Into The Unown

Castle of Jorum

"Bye, Ted."

Dawn ended the call, but something didn't sit right. There was a knot in her chest, an ache she couldn't quite diagnose.

"Who's Ted? Your boyfriend?" Calem's voice interrupted her thoughts. She turned only to see him approach while shoving a tree branch aside.

Dawn shot him a glare. "Not that it's any of your business, but no. Ted is not my boyfriend. We haven't even met in a year."

There was it again, that ache.

"It is my business," Calem smirked. "We're not allowed to make personal calls on duty."

"We're always on duty," she rolled her eyes.

"I think that's the point," he said, his smirk widening. "Ailsa said it's to prevent unwanted pregnancies."

"What the—" Dawn froze, baffled.

"She just pointed at Ash and his birthdate answered the rest."

They hiked further into the dense rainforests of Kalos; light seemed in through the canopy present high in the dream. Neither of them was aware of this path; in the local literature, it was said that these forests harboured the souls of the damned, making them unliveable and unexplored. It wasn't on their list, but after a misunderstanding with local shopkeepers, they'd been forced to flee the town, taking whatever path they could find. It wasn't long before they stumbled upon a ditch that wasn't marked on any maps. Calem, in his usual careless way, had fallen into it first. After helping him out, they decided to explore the uncharted terrain anyway.

"I still don't understand why we're wasting time in this ditch," Calem said, brushing the dust of his jacket.

"It's not on any maps," Dawn scanned their surroundings. "There maybe some ruins here."

Calem scoffed. "We're not on the that team, remember? That's not our job. How did I go from tracking a mole to digging soil to shit in?"

"About that... you never found a mole, right?" Dawn asked.

He shook his head. "Nope. I don't think there ever was one. If there was, N wouldn't have needed to go undercover. I presented this hypothesis to Delia who then dissolved my mission."

"Huh. Maybe. Who knows, maybe the—"

Her words were cut off when the ground beneath her feet disappeared. Dawn let out a silent scream as she tumbled towards the edge. Calem grabbed her just in time, instantly pulling her up.

"You okay?" he asked, breathless.

"Yeah," she duster herself, her gaze shifting downward.

"What is it?" Calem followed her line of sight.

Below them, nestled in the middle of the forest, was the crumbling ruin of a castle—ashened and barely standing, it shouldn't have caught their attending, but the a certain jet parked in the grounds and guards patrolling the perimeter made them turn up their eyebrow.

"Apocalypse?" Dawn asked.

"Guess this ditch just got interesting," Calem muttered, his eyes narrowing.

"That's the Castle of Jorum," Delia said, leaning back in her chair.

"The what now?" Dawn asked, frowning at the pixilated video feed. The screen was so small she could barely see Charlus, who was busy fiddling with something in the background.

"The Castle of Jorum," Delia repeated. "It fell into ruin after Mark Jorum died."

"Wasn't there anyone else to take care of it?"

"Not really," Delia said, "Every member of the Jorum family died before turning thirty-five. Technically, it's Serena's property now..." Her gaze flicked toward Charlus. "Legally speaking, anyway."

"Wait, how did the Apocalypse get control of it? Didn't we take care of it?" Dawn pressed.

Delia exhaled sharply, slamming her hands onto her desk. "The only people who knew the castle's exact location were Ailsa and Grace. We had the perimeter covered with security cameras connected to Haldfest, but after Haldfest was destroyed, we lost everything. Without its coordinates, we couldn't even search for it. The castle was abandoned."

"Whatever the Apocalypse is doing there, it's not major," Calem interjected. "The place is too small to be one of their main bases. My guess is it's a localized operation."

Delia shook her head. "It's still risky. If they've seen you on hidden cameras, they'll know you're there. It's not safe to stick around, much less snoop."

"We'll be fine," Calem said confidently, his tone was a little too confident for Dawn's taste. "We've got our aura bracelets. Even if we can't use them, maybe we'll awaken our Aura when we're under attack—not that anyone will."

Though she wasn't confident, Dawn still agreed. "We'll be careful," she added.

Delia's frown deepened. "Just don't do anything reckless. Keep your distance and report back immediately if you see anything unusual."

Calem nodded. "Got it."

Dawn and Calem crept through the ruined halls of the Castle of Jorum, their movements silent. The castle wasn't heavily guarded, something which unsettled Dawn, taking him back to the time they found Giovanni's lair. She couldn't shake the feeling that somehow history was repeating itself.

They walked deeper inside the castle until they came across a room with an iron door. Two guards heavily armoured stood at guard outside.

Dawn and Calem, silently exchanging a battle plan. In one swift move, Calem lunged at the guard, his blade flashing as he slit his throat in a single slide. Meanwhile, Dawn caught the attention of the second guard. She covered his mouth before driving a dagger into his chest.

They pushed the doors open and slipped inside, only to come to a stop when they caught a sight of him.

In the center of the room was a massive circle, glowing faintly with a purple like haze. They didn't need to examine it from close to realise that it was made with Unowns. Their bizarre bodies twisting in the air, forming an unbroken ring. At the heart of the circle, suspended mid-air, was a figure covered in black cloaks and a broken mask.

The figure hung motionless, carrying a stench that made their nostrils fume.

Dawn's stomach churned. "It's him... Karma."

Calem turned to her, his brow furrowed. "How do you know that?"

"He competed against Ash in the championships. We have to get out of here. Now."

Just as they were about about to exit, the metal doors slammed in their faces. Behind them, the Unown spun faster.

Karma stepped down from the ring.  "Intruders," he said, a black began to swirl around him. Karma raised a hand, and a wave of dark energy shot toward them. They dove to the side just in time, the force of the blast tore the door off its hinges.

"Run!" Dawn shouted.

They bolted down the hallway, but Karma followed, his movements unnaturally slow, shadows trailing behind him. Unable to find the thrill of chase in him, Dawn frowned.

"Send a message to Delia!" She yelled.

Calem fumbled for his communicator as he recorded a message, "Karma found at the castle. SELF DESTRUCT."

Within moments, the communicator went up in flames. Just as they were supposed to reach the corner, another waves of darkness as tall as the cliff they fell off, slammed into him, throwing him hard against the wall. He crumpled to the ground, motionless.

"Calem!" Dawn screamed before a similar fate befell her.

Karma advanced, his mask fixed on her. Her eyes flicked as pain shot through her body, pulling her into a shroud of darkness. The last she saw of him was as he bent down, grabbing her wrist with a ferocious grip. He tore off her Unown bracelet with ease, mumbling,

"So this is what it is,"