Hey all! I figured it was time for me to get off my lazy butt and do something. Thank you readers
for all the support I continue to get from you! For the older readers of this story, you'd might
be interested in ChrisBradford's fic, "I, Flareon." It's not supposed to be for anyone under 18,
but it's your own desicion if you do decide to look at it. It's linked to my other major fic,
"Intertwine Dreams."
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Chp. 19-Digging up the past
Oh man, what'd I do? The music box should've been perfect(at least at what I paid for it),
and instead, Sara just takes off in tears. What didn't she like? The music? The box itself?
By the time I got outside, Sara was nowhere to be seen. A quick sniff of the air told my
nose she'd went right, so knowing where she went wouldn't be a problem. Unfortunetly, I had
another growing real quick.
"Bulba!"
"Not now, Bulbasaur!"
"Bulba!"
"Not NOW, Bulbasaur!"
"BULBA!"
"WHAT?!" I snapped, not really in the mood for this.
"Bulbasaur..." Bulbasaur looked around at all the people who were now staring very oddly
at me, and it just occured to me I'd run out into broad daylight without shifting forms or trying
to cover up at all.
"Rai...hello, everyone..." I said nervously, making sure I had Sara's scent right. "Chu
may remember me from Rai magic show. Well, Rai...going to another job, so don't Raichu seeing me
like this..."
I tried to slowly proceed after Sara, not wanting to raise an alarm. The people nearby
began to whisper amoungst themselves, which didn't help, especially since I could hear every word
they said.
"You know, I've never seen him outside that costume..."
"That suit looks way too real..."
"He kinda looks like that creature in Viridian from a few weeks ago..."
That didn't bother me too much. However, there was one comment that made me reach for the
others Poke Balls.
"Maybe someone should call the police..."
Knowing my luck with law enforcement was really bad, I wasn't about to take my chances.
I dug out two Poke Balls, enlarged them and held one in each hand.
"Bulbasaur, Nidoran, return!" I quickly recalled two of them, a pang of guilt hitting me
as I watched them get sucked in. I felt bad, but this was an emergency. They'd understand. I
immediatly took off after that, not bothering with Furret. She was the only one who had the speed
to keep up with me in a full-blown run.
Dashing through the people wasn't that hard. Most people got out of the way if they saw me,
and if I didn't make them move, Furret did. I was surprised Sara had made it through so easily, as
her scent kept going right through the center of town.
As I ran about through the town, I recalled the phone call I'd made to Joy yesterday.
Well...the Vermelion Joy, the Chansey Hybrid. I'd figured that country music store I'd found
earlier would be the perfect spot to make a call; no one actually LIKES country music, and even
the only employee behind the counter was sleeping on a cot. There was a little sign that said,
"100% off sale", but the place was still full of CD's and tapes.
Anyway, I asked Joy what the best gift would be for Sara. Joy suggested a Faberge egg; if
Sara didn't like it, I could give it to her. After that, I asked Joy to try NOT to think like an
egg obbsessed Chansey Hybrid. That's when she suggested the music box. After a little searching, I
found a pawn shop that I'd found the box in. I paid for it and dropped it off at another store to
have it wrapped. Trust me, the way I wrap things, you know it's from me automatically. All that
work, and Sara just ran out in tears on me. What went wrong?
"What the..." I thought I found out where Sara had run too...but why? I slowed down and
gently pushed open the gate to Pokemon Tower. Yeah, she went this way alright, but why would she
go to a cemeteary? Well, I know I don't exactly think straight when I'm upset. Maybe Sara did the
same thing.
"Furret..." Apperantly Furret didn't like cemetaries much either. I figured I'd better just
find Sara and bail before the place got to me. Usually cemeataries aren't too bad, but a huge dark
cloud covered up the sun as soon as I walked in the gates. That added to the creepiness factor.
"Rai..." Sara couldn't have stayed outside; she ran inside the tower itself. Each step I
took toward it added to the cold feeling that was going down my spine. I really didn't want to do
this, but I knew I'd have to. Furret, however, was almost paralyzed with fear halfway to the tower.
"Furret, do Rai wanna go back in Chu ball?" I asked. If she was gonna be like this the
whole time, I didn't want to do this to her.
"Fu...rret." she managed to get out, nodding. I recalled her, not feeling as bad as I
usually do. At least she agreed to go. I thought about releasing the others, but decided against
it. If Furret did that, I'm sure the others would have similar reactions.
I opened the door to the tower, looking around. This seemed to be some kind of waiting area,
why there was one here, I wasn't sure. There were various notices on a nearby board about recent
losses and memories of those lost. It made me feel kinda sad, but I had a job to do. There was a
staircase nearby that Sara's scent seemed to be going down.
"Great..." This was one of the floor where the bodies were buried, juding by all the crosses
sticking out of the earthen ground. There was a cement path that I stayed on, not wanting to
disturb any of those resting around here. Knowing ghost-type Pokemon liked to hang around in places
like this, I kept my eyes and ears open, but the place seemed oddly quiet.
I dashed after Sara's scent trail, just wanting to find her and get out of here.
Unfortunetly, she ran to one of the lowest levels in the place. I had to go down staircase after
staircase to reach her. Finally, though, I found her on the second to last level. She was at the
far end from the staircase I'd just taken down, kneeling down in front of a grave.
"Sara! What's Rai?" I asked. She ignored me as she continued to do whatever she was doing.
As I got closer, I could see her hands digging up the dirt of the grave. What was she doing?!
Digging up graves, besides being disrespectful to the dead, is just plain creepy.
I got within about fifty feet of her when it happened. A grey, shriveled hand reached out
of the ground next to Sara, grabbing her leg. She screamed and tried to break it's hold as more
and more hands burst out and started to drag her down into the dirt.
"Sara!" I dashed over and grabbed her arms, trying to pull her up. For a couple of undead
hands, these things were strong.
"Dan! What are Vul doing here?!" Sara asked in confusion.
"Rai should ask Chu the same thing!" The dirt was now up to her chest, my pulling doing
little to halt the undead forces dragging her down.
I struggled, realizing this was a losing battle. Now the dirt was up to the base of her
neck...but now it seemed to just stop there. Her arms were still above the soil, but she appeared
stuck. Even now, my efforts to free her were worthless.
I finally gave up, trying to figure out what to do. Maybe I could dig her out, but I'd
have to look around for a shovel or something. There was no way...
BONK!
"OW!" Something whacked me hard in the back of the head. I turned to find what had hit me,
but found nothing. It was like something hit me from out of nowhere.
"What is your purpose here?"
I looked around for who said that, not sure what to expect. I thought maybe someone followed
me down. As I quickly found out, that wasn't to be true.
"AH!" I yelped when I saw the ghost hovering behind me. It wasn't any ghost Pokemon, though.
It was like ghosts I'd heard about in old stories; something that could fly and looked to be wearing
a white sheet that was slightly transparent. It had two black eyes and a small, black mouth.
The creepy voice seemed to be coming from it.
"Who...Who are Chu?" I managed to stammer.
"I'm the gaurdian spirit of this tower, and I demand to know why you have been disturbing
the rest of those who have lost their lives." it stated coldly.
"Rai..."
"I was not speaking to you. You are to leave this place, NOW!"
"No! Rai won't leave Sara Raichu!"
The ghost ignored this and flew over to me. I tried to run, but my feet felt rooted to the
ground. The apperation enveloped me, limiting my vision to a white screen. A few moments passed,
then I was able to move again. I walked out of the screen, only to find myself back outside the
tower.
"Raichu!" I tried to swear. I immeaditly dashed back into the tower. I wasn't about to let
some annoyed spirit keep me from Sara. The first floor seemed unocuppied again, so I quickly moved
down the stairs.
"Haunt! Haunt! Haunt!"
"RAI!" A Haunter greeted me on the next floor as soon as I hit the ground. Once I'd gotten
control of my nerves, I realized there were Haunters and Ghastlies all over the place, most of them
heading right for me. The Haunter in front of me gave my face a lick of its huge tounge. As soon
as it touched me, I felt sick to my stomach.
"Haunt! Haunt! Haunt!" it laughed as I tried not to throw up. I stumbled through it as
the other Pokemon surrounded me, making various faces that looked more funny than scary. Keeping
my head down, I tried to shut out their voices, looking for the staircase. I found it quickly, but
only because I missed the first step and ended up rolling down them.
"Chu..." I moaned in pain. Sara better have a REALLY good reason for coming her and putting
me through all this. I seemed to have the lost the ghosts temporarily. No, wait, there they are in
the corner! I got to my feet and tried to get away while they were distracted, but a sudden noise
made me stop.
"CUBONE! CUBONE!"
It seemed to be coming from the group of ghosts. I could just ignore it, but whatever was
with those ghosts sounded terrified. Swallowing my fears, I ran over and looked at the current
situation.
The ghosts had cornered a small Cubone, which was blindly swinging at them with its bone.
The ghosts would simply dissappear and reappear when the small Pokemon swung at them. After a few
tries, it finaly gave up and sat down on the ground, crying it's eyes out.
"Oh..." I couldn't just sit here and watch it suffer like this. Before I knew what I was
doing, I dove through the ghosts, grabbed the Cubone and dashed off down the stairs. It took a few
seconds for the ghosts to realize what was happening, allowing me to move down the stairs without
disturbing me.
"CUBONE!" The Cubone whacked me in the stomach with its bone for awhile before it realized the
bone was actually doing something this time. It managed to stop crying to look up at me after a
little while.
"Cubone?" It seemed more confused than scared. Judging by its voice, it was probably thinking,
"What the heck is thing holding me?"
"Rai there..." I slowed down on the third floor going down. The ghosts had stopped following
me, and there were none already down here. "Are Chu alright?"
"I'm Bone." it said with a nod.
"That's good. My name's Dan." I set the Cubone done on the ground. "What are Chu doing here?"
"Cubone, Bone Bone." was the response.
"Uh...Are Chu lost?"
"Bone." It nodded.
"Where's Chu father?"
"Cu?" It shrugged, which was understandable. Often fathers leave their mates once their
females eggs are hatched.
"O.K. What about Chu mother?"
"Bone? Cu...*sniff* Bone..." it sniffed a few times before it started crying again.
"CUUUUBBBBBOOOONNNNEEEE!"
"Rai, Rai! It's O.K!" Looks like I hit a bad subject. After a minute, I got it to calm
down.
"Well...look, Rai need to find a friend here, and it's Raichu don't like ghosts." I
enlarged an empty Poke Ball, showing it to Cubone. "It's not great, but Rai keep Chu safe from the
ghosts. Do Chu wanna go in?"
Cubone pondered this for a few moments. It didn't know what a ball would be like, but it
would keep it safe from the ghosts. Personally, after all these run-ins with ghosts, I'd thought
about maybe going in one myself if it weren't for the fact I could never get out by myself.
"Cubone." it said with a nod after a minute or two. I gave the ball a small toss, and it
Cubone on the skull. It was quickly sucked in, but the ball didn't even shake this time. The light
went on in the button for about a second, then shut off.
I picked up the ball, realizing that so far, not one of my Pokemon was captured the normal
way capturing is done. Granted; I'm far from normal, but it'd still be nice to have a real battle
and feel normal.
"Ghastly!"
"Haunt! Haunt! Haunt!"
"Raichu!" The ghosts had finally made their way down the stairs, so I grabbed Cubone's
Poke Ball and took off down the next flight of stairs. I didn't lose any ground on the ghosts, nor
did I gain any. Down stairs after stairs I ran, with what seemed like a living wall of ghosts
chasing me. By the time I got down to the second to last floor, where Sara had been, I was about
to collapse. That odd ghost was still here, and Sara was still buried in the dirt. The ghost who'd
thrown me out last time seemed to be speaking to her until I showed up. It turned toward me as I
ran in.
"I told you to leave this place!" it sneered at me.
"And Rai *gasp* told Chu *gasp* Rai wasn't *gasp* going to *gasp* leave Sara!" I managed
to get out, trying not to collapse in exhaustion.
"Well, I must admit it took some courage to come down here again. Too bad it'll be for
nothing."
It started to fly over to me again. This time, I grabbed Bulbasaur Poke Ball and threw it
out in front of the charging ghost.
"Bulbasaur!" he called out. He looked around to see where he was, then noticed the ghosts.
"BULB!"
"It's O.K., Bulbasaur!" I tried to assure him. "Rai need you to Rai and fight that." I
pointed at the odd ghost of the bunch.
"Bulba?! Saur..." Bulbasaur didn't seem confident, but I needed him to at least try. The
ghost Pokemon had formed a circle around us, trying to get a look at all the action.
Bulbasaur fired a pair of Razor Leaves at the ghost. The ghost dissappeared as the leaves
were about to hit it, where I couldn't see.
"Keep Chu eyes open, Bulbasaur!" We both looked around, trying to find out where this ghost
had dissappeared to. It seemed to have vanished totally.
"Bulba!" Bulbasaur's head suddenly jerked to the side, then down into the ground. His
whole body jerked about, but I couldn't figure out why. Finally Bulbasaur was knocked back into
my leg, where I picked him up.
"Bulbasaur, Rai happened?!" Now that he was close, I could see bruises all over his body.
That ghost had went invisible and simply beat my poor Pokemon!
"Saur, Bulba..."
"It's alright. Chu tried hard, and that all Rai can ask." I returned Bulbasaur to his ball
while the ghost reappeared.
"Is that the best you have?" it taunted.
"Grrr..." Now what? Maybe Nidoran could do something...but isn't Poison weak against Ghost?
Still, I had to give it a shot. Furret had no chance, and Cubone would be too terrified to fight.
If I had to in the end, I guess I would have to fight it myself.
"Nidoran! Rai choose you!" I threw out Nidoran's Poke Ball, praying he'd be able to do
something.
"Nidor...NIDO!" Nidoran noticed the ghosts very quickly. "Ran Nido you Nidoran Ran me Ran
Nido?!"
"Sorry Nidoran, but Rai need Chu to try and fight that ghost." Man, I really didn't want to
do this, but I had to save Sara.
"I'm not sure what kind of creatures you are," the ghost said, looking at Nidoran quickly,
"but you must make terrible Pokemon trainers."
"Rai! Nidoran, Poison Sting!"
Nidoran launched a series of small white needles from his open mouth at the ghost. They
passed right on through without even phasing it. The ghost responed by making a throwing motion
with its short arms. Nothing happened for a few seconds, and I wondered what it did.
"RAN!" Nidoran's was suddenly knocked back into me, causing us both to tumble into the
ground.
"Ni...dor...an..." Nidoran moaned. By the time I moved around to look at him, he'd passed out
from the blow.
"No..." I returned Nidoran to his ball, then stood up. Looks like I'm on my own for this one.
I stepped out and tensed up, trying to decide how this thing could be defeated.
"Now YOU want to fight me?!" it said in a cold chuckle. "You know you stand no chance..."
"Rai don't care. Rai want to save my friend!"
"Save your friend? You want to save someone who digs up graves?! You really need to do a
better job making friends..."
"Vul had a reason!" Sara called out.
"Your reasons concern me not!" It'd turned away from me, so I took the advantage of the
first shot.
"RAAAAIIII...CHUUUUU!" I placed both my index fingers together and pointed them at the
ghost. Focusing all the electrical power I could to them, I formed a bolt that flew toward the
ghost. The ghost twitched and let out a little yelp of pain as the bolt hit it.
"You dare attack me in the back?!" it cried out. It turned around and placed its hands so
it looked as if it was holding something. My electricty now stopped at the invisible object and
dissappeared as soon as it hit it.
The ghost flew forward, so fast I barely saw it. An instant before the ghost ran into me,
something jabbed me in the stomach, hard. I grabbed at my stomach and moaned, feeling like I was
about to throw up. The ghosts arms seemed to swing the invisible object, and suddenly I had a
massive headache.
"What...Rai...that?" I gasped inbetween short, painful breaths.
"Something your kind can't fight." it said before swinging the object again, this time
into my chest. I fell back, feeling like a Rhydon just trampled over me. I gritted my teeth and
used my elbows to support me, feeling the pain shooting through my body.
"Are you finished yet?" The ghost asked.
I moved to my knees and moaned, trying to think about what I could do now. Bulbasaur and
Nidoran were hurt, Furret couldn't fight a ghost-type...I didn't want to have to put Cubone through
this...but if I didn't try, something bad was going to happen to us all.
"Cubone! *ow* Rai choose you!" I tossed out Cubones ball, praying with everything I had in
me I'd win this.
"Cubone!" Cubone cried out when it was fully formed. It looked around at all the ghosts,
then cried out. "CUBONE!"
"Cubone, Rai sorry, but Rai need Chu to fight that ghost." I was gonna hate myself for this
later. No way could a Cubone, especially such a small one, could fight a ghost. Still, what choice
did I have?
"Cu...Bone..." Cubone was shaking badly, but held its bone toward the ghost. Please, I
thought, just don't let Cubone lose this. Please...
"What?! This can't be!"
The ghost flew over to Cubone, but not at the same full blown attack speed it'd used on
the rest of us. It apporached very slowly, like something about Cubone surprised it.
"CUBONE!" Cubone took a swing at the ghost, which passed right through it. Still, it
didn't phase out like the others. Cubone tried a few more swings, then sat down and cried again.
I felt sick with myself for doing this. Why did I make it do th...
"It's alright..."
This came not from me or Sara, but the ghost. The ghost stroked Cubone's head, trying to
calm it down. Cubone looked up with tear filled eyes, seemilingly confused.
"Where'd you find this Cubone?" the ghost asked me.
"Rai...found it upstairs. Those ghosts Chu scaring it, so Rai pulled it out." I said,
pointing at the ring of ghost-Pokemon surrounding us.
"WHAT?!" The odd ghost glared at all the ghost-Pokemon, who suddenly didn't look so happy.
"I TOLD YOU ALL TO LEAVE THIS CUBONE ALONE! LEAVE MY SIGHT, NOW!"
The ghosts didn't question this, and quickly dissappeared. I was starting to wonder what on
earth was going on when the ghost started to glow. After a few seconds, there was a flash of light,
temporaily blinding me. When my vision returned, there was no ghost, but...
"Marowak..."
The ghost-turned-Marowak stroked the Cubone's skull slowly. The Cubone stared in disbelief
for a few seconds, then hugged the Marowak tightly, who returned the embrace.
"What in the world..." Suddenly it hit me like a ton of bricks. This is why Cubone cried
when I mentioned its family...
"Chu its mother..."
The Marowak said nothing, but nodded. After a minute, the Marowak turned over to Sara and
gave a wave of its bone. Suddenly Sara was forced out of the ground, covered in dirt, but at
least on the ground instead of in it.
"Thank Vul." she said, trying to brush off some of the dirt. The Marowak waved its bone
at me, and I felt all the pain and damage from being hit suddenly leave my body. I slowly got up
and walked over to the happy pair.
"Excuse me, but can Rai ask what's going on?"
"It was a few months ago. Some humans dressed in black had overrun the tower, looking
for my kind. I'd managed to hide my son, who you now see before you, but I was cornered by them.
The roof above me was weak, so I threw my bone at it, hoping to escape in the confusion. I was
right; it was weak, but I didn't know how much so. Instead of escaping, the ceiling collapsed on
me...and that's all I remember. The next thing I knew, I was in the form you just saw me in. I
vowed to make sure that no one ever tresspassed on this tower again, and tried to protect my
child as best as I could. Those simple ghosts...all that concerns them is having fun. I asked them
to leave my child alone, but they didn't listen."
"Vul sorry..."
"Me Chu..." I quickly looked up at Sara, remembering what had started all this. "Sara,
why are Chu here? Why did Chu run out on us?"
"Oh...Vul sorry, but Vul had to know..."
"Know? Know what?"
"That grave...its supposed to Vul my parents, but..."
"Rai! Sara, Chu parents are still in town!"
"No...they're not Pix parents...not Pix real parents, anyway."
I simply looked at her in shock. Those weren't her real parents?! Sara explained what she
meant.
Her real parents supposedly died in a car accident years ago in the town where she lives.
Sara was with them at the time, but she was only a year and a half old at the time, and doesn't
remember anything. The mayor had taken her in later. Sara was raised by him for a while, but she
still wanted to find out as much as she could about her real parents. With her foster father's
forged signature, she got the file of the accident from the police. The report stated that all
that was found on the sence was a mangled car, Sara in a baby seat, and some various objects in
the car. Among those items; a music box that played the exact same song as the one I'd given her.
It had been given to her as a gift, and the one I gave her resparked the memories of it and got
her upset.
"But Rai come here?"
The police(before they went bad) had tried to find anyone related to Sara's parents to
inform them of the news. All they could find in connection to them was two burial spaces they
owned in the tower; the ones she'd tried to dig up. She was confused, since the tower only buries
Pokemon, but it was the only clue she had.
"If I'd known that's what you were trying to do, I would've told you." the Marowak said.
"That nice Rai know NOW." I muttered.
"Actually, that's one of the most puzzling things about this tower. I've never figured out
what happened there..."
"What do Vul mean?"
Cubone had backed away a little from its mother, allowing the Marowak to turn toward the
graves. With a wave of its bone, the dirt above the caskets suddenly moved to the sides. The
caskets flew up and stood on their front ends before opening. I was expecting remains of a Pokemon
to fall out. Instead, there was...nothing. The caskets, both with a red pillow and white linings,
were totally empty. There wasn't even a speck of mud; they'd never be used!
Sara stared in amazement at the empty caskets for a while. Eventually she nodded, and the
Marowak waved its bone once again. The caskets closed, returned to the holes in the ground they'd
made, and were recovered by the dirt.
"Well...Vul guess that's it then..." She sounded calm, but I knew something was going on
in her head.
"Rai guess..." I looked down at Cubone and Marowak, both holding their bones...the bone!
That's what blocked my electricity and hit me and the others. No wonder Bulbasaur was able to take
a lot more hits than me and Nidoran; Ground is weak against Grass, but strong against Poison and
Electric.
"Wait...before you leave, I have a favor to ask." Marowak said.
"Rai?"
"Please...take my child with you."
"Vul?!"
"Please...this is no place for a child to live alone, and I can only remain like this for
so long. You saved my child from those simple ghosts, and seem to be willing to make sacrifices
when you must. I need someone strong to pass on my son to."
"Rai flattered, but are Chu sure?"
Marowak nodded. "I am...but before you go, I want to speak with him one last time." Marowak
looked down at Cubone, who had his full attention. "My son, I wish I didn't have to leave you, but
if you stay here, it will only cause more pain for us both. If you go, maybe you can live a
somewhat normal life, and maybe I can finally move on. Please, be good to your trainer, and
remember; no matter what happens, I'll always love you."
"Cubone..." Mother and son hugged each other tightly. Cubone was crying, but it was
obvious it was trying to hold back the tears. Marowak dropped her bone as she hugged her son.
Soon, Marowak began to turn white and misty looking, and I realized that she was moving on.
"Bone?" Cubone backed away as his arms suddenly grabbed at air. He back away as his mothers
legs began to fade away into nothing. I heard Sara sniffing as the lower half of the Marowak's body
dissappeared, and I admit I was getting a bit teary eyed myself.
"Cubone!" Cubone cried out as all that was left was his mothers head.
"Goodbye, my child." Those were the final words she spoke before she totally dissappeared.
We watched in silence for a few seconds, just looking at nothing. Cubone sniffed a few times, then
walked over and took the only physical object that was left of her; her bone. Although it was too
large for him to hold with one hand, he dropped his own bone and picked up hers, hugging and rubbing
his head against it.
Unbothered by other ghosts, I picked up Cubones bone and took it with us as we walked out.
Cubone carried his mothers bone all the way back to the hotel. As soon as we shifted forms and
walked in, we started packing immediatly. If we stayed much longer, things could get ugly.
As we packed, I noticed how quiet everyone was being. Maybe it was because no one knew
what to say. Maybe it was because we all felt Marowak deserved a moment of silence; to this day
I'm unsure. Looking out the window, I noticed you could actually see the tower rather well from
where we were. I felt I should say something, but as I looked at the tower and remembered the
days events, I could only say one word.
"Goodbye."
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
So ends Chp.19. I hope you enjoy it, and remember that those who pass on are not truly lost as
long as we remember them. Instead of the usual quote or joke, I think a moment of silence would
be appropriate for those who had their lives taken from them on the Sept. 11 tradgey. While I'm
just a fanfic author, I know no one should have to go through what happened on that day, and I
pray we'll never have to deal with anything like this again.
for all the support I continue to get from you! For the older readers of this story, you'd might
be interested in ChrisBradford's fic, "I, Flareon." It's not supposed to be for anyone under 18,
but it's your own desicion if you do decide to look at it. It's linked to my other major fic,
"Intertwine Dreams."
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Chp. 19-Digging up the past
Oh man, what'd I do? The music box should've been perfect(at least at what I paid for it),
and instead, Sara just takes off in tears. What didn't she like? The music? The box itself?
By the time I got outside, Sara was nowhere to be seen. A quick sniff of the air told my
nose she'd went right, so knowing where she went wouldn't be a problem. Unfortunetly, I had
another growing real quick.
"Bulba!"
"Not now, Bulbasaur!"
"Bulba!"
"Not NOW, Bulbasaur!"
"BULBA!"
"WHAT?!" I snapped, not really in the mood for this.
"Bulbasaur..." Bulbasaur looked around at all the people who were now staring very oddly
at me, and it just occured to me I'd run out into broad daylight without shifting forms or trying
to cover up at all.
"Rai...hello, everyone..." I said nervously, making sure I had Sara's scent right. "Chu
may remember me from Rai magic show. Well, Rai...going to another job, so don't Raichu seeing me
like this..."
I tried to slowly proceed after Sara, not wanting to raise an alarm. The people nearby
began to whisper amoungst themselves, which didn't help, especially since I could hear every word
they said.
"You know, I've never seen him outside that costume..."
"That suit looks way too real..."
"He kinda looks like that creature in Viridian from a few weeks ago..."
That didn't bother me too much. However, there was one comment that made me reach for the
others Poke Balls.
"Maybe someone should call the police..."
Knowing my luck with law enforcement was really bad, I wasn't about to take my chances.
I dug out two Poke Balls, enlarged them and held one in each hand.
"Bulbasaur, Nidoran, return!" I quickly recalled two of them, a pang of guilt hitting me
as I watched them get sucked in. I felt bad, but this was an emergency. They'd understand. I
immediatly took off after that, not bothering with Furret. She was the only one who had the speed
to keep up with me in a full-blown run.
Dashing through the people wasn't that hard. Most people got out of the way if they saw me,
and if I didn't make them move, Furret did. I was surprised Sara had made it through so easily, as
her scent kept going right through the center of town.
As I ran about through the town, I recalled the phone call I'd made to Joy yesterday.
Well...the Vermelion Joy, the Chansey Hybrid. I'd figured that country music store I'd found
earlier would be the perfect spot to make a call; no one actually LIKES country music, and even
the only employee behind the counter was sleeping on a cot. There was a little sign that said,
"100% off sale", but the place was still full of CD's and tapes.
Anyway, I asked Joy what the best gift would be for Sara. Joy suggested a Faberge egg; if
Sara didn't like it, I could give it to her. After that, I asked Joy to try NOT to think like an
egg obbsessed Chansey Hybrid. That's when she suggested the music box. After a little searching, I
found a pawn shop that I'd found the box in. I paid for it and dropped it off at another store to
have it wrapped. Trust me, the way I wrap things, you know it's from me automatically. All that
work, and Sara just ran out in tears on me. What went wrong?
"What the..." I thought I found out where Sara had run too...but why? I slowed down and
gently pushed open the gate to Pokemon Tower. Yeah, she went this way alright, but why would she
go to a cemeteary? Well, I know I don't exactly think straight when I'm upset. Maybe Sara did the
same thing.
"Furret..." Apperantly Furret didn't like cemetaries much either. I figured I'd better just
find Sara and bail before the place got to me. Usually cemeataries aren't too bad, but a huge dark
cloud covered up the sun as soon as I walked in the gates. That added to the creepiness factor.
"Rai..." Sara couldn't have stayed outside; she ran inside the tower itself. Each step I
took toward it added to the cold feeling that was going down my spine. I really didn't want to do
this, but I knew I'd have to. Furret, however, was almost paralyzed with fear halfway to the tower.
"Furret, do Rai wanna go back in Chu ball?" I asked. If she was gonna be like this the
whole time, I didn't want to do this to her.
"Fu...rret." she managed to get out, nodding. I recalled her, not feeling as bad as I
usually do. At least she agreed to go. I thought about releasing the others, but decided against
it. If Furret did that, I'm sure the others would have similar reactions.
I opened the door to the tower, looking around. This seemed to be some kind of waiting area,
why there was one here, I wasn't sure. There were various notices on a nearby board about recent
losses and memories of those lost. It made me feel kinda sad, but I had a job to do. There was a
staircase nearby that Sara's scent seemed to be going down.
"Great..." This was one of the floor where the bodies were buried, juding by all the crosses
sticking out of the earthen ground. There was a cement path that I stayed on, not wanting to
disturb any of those resting around here. Knowing ghost-type Pokemon liked to hang around in places
like this, I kept my eyes and ears open, but the place seemed oddly quiet.
I dashed after Sara's scent trail, just wanting to find her and get out of here.
Unfortunetly, she ran to one of the lowest levels in the place. I had to go down staircase after
staircase to reach her. Finally, though, I found her on the second to last level. She was at the
far end from the staircase I'd just taken down, kneeling down in front of a grave.
"Sara! What's Rai?" I asked. She ignored me as she continued to do whatever she was doing.
As I got closer, I could see her hands digging up the dirt of the grave. What was she doing?!
Digging up graves, besides being disrespectful to the dead, is just plain creepy.
I got within about fifty feet of her when it happened. A grey, shriveled hand reached out
of the ground next to Sara, grabbing her leg. She screamed and tried to break it's hold as more
and more hands burst out and started to drag her down into the dirt.
"Sara!" I dashed over and grabbed her arms, trying to pull her up. For a couple of undead
hands, these things were strong.
"Dan! What are Vul doing here?!" Sara asked in confusion.
"Rai should ask Chu the same thing!" The dirt was now up to her chest, my pulling doing
little to halt the undead forces dragging her down.
I struggled, realizing this was a losing battle. Now the dirt was up to the base of her
neck...but now it seemed to just stop there. Her arms were still above the soil, but she appeared
stuck. Even now, my efforts to free her were worthless.
I finally gave up, trying to figure out what to do. Maybe I could dig her out, but I'd
have to look around for a shovel or something. There was no way...
BONK!
"OW!" Something whacked me hard in the back of the head. I turned to find what had hit me,
but found nothing. It was like something hit me from out of nowhere.
"What is your purpose here?"
I looked around for who said that, not sure what to expect. I thought maybe someone followed
me down. As I quickly found out, that wasn't to be true.
"AH!" I yelped when I saw the ghost hovering behind me. It wasn't any ghost Pokemon, though.
It was like ghosts I'd heard about in old stories; something that could fly and looked to be wearing
a white sheet that was slightly transparent. It had two black eyes and a small, black mouth.
The creepy voice seemed to be coming from it.
"Who...Who are Chu?" I managed to stammer.
"I'm the gaurdian spirit of this tower, and I demand to know why you have been disturbing
the rest of those who have lost their lives." it stated coldly.
"Rai..."
"I was not speaking to you. You are to leave this place, NOW!"
"No! Rai won't leave Sara Raichu!"
The ghost ignored this and flew over to me. I tried to run, but my feet felt rooted to the
ground. The apperation enveloped me, limiting my vision to a white screen. A few moments passed,
then I was able to move again. I walked out of the screen, only to find myself back outside the
tower.
"Raichu!" I tried to swear. I immeaditly dashed back into the tower. I wasn't about to let
some annoyed spirit keep me from Sara. The first floor seemed unocuppied again, so I quickly moved
down the stairs.
"Haunt! Haunt! Haunt!"
"RAI!" A Haunter greeted me on the next floor as soon as I hit the ground. Once I'd gotten
control of my nerves, I realized there were Haunters and Ghastlies all over the place, most of them
heading right for me. The Haunter in front of me gave my face a lick of its huge tounge. As soon
as it touched me, I felt sick to my stomach.
"Haunt! Haunt! Haunt!" it laughed as I tried not to throw up. I stumbled through it as
the other Pokemon surrounded me, making various faces that looked more funny than scary. Keeping
my head down, I tried to shut out their voices, looking for the staircase. I found it quickly, but
only because I missed the first step and ended up rolling down them.
"Chu..." I moaned in pain. Sara better have a REALLY good reason for coming her and putting
me through all this. I seemed to have the lost the ghosts temporarily. No, wait, there they are in
the corner! I got to my feet and tried to get away while they were distracted, but a sudden noise
made me stop.
"CUBONE! CUBONE!"
It seemed to be coming from the group of ghosts. I could just ignore it, but whatever was
with those ghosts sounded terrified. Swallowing my fears, I ran over and looked at the current
situation.
The ghosts had cornered a small Cubone, which was blindly swinging at them with its bone.
The ghosts would simply dissappear and reappear when the small Pokemon swung at them. After a few
tries, it finaly gave up and sat down on the ground, crying it's eyes out.
"Oh..." I couldn't just sit here and watch it suffer like this. Before I knew what I was
doing, I dove through the ghosts, grabbed the Cubone and dashed off down the stairs. It took a few
seconds for the ghosts to realize what was happening, allowing me to move down the stairs without
disturbing me.
"CUBONE!" The Cubone whacked me in the stomach with its bone for awhile before it realized the
bone was actually doing something this time. It managed to stop crying to look up at me after a
little while.
"Cubone?" It seemed more confused than scared. Judging by its voice, it was probably thinking,
"What the heck is thing holding me?"
"Rai there..." I slowed down on the third floor going down. The ghosts had stopped following
me, and there were none already down here. "Are Chu alright?"
"I'm Bone." it said with a nod.
"That's good. My name's Dan." I set the Cubone done on the ground. "What are Chu doing here?"
"Cubone, Bone Bone." was the response.
"Uh...Are Chu lost?"
"Bone." It nodded.
"Where's Chu father?"
"Cu?" It shrugged, which was understandable. Often fathers leave their mates once their
females eggs are hatched.
"O.K. What about Chu mother?"
"Bone? Cu...*sniff* Bone..." it sniffed a few times before it started crying again.
"CUUUUBBBBBOOOONNNNEEEE!"
"Rai, Rai! It's O.K!" Looks like I hit a bad subject. After a minute, I got it to calm
down.
"Well...look, Rai need to find a friend here, and it's Raichu don't like ghosts." I
enlarged an empty Poke Ball, showing it to Cubone. "It's not great, but Rai keep Chu safe from the
ghosts. Do Chu wanna go in?"
Cubone pondered this for a few moments. It didn't know what a ball would be like, but it
would keep it safe from the ghosts. Personally, after all these run-ins with ghosts, I'd thought
about maybe going in one myself if it weren't for the fact I could never get out by myself.
"Cubone." it said with a nod after a minute or two. I gave the ball a small toss, and it
Cubone on the skull. It was quickly sucked in, but the ball didn't even shake this time. The light
went on in the button for about a second, then shut off.
I picked up the ball, realizing that so far, not one of my Pokemon was captured the normal
way capturing is done. Granted; I'm far from normal, but it'd still be nice to have a real battle
and feel normal.
"Ghastly!"
"Haunt! Haunt! Haunt!"
"Raichu!" The ghosts had finally made their way down the stairs, so I grabbed Cubone's
Poke Ball and took off down the next flight of stairs. I didn't lose any ground on the ghosts, nor
did I gain any. Down stairs after stairs I ran, with what seemed like a living wall of ghosts
chasing me. By the time I got down to the second to last floor, where Sara had been, I was about
to collapse. That odd ghost was still here, and Sara was still buried in the dirt. The ghost who'd
thrown me out last time seemed to be speaking to her until I showed up. It turned toward me as I
ran in.
"I told you to leave this place!" it sneered at me.
"And Rai *gasp* told Chu *gasp* Rai wasn't *gasp* going to *gasp* leave Sara!" I managed
to get out, trying not to collapse in exhaustion.
"Well, I must admit it took some courage to come down here again. Too bad it'll be for
nothing."
It started to fly over to me again. This time, I grabbed Bulbasaur Poke Ball and threw it
out in front of the charging ghost.
"Bulbasaur!" he called out. He looked around to see where he was, then noticed the ghosts.
"BULB!"
"It's O.K., Bulbasaur!" I tried to assure him. "Rai need you to Rai and fight that." I
pointed at the odd ghost of the bunch.
"Bulba?! Saur..." Bulbasaur didn't seem confident, but I needed him to at least try. The
ghost Pokemon had formed a circle around us, trying to get a look at all the action.
Bulbasaur fired a pair of Razor Leaves at the ghost. The ghost dissappeared as the leaves
were about to hit it, where I couldn't see.
"Keep Chu eyes open, Bulbasaur!" We both looked around, trying to find out where this ghost
had dissappeared to. It seemed to have vanished totally.
"Bulba!" Bulbasaur's head suddenly jerked to the side, then down into the ground. His
whole body jerked about, but I couldn't figure out why. Finally Bulbasaur was knocked back into
my leg, where I picked him up.
"Bulbasaur, Rai happened?!" Now that he was close, I could see bruises all over his body.
That ghost had went invisible and simply beat my poor Pokemon!
"Saur, Bulba..."
"It's alright. Chu tried hard, and that all Rai can ask." I returned Bulbasaur to his ball
while the ghost reappeared.
"Is that the best you have?" it taunted.
"Grrr..." Now what? Maybe Nidoran could do something...but isn't Poison weak against Ghost?
Still, I had to give it a shot. Furret had no chance, and Cubone would be too terrified to fight.
If I had to in the end, I guess I would have to fight it myself.
"Nidoran! Rai choose you!" I threw out Nidoran's Poke Ball, praying he'd be able to do
something.
"Nidor...NIDO!" Nidoran noticed the ghosts very quickly. "Ran Nido you Nidoran Ran me Ran
Nido?!"
"Sorry Nidoran, but Rai need Chu to try and fight that ghost." Man, I really didn't want to
do this, but I had to save Sara.
"I'm not sure what kind of creatures you are," the ghost said, looking at Nidoran quickly,
"but you must make terrible Pokemon trainers."
"Rai! Nidoran, Poison Sting!"
Nidoran launched a series of small white needles from his open mouth at the ghost. They
passed right on through without even phasing it. The ghost responed by making a throwing motion
with its short arms. Nothing happened for a few seconds, and I wondered what it did.
"RAN!" Nidoran's was suddenly knocked back into me, causing us both to tumble into the
ground.
"Ni...dor...an..." Nidoran moaned. By the time I moved around to look at him, he'd passed out
from the blow.
"No..." I returned Nidoran to his ball, then stood up. Looks like I'm on my own for this one.
I stepped out and tensed up, trying to decide how this thing could be defeated.
"Now YOU want to fight me?!" it said in a cold chuckle. "You know you stand no chance..."
"Rai don't care. Rai want to save my friend!"
"Save your friend? You want to save someone who digs up graves?! You really need to do a
better job making friends..."
"Vul had a reason!" Sara called out.
"Your reasons concern me not!" It'd turned away from me, so I took the advantage of the
first shot.
"RAAAAIIII...CHUUUUU!" I placed both my index fingers together and pointed them at the
ghost. Focusing all the electrical power I could to them, I formed a bolt that flew toward the
ghost. The ghost twitched and let out a little yelp of pain as the bolt hit it.
"You dare attack me in the back?!" it cried out. It turned around and placed its hands so
it looked as if it was holding something. My electricty now stopped at the invisible object and
dissappeared as soon as it hit it.
The ghost flew forward, so fast I barely saw it. An instant before the ghost ran into me,
something jabbed me in the stomach, hard. I grabbed at my stomach and moaned, feeling like I was
about to throw up. The ghosts arms seemed to swing the invisible object, and suddenly I had a
massive headache.
"What...Rai...that?" I gasped inbetween short, painful breaths.
"Something your kind can't fight." it said before swinging the object again, this time
into my chest. I fell back, feeling like a Rhydon just trampled over me. I gritted my teeth and
used my elbows to support me, feeling the pain shooting through my body.
"Are you finished yet?" The ghost asked.
I moved to my knees and moaned, trying to think about what I could do now. Bulbasaur and
Nidoran were hurt, Furret couldn't fight a ghost-type...I didn't want to have to put Cubone through
this...but if I didn't try, something bad was going to happen to us all.
"Cubone! *ow* Rai choose you!" I tossed out Cubones ball, praying with everything I had in
me I'd win this.
"Cubone!" Cubone cried out when it was fully formed. It looked around at all the ghosts,
then cried out. "CUBONE!"
"Cubone, Rai sorry, but Rai need Chu to fight that ghost." I was gonna hate myself for this
later. No way could a Cubone, especially such a small one, could fight a ghost. Still, what choice
did I have?
"Cu...Bone..." Cubone was shaking badly, but held its bone toward the ghost. Please, I
thought, just don't let Cubone lose this. Please...
"What?! This can't be!"
The ghost flew over to Cubone, but not at the same full blown attack speed it'd used on
the rest of us. It apporached very slowly, like something about Cubone surprised it.
"CUBONE!" Cubone took a swing at the ghost, which passed right through it. Still, it
didn't phase out like the others. Cubone tried a few more swings, then sat down and cried again.
I felt sick with myself for doing this. Why did I make it do th...
"It's alright..."
This came not from me or Sara, but the ghost. The ghost stroked Cubone's head, trying to
calm it down. Cubone looked up with tear filled eyes, seemilingly confused.
"Where'd you find this Cubone?" the ghost asked me.
"Rai...found it upstairs. Those ghosts Chu scaring it, so Rai pulled it out." I said,
pointing at the ring of ghost-Pokemon surrounding us.
"WHAT?!" The odd ghost glared at all the ghost-Pokemon, who suddenly didn't look so happy.
"I TOLD YOU ALL TO LEAVE THIS CUBONE ALONE! LEAVE MY SIGHT, NOW!"
The ghosts didn't question this, and quickly dissappeared. I was starting to wonder what on
earth was going on when the ghost started to glow. After a few seconds, there was a flash of light,
temporaily blinding me. When my vision returned, there was no ghost, but...
"Marowak..."
The ghost-turned-Marowak stroked the Cubone's skull slowly. The Cubone stared in disbelief
for a few seconds, then hugged the Marowak tightly, who returned the embrace.
"What in the world..." Suddenly it hit me like a ton of bricks. This is why Cubone cried
when I mentioned its family...
"Chu its mother..."
The Marowak said nothing, but nodded. After a minute, the Marowak turned over to Sara and
gave a wave of its bone. Suddenly Sara was forced out of the ground, covered in dirt, but at
least on the ground instead of in it.
"Thank Vul." she said, trying to brush off some of the dirt. The Marowak waved its bone
at me, and I felt all the pain and damage from being hit suddenly leave my body. I slowly got up
and walked over to the happy pair.
"Excuse me, but can Rai ask what's going on?"
"It was a few months ago. Some humans dressed in black had overrun the tower, looking
for my kind. I'd managed to hide my son, who you now see before you, but I was cornered by them.
The roof above me was weak, so I threw my bone at it, hoping to escape in the confusion. I was
right; it was weak, but I didn't know how much so. Instead of escaping, the ceiling collapsed on
me...and that's all I remember. The next thing I knew, I was in the form you just saw me in. I
vowed to make sure that no one ever tresspassed on this tower again, and tried to protect my
child as best as I could. Those simple ghosts...all that concerns them is having fun. I asked them
to leave my child alone, but they didn't listen."
"Vul sorry..."
"Me Chu..." I quickly looked up at Sara, remembering what had started all this. "Sara,
why are Chu here? Why did Chu run out on us?"
"Oh...Vul sorry, but Vul had to know..."
"Know? Know what?"
"That grave...its supposed to Vul my parents, but..."
"Rai! Sara, Chu parents are still in town!"
"No...they're not Pix parents...not Pix real parents, anyway."
I simply looked at her in shock. Those weren't her real parents?! Sara explained what she
meant.
Her real parents supposedly died in a car accident years ago in the town where she lives.
Sara was with them at the time, but she was only a year and a half old at the time, and doesn't
remember anything. The mayor had taken her in later. Sara was raised by him for a while, but she
still wanted to find out as much as she could about her real parents. With her foster father's
forged signature, she got the file of the accident from the police. The report stated that all
that was found on the sence was a mangled car, Sara in a baby seat, and some various objects in
the car. Among those items; a music box that played the exact same song as the one I'd given her.
It had been given to her as a gift, and the one I gave her resparked the memories of it and got
her upset.
"But Rai come here?"
The police(before they went bad) had tried to find anyone related to Sara's parents to
inform them of the news. All they could find in connection to them was two burial spaces they
owned in the tower; the ones she'd tried to dig up. She was confused, since the tower only buries
Pokemon, but it was the only clue she had.
"If I'd known that's what you were trying to do, I would've told you." the Marowak said.
"That nice Rai know NOW." I muttered.
"Actually, that's one of the most puzzling things about this tower. I've never figured out
what happened there..."
"What do Vul mean?"
Cubone had backed away a little from its mother, allowing the Marowak to turn toward the
graves. With a wave of its bone, the dirt above the caskets suddenly moved to the sides. The
caskets flew up and stood on their front ends before opening. I was expecting remains of a Pokemon
to fall out. Instead, there was...nothing. The caskets, both with a red pillow and white linings,
were totally empty. There wasn't even a speck of mud; they'd never be used!
Sara stared in amazement at the empty caskets for a while. Eventually she nodded, and the
Marowak waved its bone once again. The caskets closed, returned to the holes in the ground they'd
made, and were recovered by the dirt.
"Well...Vul guess that's it then..." She sounded calm, but I knew something was going on
in her head.
"Rai guess..." I looked down at Cubone and Marowak, both holding their bones...the bone!
That's what blocked my electricity and hit me and the others. No wonder Bulbasaur was able to take
a lot more hits than me and Nidoran; Ground is weak against Grass, but strong against Poison and
Electric.
"Wait...before you leave, I have a favor to ask." Marowak said.
"Rai?"
"Please...take my child with you."
"Vul?!"
"Please...this is no place for a child to live alone, and I can only remain like this for
so long. You saved my child from those simple ghosts, and seem to be willing to make sacrifices
when you must. I need someone strong to pass on my son to."
"Rai flattered, but are Chu sure?"
Marowak nodded. "I am...but before you go, I want to speak with him one last time." Marowak
looked down at Cubone, who had his full attention. "My son, I wish I didn't have to leave you, but
if you stay here, it will only cause more pain for us both. If you go, maybe you can live a
somewhat normal life, and maybe I can finally move on. Please, be good to your trainer, and
remember; no matter what happens, I'll always love you."
"Cubone..." Mother and son hugged each other tightly. Cubone was crying, but it was
obvious it was trying to hold back the tears. Marowak dropped her bone as she hugged her son.
Soon, Marowak began to turn white and misty looking, and I realized that she was moving on.
"Bone?" Cubone backed away as his arms suddenly grabbed at air. He back away as his mothers
legs began to fade away into nothing. I heard Sara sniffing as the lower half of the Marowak's body
dissappeared, and I admit I was getting a bit teary eyed myself.
"Cubone!" Cubone cried out as all that was left was his mothers head.
"Goodbye, my child." Those were the final words she spoke before she totally dissappeared.
We watched in silence for a few seconds, just looking at nothing. Cubone sniffed a few times, then
walked over and took the only physical object that was left of her; her bone. Although it was too
large for him to hold with one hand, he dropped his own bone and picked up hers, hugging and rubbing
his head against it.
Unbothered by other ghosts, I picked up Cubones bone and took it with us as we walked out.
Cubone carried his mothers bone all the way back to the hotel. As soon as we shifted forms and
walked in, we started packing immediatly. If we stayed much longer, things could get ugly.
As we packed, I noticed how quiet everyone was being. Maybe it was because no one knew
what to say. Maybe it was because we all felt Marowak deserved a moment of silence; to this day
I'm unsure. Looking out the window, I noticed you could actually see the tower rather well from
where we were. I felt I should say something, but as I looked at the tower and remembered the
days events, I could only say one word.
"Goodbye."
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
So ends Chp.19. I hope you enjoy it, and remember that those who pass on are not truly lost as
long as we remember them. Instead of the usual quote or joke, I think a moment of silence would
be appropriate for those who had their lives taken from them on the Sept. 11 tradgey. While I'm
just a fanfic author, I know no one should have to go through what happened on that day, and I
pray we'll never have to deal with anything like this again.