DISCLAIMER: I do NOT own Pokemon at all! Pokemon is owned by Game Freak and Nintendo. I only own Firefox, Aura, and the plot!

Warning: This story gets rather dark. Back away if you can't handle darkfics and blood.

Discovery

One could say that the eerie fog and the full moon can signify the Halloween night out in the wilderness. Although that contributes to a Halloween night, there is just so much more. If anything, the rustle of the trees, with very few leaves left, or the squeaks of Noibats, and the chirping of Murkrows can just make things a whole lot spookier. But beware! One should be careful of the dangers that lurk inside a single abandoned mansion. This is the story of one.

It was a nice autumn afternoon in a vast forest, filled with tall oak trees that tower to the sky. Most of their leaves have fallen, with just a few leaves, clinging on to life. Something about it made it increasingly eerie and mysterious. Nobody knew why, but they just considered it to be that way. In just a few hours later, it would be Halloween night.

A red-orange paw stepped in the orange leaves, making a crunching sound. Then another. And another. Looking up, if you were a small Wurmple or something, you could see the face of a Flareon, walking to somewhere. Her navy blue eyes shined dimly in the broad sunlight, and a smile was on her face. That smile quickly became a worried expression. She looked around.

Beside her was an Umbreon, her fur as black as the night. The Umbreon was focused on a map that she was levitating with Psychic, reading it. The rings on her body weren't glowing now, but it would be in a few hours. She looked up from the map, and became puzzled.

"…Aura? Where are we?" the Flareon asked with a worried tone. The Umbreon, known as Aura, looked around, confused at where they were at.

"…I don't know, actually. We should be here, at the Pumpkaboo Festival, but I don't see anything." Aura continued to look around for a sign of the Pumpkaboo Festival, but it was useless. She sighed and shook the thought, and continued walking.

"Wait!" the Flareon yelled. "Where are you going?"

"I'm going to investigate, Firefox. You're… not a very good detective. Besides, I need to look around for clues of the Pumpkaboo Festival's whereabouts," Aura explained.

"…You're not being sarcastic again, are you?" the Flareon, known as Firefox, asked.

"No, Firefox. I'm speaking literally this time. Now-" She then noticed the map, and looked at it. "Fuck! I read the map upside down!"

Firefox started to panic. "D-Does that mean we're lost?!"

Aura nodded. "Yes. But, I can detect something in the distance."

"What is it, Aura?" she asked.

"…A Murkrow. I don't see any around here, but it's somewhere. That's all I know."

"Well, what should we do?"

"Here's an idea. Shut your mouth and let's keep walking until we find something."

So, they walked for what felt like hours. Firefox's legs were getting tired from all of that walking. When were they going to find something interesting? It was just watching boring days pass by for the last few weeks. She wanted some excitement in her life. But, then again, she could risk getting injured, something that Firefox definitely hated. Aura stopped.

"What is it?" she asked.

The Umbreon didn't respond. Instead, she was staring at a small mansion in the distance. Firefox didn't understand the importance of it. It was just a regular old mansion in the middle of a forest. It didn't seem like a big deal.

"The Murkrow is there…" she muttered.

"And what is the purpose of this Murkrow, exactly?" Firefox asked.

"Perhaps it could help us get back to our home. We did come the wrong way, after all. It's risky, but it's worth a try," Aura explained. Her paws started to move towards the mansion, the leaves crunching with her every move. To Firefox, it didn't seem like Aura was acting normal. Something seemed… different. Was it because she was a Dark-type Pokemon? She shrugged and followed Aura.

"I don't think we'll have to walk too far," Firefox said. "At least, I think."

"Just stay close to me, Firefox. The Murkrow isn't that far away." The two continued walking for a few more minutes, until they arrived at the mansion. At first, it seemed old, but when she studied it more, she began to notice bigger details. The mansion overall seemed worn-down, and the paint on it seemed dull. There were some spots where there wasn't any paint, revealing just bricks. The windows had cracks and holes in them, some were even boarded up by wood. The doors were wooden and wide open.

"This reminds me of a haunted house," Firefox commented. "Spooky." Aura was still looking around. Her ears perked up in interested when she stopped. Firefox's eyes drifted to a small, wooden sign with a Murkrow perched on it.

"Welcome," the Murkrow said. Its voice was scratchy and coarse, reminding Firefox of claws scratching wood. "What is your purpose here?"

"Hello, Murkrow," Aura greeted. "While traveling to the Pumpkaboo Festival quite a few miles away, we have appeared to have gotten lost. We were hoping that you could give us directions to find our way home."

"Hmm… The Pumpkaboo Festival?" it asked, pondering over what to do. "I'm afraid that it has ended."

"What?" Firefox exclaimed in shock. "It ended?! It's not even midnight, yet!"

The Murkrow stretched its talons, as if it was getting ready to scoop up a Caterpie. "Oh, but an unfortunate accident has happened there! There's no use of going back now."

"Can you help us get home, then?" she asked.

It shook its head. "I'm afraid I can't help you, child. You're stuck here for… I don't know, about a day."

"A day?!" Firefox exclaimed. "We'll miss Halloween night, then?"

The Murkrow grinned. "Well, isn't that pleasant. I know a great place you could stay."

Aura tilted her head in interest. "And where is this place, exactly?"

"Why, inside the mansion is a great place to stay. You don't have to worry about a single thing!"

I hope that's the case, Firefox thought. She was not dying out in the wilderness tonight. "It's a deal, then."

A/N: So, here is my story for Halloween. I'm sorry that it's short, consider this as Prologue Part 1. I'll just tell you that the next chapter will also be short, as it is Prologue Part 2. Basically, 7 chapters in total are planned for this story. Chapters 3-6 will be quite long (probably at least 3000+ words), while chapter 7 will serve as an epilogue, being about as long as this one. I plan for the last chapter to be released on Halloween, so stay tuned every few days for the next chapter. This gives me two weeks in total to write this, just so that you're aware. My other stories will be on hiatus while this is being written, so don't expect any new chapters for my other fanfictions in the two weeks. So, with that, Branchwing, out!