Trick and Treat
Disclaimer: I do not own Pokémon Best Wishes or Pokémon Black and White. I only own Est and anyone associated with Trip.
Summary: The battle for survival has begun. Virtue is adamant about getting the twins to rest in peace this time but the twins imply that if they rest in peace while in the possession of Trip and Est, they'll be sent to hell with them. Ash is certainty not going to let that happen as long as he's around, but what can he do against the supernatural beings?
Pairing: Ash/Trip, Cilan/Iris, and Dawn/Paul/OC (Est)
Rated: M (for mature)
Genre: Horror, Drama, Romance and (dark) humor
Warning: Extreme creepiness, child suicide, violence and yaoi
I'm basing Ash's age for the five regions he's went to: Kanto, Orange Island, Johto, Hoenn and Sinnoh so the ages in this story are…
Ash: 15
Iris: 13-16
Cilan: 17-18
Dawn: 11
Trip: 10
Paul: 16
Est: 20
Ilyana: 23
Virtue: 24
Alma: 12 (at time of death)
Alastor: 12 (at time of death)
Dusk: 16 (17 at time of death)
Darlene 16 (17 at time of death)
This story is based on the Vocaloid song Trick and Treat.
Chapter 8: My Heart Has a Light
Ilyana was in awe as she trailed after Virtue back to the mansion. The purple haired girl may have been clumsy but she was a fast runner. Virtue was the first guy to keep up with her speed and it made her heart race. Maddalen made it obvious that if she was going to find a man, it would have to be someone that was not only attracted and was "different", he would have to keep up with her physically and emotionally. He was doing great so far and she was expecting a date when this was all over.
They reached the front of the mansion where they saw Iris and Cilan with their Pokémon attacking at the door.
"Dammit! Why won't the door open?!" Iris asked as she picked up her Axew who was about to fall over after another dragon rage attack.
"Iris! Cilan!" Ilyana called out catching their attention. "What happened?"
"Ash and Dawn are on the other side…" The grass gym leader explained in an exasperated tone. "Those twins might…"
"Step aside."
Virtue wanted to assert this but Ilyana beat him to it. The two gym leaders stepped aside as a magic ring formed around the purple haired girl.
"I call upon thee…open sesame!"
The chant was not really worded this way, but the fact was that she was trying to accomplish a door-opening spell. The door didn't open though; it crumbled to dust that swirled in the wind.
"Wow…how did you do that?"
"Iris, there's no time for questions! We have to save them!"
The four rushed back into the mansion. Virtue used his magic to avoid triggering any traps that the twins might have set back up. They heard a Pokémon's cry that Cilan recognized instantly.
"Meloetta?"
Coming from a room behind the stairs, the music Pokémon was being chased by flying objects that aimed in her direction. Meloetta vanishing into thin air did not chase off her attackers as floating objects could sense where she was flying.
"Ninetales, use flamethrower!"
Virtue's nine tailed fox growled as she fired a flame from her mouth burning the objects that were following the legendary Pokémon. The body of the knives ended up scorched as they dropped to the floor with a clank noise. The spirits in control of the knives were quick to flee once they saw that Virtue made it into the mansion again. Slowly Meloetta came back into view once she felt that the poltergeist could no longer harm her.
"Meloetta!" Cilan called out again.
Recognizing her friends, Meloetta was quick to float into Cilan's arms making weak cries as she nuzzled his chest.
"What's wrong? Where are Ash and Dawn? Are they okay?"
They didn't have the time to for Meloetta to recover from the attack, but if they rushed the music Pokémon, she might have disappeared without giving them a straight answer. As soon as Meloetta calmed down, she floated into the air again and quickly led the group toward the kitchen.
Virtue was scrambling ahead of the group. He was praying that nothing bad happened to the kids in the short amount of time that they weren't being watched over. The kitchen was devoid of human life even though the table showed evidence that a meal occurred not too long ago. That wasn't the main attraction of this area though as Meloetta flew over to the painting.
"Ash!" The older man called out seeing the Kanto trainer banging his hands against the invisible wall. "I'm getting you out."
Closing his eyes he placed his hand on the painting and centered his spiritual powers inside the small dimension. He didn't need to blow up the painting at all or force the Kanto trainer out. He just needed enough power to destroy to remove the invisible wall and allow Ash to escape. As he glowed a bluish tint, the painting was becoming less of a portrait and realistic as when Ash banged on the painting again, he ended up tumbling forward rolling into the table and hitting his head.
"Oww…" The raven haired teen grumbled as he rubbed his head. That was a bad fall…but the pain he felt will never measure up to what Dawn was put through. "Dawn…"
"Ash!"
Iris and Cilan stormed into the room with Ilyana proceeding to help him out. It wasn't needed as Ash stood up still dizzy but needed to hold himself against the nearby chair.
"Ash, what happened in hear?" Iris questioned. She was shivering at what his response would be.
"…Terrible things…but…where's Pikachu? Where are my Pokémon?"
"We thought you had them…"
Getting a better look at Ash's clothes, the twins obviously stripped him and took his belongings. The Pokémon must have been in another location of the mansion.
"We don't have time to look for them. Those kids will die if they're left with those twins." Virtue warned. "We need to find them now."
"But Pikachu…"
"…We'll get them." Ilyana proclaims. "You and Virtue save them…we'll go find the Pokémon."
"Huh? In this mansion?! It's huge and we could die just exploring!" The grass gym leader exclaimed.
"No…I think those two will be distracted to notice us finding the missing Pokémon." The purple haired girl explained. "And if you're with me…the spirits should stay away. I won't let them hurt either of you."
"Okay…but we need to do this now…"
"Axew…"
"You three…please stay safe." Ash mumbled as he shivered. It felt odd not being in his clothes and the thought of just being stripped and changed while unconscious worried him.
"We will…you too. Cilan, Iris, please follow me."
Ilyana wasted no time leaving the kitchen to search for the room where the Pokémon were hidden. Iris forced herself to remain optimistic as she followed behind Trip's aunt. As for Cilan, he just grumbled some more words of protests and trailed behind them like a tired Growlithe. Now it was just Ash and Virtue and the older man wasn't going to waste anytime checking to see if the Kanto trainer had any lifelong injuries. Virtue dashed off after them heading to the location where the twins resided. Ash could only follow him as soon as he was certain that Meloetta was right there with him.
After yanking her chains and dragging their victim up the stairs, Alma finally threw Dawn against the table where the tea party was being held.
"Hey Dusk, I brought your whore." She hummed as she actually took the chain off of the bluenette.
Paul was slowly coming to after having been knocked out by that huge bone. He could barely hear what the twins were whispering to each other as he noticed a familiar girl crawling toward him.
"Uh…Dawn?"
The Sinnoh coordinator threw her arms around the stoic teen and began to bawl into his back. Hearing her cry made him wide awake as he slowly looked down to where she was. "D-Dawn?"
"I'm so sorry…" The bluenette wept, "I was supposed to save you but I…I…"
The first thing that came to mind was the cold trainer wanted to warm the young girl. His hands were still tied to the chair so he couldn't do something like awkwardly hugging the girl. Dawn didn't even seem to realize he was tied up and wearing a Lolita outfit.
"H-Hey…Dawn…it's okay…I'm here…"
How ironic he would be the one to say those words when he was the one kidnapped and raped. Yet…Dawn's skin was too pale for his liking. What did the twins do to her?
"Aww, what a cute reunion." Alma hummed as the two flinched when hearing her voice. "It makes me want to puke seeing you two together, but a promise is a promise Dusk and Darlene."
The female spirit cackled as flames started to appear from her hand. Whatever power she was using was obviously hurting Est though because her hands looked like they were actually burning with the flames.
"I'm going to have so much fun torturing you just like 100 years ago." She hummed. "I'm just going to let you two enjoy your little reunion before I decide to burn you from the inside out. Oh, wouldn't that be fun to see your insides catch fire and then burn down to the very core of you until you're a skeleton."
The Sinnoh coordinator continued to sob into Paul's chest. This wasn't the time for her to be crying. Her hands were free and she could easily help untie the Sinnoh trainer…but her mental state was…
"Any last words before I fry you for dessert?"
If only his hands were untied…he would be able to do something instead of feeling so helpless. It wasn't like Paul to feel like he couldn't do anything to stop this from happening. Slowly he looked into the crazy spirit's eyes and mustered up the best glare he good. Giving people the evil eye was the specialty…but he couldn't do it to Est…knowing that she was being hurt like them.
"…Are you satisfied?" He asked a second time. "Are you satisfied attacking people that aren't the ones who put you in this situation the first place?"
Alma frowned as the flames on her hand disappeared. Paul knew he was striking a nerve but…
"I am not Dusk! Dawn is not Darlene! Get it through your thick skull if you had one! Your hate should have ended after killing those two, but you're going to kill more innocent people, and for what? Revenge? Pleasure? It's not worth it you stupid spirit! Release Est now before you'll regret it."
"That's rich coming from you." Alma hissed as the flames on her hands appeared again. "I was planning to kill the bitch first and kill her in front of you but I changed my mind. I'll kill you both!"
Est's hands began to catch fire. If it were any other person, these flames would have left burn marks, but Est was obsessed with the occult and so far from what Trip's family had demonstrated, their magic was not some hocus pocus jumbo. It was real fire that would burn their bodies to ashes. Dawn was not in any position to escape. She continued to cling to Paul's shoulder refusing to let go. What could have been a situation where Dawn could untie Paul and allow the two to escape went out the drain and they were on death's bed ready to be roasted.
"Paul…I'm…sorry…I can't…"
"Idiot…if you just untied the ropes..."
"DIE!"
This was not the way he wanted to go. He wasn't supposed to die by creepy supernatural twins who wanted revenge with someone he had no relation to. If he was going to die, it would be something karmic considering the things he had done while in Sinnoh. Even if he was trying to change, it must not have been fast enough. And he was going to die with the sobbing girl he met last year with no way to comfort her.
A powerful flame stopped Alma's flame that came out of her hand. If the host were anyone else, there hands would have burned off. Alma growled feeling the presence of her enemy.
"Virtue…"
"Flamethrower again!"
The nine tale fox burned the door down completely with the second fire attack and attempted to hit Alma again. She jumped out of the way creating a distance between her and Paul. Virtue immediately rushed in with his Noctowl by his side.
"Why are you always ruining everything?!" Alma raged as she turned her attention to the older trainer. "You won't let me kill these people again!"
"Alma, you and Alastor must stop this! You cannot go on anymore without consequences!"
"We're already past that, stupid! You came onto my brother and then expect to have this holier than vow persona? Get the hell out!"
Alma was easily distracted by Virtue. She had no problem turning the flaming magic toward the man who has caused her the most suffering. Virtue ordered his Ninetales to use safeguard to shield him from the attack as Ninetales could withstand a powerful flame. Paul was just glad that he and Dawn dodged death for a few minutes because if Virtue died here, then they were next.
"Paul…Dawn…"
For the first time, Paul was glad to hear Ash's voice as he snuck in and headed toward them. Dawn looked up to see the Kanto trainer and squeezed him tightly causing him to yelp in pain.
"D-Dawn…"
"I want out of here Ash…I hate it…" Dawn cried. "They made me…they made me eat…"
"Dawn, don't say anymore. We're getting out of here." Ash said as he quickly untied the brooding trainer. Paul didn't understand why Ash could easily rip his bindings yet Paul felt like something was preventing him from leaving the chair. Anyone with supernatural senses could see Ash had blue aura on his arms when he ripped the bindings off. "Paul, I know I'm asking too much from you, but we have to stay so we can save Trip and Est. Everyone else already got the Pokémon and should be clearing a path to escape."
"That's reassuring." Paul admitted as he got up. There was no strength left in his body and he fell to his knees. "Gah…I guess that damn ghost did something to me…"
"P-Paul, are you going to be okay?" Dawn asked in worry still wiping her tears.
"Yes, you just need to leave before they get you."
"But if you're staying then…"
Ash stared toward the door and then toward Virtue with apprehension. The three young trainers were defenseless against the supernatural without their Pokémon to assist them. Ilyana's group needed to make haste if they didn't want any casualties.
Back with Ilyana's group, the purple haired trainer along with Iris and Cilan managed to find the room with the captive Pokémon. Despite the trapdoor with the dead Pokémon and the fact that they did indeed cut some of them up to serve for food, these Pokémon were just behind cages in no real danger of being put on a plate.
"They're all here." Iris exclaimed as Pikachu jumped into her arms. "I'm glad you're okay!"
"Pikachu! Pika pi?"
Cilan chuckled seeing Piplup being as energetic as ever even in this grim situation. Ilyana managed to collect everything else in the room that the twins left. The connoisseur though had his mind focused on the Pokéballs. This was his chance…to do his mission, but…
Is this really the time to do this? Cilan asked himself. As a member of Team Plasma, I must take advantage of the situation. If I released the Pokémon, I could easily use the excuse I was possessed. But that man Virtue…he may be weak willed against these children, but he's observant. I cannot…take the risk, besides…
"Cilan, we need to hurry to Ash now!" Iris exclaimed. "Ash doesn't have his Pokémon to support him!"
The green haired gym leader looked toward the dragon trainer and slowly nodded his head. What came to mind would have to late for a later day. For now, as Cilan the Striation gym leader instead of Cilan of the Shadow Triad, I will help my friends!
When magical attacks were not hitting Virtue like they wanted, the twins resorted to using fake Pokémon to get rid of what Virtue had on him. Without them he would be defenseless against their dark magic.
Ash felt like he had seen this type of power being used before. It was when he went to save his mother against the Unknown and how the girl they were using created Pokémon based on her imagination. Ash had to fight an Entei for one and even if it was an imagination, its powers were real.
This was no different as they started to create Pokémon that were never seen before in Ash's book. Paul would bring up they were from another region. The appearance of most of them was pumpkins.
It would not take long for Ilyana's group to reach the room with the others. With Pokéballs in hand, one would think everything would be okay, but the minute they entered the room, a barrier was placed to prevent the balls from summoning the creatures. Only those who were outside of the Pokéballs were useful. Cilan cursed at how he should have just stayed outside.
Virtue reached for something but stopped confused. What was he reaching for? Besides his two Pokémon, he didn't have anything especially not a sword with how he grabbed for a non-existent sheath.
"Oh Virtue, what are you trying to get?" Alastor asked as he sent the fake pumpkin Pokémon over to Virtue. Ninetales and Noctowl couldn't protect him, but he found himself easily dodging the floating flames. "Its almost like you were reaching for a weapon. What, forget to bring a weapon to exorcise us?"
"Why would I do that? I care for you two." He growled as he looked behind him as if expecting someone to back him up. Why now of all times did he feel like something was out of place? "Alastor, you have to end this madness. I know you well. You would not hurt anyone against your will. You are hurting, please stop!"
Alastor was puzzled by his speech but just laughed off the pleading. "We are past the point of negotiation Virtue! I cannot stop now after what you did to me! You wound me deeply. If you died this time, I will be happy."
Flames shot out of his hand causing Virtue to roll out of the way even farther away from his Pokémon and those he's suppose to protect. He made sure Ninetales kept safeguard at Ash and the group.
"So please burn in the flames of hell!" Alastor shouted as the pumpkins that Alastor summoned focused solely on Virtue.
"Noctowl, just focus on Alma!" Virtue warned his owl seeing how it wanted to assist him. It hooted as a response before flying over to her. Alma easily avoided a wing attack before focusing on Ash's group who were defenseless. With Pikachu and Piplup at least, they could fight back. Ash and Dawn ordered their Pokémon to use long-range attacks. Pikachu attacked with thunderbolt while Piplup tried to dowse the flames with Bubblebeam. They were using magic now so normal attacks wouldn't work. Perhaps the spirits' rage was strong enough that it reflected in the magic beings they sent out.
"Shit, at this rate, we'll be killed if we don't leave the mansion…" Paul cursed.
"I'm not leaving without Trip!" Ash declared.
Ilyana agreed, as she would not leave her family behind. Paul frowned glancing at the little witch girl who floated above them wanting to burn them all to the ground. What could he do? He only got a response from Est once when Alma tried to kill him the first time. Perhaps, he could try to reach out to her again.
"Est, fight back!" He suddenly called out as Pikachu and Piplup tried to counter the flames only to be blown away. Ash and Dawn caught their Pokémon. Axew could only watch helplessly as his dragon rage wouldn't do much in an area like this. "You almost got her the first time! Now is the chance! You don't want Ilyana to get hurt, do you?"
Alma laughed at Paul's lame attempt at trying to get Est to react. "Fool! You think that is going to get a reaction from her? Perhaps if you put more emotion into your words maybe it will reach her!"
"I didn't think Paul would be able to do much anyway." Iris snarked.
"I don't think your words are good taste for this situation Iris…" Cilan mumbled as he hid behind her. Nope, he wasn't going to deal with these ghosts at all.
What else could Paul do? Est was more trouble than she was worth, but she saved his life when he was helpless and even attempted to cheer him up. If the Pokémon were any use in this battle, he could easily blaze through the competition.
Virtue managed to dodge all the flaming pumpkins his way. They started shooting bullet flames and even though his scarf nearly caught fire, he was surprised it was still in one piece. He had to project his voice over to Paul who could stop Alma at the very least while he distracted Alastor.
"Paul, keep calling out to her! I'm sure she hears every word you said!"
The Sinnoh trainer wasn't convinced. Ilyana would do better at waking Est up unless…
"Alma listen to me, you have to stop!" Virtue called out again. "Darlene and Dusk wouldn't want this!"
"What would you know?! You weren't even there!"
"No…I wasn't when those two got together…but Alma, you have to remember something…you didn't give Dusk the chance to tell you his feelings."
"What are you talking about?"
"I wasn't there when they hooked up, but I saw how conflicted Dusk was. He was too scared to reject you because he didn't want to lose the friendship you two had. Darlene was understanding and tried to help before it ended up being this complicated!"
Alma shook her head. "That's just a cop out." She glared at Paul who intended to move out of the safeguard to speak to her. "Besides, that boy is no different from Dusk."
"Est!" Ilyana called out. "Please come back to us! You're my friend and guardian! You can't lose here!"
"Of course not!" Est responded immediately before Alma took control just as quickly. This girl was obsessed with the big breasted woman so of course she wanted to react.
"Est," Paul continued. "We just met, so I don't expect you to listen, but I want you to think what you must do. Losing is not one of them." He then focused on Alma instead. "And you…why would you pester someone into loving you when he didn't return the feelings. Would you not be happy just with friendship or is there something else?"
Alma glared at him. "What are you suggesting?"
"…"
"You have nothing, do you?"
"…Can you remember when this Dusk person hurt you?" He asked. "What exactly did he say to justify your suicide and his murder?"
The ghost girl flinched at the suggestion.
"Did Dusk really deserve to die…or were you just spiteful?"
"H-How dare you suggest that I killed him because I was jealous! He betrayed me!"
Despite her protests though, Est saw an opening from the inside. No normal human would be able to see the memories of a ghost, but she saw it clearly.
Alma did not have happy memories in that mansion. The twin's parents said they would come back for them after they were finished with work. They never returned leaving the two to the mansion where the bills would slowly start to pile up if nothing was done. Alastor was not aware of the collective debt obtained over time, so the suicide came off as a way to escape. Est didn't want to think this though and proceeded to pry to the moment when the twins became friends with Virtue (who was very much their sugar daddy without him realizing it) and later Dusk and Darlene.
The more Est watched these happy memories, the more she realized that Alma put Dusk between a rock and a hard place. Dusk was older than Alma at the time. He did not like the girl jumping on him and making sexual advances at her young age. He was uncomfortable with the situation she was putting him in. Darlene in contrast was incredibly patient with the twins especially Alma when she threw her temper tantrums.
The little ghost girl was just a tragic figure who wanted to grow up as fast as possible and if she could date an older male to take care of her then things would be fine. This could explain why she didn't care about Alastor's growing affection for a man who was way older than him and the pedophile tendencies Virtue showed back until after Alma caught Dusk throwing himself onto Darlene for comfort because of her unwanted harassment. Perhaps if this little girl was a little older, things would have gone differently, but as it stands now, Dusk had every right to reject her due to the sexual intimacy she was forcing on him in the same vain to what she did to Paul.
Est laughed seeing Alma being the one pushed back that it was almost pitiful. The more she saw in that moment, the more Est regained the strength to fight back. Alma screamed feeling Est's willpower overpower her vengeful soul.
"Look at you…you delusional little girl." Est mumbled taking back her voice. "You are a selfish little girl who did not bother to get the other side of the story. You only cared about yourself and you have the audacity to claim victimhood."
"S-Shut up! Stay silent you little turd!" Alma cried as she backed up scaring her brother seeing that the stronger one of the two was losing control.
"For 100 years Virtue has tried to apologize. For 100 years, your friends wanted you and your brother to move on, but you kept killing time and time again. You claim you don't care if they hate you for what you have done, but guess what? Deep down, you know they don't. You just don't want to admit that you were wrong and dragged everyone down your inane path."
"SHUT UP! JUST SHUT UP!"'
"No! I won't shut up! This is my body, and I am disgusted that you used it to fulfill your sexual fantasies that you couldn't do when you are alive. You do not get the moral high ground to berate Virtue when you go off and do the exact thing that drove your twin to suicide! Don't lecture me about my faults either when you can't even admit your own! I will not let you stay in my body! Get out!"
Alma tried her best to keep Est under control, but there was a reason why she was an apprentice to the Melphisto family. Her witch outfit was not for show as her eyes glowed. The vengeful spirit could no longer stay in a body that resisted and was brutally rejected with a scream of terror that rang into everyone's ears. With Alma purged, Est could only smirk as she moved her hands slowly.
"…This is my body…and I will never forgive you for making me lose my virginity…" Est growled as she looked at her hand before turning to Trip. "Alastor, you're going to get out of Trip's body or be exorcised!"
Alastor couldn't believe his sister lost. He backed up with only the fake Pokémon on his end to support him.
"No…I don't want to be a spirit again…no…Alma…no!"
The ghost Pokémon couldn't maintain their pumpkin shape and ended up bursting into flames that targeted Virtue's Pokémon. This flame was different and went past Ninetales' special ability to absorb fire. Noctowl in comparison flew over the flames, but since the burst felt like a heat wave, there was no point. The two Pokémon went back to the ghost hunter.
"You two okay?" Virtue asked with a hint of worry. He got a quick nod as a response. "Good." He turned to Ash who seemed lost at what just occurred with Est. It was a small victory that allowed the group some time to rest, but at the same time Ash needed to think of a plan to get to Trip. Alastor made sure to push Est back with his magic sending her flying. She hummed though that her head landed in between Ilyana's boobs.
"Please get off…" The shy purple haired girl muttered but Est was in heaven.
"I survived and am rewarded…yay…"
The brunette wanted them to focus on Trip's body though. Alastor wasn't that good with magic in comparison to Alma. The flames might backfire if this continued.
"Ash I hope you know my Pokémon are at their limit. Make it quick!"
Virtue's words fell on death ears though. Ash didn't care if Virtue's Pokémon were going to faint at any moment. His mind was on Trip who needed to wake up. If Est who was subjected to the stronger twin longer managed to break free, then Trip could fight back too. He needed to think but there wasn't much time.
"Virtue, I will kill you!" Alastor declared.
"Dammit…" Virtue cursed as he took out his Pokéball ready to call his Pokémon back so they wouldn't get attacked.
Ash closed his eyes trying to think of a plan. The only image that came to mind was when a possessed Trip came onto him and kissed him. The Kanto trainer still didn't understand the implications of those actions and since it wasn't trip who instigated the kiss, it wouldn't count. Perhaps that's what needed to be done calm Alastor down if he wanted the affection of an older male.
"Ash, what are you doing?" Iris called out seeing Ash suddenly charge at Trip. "Get back here! He'll kill you!"
"Trip…I won't let that ghost force you to hurt people with your own hands!" Ash declared. "What happened in the past…you shouldn't have to suffer because of what they did!"
Alastor immediately felt a jolt in his body. Trip could hear Ash's voice and was responding accordingly.
"No…stay back…this body…"
Alastor didn't put much of a fight in comparison to his sister who used all the magic she could to drive the enemy away. Trip was too strong for him and it showed if he couldn't even keep up the magic resistance. Ash made it to the male ghost with no problem and quickly hugged the young boy.
"Trip…I'm sorry I'm late. I'm not doing a good job with this rescue mission. When you come back, I'll do better next time."
"…No…you're not…"
Ash could hear the snarkiness in Trip's voice. He was winning and just needed an extra push.
"Stop! This body…I need it."
"No…you don't! Get out!"
Trip's body trembled in Ash's arms. He was ready for the next act. The raven haired teen took a deep breath as he seized the sides of the photographer's cheek and gave him a passionate kiss. He had no idea how this kiss thing worked anyway, so he tried to repeat the incident from the bedroom. Alastor did not know how to react to this apparent idiot showing Trip affection. The dirty blonde knew what he wanted. His body glowed a bright color and almost immediately a spirit was forced out. Alastor cries could be heard the minute he was ejected but Trip didn't care in that moment. He was quick to wrap his arms around the Kanto trainer and return the feverish kiss. Ash pulled back though surprised.
"You're not Alastor are you…"
"…Idiot! You think I wouldn't want that?" He questioned his cheeks slowly lighting up the longer Ash stared at him with a dazed expression. "Dammit…you better take responsibility for that since you instigated that."
"Take responsibility for what?"
Why did Trip think he would have anything romantic happen with this dumbass? He let go and pushed Ash away who was still confused. Yeah he solved the problem quickly because of not thinking, but he still didn't realize the implication.
I don't want to wait eight years. Trip grumbled to himself seeing as how Ash did not seem to understand how Unova customs worked.
You would think though that the others would bring up the kiss and mock the two, but their attention was toward Alastor's spirit that sided with Alma's. The souls of the twins aviated toward another portion of the room. Ilyana was prepared to attack what was left of the evil twins. Virtue extended his arm out to her signaling the girl that everything was over.
"Virtue?"
"It's alright now…" He said with a faint smile. "I can handle this…"
The brunette turned back toward the direction the souls flew to and slowly made his way toward the shelf with Pokédolls. The entire shelf that wasn't harmed during the battle were all ghost Pokémon particularly Gengar, Rotom and Litwick. Virtue picked up the two Litwick dolls and embraced them knowing full well that the souls were lingering inside of the dolls.
"Alma…Alastor…I'm so sorry…"
The room was voiceless originally. The twins did not intend to respond to Virtue's apology. They were going to be stubborn until the end. What was he expecting from these crazy twins that would blame everything on him?
Why are you apologizing?
Virtue looked at the dolls surprised hearing Alastor's voice.
We're both at fault…
You don't speak for me Alastor!
Sis…we lost…and you know we were wrong from the beginning…
"You two don't need to apologize."
I'M NOT APOLOGIZING! Alma shouted to the point where everyone could hear her even though she was a soul without a physical body at this point. Why should I apologize! After so many years of isolation I thought I found someone I could love! How was I repaid? Everyone betrayed me whom I thought I could call a friend! What was I supposed to do?! That's why we killed ourselves! We had nothing left after we both lost our loved ones and we still couldn't move on even in death!
"Alma…"
I don't want your pity. Alma mumbled. You will never forgive me for all the things I have done. Virtue noticed that Alma was referring to herself instead of speaking for both her and Alastor. Unlike Al…I didn't have hope…and I dragged him down.
Sis…I never thought…
Stop! I know what I did was wrong…I took advantage of your despair…and turned you into someone you would never want to be. The doll that she possessed started to rattle as an evil laugh echoed the room. We're both going to hell because of me. We're going to hell because we didn't cling to hope. We're going to hell because I was…
Stop it!
Now the other doll was rattling. The sudden shout surprised the female twin.
…You are not the only one at fault. I was foolish…as well…that's why I'm going with you to hell. We both deserve it. I mean we both harmed the trainers that came through the mansion and their Pokémon. It's only natural to be smothered in fire and brimstone or put in freezing water for our punishment.
"Alma…Alastor…"
The twins noticed something wet fell on the doll. This shouldn't be possible since the doll wasn't alive. Yet, they could feel something on the top of the candles. The stoic exorcist in front of them was slowly losing his façade that he kept for so long.
"I'm so sorry…if only I had reached out to you and not have my lust take over you two wouldn't have killed yourselves…and maybe Dawn and Darlene…"
"Virtue…there was nothing you could do." Ilyana suddenly spoke. Her voice suddenly low and serious compared to her normally withdrawn voice that would be easy to ignore. This caused Virtue and the twins to look her direction. "You apologize and come up with all of these what if scenarios. But the past is the past and you can't undo it. Believe me, I think there would be many people that would love to turn back time to prevent tragedy from striking…but we suffer for our mistakes…but we also move on. If we are stuck in the past, we cannot achieve enlightenment…or that's what my father use to tell me."
"Auntie…" Trip mumbled weakly. He had never seen his aunt give a motivation speech like this in his life. Judging from Est's expression, Ilyana had never been able to speak up for herself at all.
It wasn't long before one of the Litwick dolls started to rattle again.
Oh look. Ms. Jiggles actually said something intelligent that we both already know. Not going to change anything now, so might as well go to hell with a huge smile on our faces.
"Alma…"
Come on. Chin up. We might see each other again…if you go to hell with us…heh heh…
She was trying to lighten the mood with her dark humor but was failing miserably. She sounded terrified at the fate that was going to befall her and her brother…but with the sins they committed, there was nothing to do.
…You should go. Alastor spoke in a voice that sounded like he was submitting himself to his cruel end. The mansion will fall apart like it was supposed to when we died. If you don't leave, we can't guarantee your safety…
Virtue didn't want to leave…even if the mansion was slowly shaking and the roof was slowly crumbling to nothing. Now that he made up with them, why did he have to leave? It wasn't fair!
"Okay…"
That wasn't what he wanted to say as he put the dolls back on the shelf. Cilan was already leading the girls out while Paul was waiting for Ash and Trip to hurry along. Ash was looking back at the exorcist who looked like he wanted to stay behind. Then he slowly stepped back.
"So…I guess…this is good-bye…"
Flipping his scarf behind him, he slowly turned around and ordered everyone to leave the room and head for the exit. Virtue did not look back after his good-byes. The twins waited until everyone was gone before everything around them collapses.
Al…
Yes sis?
It's funny…after killing people for so long that when death is finally ready to come for us…I'm scared.
…I'm scared too sis…but you're not alone…we're not alone…
The spirits could be seen hovering over the Litwick dolls. Despite their confession of fear, both had a contempt smile on their face. With their eyes closed, they could imagine a happier time before the drama began. Before the backstabbing and misunderstandings destroyed their only hope in life and how they all lived happily ever after.
Yes…if they were going to die, they would die with blissful memories.
We may not be able to go back to those wonderful days, but we can remember them forever…and ever…
Me: TBC with 7169 words.
Li: Two years later come next Halloween…
Me: I apologize…I really lost my love for the Pokémon anime again because of how the Unova arc was treated and how they apparently hired a new writer to fix XY anime but at this point, I can't bond with the cast even if Ash is written way better. Why bother when fanfiction can make Ash better (not bragging or anything given it is true fanfiction writers can write Ash better than the anime writers). We also have to remember that chapter 7 and 8 were supposed to be one chapter, so if you think this chapter is short, it was because I split it in half for an update and then two years later, nothing. Notes!
1. Originally I was going to make up some Pokémon designs for the magic Alma and Alastor used but since Pokémon XY is out with some ghost Pokémon for Halloween, might as well use them. They're Pumpkaboo specifically.
2. There are subtle hints to Virtue realizing that something is wrong with him. Since I finished the epilogue first, I didn't add it however, I decided that this could foreshadow the epilogue instead.
3. As mentioned above this chapter was going to be just one but I split it for an update, but got lazy. As a result, the lack of a real final battle stems from the fact that there was no point in Ash's group fighting when it was about taming the spirits and showing how powerful Est and Trip were while giving some ship tease moments between the ones who help them out. So I apologize if you people expected a drawn out final battle.
That's it. Reviews are appreciated. I am so sorry again! Ja ne!