pbPart Twenty-six-Those who fight and run away.../b
p
pJasusi put her wings against her side and dropped into a dive that would have sent her straight into the basement if she'd not been experienced. I braked above what was left of the roof, pretty scared but what else was i going to do? Jasusi was going to get Kyotoshi and Dad out. I was going to stall that Metala Myuu.
pShowdowns. i hated them, because i never got into them with anyone of equal or lesser level then myself. Metala Myuu looked at me, the red diodes that could pass for eyes moving up and down and across my form. She was tapping into my attacks and skill level the same way J.C.N. could to a pokemon or pokeperson. I couldn't block that, just prepare. Stay ready, i thought to myself. Get on the defensive because she's going to attack first...
pThe small metal cylander in the middle of Metala Myuu's face (I suppose it could have been a mouth, but it certainly wasn't intended for eating) started to turn slightly. A low humm came from the creature, a buzzing sound that send chills up my spine. What is she DOING?
pThe cylander rotated all the way around, and clicked. I had barely a second to set up a Barrier, because by then the flames were already spewing out and torching the air around me. When they passed, i held the Barrier a moment longer. That kind of attack could easily have been pulled off by a Charizard...If it happened to be three hundred stories tall!! Metala Myuu had some FIREPOWER!
pNot a time to wonder why i was doing this, i told myself. Time to attack back. I'd need something tough, and very VERY fast. No time to think, just get in there and do damage...
pI charged at Metala Myuu and sent a Psywave in her direction. She dodged easily and turned to face me again. I recalibrated my turn and doubled up in the air, crossing my arms and charging for Psybeam. Metala Myuu's mouth peice didn't move this time though. This time the small bumps on the top of her head where ears should be extended slightly and sparked. Electric attack! Damn!
pI shot the Psybeam, Metala Myuu shot enough power to light up Saffron for a decade and a half. The sky shot through with electric bolts, and the majority were flying at me! My attack was canceled quickly by the huge zap, and the bolts from Metala kept on coming. I didn't have time to put up Barrier. This was going to hurt..a lot.
pSomething got to me before the electricity did, and fired out a weak Confusion attack. "Get out of here!" Irin yelled at me, trying to cancel the bolts. Every time they hit him, he jerked backwards and dropped a few feet, but kept coming. "Hurry up and run! You can't fight these things!"
pMaybe he thought that way, but if it had been made..it could be broken. "Keep it distracted," i growled and Teleported inward. If i had the advantage of another player in this game, i might be able to take Metala Myuu out. Psy attacks were canceled too easily, she had been built in defense of those. But if i got in close enough, a fighting move might just do it.
pMetala Myuu's attention left me and turned to this new perseistent threat that with Irin. I dodged in closer, hoping he could hang in there. One more Teleport and..perfect! Close enough to do some damage! Metala Myuu's diode swivled to find me but by then my foot was already connecting with its metal skull. My foot hit the creature hard, with a resounding clang that filled the air, but it also set me straight into the path of the electric current pulsating around the metalic monster. My limbs numbed and locked, my mind trapped in a disobedient body and blackness grabbed my vision and tugged me down, even though i did not want to go. Metala Myuu and i took the three story plunge to the ground together.
p
pbPart Twenty-seven-Irin's work shop& the Klepto-ball/b
p
pWhen i was concious again, i was not fully awake even though i was moving. The ceiling was not torn away, so i reasoned i was no longer in the pokecenter. I could also hear Kyotoshi and Dad argueing in the other room, so i figured we'd all gotten away safely. At any rate i figured i had better get up, because if the volume of the yelling and the flashes of light from the other room were any indication, the roof of this building might be coming off very soon too.
pWhen i stood up, i relized with some annoyance that i got tunnel vision. It's a stupid passing illness, really. The world goes grey with black closing in on the edges, then the black receeds and colour returns, along with a headache. Metala Myuu must have shocked me hard if i was still feeling it. In any case the headache didn't hurt that much so i went into the next room anyway.
pIrin was playing something that sounded maybe a year or two old, deffinitly real rock and not hard or soft stuff. He was leaning over a workbench with the shattered and mostly dismantled Metala Myuu, welding mask down and taking even more of the creature apart. The room was deffinatly a workshop, filled with all sorts of strange devices and tools and things. It reminded me of Abraham Whistler's workshop from the movie Blade. The flashes of light i'd see thankfully weren't from Kyo and Dad fighting, but from Irin's welding torch. Dad and Kyotoshi were fighting though, pushing at eachother and snapping and basicly just trying to rebuild the pecking order. Jasusi hung upside down from a ceiling lamp doozing.
p"Glad to see you all made it out in one peice," i said aloud. The music kept up, but eyes turned on me. All except Jasusi of course. she was still sleeping. Irin flipped up the mask and turned down the torch.
p"You almost didn't. next time warn me when you do something like that, okay?" he put a peice of wire from Metala Myuu's destroyed body into his mouth and started to weld again. "Burr i gorra han i to ya," he muttered around the wire, "'M rerry grefur you knocked dis un down. M've neverr gorren un to wukkat before."
p"Don't mention it. And take the wire out of your mouth when you talk, you sound like Kyo on Rare Candies. i can't understand you."
pIrin laughed for a minute and took the wire from his mouth "Rare Candies..ha! That's pretty funny."
PKyotoshi glared darkly and sat on a workbench on the other side of the room. "Ain't too funny to me."
pI rolled my eyes and levetated a peice of Metala Myuu's tail straight at him. "Don't get so worked up, Kyo. i didn't mean to get you pissed."
pIrin looked a little confused for a minute, but peiced it together quickly thanks to his abra brain. he shook his head. "You guys are too weird for me."
P"Stow it," i told him, surveying the workbench. "So what did you find out?"
pAgain he shook his head. "Nothing much. It runs kind of like a pokedex with a very violent mind of its own. It's something really strange though, a robot that can think." he removed the faceplate and i could see the crossing wires and curcit boards that made up the thing's brain. The diode now was dead and still. "See, it has all kinds of things in here. Flamethrower, electric generators, water pump, gas chambers and spore chambers. All industrial strength in size, pressurization and ability to keep working. I'd say it has to refuel every day or so though."
pSlick, i thought. And since its body was obviously flame, rust and shock proof, we'd need something better to bring it down. "And my kick did it in why?"
pIrin turned the head over and removed the back plate with a little effort. My foot had really made a dent. "A peice of the board is stored too close to the surface back here. What i think happened is you got your foot to crack the casing and it zapped itself. If it'd been using fire or water or something, it might have been a different story altogether. The componants aren't flamable, and are waterproofed. Gas and spore wouldn't do anything either."
PAnybody got a Raichu? I wondered. Taking these things out would require some mega voltage. Still, we knew it was doable. "Where'd they come from?"
P"I can answer that one for you," Kyo put in grouchily. "Cinnibar labs. They used them to test us out, before they had the real myuu obedient enough to fight. I could never take them out, i don't know about the others." he shook his head. "That's all i damn well know, everything else really is just darkness."
pSlick, i thought for the second time in a five minute period. "Do you know who brought them here?" three sets of heads shook no. Well, that about exhasusted the Metala Myuu information for now. "So what else do you make, Irin?"
P"A lot of things!" the kid replied, plucking two strangely coloured pokeballs from the rack above the workbench. They weren't like any i'd ever seen, a dark grey on bottom and a lighter shade on top. "This is my favourite so far though. Check em out." he tossed me one. I clicked the button, and it snapped open, empty. It looked normal inside to me.
p"It isn't a blaster ball or a goo ball or anything. What is this?" I closed it and handed it back to him.
p He grinned and shrank it, placing it in his pocket. "I'll show you. I call battle."
pI looked around the crowded tiny workshop, where there was deffinitly not enough space for a drawn out battle, or even a short one for that matter. "In here?"
P"Sure it won't take but a minute." Irin whistled and into the room raced a dusky brown and gray small dog thing as fast as its tiny legs could carry it.
P "Vee!! Eee!!" it cried. I raised an eyebrow.
pIrin didn't seem to care. "Meet Doner, my Eevee. I found him wandering around pokemon tower a few weeks ago. Enough said. Pick your monster, i have to show you this."
pThe last thing i wanted was that Pikafreak on the loose in here, or Nidorabid for that matter. That left Cannibulba or my PMSing Jigglypuff. Seeing as the Jigglypuff might get TOO violent, i chose the bulba. he sniffed Doner for a moment then settled back, deciding he wasn't good to eat.
p"Call attacks, you first." instructed Irin. Doner sat at his feet swishing his tail, looking in no condition for a battle.
PI sighed and tried to get into the spirit. "Okay fine...Cannibulba, use your vine whip and beat that Eevee into a chair!"
p::Right!:: affirmed Cannibulba and sent his vines straight for Doner.
pIrin made no move to counter attack. Instead, he threw the grey pokeball straight for Cannibulba's head. "Kleptoball! Go!"
p"Kleptoball?" I barely had time to wonder because the pokeball hit Cannibulba on the head and sucked him inside with no problem at all. A pretty slef explanitory name, actually. Irin picked it up and handed Cannibulba back.
p"See, it uses some of the technology police balls use to retreive illigal pokemon, and it doesn't reject anyone elses just because they have a different mark or something. It steals the pokemon, just like that!" He snapped his fingers. "A real Team Rocket type invention, don't'cha think?"
pKyotoshi was sitting bolt upright now, staring. "That's pretty damn useful! does it work on non-pokemon too?"
pIrin scratched his head and shrugged. "Well, sometimes. I think it depends on the stuff. I didn't use much of the Storage Ball mechanics in it. It was really only intended to steal pokemon."
pI bounced the Kleptoball in my hand. It might come in useful, though i wasn't sure. I clipped it to my belt. "Real clever, Irin. And you said you found Doner around Pokemon Tower?"
PThe kid nodded and lifted his Eevee into the air. Doner didn't seem to mind, he was probobly used to it. "Yep. Someone must have left him or maybe he was wild. I don't know."
p"Didn't you have to fight the ghosts and the Ghost Keeper for him?" The Ghost Keeper would be Josh, who'd given both me and Soshika a terriable time when we'd tried to capture pokemon in his tower. He was fair though. He gave us a chance.
pIrin shook his head. "No, all the ghosts got driven out a little while ago from the Metala Myuus. Those that weren't captured anyway. Like i said, they're worse then loosing your soul."
p"But ghosts without their homes just-" Kyo knew this much. At least he wasn't completely stupid.
pI shook my head. "Poof. Expire. That's sad, very much so. My sister knew one of them very well."
pIrin sighed and shook his head. "Yeah, i know. They were a little goofy..but still nice. Some of them survive, though. Down on the docks, you know? There's an person to the east who lives on an island and takes care of ghosts. If they had the strength, they would go there."
pI shook my head again. "The Ghost Keeper..Josh. He wouldn't've made it. He could hardly go as far as teh pokecenter for long. I think he's dead...so to speak."
pIrin shrugged. "I don't know, he might have made it. If there's anyone who'd know, it'd be that person."
pKyotoshi grinned to himself and laughed a little. "What the hell, i was gettin bored stayin in one place this long anyway. Let's go check out this damn lunatic's house!"
pDad looked up at Jasusi, who was still sleeping upside down. ::I'll stay,:: he said. ::Someone ought to tell Jasi what's going on when she wakes up. Otherwise she might flip.::
p"Good plan," I nodded and headed for the small door. "Let's get a move on."
p
PbPart Twenty-eight-Gengar, who isn't REALLY a Gengar that's just her name./b
p
p"I don't like the whole damn ghost idea," Kyo stated with the predictable insert of a swear word. He was feeling grouchy from having to walk the entire way, while Irin and me could fly. I hardly could blame him, but complaining didn't do any good.
pIrin slowed and waited for Kyotoshi to catch up. "Why not?" he asked innocently. "Most ghosts are pretty nice. Even if they're not pokemon, you can usually get them to stop making trouble by just asking." Of course Kyo would have no way of communicating with a ghost unless the ghost initated contact. He was psychicly headblind, he couldn't talk to things that were only there in the astral sense, he couldn't see them. But Irin wouldn't know that.
p"Sounds like most girl hackers," Kyo muttered darkly. "I still don't like em. Dark and dead. Too damn much like a lot of time from both our lives." He glared at Irin, who fell silent and levetated back upwards.
pWe weren't too far from the new Ghost Keeper's house, but we would have to cross maybe a half a mile of water, and Kyo, being part Fire pokemon, wouldn't be able to swim that. Irin and i would have to levetate him, seeing as since i'd never been there, we couldn't Teleport.
pThe sky was a rather pretty colour red, the sun starting to go down right over the ocean. Many people have noticed this is a little strange, seeing as the ocean is south (Sorry Stryker, had to steal that. regards~ the author) and the sun sets in the west. Oh well, it looked very pretty. Rumor had it, if you climbed up Mt. Moon and stared outward, you could be the first person on the south coast of our country to see the sun go down. Of course those to the east stick to their story that this is not possable. Tell that to the sunset.
pWith the fire of the sun giving up its daily chase through the sky, the clouds died golds and oranges, like the aftermath of a nuclear explosion. In an hour it would be night. In an hour, the ghosts would be ready for travel from wherever they hid during the day from the wrath of the Metala Myuus. Although i myself had no pity and no liking for the former Ghost Keeper, i found myself hoping that maybe he had managed to survive somehow. Even if i thought he deserved to be bound in some inescabable dungeon rather then causeing trouble amoungst the living, my sister loved him.
pWe reached the docks before the sun had begun to set, and walking along them during the end of the day and the start of the night, you could hear the fish and other ocean dwellers leaping in and out of the water while feeding on the lingering plankton. The sound filled your ears, and especially if you grew up on an island, it comforted you. Irin put his paws into his pockets and sighed, even Kyo seemed captivated by the serentity. In the distance, we heard a low wail, and the head of a Lapras rose from the waves, looked around and dove down again. I smiled and quoted from "True Journey"- a sort of counter culture book for pokemon trainers. p
"Oh Cinnibar, Oh island home you forever call to me, br
"Shores that whisper gently across windward face and lee,br
"Silver light breaking on the beachstones, Night hiding deep belowbr
"Peace be with thee, Cinnibar, and those who come and go."
pIrin sighed, i guess he was a sentemantal kid. "That was nice, but mostly untrue.."
pKyotoshi shrugged. "I don't get it."
pI frowned, grabbed his arm and lifted him halfway into the air. "Oh, shut up candy brains. Irin?"
pIrin nodded and grabbed Kyo's other arm, basicly we lifted him off the ground with Psy power alone. We could have levetated him on his own, but I didn't trust Kyotoshi to know how to fly.
pThe funny thing about flying is that it takes a very short time, but you notice everything happening as you do it. We flew low to the waves, Kyo's feet dragging in the surf and splashing him and us. The water blurred in its reflection of the sun, became a reddish streak in our vision as we moved towards the distant island. A mile offshore, we slowed and came in close. Ghosts were Psy too, in their own way. You didn't want to scare them, if they did live here.
pKyotoshi was the first one on the beach, and even being headblind psy-wise he knew something was very strange here. He put his hands deep into his pockets and backed his ears, not daring to wander. Irin and i touched down, we could feel it too. There were thousands of ghosts on this island, you could ismell/i them they were so close too. Kyotoshi shuddered. "This creeps the hell outta me, let's get going."
pIrin pointed towards the small house in front of a very large house that i figured the ghosts were staying in. It looked like Hill House from that crappy movie "The Haunting", very big and very gothic. "The Ghost Keeper lives there. In the little house. She'll let us in, i think. I don't know though, i've never really visited before."
pWe approuched the door, pretty willing to find out by just prancing right up. The door was thick and wooden, like something out of the middle ages. I banged on it with a fist. The sound was very deadened and i doubted it could even be heard on the other side. I pounded harder.
pThe door suddenly swung open and all three of us jumped, Irin barely a step from Teleporting out of here. A thick, black wooden cane emerged from the dark behind the door and hit me three times soundly on the head. I caught the cane in one hand and pulled, but whoever was on the other side was strong. An "S" was engraved in silver at the top of the cane. "Hey who's in there? What's the big idea, buster!" I raised my gold hand and started to charge up some psy powers. No one hit me without being hit back.
p"Stop!" cried a forboding voice from inside. "Do not hit the great and wise Ghost Keeper!"
pWe all jumped again, and i let go of the cane and took a step back. Irin was shaking in his shoes, his tiny abra eyes opening as wide as they could. "Wh-who are you?"
pFrom the darkness slowly stepped a dark figure, dressed in shades of gray and purple, a cloak covering their person sewn with strange runes. The figure clutched the cane in one hand, though it was aparent they did not need it to walk.
pSlowly, the figure lowered the voice syntisizer from her face and smiled cheerfully. "My name's Gengar. You?"
pI breathed a sigh of releif- the ghost keeper was barely older then Irin. She'd had me scared a minute.
pIrin was still a little shaken but pointed to himself. "I-i'm Irin."
pKyotoshi was trying to figure out how a kid got to be Ghost Keeper. "Isn't Gengar a pokemon?" he asked. "You're not a-"
pThe cane came down on his skull with a sound THWACK that sent Kyo straight to the ground. "MIND YOUR OWN BUISNESS!" Snapped Gengar, brandishing her weapon viciously. Well. She certainly was assertive enough to handle ten thousand goofy ghosts flying around her island.
p"Listen, Gengar, we need some help. The former Ghost Keeper, the one from Pokemon Tower..."
pShe waved her cane ran inside and slammed the door in our faces. "Nope, don't know him sorry!"
pI banged on the door again, it opened a crack and Gengar hit me on the head with her cane. I growled. "Stop that. Now listen up; we want to chase those Metala Myuus out of his tower, but we may need his help."
p"Of COURSE you'll need his help." Gengar said, rolling her eyes. "Of COURSE. Only Ghost Keepers can battle to retreive their haunts."
p"So have you seen him?"
p"No." the door slammed again. I pounded on it again, but this time when the cane shot out i caught it and tugged hard. I dragged Gengar's face to the crack in the door.
p"I know Josh was mostly evil, and you would much rather not have him out there but the only way you're ever going to be assured he's out of your hair is to keep him in one place. I know you've seen him. I can tell from the way you're hitting me." I jerked the cane, lifting her upwards. "Where is he?"
pGengar squirmed, finally let go of the cane and dropped down. "Yeesh you don't need to be so bossy about it," she muttered and opened the doors. "C'mon in and i'll show you why i didn't want you here. But cause any trouble- any at all! and all the ghosts on this island will be in here by the time i count to two."
pWe entered calmly, pushing past the great doors. I handed Gengar back her cane. "No problem."
pKyotoshi shuddered and looked up at the ceiling of the ill lit house. "This place is creepin the hell outta me," he said with a shiver.
p
pbPart Twenty-nine- Whatever happened to Josh...?/bp
p
pGengar lead us into a dusty study that was cluttered with books and candles. Candlelight was the only source of illumination. There was a small writing desk and a fireplace that stood empty, as well as a little bed in the corner that was probobly used for guests. It was obvious though by the various assortments of ghost-keeperish clothing laid out on the bed that Gengar was using it at the time, and the main bedroom was being used by someone else.
pThe books were covered in dust, bound in leather and written by hand. Titles like "the beast within" and "Celtic Magick" paraded across the bookshelves, a few cobwebs between them to keep the spiders happy. Across the room, next to the fireplace was another wooden door, with a latch that was almost as old as most of the buildings in Lavender. Irin reached for it and started to lift it up, but Gengar spotted him out of the corner of her eye and shook her head.
p"I wouldn't do that if i were you, at least not yet." quickly, Irin dropped his hand. Kyo reached up on a shelf and pulled down a old book called "Zombies" and started flicking through. He got about two pages before he closed it and set it down.
pI didn't touch anything, not yet. i was busy getting a feel for this place. "So what were you going to show us?"
p"Did you ever see that Vampire movie 'Blade?'" Gengar asked, flipping open a dusty old book on her workbench. "Well, ghosts sometimes react like vampires. They don't always go poof when their homes are gone, just like you don't always become a vamp if you're bit."
pKyo poked a human skull on a high up shelf. "So what're you saying, he's a Zombie thinger now or somethin?"
p"No," muttered Gengar, turning her book to show me. "He's this."
p I read the page. The script was anceint and faded, and the text short but easy to read. I spoke aloud as i read for Irin and Kyo. "Gaki. A Gaki is a monster from Japanese folklore that feeds on the essance of things; such as kitchen smells, purfume or smoke. When in their true form they resemble a cloud of dusty gray smoke, but may assume human form when needed. It is uncertain how they are formed, but it is thought that the ghosts of humans undergo a change and become Gakis."
pI took a breath, because i didn't like the next line and i absolutely knew this was why Gengar didn't want us here. "There are three kinds of Gakis that can kill. Blood, Flesh and Soul Gakis."
pKyo raised his eyebrows. "Holy shit. So your sister's got like a soul sucker for a boyfriend?"
p"How do you know he's a Gaki?" I wanted to know.
pGengar shrugged. "Besides his turning into a smoke cloud and not being able to wander around during the day? Ghosts know they're ghosts, don't they? Well Gakis know they're Gakis."
p"Are you certain he's one of the three deadly Gakis?" I still didn't want to picture something like Jack the Ripper happening to my sister if he'd become a Flesh Gaki. Blood and Soul were just as bad, of course.
pShe shook her head. "He isn't surviving well here, and most harmless Gakis can live anywhere." She laughed at my rather shocked look. "Yes, he's in the house. I can't let a Killer Gaki run amok, can i? Besides, he's making a concious effort not to feed. Basicly, he's starving to death because he doesn't want to kill."
pIrin jumped away from the door and pointed at it. "You mean he's in there? There's a killer ghost in there?"
pGengar thwacked Irin on the head with her cane. "Don't panic in my house."
p"May we go see him?" I asked.
pGengar shrugged. "i don't see why not. He shouldn't attack you. Go ahead, the door's open."
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p
pJasusi put her wings against her side and dropped into a dive that would have sent her straight into the basement if she'd not been experienced. I braked above what was left of the roof, pretty scared but what else was i going to do? Jasusi was going to get Kyotoshi and Dad out. I was going to stall that Metala Myuu.
pShowdowns. i hated them, because i never got into them with anyone of equal or lesser level then myself. Metala Myuu looked at me, the red diodes that could pass for eyes moving up and down and across my form. She was tapping into my attacks and skill level the same way J.C.N. could to a pokemon or pokeperson. I couldn't block that, just prepare. Stay ready, i thought to myself. Get on the defensive because she's going to attack first...
pThe small metal cylander in the middle of Metala Myuu's face (I suppose it could have been a mouth, but it certainly wasn't intended for eating) started to turn slightly. A low humm came from the creature, a buzzing sound that send chills up my spine. What is she DOING?
pThe cylander rotated all the way around, and clicked. I had barely a second to set up a Barrier, because by then the flames were already spewing out and torching the air around me. When they passed, i held the Barrier a moment longer. That kind of attack could easily have been pulled off by a Charizard...If it happened to be three hundred stories tall!! Metala Myuu had some FIREPOWER!
pNot a time to wonder why i was doing this, i told myself. Time to attack back. I'd need something tough, and very VERY fast. No time to think, just get in there and do damage...
pI charged at Metala Myuu and sent a Psywave in her direction. She dodged easily and turned to face me again. I recalibrated my turn and doubled up in the air, crossing my arms and charging for Psybeam. Metala Myuu's mouth peice didn't move this time though. This time the small bumps on the top of her head where ears should be extended slightly and sparked. Electric attack! Damn!
pI shot the Psybeam, Metala Myuu shot enough power to light up Saffron for a decade and a half. The sky shot through with electric bolts, and the majority were flying at me! My attack was canceled quickly by the huge zap, and the bolts from Metala kept on coming. I didn't have time to put up Barrier. This was going to hurt..a lot.
pSomething got to me before the electricity did, and fired out a weak Confusion attack. "Get out of here!" Irin yelled at me, trying to cancel the bolts. Every time they hit him, he jerked backwards and dropped a few feet, but kept coming. "Hurry up and run! You can't fight these things!"
pMaybe he thought that way, but if it had been made..it could be broken. "Keep it distracted," i growled and Teleported inward. If i had the advantage of another player in this game, i might be able to take Metala Myuu out. Psy attacks were canceled too easily, she had been built in defense of those. But if i got in close enough, a fighting move might just do it.
pMetala Myuu's attention left me and turned to this new perseistent threat that with Irin. I dodged in closer, hoping he could hang in there. One more Teleport and..perfect! Close enough to do some damage! Metala Myuu's diode swivled to find me but by then my foot was already connecting with its metal skull. My foot hit the creature hard, with a resounding clang that filled the air, but it also set me straight into the path of the electric current pulsating around the metalic monster. My limbs numbed and locked, my mind trapped in a disobedient body and blackness grabbed my vision and tugged me down, even though i did not want to go. Metala Myuu and i took the three story plunge to the ground together.
p
pbPart Twenty-seven-Irin's work shop& the Klepto-ball/b
p
pWhen i was concious again, i was not fully awake even though i was moving. The ceiling was not torn away, so i reasoned i was no longer in the pokecenter. I could also hear Kyotoshi and Dad argueing in the other room, so i figured we'd all gotten away safely. At any rate i figured i had better get up, because if the volume of the yelling and the flashes of light from the other room were any indication, the roof of this building might be coming off very soon too.
pWhen i stood up, i relized with some annoyance that i got tunnel vision. It's a stupid passing illness, really. The world goes grey with black closing in on the edges, then the black receeds and colour returns, along with a headache. Metala Myuu must have shocked me hard if i was still feeling it. In any case the headache didn't hurt that much so i went into the next room anyway.
pIrin was playing something that sounded maybe a year or two old, deffinitly real rock and not hard or soft stuff. He was leaning over a workbench with the shattered and mostly dismantled Metala Myuu, welding mask down and taking even more of the creature apart. The room was deffinatly a workshop, filled with all sorts of strange devices and tools and things. It reminded me of Abraham Whistler's workshop from the movie Blade. The flashes of light i'd see thankfully weren't from Kyo and Dad fighting, but from Irin's welding torch. Dad and Kyotoshi were fighting though, pushing at eachother and snapping and basicly just trying to rebuild the pecking order. Jasusi hung upside down from a ceiling lamp doozing.
p"Glad to see you all made it out in one peice," i said aloud. The music kept up, but eyes turned on me. All except Jasusi of course. she was still sleeping. Irin flipped up the mask and turned down the torch.
p"You almost didn't. next time warn me when you do something like that, okay?" he put a peice of wire from Metala Myuu's destroyed body into his mouth and started to weld again. "Burr i gorra han i to ya," he muttered around the wire, "'M rerry grefur you knocked dis un down. M've neverr gorren un to wukkat before."
p"Don't mention it. And take the wire out of your mouth when you talk, you sound like Kyo on Rare Candies. i can't understand you."
pIrin laughed for a minute and took the wire from his mouth "Rare Candies..ha! That's pretty funny."
PKyotoshi glared darkly and sat on a workbench on the other side of the room. "Ain't too funny to me."
pI rolled my eyes and levetated a peice of Metala Myuu's tail straight at him. "Don't get so worked up, Kyo. i didn't mean to get you pissed."
pIrin looked a little confused for a minute, but peiced it together quickly thanks to his abra brain. he shook his head. "You guys are too weird for me."
P"Stow it," i told him, surveying the workbench. "So what did you find out?"
pAgain he shook his head. "Nothing much. It runs kind of like a pokedex with a very violent mind of its own. It's something really strange though, a robot that can think." he removed the faceplate and i could see the crossing wires and curcit boards that made up the thing's brain. The diode now was dead and still. "See, it has all kinds of things in here. Flamethrower, electric generators, water pump, gas chambers and spore chambers. All industrial strength in size, pressurization and ability to keep working. I'd say it has to refuel every day or so though."
pSlick, i thought. And since its body was obviously flame, rust and shock proof, we'd need something better to bring it down. "And my kick did it in why?"
pIrin turned the head over and removed the back plate with a little effort. My foot had really made a dent. "A peice of the board is stored too close to the surface back here. What i think happened is you got your foot to crack the casing and it zapped itself. If it'd been using fire or water or something, it might have been a different story altogether. The componants aren't flamable, and are waterproofed. Gas and spore wouldn't do anything either."
PAnybody got a Raichu? I wondered. Taking these things out would require some mega voltage. Still, we knew it was doable. "Where'd they come from?"
P"I can answer that one for you," Kyo put in grouchily. "Cinnibar labs. They used them to test us out, before they had the real myuu obedient enough to fight. I could never take them out, i don't know about the others." he shook his head. "That's all i damn well know, everything else really is just darkness."
pSlick, i thought for the second time in a five minute period. "Do you know who brought them here?" three sets of heads shook no. Well, that about exhasusted the Metala Myuu information for now. "So what else do you make, Irin?"
P"A lot of things!" the kid replied, plucking two strangely coloured pokeballs from the rack above the workbench. They weren't like any i'd ever seen, a dark grey on bottom and a lighter shade on top. "This is my favourite so far though. Check em out." he tossed me one. I clicked the button, and it snapped open, empty. It looked normal inside to me.
p"It isn't a blaster ball or a goo ball or anything. What is this?" I closed it and handed it back to him.
p He grinned and shrank it, placing it in his pocket. "I'll show you. I call battle."
pI looked around the crowded tiny workshop, where there was deffinitly not enough space for a drawn out battle, or even a short one for that matter. "In here?"
P"Sure it won't take but a minute." Irin whistled and into the room raced a dusky brown and gray small dog thing as fast as its tiny legs could carry it.
P "Vee!! Eee!!" it cried. I raised an eyebrow.
pIrin didn't seem to care. "Meet Doner, my Eevee. I found him wandering around pokemon tower a few weeks ago. Enough said. Pick your monster, i have to show you this."
pThe last thing i wanted was that Pikafreak on the loose in here, or Nidorabid for that matter. That left Cannibulba or my PMSing Jigglypuff. Seeing as the Jigglypuff might get TOO violent, i chose the bulba. he sniffed Doner for a moment then settled back, deciding he wasn't good to eat.
p"Call attacks, you first." instructed Irin. Doner sat at his feet swishing his tail, looking in no condition for a battle.
PI sighed and tried to get into the spirit. "Okay fine...Cannibulba, use your vine whip and beat that Eevee into a chair!"
p::Right!:: affirmed Cannibulba and sent his vines straight for Doner.
pIrin made no move to counter attack. Instead, he threw the grey pokeball straight for Cannibulba's head. "Kleptoball! Go!"
p"Kleptoball?" I barely had time to wonder because the pokeball hit Cannibulba on the head and sucked him inside with no problem at all. A pretty slef explanitory name, actually. Irin picked it up and handed Cannibulba back.
p"See, it uses some of the technology police balls use to retreive illigal pokemon, and it doesn't reject anyone elses just because they have a different mark or something. It steals the pokemon, just like that!" He snapped his fingers. "A real Team Rocket type invention, don't'cha think?"
pKyotoshi was sitting bolt upright now, staring. "That's pretty damn useful! does it work on non-pokemon too?"
pIrin scratched his head and shrugged. "Well, sometimes. I think it depends on the stuff. I didn't use much of the Storage Ball mechanics in it. It was really only intended to steal pokemon."
pI bounced the Kleptoball in my hand. It might come in useful, though i wasn't sure. I clipped it to my belt. "Real clever, Irin. And you said you found Doner around Pokemon Tower?"
PThe kid nodded and lifted his Eevee into the air. Doner didn't seem to mind, he was probobly used to it. "Yep. Someone must have left him or maybe he was wild. I don't know."
p"Didn't you have to fight the ghosts and the Ghost Keeper for him?" The Ghost Keeper would be Josh, who'd given both me and Soshika a terriable time when we'd tried to capture pokemon in his tower. He was fair though. He gave us a chance.
pIrin shook his head. "No, all the ghosts got driven out a little while ago from the Metala Myuus. Those that weren't captured anyway. Like i said, they're worse then loosing your soul."
p"But ghosts without their homes just-" Kyo knew this much. At least he wasn't completely stupid.
pI shook my head. "Poof. Expire. That's sad, very much so. My sister knew one of them very well."
pIrin sighed and shook his head. "Yeah, i know. They were a little goofy..but still nice. Some of them survive, though. Down on the docks, you know? There's an person to the east who lives on an island and takes care of ghosts. If they had the strength, they would go there."
pI shook my head again. "The Ghost Keeper..Josh. He wouldn't've made it. He could hardly go as far as teh pokecenter for long. I think he's dead...so to speak."
pIrin shrugged. "I don't know, he might have made it. If there's anyone who'd know, it'd be that person."
pKyotoshi grinned to himself and laughed a little. "What the hell, i was gettin bored stayin in one place this long anyway. Let's go check out this damn lunatic's house!"
pDad looked up at Jasusi, who was still sleeping upside down. ::I'll stay,:: he said. ::Someone ought to tell Jasi what's going on when she wakes up. Otherwise she might flip.::
p"Good plan," I nodded and headed for the small door. "Let's get a move on."
p
PbPart Twenty-eight-Gengar, who isn't REALLY a Gengar that's just her name./b
p
p"I don't like the whole damn ghost idea," Kyo stated with the predictable insert of a swear word. He was feeling grouchy from having to walk the entire way, while Irin and me could fly. I hardly could blame him, but complaining didn't do any good.
pIrin slowed and waited for Kyotoshi to catch up. "Why not?" he asked innocently. "Most ghosts are pretty nice. Even if they're not pokemon, you can usually get them to stop making trouble by just asking." Of course Kyo would have no way of communicating with a ghost unless the ghost initated contact. He was psychicly headblind, he couldn't talk to things that were only there in the astral sense, he couldn't see them. But Irin wouldn't know that.
p"Sounds like most girl hackers," Kyo muttered darkly. "I still don't like em. Dark and dead. Too damn much like a lot of time from both our lives." He glared at Irin, who fell silent and levetated back upwards.
pWe weren't too far from the new Ghost Keeper's house, but we would have to cross maybe a half a mile of water, and Kyo, being part Fire pokemon, wouldn't be able to swim that. Irin and i would have to levetate him, seeing as since i'd never been there, we couldn't Teleport.
pThe sky was a rather pretty colour red, the sun starting to go down right over the ocean. Many people have noticed this is a little strange, seeing as the ocean is south (Sorry Stryker, had to steal that. regards~ the author) and the sun sets in the west. Oh well, it looked very pretty. Rumor had it, if you climbed up Mt. Moon and stared outward, you could be the first person on the south coast of our country to see the sun go down. Of course those to the east stick to their story that this is not possable. Tell that to the sunset.
pWith the fire of the sun giving up its daily chase through the sky, the clouds died golds and oranges, like the aftermath of a nuclear explosion. In an hour it would be night. In an hour, the ghosts would be ready for travel from wherever they hid during the day from the wrath of the Metala Myuus. Although i myself had no pity and no liking for the former Ghost Keeper, i found myself hoping that maybe he had managed to survive somehow. Even if i thought he deserved to be bound in some inescabable dungeon rather then causeing trouble amoungst the living, my sister loved him.
pWe reached the docks before the sun had begun to set, and walking along them during the end of the day and the start of the night, you could hear the fish and other ocean dwellers leaping in and out of the water while feeding on the lingering plankton. The sound filled your ears, and especially if you grew up on an island, it comforted you. Irin put his paws into his pockets and sighed, even Kyo seemed captivated by the serentity. In the distance, we heard a low wail, and the head of a Lapras rose from the waves, looked around and dove down again. I smiled and quoted from "True Journey"- a sort of counter culture book for pokemon trainers. p
"Oh Cinnibar, Oh island home you forever call to me, br
"Shores that whisper gently across windward face and lee,br
"Silver light breaking on the beachstones, Night hiding deep belowbr
"Peace be with thee, Cinnibar, and those who come and go."
pIrin sighed, i guess he was a sentemantal kid. "That was nice, but mostly untrue.."
pKyotoshi shrugged. "I don't get it."
pI frowned, grabbed his arm and lifted him halfway into the air. "Oh, shut up candy brains. Irin?"
pIrin nodded and grabbed Kyo's other arm, basicly we lifted him off the ground with Psy power alone. We could have levetated him on his own, but I didn't trust Kyotoshi to know how to fly.
pThe funny thing about flying is that it takes a very short time, but you notice everything happening as you do it. We flew low to the waves, Kyo's feet dragging in the surf and splashing him and us. The water blurred in its reflection of the sun, became a reddish streak in our vision as we moved towards the distant island. A mile offshore, we slowed and came in close. Ghosts were Psy too, in their own way. You didn't want to scare them, if they did live here.
pKyotoshi was the first one on the beach, and even being headblind psy-wise he knew something was very strange here. He put his hands deep into his pockets and backed his ears, not daring to wander. Irin and i touched down, we could feel it too. There were thousands of ghosts on this island, you could ismell/i them they were so close too. Kyotoshi shuddered. "This creeps the hell outta me, let's get going."
pIrin pointed towards the small house in front of a very large house that i figured the ghosts were staying in. It looked like Hill House from that crappy movie "The Haunting", very big and very gothic. "The Ghost Keeper lives there. In the little house. She'll let us in, i think. I don't know though, i've never really visited before."
pWe approuched the door, pretty willing to find out by just prancing right up. The door was thick and wooden, like something out of the middle ages. I banged on it with a fist. The sound was very deadened and i doubted it could even be heard on the other side. I pounded harder.
pThe door suddenly swung open and all three of us jumped, Irin barely a step from Teleporting out of here. A thick, black wooden cane emerged from the dark behind the door and hit me three times soundly on the head. I caught the cane in one hand and pulled, but whoever was on the other side was strong. An "S" was engraved in silver at the top of the cane. "Hey who's in there? What's the big idea, buster!" I raised my gold hand and started to charge up some psy powers. No one hit me without being hit back.
p"Stop!" cried a forboding voice from inside. "Do not hit the great and wise Ghost Keeper!"
pWe all jumped again, and i let go of the cane and took a step back. Irin was shaking in his shoes, his tiny abra eyes opening as wide as they could. "Wh-who are you?"
pFrom the darkness slowly stepped a dark figure, dressed in shades of gray and purple, a cloak covering their person sewn with strange runes. The figure clutched the cane in one hand, though it was aparent they did not need it to walk.
pSlowly, the figure lowered the voice syntisizer from her face and smiled cheerfully. "My name's Gengar. You?"
pI breathed a sigh of releif- the ghost keeper was barely older then Irin. She'd had me scared a minute.
pIrin was still a little shaken but pointed to himself. "I-i'm Irin."
pKyotoshi was trying to figure out how a kid got to be Ghost Keeper. "Isn't Gengar a pokemon?" he asked. "You're not a-"
pThe cane came down on his skull with a sound THWACK that sent Kyo straight to the ground. "MIND YOUR OWN BUISNESS!" Snapped Gengar, brandishing her weapon viciously. Well. She certainly was assertive enough to handle ten thousand goofy ghosts flying around her island.
p"Listen, Gengar, we need some help. The former Ghost Keeper, the one from Pokemon Tower..."
pShe waved her cane ran inside and slammed the door in our faces. "Nope, don't know him sorry!"
pI banged on the door again, it opened a crack and Gengar hit me on the head with her cane. I growled. "Stop that. Now listen up; we want to chase those Metala Myuus out of his tower, but we may need his help."
p"Of COURSE you'll need his help." Gengar said, rolling her eyes. "Of COURSE. Only Ghost Keepers can battle to retreive their haunts."
p"So have you seen him?"
p"No." the door slammed again. I pounded on it again, but this time when the cane shot out i caught it and tugged hard. I dragged Gengar's face to the crack in the door.
p"I know Josh was mostly evil, and you would much rather not have him out there but the only way you're ever going to be assured he's out of your hair is to keep him in one place. I know you've seen him. I can tell from the way you're hitting me." I jerked the cane, lifting her upwards. "Where is he?"
pGengar squirmed, finally let go of the cane and dropped down. "Yeesh you don't need to be so bossy about it," she muttered and opened the doors. "C'mon in and i'll show you why i didn't want you here. But cause any trouble- any at all! and all the ghosts on this island will be in here by the time i count to two."
pWe entered calmly, pushing past the great doors. I handed Gengar back her cane. "No problem."
pKyotoshi shuddered and looked up at the ceiling of the ill lit house. "This place is creepin the hell outta me," he said with a shiver.
p
pbPart Twenty-nine- Whatever happened to Josh...?/bp
p
pGengar lead us into a dusty study that was cluttered with books and candles. Candlelight was the only source of illumination. There was a small writing desk and a fireplace that stood empty, as well as a little bed in the corner that was probobly used for guests. It was obvious though by the various assortments of ghost-keeperish clothing laid out on the bed that Gengar was using it at the time, and the main bedroom was being used by someone else.
pThe books were covered in dust, bound in leather and written by hand. Titles like "the beast within" and "Celtic Magick" paraded across the bookshelves, a few cobwebs between them to keep the spiders happy. Across the room, next to the fireplace was another wooden door, with a latch that was almost as old as most of the buildings in Lavender. Irin reached for it and started to lift it up, but Gengar spotted him out of the corner of her eye and shook her head.
p"I wouldn't do that if i were you, at least not yet." quickly, Irin dropped his hand. Kyo reached up on a shelf and pulled down a old book called "Zombies" and started flicking through. He got about two pages before he closed it and set it down.
pI didn't touch anything, not yet. i was busy getting a feel for this place. "So what were you going to show us?"
p"Did you ever see that Vampire movie 'Blade?'" Gengar asked, flipping open a dusty old book on her workbench. "Well, ghosts sometimes react like vampires. They don't always go poof when their homes are gone, just like you don't always become a vamp if you're bit."
pKyo poked a human skull on a high up shelf. "So what're you saying, he's a Zombie thinger now or somethin?"
p"No," muttered Gengar, turning her book to show me. "He's this."
p I read the page. The script was anceint and faded, and the text short but easy to read. I spoke aloud as i read for Irin and Kyo. "Gaki. A Gaki is a monster from Japanese folklore that feeds on the essance of things; such as kitchen smells, purfume or smoke. When in their true form they resemble a cloud of dusty gray smoke, but may assume human form when needed. It is uncertain how they are formed, but it is thought that the ghosts of humans undergo a change and become Gakis."
pI took a breath, because i didn't like the next line and i absolutely knew this was why Gengar didn't want us here. "There are three kinds of Gakis that can kill. Blood, Flesh and Soul Gakis."
pKyo raised his eyebrows. "Holy shit. So your sister's got like a soul sucker for a boyfriend?"
p"How do you know he's a Gaki?" I wanted to know.
pGengar shrugged. "Besides his turning into a smoke cloud and not being able to wander around during the day? Ghosts know they're ghosts, don't they? Well Gakis know they're Gakis."
p"Are you certain he's one of the three deadly Gakis?" I still didn't want to picture something like Jack the Ripper happening to my sister if he'd become a Flesh Gaki. Blood and Soul were just as bad, of course.
pShe shook her head. "He isn't surviving well here, and most harmless Gakis can live anywhere." She laughed at my rather shocked look. "Yes, he's in the house. I can't let a Killer Gaki run amok, can i? Besides, he's making a concious effort not to feed. Basicly, he's starving to death because he doesn't want to kill."
pIrin jumped away from the door and pointed at it. "You mean he's in there? There's a killer ghost in there?"
pGengar thwacked Irin on the head with her cane. "Don't panic in my house."
p"May we go see him?" I asked.
pGengar shrugged. "i don't see why not. He shouldn't attack you. Go ahead, the door's open."
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