Triumvirate Chapter 10: Lavender Town, Part 2, a pokémon fanfic

Triumvirate, chapter 10: Lavender Town, Part 2
Disclaimer: I don't own Pokémon

Gary fell hard on his back and got the wind knocked out of him. He fought the couple seconds of suffocation and rolled just as the mad Poliwrath punched the ground where his head had been and left a small crater under its fist. Gary choked for air as he came face to face with the fighting frog and its stygian stare. Like the sickly humans, Poliwrath's veins coursed black under its etiolated skin and pulsed with each heartbeat. He scrambled backward and fumbled for a Pokéball at his belt.

"Look out!"

Ivy slammed into a zombified man charging straight for Gary and sent him crashing into a lamp post. She retrieved her knife, which came away bloodless, but more dark fumes leaked from the wound. Gary got to his feet and released Aerodactyl's Pokéball.

"Air Cutter!"

Aerodactyl squawked in surprise as it materialized mid-flight, but it swooped around and flapped its leathery wings in a hard thrust that sent a razor sharp gale careening straight for Poliwrath. The big Pokémon took the hit in the back, and Gary shielded his face as the wind blade cleaved right through it. An arm and shoulder went flying off to the left, and Poliwrath's head split down the middle at an angle. Chunks of slippery flesh hit Gary on his chest and the arm that protected his face. More curling smoke rose from the Poliwrath's carcass and coiled like a serpent, sentient.

A strong hand closed around his elbow and hauled him to his feet. "Come on!"

Ivy dragged him away from Poliwrath's remains and they ran blindly away from the amassing sick people. They poured out of houses and emerged from side streets in various states of decay and degradation. Some had soiled themselves on their sick beds and trailed putrid excrement in their wake. Others bore lacerations that didn't bleed, but folded their pale flesh back like raw dough.

"We lost Ash!" Gary said as they ran.

"He's with Jenny. I saw them going toward the House of Memories."

"I can't see five feet in front of me in this dark fog. How the hell can you—"

The ground burst just in front of them and caused them to lose their balance. The blast pushed Gary back several feet, while Ivy skidded in the opposite direction. From the rubble, a Hitmonlee emerged on shaky legs, slumped over. A group of five or six more people, all young, jogged up behind it in some semblance of formation.

"Aerodactyl!"

The big reptile swooped in and tore into the nearest person, a man in a tattered nightgown, and dragged him by the shoulder. The man lost his balance and tried to swat at Aerodactyl with his spindly, blood-drained hands, but Aerodactyl squawked angrily and ripped the arm clean off. The man tumbled to the ground, but he got up and trudged back toward the fray. The maimed stump at his shoulder exposed broken bone and ripped muscles, but he kept coming as though nothing had happened.

"What the fuck," Gary said, gritting his teeth. "What is this!"

Ivy screamed, and he searched around for her through the gloom. She was busy battling with two people, a man and a woman, that had ganged up on her. Gary tried to jump over the rubble and get to her, but the Hitmonlee was in his path. One of Ivy's attackers yanked her arm back, and it popped. She grunted and swung around with her knife, connecting with the man's skull through the eye socket. She straddled him and they both went down. Umbreon and Houndour tackled the woman with sharp fangs and claws. The smell of roasting flesh filled the air as Houndour's Fire Fang ripped through infected muscle and bone.

Hitmonlee jumped high into the air and brought its powerful leg down for a High Jump Kick. Gary saw a grey streak fly by to his right, and Golduck was loping toward him, sensing the danger.

"Keep it airborne!" he shouted.

Golduck shot a powerful water jet almost ninety degrees straight up that crashed into Hitmonlee and knocked it off course. Gary raised his arm to get Aerodactyl's attention, but the Pokémon was already way ahead of him and opened its elongated jaw in a screech.

"Wing Attack!"

Aerodactyl slammed into the Hitmonlee in midair with a sickening crack and sent the Fighter hurtling back to the ground, where it landed with an explosion of rock and debris. The disturbance knocked back more of the zombie people converging on Gary's location, and he tried to get to Ivy again.

"Ivy!"

Her arm hung limp at her side as she rose off the dead man, and with one fluid motion she popped it back into place with a grunt of pain. The same dark smoke Gary had seen before rose from the mutilated man's skull, and Ivy backed away, clutching her knife. It drifted closer to her, and Gary saw flashes of red within the darkness. Instantly, Umbreon was by Ivy's side and hissed. The thing in the smoke recoiled and released a piercing scream that was more of an echo than the actual thing. It reverberated to the bone, and Gary froze in a cold terror the likes of which he'd never known. Houndour leaped at the apparition and snapped its jaws around the billowy smoke, trailing dark energy. The Crunch attack dispelled the gaseous being with a final scream. Ivy wiped her mouth and nose and looked around for Gary.

From the fallen Hitmonlee's carcass, a sinister, purple hand pulled itself out of a crack in the Pokémon's protective shell, followed by an amorphous, disembodied head. Red eyes swiveled within its gaseous body, and the dark mists that composed it parted in a serrated smile.

Gary recovered from the shock of seeing whatever that thing had been and once again tried to reach Ivy, but she met his gaze and dropped her jaw in horror.

Ivy, he wanted to say, but the word died in his throat when something pierced her from behind. A huge, black spike impaled her through the heart and she arched back in shock and pain. Gary's eyes widened and his mouth went dry as all sound, all sight left him and he could only see the vision of her, ripping in two. Another spike burst through her abdomen, and another through her shoulder, her thigh, until she was completely skewered.

"Ivy!"

He reached for her, vision blurring as tears filled his eyes and fell behind him. She slumped to the ground, dripping blood, and her eyes, those big, blue eyes, drooped. Gary screamed, and a lancing pain shot through his temple, crippling him. He clutched his head, unable to think as the pain consumed him. Doubled over on the ground, eyes screwed shut, he twisted in agony.

"Gary!"

A blast of cool, misty air hit him like an ocean wave, washing the pain away with it. He gasped for air and opened his eyes wide. A mystical, blue light surrounded him, and he was floating a few inches above the ground.

"Gary, hey!"

He looked up and Ivy was running toward him, perfectly alive and well. She thrust an arm forward, and Houndour leaped into the air over Gary's head, jaws gnashing. Gary followed its arc and saw its target, a mass of violet gas hiding furious, red eyes in a deformed, humanoid skull. A disembodied hand swept forward and sent out a frigid wave of energy that Gary tried to protect himself from with his hand, but the blue barrier protecting him released and negated the Shadow Ball attack before it could hit him. Houndour plowed right through the amorphous creature, causing it to shriek and float backward out of range in fear.

With the soothing, blue aura gone, Gary once again inhaled the humid darkness and coughed. Golduck squatted next to him. The jewel on its forehead emitted a soft, crimson glow, and its eyes faded from ghastly white back to their normal black as the Confusion effects dissipated. Gary rolled over and hauled himself to his feet.

"What the hell're you doing lying around back here," Ivy said, grabbing his hand. "The Radio Tower's just up ahead, and we need to hurry—"

Gary pulled her to him and embraced her with all his strength. She went rigid in his hold and tried to squirm free. He didn't let her.

"Gary, let go— Hey, come on, what're you doing? We can't just stand here."

"I watched you die," he said against her long hair. His throat clenched and he choked suppressing the beginnings of a sob. "I watched you die."

She relaxed a little, and he let her pull back. Cold hands found their way to the sides of his face, and she searched his eyes. "I'm right here."

His heart was racing a mile a minute with the aftereffects of the hallucination, and his fingers trembled as he took her hands in his.

"I'm right here," she said again. "You can't get ridda me so easy."

Tears prickled in his eyes, and he laughed without thinking. "I know. Believe me, I know."

She smiled up at him, and he lost a piece of himself in her eyes, so endlessly blue, eyes that could see in the dark. Golduck clucked and drew their attention just as the Ghost reformed, severely weakened from Houndour's and Golduck's attacks.

"Oh my god!"

An older woman in a smock with cuts on her face wandered closer to Gary and Ivy.

"P-Please, help! They attacked me!"

Gary held onto Ivy and gave her a squeeze on her arm. "She's normal?"

"Please, I need your help! You're not sick, right?"

"Gary," Ivy said in warning.

"We'll help you," he said. "It's okay, we've got Pokémon. Golduck."

Golduck ambled toward the woman, and behind the pair, Houndour snarled viciously.

"It's the Ghost," Ivy said. "It's recovering!"

She fumbled for her Pokédex and snapped a picture of the spirit as it flexed its disembodied hands.

"Haunter," Ivy read. "What the... There's a ton of info here!"

The woman struggled toward them, but just as Golduck reached her, the Radio Tower up ahead came to life and emitted an eerie dirge at full volume. The song's lilting cadence sent a twinge of trepidation down Gary's spine. Golduck paused and looked around, curious about the new sound.

"Shit!"

Ivy's exclamation was followed by her grabbing Gary's collar and yanking him down to the ground. A ghastly shadow passed over them as the Haunter began to roil erratically, like it was imploding in on itself in rapid-fire succession. Umbreon hissed and swished its tail menacingly, and Houndour bounded after the Ghost as it zigzagged through the air. Worst of all was its screeching, like the aftermath of a scream in a hollow place, but indelible. Gary started to see double as the sound made his head spin.

"No, stay away!" the woman said, stumbling backward. "Stay back!"

Gary and Ivy watched with wide eyes as the Haunter slammed into the woman, and she convulsed. Her eyes rolled back into her head, and her hair turned a shocking white before their eyes. She gripped her face with her fingers and covered her ears to blot out the sound of the Radio Tower's horrid melody, but to no avail. She sank to her knees, cracking them on the hard ground. Ivy flinched, and Gary pulled her back with him to put as much distance between them and the seizing woman as possible.

"To me!" He raised an arm and signaled to his Pokémon.

Golduck loped toward Gary just as Aerodactyl, who'd been busy attacking from the sky, landed next to him. The possessed woman's veins popped out against her lightening skin, pulled tight, and they swelled thick and violet. And when she opened her eyes again, fearful, brown eyes, the veins of toxin seeped into the irises and drowned them in darkness.

"Oh, you gotta be fucking kidding me," Ivy said.

The woman, no longer really a woman, rose on shaky legs. Her knees were busted to hell and she wobbled, but the pain didn't stop her from making her way as quickly as she could toward Gary and Ivy. She opened her mouth wide and a pernicious cackling echoed from everywhere at once. Gary and Ivy got to their feet.

"We have to get to the Radio Tower," he said.

"Glad to have you on board finally! C'mon!"

Ivy took off at a sprint, giving the haunted woman a wide berth. Gary was quick to follow, signaling for Aerodactyl to fly while he and Golduck ran. The Haunter was persistent, but the woman's physical injuries prevented it from making much headway, and Gary and Ivy soon outpaced the zombie.

The Radio Tower lay just ahead, the same as earlier, except now the topmost floor was lit up. Someone was up there. They ran without stopping and burst through the Radio Tower's front doors. Aerodactyl squawked angrily, unable to fly inside.

"Keep watch outside," Gary said, patting the reptile on its neck. "Watch for my signal."

Aerodactyl snapped its huge jaw and its tongue lolled over rows of sharp teeth, but it begrudgingly took to the skies again and disappeared in the fog.

"Sure you wanna do that?"

Ivy was clutching her sore shoulder further inside.

"Yeah. At least the Ghosts can't get to it so high up."

"Okay. Now, how about that door?"

"Golduck can use Confusion now, apparently." Gary eyed his lone Water Pokémon and grinned. "Make us a path."

Golduck's forehead jewel pulsed with telekinetic energy and its eyes began to glow. The door to the stairs, previously locked from the inside, was enveloped in bright, aquamarine light and rattled violently until it ripped off its hinges and slammed against the high-vaulted windows around the front door, smashing clean through them.

"Equal parts violent and efficient. I like it," Ivy said.

"Wait, lemme see what the Pokédex had to say about Haunter."

They huddled together and scanned through Professor Oak's notes about Haunter and its evolutionary line.

"Looks like I'm taking point on this one," Ivy said. "My Dark-types'll be super effective."

"Not against their illusions." He ran a hand through his hair, damp with sweat and mist. "I think we'll have better luck with Psychic-type moves for those."

"Golduck picked a hell of a time to learn Confusion. Still, after what Jenny said about Ghosts, I'm really surprised Professor Oak has so much intel on them."

"Lately, there's a lot that surprises me about Gramps." He crossed his arms. "You saw how the Haunter freaked out when the radio started broadcasting, right?"

Ivy chuckled. "Team Rocket. I thought I smelled their nasty stench around here. I dunno how they're doing it, but I'll be happy to put an end to whoever's upstairs. Permanently."

"For once, I couldn't agree more."

"Then let's go before those zombie freaks get in here."

With Ivy in the lead, the two of them headed for the stairs and made their way upstairs.

'House' of Memories was an understatement. The palatial interior's winding corridors and many hidden rooms had almost no end, and Ash began to drag his feet from exhaustion trying to remain silent as he and Jenny checked all the rooms. A Grandfather clock ticked and tocked in the living room, the sound somehow audible no matter how far the duo wandered deeper into the house. Charmeleon's tail and Pikachu's natural glow lit a path for them, and they dared not turn on any lights. Jenny tried the next room, which turned out to be a small library. A wide, oaken desk was pushed against the far wall with a green reading lamp, extinguished, on its surface. Books, open and closed and collecting dust, were stacked high, forgotten.

"Talk about a haunted house," Ash mumbled.

"It's like no one's been in here for weeks. Months, even. But how can that be? Mr. Fuji's lived here for years."

"You know what? I'd believe pretty much anything at this point."

They had searched most of the first floor and turned up nothing. Jenny made for the wide staircase that led to the second floor, but Ash paused.

"This is too easy," he said. "It was war out there, and in here, it's like nothing's amiss. I don't like it."

"Let's count our blessings and hope it lasts." Jenny started upstairs. "Come on, we can't waste any more time."

Ash looked down at Charmeleon, who sniffed the air and huffed smoke.

You don't like it either, do you?

But Jenny was right; they couldn't stop here. So Ash trudged upstairs despite the nagging voice in his head that said this was wrong, so wrong, and they needed to turn back before it was too—

Jenny's scream interrupted Ash's train of thought, and he raced up the stairs. He rounded the corner at the top of the staircase and found her sprawled on the floor. Growlithe and Parasect darted about, searching for the source of Jenny's ailment, but there was nothing to see.

But Ash saw.

A dark aura crept up her arms and settled over her back, an invisible presence that lifted her up onto her knees. The blood drained from Ash's face as fear clutched him in its cold, iron grip. Pikachu sparked in warning, and Charmeleon let out a roar that startled Parasect and Growlithe.

"Leave her alone!" Ash shouted.

The shadow that hovered over Jenny took form. A taloned hand, disembodied, reached up from her back and grasped at the air. The lecherous cackling Ash had now grown accustomed to in his mad dash here blossomed and filled the room, sending Parasect and Growlithe cowering in fear.

"Son of a bitch. You let her go!"

He ran at Jenny and tackled her body to the floor. They rolled together, and he ended up on top after a short struggle. Looking down at her, her once hard, amber eyes blinked open and bled red. Violet smoke emanated from her skin like toxic fumes, and Ash's eyes watered.

"Let her go!"

The whispers picked up again, and he did his best to ignore them. Jenny—or the thing controlling her—opened her mouth and belched out a thick, roiling cloud of black smoke. Ash flinched and jerked his head back. Pikachu rushed to his side, ready to attack but unwilling to shock Jenny.

Jenny convulsed under Ash, and her veins grew dark with whatever poison the Ghost had infected her with.

"No! Damnit." Ash racked his brain for something that would save her, anything at all. He squeezed his eyes shut, and a single word rang clear in his memory. Yanking Jenny's face closer to his, he locked gazes with the red eyes possessing her.

"Imago," he said with as much confidence as he could muster.

Jenny's eyes widened, and she inhaled a sharp, gasping breath before falling back to the floor and seizing. Ash scrambled off of her, unsure what he'd just done. Violet fumes rose from her body and gathered in a small cloud overhead. It formed hands tipped with deadly talons and split its mouth open to reveal a black, abysmal depth that made Ash's stomach turn just looking at it. The creature's skull flickered in and out of sight and smiled along with the creature itself.

Imago.

The word echoed in Ash's head, but he ignored it and went to Jenny, who had rolled over onto her side and begun vomiting. She curled into herself, and Ash rubbed her back.

"Jenny, hey, can you hear me?"

She cracked her eyes open—amber, just like he remembered—and peered up at him. "Ash?" She wiped her mouth of bile and phlegm. "What happened?"

The engorged veins had receded within her, and while a little pale and clammy, she seemed normal enough.

"I thought I lost you there for a minute."

Growlithe and Parasect surrounded their trainer. Parasect snapped its large claws in warning at the Ghost that hovered overhead, but made no move to stop it.

Imago...

Ash looked up and glared at the Ghost. "Yeah, Imago. Now scram before I fry your ectoplasm."

Jenny gasped when she saw the creature hovering over them. "Th-That's a Haunter," she whispered. "Oh my god, I've never seen one in real life before."

"Haunter?"

Haunter grinned, and its skull nodded emphatically amidst the dark mists that comprised its body.

"Well, I don't care what it is. Get the hell away from us!"

Charmeleon, sensing Ash's ire, growled and spat out a jet of fire at the Ghost. Haunter shrieked and retreated among the paintings lining the walls and disappeared from sight. Ash helped Jenny stand, and she leaned on him.

"What was that?"

"Don't ask me. I'm just glad you're okay."

"No, I mean, how did you calm it down? I could feel it. It was..."

"What?"

Jenny shook her head. "It was terrified. I can't explain it, but I was afraid for Haunter. It's almost like it was looking for a place to hide."

Ash slung her arm around his shoulder so she could walk. He jerked his head, and Charmeleon and Pikachu fell into step in behind them, while Growlithe and Parasect wandered ahead. "I don't care what it wanted. I'm just glad it's gone. You okay to keep moving?"

"Yeah, I think so."

They made slow progress down the hall, and Ash checked the rooms they passed with only a passing glance before moving on. The hallway stretched on and on, and he lost count of how many turns he'd made. It was almost boring, and the boredom fed his paranoia.

Doors opened and closed, and nothing happened. 'Nothing' separated him from the edge of excitement, the engaging, the real, and at least Haunter had been something. But the emptiness, the repetition that clouded his vision like a veil only hid the true darkness of this place, this House of Memories where there was no light and nothing of the past except dust and a well-trodden path by souls long forgotten to the passage of time. The true darkness, which dwelled behind the closed doors Ash hesitated to open, beyond the turns in the five and a half minute hallways he paced, counting the seconds because he was so bored. And behind him, stalking, because boredom was only ever a fabricated shield against the true and ugly elements of the heart, the darkest of which is and always has been horror.

And horror had never liked to be alone.

Parasect rounded a corner up ahead and stopped in front of a door. Growlithe turned back and panted, expectant.

"Looks like we found something?" Jenny said.

"Maybe. Lemme take a look."

Ash left her to lean on the wall for support and tried the door. It was locked.

"Charmeleon, knock it down."

Charmeleon snarled and huffed, but lowered its head and Headbutted the door with all its might. The frail door blew off its hinges and skidded across the floor into the adjoining room. Ash went in first, while Jenny hobbled in after him using the wall to support herself.

"What the hell?"

The room opened up into a spacious living room with a fireplace built into the far wall. It blazed, but its grey flames emitted no warmth. More than the demonic flames, the stale, heavy air in here hit Ash like a wet wool blanket to the face. He heaved and clutched his throat as his body adjusted to the viscous air. Shadows danced along the walls and floor, a phantasmagoria of terror and delight that churned his stomach and sent him crashing against the nearest wall for balance, feeling drunk. When he looked down, a greyish blob rose from the woven rug at his feet and fixed him with a spectral stare. The whispers hit him like a punch to the gut.

"Ash!" Jenny said from the doorway.

Ash thrust out his hand for her to stay back. Even Pikachu and Charmeleon were paralyzed in place, too afraid to follow Ash inside. Gritting his teeth, Ash pulled back his leg and kicked the yellow-eyed blob creeping toward him. Despite the creature's solid appearance, it disintegrated on contact and poofed into ash and dust. He followed the wisping dust with his eyes and settled on the two figures in the middle of the room causing this.

An old man in a stained, brown suit hovered with his feet just off the floor and clutching his throat. His eyes were rolled back in his head so only the whites were visible, and he drooled from the sides of his mouth in the beginnings of asphyxiation.

"Oh my god..."

A violet miasma floated around him, surrounding him and culminating in a large mass nearly as tall as the ceiling. Shadows swam in its depths, revealing teeth, disjointed bones, eyes that faded in and out. One of the shadows noticed Ash and took a more concrete shape, revealing an impossibly wide mouth, black and toothless, and a wide-brimmed head. The Ghost swept around and plunged back into the vortex. Ash took a few shaky steps forward, and it took everything he had just to remain upright in the vacuum.

The old man—Fuji, presumably—jerked at an unnatural angle as a plume of violet gas rose off him, drawing dark veins along his neck where it emerged. Red eyes blinked open and alighted on Ash.

"Stop!" Ash's voice was drowned out by the howling whispers that congregated in this place.

The Ghost inhabiting Fuji grinned, and its half-formed hands boiled with energy that it threw at Ash like a baseball. Ash faltered and put up his hands to block the Shadow Ball, but before it could hit him something rammed him from behind. Paralyzed, Ash took the attack in the chest at full force and wrenched open his mouth in a silent scream. Somewhere behind him, Jenny shouted something unintelligible. The voices grew louder in his head as the Shadow Ball's malevolent energy coursed through him.

Gasping for air, he forced his eyes open and looked down at his chest. The phantom energy ran in gentle sweeps across his body like a barrier. The grey blob-like creatures at his feet retreated in terror from him.

What's going on?

A soft laughter echoed in the back of his mind, and Ash had the strangest sensation of large, heavy hands on his shoulders.

Imago.

A spike of fear ran down his back, and Ash stared at his hands. They glowed a faint purple, coating him like gloves, and his fingertips extended into curved nails that moved with him. In his distraction, he only just now realized the air had become easier to breathe, and his feet no longer weighed him down like concrete bricks.

"Fúgite!"

A thunderous voice cut through the cacophony and shouted a command that reverberated through the room. The Ghost that had attacked Ash before widened its mouth in a roar and made a swipe for the mass opposite the captive Fuji. The demonic force that had shown itself before rose out of the depths and caught the Ghost's swipe on wispy ribbons that extended from its oblong face. The grey blobs moaned and rushed toward Fuji, amassing into one, amorphous creature that rose up from the floor behind him. Another smoking tendril emerged from his back, a single skull with eyes and no discernible mouth.

"Fúgite!" the forceful voice commanded again.

Something propelled Ash forward, a feeling in his head more than a voice. The invisible hands on his shoulders squeezed and dug shadow nails into his bones, lifting him and making him light.

Fuck this.

He threw caution to the wind and leaped forward, nearly losing his balance when his single step cleared the three or four yards between Fuji and himself. The huge vortex erupted with more eyes, grinning faces, and a spindly hand that reached for him. But Ash reached forward and brought his cloaked hand down over the creature rising from Fuji's back. An explosion of cold, rancid gas dispersed with the Ghost.

"Get out of the way!" said the voice, distinctly human but muffled, as though it were underwater.

Ash ignored it and lunged for the grey blob next, tearing into it with his bare hands. The shadowy talons extending from his fingers raked through it like it was solid, doughy. The disembodied cackling in his head only drove him onward, made his swipes more vicious as he tried to get to the heart of this darkness.

Something ripped into his back and dug knife-like nails through his armor. Ash screamed in pain and rolled to the floor just in time to see the same Ghost with the wide-brimmed head bite into the one that had assaulted him and swallow it whole.

"Fúgite!"

Fuji convulsed as the final Ghost possessing him emerged, nothing more than a gaseous pair of blood-red eyes, and the Ghosts occupying the tornadic mass all converged on it with ravenous hunger. With a wail that was barely there but that rattled Ash to the core, the apparition disappeared and Fuji fell to the floor, unmoving. The blob creature Ash had cut up dissolved into its lesser parts and receded to the roaring fire. Ash watched it go and take the spectral cloak with it, but a heaviness in his body made him reach for it, almost sad, as the flames returned to their natural, orange glow.

"Ash! Oh my god, kid, you okay?"

Pikachu and Charmeleon were at his side in an instant, but Charmeleon hissed and the Pokémon stood their ground a couple feet away. A hand closed around his arm and hauled him up. Ash looked up, expecting to find Jenny, but instead he was looking into two violet eyes that glowed with a light all their own. Fear coursed through his veins, but it wasn't his own.

"You," the woman bellowed. "Imago."

Behind her, three shadows hovered and stared down at him with salacious grins.

"W-What..."

She studied him, and her eyes drifted to a point behind him. "Two in one generation. Impossible..."

Ash pushed the cancerous fear that wasn't his to the back of his mind and yanked his arm free of the old woman's grip. "Who the hell're you?"

"I don't believe it," Jenny said from the opposite wall where she was leaning for support. "Are you...Agatha?"

The old woman stood up straighter and let her haunting eyes rove over Ash, his Pokémon, and finally Jenny. "Who else would I be?"

Fuji groaned and began to stir, and Ash move to help him.

"Don't," Agatha said. "Stupid boy. You'll rip his soul apart if you touch him like that." She kneeled down and offered Fuji a hand up. "Minoru, can you hear me?"

Pikachu squeaked nervously, and Ash held out a hand to the little rodent. "It's okay, buddy. I'm oh..." His hand still shone with sinister, violet light. "...Kay."

"Agatha? Is that you?"

"Ah. Can you stand?"

"Good heavens, I feel like I've taken quite the tumble."

Agatha snorted. "You always were one to downplay everything. Come on, the chairs are just over here."

Ash swiped at the air, marveling at the way the smokey talons on his fingers cut through it like it was something tangible. Jenny had managed to hobble near where Agatha settled Fuji into a reclining chair.

"You," Agatha barked. Ash whirled and came face to face with the short but imposing woman. "Get out."

"I'm not going anywhere."

"Not you, boy. That Haunter you're hosting."

The chilling fear Ash had suppressed came back to the front of his mind, and he finally understood.

Haunter's fear?

He stared down at his hands again.

"Recede, or I'll exorcise you, too."

The scintillating aura surrounding Ash faded and receded up his arms to settle in a cold shade on his shoulders. He looked up and saw Haunter, the same one that had possessed Jenny before, hovering over him. The Ghost grinned down at him.

Pikachu and Charmeleon finally came closer, but Charmeleon snarled at Haunter, wary.

"Okay, lady, you better tell me what the hell's going on."

Agatha narrowed her eyes, and the three Ghosts hovering just behind her twitched, sensing their master's irritation. Ash swallowed and took a step back.

"Because you're Imago, I'll do you a favor and pretend you didn't use that tone with me."

Ash let out a muffled cry of frustration and clenched his fists. "That word, I keep hearing it and I have no idea what it means."

Agatha gave him a withering look. "Imago is them." She gestured over her head at the looming Ghosts. "And Imago is you and me. We are reflections of them."

"What? What does that mean?"

"It means that when they look at you, they see themselves. Congratulations, boy," she sneered. "You're a Medium."

Ivy climbed two stairs at a time to the second floor with Umbreon and Houndour hot on her heels. Gary trailed behind a few steps with the slower Golduck. She roundhoused the door leading to the second floor at the top of the stairwell and burst into the room. There were empty office desks and cubicles separated by dividers from wall to wall, but there wasn't a soul in sight. The door to the stairwell leading to the third floor lay across the room.

"This way," Ivy said, taking off at a run once Gary joined her.

The doors here were unlocked, so they raced up to the next floor, only to find it, too, devoid of people and Pokémon. The dirge continued to sweep through the night, and outside the mist reached even this high up into the sky. Ivy glanced out a window as she ran across the third floor. It was impossible to see too far beyond it, but her skin crawled with the feeling of being watched. The fourth floor was empty as well, so they advanced to the fifth and Ivy knocked down the door. Immediately, she got blown back by a rank stench and a cloud of filth. Gagging, she stumbled into Gary, who caught her and landed against the stairwell's wall.

"Ugh," she groaned. "What the hell is that?"

The miasma rolled as gently as the mists outside, and within it something gurgled, lying in wait.

"We could really use Ash's Butterfree right about now," Gary said, covering his nose and mouth with a hand. "Can't believe I just said that."

"There's something in there," Ivy said, righting herself. "I'll go first and clear a path. I see it moving."

"What? Wait, Ivy—"

She dove in after Umbreon and Houndour with an arm over her face to block out as much of the stink as possible. It stung her eyes and they watered, but she managed well enough. Gary's shouts faded behind her, like the mist had swallowed her whole. Umbreon stayed close, yellow eyes glowing as it stalked, silent, while Houndour brought up the rear. She moved quickly but quietly, and the thing in the mist shivered as it lurched.

A Grimer?

Whatever it was, she'd take it out before Gary had to deal with it. Motioning to Umbreon, the black feline crept forward, silent as a wraith, and the yellow rings tattooed on its glossy hide began to glow with sinister light. Umbreon Snarled and struck the Grimer with dark energy. The sentient sludge exploded, and some of the grime splashed onto Ivy's armor. It smoked and seared, but the armor held sturdy and protected her from the poison.

"Gotcha," she said.

Houndour growled in warning, and Ivy whirled. More movement in the fog crept toward her, and she paled.

Four...seven...thirteen...

"...Shit."

A Sludge Bomb hurtled through the air toward her, and she jumped to the right to avoid it. A thick, gaseous cloud passed through her and shrieked. Writhing, the cloud took on a semi-solid form and bared rotted teeth in a cheshire grin. The Gengar burst out laughing, and its eyes glowed red.

"Umbreon!" she shouted as the wave of supernatural energy slammed into her.

The world erupted in shade and shadows, and that was when the screams started.

Gary fumbled through the dark with Golduck, squinting in search of Ivy. He considered releasing Growlithe or Scyther, but they wouldn't be much use in the dark against otherworldly enemies. So he moved slowly and cautiously, trusting his other senses to alert him to danger. Golduck began to project crimson light as it powered up another Confusion attack, and Gary stopped to listen.

Laughter slithered among the rolling mists, and the stench became more intense.

"Get ready," he whispered to Golduck.

Something slushed nearer, and Gary held his breath, counting the seconds. When it was nearly upon them, he waved a hand.

"Now!"

Golduck released a Confusion wave, and a cerulean light penetrated the thick fog. Telekinetic energy slammed into the massive blob of sludge inching toward Gary and caught the flying Sludge Bomb in mid-air before it could hit him. Golduck's eyes widened and the psychic energy released, beating the Muk back and churning it into a thousand smaller drops of sludge. The fog parted somewhat, revealing the door on the other side leading to the stairs. It creaked on its hinges, and Gary sighed in relief.

"Come on," he said to Golduck before running toward the exit.

Ivy must already be upstairs.

The journey up was fast, and he panted from the adrenaline overdose and lack of rest. But Golduck kept up with him easily, and another Confusion attack ripped the door off its hinges.

"What the fuck was that?"

Gary wiped sweat and grime from his eyes and came face to face with two familiar foes and one he didn't recognize. He bared his teeth in disgust. "Jessie and James."

James squinted at him. "Hey, you look familiar. Have we threatened you before?"

"It's that punk kid we ran into on Route Twenty-Five!" Jessie went for a Pokéball at her hip. "Back for more, I see."

The one Gary didn't recognize pulled his black beret lower to hide glacial eyes that matched his hair. "No one interferes with Chimera," he said softly. "Jessie, James. Kill him and take his Pokémon."

"Our pleasure, Proton," James said as he threw a Pokéball.

James's Victreebel materialized in a flash of light, followed by Jessie's Arbok and a round, squat Lickitung. Proton headed for the stairs on the other side of the floor at a sprint to get to the top floor.

"Stop him!"

Golduck fired off another Confusion attack and struck Proton as he fled. Blue energy lifted the Rocket Admin into the air and slammed him into the wall, where it dented on impact. Meanwhile, Gary reached for the Pokéballs at his belt and threw them. Nidoking, Scyther, and Growlithe appeared in a burst of white light, and Nidoking roared loud enough to wake the dead.

"Proton!" Jessie shrieked.

"I learned a few things since we last met," Gary said. "Fire Spin!"

Growlithe howled and conjured a thick vortex of fire that spun toward Victreebel.

"Nidoking, cover!"

"Poison Fang!" Jessie shouted.

Arbok slithered with shocking celerity toward Growlithe as Victreebel attempted to dodge the fiery attack, but Nidoking was there and caught the huge serpent in its bulky claws, taking the poisonous bite without even flinching. Lickitung shot its massive, rubbery tongue out and caught Nidoking around the leg.

"Fury Cutter!"

Scyther screeched and flew toward Lickitung, slashing its deadly saber arms and drawing blood. But Lickitung's tongue was tough and didn't sever. Nidoking roared and tossed Arbok with all its might, sending it hurtling against the far wall.

"Son of a bitch!" Jessie swore.

"I'm just getting started." Gary thrust his arm forward, and Golduck lunged.

Ivy coughed up blood as another spike slammed into her abdomen and flayed her liver.

It's not real. It's not real.

"You disobeyed me," a voice said above her.

The Masked Man hovered over her, frosty eyes condescending as he scrutinized her over his nose. Ivy grimaced and shut her eyes to his voyeuristic gaze that even now made her skin crawl and her heart race with foreboding.

"You're not real. I escaped you!"

The Masked Man laughed. "I threw you away like the trash you are. Don't delude yourself, Green."

Another spike plunged into her stomach, and she choked on the pain. She couldn't feel her legs anymore, and blood spewed from her mouth and fell back on her face in splotches.

"That's...not my...name."

"Oh, so you prefer the name that whore gave you? So disappointing. You never did amount to anything."

"Umbreon," she gasped. "H-Houndour..."

The Masked Man laughed and dribbled a syrupy, black tar from his mouth. It coated his lips, filling the cracks and dripped onto Ivy below him.

"They can't save you, little girl."

He reached for her with a disembodied hand that raked through her shredded abdomen and sent enervating bolts of pain to her very soul, to places deeper than any scar she carried reached. Her vision doubled, and his face warped. Blue eyes bled red, and his tar-stained incisors grew down the length of his chin.

It's not real.

"Yes, it is," he said in a hundred different voices all at once. "You're all alone in the dark, and in the darkness you'll stay."

The Masked Man's other hand reached for her face, and Ivy screamed.

"It's not real!"

Light flashed and washed out the ghostly hallucination, but it was gone in a flash and replaced by an ominous wave of tangible darkness that consumed both Ivy and the Ghost tormenting her. The pain in her stomach faded to a shadow of its former self, and she rolled over and wretched onto the tiled floor. The velvet darkness weighed her down, shielding her from whatever lay beyond for a few precious seconds, and she closed her eyes, shaking.

A terrible roar reverberated throughout the floor and stunned her to the bone. Wiping her mouth, she sat up and stared, wide-eyed, at the form of her savior. A towering figure stood on hind legs as tall as her chest, and its armored head towered twelve or thirteen feet above. Even in the pitch black, its glimmering, green scales pulsed with rivulets of dark energy all the way down its spiky tail, looking for an outlet. Umbreon and Houndour stood at its side, unafraid.

"Tyranitar," Ivy gasped.

The huge dinosaur clenched its meaty, front claws and roared again. The Gengar that had caught Ivy in its mirage cowered back in fear to join its comrades still hiding in the mist—two Ghastly, a Haunter, and another Gengar, along with the many Muk and Grimer still creeping about. Ivy got to her feet and put a shaky hand on Tyranitar's flank. It cast her a glance, and it took everything Ivy had not to recoil from its furious glower. But those eyes were familiar, ones she'd known for half her life, and she saw herself in them. Tyranitar cocked its head toward her and let its mouth hang open, revealing thick fangs dripping with dark energy.

The Ghosts were regrouping and possessing the venomous Muk and Grimer blobs, forcing them to amalgamate into one giant abomination.

"I don't dwell in darkness," Ivy said. "I am darkness." She pointed at the scrambling Ghosts as they prepared to defend with Shadow Balls and phantom winds. "Dark Pulse!"

Houndour, Umbreon, and Tyranitar exploded in a rush of night that swallowed the world whole.

Jenny and Fuji rested in the chairs near the fire while Ash and Agatha talked. Her Ghosts sneered down at him over her shoulders, and it was all he could do not to let their vacuous stares unnerve him. Haunter had not left him alone, and its constant chill lingered at the back of his neck. Pikachu didn't try to climb up his arm to its usual perch with Haunter there.

"A Medium?"

"Medium, Imago, it's all the same. I've even been called a Necromancer in the past, as well, but we don't have the power to raise physical forms, only spiritual ones."

Ash ran his hands over the sides of his face. "I can't believe I'm hearing this."

"That makes two of us." She took a moment to size him up. "There's typically only one Medium in a generation. I've only ever heard stories of cases in the past when there was more than one."

"You mean... There's others?"

"Only a small handful. Ghosts are tricky beings that exist in the liminal spaces between day and night, the Here and There. They don't choose just anyone, and not just anyone chooses them."

"Wait, no, I didn't choose anything." He glared up at Haunter. "This thing almost killed Jenny."

Haunter put up its enlarged hands and waved them around, and Ash was flooded with a feeling of guilt. He gasped at the intensity of the emotion and put a hand on his chest, afraid his heart might pop out of his ribcage.

"I'll be damned," Agatha said. "This really is your first time. It's a miracle you're still standing."

"Enough with the cryptic BS! I just wanna know what's going on. I don't have time to sit around here when my friends're still out there!"

Agatha crossed her arms. "Very well. This place won't protect us for much longer, anyway, so I'll be brief. Minoru."

Fuji, who had recovered enough to sit up on his own now, nonetheless dabbed his forehead periodically with a handkerchief Jenny had given him. "Right, of course. I'm so embarrassed that you found me like this."

"Mr. Fuji," Jenny said. "No disrespect, but you'd be dead if we hadn't. What happened?"

"The Ghosts, they're acting strangely. It's ever since that sad tune started playing at the Radio Tower. I did my best to seal off the House, give them peace, but I'm no Medium, so I couldn't do much."

"You did enough," Agatha said. "Besides, the ones outside stood no chance." She nodded to Haunter. "That one was either lucky or smart to stay in here and wait for you. Now it'll be immune to the radio waves."

"Radio waves?" Ash said.

Agatha pressed her lips together. "Don't you feel the song? It's taking some effort for me just standing here not to grow nauseous."

"The music did that? I remember I got a bad vibe from it outside, but..."

"That's because it's projecting a wavelength only Ghosts and those close to them can detect. Look at your Charmeleon and Pikachu. They seem perfectly fine, but Haunter was quick to possess the first corporeal body it could find. Humans and most other Pokémon can't detect the waves, so they can find some respite with them." Agatha shook her head. "But this wave is stronger than any I've ever heard. It's driving the Ghosts to madness, even the spirits of Pokémon and people long passed."

"That blob thing?"

"Ah, disturbed spirits of dead Pokémon buried here. You and Haunter dispelled them for now, but they'll be back unless we can stop the signal."

"I don't understand how anyone could do this," Fuji said. "To torment these poor souls and keep them from rest... It's a sin I cannot overlook."

Ash's eyes lingered on the Ghosts that floated over Agatha. "What are those?"

She followed his line of sight. "Good lord, you really know nothing. Those," she indicated the two grinning Ghosts identical to the one that had infected Ash with a horrific hallucination outside, "are called Gengar. They evolve from your friend, Haunter. And this one is Mismagius."

Mismagius let its mouth hang open, and a tar-like substance leaked from it like drool only to fade to nothing when it dripped past its stitched face. Ash withdrew the Pokédex from his pocket and scanned both species.

"That device," Agatha said. "Where did you get it?"

"Oh, this? It's a Pokédex."

"That's not what I asked, boy."

"You know, I have a name, lady. Ash Ketchum."

"Ash," Jenny hissed. "You can't talk to a member of the Elite Four like that."

Ash's jaw dropped. "A what? You're with the Elite Four?"

Agatha pinched the bridge of her aquiline nose and took a steadying breath. "Unbelievable." She glared up at Haunter. "You're absolutely certain?"

Haunter waved its hands around, and Ash was suddenly overwhelmed with glee. He laughed without meaning to, and immediately covered his mouth.

"Control yourself," Agatha scolded. "If you let the Ghost take over your emotions, it could consume you entirely. All right, for your sake, I'll explain a little. Listen carefully because this information could save your life. You're a Medium, or Imago, in the old tongue. Did you notice anything strange when Haunter possessed you?"

Ash looked at his hand and made a fist. "Yeah, it was like... Like I had Haunter's power. I could see it." He looked up. "I felt like I was floating."

Agatha nodded. "That's called Aura. Ghosts aren't from this plane, so they obey different natural laws than humans. Imago like you and me are predisposed to accepting them, and they can recognize that affinity in us." She indicated outside. "Non-Mediums can't take the physical and spiritual strain. Possession drains them of their life force, and the Ghosts consume them from the inside out until there's nothing but a useless husk leftover.

"But Ghosts can't survive long on this plane unless one of two conditions are met. Either they exist in a place like this, which is rife with spiritual energy compounded over centuries, or they inhabit living beings that naturally exist on this plane. The former is obviously the safer and more permanent solution. The fact that they're possessing people despite this being hallowed ground is...upsetting."

"Wait," Ash said. "If I'm some Medium, like you're saying, why didn't I know this until now? I've never even seen a Ghost until tonight."

"That doesn't mean they didn't see you."

Laughter echoed in his head, and he glared up at Haunter. "Cut it out."

"It can't. This is your reality now. You and Haunter will be bonded forever, until you join it on the other plane one day. Of course, you'll live far longer than others your age with one foot on the other side. One of the...benefits of Mediumship. Other Tamers don't have that privilege."

"Tamers? So there's others?"

Ash's head was starting to hurt from the adrenaline rush of the night's events and Haunter's oppressive shadow overhead.

"Yes. Your connection with Ghosts gives you access to their powers for a limited amount of time. You can wound souls and defy the laws of gravity, like you experienced just now. And other Pokémon recognize your Aura, so they become more amenable to your direction. There's death in your bones, and they don't want to defy that right."

Ash's gaze fell to Charmeleon, who huffed like it knew what he was thinking.

"Death in my bones," Ash repeated. "Surge said that to me, too."

"The Vermilion Gym Leader?" Agatha chuckled. "I never liked Fulmen myself. Too brash and headstrong."

"Fulmen?"

"One with an affinity for Electric-type Pokémon."

Ash rubbed his mouth. "So you're saying there's something like what I have for every kind of Pokémon?"

"Of course. You didn't think you were special, did you?"

"I've never thought that."

She regarded him a moment. "There is a hierarchy. Just as Pokémon themselves have weaknesses and strengths, so, too, do Tamers. Not all trainers are Tamers, but those who are have to be wary of their shortcomings. Imagoexist in the realm of twilight, the in-between, so too much darkness or light can overwhelm you, just as it can overwhelm the Ghosts that haunt you."

Ash's mind raced with the implications of Agatha's revelations. His thoughts drifted to Misty. "Hey, what about someone who can hold their breath for like fifteen minutes?"

"That sounds like Syreni, a Water-type Tamer. The ones I know can hold their breaths for far longer than that, though."

Despite the situation, he couldn't help but grin. "That's incredible. And you just know when you meet one of these Tamers? How do you tell?"

"I've been around a long time, and I've seen much in my lifetime." She paused, thinking. "You're a novice Medium, so you may not see them until you develop a deeper bond with Haunter, but Tamers possess their own auras distinct from regular humans and Pokémon. That gives them away. It can be an invaluable advantage if you find yourself up against one you don't know."

Fuji cleared his throat and rose on shaky legs. "I don't mean to interrupt, but I think I've wasted enough time sitting idly by. This needs to end tonight."

"Yes," Agatha said. "I didn't come here to socialize. Officer Jenny."

Jenny stood up, and Growlithe and Parasect flanked her. "Ma'am."

"Minoru will require protection here. His talismans and warding spells should hold for now, but as long as that insidious tune keeps playing, I fear even the sacred grounds won't be enough to keep the Ghosts at bay."

Jenny nodded stiffly. "I'll be happy to stay and help here."

"Good, because there's much left to do," Fuji said. "I have to make sure there's a place for the Ghosts to go once they're free of this spell."

Agatha turned to Ash. "And you, you're with me. We're going to the Radio Tower and putting a stop to this mess."

"You don't have to tell me twice. You guys ready?" he asked Charmeleon and Pikachu.

Pikachu sparked in anticipation of the battle ahead, and Charmeleon growled low in its throat. Overhead, Haunter cackled and channeled a chilling bloodlust through Ash's frame. He repressed a shiver and closed his eyes to blot it out.

"Good," Agatha said, eyeing him carefully. "You're a fast learner, if nothing else. Perhaps there's some hope for you yet."

Gary slammed against the wall to avoid Lickitung's resilient tongue, and seeing an opportunity, he jumped on it and held tight. James's Sandslash leaped toward him and prepared to Slash him to bits, but Golduck sprayed it with a Hydro Pump that sent the bristly shrew flying, and it crashed through a window just as James recalled it to its Pokéball.

"Cut it!" Gary shouted.

Scyther hacked and slashed with Fury Cutter, drawing smiley, red ribbons in Lickitung's tongue. Each cut went deeper as Fury Cutter powered up and honed Scyther's blades.

"Body Slam!" Jessie ordered.

Lickitung groaned and slammed its tongue on the floor, jostling Gary and knocking the wind out of him. The momentum launched the fubsy Pokémon into the air, where it angled in to crush Gary with its girth.

"Scyther!"

The green mantis flew and made a final cleave at the impossibly long tongue. And this time, its bladed arm severed the appendage completely. Lickitung cried in pain and lost its trajectory, raining blood on the floor, the battling Pokémon, and Gary before it finally landed on the floor with a sickening crack. It didn't get up again.

But Jessie didn't miss a beat, and as Gary got up and ordered Nidoking to Seismic Toss Arbok as hard as it could, something small and extremely fast flashed in front of him. It was gone so fast that the pain in his face took a couple seconds to manifest. Gary cried out as his face burned and bled, and he had to close his eyes to keep out the sting of blood. Something shook the building, like an earthquake, and a deep, feral roar echoed from below. The distraction was enough to give him a moment to wipe his eyes clean, and he looked around for his lightning fast attacker. A lithe Meowth darted in between the larger Pokémon, searching for openings to do maximum damage undetected. Jessie threw back her head and laughed.

"Strength isn't always about having the biggest Pokémon around, chump!"

In the commotion, Proton had recovered and sluggishly crawled to the staircase. He locked the door behind him and disappeared, headed for the top floor where the creepy music was still playing.

Gary clutched his face, which was slashed to hell and still bleeding. Victreebel Screeched, disturbing all the people and Pokémon on the floor. Gary sank to one knee as the debilitating sound wave made his head spin.

"Kill that thing, Growlithe!"

Growlithe was woozy from the Screech attack, but it did its best to obey and took off at a run. Fire burst around its paws and enveloped it in a Flame Wheel as it charged straight for Victreebel. The pitcher plant Pokémon leaned forward and spat out globs of Acid that burned through the tiled floor where it made contact, forcing Growlithe to alter its path. Dark fumes rose from the holes the Acid created, having eaten through to the floor below.

"Stun Spore!" James commanded.

Victreebel belched out a cloud of shimmering, orange dust that surrounded it like a shield.

"Growlithe!"

But Growlithe had run too close and lost its balance as the spores arrested its movement. With a whimper, it fell through one of the holes in the floor and disappeared among the fumes. Before Gary could do anything about it, James threw another Pokéball and released a Tauros. The bull had been genetically altered, and violet sludge dripped from splotches in its hide and burned through the floor. Bones protruded from the grime, and the animal's mouth hung open as it gasped for breath.

"Kill him," James ordered.

The Tauros aberration stomped the floor and took off at a charge.

"Megahorn!"

Nidoking bellowed and ran to intercept the charging abomination. They clashed, and black sludge sloughed over Nidoking's face and shoulders. But the armored rodent pushed through and launched Tauros into the air, where it rained poison down and forced Jessie and James to retreat to safety.

"Hydro Pump!"

Anticipating Arbok's intervention, Golduck sprayed the massive snake just as it was about to ram Nidoking mid-attack and sent it flying straight for Jessie and James. Tauros crashed to the floor, cracking the already unstable foundation with a tremor. The dreadful roar Gary had heard before resounded again, louder now that there was less of a division between the floors, and he ran toward his Pokémon. Something was down there, and if Ivy was still stuck...

"Return!"

He recalled Scyther and Nidoking just as the windows, which had taken too much abuse from the battle, burst and let in the howling fog and the things that dwelled within it. Sentient shadows dove for the struggling Tauros, as well as Jessie's and James's Pokémon, forcing them to recall them.

"Golduck!"

The blue duck loped toward Gary, but before it could reach him the floor gave out underfoot, and he slipped through falling glass and cement. He opened his mouth to scream, but something heavy slammed into his chest. He didn't even remember hitting the ground.

Ash followed Agatha, who moved with surprising agility, among the tombstones. Charmeleon and Pikachu tailed them closely, while Haunter floated just over Ash's shoulders, buzzing with excitement and a little fear for what lay ahead. The infernal melody still played, and Agatha's three Ghosts shied from its effects by sinking deeper within her.

"We need to move faster," Agatha said. "See if you can keep up."

The two Gengar and Mismagius grinned back at Ash before melting into Agatha and enveloping her in a baleful glow. Agatha leaped forward thirty feet in one step, light as a feather.

"Okay, then," Ash said. He recalled Charmeleon and held out a hand for Pikachu. "It's okay, buddy. It's just me."

Pikachu hesitated.

"C'mon, Pikachu. We have to help Gary and Ivy. Haunter...just wants to help. Right?"

The Ghost grinned and pulsed with glee. Ash bit back a smile that wasn't his and gestured to Pikachu.

"Just for a bit, okay?"

Pikachu relented and crawled into Ash's arms, visibly uncomfortable.

"Okay, you," Ash said. "Get us to the Radio Tower as fast as you can."

Haunter sank back within Ash, happy to escape the lilting melody emanating from the Radio Tower, and immediately Ash was filled with a sense of weightlessness. He sucked in a breath and swallowed the nausea that bubbled in his stomach. Pikachu shivered in his arms, which were now coated in translucent ectoplasm. Agatha had disappeared up ahead, but Haunter's Aura tracked her movements. She appeared bright and violet against the blanket of night even through the heavy fog.

"Here goes nothing."

Ash ran, and the spectral Aura carried him far and fast. He soared over twenty feet of graveyard before he touched down for another step. Pikachu squeaked in his arms and sparked. In his head, Haunter laughed and laughed. A feeling of nostalgia coursed through Ash's veins, like the Ghost had been waiting so long for this moment and for Ash himself.

In no time at all, he caught up to Agatha just as she stopped in front of the Radio Tower. Zombified people and a couple Pokémon ambled around outside it.

"There's so many of them," Ash said, counting the possessed people.

"We don't have time to deal with them. The Ghosts are just doing what they can to suppress their madness. Our true target is the broadcast. Take my hand."

"Huh? What for?"

She scowled. "You're a novice. You can't make the jump alone."

She grabbed his hand before he could protest, and Ash instinctively tightened his hold on Pikachu. Agatha leaped from the ground, and Ash had no choice but to jump after her.

"Holy crap!"

The ground fell away and the mists with it. Haunter struggled to lift him, but Agatha had him by the wrist and pulled him along effortlessly. As they flew up, the Radio Tower's floors rushed past them, and Ash recoiled from the fifth floor's stench. A rancid fog burst through the windows, totally obscuring whatever lay inside. They rushed past it and landed on the roof, where Ash stumbled and rolled a few times. When he pushed himself up, his elbows wobbled and failed him the first try. Pikachu crouched near his face and squeaked in concern.

"Get up." Agatha held out a pale hand for him to take. "We need to hurry—"

The tower shook violently, and Agatha lost her balance. Ash dove to break her fall, and when the tremor receded, wailing permeated the air. A cold rush of fear shot down his spine as Haunter cowered within him.

"What was that?"

Agatha sat up and clutched her head. "You said you had friends here? Let's hope that was their doing and not the culprits responsible for this disaster."

Ash struggled to his feet and helped Agatha stand.

"Listen, boy."

"Ash."

Agatha narrowed her eyes, and the crows feet at their edges deepened. "Ash. Haunter is only as strong as the bond you have with it. Remember, Ghosts don't exist naturally on this plane. You're its tether, and it's through that connection that it can fight and protect you."

"Okay, but why the pep talk all of a sudden?"

She gazed toward the undulating fog that rose on all sides of the tower. "In case I'm not there to help you make the jump next time."

Ash set his jaw and looked down at Pikachu. Haunter's Aura illuminated the tiny rodent in a bright, golden light. He smirked. "I think I'll be okay."

"Good. Let's go."

He followed Agatha through the roof access door, which her Gengar rammed with a Shadow Claw and tore asunder. They descended a dark staircase and came to another door, beyond which voices could be heard. Agatha didn't wait and marched through the room.

"What the— You can't be here!"

A man in a black, spandex suit confronted them and tossed a Pokéball. A hulking, elephant-like Pokémon emerged, but there was something off about it. Electric sparks danced across its back where two Voltorb were implanted in its armored hide.

"What is this?" Agatha said as she took in the aberrant Pokémon.

"Hold on, Shen," said a man in black with frosty eyes and an angular face sharp enough to cut through solid rock. "That's Agatha of the Elite Four. You won't stand a chance."

"So you recognize me," Agatha said. "Then I presume you know why I'm here."

The man in charge chuckled. He was leaning over a wide piece of machinery that blinked with glowing buttons and switches.

That has to be the thing controlling the broadcast, Ash thought to himself.

Haunter's cold presence within him shuddered with black hatred, and Ash nearly lost his balance under the force of the emotion.

"Unfortunately, I can't let you interfere with Chimera."

"Proton," Shen said. "I can take 'em out. Get outta here."

Ash quickly scanned Shen's Pokémon with the Pokédex. The article on Donphan was lengthy, but its Ground typing was all Ash needed to know.

"Chimera?" Agatha said.

Proton smirked. "Team Rocket's greatest achievement to date. And this," he gestured to Lavender Town outside, "is our latest iteration of the technology. Isn't it magnificent? Now we can broadcast Team Rocket's will to Pokémon for miles around!"

Ash trembled with fury. "Fuck you. Chimera's just a front for your twisted experiments. How many Pokémon have you killed? How many people?"

"I don't know. How many lives does it take to achieve the next stage of evolution?"

"Let's see how you like it, then. Wartortle!"

He tossed Wartortle's Pokéball, and the blue turtle shot a jet of water at the Donphan.

Agatha leaped to the other side of the room and slashed at Proton himself, but he tossed out two Pokéballs and revealed a hulking Ursaring and a Piloswine, the latter of which blasted Agatha with an ice bolt. Gengar protected her, but she fell back and Ursaring ran after her, fists flying.

"Thunderbolt!"

Pikachu erupted in lightning that caught on the trail of water Wartortle had created. Sparks danced along the floor and slammed into Donphan. The elephant honked in pain and lowered its head to charge. Wartortle was smaller, though, and Rapid Spun out of the way. Ash himself dove after Shen and made a swipe for him. Haunter rose up over him and extended Ash's reach by two feet with a phantom claw.

"Holy—!"

Haunter ripped through him with a Shadow Claw and came away trailing a milky, white smoke. Shen seized and fell to the floor. Drool dribbled from his mouth as he curled in on himself, eyes dilated, and leaking the milky substance from unseen wounds.

An Icy Wind tore through the air and slammed into Ash and his Pokémon, sending him tumbling head over heels backward into the wall. Ice crystals formed on his lips, and his fingers turned blue. Haunter shivered within him, and he struggled to stand against the freezing cold.

"Pikachu!"

The yellow rodent ran at Donphan and dove in for a Quick Attack.

"Self-Destruct!" Proton shouted across the room.

"No!"

The Voltorb on Donphan's back glowed bright with white light, and Ash lunged for Pikachu.

Stygian energy pulsed in the air as Ivy stood next to Tyranitar, Umbreon and Houndour flanking her sides. She peered through the darkness for signs of movement. Tyranitar growled low beside her, a death rattle that carried throughout this suffocating space. She heard nothing but the slurp, slurp, slurping of the Muk and Grimer still lurking about, but the Ghosts had disappeared or gone into hiding.

"You can't hide in the dark from me," she said, peering left and right.

She raised a hand, ready to command her Pokémon, but something heavy crashed overhead and froze the blood in her veins.

Gary.

"We have to get up there. Tyranitar."

The hefty dinosaur lowered its head so its large, yellow eye was level with Ivy's. She smiled and reached out to trace its muzzle.

"Feel like breaking something?"

The beginnings of a growl rumbled deep in its belly, and Ivy backed away.

"There." She pointed directly overhead. "Get us outta here."

Tyranitar reared up to its full, frightening height and took a deep breath. With a thunderous roar, it powered up a massive Hyper Beam and lit up the entire floor. The orange light collided with the edges of the oppressive fog clogging this place and bounced back. The Ghosts hiding in the mists screamed and flew around the room, desperate. Tyranitar's taloned feet crushed the tiling underfoot and it sank into the cement as it powered the Hyper Beam.

"Almost there!" Ivy said, covering her ears. "Just a little more!"

The Ghosts rushed at her with wandering Shadow Claws, dragging the toxic Grimer and Muk with them, anything to hurl at Ivy.

"Flamethrower!"

Houndour leaped into the air and spewed molten fire that burned the advancing blobs to nothing but smoking piles of tar. The fog cracked as the Ghosts' power waned.

"Umbreon, help him out!"

Umbreon quivered and shook off a wave of dark energy that blasted the Ghosts back from rushing their group. With one final clamor, Tyranitar burst through the spectral trap keeping them in this place and the fog shattered like glass as the Hyper Beam made contact with the ceiling. Cement and metal cracked and burst as the ceiling came apart, and Tyranitar powered down its attack. A fat Arbok screeched as it plummeted to the ground from the floor above, followed by chunks of concrete and glass and an orange canine Ivy recognized as Gary's Growlithe. She sprinted to catch it before it could get crushed under the debris, and together they rolled across the floor. A flash of blue hovered directly above—Gary's Golduck. Confusion slammed into some of the falling debris, but it missed its target.

"Gary!"

Tyranitar snatched up Ivy, Houndour, and Umbreon and doubled over them to shield them from the deadly cave in just as Ivy saw Gary get slammed by a jagged hunk of concrete and disappear beneath it.

"No!" she screamed under Tyranitar's adamantine frame.

The collapse ended and Tyranitar pushed itself up on its hind legs, dropping slabs of concrete and pieces of metal two-by-four off its back like they were nothing but packing peanuts. Ivy let Growlithe go and followed the pup over the debris toward Golduck. It had managed to save itself and floated, suspended telepathically over the jagged rubble.

"Where'd he fall?" she demanded of the lithe swimmer.

Golduck fixed her with a vacuous stare, and Ivy trembled with anger. Careless of the dangers of Golduck's Psychic barrier, she lunged and slugged it in the face. The blue barrier flickered as Golduck staggered and shook its head out.

"Where?"

Rocks began to glow with psychic energy several feet away and slowly rise from the ground. A hand appeared among the rubble, and Ivy climbed as quickly as she could toward it.

"Tyranitar! Dig him out!"

Ivy didn't wait and began pulling back the smaller debris, anything she could physically lift. Tyranitar lumbered to her side and hefted one of the larger chunks of concrete and tossed it to the side, where it crashed through a window and fell to the ground outside. Growlithe whined by her side and pawed at the ground. With Golduck's and Tyranitar's help, she soon uncovered Gary, who was bleeding from the face and almost unrecognizable. Warm blood leaked from puncture wounds in his armor, and his arm was bent at an unnatural angle. He wasn't moving.

"Shit."

She shrugged her pack off as Golduck wandered closer to examine its fallen trainer. Growlithe continued to whine and paced up and down Gary's side, nudging him periodically. Behind her, whoever Gary had been fighting dug themselves out of the rubble and began to regroup.

"Jessie, are you okay?" James said, digging his partner out of the debris.

She hissed. "My leg. I think it's broken."

"Come on, Gary, hold on for me," Ivy said as she rummaged around her pack. "Damnit, where is it!"

Tears blurred her vision, and she cut her hand on something sharp. For one dreadful second, she was sure the vial she was looking for had shattered, but it turned out to be one of the Antidotes Misty had packed for them that they hadn't used yet. The Max Potion was all the way at the bottom of her bag, and she yanked it out and tore the top off with her teeth.

Gary was bleeding from his mouth and unresponsive when she made him sit up.

"C'mon, you have to drink this," she said, nudging the Potion toward his lips. "Gary, c'mon."

There was no response.

"Shit, it's the girl who stabbed me," Jessie hissed. "James, I want her dead."

"We have to get you help. She can wait."

"Fuck that. Arbok!"

The colossal cobra, though bleeding from the tumble it had taken in the collapse, hissed and slithered toward Ivy and Gary.

"You're drinking this if I have to force you." Ivy opened Gary's mouth and dumped the entire contents of the Max Potion down his throat. She rubbed his throat to make him swallow it, and some of it leaked from the sides of his mouth. There was still no response, and she detected no heartbeat.

"No," she said through gritted teeth. "No, no, no! Gary, wake up!"

Arbok spat gelatinous venom at Ivy, and she spun just in time to see it. Houndour leaped up to block it and got sprayed with poison. The black canine yelped and crashed among the debris. Growlithe bounded after it.

"Houndour!"

"Surprise!" Jessie said, standing despite her ruined leg. "Kill her, Arbok!"

Ivy could barely see straight with her tears falling freely. "Hyper Beam!"

Tyranitar jumped from the rubble where Gary still lay and fired off another orange beam of light. Arbok was still fast despite its injuries, though, and dodged the worst of the attack. Jessie laughed, and the snake once again zeroed in on Ivy.

A rush of wind was the only warning before a grey streak flew in through one of the shattered windows and sank two-inch bone talons into Arbok's tough hide, piercing through the tightly-packed scales. Aerodactyl squawked and lifted Arbok off the ground enough to drag it, writhing and hissing in pain, across the dilapidated room and sent it crashing toward Jessie and James. Hunks of bleeding flesh and bone came away in Aerodactyl's talons as it ripped free of the snake and circled back.

"The only ones who'll die here're you two!"

James tossed out a Pokéball and a huge Pidgeot materialized from the light. It squawked and spread its massive wings. "How about a rain check on that?"

"How about not. Umbreon, aim for the bird!"

Umbreon took off running, but something just as fast tackled it from the side. A light-footed Meowth hissed and pounced after the larger feline.

"Dark Pulse!"

Tyranitar roared and sent a wave of black energy in all directions. It slammed into the Meowth and sent it flying into James as he attempted to get Jessie onto Pidgeot's back. Umbreon, immune to the wave's effects, bounded after the retreating Rockets and leaped into the air. Its tail fur stood on end and hardened to steel spikes as it came down on Pidgeot with Iron Tail. Jessie swung around at it with piece of sawed off pipe, forcing Umbreon to redirect its attack and slice through the metal. Aerodactyl reappeared through the window for another round with Arbok, but Jessie recalled the big snake along with Meowth. James hauled her up onto Pidgeot's back just as Aerodactyl passed over them.

"No you don't!"

Ivy ran after them herself, but just as they were about to take off, the top floor exploded and more debris rained down on them. Ivy ducked to protect her head, but her thoughts immediately shifted to Gary lying exposed.

"Gary!"

A heavy slab of concrete struck her in the back as she struggled to get back to him, and she tripped. Tyranitar was at her side in an instant and covered her from further abuse. The collapse was shorter this time, and as soon as it was safe, Ivy crawled out from under Tyranitar to get to Gary, who was covered in debris and dust. But before Ivy could get close, the rubble moved and burst free. Aerodactyl rose and shook out its wings, which had shielded Gary from the worst of the rock slide. The grey reptile squawked angrily and nudged Gary with its muzzle.

Careless of Team Rocket, Ivy scrambled back over the debris to get to Gary. Aerodactyl made room for her, and she took Gary's face in her hands. His eyes remained closed even as the Max Potion stitched together the surface wounds on his face. Hot tears plopped onto his dirty cheeks as she hovered over him, trembling.

"Gary," she sobbed. "Please, you can't die on me. You just can't, okay?"

Golduck and Aerodactyl hovered over them, curious and perhaps sensing the hopelessness of the situation. Ivy shook as the sobs intensified and racked her body. She leaned forward and touched her forehead to Gary's, careless of the tears that drowned them both.

"Please...I can't lose you."

Something rough but warm slid up her cheeks and caught her tears.

"You haven't."

Ivy sucked in a breath and opened her eyes, and all she saw was a dazzling green that filled her sight, sound, and touch. Chapped thumbs smeared the tear tracks on her cheeks.

"Gary?"

He was so close, warm. Alive. She trembled with a fresh batch of tears and slid her arms around his neck in a bone-crushing hug.

"Oh my god," she sobbed into his shoulder. "You're alive."

His arms wrapped around her back and held her close, albeit weakly. His breathing was labored and hot against her tangled hair.

"Can't get rid of me so easy."

Ivy smiled and choked on a laugh. She pulled back a little and ran her thumb over the tender tracks along his skin where Meowth had Slashed him. "Damn idiot. You can't just go falling through ceilings."

His hand trailed up her back and he wove long fingers through her hair. Ivy's smile faded a little as she held his gaze. This close, his short breaths washed over her lips.

"Pesky woman," he said.

A heavy weight settled on her shoulders as she looked down at him and he tugged gently on her hair. The urge to fall, to let gravity win, crossed her mind as she held his gaze, timeless green.

Jessie and James's Pidgeot squawked from across the devastated room. It had escaped the worst of the second blast, and the Rocket Grunts were attempting to escape with it. Pidgeot spread its massive wings and flapped hard enough to kick up a tornado of debris. Ivy shielded her eyes.

"They're getting away!"

"To be continued!" James shouted over the wind.

Pidgeot shot like a bullet for the opposite window, but a bolt of lightning arced through the air after it.

"Stop them!"

A jet of water shot after Pidgeot, but the agile bird was as fast as it was robust and angled to avoid it. James ducked Jessie's head down as they crashed through glass and flew off into the lightening sky.

"Cowards!"

"Ash," Gary said, sitting upright again. "You're okay."

Ash stood a few yards away atop the rubble with Pikachu and Wartortle. When he saw Gary and her, he grinned. "Looks like a I missed a hell of a party here."

The Self-Destruct attack crushed everything in the vicinity, including the floor and the machine broadcasting the sinister music. Glass shattered over Ash and the floor fell away as he curled in on himself. His breath came in shallow, sucking bursts.

A banshee-like screech stirred him, and he looked up to see Agatha command Mismagius forward to possess Proton. The Ursaring jumped to protect its master and collided with Mismagius. Ursaring jerked unnaturally and its spine bent back forty-five degrees. Spidery, purple veins rose and burst through its hide, spilling blood, and it roared in agony.

Something squeaked in Ash's arms, and he looked down to see Pikachu, relatively unharmed and enveloped in soft, violet light. Ash shook, still not fully recovered from the explosion, but a feeling of relief swept through him.

"Haunter..."

The Ghost's spectral Aura glowed around him, fainter than before. Ash sniffled and hugged Pikachu closer.

"Thank you."

Wartortle emerged from its shell several yards away, completely unharmed if not a little scuffed up, and waddled over to Ash. There was a gaping hole in the floor where the explosion had gone off, and there was no sign of Donphan. Insulation and pieces of piping fell from the crumbling hole, and Ash looked over the edge.

"Aagh!"

Proton crashed against some of the destroyed machinery. Agatha hovered above ground like an angel of death come to pass judgment on him. His Ursaring lay mutilated in a corner, and Piloswine convulsed as a Gengar devoured it from the inside out, laughing all the while.

"Your machine's destroyed. My job here is done."

Proton panted and reached for the last Pokéball at his belt and something else Ash couldn't make out. "You got it all wrong. Joke's on you guys, you old bitch."

Agatha waved a hand, but Proton tossed both the Pokéball and the black object in his hand at Agatha before she could send her ravenous Gengar after him. The ball exploded in a thick cloud of peppery dust, and she recoiled, gagging. The wind picked up and a Fearow crashed through the remaining, high-vaulted windows with Proton on its back. The mists from outside poured in and cleared away the pepper bomb. Ash was more concerned with what lay at his feet, though. The entire sixth floor was gone, and as the dust cleared he could make out some people and Pokémon moving around. His heart leaped in his chest.

"Agatha!"

"I see it."

Ash looked back out at Proton flying away into the west. "Damnit, he's getting away!"

"Leave him. Let's get down there." She leaped over the edge and disappeared into the writhing abyss below.

"Right behind you."

Ash scooped up Pikachu and Wartortle before they could get squeamish about Haunter's presence and jumped. The Ghost's chilling Aura flared to life all around him, and it used the last vestiges of its spare energy to guide Ash safely to the ground, where he landed lightly and released Pikachu and Wartortle.

A Pidgeot zoomed by and kicked up a mean gale behind it. Ash recognized the two riders as the Rocket Agents that ambushed him at Mt. Moon and didn't hesitate.

"Thunderbolt!"

Pikachu erupted in bright light that zigzagged toward the fleeing Pidgeot, but it missed its target narrowly. Ash shook with anger.

"Stop them!"

Wartortle sprayed a thick column of water after Pidgeot, but the bird again swerved elegantly out of the way and crashed through the broken windows.

"Let them leave," Agatha said as she touched down next to him. "They'll rue the day."

"You're damn right they will."

"Ash," a familiar voice called to him. "You're okay."

Across the room, Gary and Ivy sat atop a mountain of rubble and stared at him like they'd seen a Ghost. Haunter cackled at the whimsical thought, and Ash cracked a grin.

"Looks like I missed a hell of a party here."

Ivy helped Gary stand, and Golduck and Aerodactyl crawled next to him. Ash scanned the area, and his eyes settled on the gigantic dinosaur-like Pokémon he didn't recognize.

"Whoa, that's new."

Ivy and Gary regrouped slowly, and he went to them.

"Oh, Houndour..." Ivy kneeled down next to Growlithe and examined Houndour a moment. "Poison. Damnit."

She recalled the brave canine to its Pokéball, and Growlithe bounded back to Gary and leaped into his arms, nearly knocking him over.

"Whoa, hey boy." Gary cracked a smile and scratched Growlithe behind the ears. The exuberant canine slobbered his face with its pink tongue. "Good job back there."

Ash's approach got cut off when the behemoth Pokémon growled and positioned itself in his path.

"Get back!" Agatha drifted to his side and yanked him back by the arm. "That's a Tyranitar, a most fearsome Dark Pokémon. Don't touch it."

Ivy had a hand on Tyranitar's flank and walked around it. Umbreon was at her side and hissed when it got a whiff of Ash and Agatha.

"Messor!" Agatha pulled Ash back, and he stumbled after her.

"What? Hey, let go," Ash said, trying to get out of her surprisingly painful grip. "Those're my friends!"

Gary drew up next to Ivy and leaned on her for support. "What's going on? Ash, who's this?"

Agatha paled as she stared between Ivy and Gary. "No, it can't be..."

Ash walked around to stand in front of Agatha and clutched her arms. He glared up at the Ghosts that hovered over her with as much confidence as he could muster. "Calm down. What's the problem?"

Agatha swallowed and blinked, the spell of whatever had arrested her attention breaking. The chilly façade was back in place. "You there," she said to Gary. "Oak."

Ash frowned and looked back at Gary and Ivy. "You know her?"

Gary shook his head. "Never seen her before."

"I'd know that face anywhere," Agatha said. "You're the spitting image of Sam. His grandson, perhaps?"

Gary stiffened. "That's right. Professor Samuel Oak's my grandfather. You know him?"

Agatha took her time responding. Her gaze softened in a way Ash hadn't seen before. "Once."

"What did you call me?" Ivy said.

She had a hand on the knife at her thigh as she stared down Ash and Agatha. Pikachu squeaked and hopped closer to Gary and her, but looked back at Ash questioningly.

Agatha sucked in a shaky breath. "Unbelievable. I've never heard of such a thing."

"I asked you a question," Ivy snapped.

Ash approached his friends again and put up his hands in a placating gesture. "Whoa, hey, you don't wanna be rude to her, trust me, okay?"

"Why?" Gary asked. "Who is she?"

"Well..."

"Messor," Agatha said. "To think you cavort so easily..." Her piercing eyes shifted to Gary. "And you. What could Sam be thinking letting a Delphi anywhere near these two?"

Gary stepped forward on shaky legs. "Listen, lady. I dunno who you are, but you don't get to come in here and act like you know us."

Ash put his hands up to silence both sides. "Okay, enough! Guys, this is Agatha of the Elite Four. She helped me out a ton."

The shift in the air was almost palpable, and Haunter delighted in the tension. Ash covered his mouth to stop himself from giggling like mad and squeezed his eyes shut.

"Get out, the signal's gone," he said.

Haunter begrudgingly did as it was asked.

"Shit," Ivy backed up and dragged Gary with her as she eyed the Ghost. "Ash, what the hell is going on?"

Haunter grinned down at them, and whispers crawled in Ash's ear. He rubbed his ears and glared up at the Ghost. "Cut it out. You got a death wish?"

Haunter found that notion hilariously ironic and threw back its head in a cackle.

"Ash," Gary said, doing his best to remain calm. "Explain. Now."

Agatha stepped forward. "Yes, please explain how a Medium, a Clairvoyant, and a Reaper, of all the abominable things, ended up here together."

Ash rubbed his temples, and Haunter mimicked the motion overhead, highly amused. "Okay, yeah, explain. Can we go somewhere that's not falling apart first?"

Day broke, and with the fleeting twilight the Ghosts that had sought shelter from Team Rocket's Chimera wave relinquished their holds over people and Pokémon to retreat to the sacred ground at the House of Memories. Fuji, with Jenny's help, had fixed up the three shines around the House so the Ghosts had a beacon to follow. There were no further signs of the disturbed phantasms risen from graves of people and Pokémon long since passed. The sun rose, and the tranquility Lavender Town was known for rose with it.

All was not well. Bodies in various states of decay and mutilation littered the streets. Those that survived the mass possession were weak and bedridden at best, in critical condition and dying from their many wounds at worst. The local clinic was filled beyond capacity, and the nurses who had finally emerged from under lock and key in their homes remained on their feet for the next fifteen hours straight.

But Lavender had survived, somehow. People braved the new day, determined to recover and rebuild. The trio was no different as they sat by a roaring fireplace in the House of Memories with Agatha and Fuji.

"I wanna start at the beginning," Gary said. He held a scalding cup of tea between his bandaged hands. "How do you know Gramps?"

Agatha studied him for a moment before responding slowly. "We were close once."

"How close?"

She chuckled. "You may be the spitting image of him at your age, but your attitude's all wrong." She sipped her tea despite the heat. "Ash is much closer to him in temperament."

"Really?" Ash said, smiling a little.

"It sounds like you were very close," Gary continued, ignoring the comment. "Why hasn't he ever mentioned you?"

Agatha set her tea down on the table. "There are many things I'm sure he hasn't mentioned. That Pokédex, for example. I bet he never told you how that idea started."

"He wanted to catalogue all the Pokémon in Kanto and Johto for research purposes."

"I can't decide if you're trying to convince me or yourself."

Gary pressed his lips together, but Ivy put a hand on his shoulder before he could say something he would regret.

"How about you get to the point?" she said. "We don't exactly have the luxury of time here when Jenny's working hard to help people get back on their feet. We promised we'd help her when we were through here."

Agatha glowered. "How like Messor to speak out of turn and so bluntly."

"That word again. You also called me a Reaper, if I remember. I'm just dying to hear why."

"Agatha," Ash said, tentative. "Are they Tamers, too? Can you see that aura thing?"

Agatha's expression softened just a little as she glanced at Ash. "That's correct. This one," she pointed to Ivy, "has an aura as dark as night. She's Messor, a Dark element master. And the young Oak is the opposite." She addressed Gary directly. "Your aura is pure and white. There's no mistake, you're as Clairvoyant as the strongest Psychic Pokémon. A Delphi like Sam."

"What the hell is a Tamer?" Ivy asked.

"It's like a person with a special affinity with a certain Pokémon element," Ash said. "Agatha explained all this to me earlier. I'm a Medium, so that's why Haunter's following me around. Uh, right, we have a Haunter now. Pretty cool, right?"

Gary and Ivy said nothing as they glared at him. Ash pulled his hat off and fiddled with the brim.

"Hah, right... Anyway, apparently Surge is a Fulmen, and Misty's a Syreni." He paused for a moment before adding, "You know, I bet Brock's one, too. I should ask him next time we see him."

"So you're saying we each have some kind of affinity for an element?" Gary said. "But you and I train all different types. I get Ivy, but it doesn't make sense for us. I don't even have any Psychic-type Pokémon."

"Apparently that doesn't matter," Ash said. "It's just part of us, and she can see it in our auras. I can't see them yet, but maybe one day."

"What I fail to understand," Agatha said, "is how a Clairvoyant, a Reaper, and a Medium can coexist the way you three do. It defies natural law. You shouldn't be able to breathe the same air, let alone be friends. Especially a Clairvoyant and a Reaper. You're polar opposites, natural enemies."

"Maybe I like his personality," Ivy sneered.

"Insolent girl. You don't want to anger me."

Ivy handed Gary her tea to stand up and he was forced to take it or let it spill. "And you don't want to anger me."

Agatha rose as well, and they stared each other down. Ash was up and in between them in a flash. "Okay, okay, simmer down, everybody."

"She's provoking me," Ivy said. "Don't pretend like this isn't all super shady."

"Hello, Elite Four, Ivy. I think we all know we got bigger fish to fry, if you get my drift."

Ivy crossed her arms and sat back down. "Whatever."

Agatha looked between the three of them again and frowned. "So that's it. Did you know the whole time?"

Ash gave her a weird look. "Huh? Did who know what?"

Agatha shook her head. "Sam gave you all Pokédexes, so he must have known what you were. But he let you run off together, anyway." She scowled. "He always was so damn optimistic." She sat back down and looked pointedly at Ash. "You're the bridge. The twilight to their night and day." She pointed at Gary and Ivy. "You are why Sam was alright with this ludicrous arrangement. I mean, a Clairvoyant and a Medium together are one thing, but a Reaper? Out of the question."

"You know, you never did answer my question about how you know Gramps so well," Gary said. "You said he's a Clairvoyant like me, right? And you're a Medium. Wanna tells us about that?"

"I'll say this, you inherited his cheek. But if Sam hasn't told you anything, then it's not my place to say. Suffice it to say we've known each other nearly all our lives. The rest, I'll leave to him to explain if the fancy strikes him."

They arrived at an impasse, and everyone brooded over their too-hot tea. Fuji stood up to stoke the fire.

"As much as I enjoy having company, you're all adding quite a bit of negative energy to this place. Kindly calm down a bit, would you?"

"I'm calm," Ivy whispered when Gary stepped on her foot.

They stared each other down before Ivy backed off and pulled her knees up and crossed them on the couch.

"Anyway," Gary said. "Changing the subject, you're an Elite Four. We've actually been traveling around with the hope that you guys would eventually notice what we're doing."

"What's that? Getting yourselves nearly killed?"

"No," Ash said quickly before Gary could say something nasty. "Actually, we're going to the different Gyms and asking for their backing against Team Rocket. I guess we don't have to explain why we think they're up to no good after everything you saw here."

Agatha made a sour face. "No, I received the message loudly and clearly, as you young people like to say. Team Rocket needs to be stopped."

"So you'll help us?" Ivy blurted out. "I mean, the cause. Look, I don't really care what you think about me or whatever, but we're trying to stop Team Rocket before Chimera gets out of hand."

"I believe we're well past that point," Agatha said. "Anyway, after what happened here in Lavender, I don't need further convincing. I'll report this back to my colleagues as soon as I get back to Indigo Plateau."

"Really? You'll do that?"

"Did I stutter?"

"So does this mean we're done?" Ash asked. "I mean, if the Elite Four's gonna get involved, that's the best result, right?"

Gary leaned forward on his knees and steepled his hands. "No, I don't think that's a good move. We should still visit the other Gyms. The Elite Four has a lot of power, but they don't actually have autonomy over the Gyms. They can influence, but they can't control."

"Hmph. I'm relieved to see Sam's at least been smart about your education," Agatha said.

"But since you're one of the Elite Four, your word would go a long way," Gary added. "So if you'd be so kind."

She waved him off. "Team Rocket never sat well with me. They attempted to buy us off in the past, but we didn't see things their way. I'm sure my colleagues will be happy to name them a public enemy once I report back."

"Wow," Ivy said. "It's almost like a dream. I can't believe we're really making a difference."

Ash laughed. "You didn't think we would?"

"You guys haven't been shy about reminding me I didn't plan this out very well. I guess... I dunno, it just seems too good to be true. Team Rocket's really going down."

"As long as we're breathing, they won't see a day of peace," Gary said.

Agatha stood up. "I can see you three are committed. Fine, I won't stand in your way. But I caution you. The Gym Leaders are not to be trifled with. They're all Tamers, as you may have discovered by now. Don't take them lightly."

"Yeah, we got that part," Ash said.

Agatha turned to him. "And you, Ash Ketchum. The next time I see you, I expect you to have mastered your Imago abilities. That goes for you, too, Haunter."

The Ghost emerged from Ash's back in a billowing plume of violet smoke and grinned. Agatha nodded to it.

"Well, Minoru, my job here is done. You can handle maintenance from here."

Fuji bowed low to her. "My Lady, as always, I am in your debt."

"Gratitude is for favors, not duties owed."

"Won't you visit the shrine before you leave?"

"No. I've had quite enough of this town to last me another fifty years."

The trio got up and followed Agatha out of the House of Memories. The sun was high in the sky already, and they were still in their scuffed armor without proper baths since Vermilion several weeks ago. Gary was running on fumes after the emergency Max Potion Ivy had given him.

Agatha tossed a Pokéball on the ground and a huge Golbat emerged from within the light. It had a leather saddle strapped to its back, which Agatha mounted.

"Hey, wait," Ash said. "I just realized I haven't actually caught Haunter. How do you catch a Ghost?"

Agatha smirked. "You don't. They haunt you until you exorcise them. Or until you die."

"...Oh."

She spared the trio one last glance, her gaze lingering on Gary. "Take care. You'll need it."

With that, she tapped Golbat's flank and the blue bat launched into the sky. In a matter of minutes, Agatha had disappeared into the western horizon.

"Well," Ivy said. "She was a real bundle of joy."

Ash rolled his eyes. "Aw, lay off. She's an old lady, for cryin' out loud."

"Did you even hear how she talked to me? Like I was gum under her shoe?"

"Hey, think of it as keeping us humble, yeah? Believe me, she gave me an earful, too."

"Stop overreacting, both of you," Gary said, heading for the Pokémon Center. He yawned and stretched his arms over his head.

Ivy and Ash exchanged a look, and Haunter burst out laughing.

"Yeah, must be nice not getting chewed out," Ivy said, biting back a smirk. "Guess Agatha really did see something of the Professor in you."

Gary waved at them over his shoulder. "I'm literally about to pass out, so remind me to argue that innuendo later."

Ivy ran after him and looped her arm through his. He leaned on her, and she said something to him that Ash couldn't make out. Pikachu pawed at his pant leg and squeaked.

"Yup, pretty sure Ivy sees what Agatha saw, too, buddy."

He held out a hand for Pikachu to crawl up onto his shoulder, and the yellow rodent clung to his right shoulder while Haunter hovered over the left. The Ghost laughed and laughed as Ash tailed Gary and Ivy, hands in his pockets and eyes to the vast, sunlit sky.

Agatha soared over Kanto proper atop Golbat while her Ghosts rested after the hard battle. Her silver hair whipped behind her in the wind, and goggles protected her eyes from the windburn. She mulled over what she would report to the rest of the League. Lavender was safe, but the kids had a point about Team Rocket, and it was no longer possible to ignore the organization.

Sam, why would you send three kids to do your life's work?

Only unintelligible whispers answered her, and she was left to wonder.

She flew over Saffron and spared the sprawling metropolis a cursory glance. A part of her wondered how Sam was after all these years apart. His wife was dead, and his daughter, too. That night still burned as brightly in her mind as the fires that had consumed the women.

"If there's anything, anything at all..."

He never did ask her for anything.

Lost in elegiac longings of the past, she didn't hear the Ghosts' warning until it was nearly too late. A fiery plume singed Golbat's left wing as it swooped, and Agatha nearly fell out of her saddle. The Ghosts resting within her came to life in a whorl of abysmal whispers. The Charizard's mount steered the bulky reptile higher so it flew above Golbat. Agatha squinted through her goggles, but all she could see was a black-uniformed rider with no identifying symbols or marks. Even his hair was tucked back into a beret.

"Kill them both," Agatha commanded.

The two Gengar squealed in glee and launched high into the air, shadows without form, and chased after Charizard. Mismagius sent a trill of trepidation down Agatha's spine, and she looked back over her shoulder just as a Skarmory, silent as death, rammed into Golbat and knocked it off course. The silver bird twisted around in mid-air and swooped in close. The coarse feathers on its wings hardened to titanium points as it aimed a deadly Steel Wing at Golbat.

"Confuse Ray!" Agatha shouted over the wind.

Golbat swerved, and Agatha held on for dear life. The bat opened its mouth impossibly wide and generated a sonic wave in a concentrated beam that shot straight for Skarmory and its mysterious, covered rider.

"Go," Agatha bellowed.

Mismagius leaped from her back and roared like thunder as it slammed into Skarmory and Golbat's Confuse Ray hit the rider. The rider, a woman, screamed and began tearing at her own face like it burned. Her gloved nails came away bloody with chunks of cheek, while Mismagius made quick work of Skarmory. The Ghost raked shadowy talons out from inside the bird's stomach, spilling its entrails to the ground below. Skarmory folded in on itself, and it soon fell from the sky, taking its mad rider with it. Mismagius floated alongside Agatha and giggled like a little girl.

But the victory was short-lived when another Skarmory and a Fearow showed up, also mounted by nondescript riders. They circled her and angled down from above to attack. Agatha tried to angle Golbat through an opening between them, but they were fast. The two Gengar were still contending with Charizard, wary of its fire.

"To me!" Agatha called.

But by the time she got the words out, it was too late. Golbat dodged the Skarmory, but the giant Fearow tore into the blue bat's right wing and broke the bone. Golbat shrieked and tumbled out of the sky, taking Agatha with it. Mismagius raced after her, shrieking, and the two Gengar were not far behind.

The riders redirected the two Skarmory and Charizard to circle over Agatha as she plummeted. Ignoring them, she worked on the buckles to Golbat's saddle, cursing the sticky leather. Her hands ached from the precision handling, and she cut her palm on a brass buckle. Golbat swerved in the air and the wind knocked Agatha against the bat's back. The ground was fast approaching, and her Ghosts were still out of range. Cursing her old age and the fate that doomed her to wallow in it, she bit down on her tongue and yanked the buckle securing her to the saddle with all her strength. Her frail fingers popped and burned with arthritic pain, like someone had stuck her with a thousand needles in the joints. But the buckle broke free and she kicked off of Golbat. The bat wailed and crashed through the trees below.

Agatha had no time to mourn it as she reached for her Ghosts. Mismagius dove for her as fast as it could, and the Ghost's comforting chill grazed her fingertips just as she hit the trees and crashed through the branches. They snapped so loudly to her ears, ears filled with demons that liked to whisper, torment.

The hell you know.

It was her last thought as she hit the ground and shadows danced in her memory before everything went dark.