Disclaimer: I do not own Pokemon (though this is a fanfic so that should be a given). Small warning, this has not been looked over; I'll fix mistakes later.
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For Whom the Bells Chime
Part I
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She had been walking for a very long time. Minutes, hours, days…maybe weeks…she couldn't tell. All Dawn knew for sure was that she was tired. Not tired from walking. Her feet and legs weren't sore, and she wasn't sleepy. She wasn't tired because she had been walking; she was just tired of it.
The tunnel she was walking in seemed to have no end or beginning. Now that she thought about it, Dawn couldn't even remember where she had entered. I'm going crazy, she thought.
The tunnel was pitch black save for a hint of light in the distance. Dawn was walking toward the light, her pink flats scraping the paved stones. A leaf crunched under her foot.
A leaf?
Dawn looked around and saw other leaves, red and orange and yellow… They were blowing around in the soft breeze. She looked up and noticed trees for the first time.
"Am I still in the tunnel?" she asked aloud.
Looking around, she saw other trees, all tall and autumn-colored. The late afternoon sunlight peaked through the branches and left spots on the stone sidewalk. In the distance, she could hear the evening bells.
"Where am I?" she asked herself. She had already forgotten which way she came from.
She was still in a tunnel, somewhat… a tunnel formed by the trees. They blocked most of the sky, but in the distance behind her, Dawn could see a tall tower. Is that a church? She turned back and almost jumped out of her shoes.
There was a man walking toward her. His blond hair was pushed back by a purple headband, and he wore a matching purple scarf. He stopped a few feet away from her.
"Who are you?" he asked. He didn't seem to surprised at her appearance; then again, he hadn't turned around to suddenly find her there…
"Dawn," she replied, "Dawn Berlitz. Who are you?"
"Dawn Berlitz…" He seemed to be lost in thought. "Dawn Berlitz… That famous Pokemon Coordinator who—" He stopped, staring at her intently.
"Yes, that's me," she replied, wondering if he was a fan. "And who are you?"
He sighed. "Morty. I'm the gym leader here in Ecruteak City."
Dawn's jaw dropped. Ecruteak City?! "But, but that's in Johto!" she exclaimed. "Who are you, really?"
He sighed again. "I'm really Morty, and this is really Ecruteak, which is really in Johto. Well, this," he gestured around them, "is the Bellchime Trail, but it's considered part of Ecruteak."
She didn't like his mocking tone, but he sounded like he was telling the truth. Still… "How did I end up in Ecruteak… in Johto?" she asked more to herself than to him.
But he heard anyway. "You came here."
Well, obviously. But when?
"Having trouble remembering things?" he asked suddenly.
"Actually, yes… How did you know that?" she asked curiously, peering at the young man.
He shrugged. "Come with me."
He walked past her, heading the direction she came from. Dawn groaned, not exactly eager to follow this somewhat-mystery man back into the dark tunnel. She knew a man named Morty was a Johto gym leader, but she couldn't possibly be in Johto, could she?
"Do we have to go back through that long tunnel, because it kind of gave me the creeps...?"
Her voice died as she turned to follow him. Morty was entering a small shrine at the end of the Bellchime Trail. He didn't wait for her, closing the shoji door behind him. Dawn huffed; if he wasn't going to wait for her, why did he tell her to follow him?
Inside the shrine, Morty was talking quietly to an older man. He and two other men were all dressed in robes and had shaved their heads. Monks of the church?
"Leader Morty, no luck again today, I assume?" the man was asking.
"Unfortunately not. The legendary bird has eluded me once more," he replied. His tone was kind, but Dawn thought he sounded rather bored. "I did find something..." His eyes flickered to where Dawn stood.
The monk followed his gaze, but he turned away before Dawn could even open her mouth to start an introduction. He hobbled towards a door at the other end of the shrine, Morty close behind him.
"Well, in any case," the man continued, sounding suddenly bothered, "it's always a pleasure. Your continued support of the Bell Tower is greatly appreciated."
Bell Tower? Dawn heard the church bells once more, tolling in the distance.
Morty shook the monk's hand, and Dawn, realizing he was leaving, hurriedly followed him out. The monk closed the door swiftly behind her. She huffed again.
"He was rather rude," she commented, racing after Morty. Once again, he hadn't bothered to wait for her.
Morty glanced back at her. "Was he." It was more of a statement than a question, really.
"He didn't even say hello!"
"To be fair, neither did you."
"Whatever! So what, does he only talk to financial donors? Hey, where are we going?" Dawn asked, struggling to keep up with his long strides. He didn't answer.
They passed a small pond and soon they were off the temple grounds and in Ecruteak City. Dawn gazed around in wonder; so much autumn! Everything was red and yellow and orange... even the blues and purples had a fall look to them. People were hustling about, in and out of buildings every which way. She immediately recognized the Pokemon Center, even with its muted reds. There was also a marketplace and a theater; everything was lit and twinkling in the fading sunlight. It was beautiful.
The bells rang again, and Dawn looked up to see the Bell Tower stretching up into the sky behind her.
Then she heard... Was that another bell? She turned to see another tower in the far distance, not nearly so tall. It seemed darker and not as well taken care of. He gives money to one tower but not the other?
It was so much darker than the other one...
Dawn realized she had walked over and was standing at the base of the grounds. Had she really walked that far? A small plaque attached to the fence caught her eye.
Over a hundred years ago, the Brass Tower stood proudly next to its twin, the Bell Tower. After a horrible lightning storm and huge fire, the tower was destroyed, and the Pokemon who lived there perished. Legend says three powerful Pokemon were revived by the mystical bird Pokemon Ho-Oh, resident of the Bell Tower. It is also said a bird Pokemon resided in the Brass Tower, but it has not been seen since. Many trainers enter the tower searching for strong Pokemon. Beware the rotting wood; trainers have fallen through to the basement. ENTER AT YOUR OWN RISK.
The tower burned...
What must it have felt like, to have been trapped inside?
To fall so many feet...
She reached out and touched the fence post.
"You won't come back."
Dawn gasped and yanked her hand back as if she'd been burned. She whipped around to find Morty watching her. The bells chimed ominously as if to heighten the moment.
"Don't sneak up on me like that!" she cried, clutching her chest. "Are you trying to give me a heart attack?"
He seemed to almost snort, then thought better of it.
"What do you know about this tower?" she asked, turning her head back.
"You won't come back," he repeated, stronger. She faced him again.
"What, you think I'm stupid enough to climb around broken floorboards?" Dawn huffed. "I'm not like the idiots who needed this plaque to be put up."
"If you go in," he said, taking a step back, "you won't return."
She turned back to the tower, still shrouded in darkness. She found herself reaching out again.
Those Pokemon who died... Were they really revived? And the ones who weren't? How they must have felt... Left all alone in the dark... Who did this... Who was responsible...
"Dawn." It was a whisper.
She looked around to see Morty striding away, his hands stuffed in his pockets and his scarf wrapped around his neck warmly. Was it cold out? Hurrying after him, she noticed other people also had on jackets and scarves. It was autumn after all; perhaps it was colder in Johto than Sinnoh. She smoothed out her flowy pink dress as she followed Morty through the crowd of evening goers.
No, wait, it was spring... Wasn't it? She was dressed for the occasion. What occasion?
As they passed through the city, many residents nodded their heads or greeted Morty.
"Good evening, Leader Morty," most of them said, sometimes with a smile. Their eyes always seemed to pass coldly over her. Was it her state of dress? Well, excuse me for not dressing like the rest of you! I wasn't planning for a cold night. I was planning for–
Planning for what?
Morty finally slowed down as they reached another temple. Dawn glared at his back, unable to understand how he walked so quickly.
"Why are we visiting temples?" she asked as he opened the door.
He spared her a glance. "This is my gym." That was all he offered, and then he practically closed the door on her.
She managed to squeeze inside behind him. "This is your gym?" she asked in awe.
The place was dimly lit with candles that gave off an eerie fog-like incense. The floor appeared to disappear into the darkness right before her eyes. She could still hear the bells, but Dawn couldn't tell where the walls and ceiling ended; she could only see what was directly in the entryway, the best lit spot of the room.
Morty had already set off into the dark, following a random path he seemed to know by heart. He looked as if he was taking precise footsteps...
Huffing once more, Dawn ran after him, not bothering to follow him exactly. She wasn't some nutter, as she had deduced him to be. The entryway faded into the dark behind her, and she could no longer tell just how far into the gym they were. What had he said earlier? 'You won't come back.'
She wasn't so sure she would be able to get out of here, either.
She easily caught up to Morty this time; he was walking at a leisurely pace and seemed very calm. Well, she supposed if this was truly his gym, he had probably decorated it to his liking and felt at home, here in the dark.
It had been dark then too, on that warm spring evening.
Wait, when?
Dawn let out a shriek as an old woman appeared then, straight out of the fog. She would have grabbed Morty's arm if she'd known him better. However, she wasn't sure she entirely trusted him at this point.
The old lady bowed deeply to the gym leader, and he returned the gesture, though not nearly as low. "Leader Morty," she rasped, "another one eh?" She jerked her head in Dawn's direction, and Dawn caught sight of the old woman's glassy stare. She was blind.
"Another one?" Dawn echoed, starting to get annoyed. "What are you, some kind of womanizer?"
The medium laughed, her voice cracking. "You've got a feisty one there, Morty! I can feel it!" The woman stumbled away from them, still laughing as the darkness consumed her.
Dawn was contempt to glare daggers in her direction for a while, but she felt Morty continuing on into the gym. Reluctantly, Dawn followed.
They met a few more mediums, though none of them had as much to say as the first. They seemed to be leaving at Morty's appearance; perhaps they had been watching the gym while he was away.
Finally, Dawn noticed the candles seemed to be leading them somewhere specific, closing in the gym walls. They arrived at a door, and with a sigh, Morty opened it and stepped in. Dawn followed, not ready for the sudden burst of light that blinded her.
It was a warm spring evening. She was dressed for the occasion. Her pink party dress was wet with tears. Or was it the rain? No one was there. No one except–
"Dawn!"
"Dawn." Morty's voice pulled her back, and she jumped when she saw how close he was. She squinted in the light, so bright after walking through such a dark gym. They were in some sort of sitting room. The small space was squashed with small armchairs in front of a roaring fire. Did Morty live here?
"Where am I?" she asked. Morty stared into the flames.
"This is my living room, behind my gym," he said quietly.
Dawn was silent for a moment. "No, I suppose... I mean, where am I? How did I get here?" She watched the gym leader tuck into his scarf and sigh deeply. He closed his eyes and stayed that way for a long time.
"You followed me."
Dawn waited for more explanation, but none came.
"Look, buddy, you're really starting to creep me out," she said, putting her hands on her hips. "You'd better not be some psycho kidnapper, because I've seen the movies, and this place looks exactly like–"
Morty scoffed. "You're creeped out? That's ironic."
She growled, balling her hands into fists. "Yeah, I'm creeped out! You've been leading me all over town without so much as an explanation! I don't know where I am!" Dawn stopped.
"I... I don't know where I am. How did I get here?" she asked again, looking to Morty with pleading eyes. Though why exactly she was so desperate to know, Dawn couldn't understand.
He sighed again, then went over to his coffee table and began rummaging through things. "Like I said... you followed me."
"No, you idiot," Dawn groaned, "I mean before all that! You asked if I couldn't remember and then I followed you because you said you knew!"
Morty paused and looked up at her. "I never said that."
"Whatever! You know what I mean!"
Morty put a hand to his hand. "Look, would just stop for a minute?" he asked impatiently. "Your incessant chatter is giving me a headache."
Dawn closed her mouth, but she continued to seeth at him from across the room.
Finding what he had been looking for, Morty held up the remote for a small tv that sat on an end table. He switched it on, changed the channel a few times, and then lowered the volume. He finally looked at her.
Walking over to where she stood, Morty sighed. He was sighing quite a lot, she noticed.
"Once more... like I said, you followed me here." He held up his hand before she could interrupt again. "You followed me."
She stared at him. He rubbed his headband.
"I don't know exactly where you were before... this... but I definitely know you followed me here."
"I don't understand–"
"You sensed me."
She continued to stare at him. The man was talking in riddles.
"I, err, sensed you...?" He wasn't wearing any strong cologne that she could smell.
Morty strode away from her suddenly, going over to the fireplace and grabbing something off the mantle.
"Did you know that I give out the Fog Badge?" he asked, holding it out for her to see. He continued to talk while she examined it. "Recalling the conversation earlier, I doubt that you knew I was a gym leader before I told you. You'd probably never seen me before."
"Hadn't heard much either," Dawn agreed, gazing at the little purple... "Ghost... it's a ghost!" She looked at it upside down then right-side up a few times, but it was definitely a ghost.
"Ever since I was young, I've had the ability to sense what others cannot," he continued. "When I was a child, this power frightened me; it alienated me from others... even my own family. However, as I got older, I learned to control it and use it to my advantage. Did you know I train Ghost-type Pokemon, Dawn?"
She smirked at the badge in his hand. "I sort of guessed..."
He put it back on the mantle.
"So... are you some sort of psychic or something?"
Morty sighed and looked as if he was trying to control his aggravation. "Didn't I just tell you..."
"You train Ghost Pokemon, yeah, yeah," she said, nodding. "And you're mentioning all of this... why?" Did he just have a big ego and felt like bragging about his weird powers?
"Because of my ability, I am an exceptionally good Ghost Pokemon trainer," he said, standing next to her. "They understand me, and I understand them."
Dawn stared in amazement. "You mean like... you talk to them?"
Morty glanced at the tv before contemplating her question. "Sometimes," he replied quietly, looking her over. "Usually it's more of a sense... I pick up on what they're feeling, their emotions..."
"Is that why your gym is all creepy?" Dawn asked, crossing her arms. "Are you at home with the ghosts?" He was staring at her so audaciously that it was making her uncomfortable. She glanced around the room at his various belongings, most of which were weird crystals or books.
"Some of them. Every now and then..." he paused, and Dawn wondered if he was being super mysterious and annoying on purpose. "Every now and then, I find one who is... not at home."
"Ah, one of those hostile ghosts," she agreed, nodding her head and still avoiding his gaze. "Let me guess... Haunters and Banettes?"
Morty didn't reply, not for several minutes.
"You're a long way from home, aren't you, Dawn?"
There it was again.
"Dawn."
A warm spring evening, ruined because no one was there. They all had plans, they'd said. Even her own mother was busy. She was left alone, all alone on her birthday.
That's right... she went out. She decided to take a walk up the mountains outside Hearthome City. A peaceful walk to calm her down...
She walked so far... A long way...
"You're a long way from home, aren't you?" Morty asked again.
Dawn jumped and looked up right into his eyes. She found he wasn't staring intently, but rather, he almost looked resigned. Maybe even a little sad.
"Morty... I need to know," she said, now the one to look at him directly. "How did I get here?"
He sighed and pulled away from her. She was about to ask what he was doing, but he simply turned up the tv.
"...thanks for that report, and tune in tomorrow folks, for another exciting addition of Trend Tracker!"
Dawn glanced at Morty, but he was adamantly watching the television. She heard the theme for Sinnoh Now, the regional news broadcast, and turned her attention back to the tv as well. What was Morty doing watching a Sinnoh show? She was surprised he could even get that show out here.
Lead anchor Rhonda cleared her throat and shuffled her scripts as the breaking news jingle sounded. "Today's top headline: Paul Shinji has been released from jail after being questioned by police. That's right, the man who had been in custody for questioning about the death of..."
"Paul was in jail?!" Dawn squeaked loudly, drowning out the anchor and rushing over to where Morty was standing next to the tv. The news clip showed an angry young man with lavender hair pushing past reporters, getting into an unmarked vehicle, and driving away.
"Dawn," Morty started in a small voice.
"What was he in jail for?!" she asked, watching previous footage of Paul being taken into the Hearthome City police station. "He was always sort of gruff but I never thought he'd break the law!"
"Dawn," Morty said, catching her attention this time. She kept watching the tv, but she could feel a heavy pressure on her shoulder.
"I'm sorry."
She stared at him in disbelief. 'I'm sorry.' Sorry for what...?
Rhonda's loud, professional voice broke the silence. "As we told you last week, Paul Shinji was the last person to see acclaimed Pokemon Coordinator Dawn Berlitz before she died. He was found in the mountains with her body, after calling police himself. However, it has been suggested that he..."
Dawn stared. The pressure on her shoulder increased.
"Dawn," she heard Morty talking to her, and the bells rang off in the tower.
"No..."
She stared at the tv. That was her mother crying and addressing the media. Those were her friends laying flowers and stuffed animals near a high cliff. That was her picture on the screen. Dawn Berlitz, age 19.
But it couldn't be.
"It's not true!" she exclaimed, finally looking at Morty.
"I'm sorry," he said again. "You died a week ago."
She didn't believe it. It wasn't true. This was some sort of sick joke. "What are you playing at?" she screamed. "Why are you playing such a horrible joke on me?! How dare you!"
Morty looked sad but not uncomfortable. He was calm and collected as she threw insult after insult at him.
"I told you, I have a gift for Ghost Pokemon. You asked why you were here, how you got here," he explained slowly. "Sometimes... rarely, but sometimes, the ghosts of people find me. You found me, Dawn. You sensed me, and you just appeared here, right? Where were you before you met me?"
Her voice felt hoarse from yelling at him. Her rage quelled for moment, if only to be replaced with tears.
"I don't know," she sobbed. "I can't be dead, I just can't!"
She knew Morty wouldn't respond. He'd wait for her to catch up; what could one say to comfort the dead?
It was too surreal. That's right, Dawn, focus on the shock. Not the anger, or the sadness, or the fact that you're DEAD. You're in shock.
She finally managed to stop sobbing and ask a tiny little, "How...?"
"You fell off a cliff," Morty supplied. "That boy on the news... he said you got in an argument. You were arguing on the mountain and you ran away from him. He followed you and he claims you slipped and fell."
She caught his tone. "He claims...?"
She could tell Morty had now grown slightly uncomfortable. "It was suggested..."
She narrowed her eyes. "What?"
"It was suggested... that he pushed you."
.
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Long time no hear from me, right? Ehehe... Sorry, guys, I've been so drained by real life: work, family, relationship... I promise I haven't abandoned my stories yet; I just had an itch to write something for Halloween. There will be 2 more parts, both of which will hopefully be posted before/on Halloween. Though I work the next four days, so it may not be finished until Halloween is already over. Please don't hate me.