Author's Note: Hello everyone! So, me and Joltie are back with another chapter. As you can guess, this chapter's done by Joltie and while it still has the same dry humor that Joltie loves to do, the chapters grows serious later on. If any of you remember my last Scooby-Doo/Pokémon crossover story, you'll understand what I mean.

Also, I want to mention something very important that's going to probably affect my future writing. In order for me to pass my school, I need to do community service for about 26 hours the whole year. Now, I don't know how long it will take me to reach up to 26 hours, but I will say me being in community service will somehow affect my writing schedule. So there's a possible chance I won't be uploading chapters or my new stories for a quite a while. I'm sorry for those who enjoy my story, but my education is very important to me, no matter how happy writing and seeing all of your responses makes me.

That aside, enjoy this wonderful chapter by Joltie after these shoutouts!

SHOUTOUTS-!

Guest: Yeah, that's probably why I never heard of it. Don't worry, they will.

Omarnosian10: Haha, I think Lumiose City's alleyways are more complicated than that. Don't forget, Taku went into a different than the others. :)

Satoshi-Greninja: Oh, I don't know. I might do something like that in the future. If you really do want to see Scrappy in a Scooby-Doo/Pokémon crossover, check out Steel Heart Alchemist's story Trainer's Island Cure.

Steel Heart Alchemist: What can I say? Shaggy and Scooby do interesting things for food, but they do tend to feel guilty when the XY Gang is involve. :) Hahaha! Both me and Joltie imagine Clemont tone deaf because let's face it, can you really imagine him sing with that puberty voice from his English Voice-Actor? Oh man, if anybody knows what it's like to have a Dad sing like he's tone deaf, I feel you. Also, sorry about those mistakes. And yeah, since Rica Mastumoto (Ash's Japanese Voice-Actor) is a singer and sings so well, me and Joltie thought Ash can sing pretty well. Also, I think Sarah Natochenny mentioned she could sing somewhere. Again, I don't speak gibberish.

R8: You're right, I can't reply to it. Although I'm very tempted to comment on it. Enjoy the chapter!

Joshua Ketchum: Thanks! You'll find out what frees people from the hypnosis later on. ;)

Blaze: Yeah, I thought of that for a while and figured it will be extremely funny. At the end of the day, the XY Gang are still kids and you don't mess with kids when it comes to their deserts.

Lightwing: Probably going to get an apology off-screen by Clemont.

Darkwing: Yep. Wahoo! More trapping-moments from Fred!

sunnyflight530: Yeah, that song was stuck in my head for a while and figured it fits Ash so well in that scene. Hope you enjoy this chapter!


Chapter 7

Everyone was sat huddle around the TV screen in Prism Tower, one of the few safe places in the entire city, watching as new reports flashed up about the robbery rampage which the police couldn't control. Officers had tried to regain order and restore peace but there were too many hypnotised people there that fought back against them. Many members of the police force ended up in hospital with their injuries, where other non-hypnotised people hung out until the siege was over.

"I wonder how Professor Sycamore is doing." Serena mumbled, her head resting on her hands and her elbows were resting on her thighs.

"I bet he'll be fine, Serena." Taku tried to reassure her, not even making the Kalosians ponder why he knew the professor, practically everyone did in the Kalos region anyway.

"I wonder why the hypnotised people are robbing banks." Everyone turned their heads to Ash, who was looking out of the large window which gave a good view of the trouble happening in the streets below. He stopped mid-stroke of Pikachu's head and looked back at the others. "I mean, why would a robot want money?"

"Hmm… I've been wondering about the same thing too." Velma admitted, pulling out her laptop and pulled up all recordings of the robberies. Everyone crowded around her to have a look at the information as well. "All the targets have been high end international banks."

"Well, one thing is for certain, the Puppet Master really likes the green." Daphne muttered, before looking around nervously. "If you get what I'm talking about."

"Yeah, money." Bonnie sighed and banged her head down on the table. "Great, a greedy robot. What a life I live in." She groaned sarcastically.

"So by using the music box, she manages to hypnotise those who hear it." Clemont was lost in thought, pacing around the room with a hand on his chin. "Then she gets them to steal from banks? Yeah, she defiantly lives up to her name."

"But why?" Velma asked herself, causing everyone else to think as well. "Why would a children's restaurant animatronic suddenly have a want for money? And where did she get that music box? And who exactly is she?"

"Well, if you want answers, then the Lumiose Museum will help." Taku suggested, handing over a leaflet to Velma that came from his trouser pocket. "They are holding a 40 Years of Fazbear's exhibit showcasing all of their animatronics from all aspects of the company. I bet the Puppet Master will be one of them."

It was instantly agreed that the museum was the place where the investigation would start.


Of course, getting to the museum was easier said than done. With the police officers dotted around the streets and the masses of hypnotised people wandering the roads, the entire trip took double the time it would have normally to make it from Prism Tower to the Lumiose Museum, which was actually normally a 30 minute walk away but, with constant hiding in alleyways, brief running spurts and moments of paranoia.

Reaching the entrance felt like they had won a race in the Olympics, or at least become the stealthiest person in the history of stealthiness, well the Mystery Inc. members at the very least. Fred and Taku worked together to push the door open, as it seemed to be rusty from misuse. Yeah, not being used for a couple of days seemed to do that to tourist attraction doors. Slowly, one by one, the group made it inside, noting how the lights and heating was still on as they got a burst of hot air as they walked in which warmed them up from the cold wind outside.

"Remember gang, stick together." Fred instructed, something that the other Mystery Inc. members would never think they would hear him say in the history of his life, after all, he was the one always splitting them up. However, that could have been aimed towards the children more than the collective group itself.

Instead of pictures hanging from the walls, the museum had cases, cases filled with statues of what looked to be like monsters. All different kinds of creatures, humanoid and not, filled the rooms in creepy poses with facial expressions to match. Certain expressions from the continental based adults made the others realise that they had been familiarised with some of these statues.

"Hey, Scoob. Isn't that like, the Miner Forty-Niner?" Shaggy asked with a gulp, staring at the figure in front of him.

"Reah! And rhis is the Headless Snowman!" Scooby added, before taking a closer look, which scared him causing the pooch to run to Shaggy and jump up his shirt, head poking out of the shirt's collar as he shivered.

"Relax Scooby, it's just a statue." Velma placed her hands on her hips anyway. "But what are these monsters doing here?"

"I thought we'd exposed them as just costumed fakes." Daphne added, scratching her head gently in confusion.

"Well that's because those be great legends 'round these parts." A creepy old voice answered with a cracking tone. Shaggy and Scooby yelled, running away from the voice's direction, deciding to hide behind Ash for the time being, who just gave them a comforting look. A man walked out from the darkness, his balding head hidden by a blue cap that matched the colour of his overalls. A red, long sleeved top was visible underneath it, his brown boots peeking out from under the denim fabric. "Even though our governments can't see eye ta eye, we still respect the legends your side upholds."

"And, you are?" Freddie asked with an upturned eyebrow.

"Joseph Briggs. Janitor of this fine establishment." The man greeted, looking over each and every person before his gaze rested on Taku. "Mr. Ketchum? What is a man like you doing in a place like this with all that's going on outside?"

"Let's just say we're investigating into the robot behind all of this." The millionaire responded politely. "I found a pamphlet that showcased an exhibit behind the Fazbear Company's animatronics and we believe it could hold some answers."

"Well, ya came to the right place." Joe said with a crooked smile. "If ya'll like to follow me, if you'd be so kind." He turned and began to walk towards the stairs, with his guests giving each other confused looks and, with a round of shrugging shoulders, they followed him towards the exhibit.

"Here we are." They stopped near the entrance way of a large exhibit room, which was covered by two purple curtains with white stars covering the fabric. "The Fazbear exhibit."

"Everyone ready?" Fred asked, getting a response of nods from everybody, except one certain child. Serena turned around to see Ash staring at a case right next to the entrance, his body shaking uncontrollably as his eyes started to glaze over.

"Ash… are you okay?" She inquired with concern, walking over to him only to have the figure in the case gain her attention, a figure she knew all too well. The Spectre, the figure that had caused so much pain and sadness back at Stan's Deadpan Camp, was right in front of her, arm outstretched in an effort to grab the nearest being to it, red eyes glowing brought back horrific memories. Subconsciously her hand gingerly touched her neck, remembering the Spectre using her crush's body to try and kill her, strangle her out of all the air in her lungs. However, she realised that someone was traumatised more by that monster than she was and he was standing right next to her. Before she could say anything else, he backed away, skin turning pale before he fled back down the stairs, his sobs following him down.

For a while, no one did or said anything, until Joe spoke up. "So that spectre there be real scary, huh?"

"More than you think." Clemont muttered vaguely, causing the janitor to frown slightly.

"Meh, if you would follow me." He shrugged it off, not noticing the glares he was getting from both the children and adults from this sensitive subject. Taku was about to follow his nephew until Bonnie, Clemont and Serena grabbed his jumper, all of them shaking their heads.

"Leave him be." Serena looked down at the ground sadly. "Talking to him about it makes it worse."

"Trust us; it's happened to us before." Bonnie added, deciding to hug Dedenne. Pikachu, who had wondering whether or not he should follow his trainer, decided that Ash needed the alone time to recover and jumped up onto Taku's shoulder, his ears lowered and expression sad. As the group followed Joe into the exhibit, Shaggy and Scooby decided to glare at the Spectre, even doing the 'Eyes on You' gesture with their fingers as they went through the curtain. Minutes later, they poked their heads out once more and did the gesture once again before disappearing through the curtain's folds.


Many, many animatronics faced them as they entered the main exhibit room, all of which seemed to have been inspired by Pokémon of various different kinds, some familiar and some not. They followed Joe until they stood in front of the display that was very familiar to them, the Puppet Master. However, under the plaque, her name seemed to be Marion Etta.

"This here be the one you seek." Joe seemed to hold unfathomable wisdom as he talked, some of which was being released now. "She was originally intended to be a horror attraction robot, ya see? Made for the teens and adults. That's why she looks da way she does. However, the company officials decided it be best that she was put up for children's entertainment. Stupid decision if ya ask me."

"I remember being told that." Taku muttered, all eyes turning to him. "Henry Fazbear's father made the decision before he took charge. Due to the scaring that she gave the children, the Marion Etta was only around for about three years, the shortest of any animatronic ever."

"Ye be right 'bout that." Joe continued, his grey eyes twinkling as he did so. "Her designer, ya see, some unnamed woman, went crazy over that decision and cause a lot of crazy stuff was happening in her life at the moment. She went insane and died in the asylum she was sent too. Rumour has it she haunts the animatronic she made to this very day…"

Shaggy and Scooby yelped before running towards a conveniently placed coffin, jumping into it and slamming the lid shut. Their shivering caused the entire case to shake from the force of their actions, which looked extremely unnerving if the group hadn't known who was in there.

"That's a… nice rumour." Daphne uttered nervously, her voice sounding forced as she spoke.

"Oh yeah, another spirit-run monster." Bonnie rolled her eyes and groaned. "Like we totally needed this right now."

"Anything else we need to know?" Velma inquired, ignoring what was going on around her.

"A curious one, ain't cha?" Joe rubbed the stubble on his chin before smiling. "Well, this one was designed to respond to a music box, a kiddie melody before scaring people. Apparently, the company higher ups thought giving her one to play kiddie tunes was a hint back to the original plans for her. However, instead of one tune, the music box the robot was given could play multiple different tunes, including modern ones that the children requested. The music box that creeper is using now ain't the real deal, let me tell ya. If it was, then it wouldn't just have a cranking handle, it would have buttons on it too."

"Thank you for your time, Joseph." Taku smiled at the man and did a traditional half bow, of which the janitor mirrored. "You have been a big help."

"Don't mention it." Joe grinned, revealing his crooked teeth once again. "It was nice seeing people again, after all this time. I hope you lot can solve this mystery up quickly, I'm sure Lumiose and the police would be grateful if you did."

As the adults turned to leave, Serena, Clemont and Bonnie, by extension Dedenne and Pikachu, who had jumped down from Taku's shoulder to sniff at the wooden casket, walked over to the coffin and raised the lid, with hopes to get the two scaredy-cats out of there. Once the lid was up, the two fully grown adults looked up at the children with a fear that can only be described as slightly humorous.

"Girls." Shaggy began, gaining Serena and Bonnie's attention immediately, causing Bonnie to stare at Clemont as to why he was not listening, he was classified as a girl so he should be listening right now, how rude. "Like, promise me that you'll never, EVER, play with dolls again!"

"Reah!" Scooby nodded his head in agreement, causing the girls to chuckle at the request the two friends of theirs had made. They could see why Shaggy would have said that, the Puppet Master having left a sizeable impression on them and their views of articulate dolls. The two females looked at each other before Bonnie decided that she would be the one to respond to their prayers.

"Umm… can I come back to you on that one?" The two men freaked out and jumped out of the coffin, running after the other adults screaming their heads off, with Joe simply smirking as they left, trying to hide back a laugh.

"Bonnie!" Clemont glared down at his little sister. "Why did you say that?!"

"It got them out of there, didn't it?" She responded vaguely, shrugging her shoulders whilst not caring about the glare her older brother was giving her whilst her best female friend and the two Pokémon were rolling about on the floor with laughter, clutching their stomachs as if they were in pain as they did so. Well at least Bonnie had done what she had said her words did, she had got Scooby and Shaggy out of that coffin, however it wasn't in the most friendliest and kindest way possible.


"Hey, Ash… we're leaving now." Serena called out as the group made their way out of the museum. A part of her felt worried as no one had seen him yet. She sighed to herself, knowing that the place would bring up bad memories of the past experience. As they walked around, a sweet melodic voice entered her ears, causing her to stop walking.

"I tried hard to make you want me
But we're not supposed to be
And the truth will always haunt me
Even though it set me free"

Everybody seemed to follow her notions, listening to the emotion, the pain that worked its way into the lyrics. However, the voice was very familiar, only having been heard for the first time ever only a few hours ago. No one spoke but they were all thinking the same thing, follow that voice.

"And my tears flow like the ocean
As they floated in the breeze
They were falling in slow motion
And they brought me to my knees"

The gang started running, heading towards the secondary lobby for events like children's visits and school trips where people could sit and talk after walking around. That's where the singing was coming from and that's where they would find Ash, obviously.

"You're haunting me, taunting me all in my brain
Turn off the light and now all that remains
Fills me with doubt
And I'm shouting your name out loud
Why do you wanna put me through the pain?
I get the feeling I'll never escape
I can't hide away from the shame of you"

The kids and the adults entered the room, noticing their friend or nephew standing with his back away from them, the backing track playing through the speaker system. They watched in awe as he poured his heart and soul into singing the lyrics. Relating to them in ways that even they couldn't.

"Tears on the ground, tears on my pillow
You won't bring me down
And I'll get over you
These tears will get me through
And I'll get over you
I'll get over you
I'll get over you
I'll get over you
I'll get over you"

Now they realised why he was singing this, it was a way to push himself into getting better, getting over the problems of the past, namely Peggy White, Stan and the Spectre, his father was also someone included on that list, as Taku noticed relating the lyrics to what his brother had put his nephew through back when the boy was four.

"When did you lose your emotion?
When did you become so cruel?
And if you want to cut me open
Says a thousand words 'bout you
And in time I know you'll leave me
Like a distant memory
I know love can be so easy
If I start by loving me, oh"

Actions and body movements began working their way into the performance as Ash got lost in the music, singing from the bottom of his heart. All of his feelings were being shown for all too see and it was painful yet awe inspiring at the same time. Everyone listened in pure silence, not able to utter a word, totally spell bound by what they were hearing.

"You're haunting me, taunting me all in my brain
Turn off the light and now all that remains
Fills me with doubt
And I'm shouting your name out loud
Why do you wanna put me through the pain?
I get the feeling I'll never escape
I can't hide away from the shame of you"

The second time around made the impact even more powerful, the heartfelt performance still continuing deep, digging holes into their brains as they engraved their feelings into their brains.

"Tears on the ground, tears on my pillow
You won't bring me down
And I'll get over you
I'll get over you
I'll get over you
I'll get over you"

Even they were getting into the groove of the song, on the spot dancing along whilst gaining more knowledge behind its meaning and what it meant to the one who was singing it.

"Tears on the ground, rain at my window
The pain washes out
And I'll get over you
These tears will get me through
And I'll get over you
I'll get over you
I'll get over you
I'll get over you"

A sudden change in tone and pitch made them realise something big was coming up, something that may just change their views yet again as they listened to a beautiful live performance that rarely could be seen due to auto tune and many performers who used it turning to rapping and spending too much time on dancing sections of the song.

"I don't need you to call me tonight
I don't need you to see if I'm alright
You left me, so leave me, I'm fine
I'll be here getting on with my life"

Both the adults and children realised the first two lines of the bridge were talking about them, about how they were constantly making sure he was okay when a part of them knew that asking was bringing up the memories anyway. The later part was obviously talking about his father and how he was continuing without the need for him to be around.

"Tears on the ground, tears on my pillow
You won't bring me down
I'll get over you
(Tears on the ground, rain at my window
The pain washes out)
I'll get over you
Tears on the ground, rain at my window
The pain washes out
And I'll get over you
Oh yeah, I'll get over you"

A part of Serena wanted her to run over and hug her crush, telling him he was doing a great job in coping with everything that had happened in the past few months. However, she was stuck to the ground, listening to the song as it unfortunately came to an end.

"I'll get over...
I'll get over you"

The track ended, causing a round of applause from those who were watching, making the raven haired trainer to turn around in shock.

"You guys…"

"Heard it all." Shaggy admitted, rubbing the back of his head sheepishly. "Like, you have a really great voice Ash."

"He's right!" Bonnie grinned, jumping up and down. "That was awesome! Like a pop star!" Everyone smiled as a deep crimson blush formed on Ash's face as he looked towards the ground shyly.

"You… mean it?" He asked before his uncle walked up to him and pulled him into a hug.

"Of course we do. We kind of know how hard this must be for you but, at the same time, we don't. This song made us, me, realise how truly strong you are." Taku held his nephew out with both hands on his shoulders. "I am proud to call you my nephew, Ash."

The raven haired boy blushed deeper as tears of joy began forming in his eyes. "Everyone, thank you!"

Taku simply smiled as he pulled an arm around his nephew's shoulders. "Don't mention it. We'd better be heading back now."

"Like, yeah. I wouldn't wanna be here when old and creepy six legs shows up!" Shaggy shivered, Scooby nodding in agreement.

"Reah!"

"Actually, there is something I'd like to check out." Velma interrupted, turning towards the children. "You mentioned that you noticed something about finding clues in the Lumiose Music Hall?"

"We did." Clemont answered, recalling the blueprints they had found in the dressing room. "They had something to do with the music box the Puppet Master carries around."

"Well gang, looks like our next destination is the Lumiose Music Hall!" Fred grinned determinedly whilst pointing in the supposed direction the large building was, except he was pointing in the wrong direction. As the others began to head off, Shaggy turned to his best friend.

"Like, you'd think we wanted to bump into mechanical and creepy after this." He ended with a gulp, scared to think that they were heading back inside the music hall, the home of the animatronic that was making life miserable at the moment for many, many people.

"Rike, reah…" Scooby whimpered, leaving the two to notice the sizeable gap being formed between them at the others.

"LIKE, HEY! WAIT FOR US CHICKENS!"