Spiteful Murkrow
Early Game Encounter
Silent surveillance footage from a gas station south of Eterna City captures glimpses of an otherworldly visitor. Reality-warping events ensue.
Hello everybody. It's been a long while since I've actually done anything like this, but I'm here with a story that for once isn't Fledglings-related and my first proper one-shot that I've ever written.
Now for some background, but this one-shot's got some fairly old origins. How old? It was originally outlined for the writing prompt of Fanfiction Quarterly #2 to write a fic without any dialogue at all. In 2015.
Way, way, back when, I'd gotten the idea to venture outside my comfort zone and write a fic cribbing a piece of @Umbramatic's Pokéverse headcanon that he uses in his writings. Even though I don't personally share it as a headcanon, I felt it provided a workable hook for telling an interesting story that met the restrictions of the writing prompt, and decided to just run with it and make an unsubtle video game reference or two along the way. A few years came and went, when in early 2020 I decided to knuckle down and try to finish this one-shot as a gift fic in time for @Umbramatic's birthday since I hate having unfinished stuff sitting around and taunting me.
Well, it's (thankfully) not 2020 anymore, but it is @Umbramatic's birthday again, and after grinding things out and getting some editorial feedback from @Tangent128 , @rmctagg09 , and @Venia Silente from this site , and sugoitsu from ff.net, I finally have something in a publishable state. While it's no War and Peace due to the inherent nature of the prompt and the limitations of my skills as a writer, I'm proud to present my finally finished yarn for the occasion and hope I did his headcanon justice with it.
[NO AUDIO]
08/08/31
[20:01:33] - Store Front Camera
The camera records from behind a purple counter overlooking an unremarkable mini-mart in purple and black trim. The floorplan is laid out around three rows of shelves running the length of the store with a line of refrigerators at the opposite end of the room. On the left side of the store is a pair of automatic doors, with a claw machine wedged against the wall along with a small counter stocked with heated foods and a tea dispenser.
[20:01:56] - Store Rear Camera
The camera shows the mini-mart from the opposite end of the room, giving a fuller view of the checkout counter along with the claw machine and the hot food and drink corner just under a map of Sinnoh pinned to the wall with a circle drawn just south of Eterna City. The automatic doors slide open, as a balding man wearing a purple shirt with a black flame logo over its chest pocket enters followed by a gray-haired young woman with a cap similarly bearing the same logo, proudly marking the gas station as a franchisee of Altru Incorporated and the pair as employees.
The man leads the young woman behind the counter, pointing out the cashier and barcode scanner, along with a set of keys on a ring to a pair of doors on the left end of the camera's field of view. One door opens to reveal glimpses of stacked boxes, evidently the store's backroom, the other provides a fleeting glimpse of a sink and a toilet in front of a simple mirror. All the while, the young woman appears disinterested, fidgeting with a name tag that a brief moment where it lining up with the camera's angle reveals to be labelled 'Nami'. She nods along occasionally as the balding man leads her down the aisles, pointing out the merchandise in different sections, before opening the fridges, and stopping to point up at the camera.
[20:04:14] - Store Front Camera
Back from behind the counter, the young woman flippantly waves the man off by the refrigerators on the other end of the store, her words not captured by the security footage, but evidently seeming to not please the man much. Nevertheless, he moves along, quickly leaving the store all to the woman's self.
She pauses a moment, giving a careful look around before throwing an arm out. A black shadow forms under a pink box of frosted biscuit sticks on the shelves immediately to front left of the store's counter, which exits out another shadowy portal that forms on the ceiling by the refrigerators.
[20:04:47] - Store Rear Camera
The woman throws her hand up, catching the pink box in midair before turning a pair of red eyes up at the camera with a devious smile, waving it tauntingly as she begins to help herself to the snacks inside.
08/09/01
[00:28:03] - Store Front Camera
The camera shows the young woman back behind the counter, lazily kicking her feet up as she points off at the aisles. Every time she does so, a black, shadowy patch forms, before items emerge from them. A box of chewing gum, a few bottles of Altru-branded motor oil taped together, the process repeating here and there across the shelves until they are once again filled.
The woman stops and gets up with an annoyed shrug, going along the aisles and tearing the tops off of boxes and tape off of bundles of bottles. She makes her way up and down the aisles, circling through the store until she completes her circuit and is left with a small pile of cardboard and tape in her hands. The attendant then retraces her steps back to the counter, scowling down at her handful of rubbish before looking down at the ground. A black patch abruptly forms by her feet, prompting her to unceremoniously drop the trash ball down the patch before turning towards the door and hurriedly darting back behind the counter.
The attendant composes herself as the door opens and a young couple steps in. The woman waves at the pair, giving an unheard greeting as the pair drift down the aisles, quickly returning with a chilled coffee from the back and a small packet of processed breakfast pastries from one of the aisles. The couple slides a bill over the counter, which the attendant stops to count and make change. The couple nod back in thanks and make their way for the outside of the store when an errant coin slips out and falls onto the ground. The attendant looks over disinterestedly at the coin and then off at the door for a moment, before getting up and shaking her head.
A black shadow forms under the coin, letting it drop into the abyss. Another shadow forms beside the woman, which she steps into and drops down, the patch closing up behind her to reveal the normal linoleum tiling underneath.
[00:29:26] - Store Exterior Camera
The security camera shows the pumps from a camera mounted just above the automatic doors of the convenience store, revealing a simple layout bathed in sterile white light with a pair of islands with two pumps each, and a bike rack near the windows for cyclists going to and from the nearby Cycling Road. The man from the young couple stands at the pumps closest to the road, refueling a late-model silver sedan with his back turned to the other set of pumps. On the pavement just outside the store's doors, a shadowy patch forms and a coin shoots out, followed by the gray-haired woman jumping out. The attendant snatches the coin from the air, before adjusting her cap and rounding the pumps where she calls out inaudibly to the man.
The man turns from his car and goes up, taking the coin from the attendant. There is a moment of puzzled silence as he looks back towards the camera and back at the attendant. The man gives his thanks, before returning the nozzle to the pump and re-entering his car, driving off as the gray-haired attendant waves off, walking back towards the convenience store with a knowing smile.
08/09/02
[23:43:52] - Store Exterior Camera
The camera overlooking the pump rolls as an orange hatchback with rounded curves and tall, strip-like taillights is parked at the nearest island with a woman pumping gas into it, when an older, blue sports coupe with a spoiler and large two-tone taillights slowly lurches in from the dark and into the white light of the station's lights. The battered vehicle's erratic movement is quickly revealed to be from a trio of college-age men pushing the tatty, boxy car from behind, the gas cap left open as its passengers finally align it with a pump in the island furthest from the camera.
After making it to the pump, the three stop to catch their breaths, before shaking their head and going up to the pump. A bespectacled student among them takes out a card and slides it into the pump, only to stop and pull it out. The student repeats the process a couple times, before the lot inspect the pump puzzledly and head off for the convenience store.
[23:45:38] - Store Front Camera
From behind the counter, the attendant finishes passing change across the counter to a young boy and girl as they buy a pair of Rage Candy Bars. The pair begin to set off when the door opens and the college students come in. The children step aside for a moment as the young adults go up to the counter, staring for a moment as the student with glasses shows his card to the attendant. The attendant runs the card into a reader, before looking down at a screen and handing it back, leaving the college students to grimace before the student with glasses speaks up. A few other cards are passed over the counter, evidently not intended to be used for normal payment only for the attendant to deny them. The children in the background slink off past the doors, while the woman directs the students back for the door, casting glances at the windows every now and then as the three trod off in visible disappointment.
[23:46:50] - Store Exterior Camera
The woman finishes pumping, before hanging the nozzle back up. The children from the counter exit the doors and make their way back to the hatchback, entering it along with the woman before the family of three drives off. An ominous purple glow comes from the base of the blue coupe , which lingers a bit before fading. The automatic doors slide open as the students who were turned away from the counter exit and come back into the view of the camera, making their way for the coupe as one of them takes out a blue Pokégear and begins to press some buttons on it when the student with the glasses taps at his shoulder.
The student with the Pokégear goes up to the blue car, noticing something strange, before opening the driver's side door and starting the engine. The car's lights flicker on and the exhaust pipe rattles slightly, much to the astonishment of the other two students. The driver gets back out and stares incredulously back at the open pump, before looking back off at the road in the direction the woman's hatchback drove off in. The students shrug their shoulders, the driver twisting the gas cap shut and closing its cover before the three re-enter their vehicle and drive off into the night.
08/09/03
[23:38:06] - Store Front Camera
From behind the counter, the camera captures the gray-haired attendant lazily slouched over the counter, idly moving a hand back and forth. With each motion, a shadow forms from behind the glass of the refrigerators, and another forms over a few tiles near the checkout counter as a can pops up, the process repeating a few times as the attendant little by little creates a pyramid of soda cans in front of the rightmost line of shelves.
The automatic doors open, prompting the attendant to hastily stop as a gray-haired male teen enters the store. The attendant hastily turns her attention over to the cash register, opening it and pretending to be busy changing money as the teen drifts down the aisles. The teen lingers for a moment, before taking a few items off the far left row of shelves, making his way off to the counter where he slides a map and compass over with a pair of bills.
The attendant turns her attention back, her motions stiff and uncomfortable as she takes the bills and makes change, passing it back across the counter with the map and compass. The teenage boy nods and begins to head off, spotting the pyramid of cans to his right. The teen pauses and stares puzzledly at the arranged cans for a moment, before turning and heading off, the automatic doors opening and closing behind him as the attendant sighs and slouches against the counter, boredly returning to expanding the pyramid of cans.
08/09/04
[00:29:26] - Store Front Camera
The camera rolls showing the attendant lazing with her feet on the counter, idly throwing a paper ball into shadow on the ground ahead, which pops up again unseen from the camera to the right. The woman snatches the returning ball out of the air, repeating the process a few times for her amusement before noticing the automatic doors at the front sliding open.
An elderly man in a blue suit and an elderly woman in a pink dress and a pearl necklace step in, their faces contorted into sharp frowns. The attendant gets up and lets her paper ball fall behind the counter, hastily dispelling the portals. The elderly couple stomp up to the counter, shooting harsh glares across the counter as the pair and the attendant quickly get into a heated, unheard argument, complete with accusing gestures at each other.
The woman from the elderly couple loses her temper and slams a fist against the counter, which makes the camera and shelves shake and the lights overhead flicker, a nearby rack of postcards along the wall toppling over which the attendant hastily stops by casting a shadow under its leg closest to the counter, making it wobble in a circle before coming to a stop. The attendant shouts back unheard words, pointing her finger back when the doors open again and a middle-aged cyclist comes through and stares puzzledly.
The three trade startled looks with each other, the elderly couple hastily taking their leave in a huff. The cyclist lingers at the entrance a bit longer, before turning around and also leaving, finding the whole episode to be a bit too peculiar and unsettling. The attendant stares ahead into space for a moment, before slumping against the counter and burying her face in her hands.
08/09/05
[23:34:39] - Store Front Camera
The station attendant is crouched down against the counter, lazily doodling on a paper with a pen. She lifts it up to inspect it, revealing a doodle of a banded serpentine figure trailing six arms behind its head, along with unflattering caricatures of a four-legged creature with a tall head and a bipedal creature with shield-like shoulders. The woman flicks the doodle back down onto the counter and turns back at the camera with an agitated scowl when the automatic doors slide open.
The gray-haired teen from two days ago enters, this time followed closely by a Teddiursa. The attendant looks over the pair curiously as the boy goes through the shelves and picks out some snack items before bringing it to the counter, his Pokémon latching onto the ledge of the counter. The attendant gives a puzzled blink back and begins ringing the teen up when his Teddiursa turns the paper on the counter over and reveals the doodles on the other side.
The teen notices the drawing and begins to strike up idle chatter with the attendant. The conversation goes on for a bit, the woman's mood improving as it goes on as small smiles and laughter begin to creep over her face. The attendant wavers a moment, before forming a shadow from behind the counter and quickly stooping to grab from it unseen, pulling out a bottle of water. The attendant gets up and passes the water bottle across the counter to the teen, who takes it and inspects it puzzledly, before slipping it into a plastic bag with his snacks and carrying on. The trainer and his Pokémon head off past the automatic doors and leaving the attendant to wave after, and turn her attention back to the store in higher spirits.
08/09/06
[20:04:11] - Store Rear Camera
The attendant and the manager walk down the rightmost aisle, the manager looking around as the attendant talks with him with a forced, bubbly atmosphere while occasionally casting glances leftward. All the while, in the central aisle, boxes and bags shuffle around after dropping into and reappearing from shadowy portals. The attendant rounds the corner when the shadows abruptly vanish, the manager seeing the central aisle all in order. As he begins heading down it, the attendant repeats the process with the leftmost aisle, stopping as the manager rounds the bend and begins to walk up towards the refrigerators below the cameras.
The manager stops and speaks inaudibly with the attendant a moment before heading off, leaving her to wave him off and wait for him to slip past the automatic doors. The woman waits for the manager to slip past, before forming a shadow in the ceiling and snatching a remote that falls towards the ground. The attendant catches the remote and plays around with it in her hands as she makes her way back towards the counter, sitting down and turning towards a small, boxy monitor along the wall. The woman pulls up a chair and turns around, clicking the remote as the screen flickers to life with a glow, the woman staring at it unbothered by the rest of the empty store.
08/09/07
[00:21:25] - Store Front Camera
The attendant stares off at the glow of a television behind the counter when the entrance doors open and a shaved roughneck with a jacket sporting a Gyarados design enters. The husky man snaps at the young woman impatiently, prompting her to turn around as the roughneck gestures with an accusing waggle of his finger.
The attendant glares and frustratedly points off at the back of the store where the refrigerators are, leaving the customer to drift off back towards it. She looks off past the doors a moment and lowers her head in focus.
[00:21:57] - Store Rear Camera
Outside, a red motorcycle is parked in front of the pumps. A violet light glimmers from a dumpster to the background of the right end of camera's field of view when a shadowy mist forms on the top of the station's island, and abruptly rains garbage onto the motorcycle below.
[00:22:02] - Store Front Camera
The attendant brusquely rings up the roughneck, who walks off with a case of beer. The attendant gets up as the man leaves, and turns a sign in the window such that it reads 'OPEN' facing the camera, before locking the doors and turning off the lights. In the dark, the woman's form melts and dissipates from the camera's view as the roughneck can be seen back at the door beating at the doors. The man continues pounding at the doors fruitlessly for a while, before stopping and turning away. Roughly a minute passes, before the lights from outside dim as headlights move by and vanish, leaving behind the darkened and shuttered market as a pair of red, glowing dots of light each about the size of a softball appear on the floor.
08/09/08
[23:35:17] - Store Front Camera
The automatic doors slide open as the gray-haired Teddiursa trainer from prior days walks in, his tan-furred charge following close behind him. The attendant turns her head over the counter, watching as the boy makes his way to a crane machine and inserts a few coins. Through the glare of the plexiglass, the claw can be seen swaying, as the teen maneuvers the controls to move the claw around and over a plush of a snowman mascot with a blue hat, which clasps down and lifts the doll up, only to lose grip halfway through. The claw retracts back to its starting position, prompting the teen to try again to secure the plush, only to meet similar failure.
The teen goes through his pockets for more spare change, counting the coins in his hand, only to pocket them annoyedly. The attendant looks across the counter in time to spot the teen muttering to himself before he looks through his wallet, and makes his way back towards the line of refrigerated shelves at the back of the store.
[23:36:44] - Store Rear Camera
The camera focuses on the teen as he browses the drink section, the Teddiursa poking about at some snack foods on a nearby shelf. In the background the attendant raises out an arm, when a shadowy patch forms inside the plexiglass of the crane machine and its contents abruptly vanish from view. The Teddiursa turns towards the crane machine in time to see the patch forming, before turning back towards the counter and seeing the girl at the counter. The girl drops her arm and the patch vanishes to reveal an empty crane machine. The Teddiursa recoils with a start, going up and pawing at the leg of the trainer who sighs and grabs a white can with 'Psycho Soda' branding on it before walking back for the counter.
[23:37:31] - Store Front Camera
The teen walks up to the counter and slides the soda across with a tatty banknote as the Teddiursa continues to paw at his trainer's leg. The attendant makes change and slides the drink over in a plastic bag, along with the snowman mascot doll at the top. The teen pauses for a moment, taking the doll into his hands and giving an incredulous stare back as the pair converse for a moment. The Teddiursa grows agitated and waves his arms for attention, making both the attendant and trainer stare at it as it attempts to say something to the two humans in its own language. The unheard explanation doing little other than draw confusion, as the trainer gives an apologetic nod and takes the bag off the counter on his way for the door.
[23:38:33] - Store Rear Camera
The teen exits the store along with the Teddiursa, who reluctantly follows behind, stealing glances over his shoulder towards the attendant all the while. The attendant watches out the doors after they slide shut for a few moments, before raising her arm again. The shadowy patch in the crane machine re-forms, and the missing dolls abruptly get thrust up. The girl lowers her arm as the patch vanishes, the dolls in the machine settling as the attendant turns her attention back to the television behind the counter.
08/09/09
[23:46:58] - Store Front Camera
The station attendant stares up at the camera in the corner and contorts her face in front of it. Sticking her tongue out one moment, then pulling her mouth wide, then pulling her eyelid down as she cycles through a few expressions to amuse herself. The automatic doors to the convenience store slide open, making the girl pause and turn back just in time to spot the blue-suited man and pink-dressed woman from a few days prior entering again with visibly unamused expressions.
The elderly couple approach the counter as the attendant lets out an aggravated sigh, the two parties talking with each other in an increasingly hostile and confrontational manner. What starts out as grudging chatter spirals into unvoiced shouts, with the elderly man leaning forward on his hands onto the counter and revealing diamond cufflinks as the station attendant accusingly points a finger back into his face.
The elderly couple say nothing for a short moment and quietly scowl before turning and heading for the door. The attendant frustratedly crumples up a paper from the counter and throws it aside before flopping down in her chair and pinching her brow. She raises her arm and a shadowy patch forms at the bottom of a shelf in the leftmost aisle stocked with tube chips. One of the tubes falls in when the girl pulls her arm in and deposits the tube onto the counter through a similar portal, before dispelling them with a flick of her arm as she sulkily helps herself to the freshly-summoned chips.
08/09/10
[23:55:46] - Store Exterior Camera
The outside camera rolls as a compact green flatbed truck much like those used on the nearby farms in the area pulls in at the island furthest from the automatic doors. The truck stops behind the gas pumps when a pair of unkempt men, a lanky driver and a stocky passenger, exit. The pair reach into their pockets to produce a pair of Pokéballs that let out a Snover and a Duskull before crossing the islands with their Pokémon over towards the convenience store. During the walk, the stocky man runs his hand into a coat pocket, grasping at a handle to a partly obscured object inside.
[23:56:13] - Store Front Camera
The station attendant sits inside casually perusing through a tabloid magazine with a cover depicting a violet hole in the sky over a mountain. The headline of the tabloid crosses the field of vision of the camera in a few frames, alleging a government cover-up of an interdimensional invasion at the time of a bizarre incident at Mt. Coronet caused by a now scandal-plagued Sinnohan energy company. The men and their Pokémon enter the convenience store, the Snover and Duskull crouching and visibly assuming aggressive postures. The stocky man pulls a knife out from his coat pocket and holds it out at the station attendant, gesturing sharply at the cash register.
The girl's demeanor suddenly becomes agitated as she stamps her foot and raises a hand back accusingly, training her eyes down at the Snover and Duskull with a piercing glare. The two Pokémon's eyes shoot wide and the pair hastily flinch and retreat, visibly shrinking away from the girl at the counter. The trainers look at their Pokémon for a second, the lanky man agitatedly calling out to them as the stocky man lunges across the counter and swings the knife at the girl. The knife runs across her arm as black, shadowy fluid comes out and splatters in globs along the floor, the two men recoiling as the girl melts into a black blob behind the counter.
The stocky man stumbles back in a panic when a shadowy portal abruptly opens up, and he gets sucked into a void along with the shelves. The Snover and Duskull similarly fail to elude the void, and are caught briefly flailing in terror by the camera as they fall from view. The lanky man hastily turns and runs, forcing his way through the automatic doors as the portal vanishes, leaving behind a handful of toppled shelves and merchandise as a black shadow moves across the ground after him.
[23:57:40] - Store Exterior Camera
The lanky man sprints across the pavement of the gas station for the flatbed truck, hurriedly pulling the driver's side door open and clambering in. All the while, the shadowy presence from the convenience store crosses the pavement, sliding underneath the truck just as the tail lights flicker to life. In front of the flatbed, a black, towering shadow rears up, glowing red eyes gazing down as a pair of black wings unfurl open with six red spikes and shadowy globs strike the pavement around the truck.
The flatbed shoots back in reverse as the wings taper and the spikes shift upwards, a red glimmer lighting up a beaked maw before the shadowy being pounces on the truck. The camera jolts and loses focus for a moment, refocusing just long enough to catch a black, serpentine figure descending into a shadowy portal and the flatbed's taillights glimmering before falling out of view.
The portal churns uneasily for about ten seconds, before it shrinks and the shadowy blob reforms into the station attendant's figure standing amid fresh tire tracks and visibly cracked pavement. The station attendant looks around for a moment, before adjusting her cap and making her way back to the convenience store.
[23:58:11] - Store Front Camera
The camera rolls over the emptied store, when the camera abruptly shakes and items on the remaining shelves go flying onto the floor. The refrigerated shelves at the back of the store swing open as a few glass bottles shatter on the floor and other containers roll out. The camera refocuses as a few stray items topple over and the damaged bottles' contents puddle on the ground. The doors to the gas station open as the attendant steps in and freezes, looking about at the mess left behind as her face locks up in a frightened blanch.
08/09/11
[00:04:23] - Store Front Camera
The gas station attendant darts around on the storeroom floor, kicking aside debris as she turns and gestures about different places in the room. Every time, a missing piece of the trashed mini-mart comes back. A shelf here, a display there, until the floor of the convenience store begins to resemble a battered shell of itself. The girl hurriedly throws stock back onto the shelves via her portals, not paying particular mind as to whether the items even make it on the shelf. All of a sudden, as the attendant wrestles a freshly-retrieved tea dispenser from a the abyss, she abruptly stops, dropping it onto the ground as red strobing lights flash from outside.
[00:05:39] - Store Exterior Camera
The exterior camera lights up with flashing red lights as a police cruiser in black and white livery pulls up at the innermost island. The car stops as an officer in a blue pantsuit and cap exits and aims a Pokéball at the ground, tapping the center to let out a Growlithe that materializes in a flash of red light. The Growlithe circles about and stretches a moment, before following alongside the officer as she approaches the store and the automatic doors slide open.
[00:06:14] - Store Front Camera
The attendant freezes for a moment and backpedals as the officer and her Growlithe come in. The officer stops the girl and looks about the trashed shop before turning back to talk to the attendant. The attendant's body language becomes stiff and evasive, which makes the officer and her Pokémon grow suspicious. The officer reaches for a radio when the doors open and the elderly couple in blue and pink walk in. The pair talk with the officer and pull her aside, and after a moment's conversation are allowed past to go to the station attendant. The officer sighs and jots some notes down before passing a card over to the attendant and starting to leave when she notices that her Growlithe isn't following along.
The Growlithe remains fixed with a tense stance scowling at the station attendant and the elderly couple, the officer calls out to the Growlithe a few times, who grudgingly relents and follows along. The couple and girl keenly watch after the departing officer and her service Pokémon as they exit the camera's view, red lights strobing a few moments before vanishing and returning the store back to its normal white-lighted hue. The elderly man and woman turn their attention back to the gray-haired girl and talk briefly, with no hints of the same agitation present in their earlier encounters before taking their leave. The attendant watches as the pair depart into the night before going back behind the counter pinching her brow when she stops and looks up at the camera, staring into it as her face locks up into a horrified grimace.
08/09/12
[23:31:22] - Store Rear Camera
The station attendant walks along the aisles, scrubbing at the floor with a mop and rolling bucket at patches of the flooring still flecked with stubborn residue from drinks spilled on the night of the robbery. The woman pauses a moment and turns back towards the counter, where the television behind the counter had since been moved by the attendant to be visible from across the counter. The camera's angle just managing to capture a brief clip of an overturned green light truck on the television. The flash of Pokémon being recalled into their Pokéballs can be faintly be made out, before the television feed shows two men being led away in handcuffs by police.
The attendant turns back to her mop, frustratedly jamming it against the flooring a few times before throwing it to the ground. With a quick flick of her arm, the woman casts a portal in front of her, the mop and rolling bucket fall from view before she dispels the portal. No trace of the cleaning implements are left behind, as the woman puts her head in her hands and paws at them in frustration.
In the background, the automatic door opens and the gray-haired trainer with his Teddiursa enter. The pair look off at the attendant for a moment, before heading to the far left of the camera and heading to the refrigerators at the end to grab a pair of yellow-and-white cans with pictures of fruit bearing red 'MIX' labeling along with subscript too small for the camera to make legible. The teen turns and begins to walk across the camera's field of view with his drinks, before calling out to the attendant, who recoils and whirls around to face the teen. There is an awkward moment of conversation afterwards, the Teddiursa keenly eying the young woman all the while as the teen drifts back to the counter, the attendant warily following after.
[23:33:31] - Store Front Camera
The teen makes his way to the counter with his Teddiursa and slides the cans across the counter. The attendant follows along, before heading to the right of the camera and after slipping off-camera, reappearing on the other end. The attendant starts to ring up the drinks, stopping after the first one when the teen talks with her. The two drift off in conversation for a brief moment, the attendant ringing up the second can before a noticeable pause. The Teddiursa paws again at his trainer's leg, prompting the teen to look down before turning back to the attendant and giving an apologetic explanation. The attendant waves the matter off, her body language more relaxed than it had been just minutes before, and passes the fruit drinks back across the counter along with change.
The teen takes the canned drinks and opens them, one for himself, one for his Pokémon, before leaving the store, the Teddiursa once again stealing a glance over his shoulder as he leaves with his can in his paws. The attendant looks after the pair for a moment, before looking up directly at the camera and visibly pausing in thought.
08/09/13
[00:00:11] - Store Front Camera
The station attendant looks up at the camera, occasionally glancing down at an instruction booklet lined with text and diagrams of a security camera. The girl shakes her head, and raises her hand up towards the camera when the automatic doors open and the elderly couple in blue and pink return into the store. The girl looks over her shoulder as they call out, looking back into the camera and falters for a moment. A small smile spreads over her face as she takes her hand back and dumps the booklet on the counter, flipping it over onto its back where she grabs a nearby pen and jots down sequences of numbers and dashes, their regular format and order revealing them to be rough timestamps. The elderly couple beckon the attendant after them, prompting her to throw her outfit's cap aside and follow the pair through the automatic door and onto the tarmac of the gas pumps.
[00:01:08] - Store Exterior Camera
The elderly couple and the station attendant walk past the gas pumps, gathering in a circle just past the eave of the gas station's roof. The man in the blue suit steps back as a flash envelops his body and the camera shakes violently. The gas station's lights abruptly cut out as a blue portal opens up into the air, the blurry frames capturing the darkened form of a massive four-legged creature vaulting through it. The shaking continues as a pink portal opens and a similar scene unfolds with a long-necked creature with winged shoulders vanishing through it, before the scene plunges into darkness.
The camera settles for a moment as the lights flicker back on, revealing an inky shadow just to the left of the gas station island closest to the road. In it, a pair of red eyes peer out, as a crested head pokes out briefly, before slipping away into the darkness. The portal on the ground vanishes, revealing cracked and shattered concrete around clawed impressions that overlap with each other.
A few minutes pass by, when a white sport utility vehicle with a spare tire mounted on the trunk drives up to the gas station. The car slows and abruptly stops near the broken concrete, the driver parking the car and stepping out to reveal the manager from the first day's footage. The manager walks out over the shattered concrete and stares at it, giving a puzzled kick before looking around and making his way past the gas pumps for the convenience store.
[00:06:26] - Store Front Camera
The interior of the convenience store lays illuminated and abandoned, a few display stands toppled over as stray items knocked off the shelves from the tremors fleck the floors. The automatic doors open and the manager looks around at the scene, looking at the vacated counter and calling out before walking around. The man circles about the aisles, occasionally placing objects back onto the shelves on his way, before pausing and scratching his head. He disappears off-camera into the backroom for a few minutes, before coming back with a flummoxed expression. The man shakes his head and raises a gray older-model Pokégear to place a call when he passes the counter and notices the attendant's booklet laying on it. He raises it and inspects it, turning around so the camera sees the cover revealing it to be an instruction manual for the security cameras, and looks up incredulously at the camera. The man makes his way behind the counter, and raises his hand to the camera, the feed cutting out as the recording ends.
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