Stories: Echolights

Plot
''Things take a strange turn in Echo Creek when an unconscious, wounded, strangely dressed woman is mysteriously found on the outskirts of the Happy Air Forest. Who exactly is she, and why has she appeared as so?''

When she begins talking, her presence may open up an entire new can of beans for the gang, as well as bring them face to face with a brand new evil...

Characters
♠ - denotes a character's first appearance.

♦ - denotes a cameo, minor appearance, or mention only.

♣ - denotes a character's final appearance.

ItzXenos

 * Athena

JeloElducal

 * Gerald Edmarkson
 * Rosewell Starringson
 * Kaitlynn Railley

Story
''Echo Creek. 3:00 AM. A steaming, weak figure emerges out of the woods of the Happy Air Forest into the town of Echo Creek. She collapses near the base of the tree.''

''7:00AM. Next morning. It's a peaceful morning for the people of Echo Creek, a town known for it's unwavering attention it gets from the supernatural and the presence of the Locked Room Gang, heroes dedicated to fighting the supernatural.''

''In a medium-sized house located somewhere in Keyway Street lives the sword-wielding founder of the Locked Room Gang, Gerald Edmarkson. Currently, he is at the dining room eating Captain Blanche's Sugar Seeds. As he eats, he subtly hears yelling from the Happy Tree Forest or whatever it was called. You know, the one with the talking trees?''

''Gerald leaves the dining room, grabs his sword, and quickly runs out of his house. Everything looks normal, so far...well, save for the people wondering what's up with the yelling.''
 * Gerald: That's weird...


 * ???: Hey! Hey! God my voice is getting sore.
 * ???: Keep yelling dude! Someone's gonna hear us eventually.
 * ???: But why?
 * ???: Dude! A girl just walked out of the Locked Rooms looking like she just fell out of the sky and just wandered off into town! Do you know how many issues that could cause?
 * ???: A hot one, at that.
 * ???: Really? Look, if she's evil, I don't want none of us getting hurt if a fight breaks out, okay? Just keep yelling!
 * Gerald: Where's that noise coming from...?

''The voices appear to be coming from the Happy Air Forest. Usually, those trees stay pretty quiet 24/7, so what's gotten into them? Gerald thought. He quickly rushes to his car and drives off to the Happy Air Forest. One hour later, Gerald has finally arrived.'' Gerald rushes to his car, but before he enters...
 * Gerald: Uh, hello? Trees? What's going on?
 * Tree #1: Oh good, Gerald's here!
 * Tree #3: So, uh this door opened up in the middle of the forest, and this woman stepped out. She looked real banged up, like burn marks, think a damaged neck, smoke coming off her body, she had this fancy helmet like a gladiator-
 * Tree #2: I think he gets it, thank you! Yeah, we gave her directions to Echo Creek. Don't know where she is now.
 * Gerald: Wait...do you mean...that door...Huh. ...W-Which direction did she go?
 * Tree #3: *To Tree #1* Didn't you tell her to head north?
 * Tree #1: Oh, right. Yeah, we told her Echo Creek's north from here.
 * Gerald: Thanks!
 * Gerald: Oh, and by the way? Please stop yelling, you'll probably scare some campers.
 * Tree #2: Yeah, okay!

Gerald drives off.

''Gerald drives off north back to Echo Creek, in hopes of finding the mystery woman. This time, he drives a different route. As he begins to approach some nearby houses, he notices a thin column of smoke rising up from behind one of the houses. Gerald stops his car and runs to the house where the smoke is coming from. He then proceeds to ring the doorbell.''
 * Tree #3: Pfft, right. Like anyone would want to camp here.
 * Tree #1: Yeah! The forest is our turf, motherfu-
 * Tree #2: I think there's a squirrel in my hair.
 * Citizen: (opens door) Hi, can I... help you?
 * Gerald: Sir, can I please go to your backyard? I've spotted a smoke trail behind your house.
 * Citizen: The smoke trail...? Right, right. I just saw it this morning. I think it's coming from the woods behind my house. You're fine to look there, if you need to.
 * Gerald: Thanks.

''Gerald heads to the backyard. Unlike the hippity-hoppity talking trees that someone thought would be funny to, the woods here are relatively peaceful. As he approaches the smoke trail, he notices something rather disturbing, lying near the base of a tree, a woman wearing a white dress and a silver-coloured helmet. On her left arm is some sort of silver Pauldron. She appears heavily burnt and scorched, as her body is literally giving off smoke. She looks... kinda dead looking, but Gerald feels a strange feeling, that feeling of being in the presence of a god-like being, a feeling similar to confrontations with godlike entities like Galaximus and the Warlord.''

''Gerald grabs a nearby fallen branch with his left hand and proceeds to poke the woman with it. Nothing happens. Gerald then proceeds to grab out his phone and play an alarm sound. Still, nothing happens.''

''He rushes off to get a bucket. He then arrives with a bucket of water.'' Gerald then quickly splashes the bucket of water at the woman.
 * Gerald: Hmm... (to the citizen) Uh sir, do you have a bucket of water?
 * Citizen: Uh, I can pour one right now.
 * Citizen: Say, what do you need this for?
 * Gerald: Stand back!
 * Gerald: Darn, I thought that would work... (to the citizen) Sorry about that, sir. Normally, desperate times call for desperate measures, but not in this case...

The citizen looks at the still unconscious woman, and then back at Gerald.
 * Citizen: Should I call an ambulance?
 * Gerald: Well, since she's not responding...alright. Hopefully she isn't cursed, or contaminated with any exotic germs, or something...

''The citizen gets out his phone and begins to call an ambulance. As he does that, Gerald begins to contemplate the situation.''
 * Citizen: Okay, an ambulance is coming in a few minutes. We should probably move her.
 * Gerald: Alright.

''The two work together and pick the woman up, the two both carrying her by the shoulders. They carry her outside just as the ambulance arrives.''


 * Paramedic: Sir, what's the situation?
 * Gerald: We found an unconscious weirdly-dressed woman lying down near the woods.
 * Paramedic: Right, any explanation for these... burn marks?
 * Gerald: I don't know...this might be a stretch, but I think she might have gotten those from one of the Locked Rooms.

The Paramedic looks at Gerald.


 * Paramedic: You know, since I'm pretty sure you're the leader of those guys, I'll inform you of what happens later, alright?
 * Gerald: Okay.

''The Paramedic begins to pick the woman up. As he does, her neck kinda just flops to one side.''


 * Paramedic: That can't be good.

He hauls her off into the ambulance, and after getting into the driver's seat, he and his assistant and the ambulance drive off.

Gerald enters his car and leaves for his house.
 * Citizen: I hope she's alright.
 * Gerald: Me too. I've got a lot of questions on my mind that need answering... (to the citizen) Anyway, thanks for the help, kind sir. Now if you'll excuse me, I'll be on my way.

''Meanwhile, Athena finally comes to. As her neck finally repairs itself, she sits up. Disorientated and confused, she can't seem to tell where she is, all she can tell is she was lying on a tray, and she's in some sort of box. Judging from the motion around her, she's in a moving vehicle. She must be being kidnapped. Not today. The Goddess Athena doesn't just get kidnapped by mortals.''

''Sitting up, she begins to focus her energy into controlling the vehicle. With one swift movement, she flips the vehicle over onto it's side with an enormous crash.''

''Meanwhile, Gerald has returned back to his house, playing his acoustic guitar in peace whilst sitting on the living room couch. Unbeknownst to him, all over Echo Creek, news is broadcasting the sudden crash of a ambulance on Oakridge Street, killing both the driver and his assistant. Mysteriously, something ripped a huge hole into the side of the ambulance where an injured person would be kept.''

''While Gerald was playing his guitar, his phone started to ring. It's an incoming call from his best friend, Rosewell. What's Rosewell calling about, though? Is it an emergency that Gerald needs to tackle? Maybe band practice is starting, and Gerald forgot about it? One thing's for sure though, at least it's not one of those creepy stalker-ish yanderesque messages she sent months ago, when she went really crazy over him. Either way, Gerald answers the phone call.''


 * Gerald: Hey, Rosewell?


 * Rosewell: (at the phone) Gerald, you've gotta check this out.


 * Gerald: Well, what is it?

''Wait, Oakridge Street...that sounded familiar. Wasn't that the same street with the house where he found the mysterious woman?''
 * Rosewell: (at the phone) Okay, so an ambulance just suddenly crashed on Oakridge Street...


 * Rosewell: (at the phone) ...and– wait...you've already watched the news, right?


 * Gerald: ...No?


 * Rosewell: (at the phone) (sigh) Can you please turn on the news?


 * Gerald: ...Alright, sure thing.

Gerald turns on the TV, which now shows the local news.


 * Reporter: -Eyewitness reports claim that without any outside effect, the ambulance suddenly flipped out on it's right side, killing both driver and passenger.

''The camera pans to the scene of the crash, showing a huge hole resembling a tear punched out of the side of the ambulance, like something had punched it's way through the metal and then pried the gap open. If it was a person, the strength required to do that would be phenomenal.''


 * Reporter: Experts say the damage sustained is far heavier than similar flips have yielded. How such heavy damage was sustained remains unknown.
 * Rosewell: (at the phone) ...Gerald? Gerald?
 * Gerald: ...I gotta go. Bye, Rosewell.
 * Rosewell: (at the phone) Wait, where are you go–

''Gerald hangs up on Rosewell. In a hurry, he grabs his sword and drives his car to the middle of Oakridge Street, the site of the incident.''

''As he pulls up to the ruined ambulance, police have already put up yellow tape around the vehicle. A couple of Echo Creek's other citizens also gaze at the scene.''

Gerald leaves his car and looks at the wrecked remains of the ambulance, looking quite worried. A policeman approaches Gerald.​​​​
 * Policeman #1: Mr. Edmarkson?
 * Gerald: O-Oh. Good afternoon, sir. What is it?
 * Policeman #1: Considering you're here, we've made some discoveries you may need to discuss with your folks.

The two of them step over the yellow tape.


 * Policeman #1: We've had some reports saying a strangely dressed woman punched this hole through the ambulance and stepped out of the ambulance. We have an eyewitness drawing here.

''The policeman takes out a drawing on a notepad, which he shows to Gerald. It eerily resembles the woman he found earlier, with both the helmet and the white dress.''
 * Gerald: (to himself: Oh no...) ...R-right. I'll report these back to the rest of the Gang, and we'll track her down before she causes any trouble.
 * Policeman #2: Yo Carl!
 * Policeman #1: What?
 * Policeman #2: I found something!

Policeman #1 and Gerald head over to Policeman #2, who's standing near the big hole in the ambulance.


 * Policeman #1: What is it?
 * Policeman #2: Look!

Gerald notices some droplets of a blue substance on one of the sharp edges from the hole.

Gerald proceeds to call one of his friends and a fellow LR Gang member, Kaitlynn Railley. Gerald hangs up and puts his phone back in his pocket.
 * Policeman #1: What is that?
 * Policeman #2: It kinda looks like... blood.
 * Policeman #1: Blood's red though, so what's with that?
 * Gerald: ...Hold up, I'm gonna call Kaitlynn.
 * Kaitlynn: (on the phone) Hey, Gerald! What is it?
 * Gerald: Kaitlynn, I'm at Oakridge Street, near a mysteriously-crashed ambulance. Though you'd probably know about it if you've seen the news. Anyway, one of the policemen in the area found some sort of...gold-colored substance. Can you please help us figure out what it is?
 * Kaitlynn: (on the phone) I'm...not quite willing to get even an inch near a crashed ambulance. It could probably spontaneously burst into flames for all I know! So...is it okay if you just send a sample straight to my house?
 * Gerald: Well, okay then. Thanks.
 * Gerald: Right... (to the policemen) Officers, do you have any tissues?
 * Policeman #1: Oh yeah, sure.

He hands Gerald a tissue.

Gerald grabs the substance using the tissue.
 * Policeman #2: That's not a used one, is it?
 * Policeman #1: No...?
 * Gerald: Oh, and can I also borrow the drawing?
 * Policeman #1: Sure.

He hands Gerald the drawing.
 * Gerald: Thank you. Now if you'll excuse me, I'll have to leave now.
 * Policeman: Okay. Good luck then.

With both tissue and and notepad in hand, Gerald heads to Kaitlynn's house and proceeds to ring the doorbell. Gerald pulls out the tissue containing the dark-gold substance. ''Kaitlynn heads back to her room, before returning to Gerald wearing gloves. She then grabs the tissue by the corner.'' ''Kaitlynn returns to her room with the tissue. She then proceeds to inspect it with a microscope.''
 * Gerald: Hey, Kaitlynn?
 * Kaitlynn: Oh, greetings, Gerald! What is it?
 * Gerald: Here's the sample you asked me to give.
 * Kaitlynn: Oh, thanks! Uh, just hold on a minute.
 * Kaitlynn: Thanks, Gerald!
 * Gerald: One more thing, did you happen to see this woman
 * Kaitlynn: Huh....I've never seen something quite like it before....

''Despite this, she can pick out one thing about the substance. It appears to have filled the role of blood in the entity's body, and its chemical structure is a lot like human blood, with only a few unrecognizable chemicals.''

Meanwhile...

''Athena, having broken herself out, walks down the street, her memories blurred, and her thoughts hazy. As she walks down the road, a police car pulls up beside her. The policemen step out, attempting to block her off.''


 * Policeman #1: This is officer Earl, we have visual of target. Moving in to intercept. Subject appears dazed, possibly amnesia.

''As he steps in front of her, blocking her path, she notices the radio he holds. Because her mind's really f#cked up right now, she misinterprets as... a weapon. Suddenly, she holds her hand out, and she pulls the radio out of Earl's hand, before crushing it.''


 * Policeman #1: We have a potential hos-

''A car crashes into the police car, momentarily distracting them. Having caused the crash, Athena begins lifting up various bits of rubble and flinging it at the policeman. The other fires his pistol in an attempt to neutralize her, but the bullet simply bounces off. As she turns to face him, he fires again and again, but the bullets simply continue to bounce off her. She grabs him by the collar of his shirt, and slings him into a nearby house with extreme force.''

''As the remaining police circle around her, realize that they're unable to stop her. They need to call someone adept for the job.''


 * Policeman #1: Liz!
 * Policeman #2: What?
 * Policeman #1: You still got a radio on you?
 * Policeman #2: Yeah!
 * Policeman #1: Call headquarters, tell them to contact Red Fork, tell him we have a rogue supernatural entity on Oakridge Street, the entity is bulletproof and possesses some sort of telekinesis!


 * Policeman #2: I can try!

''Athena studies the policeman circling her. She lifts the tattered remains of the police car and throws it at Policeman #1, who ducks and attempts to get closer to her. He takes out a taser gun and fires it at her leg, attempting to incapacitate her. The blast manages to bring her to her knees. As he waits for her next move, a tire hits him in the chest, causing him to fall over in pain.''


 * Policeman #2: This is officer Liz, we have a supernatural entity on Oakridge Street, subject is hostile, possesses telekinesis and is bulletproof. Please, contact any one of the Locked Room Gang and ask for backup!

As she's saying this, she feels a hand go around her neck, and lifts her off the ground, as she drops the radio, she sees Athena lifting her up in the air, before essentially pushing her to the ground.

''Cut back to Kaitlynn. As she studies the substance, she hears a huge boom off in the distance, like a car crash. Gerald also hears it too. Not long after, they can hear gunshots. ''

''While Kaitlynn gave in to her cowardly nature and took a break from her studies to hide under the table, Gerald was beginning to get worried. It seemed to him as if the situation was getting dire. If he wants to make sure no more lives will be lost, he has to act quickly. Just then, Rosewell calls him. Gerald grabs out his phone from his left pocket and answers it.''


 * Gerald: Hey, Rosewell? What is it?


 * Rosewell: Gerald! There's an oddly-dressed woman with supernatural powers, and she's destroying everything in her path!


 * Gerald: [to himself] ....oh no, please don't tell me it's her.... [sighs] ....Anyway, I'm going to call the rest of the Gang and tell them to come over at my house. You should come over too, I mean you are a Gang member as well. Alright, I have to go now! [quickly hangs up]

Gerald then hurriedly messages every Gang member currently available at the time with a simple text: "Huge emergency. Meet me at my house, stat."

''Gerald's house. Gerald, Rosewell, and some members of the gang are currently in the living room, discussing about the new threat and how to defeat her.''