Disclaimer: I don't own pokèmon!
A/N: Thanks to your quick reviews, this is being updated a whole lot quicker. Thanks Kit-Kat--here's your longer chappie. Don't worry about asked for them. And thanks for your long reviews! ^_^ There isn't hardly any horror @ all--just a touch for those who were afraid I'd overdo it. I'm not all that good @ horror but oh, well! Please review~!
~ Kasagi Onaso
~! Switched !~
* The Ghosts of Lavender Town: Part 2 *
"Can you see them?" Ash yelled to his friend Erika Hana. The tall teen shook her head as rain began to slowly drip from the sky. It made sense, Erika thought. It had rained later on, before she and her three friends had gotten to this dismal town, but the rain clouds had lingered.
"No!" She voiced her actions to him. She could hardly see the young fire master through the violet mist and squinted hard just to see his outline.
"Me neither," he said grumpily, returning to her side. "Where could they have gone?"
"Far," said Erika truthfully. "Knowing Misty." The younger boy said nothing. She brushed her jet black hair out of her eyes and swept it back out of her face with her favorite red hair band.
She gripped it tightly before slipping it over her hair.
The one her mother had given to her so long ago. The one her mother had woven herself.
"Erika," Ash said suddenly, pointing into the mist. "I see something moving."
"It could be anyone, Ash," said Erika, dismissing his assumptions. "Keep looking."
"No…no wait! It looks like Misty's Eevee!"
"How can you tell with all this mist?" asked Erika, temper flaring for a moment before she stood behind Ash and peered where he was pointing. A small object (two, she thought, when you look hard,) appeared to be heading towards them.
"Go Growlithe!" called Ash and his dog pokèmon stood faithfully before him. "Steady," Ash whispered as the two forms got closer.
"Vee!" the larger one cried as their misty forms became bolder.
"Eevee!" Ash cried as she and the Vulpix pup crowded around his legs. "But…where's Misty and Alexis?" Eevee began talking rapidly in its own tongue, the pup beside it nodding to its every word, and Growlithe turned and told Ash when Eevee had said. Erika surveyed the whole scene in silence.
"So?"
"They're in the Pokèmon Tower," Ash said finally. Erika felt her heart clench slightly at the name of the Tower.
"Pokèmon Tower," whispered Erika to herself. "The Tower of Graves."
"I guess," said Ash, wiping rain from his exposed brow in one quick motion. "I think they're stuck. At least that's what Eevee says. We've got to get them out."
"That's not a very good idea," says a female voice. The two companions turn circles in the mist, looking for a body for the voice to belong to. "Over here."
"What? Who are you?" asks Erika, narrowing her eyes at the girl standing before them. She is petit; with long violet hair and narrowed black eyes.
"Lina," she answered after a moment. "And you're new here."
"Actually," said Ash, staring hard at the stranger. "I'm Ash and this is Erika." Lina didn't blink as she stared hard at Ash.
"No question," she said finally in a voice too deep for someone her size. She reached across her body with her right hand and drew a small lantern from the folds of her black cloak. The flame on the wick barely flickered as rain droplets pounded its glass covering.
"It's not a good idea?" asked Erika when she finally found her voice. "Why not?" A small smirk appeared on Lina's full raspberry lips.
"This town has a secret," she said hoarsely. "A secret." The rain seemed to fall a little harder after the last word was uttered.
"A secret?" repeated Ash. "What?"
"There was a great fire here some time ago," said Lina, her voice barely a whisper yet Erika was able to hear it like Lina's lips were next to Erika's ear.
"How did it happen?"
"No one knows how it was started. The whole town caught fire but the only thing that burned was the Tower." She took her pointer from the handle of the lantern to point at the Tower. The lantern swung violently but the flame remained upright. "Yet," continued Lina. "It never burned to the ground."
"What happened after that?" Ash asked. "Why?"
"The flames burned the tower for two nights," said Lina. "There will still many people inside. No one could get in." Her eyes hardened. "No one was able to get out.
"When the flames were finally doused, the Tower still stood tall and strong, though the outside and inside were charred. Furniture and flowers on graves had burned everything inside. 500 people were killed."
"500?" Ash asked. Lina nodded. His voice was shaking violently when he spoke next. "Misty said…she…she said, 'When I came in here, there was an old man standing over in that corner reading a newspaper. He said something like '500 people' and then you came. His clothes were all burnt and he smelled like a bonfire'."
"Then it's true," said Lina, shaking her head. "Do not go to the Tower."
"But our friends--?"
"Are in great danger. Look in the puddles of water and you will see something is going to happen. Take this." Erika gasped as Lina shoved the lantern into her hands. "It will burn lest the dark. But do not drop it or its flame will go out."
"Lina, wait! What's going on?" But the rain was coming down much heavier now and Ash bent to look in puddle. He saw nothing.
Cold washed over him, chilling his bones.
"Erika," he hissed. "Come here. Look. What do you see?" Erika studied the water and her eyes widened.
"My reflection! Where is it?"
Their reflections had disappeared.
"So what we can get out?" said Misty nonchalantly. "We'll be fine. It looks like it's going to rain, anyway." Alexis was silent with disagreement but said nothing. "Oh-h-h! Look! Stairs!"
"We should stay on this floor in case Ash or someone finds us," said Alexis curtly. Misty frowned but nodded.
"That's true. So what do you want to do? I might have some cards in here. We could play some E.R.S. or something…" And she was off, digging through her bag for a pack of cards.
"That's okay," said Alexis quietly.
"Not E.R.S.?" asked Misty, briefly looking up. "Speed then. I'm pretty good at speed. Ah! Here're my cards!" Alexis was about to protest yet again when Misty shoved the cards under her nose before sitting down.
"My dad got them for me when I was real young," said Misty, smiling sadly. The cards did look pretty beat up. Corners were bent to the point of them breaking off and stains littered each face. "He got them in a place called Hoenn," she continued, drawing her knees up to her chest as Alexis examined the cards.
"Hoenn?" repeated Alexis.
"Yeah," said Misty, putting her chin between her knees. "I hope to go there someday when I beat everyone."
"Does your dad go there still?" asked Alexis, looking at the scenery on each card. Misty shook her head and sighed.
"No. He's dead." A couple cards hit the ground as Alexis almost dropped the pack in surprise. She hurriedly picked them up, a flush slowly creeping along the bridge of her nose.
"Oh… I-I-I'm so sorry I--"
"Don't worry about it," said Misty with a shrug as she picked up a card lying by her foot. "It happened when I was six or so. I don't remember him that much." Alexis wasn't sure what to say to that and Misty sensed her discomfort. "Hey! How 'bout that game of speed?"
"Sure," said Alexis, glad for the subject change. "Three cards or five?"
"Five," said Misty, bringing her legs down and crossing them. "Let's make it a longer game." Alexis smiled and dealt the cards out. As they began the game, rain drops began to fall through the open window and hit the stone ground with a hollow smack.
"It's raining," said Alexis as Misty put two six's on the five she had just slapped down.
"Mm," said Misty absent-mindedly as she drew two more cards. The rain began to stream harder in through the window until a large puddle formed beneath it. Alexis kept more of her attention on the rain and puddle than the game. "Speed!" yelled Misty as she slapped an ace down.
"Cool," said Alexis. She held a full hand and had a lot of cards left in her pile.
"That was too easy," said Misty, cocking her head. "You have
played speed before, right?"
"Yeah," said Alexis as Misty scooped the cards up. "I just wasn't concentrating enough."
"Whew I'm hungry," said Misty, rubbing her stomach. "I could eat a Donphan about now. Lesse…what've we got here…" She tied a hair band around the cards before pawing through her bag. Alexis stood and walked over to where the rain poured through the window. "Apples…ew, those are rotten. Have to toss those out…"
"Hmm," hummed Alexis as she approached the puddle. The reflection of the window's outline didn't show in the dust-misted water.
"Granola bars…with raisons. Gross!" There were four smacks as the bars hit the floor. "Let's see…"
"Misty! Come look at this," called Alexis as she waved a hand over the water. The water remained a blank white color as she let her hand hover over the surface.
"Hold on…Crunch bars! Excellent! Want one?"
"Later. Come here!" Munching happily on a Crunch bar, Misty approached Alexis.
"What's up?"
"Wave your hand over the puddle."
"Oh magic tricks! Great! What happens next?" Alexis rolled her eyes and quickly pulled the candy bar out of Misty's hand. "What's the big idea?" snapped Misty.
"Just do it."
"Fine." She quickly waved her hand over the puddle and tried to snatch the Crunch bar out of Alexis' hand.
"Not so fast!"
"Just gimme my Crunch bar!"
"Slower!"
"Fine," Misty grumped and waved her hand over the puddle. "There. Can I have it now? Please?" Alexis dreamily handed over the candy bar and stared at the water.
"What's going on?"
"Eevee! I can't see anything in this storm!" Ash called to the small brown pokèmon. If she responded, Ash heard nothing but the wind. "Eevee!" Now he wasn't sure Eevee could even hear him.
"Ash! Wait up!"
"Come on Erika!"
"I think we should go back! Lina said they were in the Tower so they'll be sheltered from the storm."
"You go back and get some help! I'll keep going!" Ash yelled and struggled to see Eevee in front of him. He held the lantern out farther and squinted into the rain and mist.
"No! I don't want to go by myself!" She appeared beside him, kimono sleeve raised to cover her eyes from the pounding rain.
"Then come on!"
"Wait! Is that it?"
"How could we miss it?" Ash asked as the looming ebony outline of the Tower appeared before them. They trudged up the slippery stone steps and pounded the door. "How did they get in?" he yelled over the wind.
"The window! Right next to the door!"
"Give me a boost!" Ash yelled. Erika laughed.
"No way!"
"Whatever," Ash growled and looked up at the window. "How'd they get up there..."
"Vee!" Eevee jumped upon the mount of a Houndoom gargoyle and leapt up and down. "Eevee!" Ash looked at the gargoyle for a moment.
"We climb," he said finally and stared hard at the window. "Misty!" he yelled. "Misty!"
"Ha! I win!" said Misty triumphantly after their second game of Egyptian rat screw. Alexis offered a feeble smile and let Misty collect her cards.
"You only just taught me." Misty shrugged and shuffled the cards.
"It's still fun when you win."
"Eevee and Vulpix aren't back," said Alexis, looking out the window. "And Vulpix is a fire type, too."
"It's okay," said Misty. "She doesn't have any flames on her anywhere, right? I'm getting tired of E.R.S. How about we play…"
"War?"
"Sure. One, two, three, four, five…" Misty began counting off the cards and dealing. They had just started playing when the door shook with a series of hard pounds. Alexis dropped her winnings on the ground and stared at Misty with fear.
"What was that?" Misty stuck her chest out and forced herself to smile.
"Nothing. Look, we've both got Jacks. I declare war…"
"I think someone's talking!" trilled Alexis. "Oh, no! We're gonna get in trouble!"
"Misty!"
"Wait," said Misty, holding up a finger.
"Misty!"
"They're calling my name!
"They're ghosts!" said Alexis, fear making her voice quaver. "Hurry! Find a weapon or something!" Misty scurried around the room and picked up a charred chair leg. Alexis appeared beside her with a chair leg as well.
"You can't hit ghosts with solid things," Misty whispered as they stood beneath the window.
"Go get chairs for us to sit on. You can if you say a spell," said Alexis as Misty placed two chairs underneath the window. Misty could now barely see above the sill. "Aku ryu tai san!" Alexis bought her chair leg whizzing down and closed her eyes. Misty clumsily did as well. "Okay. We're ready," said Alexis after a moment.
"What does that do?"
"It's a banishing spell," responded Alexis as the voice got closer. Suddenly, scratching could be heard against the stone wall. "We must hit it if it's a cat demon," said Alexis. "Or it'll suck your soul out." Misty touched her throat as they raised the chair legs above their heads.
"Okay."
"Misty!"
"Now!" shouted Alexis and the two bought their chair legs down on the ghost's head. It uttered a surprised cry before falling to the ground. "I told you we could hit it," said Alexis proudly.
"Oh, no!" cried Misty, dropping her chair leg and kneeling by the ghost. "Ash!"
"What?"
"It's Ash! We knocked him unconscious!" cried Misty tearfully. Alexis threw her chair leg to the side and knelt by the unconscious teen.
"Oh, great," mumbled Alexis. "He was probably our only way out, too."
"No," said Misty, standing. "Erika!" she called, cupping her hands around her mouth. "Erika's got to be with Ash," she whispered. "Where else would she be?" In truth, Erika had ran after Ash had been knocked from the window in fear of the darkness now surrounding them.
"Help!" she called, running into a Pokecenter. "Help!"
"What's wrong?" asked the Nurse Joy, running out from behind the counter to comfort the dripping woman.
"My friend…he…the Tower…"
"Chansey, be a dear and get us some tea, will you?" the Nurse instructed the Chansey beside her. "The bags are in lounge on top of the microwave."
"Sey," squealed the Chansey and scooted off into a white room.
"Now, take a seat and tell me everything. Joy! Do me a favor and take my shift for a little while, will you?"
"Sure Joy," said a Nurse Joy who was the exact replica of the one sitting beside Erika. As the two made themselves comfortable on the couch, Chansey came running in, supporting a tray in one stubby hand.
"Thanks Chansey," said Joy, handing one steaming cup to Erika, who gratefully took it between two clammy hands. "Now tell me, what's wrong?"
"Well, we were walking through Lavender Town and my two friends, Misty and Alexis, got lost in the mist and cut off from Ash (my other friend,) and me. We were looking for them when…" And Erika went on to tell Joy about Lina and Ash being attacked.
"Your friend," said the Nurse, hesitating before setting her cup on a pokèball coaster. "She was in here earlier, wasn't she? Orange hair?"
"Yes," Erika said cautiously. "Why?"
"Did she tell you about what she saw in here?"
'When I came in here, there was an old man standing over in that corner reading a newspaper. He said something like '500 people' and then you came. His clothes were all burnt and he smelled like a bonfire'
"Something my friend Ash said…She saw…a man reading a newspaper…"
"The man she saw wasn't alive, miss."
"And he smelled…what?" Erika nearly dropped her porcelain tea cup in shock. "Not…alive?"
"No miss. It's a bad sign for people to see ghosts in this town."
"But they're trapped! They can't get out! You must help me. We are on our way to the SS Anne…?" The Nurse Joy shook her head silently. Erika hurriedly set down her cup and stood. "Then I think I'll leave now," she said flatly. "Thanks for your help." As she opened the door, a figure stood before her. "Eevee!" she breathed gratefully as the brown fox leapt into her arms. "Thank God! They…they won't help me." Eevee nodded like she knew and Erika set her down. "I guess then…then I have to do it myself?"
"Not entirely," said a familiar voice. "I know what you seek, Erika. And I will help as well."
"Lina?"
"Yes." Erika smiled in silent thanks and they walked towards the Tower.
"Are you okay? Ash!" Misty shook her friend, tears blooming in her eyes. She had waited and waited for Erika's faint response but nothing greeted her call except the sound of rain against stone.
"Yow…my head…"
"Ash! You're awake!" He stared up at her with angry eyes and pushed her hand away.
"What did you two idiots do to me? Where's Alexis?" Misty frowned and pulled her hand into her chest.
"She's upstairs with Vulpix. And we thought you were…" Misty flushed pink. "We thought you were a ghost."
"So you attacked me with chair legs?" Ash demanded angrily. Misty flushed again and sniffed. "What's your problem?" he snapped and she threw herself forward, hands clasping on his lower back and face pressed against his chest.
"I'm so sorry," she wailed and Ash remained frozen, arms glued to his side and eyes wide on the top of her head. "I thought we'd killed you! We were so scared!" He blinked and managed to pat the small of her back thrice.
"It's okay," he managed to choke out. "I was just angry." And dizzy, he thought. Misty sniffed and rubbed her nose in his shirt before pulling away and wiping her tears bashfully.
"Sorry I'm crying," she whispered. "Sorry." He stared at her in amazement and said nothing as they waited for a rescue.
Okay, it would be broken into three parts if they didn't get rescued in the next chappie! A little spoiler there but just reassuring you. A little fluff is hard to put in this story at some times so there's some for ya AAMRN luvahs. Thanks Avenger10 (correct me if I'm wrong. Stupid pixie stix scramble my brain!) and Imp is Insane! There will be more. I promise! Thanks reviewers…58 please? Why are you still reading this? REVIEW!!!
~ Kasagi Onaso