶̛̛̟͕̹̪͇͎͔̭͈̭͙̝͇͓̜̉̑͐͗̓̈́̔̓̆́̂͜ͅʍ̸̨̹̹̞̦̹̪̘̠̹̰̣̤̪̲̠̥̓̈́̃̎̏̔̅̕͜ǝ̴̧̧̡̡̯͇̻̖̠͕̗̜̤̱͈͈͌̋̃̽̿ͅɥ̸̨̣̥͇̬̳͔̭̲̔͒̏͑̾̆̃̽͑̓̑͐͋̀̋̚ͅʇ̷̘̫͔͈̼̯̪̺̩̿̏̽̀̊̕̚͠u̵͍̺͚͈̥͌̓̀͊̏̋̄̆̌̊͌́́̀̆̾̎̋̊̕̕͝͝ǝ̷̤̠̘̝̹̜̝̘͓͓̜̈́̈́͑͌́̅̓̃͛͐̿͛̐́͘̚ş̶̡̨̢͈̗̼͇͕̬̦̩̣̦͙̖́̈́͛̎͊́͜ͅͅᴉ̴̡̨̛̫̰͙͕̹͉͙̪̩͓͚̬̱͖̫͎̆̒́͊̀̍͋̀̉̓ͅɹ̶̨͇̞͙̺̩̯͆͂̓̃̉̄́͐͜ɯ̴̡̠͓̣̖̩̠̗͔̣͕̬͓̣̼̮͑͊̊́̅́̈́̓̂͊̐͂̑͒̚͝͝͝ɐ̸͈̘͙͓̘͒͐̅̅͐͌̉́̓̍̆͑̀͛̒͒͠͝ᴉ̵̛̛͚̝̎̈́̅͑̌̓̾̓̎̓̄̄̒͆͑̑̒͊̕ǝ̵̧̖̬͇͍̮̠̓̅͑ͅɔ̸͔͈̦͕̹͎͈̝̘̗̙͎́u̷̧̢̢̧̺̬̰̠̜̲̘͉̱̤͇͖̖̻͈͇͊̄͐͋̽̒͌̓̓͋́̑̾̄̎̎̃̏́͘͜͝͝͝͝ͅǫ̴̰͙͚̭̬̣̘͇̺͉̀̒̾͂̒̏̇̈̓̈́̂̀̕͠͠ʇ̷͈͖̲͙͍͚̭̮̣̠̋̊͌̈̅͆̎̂̄̈́͋͐̌̚̕͝͝͝ᴉ̶̛̼̣͉̅̃̇̈́̃̈̃̀̽̆̄̅̈́͠d̸̡̨͉̭͈̙͍̖̰͉͓͉̈́̍̇̈́͐͆̓̌̈̔̆͆̓́͛̈́̏̅̔̅͝͠ͅo̶̳͖̗͍̻͍͇̼̫̼̲̯̘͎̒̄̚ͅʇ̵̛̺̥̺̎́͛̉́̇̋̀̏͗͑̌̽̚͝s̷̨̛̟̠͆͆̿͗̔͑͑ḽ̴͈̪̭̥̙̲͕̥̻̳̠̖̦̺̘͈͐̑̍̊̂̓͌̽̊́͜͝͝͠͝ͅl̶̨̧̩̫̻̺̫͚̖͚̲̦̙̥̣̻̺̣͍̳̼̝̆̓̈͜͠ᴉ̴̥͍̠͖̼̜͍̖̤̭̟̼̭͓̱̒̒̈́̊́̄̽͛̇̿̔̾̕̚͝ʍ̷̡̡̢̡̢͇̬̘̩̹̣̥̣̥̗̪̱͔̄́̎̃͑̚͘͜ͅƃ̷̨͖̞͚̜̦̳̮̰̰̺͔͚̘̥̤̗̳͎͈̓́u̴̳̫̱̼͈̮̦̫͊͌͘ᴉ̶̢̨͉͙̺͔̹̣̬̱͚̳̖͕͍͓̞̰̰͖͍̞̎̃͆̑͌̎̔̇̅͛̇̋̐̊͠ɥ̶̬̲̠̏̀͂̈͝ʇ̵̢̜͎̳͙͇̰̲̯̯̭̬͉̜̣̥͙̪̜̰͍̜́̈́̎ͅö̷̡̨̢̺̖̩̟̳̘́̿̑̈͗̆̒̃̌̇̀͛̍̈́̅́̓̐̉̿̉̚͝͝ǘ̶̧̳̱͓̭̤͇͓̖̼͙̳͍͓̯̳͑̑̐͗̌̓͐͑̔̅͒̒̒́̈́́̾̐ʇ̵̧̢̢̧̯̺̳̝͓̙̻͍̤̫̼̗͖̬͕̣̜̠̠͠ͅᴉ̷̧̮̝̤̯̰͊̆̇̏͒͛͘͜͠d̸̡̨̼̠̦͔̙͎̲̥͓̼͓̊͊͠o̸̯͔͇̬̤̭̗̹͖̥̺͇̍̋͑̒̇̔͐͊̑̒̒̀̇͛͂̕͜͝͝ͅʇ̵̙̬̝̐́̔̎͂̏̽́̀̀̅́̓̂̾̃̋̍̀͋̚͠͝͝s̵̢̢̧͓͖͖͇̜̳̜͈̘̎͂̀̏̀̈́̍̔̈̿̕͜ͅǜ̴̢̲̬͈͚͋̂̂͑̎́̐̄́̔̍͆̚̕͘ɐ̶̡̛̛̱͈̰͓̳̬̙̮͖̂͋̐̓̋̿̅̎͋̎̓̀̅̌͆͋̊̚͝͝ɔ̴̛̞̹̼͍̖̖͕͎̦̥̺̮̭̭̝̹̰͇͕͐̊͋̂͛̋̏̒͗̈́̏͑͌̈́̅̓͛͑̕̕͝ƃ̷̡̖̘͍͈͚̠̹͉͎̮̳̳͔̝͎̘͍̫̤̊̋̽̑̿͊̾͒͌̐͆̇́͑͜͝ͅȗ̷̠͓͇̘̰̟̫̮̅͗͂̈̔̚͠ᴉ̶̡̨͓͍̳̘͉͉̯͕̰̲͈̜̾͆̎̆̇̉̈́̉̈̅̈̈́̃̚͜͝͝ͅɥ̶̝̱̗̳̤̻͔͈̖͍͝ʇ̸͕͚̙͂̽̒̔̀̃͌̋͑͐̐̑͛̈̆̋̎̒̓̈́̄͜͝͝ơ̴̛̠̥̠̮͍̬͚̼͔̪͓̙͉̱̋̂̓̈̃̈̈́̅̅͝ư̴̰͍̖̠̄͐͒̌̾̀̈̓́͊̄̓̏͝ǝ̴̢̨̗͚̭̜͎̥̩̣̜͇͆͛̄͂̂̽͐̎̉̈̚ɯ̸̡̛͇̝̤̝̻͉̲̏̀̅͗̐̔̊̉̍͂̾͒̓̅̀̆͋̊̾̋̚̚ͅǫ̸̠̼̓̉̐̽̄͒̐͐̇̽̍͒̕͠͝ʇ̶̢̡̝̞͔̺͙͔̤̣̞͔̯̭̹̫̳̙̱͖͉̘̋̾ƃ̴̛̯͇̌̓͒̏̿́̔̽͛́͐͋͂͘̕͘͝͝͠u̴̢̯͂͗́͗̔͐̐̈́̆̑̕͘͠ơ̷̧̡̼͚̭̭̺̥̻̼͓̳̯̌̑̋̊͌͗͊̈́̅͋͗̋͆͐̒̌͝͝l̴̼͎̰̬̙̬̮͉̩̱̅͂̒͌̀̚ͅǝ̶͚̙̼͊͆̂͗̆̀̀͆́̇̿̌̂̋̅͐̓͌̎̀̚̚͝͝q̶͓͈͈̙̱͉̱͙̲̻̯̮̺̠͇̹̟̙͔͓̱̈́͑̐͜l̸̢̡̛̩̞̻̦̣͇̺͉̘̪̘͍̳̫̻̦̳̱̤̜̹̻̂̀̉͆́̀͑̎̀͐̚͝͝l̵̨̺͓̣̩̯̱̯͂̓̾̒̌̊̈͊̈́͛̕͘̕͠͠͝ᴉ̴̧̧̨̢̳̯͔̻̤̘̲̺̰̙̲͔̭̺̑̄͗͑̔̇̆̂̓̈́͛̊̓̑̈́͝ͅʍ̴̫͋̊̃̂̾̃͂͑̾̇̊́͗͒͂̅̓̚̚͝͝ǝ̴̢̛̻͙̥̯̙̜̱͍̩̠͈͓̦̒̓͌̽͋̀̇̾̈́̕͜͠ɟ̷̡̢̛̦͍̼͍̯͉͎̲̖̻͎͇̯̒̀̇͛̋̑͌̆̚͝ᴉ̴̛͓̹̟̮̲͙͓̿̐͊̌͌͛̈̈́̈́̎̽̚͜l̵̫̬̭̙̎͐l̷̝̳͚̘̖͗̏̎̑̊̋́̓̍̎̌̿͋̔͜͝͝ļ̶̼̰͔͕̻̣̲̳̜̭̥̗͉̯̻̘͍͈̰̫̋̔̈́̃͗͐̉́̅͊̾͐͌͌̂͐͝ͅɐ̶̻̲̖̮̦̩́̆̋̄͛́̏̀̓́̈̚͝p̶̦̗̰̗̙͈͍͈͂͌̔͘͜ù̷̡̢̧͈̟̣͚̣̙͕͉͓̯͂̚̚ɐ̷̩̝̣͚̣̪̻̺̈́͒̈́̓̆̿̇̓͊̍̐́̚͘͘͘ǝ̵̡̛̖͔̦͖͚̜̙͓͒̏̑̔̂̋̈́́͂̃̆͆̆̔́̅̚̕͜ͅɯ̴̧̬̰͇̼̳̗̜̟̝̮̮̫̠̻͍̞̮̻̤͔̩̔̎͊̋̓̿̊̏̋͑͘̕͝͠ŏ̷̡̡̳̹͍̼͙̭̳̗̬̺͖̬͍̟̮̬̦̼͎̱͕ɔ̶̡̨͔͚̞̯̭̽̈́̀̿̿̀̓̒́l̸̨͍̰͈͚̰̗̯͐͆̃̎͒̅̿̈́̋̐̋̊̇̔̍̃͗̕͘l̵̡̨̨͇̟̟̞̦̘͚͍̭̹̳͓͔͚̠̰͈͆̑́͛́̄͊̽͊̎ᴉ̴̢̳͇̙̜̹̭̞̦̥̯̝͎͖̬͕̞͋͋̓̃̈́̽̊͗̀̾̉͛͗́̚ʍ̵̝͇͎̤̭̫͉̝̟̜̤̬̩͎̪̍̾̀͑͑̓̾͊̓̈́̚p̵͓̬͍͖̲̬̝̳̩̻͕͉͙̹̤͝ͅu̴̩̯̹̩̮̖͇̺̩̽̔̐̅̆́͐̇̇͛͆̏̀̀͒̒͋͂̒̈́͝͝ǝ̵̞͓̳̫͚̰͈͖̺͔̳̪̠͎̪̮̝̠͔̪͇̑̇̿̂̆̍̄͌̄͊̄͜ǝ̷̧͔͙͉̙͇̼͈͑̎̑͋̏͊̃͒̊̾̎̒̕͝ɥ̸͒̅̐͊͊͌͗̂̂̏̎͌̄̽͘͘͝ͅʇ̵̞͎̤͚̯̪̺̮̖̼͎̈́̌͌̅̅͆́͆̇̔͗͘̚   Annelise dropped the statue and it slowly began to float to the bottom. She couldn't understand what it was that she just heard all she knew was that there was a ringing in the back of her head and her hand was shaking. And there was an uncomfortable, sick, feeling in the pit of her stomach. As the statue sank lower the ringing subsided enough that she could think again and she looked over at Jacklyn in confusion as if asking for an answer for something the girl couldn't possibly know had even happened.  

Catherine was sitting perfectly still on a chair as people began piling in. She had been dropped off, quite literally as the elderly couple that had grabbed her from the back of their truck and deposited her in front of the school, a couple hours ago and had been sitting there ever since. While her body didn't move she did flick her eyes back and forth now and then to watch as people came in. Some of them gave her strange looks, and she wondered what was so weird about a beautiful young lady such as herself sitting on a chair, but many more just passed her by. There were certainly some odd looking folk here. Catherine hadn't realized that human beings could come in some of the shapes and sizes she saw. Some of them clearly didn't get along and she wondered if a fight was going to break out. Through it all she sat still and looked ahead at the podium. Something was going to happen. She just knew it. Call it a sixth sense, or wishful thinking, or simple delusions but Catherine was certain that if she waited long enough an interesting event was bound to occur. She got her first taste of this when an old man, who seemed much different than her own old people, came onto stage to call them fish. Before she could question his eyesight he was suddenly gone. It seemed they were to take a tour of the school. Which, if the brochures she had read that her old people kept around to convince her to leave and explore the world were right, usually meant someone who knew the school would take them around. Catherine had waited this long for something fun so she was certainly capable of waiting longer. It seemed, however, that some did not have her patience. "A school is a school! You've seen one, you've seen them all! I'm heading into town! If you dumbasses had any sense, you'd do the same!" And what if someone had not seen one? It seemed to her that this boy was the dumb one to not think about that. She found this so foolish in fact that she finally decided to move. The girl, who had been basically motionless this entire time, turned her head towards the person seated next to her. Her neck made a slight creaking sound as the material that made her body protested the movement after such a long rest. In a loud, clear, voice, Catherine spoke up, "pretty stupid to wait all this time and then just run away before anything happens, huh?"

Now with the shadows twisting and shambling towards him, despite their blinded and disoriented state... Ziun watched as they began to approach him again. He had to deal with them, but had to also attempt to reach the dog he summoned forth to try and get the light. But for him, the illusions seemed to be working in his favor this time for against these shades, so he took full advantage of them. To the left and right of the shadows, two Silent Images of Ziun appeared... and mixing with a Ghost Sound, the shadows became more confused, not knowing where they were going. "Perfect..." Ziun muttered, slowly and carefully backing away, as he created another Silent Image in front of him in order to keep these shadows at bay. Now was the escape... with this little performance happening, he took the change and ran the direction the spectral dog went, getting himself quite a distance away from them. When he arrived where the dog was, he saw it being hassled by three zombies surrounding it. Ziun quickly cast the vines to hold the zombies in place, trying to get it to where the dog would be fine to move without worry... unfortunately, it was grabbed by the vines too. Ziun sighed, not exactly thrilled at seeing this, looked to the dog and nodded. "I'll let you rest for now, I'll make sure to give you treats after all this is done." he said, dismissing the summon and watching it fade. With that, Ziun pushed forward and kept making it towards the light. Before and behind him landed a zombie each, but Ziun wasn't going to deal with the one behind him... not this time. He forged ahead, casting an icicle right at zombie in front of him, one hitting the head and the other, the leg. It was hit, but it stumbled towards him nonetheless. He began to grit his teeth slightly, annoyed at this, as he moved slightly out of the way and continued on towards the light. The light was getting closer and closer in reach... but before Ziun knew, the bard had two zombies falling overhead. "Damnit!" he groaned, diving forward to dodge the falling zombies. Once he scrambled back up, Ziun kept moving forward, only to hit three more zombies once he rounded the bend... with two shambling some distance behind him. "This isn't going like I hoped... but we gotta keep moving!" he quickly webbed the three in front, but due to this... he had to hop off the path and go into the trees to get around them. He did so... he just needed to get to the light. If it did what the last one did... then they NEEDED to get to another light.