Hi everyone! I'm back with more! But first, I have a lot to tell you! I'm glad I got so many people involved in the games in the last chapter, so now I'm here to give the results. First, Chapter Five's title, the line, "…it's everything I've dreamed about…" is from Biggest Part Of My Life, from the Totally Pokémon and the Pokémon 3: Soundtrack CDs. Well done to Tyrano(1), Halfling Rogue(2), J.C. the Wabbit(3), Chibimatchmaker(3), and of course, Sparklewolf (5). For the "city colors" game, the winners are Chibimatchmaker, Crimson of the Blaze, and Ze-Cookie, and the runners-up are gladdecease and Sparklewolf. There were 17 cities (cinnabar, vermilion, azalea, goldenrod, saffron, viridian, celadon, cerulean, violet, fuchsia, lavender, mahogany, ecruteak, olivine, pewter, cianwood, blackthorn). As for the one you've been waiting for, the "Who's That Pokémon?"… I think you can wait until the end of this chap, but don't skip ahead! The Pokémon will be revealed in the story! Thanks again, and on a personal note, thanks to everyone who wished me a happy birthday! Being 15 is not as bad as I expected it to be, so that's good. By the way, I got a laptop for my birthday, which is what I write my stories on now. Yippee! Also, not only have I pasted the 100-review mark, but also the 100-page mark! This story (including this chap) is now 120 pages! Now it is time to read!
CHAPTER 6: … It Takes A Certain Kind Of Skill …
Unlike the rest, the very end of the cavern was dark. There was only just enough light, from fading long-ago Flash techniques, to see things clearly by. Though the ice continued on for a little bit, it thinned rapidly and then disappeared, replaced by cold, clear, black water to the rounded dead end wall. Stalactites dripped more heavily here. The walls were more jagged, creating crevices and crannies and holes big enough for small things to live and hide in. Though it was mostly silent out in the caverns above, the silence here was eerie and whispering. Ice-Type Pokémon lived in the brighter, snowy areas above. Ice- Type Pokémon did not live here.
Ghost- Types did.
The violet-colored Pokémon appeared in this dark end of the cavern from a concealed hole in the top of a wall. The walls of all of the caverns were intricately laced with tunnels, going here and there, to different parts of the caverns. They provided many good shortcuts, as did the one the Pokémon had just used to get from the crystalfall to this place. He sunk his claws into the silver walls, a trick only it seemed he could do, and crawled face-first to the floor. He crouched on the ice solemnly, wondering what to do now. He figured those two kids were probably still coming this way. He shook his head despairingly.
The Pokémon glanced above himself, towards the poorly lit ceiling. Imperceptible shadows wisped back and forth amid and among the stalactites, crossing, colliding, but without so much as a sound. This was not strange. They were almost always there, their skirts wavering in the, literally, 'ghost' breeze. Small, secretive, yet not devious smiles played upon all of their faces. It seemed as though they knew good news you would want to hear, but didn't feel like revealing it for a while, to create a fair amount of suspense. Their eyes sparkled with that same kind of spark. The Pokémon liked to watch them sometimes. The Shuppet.
The dark end of the cavern was a flood of the little Ghost- Type Pokémon. They glided every which way, at the top of the cavern, where they felt the safest. The Shuppet never ventured out of the darkened area into the lighter ones. There was no reason to. They were all of one family; at least, the Pokémon believed they were. He had never asked. He had never guessed how many there were either, but he figured it would be safe to say over a hundred, maybe two. They made their homes in the cracks and crannies in the wall, a very comfortable place, and it always seemed that they were going to visit each other. The Shuppet were rather social. They talked, small smiles on their faces, in murmurs and undertones to almost every other Shuppet they met at the ceiling. This seemed a constant activity, rarely ever ceasing. This was what gave the silence at the end of the cavern its whispering quality.
He was not a Shuppet. However, he got along with them well, and had tried to make friends with them, though this was a hard thing to do. There were too many of them to get to know personally, and he sometimes had a hard time distinguishing one Shuppet from another. Besides, a Pokémon couldn't have a reasonable or rational conversation with them. Their conversations consisted of a sentence, two at the extreme most, and wasn't even a conversation, as it was one-sided. What they said made no sense, either. The Pokémon looked in time to see a Shuppet floating down to him. It hovered, smiling, at face level a moment, before muttering, "Security is mostly a superstition. It does not exist in nature...." The Pokémon stared at the Shuppet as it smiled and drifted away. At first he had wondered if they said that kind of thing to confuse him, but he had climbed up the wall to listen to them discuss sometimes. They said the same kind of things to each other too, nothing sensible, but something almost in code. The Pokémon knew, though, that it wasn't a code. It was simply the way they were. After the phrase was exchanged, the listening Shuppet would acknowledge it with an unfeigned acquiescing smile and a nod, then go on its way.
The Pokémon noticed a Shuppet hovering in one place, way lower down than the others. The Pokémon smiled a small bit, though he was not in the mood at the moment. This was the one Shuppet he could tell apart. It looked exactly the same as the others, except for one thing. It didn't smile. The Pokémon had never seen it smile. As far as he knew, it never had. It had never talked, either, and didn't socialize. It simply hovered, watching, watching everything. It's face was completely emotionless and expressionless, except for its frown, which only seemed to be there as an opposite for a smile and not for anger. Its eyes, of all things, betrayed no thoughts or feelings. It simply hovered. The Pokémon, however, was fond of this Shuppet, as he had a feeling that if it talked one day, it would say something sagacious, or at least realistic.
As if knowing what the Pokémon was thinking, the serious Shuppet glanced down at him. The Pokemon's mouth turned up slightly on the ends, his razor teeth showing, and solemnly waved a paw at it in hello. It blinked, but made no sign of recognition, emotion, or thought. It glanced away. This didn't deter the Pokémon one bit. He had something in common with the frowning Shuppet. They were both different, much different from the majority of their species. They were both a lot more serious than Ghost- Types really were and should be, though the Shuppet seemed more pensive and the Pokémon felt more vexed.
The Pokémon glanced down at the ice, after tiring of watching the Shuppet congregating above him. He watched his reflection, a reflection of an extremely distressed Sableye, staring back at him. The thought of the two humans, happily innocent as his trainer had been, had never left him once.
Sableye currently felt cowardly that he had backed down from going out into the open. He could have jumped in front of them, pretended to be wild and vicious, and chased them back towards the other cavern. He had been afraid, though, that they might try to capture him with a Pokéball. He had been irrational in his thoughts, out of anxiety for these new humans, and had just realized that they didn't have any Pokéballs at all with them, not even those already occupied by Pokémon. Just each other, and the crystals. Besides, Sableye thought, A Pokéball would have bounced right off of me. My real Pokéball is probably around here… somewhere. He cursed himself inwardly for not having thought this sooner. Instead of redirecting them where it was safer, he'd have to stop them before… someone else… saw them.
Why didn't they read the sign? he wondered, Why didn't they leave? I wrote it in English, and my master always said my writing was legible. Sableye, having the higher-than-average intelligence that he had, had been taught to write fairly well by his trainer. Every time he wrote something, though it did take awhile, his trainer would laugh, call him an Alakazam (which made Sableye blush, for Alakazam have the highest IQ in the world), and say he had the only Pokémon that could communicate in English on the entire Earth. This made Sableye love his trainer all the more than he already had. He had been, after all, his trainer's first Pokémon, and that was a special bond in itself. Maybe… it was confusing to them…because it was a poem. His trainer had been a rhyme enthusiast, too, and had gotten his Pokémon hooked as well. He began to wonder if he had something in common with all of the Shuppet after all.
No one knew what their words meant.
I need to make a more understandable sign. It has all of the information, including what HE told me. Sableye continued to stare at the ice. What should I do to stop them when they come this way? If they get close enough, HE will surely see them, and HE won't pass up this chance to get more… Sableye glanced up, past the Shuppet cluster, past the black water, at the back wall. There were giant, but shallow holes there, pitch black. He gazed at the one in the middle, where he knew that HE was lurking, though he hadn't seen HIM for a while. Sableye felt hatred swell up inside of him. The evil thing… it was his enemy, his curse, his master, and his job.
HE was his enemy, for taking away the thing Sableye loved the most: his trainer. HE was his curse, a curse that had haunted him on how weak Sableye was, when he couldn't protect his most precious thing. HE was his master, ensnaring his mind in remorse and regret. Most of all, HE was Sableye's job. With no trainer and no wish for another, he had nothing left to do but fulfill a sense of duty that he had.
Stopping HIM.
To stop HIM, Sableye had had to betray his morals to uphold his morals. He had tried to make friends… with HIM. It had been the only way Sableye could think of, to find out what HE was planning, for one didn't do what HE had done with no reason. This dreadful act on his own part was only compensated by the fact that Sableye knew that this was what his trainer would have done. His trainer had been the cleverest of people, always thinking up strange solutions quickly to get them out of a fix. The funny thing was… it had always worked… until… Sableye needed to know what HE was planning in order to stop HIM, so he had pretended that the loss of his trainer hadn't hurt him as it really had, that he was glad to be free from battles.
HE had, suspiciously of course, opened up to Sableye. If they had both been of completely different elements, Sableye knew that he would have suffered the same fate as his trainer immediately, but they were, though Sableye was both half-Dark and half-Ghost. This mixed breed status may have caused HIM to be distrustful in the first place, for HE had tolerance only for their shared type. Eventually, HE had explained, no, BRAGGED, about his plans. Sableye had been sick afterwards, thinking of all the destruction and pain HE would cause if the plans were to work. All of humanity seemed to be at stake, with Sableye as its only defender, for now only HE and Sableye knew the plans. The only other Pokémon that were around were the Shuppet, and they probably wouldn't understand the plans anyway if Sableye told them, just happily say a ridiculous quotation to him in return and float away.
There were ways, of course, to stop HIM. Physical force seemed useless. You couldn't use physical attacks against a type like HIM. Evolution would have thwarted HIS plans, but HE evolved by level. HE could have evolved years ago to HIS final evolution, but HE would have lost this evolution's essential special ability, HIS 'skill' as HE called it. Sableye figured that the only way he could make HIM evolve would be to have some sort of all-Pokémon pro-evolving stone, some kind of opposite for an Everstone, but this didn't exist. Sableye had questioned HIM, carefully and in a roundabout way, to look for any weaknesses. HE had suggested or implied none. HE seemed indestructible.
That was why Sableye was still here.
He was still hoping to find a way to stop HIM. The evil thing had to have a weakness, he knew, and it was his job to find out and use it against HIM. Sableye had another job, though: never abandoning his trainer, never leaving the ruins of his trainer here alone, even though HE had taken his trainer away. Sableye was loyal. Very loyal.
Sableye crouched on the ice, unmoving as a stalagmite, lost in his thoughts. His trainer had been clever and strategic and he had been smart and thoughtful, making them a good battling team. But not good enough, he though sadly, for when it mattered the most. Against HIM. Sableye felt his eyes tearing up, and he wiped away the moisture. He hadn't been this torn up about his master in a long time, for HE was the center of his dutiful obsession. The appearance of the humans had done this to him, but suddenly he felt that this was okay. They would have to be saved, no matter what he had to do. He could almost hear his trainer say, "Remember who you are! You're my Pokémon and I know you can save them!" Was this a memory? …Or not? It had started to make Sableye feel a bit stronger, though sorrow began to envelop him again as soon as the echo began to fade in his mind.
The emotionless Shuppet watched the Sableye through golden-, violet-, and turquoise- striped eyes, eyes that remained detached and impassive to the grief and anxiety the Darkness Pokémon was enduring.
Far less intense anxiety was present elsewhere.
Jesse sighed in anxiety. The Twerps sure are taking their time getting here, she thought irritably. She was crouched behind a bush, gazing out at the covered hole in the meadow. There had been no sign of movement from the trees where the group should have come from. Jesse waited for another moment or two, then quickly joined her teammates, who were sitting a few yards away.
All of Jesse and James' Pokémon had been let out of their Pokéballs. Seviper was curled up on the ground, conversing with Cacnea in a quiet purr. Dustox was extending his wings and had attached himself to a tree, which Wobbuffet was leaning against. Meowth was arguing with James about the bet, as James was sorting through and repacking the items in the white backpack he had to carry.
"Besides, why on earth's would some guy go for a girl that's was older than himself?" Meowth was maintaining his case.
James didn't even look up at Meowth from where he was repacking some Escape Ropes, but he noticed Jesse sit down nearby from the corner of his eye. "People don't choose who they love, Meowth. It just happens, and when it does, age doesn't really matter anymore." When Jesse heard what they were bickering about, she immediately shut out the sound of their voices and turned her attention back to watching for the Twerps.
Meowth thought around for a truthful contradictory, found none, and decided to simply get even, rather than retort at all. "So's to peoples, it doesn't matter if'n the guy's is older or not in's a lovin' relationship? That's kind of strange, but you knows, Jim, it's kinda like you and Je-" James quickly covered his mouth to stop him from continuing any further. Meowth burst out laughing as soon as James let go of him, and the skin below James' eyes grew a little bit pink. Jesse didn't hear Meowth's words, but she heard him laughing, so she assumed he had said something stupid. She wished that both of them were a bit more mature sometimes, though she couldn't blame them, for Jesse was obviously older than Meowth and older than James by a month.
Just then, Jesse noticed a bit of movement in the trees. "Hey, be quiet, there," she muttered softly as she crept back over to the bush at the edge of the meadow. Never taking her eyes away from the movement, Jesse waved a hand in James and Meowth's direction. James and Meowth quickly became silent, and joined Jesse behind the bush. Seviper, Cacnea, Dustox, and Wobbuffet all became attentive, but stayed where they were.
Team Rocket didn't have to wait long. "Here come the Twerps," Jesse whispered to her partners. The Cooking Twerp appeared first, glancing down at the PokéNav in his hand as he walked into the meadow. Poochyena, who was carrying Togepi on his back, followed him. The Mini Twerp, as Team Rocket referred to him, came next, with Pikachu on his left shoulder. In the back of the line was the Second Female Twerp, who was glancing around the meadow they had just walked into. The group didn't stop walking. In fact, they seemed to be headed right for the center of the clearing, where the covered-up hole was situated. Jesse crossed her fingers and whispered to herself, "Come on, just a little further… keep going… almost there… no! Don't stop there!" The group of Twerps had stopped a yard or two short from walking over the covered hole. James and Meowth let out the breath they were holding.
"ASH! MISTY!" The Second Female Twerp called into the clear blue sky. A few Pidgey returned the cry, but besides that, nothing.
"May, I don't think that it's going to help anymore," the Mini Twerp muttered. Pikachu climbed down off his shoulder and into his arms.
"Come on, Mini Twerp," Jesse whispered crossly, trying slightly to get inside his brain, "I don't care if we catch the rest of your twerpish friends or not, but as long as you have Pikachu, it's you and Pikachu we need to capture, so walk forward a few more steps."
"You know, I really do wonder where A-, I mean, the Main Twerp and the Main Female Twerp are," James speculated.
"Be quiet!" Meowth hissed, "I wants to hear what they are's saying."
"I mean, if they haven't answered yet," the Mini Twerp was continuing, "then what are the chances that they are going to now?"
"Well, aren't you smart," the Second Female Twerp muttered sarcastically, though it was apparent that she knew he was right.
"Not just that," the Mini Twerp slyly glanced over at the Cooking Twerp, "I'm wise." He drawled his last word out importantly. The Cooking Twerp chuckled, thinking of the incident that occurred the night before. The Second Female Twerp rolled her eyes, simply thinking that her brother was being stupid.
Meowth's attention had been caught and now he was watching Poochyena, still being ridden by Togepi. The little gray-and-black wolf was sniffing the ground in a very suspicious manner. Meowth saw him walk around the dirt patch that was covering the hole, and inhale its mistrustful scent. He pawed at the dirt warily one time, then once more. Even though nothing happened, Poochyena's eyes were still filled with doubt.
"Hey, you's guys," Meowth muttered, "Don't look now, buts that little Dark- type might have found our trap."
Jesse and James glanced over at Poochyena. "Drat!" Jesse muttered, "What if he makes the cover cave it? Then-"
"-there goes our trap and our chance today," James finished sadly. Team Rocket waited in a tense silence as the Twerps continued to discuss what to do now that they were positive that the Main Twerp and the Main Female Twerp couldn't hear them.
All of a sudden, Poochyena gave a long low whine. "Ar-uuu?" He pawed at the dirt again. Togepi trilled. The three humans and Pikachu glanced over at them. The Mini Twerp took a step towards them.
"Hey, Poochyena, are you okay?" he asked, concerned. Poochyena glanced down at the dirt again and pawed at it. The Mini Twerp had obviously misunderstood his Pokémon, because he asked, "Is your paw hurt, Poochyena? You keep picking it up off of the ground." He took a few more steps forward. The wolf pup whined, not wanting his master to walk on the ground that had the deceitful smell to it. Mistaking the whine for pain, the Mini Twerp walked forward all of the way to his Pokémon and kneeled down in front of him. Pikachu looked questioningly at Poochyena from the boy's shoulder.
"Yes!" Jesse exclaimed quietly, as James and Meowth high-fived, "Any second it's going to cave in and we'll have them captured!" Team Rocket watched and waited in excitement.
The Mini Twerp picked Poochyena's paw off of the ground and examined at it. "I don't see any thorns or pebbles in your paw, buddy. Is it cut somewhere?" Poochyena shook his head, glancing at the ground again. "Well, then, I don't know what's wrong. Do you want me to carry you?"
"Ar," Poochyena muttered. The Second Female Twerp walked over and picked up Togepi from Poochyena's back. The Mini Twerp gathered his pup into his arms. Pikachu patted Poochyena's head reassuringly.
"So, Brock," the Mini Twerp asked the Cooking Twerp, "shall we keep going?"
The Cooking Twerp glanced down at the PokéNav in his hand. "Yep. I mean, Ash and Misty are obviously not here."
Team Rocket sat, dumbfounded. James was the first to speak. He whispered, "It should have caved in by now, right?"
"Yeah," Meowth affirmed in shock, "That cover should have broken in twos a few seconds after the little Mini Twerp stepped on it. Why on earth is it still holding his weight up? He's gots two Pokémons on him, too!"
"You don't think we made the cover too strong, do you, Jess?" James asked innocently.
"NO!" Jesse exploded in James' ear. He winced. "YOU made it too strong, not me! I don't make stupid mistakes like that!" James sighed. His shoulders slumped. There was just no winning with Jesse. Jesse rolled her eyes and mumbled to herself, "Oh, the incompetence!"
"Well, I guess there's still a chance it might break if'n they walks over it a few times," Meowth suggested. He felt a bit sorry for James being so unfairly subjected to the wrath of the red-headed girl, but if it came between Meowth and James to suffer it, he'd let James take it any day.
"Oh, and what is the chance that they'll just say, 'let's walk over this dirt for no reason a few more times, shall we'?" Jesse snapped, now directing her wrath at Meowth. Meowth sighed, thinking of his somewhat less-than-honorable intentions with his last thought. …Karma.
"Well, standing here isn't going to get us anywhere," the Second Female Twerp said peppily. She was trying her best to keep the two boy's hopes up. They were both downcast. Togepi trilled.
"You're right," the Cooking Twerp muttered, and he started walking towards the opposite side of the meadow from the way they had come. "Let's go then." The Second Female Twerp followed, holding Togepi securely to her chest. The Mini Twerp remained where he had been standing on the hidden hole-cover to check Poochyena's paw again.
"I just don't see anything wrong with your paw, Poochy," he muttered, holding the paw and feeling it. "You weren't complaining about it this morning. …Oh! I think I know," the Mini Twerp grinned at his Pokémon slyly, "you just want me to carry you, huh? You're pretty spoiled, you know, but anytime you want me to carry you, just ask, okay? You don't have to fake being hurt."
"Ar-u," Poochyena nodded, figuring that his nose had been wrong about the unsafe smell. The Mini Twerp hurried to catch up with his friend and sister as they disappeared into the trees. Then the meadow was bare, free of twerps... and free of holes.
Jesse exploded in anger, as soon as she knew the twerps were out of hearing range. "WHY ON EARTH DIDN'T THAT HOLE CAVE IN!?" She stood up quickly, sending bush leaves everywhere, and making her two cohorts cringe. "THAT'S IT! PACK THE REST OF THE STUFF, JAMES! WE'RE GOING TO GO SEE WHAT WENT WRONG!" Jesse ran back to the spot where Team Rocket's Pokémon were waiting. James and Meowth quickly followed, timidly uncovering their deafened ears. Seviper purred upon seeing his master, but recoiled when he saw her livid face. "SEVIPER! RETURN!" Jesse recalled all of her Pokémon viciously. After all this time, failure still hurt. "DUSTOX, COME BACK! WOBBUFFET, GET IN YOUR POKÉBALL… NOW!"
" 'Sure glad I ain't your Pokémon," Meowth muttered.
Cacnea felt lucky that he had taken a liking to the gentler blue-haired boy and decided to be his Pokémon instead of his friends' master, for James kindly recalled him into his Pokéball with, "Please come back now, Cacnea." James ran over to the opened backpack on the ground, hastily stuffed the remaining items into it, and put it on, just in time for Jesse to grab the front of his uniform collar and drag him towards the meadow. Meowth trailed nonchalantly after them.
James tried to get free from Jesse's grasp, but that was like trying to hold water in your hands. She managed to drag him all of the way through the meadow to the dirt-covered hole, where she let go. James fell down to his knees, and Meowth stood beside him, arms crossed. Putting her hand on the top of James' head to keep her balance, Jesse tested the concealing soil with the toe of her black boot. Nothing stirred. Carefully, she put the whole sole of the boot on the ground and applied a little pressure. The ground didn't budge. James was finally able to stand back up when Jesse let go of his hair and warily stood all of the way on the dirt, ready to leap away at the slightest sag of the cover. It remained firm.
"Too bad we can'ts make a cage to hold Pikachu as strong as'n you made that twig lid," Meowth observed.
"Shut up!" Jesse said resignedly, staring down at the ground beneath her, "It's James' fault, not mine." James looked about ready to retort, but decided otherwise. His neck was still sore from being dragged by the collar forty feet, and he was in no mood for more hostility. Instead, he carefully stepped onto the dirt beside Jesse himself, and waited unsuccessfully for the cover to snap.
"This is kind of strange, you know," James muttered thoughtfully, "We always make the hole covers the same way every time, so why didn't this one cave in like the rest?"
Meowth shrugged. Then, he had a sudden thought. "You's guys," he spoke, his voice questioning, "Do you's thinks maybe we've been watchin' the wrong dirt patch this whole time? I mean, I knows that one spot you both are standing on is in the middle and everything, but maybe the one we covered was a little bit farther from here." This was a good question, for although it was the biggest and in the middle, there were a few other dirt patches scattered about the forest meadow.
"Well, maybe," Jesse replied, glaring about, hands on her hips.
James glanced at the ground suspiciously. "I was… sure it was this one," he answered feebly.
"Oh, well, this is just great, isn't it?" Jesse began to rant in frustration. Meowth, feeling a long tirade in the works, turned his back to Jesse and crossed his arms. James adjusted the backpack strap and tried to listen patiently. "Now we're in the middle of this forest, probably lost, and in this stupid meadow, surrounded by ground that could potentially cave in anywhere and at any moment! And even worse, WE DIDN'T CAPTURE PIKACHU! This is ridiculous! So this is the way it's going to be now, huh!? Everything just keeps going downhill, doesn't it!? Now the Twerps don't even have to attack us anymore for us to fail miserably! We can fail without any help!" Impulsively, Jesse stomped her foot on the dirt, and a small wisp of dust spun through the air around her boot.
Unnoticed, a small crack in the ground made its way from the point of impact.
"Now, Jesse," James tried to be reasonable without being too intrusive into her monologue, "There will be other opportunities to capture Pikachu." The crack grew and branched out, and spread under James' feet, too. "I mean, would it really be fair to steal Pikachu when A- I mean, the Main Twerp isn't there? Anyone could steal a Pokémon without their trainer there, but it takes a real criminal to steal a Pokémon out from under a twerp's nose, and don't you want to show the Boss that we're REAL criminals? See, Jess, it just wouldn't be fair!"
Jesse thought rationally for a moment. "That's true."
"Yeah," Meowth interjected, not even bothering to glance at his teammates, "but since when has Team Rocket ever been fair? I thought that un-fairness was our motto, well, I mean, besides the one we say every time."
Jesse considered this idea. "That's true, too."
"Well, me and Jimmy can't both be right, 'ya know," Meowth surveyed the sky, clear except for a few fluffy clouds.
"I KNOW! Give me a second to think, WON'T YOU!" Jesse's eyebrows furrowed as she deliberated in her mind on which side to choose.
Unnoticed, the cracks met and the ground started to crumble. As he and Meowth waited for an answer, James felt a strange sensation under his feet. Curiously, he glanced down. The cover, which they truly were standing on, started to sag. James tapped Jesse on the shoulder, and crossly, she glanced down, too. The lid of the hole suddenly started to give way under their combined weight. Both Jesse and James' sapphire and emerald-colored eyes grew wide. Abruptly, the sticks snapped, the cover completely disappeared from under them, and for a fourth of a split second, they gazed upon a giant, gaping, pitch black hole. Jesse and James fell, straight down, feet first, into the opening. They both cried out in fright, and instead of intelligently grabbing for the rim of the hole, grabbed each other, thinking that the other wasn't falling, too. This didn't help them in the slightest. They disappeared into the dark tunnel, and were gone without a trace, except for the dust billowing around the opening for a moment, before it settled into the grass.
Meowth hadn't seen what had happened. When he heard their cries, he simply assumed that James probably had done something to irritate Jesse and was being beat up for it. Because Jesse hadn't answered his comment yet, Meowth went on to say, "You's know, I've been thinkin', and I think that the dirt you all are's standing on is actually the real hole. What's I mean is, that Mini Twerp's Poochyena was a'sniffin' 'round here a lot, so I guess he had to have smelled the trap, you's know?" Silence greeted Meowth's ears. "…Jesse? …James?" He glanced around at them, to find that they weren't there.
Meowth walked a few steps toward the dirt, just to find that the cover was gone. His mouth hung open in shock, and his shoulders slumped. He blinked several times. "…O…kay…" Meowth carefully peeked over the rim of the hole. It was pitch black, and deafeningly silent. "…Jesse? James? Are you there?" His quivering voice echoed softly once, before being consumed by the darkness. I guess… that hole was deeper than we's thought. Meowth sat down next to the rim, never taking his eyes away from the hypnotizing blackness. What am I going to do now? He was uncomfortably aware that he was all alone. I guess… I'll just wait for them's right here to come back up. James has all of them Escape Ropes in that backpack, so they should be able to gets out easily. …I can't go back to our balloon, neither, 'cause James has that remote to bring the balloon, too. Gee, it's kind of sad that I don't have nothin' at all with me. Maybe I oughta get mine's own backpack. …Jesse didn't even leave her old Wobbuffet for company, how selfish. Meowth sighed.
Well, I's hopes they aren't gone down's there too long.
"We've been gone down here way too long, Ash,"
Ash nodded in agreement. "I know," he muttered, sliding over to the stalagmite Misty was hanging onto.
"Do you think we'll ever get out of here?"
"Of course. Well, it's not so bad in here, you know, as long as it doesn't get any colder." Ash and Misty pushed off from the stalagmite, sliding more skillfully now across the ice, and grabbed onto the next one a few yards over.
"Well, I mean, I like it in here, too," Misty explained, "That waterfall thing of crystals was absolutely stunning!" She glanced back over her shoulder where they had left the millions of color crystals behind. It was out of sight.
"…A 'crystalfall'," Ash smiled, combining the two words.
Misty's face lit up excitedly. "Oh, Ash, what a beautiful word!"
He blushed a little bit. "Thanks." Ash slipped his hand in his jeans pocket and touched the russet crystal Misty had given him. The crystal was still pleasantly cool to the touch. Ash was still trying to get over the fact that Misty knew the color of his eyes. The knowledge made him feel pleased. Why this was so, Ash wasn't sure. Suddenly, he realized how much he had been thinking about Misty since she came back, especially the last day or so. I guess that saying, 'Separation makes the heart grow fonder,' is true… whatever 'fonder' means. He glanced quickly over at Misty. Suddenly, the warm sensation, in the pit of his stomach, flared up again. For only a split second did he think it might be hunger, before dismissing the thought. Deep in his mind, he knew it had something to do with Misty, but what it meant was out of his range at the moment. He remembered only a few times in his whole life having felt this, and now, in the last few hours, he had felt the feeling four times. He clearly remembered one moment he had felt this, but when he went to think of the memory, it slipped out of his grasp.
The two glided over to the next stalagmite. She looks nice in my vest, Ash thought randomly, watching the vest sweep out a bit behind her as they slid on the ice. Ash felt puzzled. He felt he was thinking too much, perhaps. Or perhaps, not thinking enough.
Misty slipped her hand inside of Ash's vest's pocket and touched the azure ocean crystal Ash had given her. The crystal was still pleasantly cool to the touch. Misty had continued to be elated that Ash had thought about her. This was exactly what she wanted… as long as it was good thoughts. Thinking back to all of the events that had happened since they had fallen into the hole, Misty realized that Ash had been thinking about her the whole time. All of the things he had done for her… giving her the crystal, making sure she was warm when they slept, trying to save her from falling down the third hole, giving her his vest, asking what was worrying her, holding her hand, hugging her to make sure she was alright… he had been thinking of her, trying to make her happy, caring for her. It was almost as though he felt the same thing for her as she felt for him. Misty had given the thought of 'Ash loves me back' a few skims before, then brushing it away as outlandish, but now she began to seriously wonder. Everything didn't seem 'only friend'-like. It seemed… more.
Misty wanted so badly to know how Ash felt about her. However, she had always had, but she knew that she would have to be the one to say something first, yet she couldn't for fear of rejection. Such an endless cycle of pain and worry, Misty thought melodramatically. Perhaps, though, the situation was as dramatic as she thought.
They slid to the next stalagmite, then the next, and further still to the one after. It slowly dawned on Ash that the light in the cavern was gradually starting to dim the further they went. Ash paused, about to tell Misty what he had noticed, when Misty slid to the next stalagmite, and looked back at him, calling, "Come on, Ash! You're slowing down!"
Misty pushed off of her stalagmite backwards, still looking at him. Suddenly, Ash's heart stopped. Misty was sliding unknowingly towards… nothing. To Ash, in watching Misty, he had suddenly noticed that the ice seemed to end a few feet away from the stalagmite Misty had just pushed off from. The cavern continued, and a left turn looked apparently just ahead, but it seemed as though the floor suddenly disappeared. "MISTY!" Ash pushed off and slid towards her as fast as he could. Misty glanced behind herself, saw the problem, and let out a cry of alarm.
"ASH!" As her feet slid towards the edge, Misty reached out her hand to Ash. He grabbed onto her fingers with one hand and the stalagmite with the other at the same time. Misty's feet slid right off and she fell, Ash's arms going taunt. Misty glanced down and saw that the ice hadn't ended; it had steeply sloped down in almost an unimaginable way. The ice went down at a fifty degree angle for about forty feet, then leveled off completely again and continued that way to the bend in the cavern. Remarkably, a few stalagmites had managed to form, jutting up through the slanted ice.
When Ash saw that Misty wasn't going to fall to her doom, he wasn't as fearful, but he still tried to pull her back up next to himself. This didn't work well, seeing as Misty was face down on the slanted ice on her stomach, clutching his fingers tightly with both hands. Forgetting that he was standing on ice himself, Ash let go of the stalagmite so he could use both hands to pull her up. Immediately, he realized his mistake and tried to re-grab the stalagmite at the same time, but ended up being pulled over the edge face-first on his stomach.
Misty looked up, frightened, at Ash as they began to slide speedily down the ice. She gripped his hand tighter. The cavern began to flash by in an almost unrealistic way, everything a blur. The seconds ticked by quickly, but it seemed like hours. Ash glanced past Misty and saw that she was going to run into a stalagmite any second. Quickly taking action, Ash jerked his body to the left, ending up sliding on his left side, jerking Misty by the hand he was still holding. In the process of sliding faster, Misty was jerked all of the way around so that she was going down face first on her left side, too. She barely missed the stalagmite, and she crashed backwards into Ash's arms in the same second. Ash let go of her hand and put his arm around her protectively as he glanced in the direction they were headed to look for anymore obstacles. It had been less than ten seconds since they had begun to slide, but it had seemed an eternity already.
The rest of the way in front of them was clear. Misty glanced back and caught sight of the stalagmite that had almost struck her in dismay. The force of her collision into Ash had sent them turning, and now they were sliding with their backs to the direction they were headed. Wind whipped across them ruthlessly, blowing Misty's short orange hair back into her face and blinding her. Ash managed to put his other arm around her and hold her close to himself defensively. In his mind, a grateful thought flashed through, glad that if they actually did hit a stalagmite, he would be the one to hit it and not Misty. However, the longer and faster they slid, the closer they got to the bottom and the less chance there was of them hitting something.
Suddenly, the ice underneath them was level, their speed decreased, and they slowly slid to a stop, still on their left sides. When they came to a stop, Ash realized that he had been holding his breath the entire time. He sighed deeply, and relaxed his hold on Misty, who was still trying to get all of her hair out of her face. Ash took another breath, then carefully sat up. Misty rolled onto her back and sat up, too. They glanced up at the ice slide they had just slid down. It looked higher from down there than it had at the top.
Misty turned her head to face Ash. Ash glanced over at her and saw she was smiling. In a sarcastic voice, she muttered, "Well, Ash Ketchum, that was awfully heroic," but her eyes gave her away. Ash could see how thankful she was that he had saved her from being impaled by the stalagmite.
"Well," Ash explained, grinning, "I couldn't let you get hurt, now, could I?"
The thought of 'Ash loves me back' went through Misty's head a few times again as she began to genuinely wonder. "Nope!" Ash laughed, until suddenly he found Misty's arms around his neck, hugging him tightly. "Thank you, Ash," she whispered in his ear, "for saving me."
Ash was gratified beyond reason, but gratification just didn't justify Ash's stomach, as it began to burn with the mysterious sensation that kept plaguing him. His face bright pink, he tried to shrug her comment away, mumbling, "Well, I mean, uh, I, uh, I save a lot of things, you know. I save people, I save Pokémon, I save Brock from having to carry so much food around… I save the world every now and then, too…" Giving in, he gradually put his arms around Misty's neck, as well.
It was strange how events seemed to keep going from one to the other in an instant.
All of a sudden, Misty noticed the silence. It wasn't the crisp silence that existed comfortably in the caverns above, or even in the icy floored chambers they had just come from. It was a silence that seemed to echo itself. It was… eerie… and whispering…
Ash noticed it, too, and they slowly undid their arms from around each other to listen to it better. As one, their eyes seemed to be drawn towards the leftward bend in the cavern. The sound of silence… it was coming from that direction. Its pull on their curiosity was great and powerful. The sense of deep horrific foreboding that filled both of them unfortunately did nothing to decrease this inquisitiveness.
Misty twitched suddenly. "Ash." He glanced at her puzzled face. "It's darker here." Ash nodded, noticing that the light had dimmed a substantial amount in this area. Their eyes' attention returned to the continuation of the passage. They sat on the ice in stillness, contemplating the inevitable of a venture to this new area.
"I know… I guess… a lot of Ice- Type Pokémon that know Flash don't come down here often."
"Do… do you think other types of Pokémon might live here, too?" Misty questioned, suddenly struck with the thought.
"…Maybe…"
Their lack of conversation contributed to the silence for a moment.
"Let's…" Misty began, but trailed off.
"…keep going, then," Ash finished for her. After a long drawn-out pause, Ash reached out for a stalagmite that was nearby, and pulled himself up onto his feet. He held Misty's outstretched hand as she got to her feet herself. They did this all without glancing away from the next tunnel.
"Here we go," Misty whispered to herself in ominous premonition. She and Ash kicked off of the stalagmite, and slowly glided towards the turn. "Ladies and gentleman, will you please fasten the seat bar across your lap securely? We don't want anyone falling off this coaster. Remember, keep your hands and feet inside the car at all times. Also, do not stand up or unfasten your lap bar until the car has come to a complete stop. By the way, feel free to scream at any time. Thank you, and enjoy your ride." Ash chuckled softly and gently at Misty's whispered ill-omened rant. He felt exactly the same way.
Terrified.
Yet there was nothing to do but go forward.
They had come that far, so why turn back now?
Just because it was a bit dark and a wee bit spooky didn't mean anything. Right?
Right?
It was Ash's pride that caused him to violently banish those dark thoughts away and continue forward. He didn't want Misty to think he was scared of the dark or anything. He had a feeling that he wanted to impress her, which made no sense in his mind why he would want such a thing. Perhaps it was because she had just called him 'heroic'.
Ash took the lead. Both of Misty's hands were latched onto Ash's left arm tightly. For the moment, she didn't care what he thought about it, but it would have pleased her if she had known that Ash was glad that she was holding onto him. Misty wanted the strength and security that Ash's presence had always secretly given to her. She needed it from him at the moment.
Ash needed it from her, too. He slowly realized, as they cautiously made their way towards their destination, that his heartbeat was throbbing loudly in his head. It didn't seem to shatter the silence so much as to increase it in some mysterious way. He was certain that Misty probably heard it, too, until he realized that she was probably hearing something else pounding in her ears.
Her own heart.
After a few more push-offs from stalagmites, they were at the opening. With a quick, resolute glance at each other, Ash and Misty kicked forcefully off from the last stalagmite they were at, which sent them past the turn and swiftly towards the unknown.
They looked up at the scene before them, and gasped.
"It's…" Misty sputtered quietly in Ash's ear, "It's the end… It's… the very, final end… of the caverns." The end of the caverns was very dark, and their eyes were barely able to penetrate it. The silver marble-patterned walls were covered, especially at the top, in small crevices and crannies and holes. Ash could see bigger holes in the end wall, and below those holes was a giant lake of clear, black, seamless water. He gave a fleeting nervous glimpse down at the ice that he and Misty had slid to a stop on, and saw that it was thinner than before, though still not breakable.
Automatically, their eyes shifted to the ceiling and they jumped a bit in fright. A few yards away, high above them, scores of small airy shadows wisped their way back and forth between the stalactites, omitting soft noises of speech, which Misty slowly realized was the whispering sound.
"…Pokémon…" Misty observed quietly.
"…They're, um… those are, uh… Shuppet, I think. …Yeah, those are Shuppet. … A Ghost-Type." Ash and Misty stood in a respectful silence for a moment, simply watching the small creatures' actions, noticing their contented smiles, and gazing at their fluttering skirts in a kind of awe. They forgot that they had been afraid of what they might find here. Ash noticed one Shuppet out of the corner of his eye. "Check that one out, Mist." He nodded towards it, and Misty gazed at the hovering Pokémon that was lower down than the rest. It was watching them carefully, a light frown on its face, though Misty couldn't identify the expression that it was sending them. Ash gazed intently at its eyes, and in disappointment, found he could not tell what it might be thinking of them, either. It seemed like it was the only Pokémon that had noticed their arrival. It wasn't.
There were two more.
Suddenly, there was a small scratching noise, like the sound of something scrambling to get somewhere quickly. Ash's heart leapt into his throat in panic, and Misty's fingernails sunk painfully into his arm, but they stayed still, Ash nervously resting his hand on a nearby stalagmite. All at once, from behind a stalagmite to their left, a creature came cantering out on all fours across the ice. It stopped a few feet in front of them, and stood up on its back legs, looking at them.
"…A Sableye!" Ash whispered, as much to himself as to Misty, for this Pokémon looked slightly different from the one Ash had seen before. First of all, this Sableye was bigger than the other, though not around the waist. It was rather thin, almost as in malnourishment, but its legs and arms were very long and graceful. To his surprise, when the Sableye stood up, Ash saw that the Pokémon was only about a head shorter than Max was. Most Sableye were definitely much shorter. The Sableye in front of him was obviously a very high-level and powerful Pokémon. The second thing Ash noticed was the lack of a mischievous air that he, after many experiences, had always associated with Ghost- Types, including the Sableye he had already encountered. There were worry lines etched thinly across its forehead, and there were small bag lines under its eyes, as if from lack of sleep. Its arms, though graceful, were attached to slumping shoulders. Its mouth, slightly exposing its razor sharp teeth, was turned down at both corners. It looked anxious, depressed, and tired all at the same time.
Ash had no time to make more observations, for the Sableye was trying to communicate something to them. "Sableye! Sable sable sableye!" Its voice was whispering and cracked, as if it wasn't often used. It waved its claws at them in a shoo-ing kind of way. Both Ash and Misty felt no fear of this Pokémon, and instinctively knew that it was a friend, of which they had much need for at the moment.
"Hi, there, Sableye. Where did you come from?" Ash said in an affable tone. A few of the wandering Shuppet noticed the two human intruders at the sound of Ash's voice, and sent them welcoming smiles before turning back to their eccentric public affairs. A low hiss escaping from between its teeth, the Sableye held a claw up to its mouth to shush them. Ash and Misty's grins slightly faltered. The Sableye was looking over its shoulder towards the back wall in a considerably panicky way. It glanced back at them, and made the shoo-ing motion again. Ash and Misty exchanged confused and somewhat worried looks. "What's wrong, Sableye?" Ash whispered, hoping his tone was better.
"Sableye!" Sableye muttered in his normal raspy voice, fretting. He placed his claw back over his lips, as if saying that whispering was still too loud.
Misty carefully squatted down on the ice to get closer to his (for she presumed the Pokémon to be a male) level, though the Sableye was now taller than her. "Is something the matter, Sableye? It kind of looks like you want us to leave." Sableye nodded in answer to both sentences, gently putting a paw on her lips to stifle any further vocal communication. With his left paw, he gestured vaguely towards the back wall, then pointed directly back the way they had come in a commanding manner.
Ash, running his hand gently down the stalagmite, squatted down on the ice beside Misty. Sableye's silver hexagon eyes were pleading with Ash, and he knew that there was something back in the back wall that the Darkness Pokémon didn't want them to see. Ash's chivalrous nature kicked in, and he whispered as low as he could, "Whatever the matter is, Sableye, we can help you. I'm Ash, and this is Misty. Please show us what's wrong. We want to help you. You're the only nice Pokémon we've run into in these caverns, so we shouldn't leave you if you need help."
Unfortunately, everything that Ash had just said was actually unhelpful to Sableye. Oh, great, Sableye thought despairingly, They told me their names. Now, if they're taken away like my… master was, I'll know who exactly I'm mourning and feeling regretful over. They think that they can help me? How? With what? They don't even have anything with them! I'm the only nice Pokémon that they've run into? Who did they meet, that crazy unstable Sneasel in the top cavern?… what a weirdo… Anyway, if I'm the only nice Pokémon they've met so far, he glanced over his shoulder at the biggest darkest hole in the wall, there's a good chance I'll be the only one, too.
Ash and Misty waited with bated breath for Sableye to try to communicate some reply. He finally turned his forlorn face back to them, and shook his head in refusal of their offer. "But, Sableye-" Misty began, but Sableye shushed her again.
"Sable." He pointed past them towards the exit. He had clearly said 'go', but both Ash and Misty were very hesitant to make a move. Their curiosity was overcoming their trepidation again, especially for Ash. Ash slowly stood up and helped Misty get back up onto her feet. They stood there for a moment, watching the distressed Sableye as he watched them, waiting for them to turn around and leave. Ash felt a prickling sensation run across his body. He began to hear the thumping of his heartbeat again.
"Sableye…" Ash said uncertainly, "…What's back there? …In that hole?" Sableye, his eyes wide and lips pressed tightly together, shook his head slowly in a forbidding manner. Oh, huma-… Ash, you said? …You don't want to know…
"Ash. …Ash!" It took Ash a moment to realize that Misty was whispering urgently in his ear. He felt her ragged and nervous breath gently stirring the ends of his messy black hair. "Ash, I think… I think we should do what the Sableye says, Ash. I think… I think we should get out of here… now!" She was clutching fearfully onto his left shoulder. He looked into her azure eyes quickly and saw how scared she was. That sealed his decision.
"Don't worry, Sableye," Ash muttered, his eyes not leaving the black hole, "We're going." He turned around, thoughtlessly taking Misty's hand to reassure her. He heard the Sableye give a great sigh, of both relief and sorrow. Ash was about to kick off of the stalagmite, when all of a sudden, there were rustling sounds behind them. Ash and Misty turned slowly back and saw that the Shuppet were in a commotion.
Every one of them were suddenly in a rushing flurry. Their soft signature smiles never left their faces, but their foreheads became wrinkled in worry. They swooped and glided and flew across the cavern ceiling, colliding every few seconds with another of their kind. Ash and Misty observed them in mystification as they hurried into the crevices and crannies and holes in the wall, and didn't reappear. Ash glanced over at the one frowning Shuppet, who had seemed almost completely unaffected by the haste, and saw an anxiously smiling Shuppet quickly hover over to it. The worried Shuppet nudged the first gently, and when the frowning one didn't stir, it took the unresponsive one's skirt in its mouth and gave a short tug. The frowning Shuppet seemed to wave the anxious one away by billowing its skirt out harder, until finally, the anxious one, still smiling, gradually flew back into the fray, having failed at its mission. Suddenly, a quick glance around showed a strange scene. The Shuppet were gone, hidden in the walls. The ceiling was bare, exposing a few stalactites, and a few broken stalactites, probably busted by generations of colliding little Ghost- Types. The remaining frowning Shuppet had backed itself against the wall, and was hovering there in an inanimate way.
The Sableye gasped, and began breathing very hard. Suddenly, Misty realized that the disappearance of the Shuppet probably wasn't a very common event. "Ash… I don't think this is good." Ash nodded.
Then, from the very depths of the center hole in the back wall, came a low growling. Sableye shuddered, and stood there shaking. Ash and Misty felt shivers run down their spines. Ash could feel Misty's right hand interlocking his and her fingers together, so he squeezed her hand back. The three watched the hole with a mixture of wariness, confusion, curiosity, and terror. Sableye backed up until he was pressed back against the two people's legs.
The atmosphere in the cavern, cold as it had always been, suddenly became colder and harder to breath. Ash and Misty almost choked on the change in the air. Suddenly, something was visibly stirring inside the hole. Ash heard the Sableye whisper something to himself. "Not… the Evil One… HIM…" Ash wished he knew what the Sableye had just said, but he could tell by the look on his face that it was something bad.
From inside the hole, the growling had ceased, and was replaced by the eeriest silence that ever was. Then, as if from out of a deep fog, a figure slowly appeared. Its spiky, thorny outline was the first thing to become visible, followed by the emergence of two limp hands with four sharp lethal-looking claws. Ash and Misty gasped slightly when they saw that the hands… weren't attached to anything. The lavender skin of the figure began to show up. When it had fully appeared, it glided out to a high spot over the black water. Out of the shadows had materialized a…
Haunter.
Yet this, like the Sableye, was no ordinary Haunter.
He was only a small bit larger than he was supposed to be, but his lavender skin wasn't the deep color of normal Haunters, but a light lavender, gelled over by a light gray. The rest of the Haunter was not so attractive. His fading tail was long and ragged and despite its color, his coat was oily-looking and wasn't in top shape. His most noticeable prominence was his eyes. The black pupils, unlike the normal small dot, were very thick and striped, dividing the eyes into sections of white, black, white. Along the outer rim of the black pupils was a vermilion glow that was very startling. Most frightening of all was the long vertical black scar that cut across the Haunter's left cheek, across his left eye, and halfway up his forehead.
He had appeared out of the gloom in a very nightmarish way. He was not smiling, but when he set his piercing gaze upon Ash and Misty, the corners of his lips slowly turned up into an aggressive closed-mouth grin. He hovered a few feet lower, so that he could size the two anxious humans up better. To Ash, Haunter's strange eyes seemed to bore right into his own eyes and find out everything about him instantly. Misty couldn't keep her own eyes away from the painful looking scar that had sliced his fearsome face.
Spreading his detached hands wide in an ersatz hospitable manner, Haunter greeted Ash and Misty with, "Ah! New friends! Welcome! Welcome, strangers! How delightful to see new faces every now and then!" Though they couldn't understand his speech, Ash and Misty comprehended its meaning by the tone of his voice. It was a smooth wispy voice, very gentlemanly, suave, rather charming, and yet as misleading as Mawile's Fake Tears. Turning his attention to Sableye, who was breathing heavily through his nose, Haunter smiled a motherly sort of smile and said, "Dear friend Sableye! How nice of you to bring me some visitors! I know that you know how much I love company, especially company of a… non-ghostly sort, eh? You know, you yourself, dear Sableye, ought to come by and visit me more often, for you know we have SO much to chat about."
The Ghost Pokémon's falsely friendly manner made Ash jittery. He wasn't sure exactly what was happening, but he knew that Sableye hadn't wanted Haunter to see them, and Sableye was a friend, so Haunter, no matter what his tone, wasn't to be trusted. Sableye was staring at Haunter, the one that he had always called HIM, blank-faced. I… I did. …I did lead them right to HIM… by not stopping them. …I can't believe it, after all I've done and all I've worked for… I can't believe it.
Haunter was staring at Sableye's disbelieving face. In a somewhat sorrowful tone, he said, "Sableye, I'm terribly sorry to say this, but I'm afraid that you should leave for a while. I have some plans, which I having been planning just now, to attend to, now that some visitors are here. I'd love for you to stay and watch, for there is no way you could help, but I remember how… squeamish you were that last time I had some things to discuss with company." When Sableye made no move, but remained pressed against Ash and Misty's legs, he said plainly, "You're in the way, dear Sableye."
Now was the moment of decision for Sableye. If he tried to save this Ash and Misty that were standing in horror behind him, then he would blow the callous cover that he had been working on so long to build to deceive Haunter. If he let Haunter go ahead and take them… his conscious would be shattered forever, and he wasn't sure how much more guilt he could hold within himself…
"No."
"Eh?"
"No. I… I won't let you touch them." Shaking his head slowly, Sableye spread his arms out in defense of Ash and Misty. "I won't let you harm them. They have done nothing to you."
"I'm really afraid that you have no say in the matter, my friend. I have things to attend to." Haunter's debonair attitude never wavered.
"…No."
"You know my plans, Sableye, and you know what they require." After a short pause, he continued, with a small omniscient gleam in his red-rimmed eyes, "Besides, I thought that you didn't care, especially now that you are free from your old slavery and are able to live your own life."
"MY MASTER WAS MY LIFE!" The rage, the hatred, and all of the loathing feelings that Sableye had for Haunter were exposed in those six syllables. Sableye's defense had snapped. The screech rang throughout the cavern, echoing several times. Even Ash and Misty, who were lost on the exact words of the conversations, understood the bitterness that was the essence of the five-word sentence.
Haunter's only reaction to the cry was a raised eyebrow. "Ah, now you've decided to tell the truth, eh, my comrade? It's about time!" His courteous air began to slowly disappear. "It was getting horribly boring pretending that I didn't know of your perpetual loyalty to your deceased master. In addition, you should know that the only reason you're standing right here before me, ALIVE, is because of your half Ghost-ness, but I think you already knew that. Those Shuppet, they don't bother me in the least, nor would any Ghost of course, but you know that saying, 'until good plans are ripe, never trust a Dark- Type'? I believe that they were talking about Absols with their tragedian emergences, but I believe I could apply that to you, eh, Sableye?"
Sableye stood there in a stunned silence as the Gaseous Pokémon continued in a harsher tone. Neither Ash or Misty, half-spellbound by his extraordinary eyes, nor Sableye, spellbound by his speech, noticed the Pokémon growing ever closer to where they were standing. "You thought I would accidentally tell you a weakness I have, answering your little circuitous questions? Ha! I have no weakness in the first place! You thought I actually learned to trust you? Ha! I trust no one but the voice in my own brain… me! I'm truly sorry to disappoint you, Sableye, but if you thought you were on to MY game, I was onto yours the instant you and your dim-witted master stepped into these areas that brief time ago." Then, in an almost childish manner, he added, "I'm not stupid." Haunter grinned the wickedest grin that any of the three had ever seen.
"I WON'T LET YOU TAKE THEM AWAY!" Sableye shouted courageously. "I'LL… I'LL BATTLE YOU!"
Haunter laughed loudly. "Sableye, Sableye, Sableye! You JUST don't learn, do you? Don't you remember last time you and I matched our skills? You remained terribly injured, all banged and bruised up, unable to move, for weeks after, and I STILL obtained your master! You haven't gotten any stronger, I can tell by your skinniness, but I certainly have. You, a rock-eater in a cave, should have an easier time getting energy that me, but you obviously waste a lot of your time thinking. Of course, you know how much I think and plan myself, but I'm prepared for action, and that action is ready to start… NOW!"
Suddenly, Sableye lunged in pure rage at Haunter, who had begun to swoop down on Ash and Misty at his last word. Haunter disappeared in a zap, using his Teleport technique to dodge to the side, and Sableye hit the ice face first. Fortunately, the Darkness Pokémon prevented himself from sliding across into the water by sinking all of his sharp claws into the ice. Haunter Teleported himself back to his original position and smiled coldly at Ash and Misty. Slowly he began to advance upon them.
"RUN!" Sableye shrieked at them wildly. Ash and Misty understood the message instantly, and Ash kicked fiercely off of the nearby stalagmite and skimmed the icy floor towards the exit, pulling Misty along with him. Haunter was about to take after the two humans when Sableye sent a powerful Shadow Ball attack straight for the 'Evil One'. Violet laser rays from Haunter's eyes combined and sent a Psychic attack at the oncoming Shadow Ball. Only ten attack points stronger, the Psychic attack obliterated the Shadow Ball and sent Sableye rolling into the stalagmite that Ash and Misty had just left behind.
The collision with the stalagmite and the attack lowered Sableye's hit point substantially, but he was unwilling, no, unable to give up the fight that easy, so strong and high was his emotions. Crawling back up onto his feet, Sableye was just able to pull off a successful Detect technique and dodge Haunter's incoming Night Shade attack. Fully knowing that Haunter could disappear in a split second, Sableye recklessly gave a great leap at Haunter again, thinking of hitting him with a Dark- Type Faint Attack, a good attack against a Ghost. However, Haunter had different plans.
Seeing him coming, Haunter balled his left dismembered hand into a tight fist, and hit Sableye with an almighty smack on the side of the face when Sableye was almost upon him. The force of the improvisational attack sent Sableye flying across the room to the left, where he crashed back-first with a sickening crunch. Sableye slid heavily down the wall and landed between two close-forming stalagmites. His arms were draped across the stalagmites limply, like a boxer just out of a ring. Sableye, who was on the verge of fainting, slowly tilted his head up, for he was now unable to move. Pain seared across his back like a Fire Blast, especially underneath the dim jewels that grew there. A small line of blood began to trickle from his mouth down his smooth violet skin. His eyesight was hazy, but his eyes automatically watched Haunter returning his attention back to the humans.
Ash was careening as fast as he could go between the stalagmites. Misty was clutching his left arm as tight as she could, trying her best to help them glide towards the exit, but she wasn't helping much. She was too stunned by the swift changes that had occurred in the few hours that they had been awake. First she had woken up with her thoughts completely surrounding her ardor for Ash and now they were skating, truly 'for their lives', away from a psychopathic Gas Pokémon.
Ash had always believed one fact that Professor Oak had always told him: no Pokémon is evil. Despite their endless run-ins with Team Rocket, Ash knew in his heart that Meowth only acted badly, but wasn't bad himself. Meeting the legendary Pokémon Mewtwo had taught Ash that Pokémon could feel great hatred and instinctively act upon it, but even Mewtwo wasn't immoral, just terribly misunderstood. This situation, however, topped anything Ash had ever seen. His belief in the hidden good in all Pokémon was beginning to wither before his eyes. This Haunter, if any one Pokémon was, was evil. There had to be something in his past that turned him into such a vicious creature, and Ash couldn't help thinking that it had something to do with the scar running across his eye. The Ghost- Type's clear intention was to harm him and Misty; to what extent he didn't know.
That was one thing Ash was unwavering about: he wouldn't let Haunter get Misty, no matter what. Though this situation was considerably more dangerous than the ice slide filled with stalagmites, Ash had the same thought. No matter what. Misty's appreciation of him saving her didn't leave his thoughts. "Thank you, Ash, for saving me." He didn't stop to question why this thought was so prominent in his mind. He couldn't stop, period.
Then, from behind them, came a giant SNAP, followed seconds later by a giant ice-shattering CRASH. Ash and Misty looked over their shoulders long enough to catch a glimpse of Haunter's scheme to stop them. A second later, the frenzied Haunter sent another Night Shade barreling into the roots of a stalactite high on the ceiling. The stalactite broke off in a split second, dropping point-first into the ground, shattering the ice and sending the remains of the stalactite halfway into the black water underneath. Ash and Misty tried their hardest to skate faster as stalactites began dropping left and right around them, shards of ice and stalactite flying treacherously everywhere. It was then for the first time that the Haunter's true intention flashed unwillingly through Ash's brain. He's trying to kill us.
Ash and Misty were getting very close to the exit. They were only a few yards away when Ash glanced back and saw for the first time their new friend, Sableye, draped inertly between the stalagmites. His mind paused for a split second in the middle of a slide, his chivalrous nature again kicking in. Misty, frantic, saw what he was looking at and cried loudly in his ear, "ASH! We can't stop! I know you want to save Sableye, but we can't! He was trying to save us by battling Haunter first, so don't waste his sacrifice!"
Ash knew that she was right, but the moment of indecision was fatally taken advantage of by the savage Haunter. A large stalactite crashed down not feet in front of them, and all in a split second, a large sharp shard of the stalactite spun dangerously through the air. It struck Misty hard on the forehead, ripping a large bloody gash through her cold skin. With a painful gasp, she automatically spun around and fell backwards onto the ice. Her azure eyes, stunned, remained open for a moment, before closing as she went unconscious.
"MISTY!" From Ash's throat came a hoarse, retching cry, so full of anguish that it filled the cavern with pain and drowned out the sound of the stalactites still fallen around them. Sableye, his head swimming on the verge of unconsciousness himself, knew the scream that Ash had just emitted in his shock. He had screamed the same way before, watching his master fall limply to the icy ground, seeing the person that he loved above all else go into a coma.
Haunter laughed, like a huntsman that had finally shot his prey. One down, one to go!
The momentum of the slide that they were in continued to carry Ash and the lifeless Misty nearer to the exit. Ash dropped to his knees on her left as they slid. His mind was filled to capacity. NO! I PROMISED I WOULDN'T LET HER GET HURT! HOW COULD THIS HAPPEN!? WHY? WHY!? Slowly, as their sliding energy wound down, Ash crossed his right hand over his lap and slipped it into her limp left hand.
Ash turned his head to look back. He saw Sableye struggling to climb out from in between the stalagmites, the frowning Shuppet hovering a little closer to the Darkness Pokémon to see what he was doing. Then he saw Haunter. Haunter was smiling, the red rims around his black pupils glowing. Ash only saw for a second the Haunter charging an attack. Then, Ash spun around and fell down unresponsively to the ice next to Misty, knocked unconscious by the Night Shade attack that had hit him squarely on the chest. The back of his limp hand remained laying on top of Misty's palm. Both were still.
Sableye struggled with the pain coursing through his body like a Tauros stampede. He managed to look up just in time to see Haunter descending upon Ash and Misty. "NO!" He screamed at the Evil One, and tried to crawl across the floor, but collapsed. His silver hexagonal eyes grew wide as he realized that he was, again, about to witness the procedure that had gradually killed his master.
Hovering over their unconscious bodies, Haunter ceremonially placed each of his disembodied hands on each of their heads. He closed his eyes for a brief moment, summoning up whatever great and paranormal capability that Haunters, and only Haunters, possessed. Finding the clairvoyant supremacy stirring in his veins, he directed his eyes to his hands. Such was the rush of dividing power in his hands that it almost made Haunter giddy to feel the feeling again after such a long wait.
His hands twitched eagerly, but if there was one thing positive said about this Haunter, it was that he respected traditions. He had always felt that it was such a privilege to have the ability that was forsaken to his pre-evolution and evolution, Gastly and Gengar, and to all other Pokémon, for it was an impressive one indeed. Therefore, he had always associated a certain formality into his work, when using his 'skill' as he like to call it. He had seen so many others of his kind abuse their abilities, by using them for playing and creating friends when they were lonely, or simply take their ability for granted, by evolving. After all, he considered, where is the great excitement in having legs and feet if you can levitate anyway?
However, now had come the time to use his skill again. Sableye trembled as watched Haunter slowly, very slowly, try to take his hands away from Ash and Misty's heads. For a second, it looked as though his hands had gotten stuck to her hair and his hat, but neither of those things were a pale cloudy blue. Slowly, as he raised his hands higher and higher up, the pale blue began to show its form. Eventually, when the cloudy forms had disconnected from Ash and Misty's motionless bodies, Haunter let go of them and left them suspended in the air. The forms from their bodies had taken the shape of Ash and Misty respectively, just as they were lying on the ground, from Ash with his Pokémon League hat on to Misty with her hair down wearing Ash's vest. Even a cut on the cloudy Misty's forehead mirrored the one bubbled with blood on her true skin. The forms hung limply in the air, their heads down, like puppets with the string that had been attached to their head cut. The eyes remained closed.
Haunter looked upon it, and smiled, and found it good.
Leaving the shadowy forms behind, Haunter turned his attention back to Sableye, who was shaking in his effort to stand, and glided towards him. When Sableye managed to stand up erect, he felt a hand around his throat, jerking him upwards. Gasping and choking, Sableye found himself face to face with the Haunter. Sableye desperately clasped his paws around the fingers holding him, and tried to pry them loose, but to no avail.
"IF YOU TRULY WERE ONTO MY GAME, TELL ME WHAT IT IS!" Haunter screeched commandingly in his ears. The suave tone was gone completely. Haunter shook Sableye a bit. "I TOLD YOU MY PLANS, SO RETELL THEM BACK TO ME, NOW! I NEED TO KNOW THAT YOU KNOW THEM!"
Sableye could only comply as the claws tightened. "You're going to kill everyone!" he cried back wretchedly, "After you kill all living things in this cavern, except for Ghosts, then you'll leave and kill all people and Pokémon, one by one, until there is no one left living! You kill by separating their souls from their bodies! They become ghosts, like you, and after awhile, they're dead forever! It's MURDER!"
"I prefer to call it 'homicide with valid basis'," Haunter grinned, his debonair mood returning. He let Sableye drop to the ice with a thump. "I was just wondering if you had remembered or not. OH! By the way, Sableye, I forgot to mention, I wrote a poem about this, MY cavern, like the ones you and your dead master used to do. Would you like to hear?" Haunter continued in a singsong chant.
"There's no better guests or hosts,
Than separated kids and Ghosts!"
TO BE CONTINUED…
…I love cliffhangers, so please don't beat me up too much, okay? Anyway, obviously the "Who's That Pokémon?" was Sableye, so congrats to Alex Warlorn, The girl who flamed, Tyrano, ChoasSora99, Chibimatchmaker, Ri2, and soraoathkeeper. By the way, Vigoroth and Sneasel weren't bad guesses either! This time, I'm wondering if you could tell me what your favorite part in this story has been, okay? I need to know what you all like the best! Thanks!
NOTE: Every chapter title is a line from a song, and all of the songs are songs from one of the many Pokémon CD's. If you have identified the song that Chapter 6's title is from, review and let me know, and I'll post your name with the correct title on my next chapter. :)