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Unforseen Exactitude

"The soul should always stand ajar, ready to welcome the ecstatic experience."

–Emily Dickinson

"Wh-What?" Misty stammered.

She wasn't even sure what she was asking, which part of the last five seconds disturbed her the most. She had so many questions. Phoebe could see Noir? Phoebe thought Misty could see Noir? Phoebe didn't think that Misty could see Noir? Which one was Misty supposed to show? Should she lie?

Phoebe, on the other hand, was perfectly calm. "And I assume you can't see the man behind you either?"

Misty turned around and instantly saw Ash and Pikachu, both of whom looked as bewildered as she did.

"Ah, so you can see them," Phoebe observed, looking quite satisfied with herself.

"You can see them?" Misty sputtered, looking back and forth between Ash and Pikachu, Noir, and Phoebe until her head spun.

"Of course," Phoebe said, like it was the most casual thing in the world. "I'm a Ghost Master, after all."

"Then how did you know that I could see them?"

"Well," Phoebe gave a little grin that showed her dimples, "you just told me."

Misty threw Phoebe a dry look. "You know what I mean."

"Fine, fine." Phoebe rolled her eyes. "You're no fun. Well, just now, you looked right at them. And during our match it looked like you could see Dusknoir. And now you have these ghosts hanging around you instead of hanging around me for once. So, I thought I'd test you. And you passed. Failed? No, passed. So, that Banette is yours?"

Misty looked to Noir who huffed and crossed her arms. "More or less. We're friends."

"But not captured." Phoebe nodded approvingly. "I get it, I get it. And these two are also friends?"

Phoebe was now gesturing to Ash and Pikachu, who had both fallen back a little bit, observing the situation silently.

"Yes, we're friends."

Phoebe grinned excitedly—although at this point it seemed like that might just be her resting expression. "Oh, goodie! Introduce me!"

Misty hardly ever had to introduce people. People introduced themselves to her all the time, as they walked into the Gym, or else the referee announced them. People who came to the Gym always knew who she and her sisters were, if not by face then by title. And there was never anyone else there who Misty had to introduce. So it was with no small amount of stiffness that Misty turned to Ash and Pikachu and said, "Ash, this is Phoebe, Phoebe, this is Ash and his Pikachu."

Phoebe immediately thrust her hand out and Ash reached out and shook it, a kind smile now on his face. "Good to meet you, Phoebe."

"You too!" Phoebe echoed, putting a second hand on top of Ash's. "I'm so glad to meet you!"

Outside, Misty kept a smile on her face, but inwardly she could not have been more confused. Phoebe was not reacting at all the way that Misty was used to reacting to ghosts. Of course, her first encounter with Ash had been uneven at best. Dire at worst. But he had been the stray sunbeam on the situation so she hadn't dreaded talking to him like she usually did with ghosts. But Phoebe seemed flat-out tickled to be speaking with Ash.

"And so very nice to meet you too," Phoebe cooed, reaching a hand out to take Pikachu's paw, as Pikachu was floating at just about eye level to her.

Pikachu just gave a little "Chaa" and stood as properly as he could to give a formal human handshake.

"Um," Misty started, her gaze falling past Phoebe's left shoulder. "No offense, but Cinnabar is directly south of Pallet. And we're drifting east."

Phoebe immediately looked back at the bow of the boat, before which was nothing but ocean, and then turned to see what little of Pallet's beach was left to be seen. And Misty was right; Pallet was not directly behind them.

"Oops!" Phoebe said, as though she'd just accidentally nudged someone. "I guess I better fix that!"

All present company sweat-dropped as Phoebe skipped back to the helm, leaving Misty and her ghostly companions in peace. Well, almost.

Misty glanced at Ash, but found herself struggling to maintain eye contact. She was suddenly keenly aware of the fact that she and Ash had gone through quite an intimate encounter last time she'd seen him.

"Um, how was the rest of your time at the lab?"

Ash smiled down at the ground. Apparently eye contact was just as hard for him as it was for her right now. "Good. It wasn't the same as when you were there but…it was good."

"Right. That's, uh, good to hear."

"Yeah." Ash glanced up at her, gesturing aimlessly. "Thanks again for everything."

"Anytime," Misty said. "We can always go back and do it again."

Ash smiled, a bit more of the awkwardness evaporating. "I'd like that a lot. So, um, anyway. What did we miss?"

"Phoebe," Misty said with a shrug, pointing towards the front of the boat. "She's a member of the Hoenn Elite Four and a Ghost Master. And I guess seeing ghosts comes with the territory."

"Do you know anything else about her?"

"She's going to Cinnabar."

"Well, that's good news."

Misty was relieved when Noir floated in front of Misty, looking very serious as she said, "Bay bay Banette?"

"Yes, she does have a Banette," Misty affirmed. "She looks just like you."

Noir frowned.

"But you're prettier."

That seemed to satisfy Noir, who then floated to the top of the entrance to the boat's cabin and kicked back, folding her arms behind her head, and let the breeze rustle the ribbon-like strand on the back of her head.

"Okay, we are now going the right way!" Phoebe announced as she made her way back from the helm. "By my estimate, we should be in Cinnabar in just a few hours. Sound good?"

"That sounds great," Misty replied. "Thanks again for doing this."

"It's no biggie. We're all going the same way." Phoebe then pointed dramatically due south. "Southward ho!"

Despite being the water-lover that she was, Misty had spent a surprisingly scant amount of time on boats. But the waves rocking her felt like being in a mother's loving arms. Every soft roll side to side was deliberate but gentle, and it sounded like home in her ears. She let her body sway to and fro easily as she sat on the deck and played with Pikachu, who seemed to have had his frisky side brought out by Phoebe.

Ash had said before that Pikachu didn't usually grow fond of humans so quickly, but Misty had yet to see that. He had taken a moment to take a shine to Phoebe, but she had been so insistent on running around and stealing Pikachu's attention that he hadn't been able to resist for long.

What finally got Misty off the boat when they landed in Cinnabar was the temperature. The air in Pallet had been just below comfortable, but once on the water, the temperature had plummeted, still chilled by a frosty winter, even in the south. The only thing keeping her teeth from chattering was a blanket that Phoebe had hauled up from the cabin that Misty had fixed in a half-poncho, half-cape configuration. But with Cinnabar's promises of hot springs and temperate island weather, Misty figured that the boat could wait.

"You want vacation?" Phoebe asked after she was finished hitching up the boat. "Well, this is vacation!"

Her arms were splayed almost as wide as her smile as she faced the sights of Cinnabar. Phoebe seemed like she was in paradise.

Misty, however, was apprehensive. Noir, Ash, and Pikachu had taken off as soon as they'd metaphorically dropped anchor, as anyone could see, even from afar, that Cinnabar was absolutely crawling with people. Misty had never seen a tourist trap like this before in her life. The Cerulean Gym had regular travelers, but there weren't hotels springing up nearby just to accommodate the many guests, even with her sisters' water shows. Largely people just passed through. That was not the case here.

The island was swarming with people. It was impossible to see a way through the crowd that wouldn't involve Misty's elbows.

"Misty, you're going to get the vacation of your life. Not only are we on a tropical island, but I am going to be the ghost mentor of your dreams!"

"Shh!" Misty hissed reflexively, taking Phoebe by the arm. "Not so loud!"

"What? Something wrong?"

Misty looked side to side, trying to read if Phoebe's outburst had drawn the attention of any tourists. But none of them paid her any mind as they zigged and zagged on the way to the next hotel amenity or hot spring or beach excursion. When she was satisfied, she dropped Phoebe's arm and whispered into her ear, "Look, I told you on the boat that ghosts aren't exactly my thing. I don't tell anyone anything about this. Not even my sisters know. Okay?"

A thought seemed to flash across Phoebe's blue eyes, painting them dark for only a moment. Then, slowly, she nodded. "Oh. Okay." Then she flashed Misty a thumbs-up. "Got it! Your secret's safe with me."

Misty wanted to slap Phoebe silly at the particular volume of that declaration, but she settled for just smacking her own forehead, figuring that anything more violent would really draw the attention of the crowd. A moment later Misty saw Phoebe disappearing into the throng and Misty darted after her before she remembered that had been exactly what she hadn't wanted to do.

"Do you know where we're going?" Misty called over the din as short nails scratched her hand in Phoebe's attempt to grab and begin pulling her forcefully through the crowd.

Phoebe turned her face to semi-profile and pointed to her small, upturned nose. "Smell that? It smells incredible and I'm dying for lunch, aren't you?"

Misty's breakfast in Pallet had been hardy but, now that Phoebe mentioned it, she really could do with lunch. And that fragrant smell was making her think that a really big lunch would probably do. "Yes, please."

They managed to get a bite to eat from a vendor whose food looked questionable, but tasted fantastic. They wolfed down their sandwiches and threw away the wrappers in record time.

Phoebe wiped the crumbs off her hands and looked up at the sky. "What would you say? A couple hours till sundown?"

Misty looked up. The sky was still bright blue, like it could be daylight all day long. But it was late afternoon now and, even if it didn't feel like it here, it was early spring.

"Yeah, I guess so. Why do you ask?"

"Look, Misty," Phoebe started, looking serious even as she pinched her lips together to get off the last of the sandwich residue from her face, "your opinion of ghosts is making me bum hard. So we're going to go meet some. And I know from experience that they tend to be a little more mellow after sundown."

"But I—"

"No. I am your ghost mentor and you're just going to have to trust me on this."

Misty's mind recoiled with the overwhelming urge to blow Phoebe off, but in an instant she remembered the talk she'd just had with that Wingull on the beach. Had she been unfair to ghosts in the past? Seeing Phoebe's reaction to Ash told Misty that they'd been handling their 'gift' in very different ways and, well, Phoebe seemed happier with her way that Misty was with hers. Still, she couldn't withhold the sigh that came out as she agreed. "Okay, I trust you."

"Great!" Phoebe cheered. "Here's the plan. We go to the Pokémon Center and get your Pokémon healed—"

"And secure our rooms for the night?"

"No!" Phoebe exclaimed. "No, then we head out again. Because I have taken the responsibility to lead you. And now to find someone to lead us…"

Through a series of events coupled with either good or bad fortune—Misty wasn't sure which—Misty found herself not thirty minutes after having left the Center struggling to hold on to her hastily eaten lunch as she rocked about in the back of an open-sided truck. And, of course, neither seatbelt worked, so it was all she could do not to slam into one side or the other of the vehicle when they ran over a particularly large root or deep ditch.

Because they were currently off-roading. In the jungle. On the way to the foot of an active volcano.

Now, Misty was left wondering why exactly Phoebe thought that whatever solution she had in mind would be at the base of a volcano. Because it was pretty obvious to Misty that the base of a volcano was that much closer to the mouth, which just wasn't a place that Misty wanted to be. Why had people ever thought that living on a volatile island like this was a good idea?

Of course, the perfect person to answer that particular question was sitting in the driver's seat and holding the steering wheel like she was playing a spirited round of bumper cars. But she was already engaged in a conversation with Phoebe, who was in the passenger seat. A conversation to which Misty was not privy, save for the occasional laugh or squeak from Phoebe.

All Misty knew about this woman—aside from her questionable driving abilities and apparent advanced age—was that her name was Seifa and she and Phoebe had really hit it off. Seifa was a local mystic and she had taken Phoebe's hands upon meeting and declared her to be a beautiful child of Solgaleo.

Before Misty had even gotten the chance to ask who or what Solgaleo was, she had found herself holding on to the center console of the car for dear life, like she'd been transported to one of the covered wagons of yore attempting to cross the varied planes of Mt. Moon.

Needless to say, Misty was very much just along for the ride.

After just long enough for Misty's butt to go numb, but not long enough for her stomach to settle, the car rumbled to a stop. Without the ambient noise of the struggling jeep, Misty could finally hear Seifa as she said, "This is as far as I can take you. The volcano is straight ahead."

Misty gulped. 'Straight ahead' as in through the jungle? Suddenly, Misty wished that the car was on again so that its droning motor could drown out the very live and possibly six- to eight-legged sounds that were suddenly all around her.

"I'll wait here for a few minutes in case you turn back," Seifa continued, oblivious to exactly how appealing that option looked to Misty right then.

Or maybe she wasn't oblivious, because as Misty followed after Phoebe and hopped out of the car, she saw that Seifa was facing her directly as she said it, rather than Phoebe. Phoebe too was staring at Misty, as though daring her to take Seifa up on her offer.

Without a choice, Misty shook her head and said, "Thanks, but I'm sure we'll be fine."

Seifa bowed her head slightly and turned back towards the tawdry windshield but, true to her word, did not restart the car. It didn't matter, though, because just a few steps into the dense foliage and it felt like even that haphazard road they'd just been bumping along was miles away. It was all Misty could do to keep a scream inside her mouth, holding on to it until she could taste it as a particularly bug-like plant brushed against the sensitive backside of her knee.

"Isn't there a different way we could have gone to get to the volcano?" Misty quavered, her cheeks reddening as she heard how high-pitched her voice was.

"Weren't you listening to Seifa?" Phoebe replied.

Well, actually, no. Maybe if Seifa hadn't had such a quiet, old lady voice…

"She said that plenty of main roads lead to the volcano, but not to where we're going. Unless you want to take the main roads and then scale half the volcano."

Ill as she had been thinking earlier towards the volcano, the idea of crawling around on a dry, craggy rock seemed incredibly appealing in comparison to everything that was touching her right now. Her brain was telling her that they were just plants, but every shudder down her spine reminded her that in the dark of the jungle canopy and the ongoing sunset she couldn't really tell.

"Ooh, we're almost there!"

"Everything is dark! How can you tell?"

"The jungle is irregular in texture. Up ahead is flat, even darkness."

As if the jungle were listening to Phoebe, moments later it parted. Phoebe pushed through the last of the overgrowth and they came upon a section of smaller trees through which the volcano could be seen in the distance, only a few hundred meters away, bulging from the earth.

Rubbing her arms free of imaginary insects and webs, Misty continued out of the now sparse forest until her feet hit something harder than sodden forest floor. Misty looked down and saw short grass, but just beneath it and the thin layer of windblown silt was volcanic rock.

Still, aside from the change in scenery, there was nothing around. Only a jungle behind, a volcano ahead, and open space to either side.

"So, what exact—"

"Shh! Just look!"

Taken aback by being chastised, Misty quieted and noticed for the first time that, as they were slowly walking forward, Phoebe had been craning her neck upwards. Misty followed her gaze and saw the peak of the volcano.

Despite the obviously red-brown pigment of the igneous rock at her feet, the zenith was black against the lavender sky.

"That's smoke," Misty murmured as she spotted just the faintest hint of movement where the volcano touched the sky.

"Mostly clouds, though."

Phoebe was right. The smoke blended almost seamlessly with the wisps of cirriform clouds speckling the sky, but the underside of the clouds managed to catch the last suggestions of pink from the waning sunset hidden on the other side of the volcano.

"Don't worry, though. Seifa said that the smoke doesn't mean it's going to erupt."

Misty noticed that Phoebe's voice had suddenly changed location. Out of the corner of her eye, she spotted Phoebe fully supine on the rocks, gazing up at the sky.

Just look. Well, fine.

Misty sat back as well and lay down on the surprisingly soft grass, the seemingly craggy surface proving to be much more comfortable than she had anticipated. Allowing her body to relax fully, Misty folded her arms behind her head to prop it up.

As she continued to watch the smoke billow and intertwine with the clouds in an ethereal dance, Misty noticed the first stars shyly greeting the now periwinkle sky. As time passed and the sky grew darker, they became bolder and more plentiful, looking more spectacular than they had ever looked in the lights of Cerulean.

"Okay, you're ready now," Phoebe said abruptly once the sky had reached a rich indigo above them. "Let's go."

Phoebe, having already pushed herself up, leaned over to give Misty her hand and heaved her up to standing.

"What do you mean, I'm ready now?" Misty asked as she brushed dirt and little pebbles out of her skin.

"I mean you're open now," Phoebe claimed, spreading her arms wide. "For the past minutes, you've just let yourself be at peace and you allowed just a little bit of wonderment at something as simple as a sunset. Not everyone does that."

With purpose, Phoebe began leading, walking in parallel to the line of trees that they were now a little ways away from.

"Okay," Misty agreed, though she distinctly felt like she was missing something from what Phoebe was saying. "More to the point: what is it exactly that I'm ready for?"

Phoebe winked. "Ghost training."

Misty let out a heaving sigh but steeled herself to deal with whatever it was that Phoebe was going to throw her way—with apparently little explanation. What she didn't expect was for Phoebe to whirl on her and take hold of her nose.

"No. None of that."

"None of what?" Misty asked in a nasal, though thoroughly bewildered voice.

"No sighing. No mentally preparing yourself. No letting out whatever good energy you have going for you," Phoebe dramatically imitated Misty taking a wheezing breath in and exhaling so hard that her body slumped and her eyes went dull. "You may think that that helps you deal with what you're doing but it's not. What is helping you is being open and accepting, and all of this," Phoebe mock-sighed again, "is only closing you off. So quit it."

Phoebe had not let go of Misty's nose throughout the whole speech and Misty began slapping at her hand in protest. "What the hell?" she demanded when Phoebe finally released and Misty could rub her smarting nose. "Was that the best way to handle that?

With a shrug, Phoebe said, "I don't know, but it struck me and I did it. Now let's go."

Phoebe began walking again, but Misty stayed planted. "Hey, I'm not just going to let you walk all over me," she snapped, brushing at the tip of her nose. It was damp and tingling now—Phoebe's grip had not been gentle. "I'm just going along with all this because…"

"Because why?" Phoebe asked, turning around and looking at Misty with expectant eyes.

"Because I'm curious, I guess," Misty admitted. "But it isn't because I necessarily think that you're right about me or any of this. And whatever it is that you just spouted off is some of the dumbest sh—"

"Nope!" Phoebe held up a hand. "You don't get to decide that yet. No jumping to conclusions, okay?"

Misty rolled her eyes, the only thing in her power as she tried and failed at talking to the brick wall in front of her. She hadn't endured a conversation this unproductive since speaking with her sisters. "Sure, whatever. But I'm not just going to agree with it then either."

Despite the fighting words, Phoebe just grinned. "I should hope not!"

She didn't offer anything more than that and turned back along the invisible trail that she was walking along and Misty begrudgingly followed. "So, are you going to tell me where we're going now?"

"A burial ground."

She should have figured as much. "A burial ground here?"

"You just didn't listen to a word Seifa said, did you?"

Misty rolled her eyes at the back of Phoebe's head.

"There's been a lot of death on these grounds. And there was a sacred burial ground here not long ago. But it's since been covered by the most recent large eruption. So you can't see it anymore."

"Then how are we supposed to find it?"

"Seifa said it was up just ahead. Either way, we don't have to be there exactly. Spirits are drawn to their final resting place and resonate more with that area than anywhere else on the planet and the fact that we're close is good enough."

"So…are we close enough now?"

"No," Phoebe closed her eyes but continued walking. "I'm feeling it right…here."

Right on that last word, Phoebe stopped in her tracks and Misty did the same. From there, Phoebe took a PokéBall out of her satchel and loosed Dusknoir, who stood right beside her. In tandem, they raised their arms as Phoebe raised her voice. "Ghosts, wayward spirits, citizens of the afterlife, I entreat you to come out and meet us. My name is Phoebe and I am here for you. Please do me the pleasure of allowing me that service."

During the chant, Misty took a step back, feeling uncomfortable like she had just walked unknowingly into a cult, and between the jungle and the volcano, she didn't know how to get out of it. Fortunately, at just that moment when Misty thought Phoebe was the craziest she had yet seen, Phoebe turned back, mirth in her eyes.

"It's a little over the top, I know, but I made up that little speech when I was in my dramatic phase."

When she was in her dramatic phase?

"And it's always worked, so I haven't bothered changing it."

"Okay, then why this guy?" Misty thumbed at Dusknoir.

Phoebe shrugged. "I've always found that the presence of another ghost quickens things. And Dusknoir here seems to have the greatest presence, so I always invite him."

Misty nodded, her eyes turning to the landscape that was rapidly turning blue and dark under the dimming light. "So, where are they?"

Phoebe only waved her away. "Give it a minute."

And sure enough, not a minute later, a glow from afar began coming closer to the girls, instantly making Misty tense. She looked over at Phoebe, though, and she was smiling and rubbing a hand on Dusknoir's arm. Before that ghost even reached them, one appeared from thin air right in front of them, earning a quick shriek from Misty. But that just made Phoebe laugh.

"What, that's never happened to you before?"

When Misty recovered, she could have smacked Phoebe upside the head. "Yes, this has happened to me. Random ghosts when I'm asleep coming into my bedroom. Appearing to me as a child when I didn't know what was going on. Attacking me in a forest." Misty threw Phoebe a wry look. "Maybe you can understand why I might get a little skittish from time to time."

"Misty," Phoebe chided, "you're being rude to our guests."

Misty's jaw dropped. "Rude to our guests?!" she exclaimed.

Phoebe gestured to the now three ghosts that were standing in front of them with different expressions of confusion, expectation, and amazement shifting on all of their faces. Misty supposed that two girls bickering about ghosts would be somewhat of a spectacle.

"You can really see us?" one of them—the one that had appeared as if from nothing—asked.

This ghost was a man, perhaps forty years old, give or take. He had tan skin like he had worked outside most of his life, but Misty couldn't tell if that was aging him beyond his years or not because his black hair only had hints of salt and pepper at the sideburns.

Phoebe stepped forward. "See you, hear you," she took that first ghost's hands in hers, "touch you."

The man flinched almost imperceptibly, but smiled. Wide as his grin was, Misty noticed more of his smile in his eyes than his mouth, though, because they were overflowing with emotion—emotion that looked like gratitude.

"I'm Phoebe," Phoebe introduced herself, "and this is Misty."

The man inclined his head slightly. "My name is Carl."

Phoebe likewise introduced herself to each ghost, moving from person to person and taking their hands, looking them deep in the eyes like she cared for them as though they were the only person in the world to her. And, Misty thought, perhaps in those short moments she did care for them more than anyone else.

Before Phoebe was even finished with the first three ghosts, more were showing up. Phoebe was completely unfazed, but Misty was a little bewildered. Never before had this many ghosts been right in front of her at one time. There had to be at least a dozen now.

"Are all of you from this burial site?" Misty couldn't help but ask once Phoebe was done with her introductions, curiosity getting the better of her.

"Well, I am," Carl said. "But…"

Carl looked back at the other ghosts, who Misty then took the time to take in individually, as Phoebe had been doing. Most of them looked very different, as though they were from all walks of life. All ages, sizes, colors—everything.

"I think we're from all over the island," one older woman volunteered.

"And we want to hear all about it," Phoebe interrupted, somehow sounding earnest and lovable even while cutting off an old woman. "But first, we're going to have some fun!"

"Fun?" Misty asked, followed by a murmuring of equal confusion through the crowd.

"I think everyone here needs an enjoyable night of fun," Phoebe declared. "So let's do this thing!"

Phoebe then proceeded to take a handful of her PokéBalls and throw them into the air, the bright light exploding from all of them being absolutely dazzling in the growing darkness of the early evening.

From her 'Balls came a whole host of Pokémon that Misty had never seen before, that she could only guess were Ghosts. For the benefit of everyone, Phoebe proceeded to introduce all of them.

"Okay, here we have Dusknoir, Banette, Shuppet, Drifblim, Dusclops, and Sableye," she said as she pointed to each Pokémon, some of whom were already floating in the air and giving a show.

"So that's a Shuppet," Misty murmured to herself, staring at the smallest Ghost, who looked like little more than a toy, but was doing loop-the-loops in the air like it was already having the grandest time.

"Misty," Phoebe jabbed Misty in the ribs as Misty watched Pokémon already starting to play with some of the ghosts, "get Noir."

Misty looked blankly at Phoebe. "Noir's not here. How am I supposed to just 'get her'?"

Phoebe cast a narrowed glance at Misty that made her feel like she was missing an obvious piece of knowledge. "You've never summoned a Ghost before?"

Understanding still wasn't gracing Misty. "You mean like you just did?"

"No, not a stranger," Phoebe corrected, directing an arm at the human ghosts. "One that you know. Like Noir."

"Does the look on my face tell you that I ever have?" Misty deadpanned.

Phoebe looked even more baffled than Misty felt. "Huh. That's funny." She shook herself out of it. "Well, just try it. All you have to do is think her here. You have the Connection, so you should be able to summon her just like that."

"Think her here?"

"Yeah," Phoebe said, like it was the easiest thing in the world. "Just like you're trying to communicate with her telepathically or something."

"Okay…"

Misty closed her eyes and furrowed her brows, trying with all her might to call Noir's name, imagine that she was here by the volcano, that she was side by side with Misty. Anything that she could think of that seemed to suit Phoebe's guidelines. But when she opened her eyes, Noir still wasn't there.

"It didn't work."

Phoebe looked up and around. "Well, just keep trying. It's your first time."

Misty nodded. She didn't particularly care if Noir was there or not—in fact, she was fairly certain that this was exactly the kind of affair that Noir wouldn't be a fan of—but the competitive spirit in her was eager to succeed in some fashion over her ghostly abilities.

"Misty," Phoebe said, getting her attention as she closed her eyes to try again. "Aren't you going to join the party?"

Misty looked sardonically at Phoebe with a cock of her head. "Oh, so now this is a party?"

"Well, have you ever seen this many people gathered together and not called it a party?" Before Misty got a chance to say that she actually hadn't been to many parties, Phoebe grinned and cheered, "Exactly! Now I'm going to show you and these ghosts a good time."

Phoebe led Misty into the aerial playground where ghosts and Ghosts alike were flying and genuinely enjoying each others' company.

"Who wants to play some ball?" Phoebe asked, hopping into the middle of everything and spreading her arms wide.

Misty was about to interject that that was a somewhat rude question, since these ghosts couldn't hold on to a ball of any sort, but Phoebe had her own ideas.

"Shuppet, come here!"

Immediately, Phoebe's Shuppet abandoned the teenage girl it was playing with and Phoebe took the Pokémon firmly in her hand before hurling it back towards the girl.

"Heads up!"

And the game continued like that, with Shuppet flying this way and that, seeming to enjoy the game as much as or more than any of the humans, dead or alive. Before long, Misty even found herself enjoying the game, reveling in the great throw she could get with Shuppet's fortunate, aerodynamic shape. After a while, she even tried shifting to her left hand so that she was working out both arms equally—both were sure to wake up in pain tomorrow. But the good kind of pain.

"Okay, it's time to up the ante," Phoebe decided about twenty minutes into the game. She currently held Shuppet in her hands and carefully set it down in the air next to her, as though she were placing it on the ground—and as though she hadn't already thrown it dozens of times. She then stepped up. "I'm the new ball."

Everyone looked at Phoebe like she was crazy. Because throwing a ghost who couldn't be hurt by hitting the ground in second plane was one thing. But Phoebe was sure to suffer if she hit the ground from ten to twenty feet in the air.

"I'm not crazy, guys," Phoebe said, speaking everyone's mind. "I've done this before. We've got a goalie right here."

Phoebe took a flying leap into the air and Dusknoir, who had been right next to her, flew to catch her, wrapping her securely in his arms.

"See? Easy peasy."

A couple of the ghosts took a few steps forward, as if getting on board with the idea. Misty, on the other hand, took a step back.

"I think I'll take a break from this one."

Phoebe laughed, a high-pitched squeak landing at the end. "I should think so! You can't take advantage of weightlessness like these guys can."

Misty watched as a few brave souls began gently tossing Phoebe, earning constant squeaking laughs from Phoebe, akin to a baby being tickled. After a few minutes of that and Phoebe having not been dropped, people seemed to gain a little more courage. Then Phoebe was flying through the air, Dusknoir ready to catch her the whole time, though only having to come to the rescue once or twice.

Misty had to imagine what the scene would look like to an outsider. A girl flying this way and that while Misty stood and watched on with only modest skepticism. Probably enough to drive any sane person over the edge.

And while Misty still wasn't exactly sure of Phoebe's sanity, she had to admit that all these crazy ideas she had seemed to pan out with unforeseen exactitude. Perhaps she just had really good intuition. Or unbelievable luck. Either way, Misty was quickly learning why Phoebe didn't let Misty win an argument. It was because she never seemed to lose. That was probably how she'd become an Elite.

"Okay, your turn!"

While Misty had been watching the scene, her vision had fuzzed and she hadn't been focusing on where Phoebe was. Shocking her back to reality, Phoebe was grabbing Misty's arm and pulling her into the middle of the ghosts.

"Whoa, no way!" Misty exclaimed, putting on the brakes and digging her heels into the ground. "I didn't agree to this."

"But it's so much fun!" Phoebe urged.

Misty took in Phoebe's flushed face and the tears torn from the outer corners of her eyes, blown by being tossed into the wind. That combined with her sparkling eyes and wide smile made her face look like the epitome of fun.

"Haven't you ever wanted to fly?"

Breathe underwater? Yes. Ride atop Gyarados across the ocean? Yes. Fly? No, not really. Humans were born with the ability to swim—the sky was a place left for the Flying Types and, most cringe-worthy of all, winged Bugs.

"It's perfectly safe, I promise! I haven't died yet!"

"Maybe you were just born lucky," Misty suggested, taking a step back.

Phoebe sagged, but continued to look pleadingly at Misty. "Come on. Quit it with the negativity. Just imagine that you're flying and it will be the most amazing thing you'll ever experience. Just try it once, okay?"

Misty only folded her arms, but even as she did so, she felt her resolve fading. Dusknoir had hovered down to her side and, while frightening at first glance, also looked strong and secure. And Misty knew that, for once, none of these ghosts seemed to want to hurt her at all. Her safety actually seemed to be a priority to them.

"Dusknoir, just do it."

Before Misty even registered what 'it' meant, she felt herself being thrown into the air and a scream being ripped from her body.

"Phoebe, I'm going to kill you!"

After only a moment, Misty felt herself securely in someone's arms, even the blow of being caught feeling light as the ghost who caught her flew back in the air a bit so as to soften the landing. She was left gasping for a moment, absolutely panting as she tried to get oxygen and her wits back inside her. Behind her, she heard and felt a rumbling laughter.

"Are you okay?" the ghost, who ended up being Carl, asked.

"I'll—" Misty realized that she had been about to say, I'll live, but that felt crass in light of current company, "I'll be okay."

"Okay, because here you go!"

Without warning, Misty found herself being hurled through the air again, her stomach falling into her feet before bursting up into her throat, threatening another scream to bleed from her lips. And then she did scream, but less manically than the previous time. She was caught in Drifblim's ribbon-like arms, falling into the balloon-like body and bouncing back just a bit before stopping.

Misty let out a few more heaving breaths, but this time they ended up warping into a strange laughter that felt like it was coming from the pit of her abdomen and pushing through her without her control. She wasn't sure if she was having fun or if she was dying, but her voice sure seemed to be set on the former.

She was tossed a few more times, each one feeling more natural and, pleasantly enough, a little bit like when she pushed off against the wall of a pool and flew through the water. The wind up in the air was cold and thick enough with island humidity to nearly be tactile. And Misty usually hated humidity, but with the speed of her body, it felt like liquid water instead of gas.

Eventually, Misty was softly lowered to the ground, her legs wobbling like jelly, and dropped to her knees. And as she fell to the ground, she let out free, uproarious laughter, letting her back lay on the soft grass. She looked up at the now dark but very starry sky and laughed even harder, knowing that she had just been flying through that.

Phoebe leaned over Misty with an expression of concern, but mostly amusement dancing in her eyes. "You good? I would have stopped it if you really looked like you were dying, cross my heart."

"I'm good," Misty assured, though her voice came out on a heavy breath. Whether that was from being out of breath or the remnants of her laughter threatening to bubble up again, she didn't know. "I'm still going to kill you, though."

"But fun, right?" Phoebe beamed.

"Definitely fun," Misty conceded.

"Good." Phoebe looked up and groaned. "Ugh, Drifblim is floating away with someone. I don't know why I have to remind him every time that he can't control where he's…"

Phoebe had already walked away and out of Misty's earshot as she continued ranting.

Misty took a big breath in to try and get her body solid again, but it ended in another round of laughter. After a while longer on the ground, Misty pushed herself to sitting. She noticed that the festivities were dying down a little as Phoebe began to transition from playing with the ghosts to talking with them. Misty felt compelled to follow, catching some of the conversation before Phoebe cut it off.

"Alright, everybody, gather 'round!"

The ghosts did so, expressions of confusion on their faces, much like on Misty's. Nevertheless, they were attentive and, mostly out of curiosity, Misty was too.

"We want to hear your stories," Phoebe started, gesturing to both herself and Misty. "We want to help you figure out why you're stuck here on Earth and get you to where you're supposed to be if we at can. And even if we can't for the time being, we want to be your friends. Listening is the best way to accomplish both of those things, so that's where we're going to start. Volunteers?"

Misty had half a mind to inform Phoebe that she was not fond of being spoken for and that she had never opined that she wanted to hear any ghost's story. But she figured it could wait; no reason to cause a scene as the old woman ghost—Phyllis, she quickly learned—was setting up to speak.

As Misty listened to the stories, it became clear that a few of them would be easy to do. Of course, it wasn't her idea of a vacation, but at least these ghosts were communicating better than most of the other ones she'd been in contact with in the past. Besides, this time around she had a partner in crime, so hopefully every task would be easier than usual.

After a while, Misty had to stifle a few yawns, trying to be as polite as she could. Phoebe was sitting enraptured, awake as ever, but Misty couldn't help but be aware of the time. It was late. She was tired. The last few hours had been draining and they still had to get back to a hotel, if they were lucky enough to even find one that would be taking guests at the late hour.

Fortunately, things seemed to be winding down to a close. Misty noticed that the last person was talking, a shy younger boy who she had noticed hadn't participated that much in the earlier activities either. Nevertheless, he was telling his story and Phoebe had moved over to hold him with one arm, as he kept breaking down into tears. Apparently he had drowned only a few weeks prior and even Misty had to blink perpetually to get through it without crying.

But then, the most spectacular thing began happening. The boy's glowing increased, and he began to turn translucent. It took him a few moments to notice, but when he looked down he cried, "Wh-What's happening?"

Phoebe, kind as ever, turned on a bright smile. "You're moving on."

"What does that mean?"

"You're going to the place ghosts go after they've come to terms with what's happened on Earth," Phoebe explained. "It's a good place."

Misty knew that Phoebe didn't know that. She couldn't know that. But Misty had been around for a few ghosts moving on, and they all asked the same questions, as though Misty herself had any clue. And she'd fed them the same platitudes, because what else was there for her to do? She was there to help them move on until the end.

Everyone watched as the boy seemed to warm up. Every moment his essence faded, he seemed happier and happier—more at peace. The moment before he vanished, he was the most complete he'd ever been. And then he was gone.

When it was all said and done, Misty had counted a total of a half a dozen tasks that Phoebe had promised them both to do to help the other ghosts meet the same fate as the little boy. Misty was trying to keep track of details like locations and names but Phoebe was only focused on the ghosts. She was going up to each one individually and hugging them tightly. Misty couldn't help but notice how touched each of them looked by the simple gesture.

After the first few, Phoebe looked meaningfully at Misty and jerked her head to the side, as if to motion Misty over. Misty knew what she meant and, slowly, she too began going through the ghosts, thanking each of them for the wonderful evening and sharing their stories, telling each of them what a great time she had had. The most shocking part was that every word from her mouth was absolutely true.

One by one, after all goodbyes were said, the ghosts began leaving, either vanishing on the spot or flying whence they'd come. Misty couldn't help but be amazed. No trouble. No fighting. And they just left with the promise that she and Phoebe would help in whatever ways they could.

After the initial feeling of awe wore off, Misty finally loosed that pesky yawn that had been tugging at the back of her throat for at least the past half-hour.

"Tired?" Phoebe asked, mirth still gleaming in her eyes and making her voice sound like she was telling a funny joke.

"Yeah, you may have forgotten," Misty started, her voice thick with sleep, "but you and I are not ghosts and we still need a little something called sleep. And we don't have a ride back to town."

Phoebe smiled at Misty but with a curious tilt of her head. "We're not going back to town, silly. That would take forever."

"Okay, so what are we doing?"

"We're sleeping out here."

Misty gawked. "You mean in the jungle?"

"No, I was thinking just right here."

Okay, Misty wasn't too keen on sleeping in the jungle, but she wasn't particularly of the idea of sleeping at the base of an active volcano either. "I don't want to sleep out in the open."

"Don't think of it as sleeping out in the open. Think of it as sleeping under the cover of starlight."

Misty scoffed. "That is the loopiest thing I've ever heard."

Phoebe winked. "Or just a positive spin."

Shaking her head, Misty said, "Yeah. Sure."

"It's either that or head back into town by yourself."

Phoebe said it casually, like it was really an option, looking down at her nails to shadow her knowing gaze. But Misty saw the feline curl of her lips and knew that she was only baiting her.

"Okay, this isn't me agreeing with you, but yes, fine, we can sleep here. You're just lucky that I have a sleeping bag."

"All Trainers have sleeping bags, dummy."

It only took a couple of minutes to find a particularly flat piece of land and get settled. Misty was all set to close her eyes, knowing that on nights that she wasn't particularly sleep-deprived it took her a while to get to sleep, but before she got the chance, Phoebe began talking again.

"Hey, Misty?"

"Hmm?"

"Can you promise me something?"

"Sure."

Honestly, she just wanted to get to sleep, so if agreeing with whatever Phoebe had to say was a byproduct of that, so be it.

"No negative thoughts, okay? At least not tonight."

That jolted Misty a little more awake. Awake enough to give polysyllabic answers, at least. "Where is it that you get the idea that I'm so negative?"

"From your past experiences," Phoebe murmured, her voice low now that it was time to go to sleep. Usually her voice was high-pitched and high-energy, but it turned out that she did indeed have more than one volume. "Negative thoughts bring about negative outcomes and you, my friend, have had a whole host of both. So I don't want you to think about any of this until tomorrow. Just let it sit until you can be objective and not jump to whatever conclusion you're already thinking up."

Misty thought for a few seconds, since that hadn't been what Misty had been expecting to hear. It wasn't how Misty had meant the question either. But as she thought on Phoebe's words and how much they did or didn't apply to her, she got stuck on the past few hours, with only one thing to say. "But what if it's positive?"

Phoebe allowed a soft smile to grace her lips that Misty caught out of the corner of her eye as they both looked to the stars. It was nice to see Phoebe looking so genuine versus the wide grin that she usually sported. And for once, she seemed a little surprised, though she hid it behind the sparkles of joy in her eyes. "Yeah, that'd be okay, I guess."

A/N: Uh, who was that liar in the last author's note? Awkward.

For 3-5 years now I've been saying that THIS is the year I'm finishing this story, blah blah, obviously none of that happened, but this time it's real. This darn fic was my NaNoWriMo project this year, and y'all, I finished it yesterday. I'm so dead serious. I hemmed and hawwed over the last line for a good hour or two yesterday. It's done. It's written. More importantly I'M done. In a big way, lol. I'll talk about the whole arc of this fic whenever I post the last chapter, but man, y'all. Nothing like an 8yo fic to show you how you've changed not just as a writer but as a person in 8 years. This fic isn't the best fic ever, it isn't what I'd hoped it would be back in 2015, but I'm certain that it's better in a lot of ways because I'm a much better writer than I was back then. And so I'm proud.

As for this chapter, LOL. It's so funny to come back to this one, because out of every single chapter in this fic, this is the one I remember the best. I feel like I've written it 80 times. I remember handwriting some of it at my very first job. I remember hastily adding in that bit about what happened two chapters ago at the lab, because that was a late addition to the fic. Phoebe reads like an amalgamation of my theatre teachers at their most preachy, lol, which represents that time in my life well. I honestly couldn't even reread and edit parts of this chap before posting because I've already read them so many times that I wanna die, haha. It's a shame that this chapter doesn't represent my current writing skills, as it was almost entirely written in summer 2016 (Ah, better times...), but it's okay. There's going to be a difference in my writing between now and the end, and I think it's just fascinating. I wonder if any of y'all will pick up on what was written in 2016 versus 2020 versus 2023.

I'm looking at a loose, week-ish upload schedule. There are 51 chapters in total, but I don't know that I wanna be posting this fic for the better part of a year, so perhaps I'll post more frequently. We'll see.

If there are any old readers here, thank you so, so much for coming back (I can't imagine that any of you will, tho, lol). And if new readers stumble upon this? Uh, hi? What are you doing on ffnet? Get over to ao3!

Much love,

Anjum

And thanks, as always, to C'sMelody who I think beta'd this chapter twice, in 2016 and then probably a couple years later. Queen.