Author's Note: I forgot to mention last time that for those who may not be aware, the event Diane read from that manuscript in the last chapter was an event from one of my previous stories, Revenge of Noir Mask. So it's pretty much all sort of connecting a tiny bit.
Disclaimer: I do not own Pokemon.
Chapter 3: The Cubone Massacre
Morning had come to Lavender Town, along with the promise of a new day and a cool crisp autumn breeze. Ash had decided to use that time to head out of the mansion on his own and head into town to visit the old Pokemon Tower. The Pokemon Tower was a creepy old abandoned mansion that Ash and his companions had visited years before in order to find a Ghost Pokemon that could defeat Sabrina. On the night Ash had originally visited the tower, he and Pikachu had not only ended up befriending a Gengar, a Gastly, and the Haunter that would later become Sabrina's Gengar, they had also had a very unique out of body experience. Ash had decided that it was time to drop in on the remaining Ghost Pokemon living at the Pokemon Tower to say hi.
As Ash, Pikachu, and Lucario neared the Pokemon Tower though, they suddenly noticed a large crowd of people gathered at the corner of the street. Right away, Ash got a very bad feeling about what those people were looking at. The trainer and his two Pokemon companions made their way through the mass on onlookers and made it to the front row. There, Ash and the other two saw Shannon standing over the dead body of John Braxton. Clint's examination of the corpse was already underway.
"I've never seen anything like this before Shannon." An unsettled Clint told her. "As near as I can tell, he died the same way old Edger did."
"You mean he died of fright?" Shannon asked.
"Well I won't know for sure until I open him up, but it sure looks that way." Clint replied. "But two men dying of fright in two days? No way that's a coincidence."
"Yeah, the more you look at it, the more it seems like a murder." Shannon agreed. "But what I can't figure out is the connection between Braxton here and Edger Gates."
"Well Edger and John Braxton have been pretty good friends for years." Clint recalled. "Maybe that's the connection."
"You think someone has a grudge against them?" Shannon wondered.
"Could be. But then I'm just a doctor." Clint replied. "Still, if both John and old Edger were murdered, I think it's a safe bet it's someone they both ticked off."
"Excuse me, Officer Jenny?" Ash interrupted, getting Shannon's attention.
"You're that Ash kid from yesterday." Shannon recalled.
"Yeah, my name's Ash Ketchum." Ash replied.
"Ketchum? Wait, weren't you the kid who helped break up Team Galactic in Sinnoh a few years ago?" Shannon asked.
"That was a long time ago." Ash confirmed. "It's not something I like to think about either. Anyway, who's the man that died?"
"His name's John Braxton. He owned a small business here in town." Shannon explained. "Why, did you know him?"
"I didn't, but Mr. Baron mentioned he did last night." Ash revealed. "In fact, Mr. Braxton came to the mansion last night to talk to Mr. Baron. I don't know what they talked about though."
"Well that's certainly interesting. I think I'll go pay Mr. Baron a visit." Shannon decided. "Thanks for the tip."
"No problem." Ash replied.
As Shannon walked off, Ash glanced and saw that a familiar figure had been watching the whole conversation between him and Shannon. It was Ben Norris. Ben quickly shuffled his way out of the crowd of people. Ash and his two Pokemon quickly but quietly went after him. The trio quickly caught up to Ben in a nearby alley.
"Hey!" Ash called, causing Ben to stop. "I want to have a talk with you?"
"What about?" Ben asked as he turned around. "Let me guess, you want to warn me to stay away from Diane Berlitz and the rest of her family, right?"
"No, I want to know how you know Dusk." Ash answered. "When we bumped into you at the Pokemon Center before, I got the feeling that you weren't asking us those questions just to do a news story. You've met Dusk before, haven't you?"
Ben sighed heavily and looked Ash straight in the eye. "Ever been to Maiden's Peak here in Kanto?"
"A few years ago." Ash answered. "My friend Brock was seduced by the ghost of Maiden's Peak. Of course it turned out to be some weird talking Gastly."
"Mr. Gastly. That's what Dusk called him." Ben recalled. "I was pretty much a kid when I moved to the Peak with my family. The day I moved there was when I met Dusk. And on that night I saw things that changed me. That night still haunts me to this day."
"What happened?" Ash asked.
"It's a long story, and I'm sure there's a lot of parts that you wouldn't believe." Ben answered. "That night, Dusk helped the real ghost of Maiden's Peak cross over to the afterlife. And I helped."
Ash did recall that Dusk had said she once helped the fabled Maiden's Peak ghost pass on to the other side. Though at the time he didn't believe it, at least not entirely. But Ash felt certain that Ben was telling the truth.
"Ever since that night I've been trying to learn all I can about Dusk." Ben continued. "I've even been hoping that I'll actually run into her again some day. She's almost constantly been on my thoughts ever since that night. In fact you might think this sounds completely nuts but… I think I'm in love with her. And you're probably thinking right now that I should just try and forget about Dusk, but I can't. I've seen too much of her world for my life to go back to the way it was."
"Actually, I was thinking that Dusk could really use someone like you with her." Ash revealed. "Seems like you care about her a lot. And I think you have a right to know that Dusk is in this town right now."
Ben's eyes widened. "Do you know where?"
"No clue, but I think the reason why she's here has something to do with the two men that have died in the last couple of days." Ash theorized.
"If you're thinking that Dusk killed those guys, you can forget that!" Ben told him. "Dusk may be strange, but I know she wouldn't kill anyone."
"I don't think she killed those two guys either. But I do think she's involved somehow." Ash told him. "You have a better feel for Dusk than I do. Maybe you know what she might be doing in town."
Ben held his chin and thought for a moment. "…It's a hunch, but it might have something to do with the story I'm working on right now. It's a puff piece my editor handed me about this tragedy that occurred here twenty years ago. How much the town has changed since that time and all that. I was just about to go speak to the mayor to find out what that tragedy was about."
"I'd like to come with." Ash requested. "It could explain a lot about what's going on here."
With that, Ash and Ben headed off into the center of Lavender Town, where they quickly found the town hall. Right inside was a desk with a female receptionist with red hair and glasses doing paperwork.
Ben walked up to the desk. "Excuse me, I'm Ben Norris. I have an appointment to see Mayor Fuji."
"Come on in, Mr. Norris." A voice called from an open room on Ben and Ash's left. "I've been expecting you."
Ash and Ben walked into the room. The room was a fairly small office with wood paneled walls and a single large window behind the deck. Sitting at the deck was an old bald man who looked to be in his eighties with bushy white eyebrows wearing a grey suit with a black tie. This of course was the mayor.
"Well, it seems you've brought a guest with you Mr. Norris." Mayor Fuji observed. "What's you name, young man?"
"Ash Ketchum." The dark-haired trainer replied.
"You wouldn't happen to be an Aura Guardian, would you?" Mayor Fuji asked half jokingly.
"What makes you say that?" Ash asked. He was a bit surprised that the old mayor had hit the nail on the head.
"Oh, the fact that you have a Lucario with you. And that blue vest you're wearing." Mayor Fuji answered. "Plus there's a certain way that you carry yourself. But I'm sure neither of you came to visit an old man like me just to talk about Aura Guardians."
"My paper asked me to do a story about the tragedy that happened here in this town twenty years ago." Ben confirmed. "The word is that you're the man to ask about that."
"Ah, you mean the massacre that happened in the Tower of Memories." Mayor Fuji deduced. "Yes… I know that tragedy very well."
"It happened at the Tower of Memories?" a surprised Ash asked.
"In those days, the tower was not just a burial ground for Pokemon who have passed on. It was a home to wild Pokemon as well." Mayor Fuji revealed. "In that time, the tower was inhabited by scores of Cubone and a few Marowak, both fairly rare Pokemon for this region as you both may know. I suppose it was their nature as bone keepers that drew the Pokemon to the tower. But no one minded them being there.
"Then one day an army of men from Team Rocket raided the tower in order to kill the Cubone living there and collect their skulls to sell on the black market. There are sadly people who see the skulls as collectors' items. Many of the Cubone and Marowak living in the tower that time were either badly hurt or killed before the police managed to get there. The greatest of those casualties was a mother Marowak who died trying to protect her five young children. Unfortunately her efforts were in vain. Before the police could arrive at the place where she was killed, four of that Marowak's five children were killed."
"Those bastards!" Ash cursed under his breath.
"The orphan Cubone that survived ended up with me." Mayor Fuji continued. "I had opened a house for abandoned and abused Pokemon that is still in service to this day. If it is any comfort to you Ash, the young Cubone that survived was given to kind Pokemon trainer."
"What about the Team Rocket army that raided the tower?" Ben asked.
"All but three were caught and stood trial." Mayor Fuji answered. "The three that got away were the three men responsible for the mother Marowak's death. To this day, no one knows where the three went. And that, I'm afraid, is the end of that story."
"Well, I think I have enough to start with." Ben replied. "Thank you for your time, Mayor Fuji."
Ash and Ben left the office with Pikachu and Lucario after that. Once out of the building, they stopped for a moment to think and take in all they had learned.
"So twenty years ago, three of the men from Team Rocket who murdered that Marowak and her kids got away." Ben reviewed. "And now two other men are dead."
"You think it's connected?" Ash asked.
"Dusk deals with the spirits of the dead. Which means that an actual ghost might be involved in all this." Ben theorized. "And I'm betting that any mother would be pretty ticked off at anyone who hurt her kids."
"There's probably someone else involved in all this." Ash realized. "The guy who's mansion I'm staying at, Julius Baron. He was real good friends with the two men who've just died."
"Looks like we're thinking the same thing." Ben realized. "I'm going back to the hotel I'm staying at to see what I can dig up on Edger Gates, John Braxton, and Julius Baron. Let's keep in touch, huh?"
"Good idea." Ash agreed. "In the meantime, I'll be back at the Baron mansion. I'll see you later."
Cynthia had settled in on a couch in the mansion's sitting room for the afternoon to catch up on a book she had been reading. She and Diane had gotten a great deal done with the translation of the manuscript and had decided to take the afternoon off. Cynthia was amazed that they had gotten as far as they did though. Diane's ability to translate the ancient text was simply astounding.
"Diane, don't you dare walk away from me!" Dawn's voice shouted from outside the room, disturbing Cynthia from her book.
"I'm not having this discussion with you again Dawn!" Diane shouted. "Now leave me alone!"
"This whole thing is all your fault, you!" Dawn shot back. "Dusk ran off because you cared more about some dumb old ruins than your own sister!"
"How dare you! I love Dusk just as much as you do!" Diane told her.
"Like hell, you damn robot!" Dawn fired back.
Cynthia then heard the distinctive sound of a face being slapped. After a moment, Diane ran into the room with tears in her eyes. In one swift motion she removed her glasses and threw herself onto the nearby chair and began to sob.
"…Diane?" a concerned Cynthia spoke as she stood up.
Startled, Diane looked up. "Oh… uh, C-Cynthia. I'm sorry. I-I didn't know… uh, I'll uh… I'll just leave."
"You don't have to go." Cynthia replied as she walked over. "What's wrong? What happened?"
"Oh, well… I got into a fight with Dawn." Diane explained. "I'm sure you noticed that… my sister and I don't get along."
"What were you fighting about?" Cynthia asked.
"We… we were fighting about our other sister… Dusk." Diane revealed. "That's what most of our fights are about actually. Most of the time it was my responsibility to look after her. One day I was helping Professor Rowan investigate the Sinjoh Ruins and Dusk was with me. I left her alone for just a minute and she was gone."
"So Dawn blames you for that?" Cynthia deduced.
"It was my fault." Diane cried. "I do sometimes I get a little too involved in my work. If I had only taken a moment to listen to Dusk, then maybe… maybe she'd still be with us."
"You don't know that for sure." Cynthia pointed out.
"Dawn doesn't think I care at all about what happened." Diane continued. "I do come off as unfeeling sometimes but… there isn't a day that goes by when I don't miss Dusk."
"Well you're not unfeeling to me." Cynthia assured her.
Touched, Diane began to sob once more. Cynthia pulled her into a hug.
Misty walked through the halls of the mansion on the way to her and Ash's room. On her way there, she ran into Dawn and Piplup. The little penguin Pokemon looked noticeably unsettled, and right away Misty saw the red mark on Dawn's cheek.
"You okay Dawn?" a concerned Misty asked.
"I'm fine." Dawn sighed. "Hey, do you know where Carter is?"
"I think he's outside in the courtyard." Misty answered. "Are you sure you're okay? What happened to your face?"
"Oh, Diane and I just had a pretty bad fight." Dawn explained. "It's actually nothing new."
"Is all this stuff between you and Diane about Dusk?" Misty deduced.
"Pretty much." Dawn confirmed. "I just get so mad at Diane for letting Dusk run off that day. If she cared more about her own sister than some dumb ruins, Dusk would probably still be here."
"Aren't you being a little unfair? I'm sure Diane cares about Dusk as much as you do." Misty pointed out.
"Yeah right." Dawn scoffed. "All Diane's ever cared about is her research! She's like some kind of walking computer!"
Before the conversation could continue, Ash entered the hallway with Pikachu and Lucario. "Have either of you guys seen Mr. Baron?"
"He should be around here somewhere." Misty replied. "Officer Jenny came by earlier to talk to him earlier. Is something going on Ash?"
"Mr. Baron's friend, John Braxton was found dead this morning, just Edger Gates." Ash revealed.
"Oh god!" Misty exclaimed.
"You don't think Dusk had something to do with it, do you?" Dawn asked.
Before Ash could answer, Julius entered the hallway. A very troubled expression was on his face.
"Hey Mr. Baron, I've got a question for you." Ash told him, getting his attention.
"Oh, why certainly Ash." Mr. Baron replied with a weak smile. "How can I help you?"
"Do you know anything about the Cubone massacre that happened in the Tower of Memories twenty years ago?" Ash asked.
Julius's face went pale and his smile vanished. "The Cubone massacre? Well… I've heard of it anyway. It's a very infamous event in this town. But I'm afraid that I'm in no mood to discuss such a grizzly topic at the moment."
"Fine. Sorry I brought it up." Ash replied with a very suspicious look.
With that, Julius calmly walked off down the hallway. Only a moment later, Ash cried out and hit the wall with his fist, almost breaking a hole into it.
"Ash, are you okay?" a very concerned Misty asked.
"I think I'll go find Carter now." Dawn quickly decided. "C'mon Piplup." With that, she and Piplup quickly departed, leaving Ash and Misty alone with Pikachu and Lucario.
Misty put a hand on Ash's shoulder. "Ash, what's wrong?"
"That bastard!" Ash cursed. "He and his damn friends killed that Marowak!"
Author's Note: I said I'd be putting a darker spin on the Marowak ghost event from the original games. By the way, Mayor Fuji is supposed to be Mr. Fuji from the original games. The guy who give the player the Pokeflute after saving him from the Team Rocket thugs in Pokemon Tower. He was sort of a last minute addition to the story. I got the idea to put him in after seeing part of that Pokemon Origins special.
Please review and let me know what you think.