Ohirume: Well, moment of truth time.

Omega: *nods* Now we'll find out what Yukiro gave Gastly.

Faux: Hm. I'm gonna bet it's the pumpkin head with the flying broom/scythe and the one with the Frightfur/FNAF teddy bears under her skirt.

Mizuro: You mean Jack-O'-Lantern and Diamantina. I mean, they fit a Halloween theme, but I don't think so.

Gem: Oh! I know! 3XK and Ghost Killer!

Omega: Those are my puppets, Gem. And I already checked, Yukiro didn't steal them.

Mizuro: Plus, they aren't from Karakuri Circus.

Gem: *pouts* Oh, right. Well, what do you think, Omega?

Omega: Hm. It's likely to be Olympia and/or one of the Ar-

Ohirume: *Random sputtering*

RATSATSAA JA RIPIDABI DILLA

BERITSTAN DILLAN DELLAN DOO!

A BARIBBATTAA BARIBBARIIBA

Omega: Why are you shouting the Levan Polka?

Ohirume: I don't own Pokémon, Ben 10, or Karakuri Circus!

.

Summer's End Festival (part 2): Maiden's Peak Mayhem

.

.

The group got an early start the next day and set out to find Brock. Soot, Misty, Pikachu, and Clefairy were looking around the shrine where they left him. Lockdown mode hadn't worn off yet, so Ash was searching the rest of the town and most of the surrounding forest.

"Brock!" Soot called out.

"Brock, where are you?!" Misty followed.

"Brock, come on!" Pikachu shouted.

"We're getting worried!" Clefairy yelled with a frown.

"James? James?!"

Everyone looked towards the shrine in surprise.

Soot groaned, "Every time."

They started walking towards the entrance at the same time Meowth and Jessie did.

Jessie didn't notice yet, "If you're not here, at least come out and tell us!"

"Dat's right!" Meowth shouted.

"You too, huh?" Soot said with a bored expression.

Jessie and Meowth flinched and looked over at the group.

Jessie glared, "I finally found you!" She stopped and grumbled, "Oh, wait a minute, you're not the one I was looking for."

Misty rolled her eyes, "You can't find the blue-haired guy, can you?"

Jessie smirked, "Prepare for trouble! And make it double!" She deadpanned, "Doing this myself is a real drag."

"To protect the world from devastation! To unite all peoples within our nation! To denounce the evils of truth and love!"

Soot's eye twitched. She was about to interrupt when a voice awkwardly called out, "To extend our reach to the stars above."

Jessie blinked in surprise, "Jessie?"

"Jaaames."

Everyone started looking around for the source.

"Team Rocket, blast off at the speed of light!" Jessie called out.

"Surrender now, or prepare to fiiiiiiight." The doors to the shrine burst open and James fell to the ground in a daze.

Jessie looked down at him in surprise, "He looks awful."

"Worse dan usual." Meowth followed.

Brock fell out of the shrine shortly after.

Soot moved to him and crouched down, "Brock, what happened?"

Brock and James just laughed strangely.

Soot's eyes widened when she felt something familiar.

"So, everything turned out just as I predicted."

Everyone turned to see the old woman from before.

Soot looked at her warily, "What are you doing here?"

The woman looked at them with a smirk, "Obviously, these two have both seen the Ghost of the Maiden."

Jessie, Clefairy, Meowth, and Misty flinched, "Ghost?!"

"Of the maiden?" Soot and Pikachu followed with raised brows.

Brock and James started laughing like idiots and hugged with goofy smiles on their faces.

Soot stared; wide eyed, "Okay, this is too weird." She looked over at the mouse, "Pikachu-"

"Way ahead of you." Pikachu said as his cheeks started sparking. He shocked the two of them mercilessly.

The laughing nutjobs fell to the ground in a daze.

Brock sat back up, "Uh, who am I? I am Brock."

Misty sweat dropped, "Well, it's better than before."

James recovered shortly after, "I'm James, from Team Rocket." The jumped back to his feet and started prancing around.

Jessie facepalmed, "He's back to normal."

Meowth crossed his arms, "Yeah, and dat's da problem."

"Come with me." The old woman said as she walked into the shrine. Most of the other's followed.

Meowth looked around, "Hey, where's da twoip?"

Soot deadpanned, "Away at the moment. He should be back later tonight."

She heard some familiar whooshing and glanced over to see Ash peeking out from around a tree. He held a large piece of cardboard with '16:13' carved into it.

Soot grumbled, "Much later."

Meowth blinked and followed her gaze. He saw a few kicked up leaves fall to the ground, "Uh."

"Come on." Soot said as she followed the others into the shrine.

Meowth glanced back at the tree in confusion before following.

.

*Inside

Soot, Brock, Misty, Pikachu, Clefairy, Jessie, James, and Meowth sat down as the old woman spoke.

"All men who pass this way fall under her spell. It's always the same story, over and over. We find them here acting like zombies with the life sucked out of them, babbling like idiots. It's the work of that Maiden's ghost, still waiting for her young soldier to return. It's just as I warned them."

Soot raised a brow, 'What? How could they be babbling at all if their life force was absorbed?'

"So what?" Brock said monotonously, "Who cares as long as I can be with her?"

Soot looked at him with a deadpanned expression, "Seriously?"

James, on the other hand, was freaking the Yvel out, "I'm scared! You've got to do something!"

"There is only one thing we can do." The old woman announced.

Everyone looked at her in surprise, "What?"

She held up a stack of paper, "We have these."

Soot raised a brow, "And those are?"

The woman quickly attached one of the stickers to Brock and James's foreheads. Brock didn't seem to notice. "These are anti-ghost seals." The woman continued, "However…"

Soot groaned, "How much?"

.

*Outside the shrine

"Why did they have to be so expensive?" Misty complained as she walked outside with a handful of them; Soot by her side. She was about to stick one to the building when Soot nudged her.

"Hold on, Misty." Soot said.

Misty looked at her, "What is it?"

"I wanna test something." Soot looked at seals, "Try sticking one to me."

Misty raised a brow, "Okay?" She took one of the seals and placed it on Soot's forehead.

Soot looked at the seal and frowned, "Hm." She shifted her eyes to their inherent state. Almost immediately, the seal fell through her and landed on the ground.

Soot grumbled, "I knew it. They're fake."

Misty's eyes widened, "What?!"

Soot glared at the shrine, "She gave us fake seals. If they were real, I wouldn't be able to remove them. And especially not by phasing through them."

Misty clenched her teeth and glared at the building, "The nerve of that old hag! She's not getting away with scamming us!"

"I don't think that's their goal."

Misty jerked around and saw Quick Attack leaning up against the shrine.

Misty blinked in surprise, "Ash? How long have you been here?"

Ash chuckled, "The whole time, actually."

Soot looked at Misty with a raised brow, "He's been here since we found Brock. I mean, it was kinda hard to miss."

Misty sweat dropped, "Uh-"

Soot laughed, "Sorry, sorry, I'm kidding. I saw dad behind a tree before I walked in."

Misty deadpanned, "Very funny." She looked back at Ash, "What do you mean? Isn't she just some scammer?"

Ash rubbed the back of his neck, "Well, yes. But not in the way you think." He raised a claw, "Mainly because he's a gastly."

Misty and Soot's eyes widened in shock, "What?!"

Ash nodded, "When I was looking for Brock earlier, I found a gastly heading towards this area and followed them. Imagine my surprise when I saw them turn into the old woman from yesterday and approach you guys."

Soot's eyes widened in realization, "That's what these weird feelings have been! I was sensing a Ghost-type!"

Misty looked at Soot in surprise, "You can do that?"

Soot nodded, "Part of the inheritance." She sighed, "I was starting to think I'd gone nuts." She glared at the shrine, "That gas ball is NOT getting away with this!" She turned around and started walking towards the shrine.

Ash put a claw on her shoulder, "Hold on, Soot. I don't think Gastly is out to hurt anyone."

Misty blinked in surprise, "But, what about Brock? She said 'the maiden' was absorbing his life, or something."

Ash looked at her, "That's just it. He didn't seem drained at all; just dazed. And even if that is their goal, Brock's been here for over eight hours. Not even a hatchling litwick would need that much time to drain an adult human. Much less Brock."

Soot thought of a bit, "Good point." She looked back at Ash, "So, what are you suggesting?"

"Play along for now." Ash responded, "Given what I've seen so far, we'll need Marionetter to even stand a chance."

Misty blinked, "Wait, what?"

Ash looked over at her, "A gastly that can set up illusions this realistically is a Yvel of a lot more powerful than anything we seen before. Even if they aren't out to hurt us, it's better to be safe than sorry. Besides-"

He hit the symbol on his chest, Lockdown Mode in-effect. Approximate time until release: fifteen hours and fourteen minutes.

"I'll be able to help once that's over with." Ash finished.

Misty sighed, "Okay, fine. But, what about our money?"

"Gimme a minute." Ash said before he zipped away in a blur; heading away from the shrine.

Misty looked at Soot and raised a brow, "If Ash can move as fast as you said, then why doesn't he just get us out of here?"

Soot sighed, "It's because of Quick Attack. That reptile is so impatient that he leaps onto the first decent idea he has and is impossible to argue with. The form even amplifies dad's stubbornness."

Misty put a hand to her chin, "Now that you mention it, Ash has been making some weird decisions lately." She looked at Soot again, "Does every form do something like this?"

Soot shook her head, "No. Just the freaks."

After a few minutes, Ash zipped back past them as he entered the shrine. They only knew this because of the giant gust of wind.

Ash appeared in front of them again; holding a large stack of cash, "Is this right?"

Misty stared in shock, "Wha- Ash, what did you do?!"

Soot nudged her again, "Calm down. It's the money we spent on the seals." She looked at Ash with a raised brow, "Right?"

Ash rolled his eyes; thought the lack of pupils meant he just moved his head slightly, "Soot, what do you take me for?" He handed the cash over to Misty, "Here."

"Thanks." Misty said before she raised a brow, "But, won't they notice it's gone?"

"I took a precaution and bought some play money from a Pokémart in Saffron." Ash responded, "Hopefully they won't notice."

.

*That night

Everyone in the shrine waited in anticipation for the 'maiden' to arrive. Brock and James sat in front of the 'old woman.' Misty, Soot, Jessie, Meowth, Pikachu, and Clefairy waited off to the side. Soot had already filled in Pikachu and Clefairy about the situation. Ash waited outside.

"Will she come?" Jessie asked.

"Oh, she'll come." Meowth responded.

The rest of the group watched the 'old woman' warily.

Soot looked out the window and saw the moon in the horizon, 'Just a few minutes left.'

The winded started picking up outside and tore off all of the seals attached to the shrine.

The old woman looked back in shock, "She's here!"

The doors burst open to reveal the phantasmal maiden. Another gust of wind blew through the building; ripping the seals off Brock and extinguishing the fire in the pit.

"It's you." Brock announced as he stared at the maiden in awe.

"I've been waiting for you." The 'maiden' responded.

Brock stood back up, "Yes, and I've been waiting too."

"Guys! Do something!" James cried out; trembling.

The maiden smiled lightly, "I wanted to meet y-AH!" She was interrupted by a Shadow Ball striking her in chest and throwing her out of the building.

"Bullseye!" Soot cheered.

Brock glared at the canine, "What are you doing?!"

Soot's eye twitched, "Pikachu."

The mouse's cheeks started sparking, "Yup." He shocked Brock again; forcing him onto his back.

Brock came to a second later, "Ow. My head." He looked over at the maiden and smiled brightly, "Whoa! What a knockout!"

Soot ran up next to him and shouted, "Brock! Snap out of it! That's not a woman! It's a gastly!"

Team Rocket looked at her; wide eyed, "What?!"

The maiden smiled slyly, "So, you figured it out. Very well, then." She disappeared in a puff of smoke and Gastly emerged.

Brock flinched, "What?! Y-you mean-"

Misty looked at him with a smirk, "You've been fawning over a ball of poison gas for the last two days."

Brock stared at her in shock, "You knew?!"

Soot snickered before looking over at Gastly, "So, what now, gasser?! Are you gonna leave peacefully?!"

Gastly smiled at them, "Now, where's the fun in that?"

The humans all looked at him in shock, "It can talk?!"

Soot blinked, "Huh. Neat."

"Aw, come on!" Meowth shouted.

Gastly smirked, 'I always love that part.' "Now then, who's first? Come on now, don't be shy."

Soot crouched down next to Pikachu and whispered, "Dad still needs time. Stall him."

Pikachu nodded, "Got it." He jumped forward and glared, "You're goin' down, Gastly!"

Gastly grinned, "My hypnotic powers can work on other Pokémon too; including little rodents."

Pikachu raised a brow, "And that means what, exactly?"

"Stop a rodent-" Gastly disappeared in a cloud of smoke and a giant mouse trap appeared, "With a mousetrap!"

Pikachu grimaced and ran as the trap followed him, "I hate this plan!"

Clefairy waved frantically, "Pikachu, tag me in!"

Pikachu ran straight over to her and smacked her paw.

Clefairy jumped forward and stared down Gastly.

Gastly's expression didn't change, "So, the fairy has decided to join in? Well then, a butterfly net should do the trick."

Gastly disappeared in cloud of smoke again. A net suddenly appeared around the Fairy-type.

Clefairy blinked and looked around in confusion, "Huh? What's this?"

Soot shouted, "Clefairy, Disarming Voice!"

Clefairy's eyes narrowed as she shouted. But nothing happened.

Clefairy grimaced, "What?! What's happening?!"

Gastly laughed, "It seems someone hasn't been doing their homework."

Team Rocket blinked in surprise. James quickly pulled put a notepad and wrote frantically.

Soot growled and charged the net, "Sucker Punch!"

She struck the net, and subsequently Clefairy. The trap burst into nothing.

Clefairy fell to the ground and rubbed her cheek, "Ow."

Soot frowned, "Sorry about that."

Clefairy stood back up, "It's okay. Thanks for using a Dark move, though." She looked back Gastly, "What happened? It was like my powers were all gone."

Soot glared at Gastly, "Honestly, I think it was just hypnotism. But, locking a Pokémon's abilities is a crazy advanced technique. Not sure why he used a net, though." She glanced back at the Fairy-type, "Get back to the others. I'll handle things."

Clefairy nodded, "Okay. Be careful." She ran back to the group.

Soot faced Gastly and crouched down into a fighting stance.

Gastly continued grinning, "Now the young half-ghost wants a turn. Come at me however you want but watch out for the ground."

Soot's glare deepened, 'Traps, huh?' She grinned, "Fine! I just won't touch the ground!"

Soot pounced forward and formed a pair of Shadow Balls on her hind paws. She detonated them without firing and propelled herself toward Gastly.

Gastly's smile widened as Soot approached, "Very clever. Unfortunately, I didn't mean traps."

Soot's eyes widened as a massive black and white suitcase burst out of the ground, hit her square in the chest, and shot her into the air. Soot was launched over the shrine.

Brock grimaced, "Oh no!"

Soot soared through the air, past the cliff, and plummeted towards the water.

"Soot!" Misty shouted as the canine disappeared.

Gastly frowned, "Honestly, I expected more." He looked over at the suitcase, "And, I didn't even get to use these." He shook it off and grinned again, "Ah well. Who's next?"

Misty glared at Gastly and pulled out a pokéball, "Brock, are you with me?"

Brock nodded, "Yeah. He's not getting away with this."

Jessie, James, and Meowth were still in the shrine; peaking from around a wall, "Good luck!"

Misty glared at them, "Cowards!"

The duo faced Gastly and prepared to release their Pokémon when-

"Soot! Marionetter!"

Everyone's jerked around to see Ash and Soot standing on top of the shrine. The pair had sly smirks on their faces.

Misty smiled brightly, "Ash! You're back!"

The pair jumped down from the shrine. Pikachu and Clefairy immediately jumped into Ash's arms.

"You're you again!" Clefairy cried happily.

Pikachu looked up at him hopefully, "Does that mean?"

Ash smiled softly and pet them, "Yeah. It's good to hear you guys again."

Gastly stared at the scene in shock, 'Those strings! That form!' He smiled brightly, 'This! This is what he meant!'

Gastly laughed heartily; catching everyone's attention, "So, it seems a new player has joined the game." He smiled slyly, "Well then, it seems that I will get a chance to use them!"

He disappeared in a puff of smoke and emerged in his Maiden disguise; this time in color. She smiled wickedly and pulled the silver suitcase forward to lay in front of them.

Ash glared, "What is that?"

"My new player." The maiden said.

She opened the suitcase, thrust her right hand into the top half, and pulled. Ten silver band rings now dressed her fingers; two per finger. Each ring had three long, silver wires attached and extending into the case.

The maiden held her arm across her body and shouted, "Arlequin Yin!"

Seishin: Pronounced Are-Le-Khan

Team Rocket blinked and started looking around the shrine.

Everyone else stared in shock as a large figure jumped out of the suitcase. It had the silver wires protruding from its … everything.

The figure resembled a jester dressed all in black. Their face was a white mask locked in a stoic expression with a red right eye and a cracked hole where the left eye would be. They had metal feet that were pointed upward at the tip and a silver headband with one small horn and long white feathers drooping down from it. They had a white glove on their right hand and shredded fabric jutting from their left shoulder; in place of an arm. They held a wooden left arm with pointed, metal fingers; splintered at the stub.

Arlequin landed on the ground in crouched. It stood back up and bowed; its weapon arm pointing downward.

Soot stared in shock, "Wh-what the Yvel?"

Ash grimaced, "What is that?!"

Misty stared, wide eyed, 'Its arm.' She glanced over at zipper on Soot's right foreleg.

The disguised Gastly smiled, "This is Arlequin Yin. A strange young man was kind enough to give it to me." She smiled wickedly, "And now I know why!"

She shoved her hand forward and Arlequin shot towards Soot; the left arm pointing right at her. Ash and Soot grimaced before Soot ducked under the attack. The clawed hand barely missed Soot but cut a few strands of fur from her face.

Ash and Soot's eyes widened, 'It's real?!'

Soot glared and crouched down to sweep the puppet's legs. Arlequin jumped high into the air to dodge and landed in front of the maiden.

Gastly smirked, "Not bad."

Soot stood back up and glared at the jester apprehensively, "Dad, tell me you have a plan!"

Ash started sweating, "I-it's just like any other battle, sweetie." He called out his friends without looking back, "Guys, stay in the shrine where it's safe. We can handle this."

"Be careful!" Brock cried out.

Him, Misty, Pikachu, and Clefairy ran back into the shrine.

The maiden smirked, "Try this on for size!" She moved her hand again.

Arlequin's ran at Soot again. Ash reacted fast and Soot shot forward too.

Arlequin thrust the bladed arm forward again. Soot ducked under the attack and slid between the puppet's legs. Soot quickly got into a handstand and threw a kick at Arlequin from behind.

The maiden moved their hand and Arlequin reached around without looking to catch Soot's leg with its held arm.

Ash's eyes narrowed and he moved his hands again. Soot's caught leg twisted and bent unnaturally, as she spun and aimed another kick at Arlequin's head.

Gastly grimaced and moved their hand again. Arlequin let go of the held arm to grab Soot's other leg. But immediately after it let go, Soot's twisted leg quickly righted itself and smacked Arlequin's hand away with its own weapon arm. The maiden grimaced again and made Arlequin lean forward to dodge the kick, instead.

Soot smirked and denotated a Shadow Ball in her outstretched paw; right in the back of the puppet's head. Arlequin and Soot were thrown in opposite directions. Ash and Gastly moved again. Soot and Arlequin flipped in the air and landed with a skid. The maiden twitched her ring finger and Arlequin's arm let go of Soot and flew back towards the puppet. Arlequin caught it without looking.

Soot and Ash's eyes narrowed, 'They can control the arm, too.'

Ash quickly brought up Soot's arms and she opened fire with a barrage of Shadow Balls. Gastly turned Arlequin around to face the attack. Arlequin brought up its bladed arm and attacked the spheres; rapidly slicing through them as they approached. The spheres faded into nothing after being sliced.

Soot's eyes narrowed, 'Of course he knows how to that.'

Soot ran around the puppet and continued firing. Arlequin followed; trying to keep Soot in its line of sight. She stopped in between Ash and the puppet; cutting off most of Gastly's view of her.

Ash and Soot smirked. Ash slightly repositioned Soot's paws and she fired a handful of Shadow Balls at the ground in front of herself; kicking up a cloud of dust.

Gastly eyed the cloud warily, 'What is this?'

The maiden's eyes widened when Soot's right foreleg shot towards Arlequin from the cloud. They moved quickly and had Arlequin bat away the leg.

"Gotcha." Soot smirked as she appeared in front of the puppet.

The maiden grimaced, "What?!"

Soot grabbed her detached limb out of the air and used it to jab Arlequin in the face. The puppet was hurled backwards and crashed onto the ground. Soot reattached her arm and ran forward to stand over the marionette. She formed a Shadow Ball, twice the normal size, in her paw and aimed it at the downed puppet.

Soot smirked wickedly, "Sorry, Arley. But it's been fun." She prepared to fire when-

"Arlequin Jin!"

Soot's smirk disappeared and her eyes widened. Ash had her jumped back to avoid a punch from the new opponent. Soot dispelled the first Shadow Ball detonated two more in her hind paws to propel herself backwards. She landed in front of Ash in a crouch and looked up.

A second Arlequin stood next to the original. This one was dressed all in white and had long black feathers attached to a two horned, golden headband. Unlike the first, this one had both of its arms, its face was intact, and it wielded nothing. The wires stretched from the puppet to a new set of rings on Gastly's left hand.

Arlequin Yin quickly jumped back to its feet and stood next to its inverted counterpart.

Soot grimaced, "There's two of them?!"

Ash's eyes narrowed, "Crag."

The disguised Gastly smirked, "I thought I should up the ante. Now, let's see what these brothers can do!"

The maiden shot their hands forward, making Yin and Jin charge Soot. Soot stood her ground and Ash watched the puppets warily. Yin swung at Soot with its bladed arm. Soot ducked under the attack only for Jin to crouch down and attempt to sweep her legs from the left. Ash had Soot bring her legs up to avoid the attack and positioned her right foreleg to the left and left hindleg to the right. Soot quickly formed and detonated a pair of Shadow Balls in the outstretched paws and spun in midair between the puppets.

This next part happened in the span of a second. During the spin, Soot's tail wrapped around Arlequin Yin's weapon arm, yanked it out of the puppet's hand, and tossed it away. Ash, then, shot Soot's left foreleg and right hindleg to simultaneously uppercut Yin and kick Jin in the face.

Yin flew away from Soot and off to the side; in a direction opposite to its arm. Jin was forced back and landed on the ground; its face shattered from the blow. Soot landed with a skid, held her paws towards Jin and fired a massive Shadow Ball. The resulting explosion kicked up a giant cloud of dust; engulfing Soot and Jin. Soot jumped out of the cloud and landed in front of Ash again.

The maiden's eyes widened as the dust settled. Arlequin Jin laid on the ground in a heap of splintered wood. Its arms were torn from what was left of the main body, and the torso was nothing but nothing but splinters, shredded fabric, and broken wooden gears; separating its upper and lower halves.

Soot blinked, "Woah. That was fast."

Ash sighed in relief, "One down. One to go." He moved his hands and put Soot into a fighting stance.

Gastly smirked and moved their left hand, "You just keep surprising me." Every piece of Jin larger than a baseball became airborne and fell back into the suitcase. The rings on their left flew off their hand and back into the case.

The maiden moved their right hand and Arlequin Yin jumped over to land in front of them; its bladed hand was nowhere to be seen. Gastly clasped their hands together and pulled them apart again. The ten rings for Yin now dressed all of their fingers.

"Time for the finisher!" Gastly brought their hands above their head and crossed them, "Les Arts Martiaux!" The remaining Arlequin's upper half sprang up slightly to reveal an assortment of wooden gears and mechanisms in the puppet's waist. They started revving and Arlequin's upper body started to spin rapidly, "Swirling Tiger!"

The maiden moved her hands again and Arlequin ran towards Soot; still spinning.

Soot glared and expected to dodge. But Gastly had other plans.

"Let go of me!" Ash shouted.

Soot managed to glance back, and her eyes widened. Arlequin's arm was holding Ash's hands together. The trainer struggled to break free or move his fingers but ultimately failed.

The trainer looked back up at Soot and grimaced, "Soot, look out!"

Soot looked back to find Arlequin directly in front of her. The puppet struck and pummeled Soot with a barrage of spinning punches.

"AHHH!" Soot shouted as she flew back and crashed into the ground.

Ash's eyes widened, "SOOT!" He jumped when he felt Arlequin's wooden arm let go and fly back towards the puppet.

Ash glared and moved his hands again.

He froze when he saw that the strings had vanished, 'What?!'

Soot laid on the ground; unable to move, 'What's going on? Why isn't dad doing anything?' She looked up and mimicked Ash's expression when she didn't see her strings, 'Y-you can't be serious.'

Ash and Soot grimaced, 'They did that much damage?!'

"Blade of Saint George!"

A long, inward-curved, serrated blade sprang outward from Arlequin's attached arm. Ash and Soot's eyes widened at the sight of it. Arlequin walked towards Soot with the extended blade and arm in hand.

Soot grimaced as it approached and struggled to try and move, 'Come on! Something!' She stopped when felt something prop her up and an arm wrap around her from behind. She looked over to see Ash glaring at Gastly and Arlequin Yin with intimidate as he held her. He had his claws out on his right hand; pointing at Arlequin.

Gastly stopped the puppet and raised a brow, "What are you doing?"

"What does it look like?!" Ash responded harshly.

The maiden frowned, "Come, now. This is rather unsportsmanlike."

Ash's glare deepened, "Unsportsmanlike?! You're coming at my hatchling with a giant knife and calling me out for protecting her?!"

Gastly blinked in surprise, 'Hatchling?' They looked closer and noticed something missing from Ash's fingers. The maiden raised a brow again, "What happened to the strings."

Soot glared, "You just beat the Yvel out of me! What did you expect?!"

Gastly stared in shock, "What?! I thought you couldn't be hurt!"

Soot continued glaring, "I just don't feel pain! I still take damage, you psycho!"

Ash's eyes returned to normal and he blinked in surprise, "How did you know-"

He was interrupted by a loud bell ringing throughout the area. The maiden grimaced and started shivering. She quickly moved her hands and Arlequin jumped back, folded itself, and landed in the suitcase before it closed. The case shot into the air and the maiden shattered to reveal Gastly; trembling with his eyes closed.

Soot's eye twitched, "Seriously?! All of that and sound is your weakness?!"

"It's not the sound!" Gastly argued, "I just hate the sunlight! It's time for me to go until the next festival." He opened an eye and gave a small smirk, "Don't forget the Ghost of the Maiden. She and the old lady will return next year toooooo." He faded out of sight as the sun rose in the distance.

Soot looked towards them rising sun and deadpanned, "We were up all night, weren't we?"

Ash groaned, "Yup." He smiled sadly and pulled Soot's limp form into a hug, "I'm just happy you're safe."

Soot chuckled softly, "You're such a dad." She heard snoring and blinked, "Dad?"

Soot looked over to see Ash still holding her as he slept, "Dad. Dad, come on, we can sleep at the Pokémon Center." She groaned and looked back, "Brock, Misty, could one of you-" She found them, Pikachu, Clefairy, and Team Rocket asleep in the shrine.

Soot sighed, "Fine." She closed her eyes and tried to go to sleep as well. She grimaced when the sun shone in one of her eyes, "Crag."

.

*Mid-day; shrine

Soot eventually resorted to shouting and woke up Pikachu. He then woke up Clefairy, who, drowsily, Wake-Up Slapped everyone else. Everyone left for the Pokémon Center where they would pass out on whatever bed, or couch, they found first.

"AH!" Yukiro shouted as he fell from the rafters and landed on his back. He sat up and held his head, "Thank my brothers that no one thinks to look up."

"There you are!" Gastly shouted as he glared at the boy, "You told me that mightyena was immune to damage! I could have seriously hurt her!"

"No, you wouldn't." Yukiro responded with a raised finger, "You could have dismembered her or give her some new scars, but it wouldn't have hurt."

Gastly stared at Yukiro with an incredulous look, "How is that supposed to make it better?!"

Seishin shrugged, "It works for Buggy the Star Clown."

Gastly blinked, "Who?"

Yukiro sighed, "No one."

Gastly rolled his eyes, "Whatever." The puppets' suitcase rolled out from the other side of the stairs and moved between Gastly and Yukiro, "Just take them back, already." Gastly frowned slightly, "However, I do feel the need to apologize about the white one. I didn't intend for it to be destroyed."

Yukiro snickered, "Ah, don't worry. Jin was just a cheap rip-off anyway. I mean, he only appeared in the-" He stopped and flinched, "Actually, I should say. Spoilers." He held out a pair of cards, "Return." The suitcase disappeared and a pair of beams shot into the cards. Yukiro shoved the cards back into the box on his belt and turned to walk away, "See ya."

"One more thing," Gastly said with a raised brow, "what was the point of the butterfly net? It only made suppressing that clefairy's abilities more difficult."

Yukiro jerked around; eyes wide, "Seriously?! Have you never heard of the Fairly Odd Parents?!"

Gastly sweat dropped, "What do moderately strange meemas have to do with this?"

Yukiro's eye twitched before he glared at the ceiling, "Come ON, Rob! You couldn't have let this version of Gastly be just a little fourth-wall-breaky?!"

Yukiro waited for a second and blinked in surprise, "Rob? Rob, you there? I know you are; you're the one typing all of this."

Gastly's eyes narrowed, "Who the Yvel do you keep talking to?! It's been freaking me out!"

Yukiro pointed at Gastly dramatically, "Omae wa shindeiru!"

Gastly blinked in surprise, "What?"

Yukiro sighed, "Exactly." He pulled another card from the box and held it towards the ceiling, "Gate Card Open!" The grid patterned portal appeared again. Yukiro looked at Gastly and saluted, "Sayonara, Smokey!" Without moving any part of his body, Yukiro sprang into the portal and disappeared. The hole closed soon after.

Gastly looked up at the ceiling and sighed in relief, 'Thank Arceus, that's over.'

The portal reappeared directly in front of Gastly, and Yukiro poked his head through, "PostScript: Trix switched all the money you scammed out them with play money." The portal disappeared again.

"Huh?" Gastly responded; wide eyed. A cash register appeared in a cloud of smoke in front of him. It opened and Gastly grimaced upon seeing the fake bills, "That brat!"

Gastly heard the portal open behind him followed by, "P.p.s."

Gastly grumbled and turned around. Before he could say anything, Yukiro shoved a massive lollipop into his mouth. Gastly stared at the boy in shock.

Yukiro stared back as he slowly moved back through the portal and quietly said, "wryyyyyyyyy." The portal closed yet again.

Gastly started looking around the empty space warily; expecting part of it to open again. It never did.

.

*Maidens' Peak Festival Closing Ceremony

Ash and his friends eventually woke up enough to take part in the closing ceremony. Tourists gathered around a large temple-like structure. Team rocket was banging drums on top of it and doing a decent job. The tRio seemed to be legitimately enjoying themselves, so Ash and the others let them be. Though they still shot Team Rocket a wary glance every so often.

Ash and his Pokémon were thinking back to the battle with Gastly. Pikachu and Clefairy stood on the railing and Soot laid on the ground with a somber expression. Ash wore a light blue kimono with a blue sash as he leaned against the railing.

Ash pinched the bridge of his nose, "I can't believe I let things go that far. I could've just gotten all of us out of here as Quick Attack."

Soot chuckled, "Misty actually said the same thing." She shifted to a sad smile, "Don't beat yourself up over it. Quick Attack's just a doofus."

Ash chuckled.

Soot sighed, "Still, Arlequin wiped the floor with me out there. And with one move, no less." She laid down and put her forepaws on her head, "It was so embarrassing."

"Don't blame yourself, Soot." Ash crouched down and put a hand on her head, "I was the one in control and we only lost because Gastly stopped me from doing anything. If I had been more careful-"

"Dad," Soot said with a sad smile, "he only got us because of some cheap trick." She stood up and pushed her head into his chest, "I'm not mad. I'm just a little upset about losing."

Ash smiled and hugged her, "Thanks, sweetie."

Soot pulled back and pouted, "Don't call me sweetie."

Ash, Pikachu, and Clefairy chuckled. Soot joined in after a minute.

Ash stopped and frowned, "Something's still bugging me, though."

Soot nodded, "I know what you mean. The Arlequin were insane. I've never even heard of something like them."

Pikachu looked over, "Not to mention, Gastly said that someone gave them to him. Who the Yvel could have made something that complex?"

Ash shook his head, "No, I mean- yeah those puppets were crazy, but there's something else."

The Pokémon all looked at him with a raised brow.

Ash raised finger, "Think about it. During the battle, Gastly just went for scare and trap tactics until you jumped in, Soot. He was completely okay with hitting you but became uncomfortable after we you told him what happened to your strings."

Soot blinked in surprise and lowered her head slightly, "That's right. It's like he thought I was invulnerable or something." Her eyes narrowed, "But, why would he think that? It's like he only half-knew how Marionetter worked."

Clefairy looked over at Soot, "Maybe he heard about it from whoever gave him the wooden guys?"

Soot frowned, "If that's so, then why did he know so little about it? And who could have told him?"

Misty walked over wearing a pink kimono with bubbles and goldeen silhouettes and a red sash. She was carrying a folded black kimono with red zorua silhouettes all over.

Misty sighed, "Hey, Soot. This is the closest I could find to a-" She stopped upon seeing their expressions, "Is everything alright?"

Ash smiled sadly, "Yeah. It's just- Gastly."

Misty smiled sadly, "At least no one got hurt. Right?"

Soot grumbled, "Just my pride."

Misty smiled and gave thumbs up, "See? All good." She held out the kimono to Soot and sweat dropped, "Sorry, but they didn't have a mightyena or banette themed ones in your size."

Soot smiled, "It's okay. I like it." She changed her eyes and looked over at Ash, "Ready, dad?"

Ash smiled, grabbed the zipper on her back, and pulled. The strings shot out and latched on to him, "Soot. Marionetter."

This festival would be known as the only one to have a bipedal, banette-eyed mightyena in zorua kimono joining in the closing ceremony's dance. That is, if anyone kept records like that. Ash just wished he had brought a camera.

.

.

Omega: Ah. It was Arlequin. Both of them.

Nuevo: *raises brow* I thought that was the naked albino clown with the lightning horns.

Omega: No, that's Harlequin.

Nuevo: The fire shooting, medieval minstrel with two pupils in the same eye?

Mizuro: Arlecchino. (Are-Leh-Keen-Oh)

Nuevo: The noodle armed ventriloquist dummy whose user has a sword under his head?

Omega: Anselmus.

Nuevo: The green geezer who shoots air bullets out of the holes in his palms.

Mizuro: Wha- Paul, that's Pantalone! How did you even guess that?! Their names aren't even similar!