"I'm home!" I shouted into the cave, skipping into the room. I nearly dropped my berries in surprise at what I saw. Gengar was casually reading a book... and that book... "Hey! You can't just read someone's diary!" I yelled at the Gengar in embarrassment, blushing. "You didn't exactly leave me anything else to do." He rolled his eyes, casually flipping to the next page. I placed the berries on the ground, before snatching my diary out of his hands. "What did you read?" I growled at him, an itching in my paws tempting me to extend my claws. "Not too much, only about your mercenary work. It's quite interesting, actually. Reads like an action story. You should write a book." He explained nonchalantly, crossing his arms once again. I sighed; there would be no getting through to him about the sins of reading a female Pokemon's diary.

Placing the diary at the far end of the room, I took out the Sitrus Berries from my pouch. "Here, I got you the Sitrus Berries." I told him, extending them to him in my paws. "It took you long enough." He told me, taking the Sitrus Berries from me. "They aren't native here." I explained, sitting down beside the carton of assorted berries and making a selection. "...Really? Where am I?" He asked, surprised. "Are you familiar with Halfway Town?" I answered him with a question. "That far..." He whispered to himself, and then raised his gaze to mine. "Thank you." He told me reluctantly, before averting his gaze again shyly. "You're welcome." I told him, selecting an Oran Berry and putting it in my mouth. All of the travelling from Halfway to home made me hungry.

"You never told me your name." I prompted, munching on another berry. "Not that it should matter to you, but you can call me Gengar." He told me hesitantly, eating a Sitrus Berry. "Somehow I think you know this already, but I was in the middle of the hunt when you fell out of the sky. Care to explain?" I asked. "None of your business." He insisted, shutting down conversation yet again.

"All right, fine. After lunch I'm going to check your wounds." I explained with a false cheerfulness and he looked a bit alarmed. "Wait, wait... If I tell you what happened can we not check my wounds?" He asked me with concern, extending a hand in desperation. I gave him a confused look. "I have to check your wounds to make sure they're healing. But I might be gentler if you tell me." I replied, overall baffled by his reaction. "...It's going to hurt..." He finally admitted, still no less concerned. "But they might get infected and then you'd die." I explained, shrugging. "I almost wouldn't mind that..." He muttered to himself, rolling his eyes. "What was that?" I growled at him. "Nothing." He responded, defiantly averting his gaze.

True to my word, after breakfast I gathered all of the supplies I needed to change the dressings on his wounds. "You don't have to do this…" Gengar told me, pressed against the wall in fear. "Do so." I continued my approach with supplies in hand. "Stay back! Or else!" He growled at me. "Or else what? Are you going to hurt me?" I smirked, almost in reach of Gengar. "I might." He seemed to dare me to come closer. "No you won't, trust me I know." I smiled.

He grumbled as I reached out to put a paw on his forehead. To my surprise, he was still warm. I gasped, and became serious once again. "Are you feeling alright?" I asked, alarmed, and moved my paw to find the same result. "Uhh… yeah? What's the problem?" He asked, glaring disdainfully at my paw. "You're…warm." I admitted, withdrawing my paw. "So what?" He crossed his arms defensively. "Well, I'm no expert or anything, but ghosts… particularly Gengar, are usually cold." I explained. "Well, Weavile usually live in packs." He retorted. "You have a point." I sighed, picking up my dressing supplies once more. "Still, please let me know if you aren't feeling well. As long as you're in my care, I'm determined to make sure that your stay is comfortable." I informed him, approaching him in an attempt to examine his wounds.

"Yeah, well I'm not feeling okay about you touching my wounds." He asserted, shrinking away from me even further. "Look, I know you don't know me very well, but I need you to trust me. I trust you, and I've trusted you since I first met you. That first night told me a lot, you didn't eat my dreams." I explained shyly, and then continued when he still looked skeptical. "My family taught me about first aid, before they…yeah. And I can tell you for sure that if I don't do this, it's going to hurt more and heal slowly." I explained with concern. "Fine… But, tell me about your family. What happened to them?" He asked, finally compliant as he lay back down on the bed. "It's none of your business." I told him, making a face and kneeling at his bedside. He glared. "I'm only kidding, if you'd really like to know I'll tell you. It's not a very happy story, nor is it exciting however." I warned, crushing herbs to apply to his bandages. "It'll pass the time." He responded reluctantly, finally relaxing and allowing me access to his wounds.

I began the process of changing Gengar's wound dressings as I started to explain. "Well, my family consisted of my parents, both Weavile, and my younger brother, a Sneasel. My mother was a well-known mercenary that primarily did outlaw hunts, like I do. Unfortunately in this line of work, you make a lot of enemies with the wrong Pokemon. That's exactly what happened to us. My mother took on a capture mission by an unknown sender, and brought the family along with her as she was training my brother and me in the tricks of mercenary work. Unfortunately, she didn't know it was a trap until it was too late. They killed them all… I saw my parents and brother gutted before my eyes." My eyes filled with tears at the memories, but I continued my work on Gengar's dressings.

" Your wounds are healing well, they should close soon. The herbs I used are helping significantly." I told him and he simply groaned in pain. "How did you get away?" He finally asked. "I climbed." I told him simply, starting on the final dressing. "The Pokemon there were grounded and slow, so I jumped at the nearest tree and climbed it as high as it'd go, then I leapt treetop to treetop like a Pachirisu." I explained, applying herbs to the bandages and tying them down. "Smooth." He cracked a grin at the thought. "I didn't know how far I'd travelled, but I continued to run until I couldn't run anymore. That's when I found this cave. It was empty, didn't have any doors or anything but I decided I'd make it my own. As soon as I convinced myself it was safe, I went to Halfway Town where Blissey found me." I explained; the memory still just as fresh in my mind as the day it happened. "But, I was an independent little Sneasel and despite Blissey's kind offer, I ended up raising myself. With time, I even got back into mercenary work in my mother's footsteps. At first nobody would take me seriously because I was so young, but they learned that I wasn't the Pokemon to be underestimated." I finished my story, just as I finished his bandages.

"They're done, that wasn't so bad was it?" I asked, stepping back to admire my work. "It was agonizing." He told me, grimacing as he examined his wounds. "So, are you going to tell me your story now?" I asked hopefully. "Not a chance." He muttered. "Well, I tried." I shrugged and walked to the convenient window in the cave wall. It was starting to get dark out; changing Gengar's dressings was a big job. "Well, it's getting late. I'm going to sleep." I announced, lying on the ground where I'd slept the night prior. "You're sleeping on the ground?" Gengar asked, confused. "You're in my bed…" I admitted, averting my gaze shyly at the idea. "Oh… wait, what?! What are you looking at me like that for?! I meant maybe you could get a blanket or have another bed or something! Or I could sleep on the floor!" He admitted, embarrassed at what he'd unintentionally implied. "No it's okay… I'm used to sleeping on the floor, you're the injured one. Just rest, Gengar." I insisted, yawning and stretching in an attempt to disperse the awkward atmosphere. "Ugh. I guess." Gengar sighed, and settled down to sleep as well.

I found it hard to sleep. The story that Weavile told me had stuck with me, and sadly I could identify with it to a point. My own parents had been killed simply because they were Gengar, and nuisanced the local Pokemon by eating their dreams. Of course, eating dreams can be fatal of done enough because the Pokemon become weaker and weaker before succumbing. That also left me on my own to fend for myself, much like Weavile had to. The treatment I received as a child was unacceptable, and it was all because I was going to grow up into a Gengar one day. Though the hurdles in mine and Weavile's lives were different, the impact it had on us was similar.

Yet, she was working herself hard to help me when I really didn't deserve it. I felt terrible, because one day she might be the one hunting me; and that's on top of the shadows of the past that already followed me. Weavile was too kind and giving; and she didn't judge me for being a Gengar like so many other Pokemon in my life had. I had too many memories of being chased out of towns and hunted for something I couldn't change. I supposed it was my ancestors I had to blame, but regardless I didn't deserve the treatment I was being given by life.

Sadly, my time with Weavile would come to an end as soon as I was able to leave, I decided. I didn't want to inconvenience Weavile with my own past, and she definitely didn't deserve to get wrapped up in all of it. There was a lot of danger that we might come across if I stayed. Sooner or later the truth was going to come out; and I'd rather not be around when it did. All of the thinking I'd been doing had begun to tire me out, and without realizing it, I'd fallen asleep.

Gengar was still sound asleep when I greeted the morning. I smiled at his sleeping form as I prepared to head out for the day, packing some berries and the Flash Orb I'd been given by Kecleon. I also was sure to leave a note for Gengar should he wake up and wonder where I was. The hunt had to continue, so I left with the sun just beginning to rise over the horizon and headed out to Shady Forest. To find Mightyena, and complete the mission I'd taken.

The last time I'd found Mightyena I'd followed his footsteps in the forest floor. But this time wouldn't be so easy, because I didn't know where he was headed. I started by travelling back to the edge of the forest where I'd seen him last, and where Gengar had fallen out of the sky. Unfortunately, there were no footprints. But, something that was just as helpful to me was present: there was the strong rusty smell of blood left from the wounds I'd doled upon Mightyena. Carefully, I followed the scent toward the plains, cautious when the scents of other Pokemon were mixed in. The last thing I needed was to be ganged up on as I tracked down the malicious outlaw.

It'd been a couple days since I last hunted Mightyena, so the path was quite long with no recent sign of him having travelled it. I was confused, because with how grievously I'd injured him, he shouldn't have made it this far. That was when the scent of blood suddenly cut out, and it was as if he'd disappeared suddenly where I'd stopped. Crouching down, I examined the dirt at the location, and it was completely untouched. It was as if he'd suddenly grown wings and flown away. Or, maybe he'd met up with a Pokemon capable of teleportation. Regardless of the method, he vanished from the spot and there was no trail to lead me or clues as to where he may have gone.

Somehow, I was leaning toward that he'd encountered one of his teammates partway and been whisked off to safety. "Damn, now what am I going to do…" I sighed, as the afternoon had slipped away faster than I could've prepared for. Leaning against a rock, I took out the food I'd packed for the day and began to munch on the assorted berries. 'I wonder what Gengar is up to…' I contemplated the idea, shuddering at the memory of him reading my diary the last time I'd left.

When I woke up, I noticed that Weavile had left me a note saying that she was going out to do some mercenary work and that she wouldn't be back until the evening. That got me thinking: 'What should I do today?' A few options came to mind. First, I could stay inside all day and go crazy with boredom. Second, I could plot my escape from Weavile. Or third, I could be a decent Pokemon and help her out somehow. Option two was very appealing, but at the same time Weavile had been so kind to me without having a clue about who I was or what I'd done, other than the fact that I was a weird Gengar. And I had to admit that without her around, even though it hadn't been very long, it was quite lonely. After a moment's consideration I decided that I'd go with option three.

Carefully I opened the door, which revealed a large room with a counter and a bulletin board. Curiously I examined the bulletin board in question, which seemed to be a collection of the jobs that the Pokémon of Halfway Town requested of Weavile and the rewards listed for each. Concerned, I took a look of each request; fortunately, nobody had posted the job I expected to be coming through any time. Changing my focus, I considered other pressing matters: 'What am I going to get for Weavile?' Thinking about what I'd seen of her already, she seemed to be very fond of berries. Maybe I could go pick some to give to her so she wouldn't have to buy any from Halfway Town. Nodding to myself, I took a stop by her storage room and selected a bowl before heading to the cave entrance.

When I stepped outside, the sun burned my eyes; it was hard to adjust from living in a cave for the past few days. Shading my eyes with a hand, I walked out into the forest set on finding some berry bushes and berry trees. Frankly, I had no idea where I was going. However, I was on a mission and nothing was going to stop me! With a wicked grin, I ran aimlessly into the forest with hopes of finding the berries wherever they hid.

It took me a few hours, but I'd finally found a clearing filled with berry bushes. Numerous Pokemon sat around the berry bushes, in conversation or simply enjoying nature's bounty. But, my mood was darkened because as soon as I appeared, they all scattered into the nearby foliage. I hadn't even done anything, only exist. Frowning, I began to pick the berries and put them in a bowl I'd brought with me from the cave. When it was full I turned, ready to head back. That was, if I knew where I was going. Unfortunately while my strategy of running aimlessly in the forest had yielded berries, I had no clue how to get back to Weavile's cave. Again, I had a few options with what I could do. I decided to wander aimlessly some more until I found the cave again, Weavile did say after all that she'd come after me if I left. There was no downside, except it might take me a bit longer to get back. Though, I did have berries so there was no danger in taking my time.

Looking around, I realized the cliff face was visible over the tree line and my aimless wandering became aimed. I was very aware that the sun was beginning to set and Weavile would probably notice me gone if I wasn't quick. So, as quick as I could manage, I tucked the bowl under my arm and dashed towards the cave. More than anything, I didn't want to disappoint Weavile or be missing when she arrived home. After all, it would subtract from the surprise if she was upset with me because I was missing.

Carefully I walked back into Weavile's room, sitting on the bed and putting the berries to the side. 'It shouldn't be long…' I told to myself, waiting eagerly to give her the berries. Taking a moment to think, considered what I should do when she arrived, or what approach I should take for the best result. That only made me nervous, because it was no secret that I was socially awkward and I might make her upset or say something wrong.

I let out a sigh as I walked into the cave; I was unsuccessful yet again at tracking down Mightyena. 'Hopefully Gengar hasn't left while I was gone.' I thought to myself, placing my supplies back in storage before walking into my room. To my surprise, Gengar was still there. "How was your day?" I asked, leaning against the wall, exhausted. "Boring. There's nothing to do around here." He complained, crossing his arms. I smirked, that was starting to become his trademark look. "You look exhausted." He commented, though for some reason he seemed nervous.

"Yeah, I was very busy today. I was trying to hunt down the outlaw that escaped me last time, and I wasn't able to find him. So I spent the day trying to follow his trail to give myself a better idea of where he went. But the trail cut off; it was as if he vanished, flew away, or teleported. But I hadn't known Mightyena to have any team members, not that I knew much about him to begin with." I explained, slumping to the ground. "To be honest, I've never had a mark escape me yet. This is the first time." I told him with no shortage of self-disappointment. A solo mercenary's reputation was one of their most prized possessions; a potential client was more likely to choose you if you were known for getting jobs done quickly and effectively.

"Well… I have something that might cheer you up." Gengar admitted finally, standing up to reveal a large bowl of berries he'd been keeping behind his back. "You… you got these?" I asked, overjoyed that Gengar would collect berries for me. "Yeah… but don't get me wrong! I just got them in case you didn't show back up, so I didn't starve!" He explained defensively. "I see. Well, thank you!" I exclaimed, beaming my happiness at him. He rolled his eyes at my enthusiasm before picking up the bowl of berries and handing them to me. "Anyway I'm tired, I'm going to bed!" He exclaimed before curling up on my bed.

I took a look at the berries in my paws and suddenly an idea came to me. Bowl in hand; I headed into my storage room. My storage room was a large room filled with my various belongings, food and item store, and a pool of water which naturally flowed in from the river. I dipped the berry bowl into the pool, filling it with enough water to cover the berries. Next, I went to my food store and picked up a container of sugar. I cupped a paw full of sugar and sprinkled it over the berries before covering them with a large square of cloth. Satisfied with my work, I brought the bowl back into my room and put it on my desk before curling up asleep against the wall.