Laverre was at the crossroads of everything eerie and supernatural in Kalos. The Laverre Nature Trail and Brun Way were frequent destinations for teenagers looking for something to dare each other about. Laverre was often noted for its large population of Ghost- and Fairy-type users, and the city itself drew frequent comparisons to a village for dolls.
It was only natural that it would host a haunted house, then.
Every year around Halloween, the city's residents got together to organize several spooky attractions - not just a haunted house, but things such as ghost tours and stories, Halloween shows, and even a Ghost-type exclusive battle event.
However, in trying to find something that all five young Heroes of Kalos would enjoy, the haunted house seemed to be the only option.
And even that was questionable.
"So... I guess we're going here, then?" spoke Shauna. The normally enthusiastic (sometimes overly so) girl spoke almost hesitantly - not so much out of fear as out of a sheer lack of excitement.
"It's what the paper says," answered Tierno, holding the pamphlet, which summarized all of the events available at that year's Halloween celebration.
The group stood in front of the building, which didn't look all that different from most of the houses in Laverre.
"...Well, are we going to go in?" asked Calem. The group shuffled towards the entrance as one at the words of one of its unofficial leaders, the other of which was moving along silently in the middle of the group. As they passed the pale, dark-dressed girl standing by the entrance, they each handed over their 50 Poké entrance fee.
"I hope it's better than that man on the Trail's story," grumbled Trevor.
Certainly Serena should've learned the lesson about appearances being deceiving when the giant homeless man turned out to be an ancient king, but the difference between the building's outside and inside still shocked her and her friends.
Everything had been painted in dark colors - Do they keep this building specifically for this? she wondered. Lights flickered when they entered, and the unexpected slam of the door seemed to set the entire structure quivering. The windows seemed to have never been washed, letting only the barest bit of already-fading sunlight in, and of the three doors out of the entrance room, only one was unblocked by convincingly toppled furniture.
Serena preferred to have choices.
"I wonder which way we're supposed to go," quipped Trevor, who could be relied on to have a sarcastic comment ready at all times. Serena heard Calem mutter something about underestimating behind her.
They continued on.
The next room was dark, but the lamps lit one-by-one when they entered.
She had expected some sort of gruesome surprise waiting in the gloom, but nothing of the sort was revealed - only small piles of glittering dust that she supposed were a product of Laverre's signature Fairies.
For some reason, they stood there, waiting as if some secret would be revealed.
It was Shauna who finally moved first, clutching at her upper arms like she was cold, even though Serena found it an ironically cozy temperature. *possible line about her clothes?*
The kitchen was next, and the glimmer of knives would unsettle most people.
This knowledge did not lessen Serena's discomfort, or that of her friends, judging by the expressions they bore. They didn't seem as if they were meant to threaten the visitors, however. They were mostly laid haphazardly in drawers, blade-in, and some were stuck into the walls. The ones that remained out were pointed with a careful deliberance towards the windows.
She still didn't like the look.
The ancient-seeming stove clicked, as if trying to turn itself on, and with a sudden bang a small tongue of flame came to life, causing everyone but Tierno to jump. The flame wasn't orange, but a strange purple.
Everyone left the room very quickly.
A small area just before the stairs contained nothing but a closet, which nobody was eager to see inside, and a trail of more glittering dust leading up.
Serena looked around at her friends. Tierno, as she had expected, didn't seem to be very affected by the house's tricks. He'd always been the most stable of them. Trevor and Calem seemed to reflect her mood - vaguely unsettled, though she couldn't put her finger on what exactly was causing the feeling.
Shauna was the one she was concerned for. She felt a bit sorry for her, since she knew that Shauna hadn't wanted to come to the haunted house at all. She was always doing whatever she could to make everyone else happy. Serena faintly recalled Trevor telling her a word for it - something starting with a u, perhaps. Her inability to remember much of the language of her current region of residence was frustrating.
Her thoughts returned to Shauna, who was now staring up the steps. Moving towards the staircase and following her gaze, Serena saw more of the dust and a doll laying haphazardly on a step.
Looking back towards Shauna, Serena felt that she was seeing something she wasn't.
As they continued up the steps, a scent filled the air, getting heavier the further up they went until they reached the top, the air thick with perfume and the floor practically coated in the glitter-dust. Shauna's fright was starting to attract the attention of the others. Calem was throwing worried glances, and both Trevor and Tierno moved closer to her. Serena felt a bit guilty for her apparent lack of concern, but she chose not to acknowledge her behavior - her reasoning was quite horrible, frankly.
The trail led to the right, a misleading invitation that she felt compelled to accept.
There were only a few things in the small, low-ceilinged room. An armoire, door ajar, contents spilled onto the floor like the guts of a ragdoll. A child's chair, its primary palette too bright for its surroundings.
A crib, white, with a small bundle swathed in pastels laying inside. A sparkling circle edged around the floor it occupied, but stopped just short of actually touching it.
And hanging above, a macabre mobile of metal and sharpness, scissors and knives.
It was the final piece of a horrible picture, and she understood Shauna's apprehension.
Since they had traveled so much, Serena's mother had always encouraged her to learn about all of the different regions. One day, she had learned of the stories of Kalos's Fairies, and the fears and superstitions that surrounded them.
She didn't read any of the stories of Kalos for a long time.
CRASH!
Suddenly, the singular window shattered, a small, dark shape flying through it. Shauna screamed loudly enough to leave Serena's ears ringing as shards of glass rushed towards them, only to dissolve into nothing directly before their impact. Shauna pushed her way back out of the room, and Serena turned in time to see her dash down the stairs, Trevor and Tierno quick to follow her. The two remaining teenagers spun around just in time to see the shape fleeing back through the open window, something like hair trailing behind it.
Serena didn't need to look to know that the bundle in the crib was gone.
She and Calem stood, stunned into silence by the sudden sequence of events.
They turned their heads towards each other, gray gazes locking for a second before moving on to the details of the room, Calem looking with a new appreciation and Serena simply looking for a distraction from the sudden, rather awkward mental battle she was experiencing.
This battle must have caused the higher parts of her brain to shut off, because the first thing out of her mouth was,
"You're not going to go after her?"
She immediately regretted her words - though her miraculously-restarted brain told her that it was fine, that it was a perfectly friendly and concerned thing to say, she still panicked. She hadn't thought she sounded bitter, but then again she hadn't exactly been thinking, had she; if she had then that was something else to worry about because being bitter was something that implied a whole lot of other things that she didn't want to deal with, and besides, she didn't really want him to actually leave did she, not after it was finally ju-
"She'll be fine. I don't think she really wanted to come, anyway."
Oh, Arceus. She hadn't screwed up.
"Besides, I couldn't just leave you here, could I?"
No... It was so obviously an afterthought.
Is everything all right, daughter Serena?
Serena rolled her eyes. You're a bit late, bird-brain.
You shouldn't refer to a being of such power as myself as 'bird-brain', my daughter.
Start showing up on time and I'll think about it.
I have more important things to worry about. Speaking of... The connection cut out.
Serena noticed that Calem was giving her an odd look.
"Just bird-brain. Guess he heard Shauna."
"Really? That brings a whole new meaning to being loud enough to wake the dead."
In spite of the fact that she was standing in an undeniably creepy haunted house that had scared her friend enough to make her flee, Serena laughed.
Calem flashed that quick smile of his and said, "C'mon, let's get out of here. I'm sure there's something else we can all go do. Maybe we can go watch the tournament."
And that's exactly what they did.
/shoves at you
here have a halloween one-shot it's really short but i just thought of it like two days ago
hooray for original titles :P
Okay, so I might've lied about my next project BUT I DIDNT KNOW ABOUT THIS ONE
My ORAS piece should be coming next. Should be.
The idea came from that section near the end - "You aren't going to go after her?" Calem does always seem to be chasing Shauna around whenever she runs off.
In case you're wondering about the implications/story of the haunted house:
Fairy-type's weakness to Steel is borrowed from European folklore. The fae, who were much more sinister than our typical view of fairies, were said to be weak to iron. Since steel/=iron, I just kinda expanded the weakness to metal in general.
Also, the story of the changelings. The fae were said to kidnap babies and replace them with their own children, who would return to the fae after a certain age. I did omit the fae baby part, but that would've been kinda hard to work out in the PKMN world. I decided to adapt these stories to the PKMN Fairies, which might make them a bit more sinister.
Seriously, those Fairy-Tale Girls are creepy as hell.
Cookies to anyone who can guess the Pokemon/moves used in the haunted house!
Comments, constructive criticism, favs, and watches always appreciated!
-Nighttyger
there are so many alliterations in here and i wasnt even trying