Ecruteak City

80 days before Fall of Ecruteak,

"I'm going to make him pay…!" She grimaced at the remark, and was strange in itself. Adding to that, was that the voice was disembodied, ethereal and thick with rage. Honovi couldn't help but think of her mother, who would often remind her that "Alphs are uncommon these days". Honovi's mother had passed those words onto her just as Honovi's grandmother had passed them on to her mother. At this point, Honovi was just careful who knew such a fact about her.

Hearing that ethereal rage had caught Honovi's attention and made her blood shiver. The rage had came from the shaggy, mean looking one that she had caught sight of only miles outside of Ecruteak alongside his group of friends. Whenever Honovi was able to steal a glance at him, the voice would reappear, snapping vulgarities and threats. Sometimes it even felt like they were directed at her in particular, though Honovi was soon able to write that off as typical anger. Honovi took to watching everything that the boy did with unheard of dedication, carefully placing herself in places where she could see him without being the slightest bit suspected.

She watched his behavior.

She watched his actions.

She watched his interactions.

She watched everything that she could to figure where the voice came from and exactly what that mean looking boy had to do with it.

Ethereal usually dealt with ghostly things, and ghosts were usually dead, and Honovi would usually end up obsessing about "death" in particular.

It was that exact reason that had led Honovi to standing outside of the Pokemon Center in Ecruteak skulking for more info.

The only problem was that Honovi forgot about other people sometimes.

"Can I help you?" a voice asked.

"No, thank you," Honovi replied airily "I'm a little busy." Honovi kept her eyes glued to the building windows in hopes of finding that ethereal boy; Honovi felt a hand on her shoulder.

"That wasn't an actual question." The voice was more commanding now, and Honovi turned around.

It was the Ecruteak gym leader, Morty.

Honovi paused, at first timidly then confidently. It typically wasn't Honovi's style, but there was something different about Morty. The only thing Honovi could think would be that she was immediately comfortable with him.

He was the Ecruteak gym leader and a seer in-training at that.

"Morty?" Honovi forced a laugh, and Morty glared at her unconvinced.

"If you don't mind me asking, who are you and what are you doing here?" Honovi eyed the gym leader for a moment, gauging what to say.

Instead, she turned back to the Poke-Center window to observe even more. "Hey, did you hear me!?"

"Yeah, yeah," Honovi replied dully. "Honovi of Lavender Town." Honovi muttered something under her breath. It didn't seem like the guy was there. She turned back to Morty. "Where the dead go to not die." Morty's glare didn't change.

"You still haven't answered why you're here."

"That's because I'm in the middle of something." Honovi retorted.

"Really?"

"Yeah." There was a subtle quivering in Morty's body that Honovi saw. Morty's glare shifted and Honovi watched as Morty's eyes darted about her feature. To her hair, eyes and skin; she suddenly felt very exposed.

Honovi threw her hood up over her face and tightened it. The damn thing never stayed up when she needed it to.

"Can I ask you something?" Honovi tensed a bit.

"Yeah?"

"Why are you creeping around like this? Things like this can ruin tourism for cities, especially Ecruteak." Honovi nearly buckled at the rush of relief. The Alph was quick on her feet.

"I'm…a part of the Pokemon Fanclub Association." Honovi relaxed even further when she saw Morty pinch the bridge of his nose with exasperation. That was a good sign.

A really good sign.

"I see…" Morty sighed. " I understand you may have seen some up and coming trainers, but this borders om stalking. Besides…"

Morty's voice faded out suddenly, and instead she caught word of a familiar one.

The ethereal one.

"I'm going to make him pay…!"

Honovi had heard the very same phrase even, and in an instant, her blood was boiling with excitement and curiosity. Honovi bolted towards the voice immediately. This was her chance to observe that boy too.

Why was that voice coming from him?

Did he know?

Could he be haunted?

Honovi suddenly remembered Morty, and she could hear his voice behind her, calling after her; Morty was going to wait.

There was an abrupt tug on her arm. Again, she spun around and found the same pair of eyes staring at her. Apparently, she hasn't been moving as fast she thought.

His eyes were even more piercing and discerning, and this time around, Honovi felt as though he were staring through her.

"I'm curious," he began smoothly. Honovi opened her mouth to object, but Morty quickly shut her down. "Before you say anything, answer me first." Honovi only stared. She knew what he was going to ask. "What did you hear?"

"I'm not crazy, if that's what you're thinking. I'm just tired all the time. I don't get too much sleep in all honesty."

"That's not what I'm saying," Morty replied. "I'm asking because I know the Pokemon Fanclub thing is a complete lie." Honovi raised a brow.

"And how do you know that?"

" Because contests are more popular in Johto. I would be a little more convinced if you said The Pokemon Contest Association. The Pokemon Fan Club is all about Pokemon battling, and that's a relatively small niche in Johto." Honovi felt as though she shrunk under his eyes at that moment. Morty asked her a second time then.

"What did you hear?" Honovi's answer was the same.

"I didn't hear anything." Morty glared.

"I find that hard to believe. Alphs are rumored to be able to do all sorts of things. Especially things that deal with death."

The shock that registered on Honovi's face was impossible to hide. It hadn't registered that Morty had been observing her features until the last minute.

"I guess you would know," Honovi conceded. "You're from Ecruteak, and the gym leader at that."

"Blood-colored hair and mossy eyes are the typical Alph trademarks." Morty replied. "But more importantly, what did you hear?"

Honovi sighed.

"Can we just skip that?" Morty shook his head.

"Not a chance. This is more important than you realize. I have to know what you heard." He paused, then added, "Or rather, who did you hear?"

The shift on Honovi was phenomenal. Reflex kicked in, and she had already made space between her and the leader, hands in her hoodie at the ready. Morty stood casually, with little concern, if any.

"You'll lose," was all he said.

"You're asking all the wrong questions and making all the wrong statements," Honovi remarked.

"You'll lose," Morty repeated. "And honestly, this whole thing is pointless. I only need to know foe the sake of the region." Honovi held his gaze again, her eyes narrow.

"Really?" Morty nodded.

"The world doesn't care about old Alph Traditions. I'm not sure what lore was passed onto you, but whatever it was, the world stopped caring a long time ago. No one really believes in Alph anything outside of Ecruteak, and even here, it's a stretch." Honovi was still rigid. Her thumb hung over the ball button just in case. Morty put his hands up in surrender. "Trust me." Honovi's thumb trembled; Honovi sighed.

"I heard something ghostly, ethereal and angry. The thing is that I only hear it when I get close to a certain person. I ran into him on the outskirts of Ecruteak and he was roaming with some friends before hand." Honovi saw the open expression of intrigue on Morty's face, which made Honovi react the same way.

"Do you have any idea what or who it could've been?"

"You're taking me seriously?" Morty nodded without hesitation.

"I told you, there are some things that people in Ecruteak are more sensitive to than the rest of the region. Do you know where the voice was headed?" Honovi took a moment to recollect her thoughts.

"I'm pretty sure towards downtown. The gym maybe?" Morty muttered something under his breath and Honovi's brow twitched in recognition.

"Thank you," Morty said with a nod and he sped off past her back towards his gym. She watched as Morty grew smaller in the distance. Somewhere during that, it had dawned on Honovi that this was her chance to get close to that voice she kept hearing, as well as get to understand the boy who it was coming from. Besides, something didn't quite feel right leaving Morty to go back alone; Honovi was following soon after.

By the time she had caught up, Honovi immediately took cover. As she did so, she could hear Morty and a very agitated second person.

It was the mean kid. For a moment, she had expected his friends to come to the gym with him, especially the other boy, Jaret, if she remembered correctly.

"You're Morty," the boy spat.

"And you must be the vagabond Virgil that Falkner was talking about." Honovi stifled her response. That was the guy's name: Virgil. She continued to listen in.

"How do you even know if I'm the right guy?" Morty reiterated himself.

"And you must be the vagabond that Falkner was talking about." Virgil growled irritably, and almost immediately, the voice had come back full force.

"He's the first! Kill him so I can get out!" Honovi grimaced. "I'm going to make them pay…!" The voice had been so virulent, so angry that it had actually given Honovi a bit of a headache. If her grandma were here, she would know what to do.

Honovi heard a sudden loud crash, pulling her attention back to the gym. Again, Honovi had to stifle her reaction. Virgil had slammed the gym leader against the building. For a moment, Honovi was genuinely convinced that Morty was going to die.

"...Listen. I know I'm not nice and I don't try to be…"

The same voice came back, even worse.

"Kill him! Worshipers will get it the worst!" As if to counter those exact words, Morty spoke, cool and controlled, bringing Honovi back into reality again. It was almost like he knew she was there. She paused.

Did he?

"The anger you feel is not your own." Honovi watched for Virgil's response intensely then and had even gone to chanting to herself some old Alph "magic" her grandma used to practice. According to her mother, Alph magic was very real.

Abruptly, Virgil was coughing and sputtering for air, and Honovi for a fleeting moment thought that the magic may have actually worked. She found that she was quickly mistaken, as the voice came back again.

"I'll do it myself then! And I will kill you along with the rest of them!"

Honovi was stunned and if she were honest, a little unhinged. She watched as the conversation cooled, and watched even closer after Virgil slipped away in a haze of withdrawn fear and confusion. Morty turned to her exact direction and Honovi held perfectly still.

"You can come out now."

Damn, she thought. He really did know she was there.

"How long have you known I was there?"

" For a little bit. Gengars are pretty impressive." It was a sentiment Honovi could agree too. Though he wasn't a Gengar, Haunter was very talented in an abstract manner.

"You must want to know what that conversation was all about, right?" Honovi hesitated a slight bit but nodded.

"If you don't mind?"

"Not at all. Actually, when the Violet City leader gave me a heads up about that kid, he had told me that he caused a ruckus at the Sprout Tower in the city. The Elder at the Tower got attacked. Some of the monks even say he was 'possessed' by something."

"Is that why you kept asking me about what or who I was hearing?" Morty nodded.

"Falkner even talked with one of his friends, Jaret, about Virgil. Apparently, Virgil is rowdy and stand-offish, but not really violent or rage-induced like he was just now. So I figured that his feelings aren't really his own and were coming from someone else…" Honovi felt Morty's eyes and from that alone, she knew what he was preparing to ask.

"You want to know if I heard any voices, or saw anything," she remarked quietly." Morty nodded.

"Well…did you…?" Honovi nodded; Morty went quiet.

"You seem like you want to ask something."

"I do," the leader admitted. " But I really don't know how to go about it." Honovi frowned. Again, she already knew where the conversation was headed. " Alphs used to be referred to as 'Dreamers' a long time ago. I'm not too keen on how to bring the dead to an Alph. It would feel like I'm generalizing." An awkward silence settled between them. One, two, three moments floated by.

"I saw something," Honovi stated and Morty snapped to attention. "It wasn't much, but I saw a face of some kind."

"A…face?"

"Yeah. He was young, and had the same expressions like Virgil when he was threatening you. Despite looking so young, there was a massive understanding behind his eyes." Honovi paused, weighing her next words cautiously. " I'm pretty certain that this 'face' is the voice I keep hearing when I get close enough to Virgil. It seems like it's always screaming to get out. There was even something said about killing you for being a 'worshiper'." Honovi was almost floored at how Morty's face changed.

"This isn't good…" Honovi raised her brows.

"That wasn't the reaction I was expecting." Morty ignored the comment and instead turned to Honovi with the most hard stare Honovi had gotten from him yet.

Morty was very grave.

"Excuse me…"

"Honovi," she filled in.

"Honovi, can I ask you a favor?" Honovi fixed him with a stare of her own. "Can I ask you to keep an eye on them? Virgil especially?"

"Virgil especially, huh?" Morty nodded.

"I think we both have a solid understanding that something is mythical about Virgil, and maybe even the friends he's made. I would do this myself but I can't leave because of my position. If I were to leave under these circumstances, Johto would go into chaos." Honovi raised a brow skeptically.

"You want me to follow them because if you do, Johto will riot? I find that hard to believe."

"They will," Morty affirmed. "If a Johto leader takes a prolonged period of leave, it can be assumed that a crisis is brewing, and we can't have the public, especially in places like Goldenrod knowing about this. These are things they do not and would not understand." Honovi stepped away.

"I don't know, Morty. We've only just met and this task seems a little over my head and-"

"But I know I can trust you," Morty interrupted, almost pleaded. "I know I can trust you. If you are an Alph then know you know about has happened to your people." Honovi turned back to him with a slow nod of understanding.

"You're talking about…"

"The Alph Genocide and Silver Mountain. Yes…"

"And you think that Virgil might be afflicted with a vengeful spirit or something…"

"A particular one at that…" The last part had made Honovi silent. She was thinking long and thinking hard.

"One question, Morty." He raised his brows. "Do you have a name for this specific ghost?" Morty answered without hesitation.

"Marus." Honovi nodded in understanding. Her grandma always mentioned that name whenever she recounted her version of the Silver Mountain legend, and more time than not, her grandma's words held true.

"Alright, Morty. You've got yourself a deal."