Story Notes:
Rated XXX for extreme violence, sexual content, and explicit depictions of blood and gore-Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.*This story is inspired and contains elements from the slasher films �My Bloody Valentine� and �Laid to Rest�. No copyright infringement is intended.-Dedicated to MetalChick, Rio, and Shiguya; they essentially gave me the idea for this story XDFinally, I'd like to introduce MetalChick as co-author of chapter two; I could have never gotten the story done without your help. Thanks, MetalChick!
Hell's Bloody Valentine- Part 2 of 2
Hell's Bloody Valentine- Part 2 of 2
Making her way through the citizens in the town square, Jean Bellis checked her watch, temporarily blinding herself from the glass' reflection of the sun. Cursing, she turned her back to the setting sun that burned orange; it was nearly five o' clock.
Pushing on, the crowd slowly began to thin out as she moved away from the town's festival, heading towards the town hall. She had to alert Mayor Lockington that Carnet was loose so that he could send the town's civilians home. Warily, she looked around; the golden light of the sun cast long, dark shadows along the ground, and as far as Bellis knew, she was alone.
Behind her, the sound of a car's engine droned as a small jeep slowly made its way past her. From Jean's viewpoint, the driver's face was concealed, covered by a black hooded sweatshirt. Bowing its head so its face couldn't be seen, the figure waved to her through the window; Bellis nervously waved back. The car slowly rolled past.
As soon as the vehicle was out of sight, Bellis snatched up her radio. "Jason! Jason, are you there?"
---
In a small campsite that was covered by densely packed trees and shrubbery, a tall Blaziken stood examining the mutilated bodies of three teenagers. Beside him was a Machoke, sadly shaking his head; both were dressed in police uniforms.
"Arceus," the Blaziken muttered, "that sick bastard's getting more creative with age." He stepped over the body of what looked to be a girl, her face missing and pale coils of entrails flowing from her jawless mouth. Her skin had turned a deathly shade of gray from all the blood that had flowed from her body, leaving a large stain in the dirt underneath the corpse. Lying parallel to her was the body of a rotund boy, his pants missing and his throat caved in; his jaw was also gone.
The Machoke looked away. "Did you call the coroner's office yet, Jason?"
Moving to the next corpse, the fire-type pokemon stooped down to examine the shirtless body of a tall boy, a knife cruelly imbedded in his throat. "Hell yeah, Freddy. This place needs to get cleaned up, and quick; we don't want anyone to see this bullshit that Howard always pulls."
"Are you sure that Carnet did this?" Freddy asked.
Jason stood, his beak clattering impatiently. "Freddy, there's not a single sick fuck within the next five-hundred miles that can match the shit that Howard always creates." He gestured towards the girl's body. "That fuckhead thinks it's funny to do that to people; to torture them, and then kill them. Do you know anyone else who thinks that's fun? ... And look, he tore their fucking jaws off, just like he did to those people last year."
The heavily muscled Machoke scratched his head. "Well, there was the incident with Wallace-"
"Yeah," Jason interrupted, "but he's dead- got shot in the chest two times before the SWAT team took his head off with a shotgun when he was trying to climb out a window. And Wallace was just insane. Carnet's insane and smart; he'll lure you into a trap, and then fuck you up big time, just like he did to all these other people."
"Well, why don't they call a SWAT team in to take him away?"
"Greendale Heights already called them in. It'll take them awhile to get here- we're in the Orre Region, and the main military headquarters is in Kanto. I'd imagine that it would take them more than a while to get to Anchorhead."
Jason's handheld radio began to crackle. "Jason, goddammit, answer me!"
---
Bellis was walking down an expensive-looking red carpet that ran down the hallway of the town hall when Jason finally answered his radio. "Hello, Jason here."
"Christ, I thought you'd never answer; what the hell was holding you up?"
"I dunno. Must have been some interference or something. Something important you need to ask me?" queried the Blaziken.
Looking nervously about, Jean said, "Yeah. What type of car did you say that Carnet took from those teenagers?"
"Jeez, Jean. How the hell am I supposed to know? I wasn't here when he took off."
"Just look, damn it."
On the other end of the line, Jason huffed indignantly as he paced over to the tire tracks that had imprinted themselves in the ground. Bending over to examine them, he said, "From the tire tracks, it looks like they had a jeep or something- they almost look like the tires on mine."
There was a long pause on the radio before Jean Bellis finally spoke.
"Jason, bring Freddy and get back into town now... And don't forget to have your guns handy."
Jason slapped his three-taloned hand to his forehead. "Aww, shit. Don't tell me what I think you're going to say."
"Yeah," Bellis said, "he's here."
"Fuck," the Blaziken cursed, "how the hell are we supposed to deal with him?"
There was a short pause. "I don't know- I guess if we see him, we shoot him down... Is there anything else you can find at the crime scene?"
Jason looked over to the three corpses, once again noticing the missing clothes of the two boys. "Yeah. Looks like the bastard jacked their clothes; before he must have been wearing the mental ward suit."
"Alright, thanks for telling me." Bellis said. "You two coming back into town now?"
Jason gestured to the standard-issue black and white police car, and Freddy promptly climbed into the passenger seat. "Yeah. We'll be at town hall in ten minutes."
"Thanks Jason, I'll see you. And you two be careful, alright?"
Jason glanced over at the Machoke that was seated in the car. "We'll be careful, boss." With the conversation over, he clipped the small, black radio piece back into his belt.
Back at the town hall Bellis rounded another corner of the hallway, walking past a pair of polished wooden tables adorned with colorful flowers; the mayor's office was right down the hall.
Once at her destination, Bellis flashed her police badge to the two black-suited guards that stood outside the mayor's office; the guard standing on the left quickly opened the mahogany door for her. She quickly walked into the room, taking note of the many paintings that lined the walls and the expensive-looking desk that the mayor was seated at, his back turned towards her.
Hearing her enter the room, the mayor swung around to face her in his leather office chair. The man had short brown hair combed off to the side, his piercing green eyes registering who it was that had entered the room. "Jean!" he cried, smiling broadly. He stood, around five feet tall, and walked over to her.
"How's the Valentine's Day Festival going?" he asked, still smiling.
"We need to call it off, Joe," she said, her eyes looking off to the side.
Mayor Lockington's smile vanished. "Whatever for?"
"Carnet."
"Oh come on," Joe began, "I know he escaped from the Greendale Heights facility, but why on earth would he come here?"
"Uh, yeah Joe. That's the thing- he is here." Jean sighed. "Earlier today, I sent Freddy and Jason out to investigate a 911 call that came from the middle of the woods. When they got there, they found the mutilated corpses of three teenagers- all their jaws had been torn off, most likely with a knife."
Joe Lockington looked down at the floor for a minute, likely taking in the information that she had just given him. He then looked out the window; the sun had disappeared from the horizon, giving way to the pale moon. "Alright, let's go."
Jean nodded, "We can take my police car. Freddy and Jason will meet us there."
---
Laura was seated in bed completely unclothed, bent over to try and alleviate the pain that radiated from her entrance. Plucking a tissue from a bedside table, she gently patted it on the underside of her ballroom gown-like abdomen, wiping away some of the sex juices that still leaked from her most intimate place.
From the bathroom emerged Dan, entering the dimly lit bedroom dressed only in a pair of boxers. "Did you have fun, darling?" he asked, trying to pull off a charming smile.
Turning her head towards him, she replied, "When I asked you to fuck me raw, I didn't mean it literally. But yes, that was... wonderful."
Immediately, Dan jogged over and bent down, giving her fleshy folds a quick lick, causing the Vespiquen to arch her back and squeal. "But you can't blame me, you're just so damn adorable when you do that," he said, pouncing on her. He descended, fiercely pressing his lips onto her mouth as she moaned into his.
When Dan pulled away for air, Laura fixed him with a seductive smile and asked, "So, do you want to have another go?"
"Sure, love. But bullocks, do you know what we need?"
"Hmm, what's that?" asked Laura, beginning to suck on one of her hand-pincers while fixing him in a naughty stare.
"Beer."
Her face fell. "We're about to have sex again and all you can think about is beer?"
"Oh, come on, darling. The local store is basically right around the corner. You can stay here if you like."
Retrieving her crumpled-up blouse from the white-carpeted floor, Laura said, "No, no. I'll go with you... Can you help me with the buttons?"
"Sure," he replied, already working his way up the buttoned shirt. When he reached her chest, he dug his face into it.
Laura sighed and looked away. "You know that my species dosen't have breasts, right?"
Poking his head out to look at her, he said, "I know, but it's fun to pretend that you do."
She smacked him in the back of the head. "You're such a Swinub. What do humans find so attractive about those fleshbags, anyway?"
Pulling away, Dan scratched his chin. "Now that I think about it, I don't know."
"Precisely."
Flapping her transparent wings, Laura rose into the air and followed Dan to the front door of the hotel room.
Opening the oak door, Dan said, "Ladies first."
"Thank you," the Vespiquen said sweetly. She then made a gesture to Dan. "But before you leave, you might want to consider putting some clothes on."
Looking down, he noticed his blue boxers, and nothing more. "Good point, darling."
---
The sun had set by the time Tory and Malek had reached the Valentine's Day festival; they had been a couple ever since their Christmas escapade two years ago. Tory was dressed in a tight green sweater that exemplified her large breasts and a pair of denim jeans, her long black hair fluttering in the chilly breeze. Her inquisitive hazel eyes scanned the festival grounds, the rows of small lights that decorated so many of the stalls almost putting her in a giddy mood.
Walking alongside her was a densely muscled Absol, who seemed to be slightly underwhelmed. "Tory, did we really travel all this way just to visit this measly festival? I mean, we could have gone to Lilycove, or Fortree, or even Lavaridge... but here? All this way?"
"Oh, quit being such a party-pooper, Malek. Don't you remember that I'm wanted in twenty-one... wait, no, twenty-two states around Hoenn?"
"But the five-hour boat ride?"
"Oh! Oh! They're selling shishkabobs!" Tory shrieked, pointing at one of the stalls. "Who cares about the boat ride? I haven't had any food in forever! Come on, let's go!"
The Absol sniffed the air and licked his lips, "Hmm, I can't say I disagr- AARGH!"
He didn't have time to finish speaking before Tory grabbed him by the scythe-like appendage that protruded from his head and dragged him along as she ran. "Yeah! Shishkabobs for dinner tonight!" Tory yelled into the night air.
Onlookers stared at the odd girl who dragged her companion through the crowd of people. Many began to giggle.
Reaching the vendor with the disgruntled Malek still behind her, Tory put on a charming smile. "Two shishkabobs, please."
Behind the counter, a acne-ridden boy with disheveled hair wearing a silly hat asked, "Will that be with Tauros or Doduo Meat?"
"Ummm... What do you want, Absol-Tron?"
"Uh, maybe Doduo," muttered Malek. "... And stop calling me Absol-Tron."
"Ok, Absol-Tron!" cried Tory.
Turning back to the hideous employee, she said, "Two Doduo shishkabobs, please."
The boy turned around and plucked two large sticks that impaled multiples chunks of broiled meat and vegetables, handing it to Tory. "That'll be 5 pokepounds, please."
Tory dug her hands into her pockets, feeling nothing but a crumpled up piece of tin foil, and a small can of pepper spray coupled with a tiny tazer gun that she kept for protection. She turned her pockets inside out so the boy could see. "Ummm... I don't have any money..."
"Well, then, sorry. Can't sell them to you if you don't have any money."
Tory then leaned over the counter, making sure that the vendor had a nice view of her breasts. "Please? I haven't had any food in forever. Can you let it slide? It's Valentine's Day..."
The stall keeper froze, face flushed. "I... um... uh... but... my boss is gonna kill me if I do..."
While he blubbered on, Tory reached out and snatched the two shishkabobs with lightning-fast hands and took off through the crowd, Malek not far behind.
Back at the stall, the kid watched the pair take off. "Aww, shit."
Once they were a safe distance away from the stall, Tory and Malek settled down on a bench located on the edge of the Anchorhead Town Square. Up above, the stars twinkled like specks of glitter.
The two then began to eat, Tory holding out Malek's shishkabob so that he could eat without difficulty, seeing as though he didn't have opposable thumbs.
"Mmmf! Guud pffood!" she exclaimed between mouthfuls of food.
Chewing, Malek vigorously nodded his head.
As they continued to eat, the screech of a microphone sounded in the distance. The sound sparking her interest, Tory craned her neck to see a woman short police-like woman standing at a podium in the distance. She bent over to Malek and said, "She reminds me of those 'deadly' PRO Teams that you warned me about that one Christmas."
He just smiled.
The lady at the podium began to speak; the festival grounds had become oddly silent from her presence. "On behalf of the Town of Anchorhead and Mayor Joseph Lockington," she began, "I, Sheriff Jean Bellis, must issue a Code-6 emergency situation."
The crowd had gone deathly silent at her announcement.
Getting up and poking a man that was standing near her, Tory asked, "What's a Code-6 emergency situation?"
"I'm not sure, ma'am. I'm just here on vacation," he replied in a British accent.
"Whatever a Code-6 is, it can't be good; did you see how the entire town square went quiet?" asked a Vespiquen standing at his side.
Before Tory had a chance to reply, the policewoman began to speak again. "It is my regret to inform you that.... Howard Carnet is at large..... here in Anchorhead. Please calmly make your way back to your homes and stay inside; don't forget to keep all your doors locked."
People screamed. Goods were thrown into packing boxes. Lighted stalls went dark. In the span of a few seconds, people and pokemon everywhere were making a dash for their homes.
The man and the Vespiquen had seated themselves on the same bench as Tory and Malek in an attempt to escape the frenzied mob.
"Booooo!!!!!" Tory screamed. "Your festival sucks!!!"
"We'd better go," said the man, taking the Vespiquen by the hand and disappearing into the crowd.
"See, what did I tell you," Malek said, "we come all this way and look- the cops say someone is loose and everyone packs away and runs home."
Tory took Malek's face in her hands and gave him a sloppy kiss on the lips. "Don't worry, Absy-poo, there's still plenty more room for mischief."
The Absol smacked his forehead with his paw. "Oh, no. I hardly have any more time for the type of trouble you stir up."
Tory shot up, giving a dramatic pose. "You see, simple pokemon, we aren't just friends," she threw her arm up, pointing at the stars, "we're partners in crime!!!"
Malek grumbled. "And how many times did I call you a one-liner spewing cheesy toe rag these past few years?"
She smiled broadly. "More times than I can count! Now let's go steal some stuff; we need to avenge ourselves for coming all this way after all."
"I'm past arguing with you."
Her smile cracked into a laugh. "I'm glad!"
Giggling happily, Tory and Malek disappeared into the bustling crowd.
---
After crossing paths with the human and Absol couple, Dan and Laura found themselves searching along a row of stores. The streets were nearly empty, and the droning of Laura's wings seemed to enhance the eerie atmosphere. Streetlights placed every fifty feet flickered yellow.
"Didn't you say that the local store was right around the corner from the hotel?" she asked indignantly. "And now we're stuck in a Code-6 emergency, whatever the heck that is."
Dan sighed, temper obviously running short. "I'm sorry, I was wrong. But you know that you didn't have to come along; it would have spared me a lot of bitching."
The Vespiquen slowly halted the motion of her wings until the bottom of her abdomen touched down on the ground. She looked at Dan with a hurt expression on her face, and then looked away. Laura didn't plan on going anywhere.
Noticing her halt, Dan ran his hands over his face in frustration. "Come on, Laura. I didn't mean it, I'm sorry. If you want, we'll just go back to the hotel right now."
"Why? Just so you can fuck your girl-toy again?" she muttered, looking at the ground.
"God damn it, Laura don't even go there! You're behaving like a child!"
"No, Daniel! You're behaving like a child! Tears began to flow from her round crimson eyes.
"Oh, no. Don't do this to me; please, don't cry-" he began, when something metallic caught his eye from down the street. A lone figure was approaching with an almost confident stride, dressed in a black hooded shirt and a pair of jeans. The pale face of a girl, broadly grinning, was visible; in her hand was clutched, no, it couldn't be...
In the person's right hand was a blade, looking to be about ten inches long. The length of the blade was adorned by evil-looking serrations that reflected the dull yellow of the streetlights. Officer Bellis' words came to mind- Stay off the streets if there's nobody around, and if you see a Floatzel with pale blue eyes, for Christ's sake, stay away.
To his horror, he saw that the snout that impaled itself through the face's mouth. He's wearing the face of a dead girl, he realized in revolt.
"Laura, we have to go!" he cried, tugging on his wife's arms.
In-between sobs, she mumbled, "I'm not going anywhere, especially not with you."
"I said I was sorry!" Dan yelled, getting desperate. "Look behind you, damn it!"
Looking up at him, Laura cried, "You think this is funny? Is this your idea of a sick joke?! Well, I'm not going to have any of-"
It was too late. The hooded figure wrapped its arm around the Vespiquen's slender throat and roughly threw her to the ground. Raising the knife to ward off Dan, the figure approached Laura from the rear and once again wrapping its arm around her throat, hauled her into a standing position, the oversized knife held threateningly at the side of her head.
"If you even move a muscle, I'll sink this knife so far into this bitch's head that her brains will be leaking out the other side," the male voice snarled, "now tell me where that fucking bitch Bellis is and maybe I won't kill you're girlfriend here."
Horrified, Dan looked at Laura, tears streaming down her face and arms feebly clutching at her chokehold. "I... I don't know."
"Well, then that makes my job easy." The pokemon raised the knife, before being stopped by a shout.
"Hey! Leave that woman alone, you mangy fuck!" Bellis yelled, running down the street with her pistol drawn. Behind her followed Freddy, Jason, and Mayor Lockington; Freddy cocked the stocked shotgun in his grip as Jason equipped his pistol, pointing it at the Floatzel.
"Ah, Bellis. You finally made it," Howard said, turning to face her with a firm hold on the Vespiquen, "now put town your guns before I make a nice little hole in queen bee's head here." He commanded, observing the rest of the group while tapping the side of Laura's head with his knife
"Don't be stupid, Carnet. Leave the woman alone and come peacefully; nobody has to get hurt," Jean said slowly, careful not to ignite the Floatzel's dangerous temper.
He suddenly began to laugh hysterically, spittle flying from his maw as he continued to subdue the struggling Vespiquen. "Come peacefully? Just so you can take me back to that fucking psycho bin? I don't think so, Bellis- you don't be stupid. Now put down your guns down- that goes for your little Boy Scouts too- before I decide to keep my promise to little queenie here," he threatened, licking Laura's cheek, "I always liked the brainy ones."
Her brows tightly drawn together in a frustrated frown, Jean turned to Freddy and Jason and nodded, signaling for them to put their weapons down.
"Fuck," Jason cursed, throwing his pistol to the ground as Freddy gently lowered the shotgun.
"Good, good," Howard cried through the girl's pale-gray face, "we're all one big happy family now!"
A light tremble in her voice, Bellis said, "Alright, Carnet; we put our guns down; now let the woman go."
"Sure, alright. I'll let her go!" he cried gleefully running the knife over her throat.
"No!" Dan screamed, charging toward the Floatzel and bowling him over in a tackle.
Laura collapsed to the ground next to the fallen killer, the arm that held the knife buried underneath his own belly; during the fall, the Floatzel's head collided with the shotgun's stock, creating a chilling thwack. The Vespiquen quickly rolled over, only to be quickly hauled off the ground by her husband who took her in a tight embrace as they slowly edged away from Howard's body.
"Is... is that it?" Mayor Lockington asked, approaching the fallen pokemon.
Ignoring him, Jean quickly walked over to the Vespiquen, held tight in the man's arms. "Are you alright? He didn't hurt you, did he?"
The insectiod creature pulled away from the man's arms and quietly replied, "I... I don't know. My neck..." She pointed to a small incision in her exoskeletal neck plating.
Leaning in closer, the police officer tilted the pokemon's head up, examining the wound. In just a single swipe of the knife, Carnet had nearly managed to kill the Vespiqen through her tough armor; through the incision, the flesh underneath the cut plating bled slightly, but it would be nothing fatal.
Her hand retreating from the pokemon's chin, Bellis said, "Don't worry, you'll be fine- looks like he got through your endoskeleton, but there's only a small cut." A look of recognition flashed upon her face. "You're Laura," she said, and pointed to the pokemon's companion, "and you're Dan. I met you two at the festival today; a shame we couldn't have met under more pleasant circumstances."
"Yes... Thank you. Jean, was it?" the Vespiquen asked.
"Yup, Officer Jean Bellis is what they call me," she replied.
The pokemon then turned to her companion and whispered so her words would be inaudible to the policewoman. "I'm sorry, Daniel- this is all my fault. If I hadn't been acting so damn childish-"
Dan put a finger to her mouth to shush her. "No, if anyone is to blame, it's me- I was being insensit-"
A clap of deafening thunder interrupted him.
---
Jason watched as Bellis walked over to the odd couple to inspect the injured Vespiquen's condition. His gaze then shifted to the motionless Floatzel, and then to his partner, Freddy. "Looks like the crazy bastard impaled himself with his own knife."
The Machoke shook his head. "The guy had it coming. So what now? Should we handcuff him?"
Rolling his blue eyes, the Blaziken replied, "Freddy really? What's the point of handcuffing a dead guy? I mean, look at him- he's splayed out on the ground, he's not moving, and the paw that he was holding the knife in is underneath his body right now. So, if you put one and one together, logically, he's dead."
"But one plus one equals two," Freddy said, scratching his head.
"You're such a dumbass. Anyway, you mind taking a trip to the squad car and getting me a bodybag?"
"Sure, it'll take me a couple of minutes, though; it's all the way down the street."
"Alright, whatever. Just make it quick; staring at this creep's body is giving me the chills," Jason said, rubbing his down-covered arms.
"Yeah, yeah, yeah. If you weren't such a lazy asshole I'm sure that you'd get it yourself," the Machoke grumbled.
"I love you too, buddy," the Blaziken said sarcastically, watching the policeman start down the street. Repositioning himself, he noticed Mayor Lockington stooped over the body of Howard. "Hey, Mr. Lockington. I wouldn't do that if I were you; he may come back up and bite ya!"
The tall brown-haired man didn't reply, still observing the body. "He cut the face off of a girl and wore it as his own..." he said quietly.
"You got that right, sir. He was one sick bastard... oh, Arceus."
Lockington diverted his line of sight toward the Blaziken and asked, "What?"
Quick as a bolt of lightning, the seemingly dead Howard snatched up the shotgun that lay at his side and braced the stock against the ground, pulling the trigger. With a deafening roar, the gun emptied its deadly payload right into the head of the unsuspecting mayor.
As the bullets impacted, Lockington's skull exploded, the hot lead projectiles breaking his head apart in a chunky crimson explosion. Jason cried out and fell back as the area was splattered with bloodied pieces of pink flesh, chips of bone, and colorless brain matter.
Lockington's decapitated body flew backwards in an arch, the ragged neck stump exploding streams of blood onto the cobblestone street, and the screaming Blaziken. As the body hit the ground, blood geysered onto the road in incremental spurts as the mayor's limbs convulsed, his skin already turning a pale gray.
As quickly as Howard disposed of the unfortunate mayor, he discarded the shotgun and disappeared into one of the shopping center's side alleys, just as Bellis began to run towards the wailing police officer.
Jean gasped in shock as she bent over to help the gore-splattered Jason off the ground. "Holy shit, Jason," she said hoarsely, looking at the decapitated body of Lockington. "What the hell happened?"
Wiping the body matter from his face, Jason pointed a jabbing talon at a dark alleyway. "He... He... He was dead! Then... Then he got up and killed the mayor with Freddy's shotgun..."
"Get yourself together, Jason. We need to find him," Bellis commanded, scooping her pistol from where she deposited it on the ground earlier. "You two," she began, turning to Dan and Laura, "can you find your way back to the hotel?"
Laura shook her head stubbornly. "I'm not going anywhere. That guy tried to kill me, and I want to see with my own two eyes that he got put down.
"Alright Laura, now you're being stupid! Look at what he did to the mayor!" Dan yelled, pointing at the headless corpse that still lay bleeding in the street. "That guy blew his bloody head off!"
Stepping between the two, Bellis asked, "Do you even know how to get back to the hotel?"
The couple both shook their heads 'no'.
"Alright, then. I'm short on time and it's not safe for you two to make it back to the hotel, and that means you guys are coming with me."
Dan began to laugh. "You can't tell me what to do against my will; especially seeing as though you're dragging me into your little police mission because my wife wants to go with you."
"I'm going with you," Laura said with a firm shake of her head.
Dan threw his hands up into the air. "You're all a bunch of fucking nutjobs!"
"Thank you," Bellis said, removing her personal radio communicator. "Hey, Freddy are you there?"
There was a click at the other end of the line. "Yeah, I'm here boss."
"Howard got Lockington; I need you to call the coroner's office to pick up the body. It's right in front of the produce store. And bring the squad car, too. We've got to find Carnet before he kills anyone else... Oh, and we're bringing the civilians with us."
"You've got to be kidding me, Jean," Freddy said, "you're bringing civilians with you to track down a psychopathic murderer?"
She sighed. "We don't have enough time to bring them back to the hotel and we can't send them off on their own with Carnet out there. At least this way we can protect them; remember: we have guns and Carnet has knives."
"That didn't work too well last time, chief."
"Well we'll make it work this time. Now stop beating around the bush and get you're ass over here in the squad car; we're taking a trip to the mines."
"And remind me why we're going to the mines?"
"Where else do you to expect to find the psychotic bastard? Last year that's where we caught him because that's the only place that he hangs out, and that's where we'll get him this time."
"Aye, aye, captain," the Machoke replied, clipping his radio back into his belt.
---
Rithiea Sazao breathed in deeply, enjoying the sweet scent of the mountain air as she continued down the hiking trail that descended from the town mine. Even through it was Valentine's Day, she figured that there was nothing better to do than to take a nice relaxing walk in the rocky trail of the Anchorhead Mountains, seeing as though she didn't have a person to share the day with anyway.
The Zangoose raised her arm to check the time on her illuminated LED watch, curious about the time; it was nearly eight o' clock in the evening and stars were beginning to appear in the dark night sky. "Darn," she said to herself. Rithiea had originally planned to get home by seven-thirty to watch a movie, but she would obviously miss a good portion of it if she didn't hurry.
She quickened her pace; the parking lot was in sight at the bottom of the rocky hill. It was then that her scarlet eyes caught sight of movement in the corner of her field of vision. Rithiea blinked and looked again; nothing. The Zangoose scanned the area around her- there were no obvious landmarks and the geography of the area only consisted of small rocks and boulders. She was beginning to get nervous.
Removing her backpack, Rithiea quickly unzipped the front pouch and pulled out a flashlight. Fumbling, she managed to tap the 'on' switch, sending a yellow beam of light down the path in front of her; it was surprising how much calmer the warm glow made her feel. Suddenly, a small amount of pebbles slid down the slope directly behind her. Whirling around, the Zangoose pointed the light in the direction of the noise, illuminating a figure dressed in a black hooded sweatshirt and jeans. Oddly enough, there were two handles of sorts that stuck out from both sides of the pants.
"Uh, hi there," Rithiea began, nervously waving a paw at the figure. "Can I help you?"
Head looking toward the ground, the hooded figure replied, "Help? Oh, yeah. I need a lot of help."
Shouldering her backpack as she backed away slowly, the Zangoose shakily asked, "What do you need help with?"
The figure laughed; a male voice. "Oh, nothing. Just a little problem with all sorts of people bothering me and fucking my life up. Don't you hate it when people fuck with your life; your mind?"
Backing away at a quicker pace, Rithiea replied, "Umm, I better go... Good luck with your problem."
"You don't get it, do you?"
"Ok, you're really starting to creep me out," she said, ready to break into a run.
"You are my problem. Everyone is my problem," he said, voice becoming unsteady with manic laughter. The figure then pulled on the handles that protruded from his pants, revealing two oversized serrated knives. He looked up, the pale and crudely skinned face of a female human pasted over his own, the muzzle of a Floatzel threaded through her mouth. The Floatzel thrust his arms outward, the knives catching the light of Rithiea's flashlight.
The Zangoose turned and sprinted down the hill, screaming as the her sadistic tormenter broke into a run in pursuit.
---
Laura sat in the police car, wedged in-between her husband and Officer Bellis as the vehicle traveled towards the town mines. "So," she began, "you and that Floatzel Howard seem to know each other. What on earth made him... I don't know..."
"The way he is?" Bellis asked.
"Yes."
"Well, it started two years ago around this time. Howard used to work in the mines for extended periods of time, so naturally he didn't have much time to spend with his wife. There was a man named Jim who lived next door who was married to a Gardevoir-"
"Jim was the man you talked about at the festival, right?" Laura interrupted.
"Yeah, that's correct. But anyway, Jim wasn't a loyal sort of person; he was known to sleep around with women. How his wife put up with him, I don't know. But because Howard never was home much, Jim eventually made friends with his wife, and they had a continued 'relationship'."
Laura made a disgusted face. "That's terrible. How do you know of all this?"
Jean laughed humorlessly. "I'm the town sheriff; I know everything that needs to be known."
"Tell me more about this Howard."
Bellis shook her head. "There isn't much more to say. Howard caught his wife sleeping with Jim on the night of Valentine's Day, and he went crazy. He killed Jim, Jim's wife, and his own wife. The sick bastard cut their jaws off and arranged them in heart shapes, so the people around here call him 'The Valentine's Day Killer'. A couple days after, Freddy, Jason and I cornered him in the mines and he was put under arrest; I was surprised that he didn't put up a fight."
The Vespiquen looked into her lap, and then to her silent husband. "I don't understand how someone could do such a thing..."
"Yes, and it's going to happen to us because the local militia sucked us into their sick little game," Dan spat. He pointed to Bellis. "You should be ashamed to call yourself a police officer!"
"You shut your mouth right now, Daniel!
"Think about what we're doing for a second, Laura. We're with a motley crew of police officers who can't even handle somebody with a knife when they're all armed with guns. How can you feel safe with these people?"
Bellis frowned. "You had no right to say that, Dan. We handled the situation the best we could so you could get your wife out of danger and the situation got out of control."
None of the three arguing in the back noticed the police car come to a halt. Jason, who was driving, looked into the back seat at the squabbling trio. "Alright, kiddies. Settle down- we're here."
All three fell silent as Jason and Freddy simultaneously exited the car. The Blaziken circled around and opened one of the back doors and poked his head inside, directly in front of Bellis. "Are you guys going to get out or do you need an invitation?"
Bellis, Laura, and Dan exited the car without a sound. Once outside, Bellis opened the trunk of the car and pulled out a shotgun, giving it to Freddy. "Here's the replacement for the one you lost," she said as the Machoke accepted the weapon. Digging into the trunk once more, she pulled out five small LED flashlights and distributed them amongst the group.
After accepting his light, Jason watched as a terrified-looking female Zangoose scrambled into a blue Chevy car that was parked a couple spaces over and drive away, taking off with frightful speed, the engine roaring. Turning to the rest of the group, he said, "I think we found Carnet."
"I knew he'd be here," Bellis replied, unholstering her pistol. "Alright everyone, let's move out. The cave's right up this hiking trail."
---
Standing at the entrance to the mine, Jean Bellis observed her rag-tag team. Freddy, Jason, and Laura stood ready as Dan stood away from them, nervously fidgeting about. "Alright everyone," she started, "we'll be splitting up into two teams. Freddy and Jason will go in together, and I'll take Laura and Dan. Right at the start, the mine splits into two different passages; my team will take the left and Jason's will take the right. Any questions?"
Everyone remained silent.
"All right, let's go get him." Bellis said, leading the way as Laura and Dan trailed behind her, flashlights illuminating the slick, brown rock that made up the cave.
Once the first team disappeared into the left tunnel, Jason turned to Freddy and said, "It's just you and me now, buddy."
"Yeah, I sure could use a beer right now, though," the Machoke muttered, clutching the shotgun.
The Blaziken smacked him in the behind and started down the right tunnel. "Come on, quit being a pussy and let's get this over with."
Freddy reluctantly trailed behind Jason, aiming the flashlight at the cave walls; they were wet and glistening from the groundwater that flowed downward from the mountain above. It almost gave the illusion of...
A hand shot out from behind him and roughly clamped down around his throat, cutting off Freddy's breathing. The muscular Machoke tried to strike out, but hit nothing but air as he felt a cold razor-like pain cut through his cheeks, swiftly followed by searing pain; Howard's knife. He tried to scream, but no sound came out, thanks to the hand that cut off all air from his throat.
His horrified yellow eyes looked into the passage ahead, where Jason continued to walk, blissfully unaware of what was happening. Suddenly, he felt the knife change to a vertical angle inside his mouth, sliding back and forth, traveling upwards, cutting through his molars, his gums- the pain!
Freddy reached upwards feebly, trying to get the knife to stop cutting when his mind suddenly went blank. Everything cut out; blackness.
In the tunnel ahead, Jason turned around, noticing Freddy wasn't following. "Oh, come on, Freddy. Do I have to drag your ass with me?" he called, backtracking. The blue flashlight beam bouncing off the walls of the cave, they finally found the Machoke, standing in the cave with his fists clenched in the air. "Freddy, what the hell are you doing?"
The Machoke suddenly fell to his knees, the front half of his head peeling away from his body and hitting the rocky ground with a wet slap. Blood leaked from the gory ribbons of severed brain and collected in his jaw, pouring out onto the ground in a crimson waterfall. Freddy's body then fell forward onto the ground, motionless.
"Holy shit! Holy shit! Holy shit!" the Blaziken blubbered, terrified. He turned away from his partner's body and sprinted down the cave corridor when something jabbed into his chest with frightening force as he fell hard to the ground.
Dazed as he lay on the ground, he looked at his torso, seeing a black handle sticking out of his chest. I impaled myself on one of Howard's knives.
Out of the darkness appeared the Floatzel, the pale face of the dead girl giving him an even more frightening appearance. Calmly, he walked up to Jason and sat down on his belly, straddling him.
Looking down, the Floatzel said, "It's nice to see you again, Jason; but you know I have to pay you back for what you and your buddies did to me last year."
Blood seeping from his beak, Jason helplessly shook his head from side to side, unable to gain control of his body. He watched in terror as the Floatzel took hold of the knife and swiftly carved upwards; the Blaziken could feel the blade easily carving through his ribs, but oddly enough, there was hardly any pain.
"It's the end of the line for you, Jason," Howard said, smiling a toothy grin. "See ya in hell." On one swift motion, the Floatzel thrust his hand into the incision he made in Jason's chest and pulled something out. Suddenly, Jason felt disconnected from the world, as if he was in a dream. On top of him, the Blaziken saw the Floatzel clutching a blood-soaked beating heart in his paw, the blue veins within expanding within the muscle.
Howard grinned and took a large bite out of the organ, causing blood to explode from within, splattering on his feathered chest. Immediately after, the world went black for Jason.
---
With Bellis in the lead, Laura and Dan followed cautiously behind, the droning of the Vespiquen's wings echoing throughout the cave. After some more walking, the trio exited into a large, open rectangular room.
"What is this place? Laura asked, head moving back and forth, observing the open space.
Seeing boxes of blasting materials containing dynamite and other high explosives, Bellis answered, "Looks like the place where the miners store all the explosives."
"That's reassuring," Dan muttered. "...Ah, shit."
Bellis and Laura both looked to see Dan standing in front of a triad of bloody jawbones arranged in an almost ritualistic fashion. The way they were arranged almost made them look like a heart.
"That's Howard's trademark," Bellis said to Dan, "the sick fuck really has a talent for making people sick."
"Why thank you!" a male voice boomed, the sound bouncing off the cavern walls. "I thought you should know, Bellis- both of your little Boy Scouts won't be joining us for Valentine's Day dinner."
"What the fuck did you do to them, you bastard!" Jean yelled at the disembodied voice.
"Oh, nothing," Howard said. "Freddy got a little scared and lost his head. And as you already know, your Blaziken buddy Jason was always heartless."
The policewoman suddenly turned to Dan and Laura. "You two get out of here, now. This is between me and Carnet."
"But what about you? the Vespiquen asked, concern in her voice.
"I'll be fine! Just go!"
Dan grabbed Laura's shoulders and whispered, "Let's go. If Jean said we have to, we need to leave. Now."
"Be careful." Laura said, turning away from the policewoman.
Moving quickly, the pair disappeared into the twisting passageway that they entered the room from. Echoing out from the darkness of the tunnel, Bellis heard the distinct sound of Dan's voice. "I'm sorry."Chapter End Notes:Don't get pissed at me for the enigmatic cliffhanger ending XD. Personally, I thought it fit the story well. Happy Valentine's Day, everyone
Making her way through the citizens in the town square, Jean Bellis checked her watch, temporarily blinding herself from the glass' reflection of the sun. Cursing, she turned her back to the setting sun that burned orange; it was nearly five o' clock.
Pushing on, the crowd slowly began to thin out as she moved away from the town's festival, heading towards the town hall. She had to alert Mayor Lockington that Carnet was loose so that he could send the town's civilians home. Warily, she looked around; the golden light of the sun cast long, dark shadows along the ground, and as far as Bellis knew, she was alone.
Behind her, the sound of a car's engine droned as a small jeep slowly made its way past her. From Jean's viewpoint, the driver's face was concealed, covered by a black hooded sweatshirt. Bowing its head so its face couldn't be seen, the figure waved to her through the window; Bellis nervously waved back. The car slowly rolled past.
As soon as the vehicle was out of sight, Bellis snatched up her radio. "Jason! Jason, are you there?"
---
In a small campsite that was covered by densely packed trees and shrubbery, a tall Blaziken stood examining the mutilated bodies of three teenagers. Beside him was a Machoke, sadly shaking his head; both were dressed in police uniforms.
"Arceus," the Blaziken muttered, "that sick bastard's getting more creative with age." He stepped over the body of what looked to be a girl, her face missing and pale coils of entrails flowing from her jawless mouth. Her skin had turned a deathly shade of gray from all the blood that had flowed from her body, leaving a large stain in the dirt underneath the corpse. Lying parallel to her was the body of a rotund boy, his pants missing and his throat caved in; his jaw was also gone.
The Machoke looked away. "Did you call the coroner's office yet, Jason?"
Moving to the next corpse, the fire-type pokemon stooped down to examine the shirtless body of a tall boy, a knife cruelly imbedded in his throat. "Hell yeah, Freddy. This place needs to get cleaned up, and quick; we don't want anyone to see this bullshit that Howard always pulls."
"Are you sure that Carnet did this?" Freddy asked.
Jason stood, his beak clattering impatiently. "Freddy, there's not a single sick fuck within the next five-hundred miles that can match the shit that Howard always creates." He gestured towards the girl's body. "That fuckhead thinks it's funny to do that to people; to torture them, and then kill them. Do you know anyone else who thinks that's fun? ... And look, he tore their fucking jaws off, just like he did to those people last year."
The heavily muscled Machoke scratched his head. "Well, there was the incident with Wallace-"
"Yeah," Jason interrupted, "but he's dead- got shot in the chest two times before the SWAT team took his head off with a shotgun when he was trying to climb out a window. And Wallace was just insane. Carnet's insane and smart; he'll lure you into a trap, and then fuck you up big time, just like he did to all these other people."
"Well, why don't they call a SWAT team in to take him away?"
"Greendale Heights already called them in. It'll take them awhile to get here- we're in the Orre Region, and the main military headquarters is in Kanto. I'd imagine that it would take them more than a while to get to Anchorhead."
Jason's handheld radio began to crackle. "Jason, goddammit, answer me!"
---
Bellis was walking down an expensive-looking red carpet that ran down the hallway of the town hall when Jason finally answered his radio. "Hello, Jason here."
"Christ, I thought you'd never answer; what the hell was holding you up?"
"I dunno. Must have been some interference or something. Something important you need to ask me?" queried the Blaziken.
Looking nervously about, Jean said, "Yeah. What type of car did you say that Carnet took from those teenagers?"
"Jeez, Jean. How the hell am I supposed to know? I wasn't here when he took off."
"Just look, damn it."
On the other end of the line, Jason huffed indignantly as he paced over to the tire tracks that had imprinted themselves in the ground. Bending over to examine them, he said, "From the tire tracks, it looks like they had a jeep or something- they almost look like the tires on mine."
There was a long pause on the radio before Jean Bellis finally spoke.
"Jason, bring Freddy and get back into town now... And don't forget to have your guns handy."
Jason slapped his three-taloned hand to his forehead. "Aww, shit. Don't tell me what I think you're going to say."
"Yeah," Bellis said, "he's here."
"Fuck," the Blaziken cursed, "how the hell are we supposed to deal with him?"
There was a short pause. "I don't know- I guess if we see him, we shoot him down... Is there anything else you can find at the crime scene?"
Jason looked over to the three corpses, once again noticing the missing clothes of the two boys. "Yeah. Looks like the bastard jacked their clothes; before he must have been wearing the mental ward suit."
"Alright, thanks for telling me." Bellis said. "You two coming back into town now?"
Jason gestured to the standard-issue black and white police car, and Freddy promptly climbed into the passenger seat. "Yeah. We'll be at town hall in ten minutes."
"Thanks Jason, I'll see you. And you two be careful, alright?"
Jason glanced over at the Machoke that was seated in the car. "We'll be careful, boss." With the conversation over, he clipped the small, black radio piece back into his belt.
Back at the town hall Bellis rounded another corner of the hallway, walking past a pair of polished wooden tables adorned with colorful flowers; the mayor's office was right down the hall.
Once at her destination, Bellis flashed her police badge to the two black-suited guards that stood outside the mayor's office; the guard standing on the left quickly opened the mahogany door for her. She quickly walked into the room, taking note of the many paintings that lined the walls and the expensive-looking desk that the mayor was seated at, his back turned towards her.
Hearing her enter the room, the mayor swung around to face her in his leather office chair. The man had short brown hair combed off to the side, his piercing green eyes registering who it was that had entered the room. "Jean!" he cried, smiling broadly. He stood, around five feet tall, and walked over to her.
"How's the Valentine's Day Festival going?" he asked, still smiling.
"We need to call it off, Joe," she said, her eyes looking off to the side.
Mayor Lockington's smile vanished. "Whatever for?"
"Carnet."
"Oh come on," Joe began, "I know he escaped from the Greendale Heights facility, but why on earth would he come here?"
"Uh, yeah Joe. That's the thing- he is here." Jean sighed. "Earlier today, I sent Freddy and Jason out to investigate a 911 call that came from the middle of the woods. When they got there, they found the mutilated corpses of three teenagers- all their jaws had been torn off, most likely with a knife."
Joe Lockington looked down at the floor for a minute, likely taking in the information that she had just given him. He then looked out the window; the sun had disappeared from the horizon, giving way to the pale moon. "Alright, let's go."
Jean nodded, "We can take my police car. Freddy and Jason will meet us there."
---
Laura was seated in bed completely unclothed, bent over to try and alleviate the pain that radiated from her entrance. Plucking a tissue from a bedside table, she gently patted it on the underside of her ballroom gown-like abdomen, wiping away some of the sex juices that still leaked from her most intimate place.
From the bathroom emerged Dan, entering the dimly lit bedroom dressed only in a pair of boxers. "Did you have fun, darling?" he asked, trying to pull off a charming smile.
Turning her head towards him, she replied, "When I asked you to fuck me raw, I didn't mean it literally. But yes, that was... wonderful."
Immediately, Dan jogged over and bent down, giving her fleshy folds a quick lick, causing the Vespiquen to arch her back and squeal. "But you can't blame me, you're just so damn adorable when you do that," he said, pouncing on her. He descended, fiercely pressing his lips onto her mouth as she moaned into his.
When Dan pulled away for air, Laura fixed him with a seductive smile and asked, "So, do you want to have another go?"
"Sure, love. But bullocks, do you know what we need?"
"Hmm, what's that?" asked Laura, beginning to suck on one of her hand-pincers while fixing him in a naughty stare.
"Beer."
Her face fell. "We're about to have sex again and all you can think about is beer?"
"Oh, come on, darling. The local store is basically right around the corner. You can stay here if you like."
Retrieving her crumpled-up blouse from the white-carpeted floor, Laura said, "No, no. I'll go with you... Can you help me with the buttons?"
"Sure," he replied, already working his way up the buttoned shirt. When he reached her chest, he dug his face into it.
Laura sighed and looked away. "You know that my species dosen't have breasts, right?"
Poking his head out to look at her, he said, "I know, but it's fun to pretend that you do."
She smacked him in the back of the head. "You're such a Swinub. What do humans find so attractive about those fleshbags, anyway?"
Pulling away, Dan scratched his chin. "Now that I think about it, I don't know."
"Precisely."
Flapping her transparent wings, Laura rose into the air and followed Dan to the front door of the hotel room.
Opening the oak door, Dan said, "Ladies first."
"Thank you," the Vespiquen said sweetly. She then made a gesture to Dan. "But before you leave, you might want to consider putting some clothes on."
Looking down, he noticed his blue boxers, and nothing more. "Good point, darling."
---
The sun had set by the time Tory and Malek had reached the Valentine's Day festival; they had been a couple ever since their Christmas escapade two years ago. Tory was dressed in a tight green sweater that exemplified her large breasts and a pair of denim jeans, her long black hair fluttering in the chilly breeze. Her inquisitive hazel eyes scanned the festival grounds, the rows of small lights that decorated so many of the stalls almost putting her in a giddy mood.
Walking alongside her was a densely muscled Absol, who seemed to be slightly underwhelmed. "Tory, did we really travel all this way just to visit this measly festival? I mean, we could have gone to Lilycove, or Fortree, or even Lavaridge... but here? All this way?"
"Oh, quit being such a party-pooper, Malek. Don't you remember that I'm wanted in twenty-one... wait, no, twenty-two states around Hoenn?"
"But the five-hour boat ride?"
"Oh! Oh! They're selling shishkabobs!" Tory shrieked, pointing at one of the stalls. "Who cares about the boat ride? I haven't had any food in forever! Come on, let's go!"
The Absol sniffed the air and licked his lips, "Hmm, I can't say I disagr- AARGH!"
He didn't have time to finish speaking before Tory grabbed him by the scythe-like appendage that protruded from his head and dragged him along as she ran. "Yeah! Shishkabobs for dinner tonight!" Tory yelled into the night air.
Onlookers stared at the odd girl who dragged her companion through the crowd of people. Many began to giggle.
Reaching the vendor with the disgruntled Malek still behind her, Tory put on a charming smile. "Two shishkabobs, please."
Behind the counter, a acne-ridden boy with disheveled hair wearing a silly hat asked, "Will that be with Tauros or Doduo Meat?"
"Ummm... What do you want, Absol-Tron?"
"Uh, maybe Doduo," muttered Malek. "... And stop calling me Absol-Tron."
"Ok, Absol-Tron!" cried Tory.
Turning back to the hideous employee, she said, "Two Doduo shishkabobs, please."
The boy turned around and plucked two large sticks that impaled multiples chunks of broiled meat and vegetables, handing it to Tory. "That'll be 5 pokepounds, please."
Tory dug her hands into her pockets, feeling nothing but a crumpled up piece of tin foil, and a small can of pepper spray coupled with a tiny tazer gun that she kept for protection. She turned her pockets inside out so the boy could see. "Ummm... I don't have any money..."
"Well, then, sorry. Can't sell them to you if you don't have any money."
Tory then leaned over the counter, making sure that the vendor had a nice view of her breasts. "Please? I haven't had any food in forever. Can you let it slide? It's Valentine's Day..."
The stall keeper froze, face flushed. "I... um... uh... but... my boss is gonna kill me if I do..."
While he blubbered on, Tory reached out and snatched the two shishkabobs with lightning-fast hands and took off through the crowd, Malek not far behind.
Back at the stall, the kid watched the pair take off. "Aww, shit."
Once they were a safe distance away from the stall, Tory and Malek settled down on a bench located on the edge of the Anchorhead Town Square. Up above, the stars twinkled like specks of glitter.
The two then began to eat, Tory holding out Malek's shishkabob so that he could eat without difficulty, seeing as though he didn't have opposable thumbs.
"Mmmf! Guud pffood!" she exclaimed between mouthfuls of food.
Chewing, Malek vigorously nodded his head.
As they continued to eat, the screech of a microphone sounded in the distance. The sound sparking her interest, Tory craned her neck to see a woman short police-like woman standing at a podium in the distance. She bent over to Malek and said, "She reminds me of those 'deadly' PRO Teams that you warned me about that one Christmas."
He just smiled.
The lady at the podium began to speak; the festival grounds had become oddly silent from her presence. "On behalf of the Town of Anchorhead and Mayor Joseph Lockington," she began, "I, Sheriff Jean Bellis, must issue a Code-6 emergency situation."
The crowd had gone deathly silent at her announcement.
Getting up and poking a man that was standing near her, Tory asked, "What's a Code-6 emergency situation?"
"I'm not sure, ma'am. I'm just here on vacation," he replied in a British accent.
"Whatever a Code-6 is, it can't be good; did you see how the entire town square went quiet?" asked a Vespiquen standing at his side.
Before Tory had a chance to reply, the policewoman began to speak again. "It is my regret to inform you that.... Howard Carnet is at large..... here in Anchorhead. Please calmly make your way back to your homes and stay inside; don't forget to keep all your doors locked."
People screamed. Goods were thrown into packing boxes. Lighted stalls went dark. In the span of a few seconds, people and pokemon everywhere were making a dash for their homes.
The man and the Vespiquen had seated themselves on the same bench as Tory and Malek in an attempt to escape the frenzied mob.
"Booooo!!!!!" Tory screamed. "Your festival sucks!!!"
"We'd better go," said the man, taking the Vespiquen by the hand and disappearing into the crowd.
"See, what did I tell you," Malek said, "we come all this way and look- the cops say someone is loose and everyone packs away and runs home."
Tory took Malek's face in her hands and gave him a sloppy kiss on the lips. "Don't worry, Absy-poo, there's still plenty more room for mischief."
The Absol smacked his forehead with his paw. "Oh, no. I hardly have any more time for the type of trouble you stir up."
Tory shot up, giving a dramatic pose. "You see, simple pokemon, we aren't just friends," she threw her arm up, pointing at the stars, "we're partners in crime!!!"
Malek grumbled. "And how many times did I call you a one-liner spewing cheesy toe rag these past few years?"
She smiled broadly. "More times than I can count! Now let's go steal some stuff; we need to avenge ourselves for coming all this way after all."
"I'm past arguing with you."
Her smile cracked into a laugh. "I'm glad!"
Giggling happily, Tory and Malek disappeared into the bustling crowd.
---
After crossing paths with the human and Absol couple, Dan and Laura found themselves searching along a row of stores. The streets were nearly empty, and the droning of Laura's wings seemed to enhance the eerie atmosphere. Streetlights placed every fifty feet flickered yellow.
"Didn't you say that the local store was right around the corner from the hotel?" she asked indignantly. "And now we're stuck in a Code-6 emergency, whatever the heck that is."
Dan sighed, temper obviously running short. "I'm sorry, I was wrong. But you know that you didn't have to come along; it would have spared me a lot of bitching."
The Vespiquen slowly halted the motion of her wings until the bottom of her abdomen touched down on the ground. She looked at Dan with a hurt expression on her face, and then looked away. Laura didn't plan on going anywhere.
Noticing her halt, Dan ran his hands over his face in frustration. "Come on, Laura. I didn't mean it, I'm sorry. If you want, we'll just go back to the hotel right now."
"Why? Just so you can fuck your girl-toy again?" she muttered, looking at the ground.
"God damn it, Laura don't even go there! You're behaving like a child!"
"No, Daniel! You're behaving like a child! Tears began to flow from her round crimson eyes.
"Oh, no. Don't do this to me; please, don't cry-" he began, when something metallic caught his eye from down the street. A lone figure was approaching with an almost confident stride, dressed in a black hooded shirt and a pair of jeans. The pale face of a girl, broadly grinning, was visible; in her hand was clutched, no, it couldn't be...
In the person's right hand was a blade, looking to be about ten inches long. The length of the blade was adorned by evil-looking serrations that reflected the dull yellow of the streetlights. Officer Bellis' words came to mind- Stay off the streets if there's nobody around, and if you see a Floatzel with pale blue eyes, for Christ's sake, stay away.
To his horror, he saw that the snout that impaled itself through the face's mouth. He's wearing the face of a dead girl, he realized in revolt.
"Laura, we have to go!" he cried, tugging on his wife's arms.
In-between sobs, she mumbled, "I'm not going anywhere, especially not with you."
"I said I was sorry!" Dan yelled, getting desperate. "Look behind you, damn it!"
Looking up at him, Laura cried, "You think this is funny? Is this your idea of a sick joke?! Well, I'm not going to have any of-"
It was too late. The hooded figure wrapped its arm around the Vespiquen's slender throat and roughly threw her to the ground. Raising the knife to ward off Dan, the figure approached Laura from the rear and once again wrapping its arm around her throat, hauled her into a standing position, the oversized knife held threateningly at the side of her head.
"If you even move a muscle, I'll sink this knife so far into this bitch's head that her brains will be leaking out the other side," the male voice snarled, "now tell me where that fucking bitch Bellis is and maybe I won't kill you're girlfriend here."
Horrified, Dan looked at Laura, tears streaming down her face and arms feebly clutching at her chokehold. "I... I don't know."
"Well, then that makes my job easy." The pokemon raised the knife, before being stopped by a shout.
"Hey! Leave that woman alone, you mangy fuck!" Bellis yelled, running down the street with her pistol drawn. Behind her followed Freddy, Jason, and Mayor Lockington; Freddy cocked the stocked shotgun in his grip as Jason equipped his pistol, pointing it at the Floatzel.
"Ah, Bellis. You finally made it," Howard said, turning to face her with a firm hold on the Vespiquen, "now put town your guns before I make a nice little hole in queen bee's head here." He commanded, observing the rest of the group while tapping the side of Laura's head with his knife
"Don't be stupid, Carnet. Leave the woman alone and come peacefully; nobody has to get hurt," Jean said slowly, careful not to ignite the Floatzel's dangerous temper.
He suddenly began to laugh hysterically, spittle flying from his maw as he continued to subdue the struggling Vespiquen. "Come peacefully? Just so you can take me back to that fucking psycho bin? I don't think so, Bellis- you don't be stupid. Now put down your guns down- that goes for your little Boy Scouts too- before I decide to keep my promise to little queenie here," he threatened, licking Laura's cheek, "I always liked the brainy ones."
Her brows tightly drawn together in a frustrated frown, Jean turned to Freddy and Jason and nodded, signaling for them to put their weapons down.
"Fuck," Jason cursed, throwing his pistol to the ground as Freddy gently lowered the shotgun.
"Good, good," Howard cried through the girl's pale-gray face, "we're all one big happy family now!"
A light tremble in her voice, Bellis said, "Alright, Carnet; we put our guns down; now let the woman go."
"Sure, alright. I'll let her go!" he cried gleefully running the knife over her throat.
"No!" Dan screamed, charging toward the Floatzel and bowling him over in a tackle.
Laura collapsed to the ground next to the fallen killer, the arm that held the knife buried underneath his own belly; during the fall, the Floatzel's head collided with the shotgun's stock, creating a chilling thwack. The Vespiquen quickly rolled over, only to be quickly hauled off the ground by her husband who took her in a tight embrace as they slowly edged away from Howard's body.
"Is... is that it?" Mayor Lockington asked, approaching the fallen pokemon.
Ignoring him, Jean quickly walked over to the Vespiquen, held tight in the man's arms. "Are you alright? He didn't hurt you, did he?"
The insectiod creature pulled away from the man's arms and quietly replied, "I... I don't know. My neck..." She pointed to a small incision in her exoskeletal neck plating.
Leaning in closer, the police officer tilted the pokemon's head up, examining the wound. In just a single swipe of the knife, Carnet had nearly managed to kill the Vespiqen through her tough armor; through the incision, the flesh underneath the cut plating bled slightly, but it would be nothing fatal.
Her hand retreating from the pokemon's chin, Bellis said, "Don't worry, you'll be fine- looks like he got through your endoskeleton, but there's only a small cut." A look of recognition flashed upon her face. "You're Laura," she said, and pointed to the pokemon's companion, "and you're Dan. I met you two at the festival today; a shame we couldn't have met under more pleasant circumstances."
"Yes... Thank you. Jean, was it?" the Vespiquen asked.
"Yup, Officer Jean Bellis is what they call me," she replied.
The pokemon then turned to her companion and whispered so her words would be inaudible to the policewoman. "I'm sorry, Daniel- this is all my fault. If I hadn't been acting so damn childish-"
Dan put a finger to her mouth to shush her. "No, if anyone is to blame, it's me- I was being insensit-"
A clap of deafening thunder interrupted him.
---
Jason watched as Bellis walked over to the odd couple to inspect the injured Vespiquen's condition. His gaze then shifted to the motionless Floatzel, and then to his partner, Freddy. "Looks like the crazy bastard impaled himself with his own knife."
The Machoke shook his head. "The guy had it coming. So what now? Should we handcuff him?"
Rolling his blue eyes, the Blaziken replied, "Freddy really? What's the point of handcuffing a dead guy? I mean, look at him- he's splayed out on the ground, he's not moving, and the paw that he was holding the knife in is underneath his body right now. So, if you put one and one together, logically, he's dead."
"But one plus one equals two," Freddy said, scratching his head.
"You're such a dumbass. Anyway, you mind taking a trip to the squad car and getting me a bodybag?"
"Sure, it'll take me a couple of minutes, though; it's all the way down the street."
"Alright, whatever. Just make it quick; staring at this creep's body is giving me the chills," Jason said, rubbing his down-covered arms.
"Yeah, yeah, yeah. If you weren't such a lazy asshole I'm sure that you'd get it yourself," the Machoke grumbled.
"I love you too, buddy," the Blaziken said sarcastically, watching the policeman start down the street. Repositioning himself, he noticed Mayor Lockington stooped over the body of Howard. "Hey, Mr. Lockington. I wouldn't do that if I were you; he may come back up and bite ya!"
The tall brown-haired man didn't reply, still observing the body. "He cut the face off of a girl and wore it as his own..." he said quietly.
"You got that right, sir. He was one sick bastard... oh, Arceus."
Lockington diverted his line of sight toward the Blaziken and asked, "What?"
Quick as a bolt of lightning, the seemingly dead Howard snatched up the shotgun that lay at his side and braced the stock against the ground, pulling the trigger. With a deafening roar, the gun emptied its deadly payload right into the head of the unsuspecting mayor.
As the bullets impacted, Lockington's skull exploded, the hot lead projectiles breaking his head apart in a chunky crimson explosion. Jason cried out and fell back as the area was splattered with bloodied pieces of pink flesh, chips of bone, and colorless brain matter.
Lockington's decapitated body flew backwards in an arch, the ragged neck stump exploding streams of blood onto the cobblestone street, and the screaming Blaziken. As the body hit the ground, blood geysered onto the road in incremental spurts as the mayor's limbs convulsed, his skin already turning a pale gray.
As quickly as Howard disposed of the unfortunate mayor, he discarded the shotgun and disappeared into one of the shopping center's side alleys, just as Bellis began to run towards the wailing police officer.
Jean gasped in shock as she bent over to help the gore-splattered Jason off the ground. "Holy shit, Jason," she said hoarsely, looking at the decapitated body of Lockington. "What the hell happened?"
Wiping the body matter from his face, Jason pointed a jabbing talon at a dark alleyway. "He... He... He was dead! Then... Then he got up and killed the mayor with Freddy's shotgun..."
"Get yourself together, Jason. We need to find him," Bellis commanded, scooping her pistol from where she deposited it on the ground earlier. "You two," she began, turning to Dan and Laura, "can you find your way back to the hotel?"
Laura shook her head stubbornly. "I'm not going anywhere. That guy tried to kill me, and I want to see with my own two eyes that he got put down.
"Alright Laura, now you're being stupid! Look at what he did to the mayor!" Dan yelled, pointing at the headless corpse that still lay bleeding in the street. "That guy blew his bloody head off!"
Stepping between the two, Bellis asked, "Do you even know how to get back to the hotel?"
The couple both shook their heads 'no'.
"Alright, then. I'm short on time and it's not safe for you two to make it back to the hotel, and that means you guys are coming with me."
Dan began to laugh. "You can't tell me what to do against my will; especially seeing as though you're dragging me into your little police mission because my wife wants to go with you."
"I'm going with you," Laura said with a firm shake of her head.
Dan threw his hands up into the air. "You're all a bunch of fucking nutjobs!"
"Thank you," Bellis said, removing her personal radio communicator. "Hey, Freddy are you there?"
There was a click at the other end of the line. "Yeah, I'm here boss."
"Howard got Lockington; I need you to call the coroner's office to pick up the body. It's right in front of the produce store. And bring the squad car, too. We've got to find Carnet before he kills anyone else... Oh, and we're bringing the civilians with us."
"You've got to be kidding me, Jean," Freddy said, "you're bringing civilians with you to track down a psychopathic murderer?"
She sighed. "We don't have enough time to bring them back to the hotel and we can't send them off on their own with Carnet out there. At least this way we can protect them; remember: we have guns and Carnet has knives."
"That didn't work too well last time, chief."
"Well we'll make it work this time. Now stop beating around the bush and get you're ass over here in the squad car; we're taking a trip to the mines."
"And remind me why we're going to the mines?"
"Where else do you to expect to find the psychotic bastard? Last year that's where we caught him because that's the only place that he hangs out, and that's where we'll get him this time."
"Aye, aye, captain," the Machoke replied, clipping his radio back into his belt.
---
Rithiea Sazao breathed in deeply, enjoying the sweet scent of the mountain air as she continued down the hiking trail that descended from the town mine. Even through it was Valentine's Day, she figured that there was nothing better to do than to take a nice relaxing walk in the rocky trail of the Anchorhead Mountains, seeing as though she didn't have a person to share the day with anyway.
The Zangoose raised her arm to check the time on her illuminated LED watch, curious about the time; it was nearly eight o' clock in the evening and stars were beginning to appear in the dark night sky. "Darn," she said to herself. Rithiea had originally planned to get home by seven-thirty to watch a movie, but she would obviously miss a good portion of it if she didn't hurry.
She quickened her pace; the parking lot was in sight at the bottom of the rocky hill. It was then that her scarlet eyes caught sight of movement in the corner of her field of vision. Rithiea blinked and looked again; nothing. The Zangoose scanned the area around her- there were no obvious landmarks and the geography of the area only consisted of small rocks and boulders. She was beginning to get nervous.
Removing her backpack, Rithiea quickly unzipped the front pouch and pulled out a flashlight. Fumbling, she managed to tap the 'on' switch, sending a yellow beam of light down the path in front of her; it was surprising how much calmer the warm glow made her feel. Suddenly, a small amount of pebbles slid down the slope directly behind her. Whirling around, the Zangoose pointed the light in the direction of the noise, illuminating a figure dressed in a black hooded sweatshirt and jeans. Oddly enough, there were two handles of sorts that stuck out from both sides of the pants.
"Uh, hi there," Rithiea began, nervously waving a paw at the figure. "Can I help you?"
Head looking toward the ground, the hooded figure replied, "Help? Oh, yeah. I need a lot of help."
Shouldering her backpack as she backed away slowly, the Zangoose shakily asked, "What do you need help with?"
The figure laughed; a male voice. "Oh, nothing. Just a little problem with all sorts of people bothering me and fucking my life up. Don't you hate it when people fuck with your life; your mind?"
Backing away at a quicker pace, Rithiea replied, "Umm, I better go... Good luck with your problem."
"You don't get it, do you?"
"Ok, you're really starting to creep me out," she said, ready to break into a run.
"You are my problem. Everyone is my problem," he said, voice becoming unsteady with manic laughter. The figure then pulled on the handles that protruded from his pants, revealing two oversized serrated knives. He looked up, the pale and crudely skinned face of a female human pasted over his own, the muzzle of a Floatzel threaded through her mouth. The Floatzel thrust his arms outward, the knives catching the light of Rithiea's flashlight.
The Zangoose turned and sprinted down the hill, screaming as the her sadistic tormenter broke into a run in pursuit.
---
Laura sat in the police car, wedged in-between her husband and Officer Bellis as the vehicle traveled towards the town mines. "So," she began, "you and that Floatzel Howard seem to know each other. What on earth made him... I don't know..."
"The way he is?" Bellis asked.
"Yes."
"Well, it started two years ago around this time. Howard used to work in the mines for extended periods of time, so naturally he didn't have much time to spend with his wife. There was a man named Jim who lived next door who was married to a Gardevoir-"
"Jim was the man you talked about at the festival, right?" Laura interrupted.
"Yeah, that's correct. But anyway, Jim wasn't a loyal sort of person; he was known to sleep around with women. How his wife put up with him, I don't know. But because Howard never was home much, Jim eventually made friends with his wife, and they had a continued 'relationship'."
Laura made a disgusted face. "That's terrible. How do you know of all this?"
Jean laughed humorlessly. "I'm the town sheriff; I know everything that needs to be known."
"Tell me more about this Howard."
Bellis shook her head. "There isn't much more to say. Howard caught his wife sleeping with Jim on the night of Valentine's Day, and he went crazy. He killed Jim, Jim's wife, and his own wife. The sick bastard cut their jaws off and arranged them in heart shapes, so the people around here call him 'The Valentine's Day Killer'. A couple days after, Freddy, Jason and I cornered him in the mines and he was put under arrest; I was surprised that he didn't put up a fight."
The Vespiquen looked into her lap, and then to her silent husband. "I don't understand how someone could do such a thing..."
"Yes, and it's going to happen to us because the local militia sucked us into their sick little game," Dan spat. He pointed to Bellis. "You should be ashamed to call yourself a police officer!"
"You shut your mouth right now, Daniel!
"Think about what we're doing for a second, Laura. We're with a motley crew of police officers who can't even handle somebody with a knife when they're all armed with guns. How can you feel safe with these people?"
Bellis frowned. "You had no right to say that, Dan. We handled the situation the best we could so you could get your wife out of danger and the situation got out of control."
None of the three arguing in the back noticed the police car come to a halt. Jason, who was driving, looked into the back seat at the squabbling trio. "Alright, kiddies. Settle down- we're here."
All three fell silent as Jason and Freddy simultaneously exited the car. The Blaziken circled around and opened one of the back doors and poked his head inside, directly in front of Bellis. "Are you guys going to get out or do you need an invitation?"
Bellis, Laura, and Dan exited the car without a sound. Once outside, Bellis opened the trunk of the car and pulled out a shotgun, giving it to Freddy. "Here's the replacement for the one you lost," she said as the Machoke accepted the weapon. Digging into the trunk once more, she pulled out five small LED flashlights and distributed them amongst the group.
After accepting his light, Jason watched as a terrified-looking female Zangoose scrambled into a blue Chevy car that was parked a couple spaces over and drive away, taking off with frightful speed, the engine roaring. Turning to the rest of the group, he said, "I think we found Carnet."
"I knew he'd be here," Bellis replied, unholstering her pistol. "Alright everyone, let's move out. The cave's right up this hiking trail."
---
Standing at the entrance to the mine, Jean Bellis observed her rag-tag team. Freddy, Jason, and Laura stood ready as Dan stood away from them, nervously fidgeting about. "Alright everyone," she started, "we'll be splitting up into two teams. Freddy and Jason will go in together, and I'll take Laura and Dan. Right at the start, the mine splits into two different passages; my team will take the left and Jason's will take the right. Any questions?"
Everyone remained silent.
"All right, let's go get him." Bellis said, leading the way as Laura and Dan trailed behind her, flashlights illuminating the slick, brown rock that made up the cave.
Once the first team disappeared into the left tunnel, Jason turned to Freddy and said, "It's just you and me now, buddy."
"Yeah, I sure could use a beer right now, though," the Machoke muttered, clutching the shotgun.
The Blaziken smacked him in the behind and started down the right tunnel. "Come on, quit being a pussy and let's get this over with."
Freddy reluctantly trailed behind Jason, aiming the flashlight at the cave walls; they were wet and glistening from the groundwater that flowed downward from the mountain above. It almost gave the illusion of...
A hand shot out from behind him and roughly clamped down around his throat, cutting off Freddy's breathing. The muscular Machoke tried to strike out, but hit nothing but air as he felt a cold razor-like pain cut through his cheeks, swiftly followed by searing pain; Howard's knife. He tried to scream, but no sound came out, thanks to the hand that cut off all air from his throat.
His horrified yellow eyes looked into the passage ahead, where Jason continued to walk, blissfully unaware of what was happening. Suddenly, he felt the knife change to a vertical angle inside his mouth, sliding back and forth, traveling upwards, cutting through his molars, his gums- the pain!
Freddy reached upwards feebly, trying to get the knife to stop cutting when his mind suddenly went blank. Everything cut out; blackness.
In the tunnel ahead, Jason turned around, noticing Freddy wasn't following. "Oh, come on, Freddy. Do I have to drag your ass with me?" he called, backtracking. The blue flashlight beam bouncing off the walls of the cave, they finally found the Machoke, standing in the cave with his fists clenched in the air. "Freddy, what the hell are you doing?"
The Machoke suddenly fell to his knees, the front half of his head peeling away from his body and hitting the rocky ground with a wet slap. Blood leaked from the gory ribbons of severed brain and collected in his jaw, pouring out onto the ground in a crimson waterfall. Freddy's body then fell forward onto the ground, motionless.
"Holy shit! Holy shit! Holy shit!" the Blaziken blubbered, terrified. He turned away from his partner's body and sprinted down the cave corridor when something jabbed into his chest with frightening force as he fell hard to the ground.
Dazed as he lay on the ground, he looked at his torso, seeing a black handle sticking out of his chest. I impaled myself on one of Howard's knives.
Out of the darkness appeared the Floatzel, the pale face of the dead girl giving him an even more frightening appearance. Calmly, he walked up to Jason and sat down on his belly, straddling him.
Looking down, the Floatzel said, "It's nice to see you again, Jason; but you know I have to pay you back for what you and your buddies did to me last year."
Blood seeping from his beak, Jason helplessly shook his head from side to side, unable to gain control of his body. He watched in terror as the Floatzel took hold of the knife and swiftly carved upwards; the Blaziken could feel the blade easily carving through his ribs, but oddly enough, there was hardly any pain.
"It's the end of the line for you, Jason," Howard said, smiling a toothy grin. "See ya in hell." On one swift motion, the Floatzel thrust his hand into the incision he made in Jason's chest and pulled something out. Suddenly, Jason felt disconnected from the world, as if he was in a dream. On top of him, the Blaziken saw the Floatzel clutching a blood-soaked beating heart in his paw, the blue veins within expanding within the muscle.
Howard grinned and took a large bite out of the organ, causing blood to explode from within, splattering on his feathered chest. Immediately after, the world went black for Jason.
---
With Bellis in the lead, Laura and Dan followed cautiously behind, the droning of the Vespiquen's wings echoing throughout the cave. After some more walking, the trio exited into a large, open rectangular room.
"What is this place? Laura asked, head moving back and forth, observing the open space.
Seeing boxes of blasting materials containing dynamite and other high explosives, Bellis answered, "Looks like the place where the miners store all the explosives."
"That's reassuring," Dan muttered. "...Ah, shit."
Bellis and Laura both looked to see Dan standing in front of a triad of bloody jawbones arranged in an almost ritualistic fashion. The way they were arranged almost made them look like a heart.
"That's Howard's trademark," Bellis said to Dan, "the sick fuck really has a talent for making people sick."
"Why thank you!" a male voice boomed, the sound bouncing off the cavern walls. "I thought you should know, Bellis- both of your little Boy Scouts won't be joining us for Valentine's Day dinner."
"What the fuck did you do to them, you bastard!" Jean yelled at the disembodied voice.
"Oh, nothing," Howard said. "Freddy got a little scared and lost his head. And as you already know, your Blaziken buddy Jason was always heartless."
The policewoman suddenly turned to Dan and Laura. "You two get out of here, now. This is between me and Carnet."
"But what about you? the Vespiquen asked, concern in her voice.
"I'll be fine! Just go!"
Dan grabbed Laura's shoulders and whispered, "Let's go. If Jean said we have to, we need to leave. Now."
"Be careful." Laura said, turning away from the policewoman.
Moving quickly, the pair disappeared into the twisting passageway that they entered the room from. Echoing out from the darkness of the tunnel, Bellis heard the distinct sound of Dan's voice. "I'm sorry."Chapter End Notes:Don't get pissed at me for the enigmatic cliffhanger ending XD. Personally, I thought it fit the story well. Happy Valentine's Day, everyone