#halloween mini plot

Chapter 8 Aura

“Uhm… yes? Lady?”, the Lucario turned to face us, looking confused. “Who’s there? There’s something really weird with the auras in this room.”

I could only wonder what exactly he meant by “auras”, but judging by the pale reddish coloration of his eyes, I realized the Lucario was blind. Both his wrists and ankles had a pair of shining cuffs made of metal, as well as the one on his neck. They gave off a faint gleam under the candle’s lights.

“This one here’s Ange, my cousin. She used to work with us before you came along, so we’ll be doing her a favor. Are you done with your tasks?”

“Ah, yes. There’s enough food for some days so I don’t need to go fetch any more.”

“Don’t worry about me now, young ones”, a low, hoarse voice said, “Old me was about to go back deep into meditation again. Feel free to use the room, if you don’t mind my presence.”

“Actually, we could use your help as well, Elder. If that wouldn’t disrupt your work too much, that is.”

“Please, my name’s Elk”, he lifted up a dismissing hand. On his pointy, wrinkled muzzle, was a small smile. “I’ll try assisting you to the best of my ability, then.”

Lady Noir sat down on the floor next to Elk, and both I and Tales followed her lead.

“So”, Tales said, resting his paws on his lap. “Nice to meet you, Ange. What can we help you with?”

“Oh, I- Nice to meet you, Tales”, I said, stretching out a hand which Tales took on his paw and shook firmly, making his cuffs emit a metallic sound. “Nice to meet you too, mister Elk”, I bowed, though unsure if he could see anything with his eyes closed like that.

“The pleasure is mine, miss Ange”, he smiled again. “Pardon me my curiosity though, but what are you carrying there?”

Yes, apparently he didn’t need to have open eyes to see things, I mused to myself.

“Ange, show them the kit”, Lady Noir said, taking a heartfelt sip out of her pipe. I took my cape out of the way to reveal the basket where the child was tucked inside, and placed it in the middle of us.

“Hmm...” Elk muttered in an understanding tone, stroking his long beard as if doing so helped him concentrate. Tales blinked, looking surprised; he lowered his head to face the dormant child.

“I found her a few days ago”, I said, wanting to clarify the situation for them. “I, somehow, could grasp a kind of psychic connection with her, and that’s how I was led to finding her in the woods. She just… won’t wake up.”

“The most efficient way of discovering things are looking into one’s thoughts or memories”, Elk stated. “However, I suppose you already did so, miss Ange?”

“Yes, that’s right…”

“And what did you see?”

“Nothingness. It felt like I was peering into a ghost’s mind, and I, myself, started to get engulfed in darkness. I couldn’t keep our minds linked for more than mere seconds.”

“It seems not only reckless, but pointless if I were to try doing so myself, then.”

“I wouldn’t ask something like that from you, Elder”, Lady sighed. “Your mind is powerful enough to keep our barriers up night in and day out without becoming tired, but you do acknowledge you’re…”

“Old”, he giggled, looking amused.

“I wanted to go with ‘frail’”, she shrugged as if being caught in a mishap. “But, your sight is much keener than ours, youngsters. Aren’t you able of seeing anything into this kit’s future?”

“For now, I’ll just keep listening, fair Lady. I think young Tales here may be of more assistance to you until I gather all my thoughts on that matter.”

As Elk addressed him, our gazes promptly turned back to the Lucario. He shuffled uncomfortably.

“Uh, welp”, he stuttered. “I… can see something odd in her aura. It may sound off to you, but it’s what I see regardless.”

“Aura?”, I asked, remembering his mention of it earlier. Maybe it was some kind of esper power? “What’s this?”

“Basically, every living being has energy of its own, to put it simply. Usually others call it by spirit, soul, all sorts of names. We, Lucario, call it aura, and are really sensitive to it. And so far, this is the first time I’ve ever seen something like this.”

“Please, go on.”

“The kid’s aura is almost… most completely detached from her body”, Tales furrowed his brows, expressing his bewilderment. “Her body is right here, but most of the aura connected to it isn’t. I can clearly sense an aura, but it doesn’t seem to be hers at all.”

“Y-you mean…?”, I gasped, while Lady seemed oddly calm about the situation.

“Dead things have no aura, so she’s still alive, even if by a little stretch. The meaning of being alive… is that energy generated from within a physical body, and energy that comes from its mind are both present.”

“As psychics, I’d say we’re pretty much aware of that, having to protect ourselves from hungry ghosts and all”, Lady stated, waving her pipe around before taking another sip from it.

“It’s very hard to separate body from mind energy-wise, so they make no distinction”, he kept explaining, averting his gaze on Lady’s direction. “Feeding on mind energy on instinct, attempting to seek a physical body to be theirs since they have none. The only energy left on ghosts is the one that comes from the ‘mind’ of their former selves, but it usually isn’t located in the ‘living realm’.”

“So, what do you make out of all that?”, she said, letting out a stream of purple smoke.

“Either she’s currently a ghost, or she’s a normal living being whose aura is located somewhere else.”

“I’m sure we can check out of the list her being a ghost, I mean; she’s a bit too solid for that.”

“I’m… not sure. What I sense doesn’t seem to be alive, but again, it does differ from what seems to be the kid’s aura. Sorry if that doesn’t help much, this looks as weird for me as it does for you.”

“Tales, are you able of telling from where it’s coming from?”, I leaned in, catching the Lucario’s attention. He closed his eyes, concentrating.

“…From a faraway place”, he said after a short while. “Through the seas, all the way to the south. A land of peaceful and valiant hearts. Far beyond a circle of white, little plants, I see… a tree.”

That didn’t sound as describable as I had expected. I’d never heard of such a place, and not only were the seas too vast, we couldn’t possibly swim for that long while searching based solely on a vague description.

“Uhm… Lady?”, I looked back at her in uncertainty, wanting better explanations. She seemed to know what was going on much better than me.

“That further confirms your suspicions, Angie”, the mafiosa Gardevoir nodded. “That’s what happens to folks alien to that world. Magical energy is abundant, and if one were to trespass uninvited – one which isn’t the same of our kind -, the body is left behind. All energy has a magical source so it blends in easily, but not all physical bodies work the same.”

“And let me guess… It’s probably very, very bad if a body keeps detached from its soul for too long… right?”, I asked, and she remained silent. “Why? Why didn’t you tell me this sooner…?”

Even though I was aware there had something dark about the fairy world, I couldn’t see a reason for Lady to keep shut about such an important detail; now, out of all times. Before I could argue on her motives, Elk, whom had been silent until now, spoke up.

“Mmhm, I see, I see…” he nodded, stroking his beard again. “I’m devoid of doubts now. I did not expect to see this child so soon, although. Pardon me my delay, but predictions shall not be handled recklessly.”

“What?”, I exclaimed, in surprise. “Did you see something, mister Elk???”

“I’ve seen this child’s arrival here in a vision a few years ago. However, I didn’t expect they’d end up in the fairy world.”

The sudden mention of the fairy world surprised both me and Lady, as we hadn’t properly addressed it by name not even once during the conversation. It seemed not only Elk’s future sight was keener than ours, but his knowledge was also much greater than we had anticipated. Even though Tales looked a bit lost once the subject was brought up, he listened closely to the Elder.

“It was naive of me to think their past wouldn’t interfere in their present… Future has too many open paths, thus it is always changing; reshaping itself. However, what dwells in the past can no longer be changed. That much, I can share with you. The place you’re looking for is the Southern Island.”

He lifted his palms and, between them, a vision formed.

“I can’t guarantee a successful outcome on your ordeals since future’s handles move back and forth with your every action, but I can say for sure there’s not much time left for this child. You might want to go see the Madame, as for she will greatly help.”

[continue…]

Chapter 7 Hidden in the grass

I teleported after Lady Noir, following her steps closely. I already knew where she was taking me to, but one shouldn’t enter such a place uninvited, even if they had been there before. You’d never know who’s welcome or not.

We departed after I comfortably nested the little one in a basket, hiding her under my cape. Iyoh wasn’t home anymore since he had already left for work and I felt a bit bad on doing things behind his back, but as much as that was urgent, I didn’t want to occupy his head with worries; I’d be fine. And if something went wrong, I’m sure Lady would help me, after all.

She led the way gracefully floating ahead, however, her hasty movements made it clear she was in a rush. I couldn’t blame her; the fairy world was a secret between everyone of our kin - fairy Pokémon - but not all were knowledgeable about it, many of us weren’t born in there. Lady never talked to me in detail regarding that, but I was aware she had already dealt with non-fairy Pokémon which got stuck, and when she did so, I could notice how bleak her eyes were.

I didn’t know what I should fear, but if she looked like that, what happens to whoever gets stuck might be… dreadful.

Lost in my thoughts, I only noticed where we were when the surroundings finally caught my eye as recognizable: a beautiful glade lied ahead, and I couldn’t say it looked the same as to when I was around, but it had the same feeling to it. It was as pretty as ever, though.

In the middle of it, as always, there was a giant tree standing as the only one big enough to make us perk up our heads to see its top. Its branches where its leaves rested were abundant and home to some bird Pokémon’s nests. That was our destination.

…or maybe, it wasn’t; Lady kept moving onwards, ignoring completely the tree. Ahead, was a patch of really tall grass that we started crossing.

And then in the end, we found more patches of grass. I kept walking, always following her lead, only to find…

…even more patches of grass. I was about to ask Lady if that was right, when she stopped in the front of a bush. She moved some vines out of the way, revealing an entrance and signing for me to go ahead. I stepped in mildly confused, and she followed through, covering the entrance with the vines again once she was in. Ahead of us was a winding, long corridor that seemed to lead underground, judging by how dark it was ahead.

Lady got hold of a lantern that was hung nearby, and we started descending.

“Say, why did you move from the hollowed tree? It looks as fine as ever”, I asked, while we walked down the now dim lit tunnel.

“Indeed it is, but there have been much more nests lately. The Madame thought it was better to move from there instead of chasing everyone off. I’d say it’s a wise choice, since the patches of grass are really confusing to navigate through.”

That madame… I laughed to myself. She had a soft heart still, by the looks of it.

“Well, the tree’s entrance was easy to spot if one was really insistent on finding it, but isn’t this bush even easier to enter by accident?”

“I don’t think so. There’s someone holding up illusionary barriers now. If one doesn’t know the exact way to this bush, they’d fall into the illusion barriers and end up on the other side of the patches. It would look like to them as if they’d just crossed a really long patch of grass.”

“That sounds… really impressive.”

“You forgot how we roll, didn’t you, Angie?”

In the distance, I could spot some floating objects that glowed faintly; they became closer with each step we took further, and when we arrived at the end of the corridor, I could see they were actually a Lunatone and a Solrock, which both prevented us from passing. Ahead of them, was an entrance of a cave.

“Life granted by the sun; love overseen by the moon. We’ll dwell by you, so the eclipse will come soon”, Lady Noir chanted. The two Pokémon closed their eyes and seemed to nod in acceptance, letting her pass.

“You don’t know her since you’re new”, she pointed at me, “but she used to be our valuable intel provider. I’m accompanying her today though, so no worries.”

They nodded once more.

“Understood, mistress”, a faint voice reached both of us via psychic connection, and I tried to pinpoint which one of them said that.

Lady kept walking forward, so I hurriedly bowed down in thanks to both of the meteorite Pokémon, and quickly followed her in before I got lost. Glancing back, I could see they were back to their places, avoiding passage once again.

“Bodyguards?”

“More like ‘gatekeepers’, sounds fancier”, Lady remarked, lighting up her pipe again. I suppose she waited until we were underground so we wouldn’t be sniffed on our way. “They were a couple who fell from the sky, a… friend of mine asked me to take care of them.”

Her voice tone didn’t sound too convincing when she said the word “friend”.

“Since when does the mafia take in lost outsiders?”, I giggled briefly. That was really nice of the group, even if a bit unusual.

“We were in need of reliable gatekeepers anyway. They’ll promptly teleport away whoever tries to enter uninvited. Sometimes they go a bit overboard, sure”, Lady waved her pipe around, shrugging, “but accidents do happen.”

I debated with myself whether I’d like to know or not what she meant by “going overboard”, when my thought process was interrupted by a familiar voice.

“Oh, wow, wow”, a brown Liepard suddenly approached us, walking in a gallant manner. “How could I forget such a face. Ain’t I surprised, though!”

I stared at him for a while.

“Who are you, again?”, I asked, furrowing my brows.

“Ack!”, the Liepard sat on his hind paws and gestured dramatically, looking extremely offended. “How could you forget about me! Angie, I’m hurt!”

“Sorry, haha”, I said, laughing at his misery. “I couldn’t resist joshing you, Dazai.”

“I can forgive you if you give me a nice compliment, then”, he quirked up his brows, playful.

“This new tie of yours fits you really well, but I’m wondering why you kept the bandages after all this time.”

“It’s part of my charm~”

“Nice we stumbled upon you”, Lady said, addressing the Liepard. “Is Tales in here?”

“If you got something to talk to him, it’s just your luck! He has just arrived, he’s upstairs with Elk.”

“I see. Nice timing, thanks for the info. Let’s get moving, Angie.”

Lady Noir started walking again, and I promptly followed her.

“Enjoy your stay while you’re back, Ange!”, Dazai waved before turning his back and going back to minding his own business.

“I thought Dazai had quit too”, I observed. “Did he come back after I was gone?”

“Nah, he’s still a quitter. But there’s only so much the mafia can do, and one of these things isn’t keeping him out of here. He always finds a way in, the pesky bastard.”

The underground space where they now based in looked very alike to some of the Secret Bases I had already visited with my trainer, only it was a tad bigger. It could even compare to something done by humans, differently from the old one. I wonder how much of it they had dug all by themselves?

Reaching a set of small stairs, Lady simply teleported up while I climbed them. Setting foot on the upper floor the stairs led to, I could see a well groomed room; it had a bed, a table with a fruits basket on top of it, and some cushions on the ground. It was very dim lit just as the rest of the cave, with a lamp sitting on the table.

An Alakazam floated in the middle of the room, but he didn’t look like an ordinary Alakazam; he had multiple spoons and a long beard. His forehead was quite big on size and had some wrinkles on it, just like the ones below his closed eyes. There was a shiny red gem on his head.

Standing in the front of the Alakazam was a Lucario. As I approached, the Alakazam shuddered and murmured something I couldn’t hear. This made the Lucario turn to us, now seemingly aware of our presence.

“Tales, we need your help.”

I didn’t know who they both were, so I was glad Lady Noir went straight to the point.

[continue…]

Chapter 6 Savior

“I… created you?”

The little fox’s eyes were naturally closed, but they suddenly opened up for a while in shock. The ‘Haunter’ nodded.

“In a way, at least. You don’t remember what I’ve told you at all, do you?”

“I…”, they tried recollecting their thoughts, and the only thing that came up were those two pairs of turquoise eyes that hurt so much to look at. “I don’t think I do.”

“That’s okay. I’ll tell you again.”

The ‘Haunter’ used some sort of psychic power to show the other a kind of… mirage? Vision? They didn’t know what that was. It seemingly depicted a forest, with a scared, little white fox hiding in a bush. The colors flickered sometimes, looking like thunder’s lightning.

“This was the first time I saw you.”

“Me…? That’s…”, they wanted to argue, but for some reason it all seemed too familiar. They could even hear the rain falling, a faint smell of petrichor reaching their senses.

“In the world we are now, magical creatures are abundant. Fairies, ghosts, plenty of this and that. We have here all the magical energy we could wish of to live a happy and long life. Some like to venture in the ‘other world’, some prefer to live there. But eventually, all that’s from the fairy world… comes back to the fairy world.”

“Wait, wait, hold on a second”, they interrupted the ghost. “Fairy world?”

“I didn’t expect you to remember that’s where we are right now. But you did realize by now you’re… different, didn’t you?”

Taken aback by her words, the fox had nothing to reply with but silence. They did realize, and for some reason, it stung a bit deep down.

“I don’t remember much of my past life and how I died”, she continued, not aware that the mention of a death made the kit shift uncomfortably. “Some of us are born from the shadows, some acquire an ethereal form because they didn’t fulfill what they wanted to when alive… The possibilities to why ghosts exist are countless. I don’t remember what led me to pass away, but right now, I ‘live’ solely because of you.”

“When I first saw you, I was coming back to my world, slowly drifting into eternal slumber. But, your voice reached me. You reached me through the worlds, and when I realized… I was ‘born’ again.”

“I… I feel kinda guilty…”, they lowered their ears with a sad expression. “Does that mean you were unable to rest in peace because of me…? What if you weren’t a ghost before? You’re stuck like this now just because of me???”

The ‘Haunter’ simply shrugged as the vision disappeared in thin air. Her eyes weren’t glowing anymore.

“I don’t really mind. I wanted to help you.”

“Was I that helpless, for you to just accept living like a ghost this easily?”

“In the world you are from, you were too different from everyone around you… and then, they threw you away. And you may not believe me but, somehow, I was able to feel the suffering you were going through. It was really painful…”

She averted her gaze for a moment. They weren’t entirely sure, but the ghost seemed to reminisce on something very personal.

“I’m sorry, though.”

“What for?”

“The only solution I could think of was to bring you here, to the fairy world. If you remained ‘there’, you’d eventually die all alone… Also… When you called for help, I talked to you briefly. You wanted a friend. I, also, wanted a friend…”

For the first time since it all had begun, she looked flustered; a tad sad, even.

“W-well, that’s not a reason to apologize, right? I guess…”, the tiny fox stated feeling flustered themself, and the ‘Haunter’ sighed.

“You lost your memories because of that. When creatures unfamiliar to the fairy world arrive here, their memories are erased. I told you that would happen, but you just made me promise to tell you everything you needed to know once you arrived.”

“Of course I don’t remember any of that, but that does sound like something I’d do.”

“But that’s neither the problem nor the reason I’m apologizing. I’d tell you the same thing over and over, because I promised. But, once you get into the fairy world, you can’t easily leave. I’m afraid… you’re stuck here forever.”

“Eh, that’s fine.”

“…what?”, the way they took all that so calmly was bewildering.

“From what you told me, I have no reason at all to go back. The only thing I don’t really like about this idea is that there are some creeps out there. But you said some other place would be safer, didn’t you?”

“Well, yes, but… Are you really okay with it? I mean…”

“Even if I weren’t, you can’t leave here either, can you?”

“I can’t…”

“So, let’s do our best to get to the safe place together! You’d stay by my side, wouldn’t you?”

“Yes. I promised to.”

“Geez, just ‘cause you promised!?”, they sounded very annoyed. “And here I was thinking you liked me and all…”

“I do like you, but even if I didn’t, I promised anyway. Promises are to be kept.”

“Because simply answering ‘yes’ is too complicated, right.”

“To be honest, it-“

“That was a sarcastic remark!

“Oh…”

“By the way, before we get moving, I’d like to ask. Do you have a name?”

“When I was alive, my name was Mahiru. It’s one of the few things I remember. Do you have a name?”

“That’s a funny question, since you were the one talking about memory loss and such…”

“Ah, oh. Right. I’ll give you one then.”

“Uh-”

“...Does ‘Ranmaru’ sound alright? I think it goes well with your neck’s golden orbs.”

“Sounds fierce, I like it! Better than what I’d expected. I don’t like your name too much, though.”

“You can rename me if you want. I don’t mind.”

“Hmmm…”, Ranmaru pondered for a short while. “What about… Marjorie? I can even nickname you ‘Marjo’!”

“Sounds fair. I can nickname you ‘Maru’.”

“Sounds fair~”, they smiled at her. “So, Marjo. Where are we headed to now?”

“To the fairy forest. Where we are right now is the ghost’s side of the fairy world. I think… where the fairies reside is a safer place. I don’t know if they’ll accept me very well though…”

“We’ll work it out, somehow. I’m sure.”

“Thank you for coming on such a short notice, Lady.”

I was sat outdoors accompanied by a gorgeous Gardevoir. Her dress was as black as her thick eyelashes that fluttered each time she took a sip of her pipe. A purple smoke enveloped us, but the smell didn’t bother me at all; it was surprisingly very sweet. She was my other cousin: Lady Noir; Serenity’s older sister.

“Even if it wasn’t business related, I’m always down to check on my relatives, Angie”, she waved around her Gardevoirite ornated pipe nonchalantly. “Although, I must admit I’m very curious on what you have to say. I thought you quit for good?”

“I did. But I’m afraid I have no one capable enough to handle this.”

“Go on.”

“I think... There’s someone trapped in the fairy world again.”

A short silence that seemed to take ages fell between us. Lady slowly lowered her pipe, separating it from her crimson colored lips.

“Listen, Ange. There are things we don’t mess with. You know that better than anyone else.”

Her glare was as unshakeable as her words.

“And the fairy world is one of these things. We don’t openly discuss those matters, so it can stay as an untouchable myth. It’s better that way.”

“I’m aware. But, it’s... a child.”

My words clearly caught her by surprise; her eyes widened in shock.

“...Are you sure?”

“That’s why I need your help. I’m aware someone reliable took my place when I left, and their help may be crucial. If the little one really is trapped...”

Lady Noir hurriedly stood up, giving me no chance to finish my sentence.

“Follow my lead. We got no time to waste.”

[continue...]

Chapter 5 Subtle Hint

“You could’ve woke me up, honey...”, Iyoh said after a brief silence he took to listen to the little one’s heartbeats. “I’m glad you got some help but I still worry about your safety...”

After getting home with the rescued child in my arms, Iyoh immediately began tending to their injuries the best he could; even if he was an Audino and very efficient in taking care of others, professional medical care wasn’t his specialty. While he did so, I took my time to tell what had happened, and how we – me and the Greninja named Ryohei – managed to locate them.

“I know”, I averted my gaze, feeling a bit guilty for making him worry that much. “I’m sorry dear. I thought it was best to let you rest.”

“Welp, all that matters is that you came back safely. I’ll later thank Ryohei for going with you, too. Now…”

He glanced back at the child; we got a cushion to comfortably lay their body while first-aid measures were being taken.

“Sadly, I think there’s not much more I can do for her. I cleaned her fur and thankfully she only had minor injuries; I took care of those.”

“That’s enough, honey. Thank you”, I gave him a peck in gratitude. Iyoh smiled briefly and reached out for my hand. We intertwined our fingers and turned back to stare with concern at the sleeping child. “What is this child, though…?”

“I think it’s a girl. Although… I have no idea what species she is, so I can’t be sure. I’ve never seen a Pokémon like this before.”

“Let’s allow her sleep a bit for now, then? It’s still middle of the night. Once the sun rises, if she’s still like this, I can call Serenity to take a look on her?”, I said with an unsure tone, indirectly asking for his approbation.

“That sounds like a good idea.”

Morning had arrived, and there were no signs of change in the little one’s status. Instead, she began moving slightly and frowning from time to time, as if having a really bad nightmare. Calling or shaking her had no effect whatsoever, she just wouldn’t wake up. Me and Iyoh were by her cushion again, trying to think on what we could do while my cousin didn’t arrive.

“I could try to peer into her mind and see if I can discover anything…”, I pondered.

Iyoh seemed pensive as well.

“For some reason, I don’t like this idea… But sure, you can try, I guess?”

“I don’t like doing that without the one in question being aware of it either, but…”, I muttered to myself, while my eyes enlightened as I expanded my psychic field.

I tried focusing on the child’s mind, trying to grasp anything that I could hang on to, any memory, any feeling. She had nothing. Maybe, was she afflicted with amnesia?

As I forced myself deeper into her mind, I suddenly got an eerie feeling. The feeling that ghostly hands were engulfing her, and therefore myself, in darkness. I felt my head start to hurt while my whole body began shivering. But, just a bit more… If I could endure it only a bit more, maybe I would get a hint…

Suddenly, cold, undead hands grasped me; they were so cold, they seemed to burn my skin with little to no effort. My head began hurting so much I couldn’t think straight, becoming unable to breathe, my body giving in to the limpness. The mental link was abruptly broken, and I fell back with a yelp.

While I slowly faded off the trance, I finally realized steady, little hands holding me by my shoulders.

“Honey, are you doing okay?”, the concern in Iyoh’s voice was really easy to spot.

“I… uh…”, I stuttered as my blurry eyesight slowly came back into focus. My body slowly regained its strength back while I steadied my breathing, the pain in my head now gone. “I’m fine.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yes, I’m fine now. Don’t worry, honey”, I smiled at him for further reassurement.

“What did you see…?”

I was ready to answer, when we heard a soft knock on our door.

“Halt, Morango. You just wait a bit here, okay? I’m afraid you’ll scatter spores on Ange’s house…”, said a soft and endearing voice behind the door, muffled by the distance.

“Could you answer the door for me?”, I asked Iyoh. “Don’t worry, I’m doing fine!”, I said when noticing his hesitation. He gave me a kiss in the forehead and slowly let go of me to open the door.

“Hellooo~! Good morning!”, a Gardevoir chirped as soon as the door was open for her. She wore a silk scarf on her neck, and rose-tinted eye makeup. “Long time no see, Iyoh! Working much?”

“A bit, haha. Good morning, please come in”, he replied while giving her space to enter the house. The other Gardevoir allowed herself in, and I stood up to greet her.

“Thanks for coming on such a short notice, Serenity”, I said, while we hugged each other in a way customary to Gardevoirs.

“It’s all fine! That’s my job, after all.”

Having low battling skills that didn’t stand out since little, my cousin Serenity excelled herself in medical treatment, becoming the most important healer among my trainer’s Pokémon. Her psychic powers weren’t that weak, but her healing powers were much more powerful on that matter. She was a full time nurse while her wife, an Aegislash, did the battling for both of them. Their little daughter was also an adept fighter, so I suppose that spurred Serenity into besting herself in order to take care of them too.

“So, I suppose this is the child you talked to me about…”, she said, lowering her gaze to the cushion were the little unknown Pokémon rested.

She approached and knelt down by the cushion. Not to disrupt her while examining, I sat down at the other side of it, and Iyoh, who had already closed the door, did the same.

“She’s been well taken care of, I see”, Serenity smiled at us. “I suppose this is your doing, yes, Iyoh?”

“I’m not that good on medical matters, s-so…”, he stuttered, a bit embarrassed by the compliment.

“From what I see, first-aid was much needed as soon as possible, so you did really well.”

“W-welp, thanks, haha.”

“You can leave it to me now, though!”, she said, and taking a deep breath, the Gardevoir held out both her hands above the child.

Serenity used Heal Pulse!

A faint, pinkish psychic wave extended from both the Gardevoir’s palms, covering the whole child’s body. Serenity lovingly petted her with care in the most injured spots before removing the bandages and curatives. Upon removal, we could see she was fully healed and there was no wound or bruise to be seen anymore.

“Now, now… Hm?”, she stopped talking, looking at her own hands. A silvery and thin dust covered them. “Is this… dust?”

“Ah, yes, I think so”, Iyoh replied. “When taking care of her, there was a lot of dust on her fur, it was hard to clean it all under dim lighting.”

“I see”, she rubbed her hands together, cleaning the dust from them. “I’ll try looking into her mind now then… It seems she’s having a bad dream, I could consume it if it comes to such measure.”

“No”, I put my hand on her shoulder. “Don’t do that. I tried doing so, but not only the result wasn’t worth it, it also harmed me. Given I couldn’t even see her state of mind nor thoughts, it seems futile to try that.”

“What did it look like?”

“Like nothingness. As if I were trying to peer into a ghost’s mind.”

“That… sounds weird”, Serenity carefully petted the sleeping child again. “I’m not sure what she is, but she’s not a ghost type since I can touch her just fine…”

Suddenly, the door blasted open, startling the three of us. A Parasect entered the house, walking up to us with a steady pace.

“Eh? Morango? Were you fed up of waiting out there?”, Serenity asked, getting no response. “Or were you curious about the little one too?”

Morango seemed to want to get closer to the cushion so Serenity made way for the insectoid, which spent a while observing the sleeping white fox with no clear reaction. Then, with no warning, the Parasect rapidly lifted one of her massive and sharp pincers, as if ready to pierce the child.

“Eeeeh?!”, Iyoh yelped.

“Moran! No, no!”, Serenity shouted.

The Parasect took half a second to look at Serenity seemingly confused, and then lowered her pincer doing a soft rattle when touching the wooden floor again. She didn’t seem able to speak, but somehow seemed to understand what Serenity said sometimes.

“What was she doing?!”, I rasped.  

“I don’t know!”, my cousin looked legitimately as clueless as me. “We would go fetch some mushrooms after stopping by here, they’re really useful for medicines and Moran is very good on finding them, and… for some reason she mistook the little one with a mushroom? I think???”

Then, something clicked in my mind.

“I think… I have an idea why. But I don’t like this idea at all…”

Chapter 4  Shadows of the Past

“No, that can’t be!”, the tiny vulpine shook their head in disbelief. “Please… tell me that’s a lie...”

“You deserve to know the truth. That’s why I’m-”

“No! I don’t believe in what you’re saying!”, they yelled from the top of their lungs. “I will go home, and prove you are wrong! Mom! Dad!”

“Stop that, you’ll attract their attention”, she sighed.

“Please! Can someone hear me???”

As they didn’t show any signs of stopping being so loud, the ghost advanced into the light, and onto the kit to cover their mouth with a purple, disembodied hand. The moonlight revealed her to have a flowing dark body similar to a dress, and hands that had arms nowhere to be seen. Her touch sent shivers onto their spine; for some reason it was just so cold.

“Listen. You were thrown away because from where you are, you’re different. You’re not safe there, but you aren’t safe here either. We need to get moving immediately, so please, stop doing so much noise. It’s risky for us to be spotted here.”

“Ugh…”, the tiny one felt too dizzy to fight back against her grasp. It was really energy draining.

“Sorry”, she let go, with a torn look on her face. “I had to get your attention somehow.”

Unbeknownst to the ghost, a pair of gleaming eyes loomed behind her as she talked. They had an alluring gaze that shone for only a mere second, and then disappeared.

“Now, let’s get moving.”

“Easy for you to say that…”, they mumbled, still looking weary from the direct contact. “I can’t… move…”

“Come on, I’m sure I wouldn’t deal you that much damage from just-“

A nearby giggle interrupted her.

“Well, well, look at what I found. You didn’t mean to have this one only for yourself, right, missy?”

Startled, she looked back to address the voice’s owner; a Gengar whom slowly approached, with a smug grin on her face. Her bright red eyes gleamed in malice looking at the tiny but yet delicious snack.

“You’re one weird Haunter, girl, but hey; we could do halves. I’m not selfish enough to grab your food whole.”

“…”

That’s right. Ghosts feed from the very spirit that comes from one’s mind. Some would call it willpower, some would call it a soul. She could understand that and felt bad for the Gengar who was probably just hungry, but... Unfortunately, this one wasn’t for grabs.

??? used Disarming Voice!

“Ack! What are you doing?!”, the Gengar yelped, caught by surprise from the shriek wave sound that came out of the ‘Haunter’s’ throat.

??? used Teleport!

The Gardevoir came back home a few hours later, to an awaiting and concerned Iyoh. It was still late into the night, and the only source of light in the tiny house – a lantern sitting on the desk – illuminated her as she opened the door.

“Honey! Thank goodness, you’re back! I woke up with a bad feeling and saw your note, I got a bit-“

He slowly ceased talking when the current situation sank in. The Audino laid eyes on his wife, then on the Greninja siblings who were just a few steps back, and then, stopped his gaze at the child in Ange’s arms.

“Oh. Oh my…”

“That big purple blob was gonna eat me!!!”, that was the first sentence that came out from the vulpine’s mouth after recovering enough from the shock. “It was as if… as if I was being held in place by her gaze…!”

“That’s why… I told you it’s dangerous here. We need to get to the other side of the woods.”

Both of them were hiding inside an empty log’s trunk; by the looks and smell of it, it seemed to have been uninhabited for quite some time. It was moist and decaying, but that didn’t seem to bother the ‘Haunter’ even one bit. Was she used to this kind of place?

“No, forget that! I’m sure I have someone waiting for me to come back!”

“You have no one, you know?”

 “That’s… What do you know anyway?!”, they yelled, angry at the ghost’s boldness. The way she managed to say some things with a straight face annoyed them for an unknown reason.

 “You called for me, didn’t you? Because you were alone.”

 “Yes, but being here is way scarier! I want to go home!”

 “You have no home, though?”

 “Stop…”

“You need to face the truth. I know it’s sad, but...”

The white kit furrowed their brows in a clear attempt of holding back tears. They were unable of fully believing what the ghost was saying, but a painful memory rose up when the Gengar’s red eyes locked onto theirs: two pairs of turquoise eyes that looked from upon to them. They expressed visible disgust.

“Even if you are right… I still… I can’t lose all hope yet, right?!”

“Why won’t you stay here with me forever? I thought we were friends…”, for the first time, the ‘Haunter’ seemed distressed.

 “Shut it already!”, the kit snapped and soon regretted it, noticing the shock in the other’s face. “I’m sorry, I just... I just wanted someplace to call home… But that’s not what I wanted. Let me get out of here, please!”

 “L-look”, she stuttered, averting her gaze. “I promise, the other side is safer…”

 “You brought me here, right?”, they asked, and the ‘Haunter’ nodded. “Can’t you and I just leave together? You’d only need to get me back on where I was before and come along.”

 They got no response.

 “Geez", an annoyed sigh came out. “Why do you insist so much on staying in this damn forest?”

 “Do you… Do you know why fairies exist?”

 The question rang a bell on their mind. It sounded awfully familiar.

[continue...]

Author’s notes: Special credit for @occasional-flydreigon and @askvulpinecurses as the ones who originally designed the Zorua and the Haunter/Kirlia fusion respectively!

Since October’s the spooky month of the year, it’s the perfect time to this!

I’ve had this idea a while ago and have been working on it slowly. It’ll be short, and not so spectacular probably, but I hope it’ll be at least fun! ´w`  Updates on it will be made once a week so the story won’t be over until October’s end, but my point was to start it before Halloween and get it going anyway.

Asks won’t be answered during this time, but at least regular updates will be there! I’m still hella busy with work óvo But well, hope you enjoy and stay tuned! ❤

Chapter 9 Broadening horizons

With the Elder’s verdict, we got moving in order to meet with Madame and, surely enough, as soon as I turned around, I noticed a small bird on the floor looking up at me. A Murkrow.

“The Madame wants to meetcha”, he said with a creaky voice. “Y’all. Lady, Tales, Ange. Bring the kit. Elder stays, m’kay?”

Having said so, he promptly turned his back on us and started walking forward. The three of us then followed his lead. News flied fast inside the mafia’s base, it had always been like that. My safest bet on why that’s so, is that Madame’s loyal underlings acted as her eyes and ears at all times.

“It’s been some time, Kurook.”

“Yaya. Ya didn’t change one bit tho.”

“You, on the other hand, look even more sleep deprived than before, if that’s even possible.”

“Tis’ my charm”, he didn’t stutter nor stopp to look behind whenever he talked, dutifully guiding us to his leader.

Kurook may be small, but his serious attitude never changed; I felt like trying to get info on the subject from him wouldn’t work, so I patiently kept walking. He guided us through a series of corridors that seemed to lead upwards, staggering by what seemed to be a very rustic and simple elevator operated by a lever.

Hopping on the lever, he nodded, silently telling us to go in. Once everyone was inside, we heard a voice coming from a worn out computer speaker. It seemed to have been snatched away from the human’s recycling waste.

“Where to?”

“Y’know, diamonds are a girl’s best friends.”

“Got ya, pal. Up we go!”, with that, the elevator started moving under the sound of what sounded like dozens of pairs of wings flapping coming from the speaker.

Once it stopped, what we had before us were curtains; long and silky, their purple fabric shimmering at the wall torches’ lights.

“Asking for permission!”, Kurook announced.

“Permission granted~”, said a low and flamboyant voice in return. I knew very well whose voice that was, couldn’t ever forget how she sounded. Passing by the curtains, there she was.

Madame Crow. The elegant, refined and cunning Honchkrow that stood high as the mafia’s founder and unshakeable boss. She stood on her usual armchair, her piercing gaze aiming at the three of us. Her room’s floor was decorated with shiny and colorful stones.

“My, oh, my~”, she chanted, opening her wings in a salutation. Kurook hovered over his usual spot at her side, accompanied by another Murkrow. “What an interesting loot we have today! You never fail to amuse me, little Ange. So, what did the Purrloin bit this time?”

She spoke in a peculiar manner that would seem arrogant and nearly intimidating, but knowing her personally had proven Madame Crow wasn’t all that wicked at heart. I wasn’t afraid.

“How much do you know?”, I asked firmly.

“Enough, I’d say”, Madame Crow outlined the pearls on her necklace with her wing tips. “So what do you say, dear Ange, we talk about the Fairy World and this little, - if you allow me to put it this way - delta kit of yours? I’d tell you to grab a seat, but I will be brief, promise. Time is precious right now; and time is money.”

“I wonder what you mean by delta, Madame.”

“It’s a nomenclature I adopted in my recent studies, but eh; Let’s start from the beginning instead, shall we? Merley, grab me the records.”

The other Murkrow standing beside her took flight and was soon back with a scroll well-secured between her claws, dropping it by Madame’s feet; scroll which the Honchkrow began nimbly fumbling with, using her claws to open it.

“Let’s make a fast forward, or so to speak; I wasn’t eavesdropping all the way on you talking about the Fairy World. I’ve known about it for quite some time”, she said, looking at the scrolls contents, which seemed to be a research record with lots of text and drawn pictures. “Therefore, I won’t be talking about it in depth now.”

The day was running by with so many plot twists on who knew what that, by this time, I didn’t even become surprised she knew. What I wondered was what she could possibly have to add to this whole situation.

“What I have to add”, Madame Crow said, as if she had read my mind “is, simply offering you some aid, and asking for a favor in return.”

“Yes, I’m listening.”

She was actually nice at heart, but I didn’t expect it to come for free. Lady Noir and Tales didn’t take part in our conversation at all, but their attention remained on their leader. If she had called them as well, they probably would play some part in this.

“As you’re all well aware, I’m a scholar at heart”, she started, pacing around on top of the open scroll. “I’ve been researching on life and its several ways of coming into being on our world. However, with the sudden appearance of Pokémon from another universe in the Alola region, my research took flight.”

Madame Crow held the now open scroll, rapidly skimming over its text while explaining us her findings on said research.

“These Pokémon, nicknamed Ultra Beasts by the humans, are something entirely new to our world. Science has proven they indeed come from another universe by the use of gaps in our dimension’s structure. This made me start believing our universe isn’t the only one, that what we have is a multiverse. Are you following until now?”

I nodded, looking briefly at Lady and Tales to see them having the same reaction. Madame Crow whispered a “good” under her breath, and went ahead with her explanations.

“This made me go into further research and its results made me believe that not only there are other kinds of life forms, it’s also very likely there are universes where everything is the same as we know, but in a new form. Take the alolan Pokémon as example.  And just like the so called Ultra Beasts, these unknown forms may sometime end up in another universe which is not theirs. However, due to these life forms uncanny resemblance to ours regardless being so different, I’ve decided to nickname them delta Pokémon.”

She gestured my way, as if wanting to see the child. I showed her the basket where she was resting, while Madame nodded, seemingly musing to herself in her thoughts.

“It’s only rumors, but I’ve heard about a very distant region on which scientists started tweaking the Pokémon’s DNA to get them new forms. The same Pokémon, with a new appearance and even typing”, she went on, attentively analyzing the child. “Whatever scientific failure regarding DNA proves such can’t be done according to nature’s laws. Assuming these scientists succeeded, means delta Pokémon are compatible with nature’s own process of creation.

That is… they are possible of naturally coming into being. This spreads much ahead on what I can explain you children right now, and there are controversies to what I’m saying; but this child could either be from another universe, and somehow fell into ours; or they’re one of these anomalies, one of what I’ve called delta, that somehow was born as such here in our world.”

“It all ties to creation itself. While I was researching about the multiverse theory, I found out about several worlds that aren’t exactly located in another dimension, but are worlds that coexist with ours regardless being unreachable. Akin to these, I found out about the fairy world.”

I wasn’t very knowledgeable on this kind of subject, but… was she possibly referring to legendary Pokémon? The only one I was aware of was Giratina, who lived in a distorted dimension since they were banned by Arceus themselves… I had heard about Cresselia and Darkrai having a realm located inside others’ dreams, but those were only rumors.

“As it’s vital to my research, I want to know more it. However, I’m not allowed into there, as you already know~”, she winked. “So, I know you – Ange and Lady Noir - are going to try and rescue the kit before their mismatching energy perishes on your world. All I ask of you is you take Kurook and Merley with you.”

The two Murkrow stepped front, waiting on our remarks for such decision. Lady Noir and Tales still kept silent, waiting on Madame Crow’s orders relative to our bargain’s result.

“I’m aware they’re not fairies, but with the great number of looming ghosts in that world, I believe they’re able of helping with their dark typing. I’d go myself, but they can aid you much better than I. You see, both Kurook and Merley here have remarkable memory, and their best asset is acting as living maps.”

“We don’t have much of directions though. What Tales could see was pretty vague in my opinion…”

“If we have him to describe what he’s seen while reading the kit’s aura, they’ll be able of taking in the info and guide you precisely to the location you’re looking for. It’s been their job for ages, and I’ve never been disappointed in them so far.”

I looked at the Lucario, who seemed to somehow feel me staring; he nodded solemnly.

“I can see how that would help us”, I said, taking care of hiding the dormant child under my cape again. “But, how does that favor you, Madame?”

“As I stated before, I want to know more about this world. Let’s say they’ll be acting as my own eyes when in there~”, she winked at me. “So, what do you say?”

“Sure. I have no reason to distrust you, Madame. But please, when – if – we do come back, don’t put this information to use in a reckless way.”

“No worries, Angie. I know better than that”, Madame Crow said vehemently, her piercing gaze making her serious tone justice. “Very well, then. Come over here, Tales. Please explain them what you saw and spare no details, no matter how minor they are.”

“Yes, Madame”, the Lucario nodded, kneeling down to talk to the two Murkrow who now looked intently at him.

“You’ve been really quiet so far, Noir, my dear. I suppose you already know by now where your voyage needs to get started to earn you a shortcut, yes?”

“I’ve been thinking”, she replied, serious. “Using Kurook and Merley as our compass, our travel becomes way faster. However, I’m afraid it’s not fast enough if we don’t enter the Fairy World by the location which’s the closest possible to the one the kit landed at.”

“Southern Island, if I’m not mistaken?”

“Yes. I know of someone who can help, but I’m not sure if-“

Before she could finish her sentence, a familiar voice echoed inside our minds. I felt my mind connected to Lady Noir’s and someone else’s… Serenity?

“I’m aware of what you’ve been trying to do and my time to step forward is near. This is supposed to be my duty, ladies, not yours. Since you’ve already gone this far, please allow me to take the lead now. Let’s reunite at Ange’s house as soon as possible.”

Assuming by how no one seemed to react to this message, it was safe to confirm only the three of us had listened to it. Madame Crow, however, picked up on the situation somehow. She smirked.

“By the looks on your face, I suppose you have an answer now~”

[continue…]