Hello, all! Sadly, my Avengers story is not going well and Loki's being a shithead with cooperation. I know where I want to get to, but he's not playing nicely so… You get Adlien instead! Hope that's not too much of a let-down. And for the last reviewer who left me a startlingly lengthy piece, I must ask that you not be so quick to assume. Oh, and to drop the grammar lesson. I understand your wish to help us here on Fanfiction improve, but telling us how to write is not the way to do it. If we feel like capitalizing something, it's our choice. And dialogue formats vary for everyone, so the 'proper' way is nothing but a suggestion.

Anywho, I actually did love reading it and thank you for the initiative – no one else ever leaves me reviews anymore T^T… I hope that Adlien becomes a clearer character as the story comes along, because that is the point of character development, and that you enjoy the show as much as I do.

Happy reading! And as always, please, people, REVIEW! I feel better when you do.

Univerce


Night at the Museum

Neither of my parents really cared about my stay at the museum until they heard it was more than just me and Hawes here. They relaxed again, though, when they learned there was another girl among us. My parents are overly paranoid and protective. It's going to be a real problem when they can't look over my shoulder anymore and they start calling me constantly for updates on life. Thankfully, Xtransceivers have an 'ignore' button.

"So you're staying, too?" Ash asks dumbly. "Why?"

"My museum, too," I shrug.

Well, it technically is. Lenora doesn't have an official successor to the museum curator position, although she's considering quite a few people at the moment. According to her husband, my name happens to be somewhere at the top of the list. My age happens to be a problem at the moment, though.

"She spends enough time here, looking through the exhibits and library that Lenora's become rather fond of her," Hawes chuckles, settling into his sleeping bag. "Most of the staff have, actually. Adlien has this passion for knowledge that just sort of sticks out at times. Other times, it likes to hide away, nowhere to be found."

"You need to stop stealing your wife's words," I yawn, unrolling my own sleeping bag. "She doesn't like it."

His visible shudder has me smirking. It can be fun to mess with Hawes on occasion. Today happens to be perfect for it, as well. He was attacked by a fossil, after all, and ran away instead of trying to catch it instead. Lenora would have bull-charged the thing and tackled it to the ground. Funny thing is, that's pretty easy to imagine. Other staff probably would have done what Hawes did, though, aside from the girly screaming Ash had informed me he was doing while running from the museum. That would have been a sight that made my day, of course. Along with whatever nonsense he babbled immediately afterwards.

"So, Adlien loves spending time here, then," Cilan comments absently. "Is there something specific you like about the museum?"

Not a very original question, although it's rarely asked, surprisingly. "Not particularly. Lenora just happens to have one of the largest book collections in the region, and it's one to take advantage of, too. You wouldn't believe the number of geography and culture books she has. Or the number of cases dedicated purely to the different periods and eras of unrecorded history. She's even got a few shelves of cookbooks back there, too. Oh, and a few weeks ago, I found one shelf filled with books on scientific theories."

"In other words," Hawes sighs with a smile, "she's in love with the book collection. Often enough, my wife and I find her at one of the tables with as many books as she could carry in front of her."

"Yeah, yeah," I grumble, sliding into my bag. "They're books."

"One day with prehistoric theory and the next will be technological advancements and then the next could very well be analytical literature. She tends to skip from one to the next depending on her mood. You can usually tell what she's reading by the expression on her face and her posture."

"I'm not that easy to read," I protest, burying my face in a pillow.

The laughs from Iris and Ash have me grimacing, albeit unseen thanks to my fluffy head support. Cilan's voice is unexpectedly absent in that, although he's probably smiling happily at the comments and reveals. Why can't Lenora be here to open the library for me?

"She actually is, believe it or not. Takes a little while to get any good at it, but usually the books are a reflection of her feelings at the start. Good enough indicators of how she feels if you don't know much about her. For instance, she'll read a regular novel or story if she's feeling bored or uninterested in anything. Prehistoric history is when she's feeling nostalgic, something to focus on to get her away from memories if she doesn't feel like thinking about them. Technology, and sometimes even engineering, is something she dives into if she's feeling, uh… useless, for lack of a better term. One day, Lenora actually found her reading a book on the techniques and designs of jewelry making when she was feeling a little upset about her journey. Poor girl doesn't get to pick her starter pokemon for another month, at least."

My grimace deepens, a few scathing comments rebounding in my head. "Hawes," I growl, glaring from my pillow.

He quickly holds up his hand in surrender, wide-eyed and paling a bit. Good, he better be sorry for that one. No one needs to know that the stupid professor here won't give me a chance to at least try and have a journey of my own. In fact, I sometimes wonder if the woman ever plans to help me start a journey at all. Considering how my mother is, and how she thinks pokemon nowadays are nothing but slaves to kids, the professor has probably been convinced to put off giving me a starter. Mom'll do anything to keep me from being like the rest of kids my age, even if it means confining me to my room.

Which, by the way, she has actually done. Several times.

"My bad," Hawes chuckles shakily. "Shutting up."

"Why can't you go on a journey?" Ash asks, receiving my glare as well and quickly raising his own hands. "Sorry! Don't answer! My bad!"

After a huff of annoyance, my face turns back into the pillow, breathing in the lingering scent of Pinwheel Forest not too far from the city. Thankfully, my eyes stay closed and the scent of the forest calms me down completely.


Clanking sounds pull me from my deep sleep, something everyone in my family finds rather rare. What feels like less than a second later, a panicked scream yanks me the rest of the way from my peaceful slumber. Bolting up in my sleeping bag, my eyes scan quickly, landing on a fully animated set of armor that's lumbering towards everyone. Hawes is already on his feet, looking scared out of his mind, while the others are getting up with determination in their faces.

"Well, Cilan?" Iris asks crossly. "Where's your scientific explanation for this?"

With a smug smile smug, he quips back with, "A poltergeist phenomena caused by ultra-low frequency sound waves. Easy."

"Is that thanks to sound waves, too?" Iris snaps back as the armor draws the sword attached to it.

"Someone could be manipulating the armor with strings. It's possible."

"That's… kind of a stretch," Ash mutters between them.

My eyes roll while climbing to my feet, ready to move. "Let's stop with the bickering and move onto the violent set of armor, shall we?" I cut through them, interrupting Cilan's next comeback. "Cause our 'inanimate' friend is still coming at us."

The sword is raised high into the air in front of the three of them, their attentions quickly shifting to it as the metal creaks once more in the upswing. Ash's face takes on a determined expression, eyes glinting with a familiar twinkle. He's a battler, isn't he? His partner sprints in front of him from the green sleeping bag, probably his own.

"Quick Attack, Pikachu!"

As the armor falls apart on impact, a purple flame lifts itself from the metalwork. Strange, though, cause that flame reminds me of something… What is it? Without skipping a beat, it moves in toward Ash while Hawes, behind me where the others migrated to avoid injury, questions spiritual presence. He's on Iris's side, then.

"It's just a static discharge. Most people mistake such things for ghostly phenomena," Cilan waves it off.

Strangely enough, that is actually true. But what part of a flame is static electricity? All electricity does in the fire triangle of oxygen, fuel and ignition is provide the ignition sequence. After that, there's no charge necessary, nor any left, and the charged particles disperse.

"Ah, it's hot!" Ash cringes, holding up his arms in a form of protection.

"Most flames are," I sigh, taking a small step forward as the purple fire moves further toward me. "Although knowing that they are tends to help."

Quickly, I swing my arm forward, batting at the flame with actual protection from my long sleeve shirt. Basic principles when going out into the forest for any period of time: cover all skin possible, meaning long pants, sleeved shirts and boots. Scarves and hoods are optional. This is something that my dad has wired me into practicing every day, regardless of wherever it is I may go. 'One never knows when they may be heading off into the forest.' His own words.

Lucky for me that my long sleeve took the damage, although the heat's still there. The flame, after being swung at and smacked by my arm, breaks up in a purple flash, reassembling past me and speeding on toward the others. More specifically, toward Hawes and chasing after him as he panics and runs around, covering his head. Well, didn't see that coming. To my slight surprise, a call for a Water Gun rings out, along with another flash and the sound of a pokemon. Before getting the chance to turn around, a blast of water zips by me, slamming into the floating flame and dispersing it. Finally having the chance, my eyes turn to Ash, an Oshawatt standing proudly in front of him. Cheater.

Behind Ash, my eyes catch that purple color again, the helmet lifting itself from the collection of armor and floating freely.

"Explain that, Cilan," Iris demands.

"A change in magnetic field reacting with the metal," he replies casually.

"What about the rest of the armor?" I point out smugly, watching the floating helmet warily. "Last time I checked, the magnetic field of the planet affects all metals and objects, not just selective pieces. Besides, the field itself wouldn't change so drastically and so quickly as to reverse gravity."

Judging by the momentary silence, I'm guessing he's stumped. "Well…"

Before he can get any more out of his trailing word, the helmet moves, speeding forward and taking the flames former place. It starts to chase after Hawes, the man running away as he starts up his panicked screaming once more. How exactly did Lenora marry him, again?

"Pikachu! Iron Tail!"

"Iron Tail?" I question quietly, watching carefully.

That's definitely a steel type move being used, and makes perfect contact as the mouse front flips. The helmet itself is sent flying, not that it wasn't already, and bounces against the museum floor a few times. Surprisingly, there doesn't seem to be any real damage from here. The others jog toward Hawes as he sighs in relief, myself stepping over to the helmet instead to take a closer look at it. While Iris comments on something, my fingers graze over the helmet, looking for any damage or any sort of anomalies. But it seems perfectly fine and with no strange attachments or changes. Nothing's been done to it.

A small tap of something on my hand makes me flinch, staring at the spot as a drop of water runs down my skin. After another few seconds, more start to hit my skin, quickly shifting into the kind of shower you'd find from any rainstorm. Looking back, and ignoring Cilan's comment on sprinklers, my eyes land on Pikachu cutely holding his arms out as the water ceases.

Now I want a Pikachu…

Another moment later, while everyone else stares up absently, my ears catch the soft cry of another being. Definitely not human, either. My gaze shifts to the hallway, carefully setting the helmet down and crouch crawling forward, ears perked in attention. Squinting, it almost looks like there's… something floating down there, quickly disappearing into another exhibit. Purple flames, purple glows on objects, falling rain indoors… Ghost or not, there's something causing this, and it's got some power.

"Whatever it is, it's here! Oshawatt, return!"

Oops, missed something, didn't I? Looking back, I stand up and wait for the others as they jog forward, passing me and entering the hallway. With one last look at the helmet, my feet carry me after them, sprinting to catch up. Seeing the light in the exhibit turn on, my feet stop, letting me slide along the last few feet and into the doorway. That crying hits my ears again, dragging my gaze to the exhibit. We've been led to the secret artifacts section.

My eyes move to land on the others, staring past them to the pieces themselves, and more specifically the 'crying' mask. Strangely enough… that mask looks familiar. Where have I seen that before? Think, think! More of the same crying, along with some more nonsense from Cilan as the mask lifts itself and bangs against the glass, clicks something in my head into place. That's a death mask, usually placed on the dead during their funerals. And usually, those same people became spirits that, so attached to those last items of life, carry those same masks in death. Those cries are from a Yamask.

When everything started, that dark mist had been called up by the ghost type's Haze. Will-o Wisp, a move predominately used by ghost type pokemon, is the conjuration of the purple flame. That rain had been the product of the move Rain Dance. And those purple tinges to the armor? The discoloration of the metal, freely moving and floating with no attachments, was caused by Psychic. Similar discolorations happen to all things pokemon affect by such moves, including but not limited to one of the largest Dragonite skeletons in the world… Oh, crap!

"Move!"

Smartly, the others hear and turn to me, catching the skeleton moving in on them with every step. Quickly, they dive out of the way, Ash just barely avoiding the first punch from the skeleton's arms. Watching the bones beat at the glass, my eyes take in the purple discoloration of the many limbs and skull. Definitely the move Psychic.

"That has to be the angry spirit!" Iris declares, bracing her legs apart, looking ready to fight.

"Stop it!" Cilan snap at her. "It's just changes in the magnetic field affecting the bones! Aw, even I don't believe me anymore."

Good. My expression flattens as he scratches at his temples, looking extremely depressed. On the bright side, a person can always snap out of such things when necessary. And right now, he really needs to.

"Pansage, Bullet Seed!"

The pokemon, however, was not quite expected. Of course he would have a pokemon with him, especially one that can fight back. A monkey based one isn't expected, though, but definitely not out of the ordinary. And the Bullet Seed that Pansage lets loose is perfectly aimed, going up along the spine. My ears catch the snapping of several cords, telling me that the skeleton's structure has been broken in several places as the wires holding it together snap. In fact, my hearing even catches the pained cry of the Yamask controlling the skeleton.

Not good. That'll just make the poor thing even madder.

"Gotta open the case," I grumble to myself.

"What about the mask? Is it alright?"

My ears perk at Ash's thought, and my eyes widen in horror as Hawes foolishly dashes to the case and swipes his ID through the scanner. Frozen still at the pure stupidity of the brash moment, I watch dumbly as the mask zooms from the display, making a beeline for Cilan's face. As he struggles to pull the death mask off, my knees gives out, dropping me onto the ground while his friends move to help him. They won't get it off, though. That Yamask has its host and the only way to remove the spirit from the body is to attack just like in a pokemon battle. Just like Pansage attacked the skeleton, in fact.

"Such idiots," I breathe, watching in mild horror as the ghost type takes full control.

"And now, to punish."

Definitely a Yamask. My horror and that frozen feeling quickly disappear as the ghost type conjures up its Will-o Wisp, using the host body to throw them forward. Ash and Iris leap back, all three of them moving out of the original line of fire.

"Cilan, what's wrong? Are you okay?"

Idiot question of the week.

"It looks like the angry spirit has taken him over," Iris comments. "I think it's because he denied that the spirit existed in the first place."

"She's got something going for her in that department," I chuckle, climbing to my feet. "Now to dislodge the mask."

"Don't bother, sweetie," that familiar voice laughs softly, a hand dropping onto my shoulder. "It won't be necessary. Just let me handle it."

Again, there's that frozen feeling, only not so annoying this time as my eyes go over my shoulder. A smile crosses my face at the sight of the newcomer, readily stepping out of the way for her as she enters the room.

"Angry spirit, listen. You have to talk to us now!" Although she may not be able to help if Iris thinks that trying to force a ghost to speak is a good idea. "Tell us why you're so angry!"

Unsurprisingly, even Cilan's voice doesn't really belong to him anymore, taking on the pokemon's ethereal echo. "You locked it away."

"Locked it… away?"

"The mask is precious to me."

"Definitely a Yamask," I sigh, watching as she steps a little further into the room. "Right?"

Her grin tossed over her shoulder has me smiling. "That's definitely a real Yamask mask, alright," she states confidently, taking a few more steps into the room. "It's no wonder that the Yamask came looking for it."

Hawes' face relaxes into pure joy. "Dear! You couldn't have picked a better time to come home!"

"Dear?" Iris question. "Then… you must be Lenora!"

My strangely blue-haired mentor nods with a grin. "That's right. Now Hawes, where exactly did you get that mask in the first place?"

The man takes on a confused look before a thoughtful expression covers it. "Well… Last night when we were unloading the artifacts for the exhibit… I found it lying on the loading dock. I had only ordered a Cofagrigus replica, but seeing the mask, I thought they sent it as well as a sort of thank you for the order…"

"Oh, Hawes," I groan, slapping my own forehead. "Why?"

"You know better than that!" Lenora snaps at her husband.

He just laughs weakly, scratching at his head. "I should've…"

Ignoring their little lover's spat, my attention turns to the strangely patient pokemon hosted by Cilan's body. Carefully, I slip past Lenora and stride towards the two merged into one, feet tapping softly on the floor. Maybe the poor thing will let go if he knows there's someone here that'll listen and understand. Well, that's what my stupid logic is saying, and everyone knows how that works with dead.

"Adlien, wait!" Lenora calls.

"Yamask?" I ask gently. "Will you stop now?"

To my disappointment, a bone claw is my answer, barely sliding away from the skeleton as it reforms itself with a psychic glow. An additional growl from Cilan's body just solidifies the answer to a definite 'no.'

"Now stop it!" Lenora snaps at the ghost. "That's more than enough punishment. You've already scared everyone for an entire night!"

"Get out!" And the skeleton moves forward.

"If that's the way you want it," Lenora huffs, pulling out a familiar pokeball. "Go Watchog!"

And seconds later, the lookout pokemon is letting its ability, called Illuminate, do its work and spread an extra special glow throughout the room. Skipping another few steps back, I watch carefully as the Yamask uses Cilan's arm to defend the death mask on the boy's face. On the other side of the room, Ash is pulling out what looks like a pokedex, probably scanning the brightly lit pokemon on center stage.

"Now, Yamask, why don't you show yourself?" Lenora asks rather kindly.

Iris should learn from her. As if it had no choice, the mask detached from its host, giving Cilan back his consciousness, and floated freely into the air. There, the ghost type revealed iteslf in all its red-eyed and black bodied glory. Yamask, nothing more than a ball with a few two arms and a tail, floats serenely above us all.

"Wow," Ash breathes, lifting up his pokedex again.

"Yamask was probably hiding among the artifacts," Lenora sighs. "That's how it ended up here. And while the staff was unloading the truck, it must've dropped its mask. Seeing it in the display case, Yamask assumed you had stolen it."

Hawes looked down, absolute shame on his face, while the pokemon merely nodded, giving its usual cry in agreement. Shocking.

"Of course," Cilan breathes. "The fog that we saw was Haze. The skeleton and armor was moved by Psychic…"

"And the rain was Rain Dance. And that ghostly aura was Will-o Wisp!" Ash grins.

Iris looks nothing short of excitedly smug. "See! I knew it was an angry spirit all along!"

"Well," Cilan mutters, "not exactly."

Ignoring the latest bickering from the two companions, my attention locks on Hawes, who strides forward next to his wife and fixes Yamask with a look. At least someone here has learned their lesson.

"Yamask?" he calls up, bowing slightly. "I'm truly sorry for the grief I caused you. Please forgive me."

"We're both sorry," Lenora chips in, patting her husband on the shoulder. "Will you forgive us both?"

Without a word, the Yamask, lowers itself and passes by them, disappearing with its mask from sight. Although the low sound of its soft call has me smiling. The dead don't really hold grudges against the living, do they? Not when those grudges could damage those who have so much to live for.