Whoop! Fast updates! I feel bad for dropping off the face of the earth, so here is another chapter. ENJOY!!!!!
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Mac stared openmouthed at Kendal for a moment before coming to her senses. "Y-y-you d-did?" she managed out. Kendal nodded vigorously.
"Yup."
"Why didn't you just contact me via pokéteck?" she asked the country girl. Kendal smiled at Mac sheepishly.
"He he, well, I don't have the waterproof version yet. It kinda, ya know, drowned." She chuckled nervously and returned Gyna to her pokéball. "Anyway, what I came here for: a little boy has been trapped in a nightmare for three whole days in Veilstone City. From what I heard he's been muttering 'Darkrai' in his sleep."
Mac opened and closed her mouth in surprise. "R-really?" she choked out. Kendal nodded.
"Really." Kendal stared at Mac, a serious expression on her face.
"That's great!" Dusty exclaimed. "If there's someone trapped in a nightmare, we can investigate the area for Darkrai." Mac nodded at the two teens on either side of her.
"Alright. You coming too, Kendal?" Kendal shook her head.
"Na, I got other things ta do. Happy ta help!" she took off running in the opposite direction. Mac and Dusty looked at each other and shrugged. They'd be fine without her anyway. The duo made their way onward to Eterna Forest. Who knows what would befall them there?
Despite all the hype about it being dark and mysterious, Eterna Forest was full of lush scenery and young, happy Pokémon slitting around. Mac shrugged. Never judge a book by its cover. She never did…
"Get lost you evil creature!" a little girl yelled as a Ghastly floated about the school. Her face fell as the girl screamed in fright. Even though her brothers and sisters enjoyed scaring people, this Ghastly was not one for that. She wanted to meet a nice trainer that would take her out on adventures, but everywhere she went, children would flee in fright.
There wasn't anyone that loved Ghost pokémon around here either.
"She's not evil!" Ghastly turned to see a boy with dark hair and a girl with cascading blond hair in her eyes standing behind him. "She's a ghost Pokémon. Leave her alone!" Ghastly couldn't help but feel an attraction towards the blue-eyed, blond haired girl and the dark haired boy.
"Y-yeah," the blue-eyed girl said, "She's really, um, cool." The girl that screamed from before just ran off in the other direction.
"Humph. You're both freaks." The girl shrieking from before yelled without looking behind her. Ghastly turned to her rescuers. They weren't much older than eleven. In a flash, the dark haired boy had thrown a pokéball at the Ghastly and captured it. For some odd reason, Ghastly wasn't afraid. She wanted to be captured. Maybe he'd be a nice trainer…
"When I get her strong enough, I'll battle against your ghost Pokémon. Then we'll see who's better!" the boy exclaimed grabbing the timid girl's hand. He pulled her along. "Let's go eat something. I'm starved."
A year later, Seth traded Mac the Ghastly for a Sneasel. They both evolved into their next form after trading. That battle never did commence…
Dusty glanced at Mac through the corner of his eye. Duskull was following her and mimicking her, creating roaring laughter from the three Pokémon following closely behind. Dusky chuckled. Mac gave him a weird look and when she turned it caused her hair to move out of her face. For the first time since the two met he saw her face. She was beautiful, and Dusty wondered why she would hide from the world. Guys would probably drool all over her if she just pulled her bangs out of her face and uncovered those beautiful crystal blue orbs.
"Whatcha staring at?" she asked quietly, almost a whisper so Dusty had to crane his neck to hear better.
"I was just thinking you must get a really weird tan on your face." She burst into laughter, startling Duskull. It was the first time he'd heard anything more than a simple, quiet chuckle. Mac didn't seem like the type to really laugh. She blushed and turned away.
"Well, I don't normally sit in the sun." Dusty nodded at her comment. That made sense. A comfortable silence followed. Mac was used to silence. She never did talk much, unless she was around Seth and/or Mandy and Wendy. And she never, and I mean never laughed in front of people she met an hour or so ago. Dusty was affecting her and she didn't know why. He seamed so young and defenseless when she met him at Valley Windworks, but after regaining his confidence he was stronger and ready to take on the world. She had always imagined her life with Seth as the one guy to fill the hole in her chest and be there for her when she needed him, but maybe Seth wasn't the one she was ever in love with. She thought she was, but there were more people out there him. Dusty was a fine example…
Mac blushed and shook her head to clear it. What was she thinking? She just met the guy and he attacked her on top of it! She shouldn't be—
"You want to stop for dinner?" Dusty asked. Mac opened her mouth to say no, but then her stomach growled. She smiled at Dusty sheepishly.
"Um, s-sure." They stopped outside a large mansion that seemed to be abandoned. Mac tilted her head to the side when she heard a loud Pokémon call, one she was unfamiliar with. Dusty looked up at the large house and then at Mac. He smiled.
"Want to go check it out?"
"N-not r-really." Mac stuttered. Dusty smirked at her.
"So the girl who loves ghost Pokémon, is afraid to go into a house infested with ghost Pokémon?" Mac gave him a sour look.
"… Fine." Mac followed closely behind Dusty as they hopped the fence and made their way inside. Duskull followed Mac cautiously and Dusty's Pokémon were returned to their pokéballs. The two teens peeked through a broken, purple, stain glass window. The mansion was dark and the only light was flickering from the second floor. Mac smiled slightly at Dusty before climbing through the window. He followed soon after.
"You sure you're okay with this?" Dusty asked, "I mean, it IS a haunted house."
Mac nodded her head. "Like you said, I love ghost Pokémon."
Dusty smiled and it only grew bigger as he followed her into the back room. "You seem awfully brave, Mac." Her eyes shifted to him. "You seem so timid and scared, but you're really actually a brave person." He chuckled. "Who would have thought…?"
A shadow passed through the room commanding Mac's attention. She squinted in the dark. A figure of a man, a butler, floated across the room and the teens about had a heart attack. It couldn't be a real ghost, could it? Mac, overwhelmed by curiosity and not about to voice her fears to Dusty, began to follow the fading ghost. Dusty followed silently, not sure about what he should be doing. There was no such thing as ghosts anyway, right?
But, maybe it was a real ghost. Ghost Pokémon existed, so why not ghost people?
The "ghost" went into a kitchen area and Mac followed. Dusty, who had been lagging behind, struggled to catch up, but when he reached the old dilapidated kitchen, there was no Mac, just an old man in a butler's suit. He was somewhat transparent and his feet didn't touch the ground. He was just hovering over the broken tile.
"Who are you, and what are you doing in the young master's house?"
