Disclaimer: I do not own Pokémon or "The Shining."
Last time, Ash and Misty find Brock unconscious in the bar. They decide that they'll waste no time in leaving.
Summary: Ash, Misty, and Brock's visit has taken a horrible turn for the worse.
Midnight! Pokéball Go!
by Spruceton Spook
Part 14:
All Work and No Play Makes Brock a Dull Boy
"So, what's your big plan?" Meowth asked, lowering his eyes to Jessie.
Team Rocket still sat in the pantry. An open box of crackers stood in the center of their circle, with their hands occasionally stuffed into it.
Jessie laughed proudly. "I think it's the best one yet. See, we'll use the hotel to aid us along. While those twerps are too busy packing away their stuff like James claims they are--"
"Are you assuming that I'm making that up?" James asked, annoyed.
"No," Jessie replied, looking at him strangely. "Anyway, while they're busy doin' that, we'll snatch Pikachu and silently make a run for it."
"But won' t they notice that it's missing?" James asked, getting interested in the plan. As soon as he heard the word "snatching," his eyes lit up.
"Of course not!" Jessie replied, shrugging happily. "They'll think it's roaming around the hotel somewhere. Pokémon are naturally very curious of new surroundings. Sometimes they even get lost." She winked at her two partners, who smiled from ear to ear.
"That's great, Jessie!" James exclaimed. "When do we attack?"
"Soon," answered Jessie in an evil voice. "Very soon."
"But what if they're leaving before we get a chance to attack?" Meowth asked.
"Yeah, and if they're leaving, wouldn't they come in here to get some food?" James pointed out.
Jessie and Meowth suddenly cringed in fear. They knew he was right. Opening the door a crack, Meowth surveyed the area. Quickly, they scurried out, heading to a door, not yet knowing where it led.
"Where are you going?" Jessie demanded in fear.
"Beats me!" Meowth replied, and they blasted through the door to the dining room.
"It's too open here!" James said. "If they come in here, they'll spot us!"
Jessie looked around. She spotted another door. "Over there!" she shouted, and they finally ended up in the bar, in which they hid for cover behind.
"Now we just wait," Jessie said, and James and Meowth sighed heavily.
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Ash and Misty made their way slowly back to the caretaker's quarters. They talked occasionally, but only of what they had scattered around the hotel that they had to collect. Ash glanced outside the window, and smiled suddenly. The bright blue sky that had existed not an hour ago was now filled with clouds, and the first snowfall of the year had begun. Ash nudged Misty softly and motioned her to look outside. Misty smiled slightly but it didn't cheer her up as much as it did Ash.
Finally entering the quarters, Misty walked immediately to the bed. Brock was still sound asleep, breathing heavily.
"Let's let him keep resting," Ash said. "We can pack up most of our things and his, too. Don't worry, he'll wake up soon."
Misty nodded, and started to pick up some of the clothes she had folded around the quarters. She walked into the bathroom and took down all of their shampoo and soap, grabbing a few of the hotel's while she was at it. She threw the things into her bag (she usually carried the toiletries), and made her way to the small bedroom where she had spent the first night. Most of her stuff she had left in there. Suddenly, she put her hands on her hips and stared at the pile. "Where's my--oh, no!" she thought, mumbling out loud.
"Ash!" she called.
"What?" he replied from the living room. He had been in the master bedroom packing his bag and a little of Brock's.
Misty came into the room looking quite upset. Ash immediately asked what was the matter.
"I left one of my shirts in the honeymoon suite!" she whined. "Please go get it for me."
"But Misty, I--"
"Ash, I don't want to go up there!" Misty crooned, giving Ash what appeared to be puppy-dog eyes. "Please go get it?"
Ash laughed. "And you think I want to?"
"Asssshhhhh. . ."
Ash threw his hands to his ears. "Fine, I'll get it! I'll get it! Just. . .finish up here all right?"
Misty smiled and nodded. "Thank you!"
"Come on, Pikachu," Ash said, motioning to his pal. "Come with me."
Pikachu jumped off the bed and followed Ash out of the room. Relieved that she didn't have to be in that horrible room again, Misty sighed, and decided to check the food supply. When she noticed that they were running low, she picked up Togepi and headed to the kitchen to get food for the road.
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Meanwhile, Team Rocket sat patiently behind the bar.
"Where are those kids?" Jessie asked, impatiently tapping her foot. "I'm getting really annoyed!"
"Calm down, Jess," James replied. "They'll come around soon."
Meowth had been crouching down low along with them, but decided to walk around a bit. Hiding low, he began to scrutinize the bar, checking the place out. He was amazed at how beautiful the hotel was in the inside compared to its ghastly appearance on the outside. Feeling too much out in the open, he returned to Jessie and James, but the opposite way. He had made a complete trip around the bar room.
Suddenly, he stubbed his toe on something.
"Meeooowth!" he screamed, and Jessie immediately clasped a hand on his mouth.
"Are you insane?!" she demanded furiously.
Meowth gripped his foot with tears in his eyes. "I hit my foot on sometin!"
Jessie let go of him and Meowth quickly went to check out what it was. "Huh?" he asked in shock when he discovered what he had hit.
"What is it?" James asked, as he and Jessie leaned over Meowth's shoulder to see what it was.
Meowth turned around slowly with an empty bottle of whiskey in his hands. Jessie and James' eyes bugged out when they saw it, matching Meowth's shocked expression.
"Have those little twerps been drinking?" Jessie shrieked in disbelief, grabbing the bottle out of Meowth's paws.
"Looks that way," James replied.
Jessie slammed the bottle down hard. "How disgusting! I didn't have my first drink till I was sixteen!"
Meowth was grinning and grabbed the bottle once again. "Hey, if this plan doesn't work, we could hold on to it, and use it as blackmail for another time! Maybe that twerp would give us his Pikachu if we threaten ta show this to his mudah!"
Jessie and James moaned. "Let's hope it won't come to that," Jessie said. "Let's hope this plan works."
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Ash shook in fear as he made his way up the stairs to the second floor. Pikachu sat quietly on his head, ready to shock if anything got in their way. The Pokémon was now even beginning to feel weird vibes at certain times, and was ready to protect Ash if it had come to that.
Holding the suite key firmly in his hand, Ash walked slowly and cautiously to the door. He remembered Misty's horror story about that night, and a shudder ran up his spine. Nothing was impossible now at the Fireside's Warmth Hotel.
The two finally reached the door, and Ash slowly slipped the key into the lock. He remembered the last time he had heard that sound of a lock opening, and that had ended in disaster. He held his breath, and swung the door open. Huge windows displayed the immaculate winter wonderland that was accumulating outside, and Ash smiled again. The snow seemed to be helping him along. The room was quiet, and Ash was relieved. For now.
"Come on, Pikachu. Let's find Misty's things and leave."
As soon as he started toward the bedroom, the door suddenly slammed shut behind him with a loud bang. Ash trembled, and turned around immediately. Like a bolt of lightning, he ran to the door and grabbed hold of the doorknob tightly. He tried to turn it, but it would not budge. Pikachu's heart began to race as he silently tried to will the door to open. But there was no luck.
"Oh no!" Ash cried as he began to bang loudly on the door. "Somebody help! Misty! Brock! Anybody, I can't get out!"
"Pika!!" Pikachu joined in.
Ash tried to pry the door open again, but it was sealed shut. Ash broke into a cold sweat and his head began to throb as he nervously and desperately tried to free himself.
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After spending about ten or less minutes in the kitchen, Misty returned to the quarters, her arms full of bread and canned foods. Togepi toddled along quietly behind her. She was surprised that Ash had not yet returned, but she assumed that he was still getting her things.
She made her way immediately to the bedroom to see if Brock was awake. If not, hopefully he would be waking soon. Entering the bedroom, she froze, dropping the food onto the bed. Brock was not there. She quickly turned around in all directions to find where he was. He was not in the bedroom, and Misty walked into the living room.
"Brock?" she asked nervously. "Brock? Where are you?"
"Right here, Misty," Brock said softly from behind her.
Misty spun around to reveal Brock standing behind her. She had no idea from where he had popped out from. He had a huge grin on his face, and Misty's eyes fell instantly to the roque mallet that he held in his hands. Looking back up into his eyes, she began to smile.
"Thank God," she said in pure relief, holding her hand to her heart. "You scared me."
Still smiling, Brock shrugged. "Sorry," he said.
"I'm so glad that you're up," Misty continued, starting to feel a little nervous. Brock stood there with the same expression on his face, yet it was blank. "What happened to you? Why did you leave the room last night?"
Brock shrugged again, and came nearer to her, twirling the mallet around in his hands. Misty watched it nervously, but still tried to force a smile. She nodded down at it.
"What's with the mallet?" she asked, beginning to shake.
"What, this?" Brock asked, bringing the mallet close to his face. He drew even nearer to Misty, but now she had begun to back up. He looked up at her as an evil grin spread across his face. "You want to find out, Misty?" He lowered the mallet back down to the ground, but held it as if he was ready to hit a ball.
Misty swallowed heavily, backing up slowly. "What are you talking about, Brock?" she asked softly as she managed a small smile.
"I want to play a little game with you, Misty," Brock said happily. "It's called hide-and-seek."
Misty laughed nervously. "Come on, Brock, joke's over. Help me pack up."
"Why? We're not going anywhere," Brock replied, shrugging. He held the mallet firmly in his hands.
Misty turned to him surprisingly. "Yes, we are! We talked about it last night."
"Ah, yeah, last night!" Brock said, looking at the ceiling in happiness. He looked back at her. "A lot happened last night."
Misty stared at him strangely. "What?! Brock, stop playing around! This isn't funny!"
All of a sudden, Brock began to laugh, and Misty watched in fear as Brock's smile twisted into one of evil happiness. The mallet that was draped casually at his side was now brought up to his face. He looked admiringly at it, and then looked at Misty. The glare in his eyes sent shivers up Misty's spine, and suddenly she realized that something was terribly, terribly wrong.
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"Somebody please let me out!" Ash bellowed through the closed door. He gripped the knob with all his might and yanked at it. He placed his foot on the wall and tried once again. No luck. His breathing had become heavy, sounding almost as if he had asthma. The sweat poured down his forehead and back in buckets. In frustration, he kicked the door angrily. "Oh God! Can't anybody here me!? Damn it!"
"Ash honey, quiet down."
Ash screamed and flipped around. His jaw dropped and he froze in shear horror. Not five feet away from him stood "her." Ash's heart began to pound uncontrollably. It WAS her, the same thing he had seen in the bathtub yesterday. Little did he know that she was also the same gorgeous woman that had danced with his friend the night before. Only now she looked fresh from the grave, her greenish face grinning at Ash, her hair in impossible ratted tangles and falling out in numerous places, and wearing an eaten-through white dress, which Ash would have never known considering its current brownish color.
Pikachu squealed in terror and jumped into Ash's arms. Ash almost dropped Pikachu but gripped onto him for protection.
Once again, she smiled at him, a warm, loving smile. But that was the last feeling that came to Ash. He could only feel evil radiating from it. Finding himself now in the presence of a real ghost, he tried to scream again, but no sound came out of his throat. Instead, he was gasping loudly, trying desperately to find the strength to do so.
"Don't be afraid of me, Ash. I've been waiting for you." Her eyes suddenly grew white and clouded, and she reached her rotted hand out to Ash. Ash immediately backed away, his eyes glued with fear at the horrid apparition before him. He realized that she didn't look alive or dead, but from some appalling stage in between. The scream that had bundled itself up within him finally emerged. Being the loudest scream Ash had ever released in his life, it almost deafened poor Pikachu. But it had no impact whatsoever on her and she continued to walk gracefully towards Ash.
"Come on, Ash. Come with me. You'll be happier."
The whole time, Ash was not even aware that he was backing away from the door, his only way out. His eyes were fixated on her, almost as if she was a magnet attracting them to her. It was the most ghastly sight he had ever seen, worse than ones from movies, worse than ones from his nightmares. For a second or so, he felt like he was going to faint. Miraculously, though, he did not. Despite the fear that was gathering in him like a bucket in a torrential downpour, he made a desperate attempt for the door.
He got no further than a few feet when suddenly to his horror, she caught him in her deadly grip. The impact caused Ash to drop Pikachu, who landed between Ash and her. The boy tried to scream but was abruptly and horribly halted as she clasped her greasy, rotted hands around his neck, and with a happy but nevertheless evil smile, began to take Ash's life.
TO BE CONTINUED. . .