"Oooh! Foreshadowing..." The sun was an orange disk over the ocean as they set off towards the sound of distant music, past the ever-present black and orange decorations that nearly every home in Lavender wore. As the cemetery drew nearer, the Victorian style street lamps flickered to life, some sending up short bursts of blue sparks and startling a few jumpy tourists. When they reached the town square, where the light purple cobblestones rose up towards the mountains, the Tower became an omnipresent beacon. It rose five stories above the road, just to one side of Route 10 with the mountains at its back where the lights from the mining camp gleamed like malevolent eyes in the darkness. Though the Tower was an eerie place at the best of times, its residence had somehow made it more so with the approach of Halloween. At the top of the Tower, a constant ring of ghosts danced around it like a dark halo before slowly descending part way down where several of the ghosts would either flee into the tower, or disperse into the night only to be replaced a new batch of eager specters looking to continue the blatant display. As the now wailing band of dark shapes spun about in their strange game, eerie lights flickered to life in many of the windows. They alternated colours from an unpleasant sickly green to hot pink, and were accompanied by the occasional scream or burst of baleful laughter. Misty shivered and held Miranda's hand a little tighter as the incoherent sound of the festival's music became clearer, and she could make out the aging brickwork of the Tower. With morbid fascination she watched as it grew nearer as they ascended, not daring to ask where the strange array of what appeared to be bleached white bones came from that suddenly shot out a West-facing window accompanied by an ear-splitting belch that rattled the Tower's other windows. "They're just showing off," assured Miranda, squeezing Misty's hand reassuringly, as the bones pelted a crowd of all too curious tourists, "They get like this every year." Misty nodded, now noticing as the huge wooden double doors began to rattle in response to the blinding white light that shined just beyond them and streamed out through the cracks. "Believe it or not," Miranda continued as they made a sharp left and Misty's gaze fell upon the more reassuring sight of the festival grounds, "They're usually pretty quiet the rest of the year. Especially in April, that's when the mana level's at its lowest and they tend to sleep a whole lot." "I see," replied Misty, trying not to think about the Tower too much, but finding that the excited tone in Miranda's voice made it and its ghosts somehow less threatening. Infact, the entire festival seemed to be trying to make the Tower and the ghosts more of a tourist attraction than anything else. As promised, the unoccupied areas of well-groomed grass between the rows wide causeways of hard packed earth were decorated with papier-m?ch? tombstones and a few of the concession stands looked like mausoleums and crypts. Those same stands sold the obligatory over-priced festival food, consisting mostly of fast food with Halloween themed names. Misty was afraid to ask about the allegedly vat grown hamburgers at one place called "The Darkened Kitchen". She especially didn't want to know what went into their secret sauce, known only as "BTX101". Beyond the concessions and hoard of tourists there were a gaming booths, run by the usual band of shifty characters who seemed more intent on taking people's money than handing out the prizes they'd all inherited from their grandparents in order to lure the gullible. Most of the games they had set up were of the usual sort, except that the proprietors had changed them to be more in theme. Some were simple, and almost laughable, like the game where the object was to knock over a set of glass bottles. Only the owner of the booth had filled them with a clear liquid in which floated a small handful of eyes. But even Miranda had to admit that the game where festivalgoers were challenged to test their strength was a bit tacky. When the contestant smashed down the enormous mallet, the small round ball traveled up a hastily constructed replica of the Tower. At the top, instead of a bell, they had placed a replica of a gastly. One the one occasion that someone did manage to thwack the small round orb all the way to the top, though, the gastly let out a blood curdling scream and its eyes lit up. "This was a lot better when I was kid," Miranda sighed, leading Misty down another path that lead through and area populated small carnival rides, "We didn't used to get as many outsiders setting up shop here... I mean, this isn't supposed to be about making money, it's supposed to be about having fun, right?" "Almost every holiday gets commercialized to-" Misty stopped herself from saying it and quickly pointed to a large open area with a stage, "Hey, look at that!" Miranda smiled as she noticed the small platform that passed for a stage where most of the more interesting events often took place. Upon it was a band of actors playing out some story that seemed to involve the use of a lot of jack o lanterns. "That takes me back," Miranda laughed as they joined the crowd of mostly out of town children watching the play, "We did this in school one year." "What is it?" Misty inquired as a man dressed as an old decrepit farmer staggered merrily away from a group of angry looking people in dark cloaks and masks that made their faces seem twisted and horrible. "Ever wonder why we carve pumpkins?" whispered Miranda as the aged farmer hovelled about the stage; appearing to be turned away at every door he came to. "Not really," Misty confessed, glancing at the closest collection of jack-o- lanterns and noticing a 1st prize ribbon on one of the more twisted looking ones. Miranda smiled as a huge papier-m?ch? pumpkin was brought up onto the stage and the old farmer, whose name was apparently Jack began to rejoice before pulling out a huge knife and making broad sweeping motions at it in a dramatic fashion. "Oh, it involves this rather unsavory farmer treeing some dark malevolent spirit," the courier explained quickly, keeping her voice low as several children applauded as prearranged sections of the fake pumpkin fell away until it looked like a jack-o-lantern, "He made a deal with it in exchange for helping it out of the tree that he'd never be allowed into-" "Treed?" interrupted Misty as half the children cheered and the other half cringed, "How do you get a dark malevolent spirit stuck up a tree, exactly?" "Well," confessed Miranda as the play ended and all the actors and actresses came out on stage, "That part's a little vague. But anyway, Jack wasn't a nice guy, so when he died, he couldn't get into Heaven. But, because of the deal he made, he wasn't allowed anywhere else either. So he wound up wandering the land being turned away from every door he came to until he found a place to live." "A pumpkin." "Well, err, yeah... Kinda." "Lavender Town's a strange place, Miri," Misty replied with a warm smile as Miranda cast her a helpless look, "But I think I could get used to it." "Well, you can't expect much from a kid's fairytale," the courier confessed with a shrug, "And besides, our teacher wouldn't let us do MacBeth." "Too much for kids to handle, I guess." "I suppose." "But making them afraid of lit-up pumpkin carvings is all right though?" Misty teased as the stage was cleared and people started setting up folding chairs before it. "Hey," Miranda laughed, "we're Lav'Brats, remember? We're not afraid of anything. Or at least that's what we like to tell people..." Misty smiled. "I'll try to keep that in mind," she promised as the workers started jabbing tall torches into the ground and lighting them in response to the gathering darkness, assembling a double parallel row with the chairs between them. "So I guess this is where your Aunt's doing her thing tonight?" commented Misty as they grabbed a pair of seats in the third row, watching idly as the two people who'd set up the torches hurriedly joined those clearing the stage. Miranda nodded. "Yeah, being so near the Tower always kinda adds to the ambiance," she replied, feeling suddenly guilty as Misty's fingers clenched, cutting off her circulation. Misty let out a stifled exclamation, leaning forward and looking past Miranda and shuddering as she saw just how close they were to the Tower. "S-sorry," the courier stammered, desperately searching for the right words. "It's okay," Misty replied, her tone quiet as she stared in disbelief at the dark, imposing pillar that was now only a hundred yards or so away. Far above her, the ghosts had ceased their screeching and had vanished, but as she looked up into he sky above the Tower, dark clouds moved in from seemingly nowhere, turning the sky into a swirling mass of dark gray. "I guess when you live here you just kinda ignore it," said Miranda, trying to sound reassuring as she slipped her arm around Misty's shoulders, "it doesn't really do anything to anyone. If you ignore it, the chances are it'll ignore you." "That's true," Misty sighed, leaning against her beloved and feeling a familiar sense of dread as she pried her eyes away from the haunted structure, thankful that Miranda was so close by. "Hey," laughed a familiar voice that made them both jump in their seats, "It's just a dilapidated old building. Heck, if it weren't for the ghosts, it'd probably collapse under its own weight!" The two immediately looked behind them and saw Zack, accompanied by a short, muscular woman with almost the same shade of flaming red hair as him. The pair were walking down the aisle created by the double blocks of chairs that had been set up, and now stopped as they spotted Misty and Miranda. "Hey, Zack," Miranda replied with a smile, glancing at his companion with a reverent nod, "Hi, Angela. Nice to see you made it back into town." The woman smiled back, her grin seeming somehow less mischievous than Zack's, who was now taking advantage of the their substantial difference in height by leaning upon her broad shoulder. As he did so, she glanced up at him and shook her head, revealing the long, waist-length braid she'd tied her hair into. "Yeah, I heard my son was causing trouble again, so I thought I'd head back early," said Angela, her tone sounding more amused than disapproving, with a bit of an accent that was hard to place. "Who, me?" Zack inquired innocently, looking down at his mother with a shocked look that made the others laugh, "I'll have you know that I've been here all week and I haven't been arrested yet-" "The night is still young," Miranda replied slyly, causing Angela to nod in agreement. "And I haven't broken anything!" added Zack. "Does teaching Joy's blissy to self-destruct count?" inquired Misty, happy for the distraction. "I- I-!" stammered Zack as his mother glowered at him and more people began arriving, taking whatever seats were available, "Oh, look! It's Joshua! Hey, Joshua, over here!" His mother blushed and tried to compose herself as the elder courier hovelled down the aisle, arm and arm with a short, slender woman who seemed to be near his age, but in much better condition. "Angela had a crush on him when she was a kid," Miranda whispered to Misty as Joshua and his wife came closer and nodded respectfully to the couple, "It's what made her join the Couriers." "Gee," giggled Misty, pressing her lips close Miranda's ear, "And here I thought he was kidding about being married." Miranda shook her head, a look of respectful reverence gleaming in her eye as Joshua and his wife took a seat just behind them. Although he was still wearing his tattered traveling clothes and wide brimmed hat, he'd removed his long leather duster and had draped it about the woman's shoulders. His wife smiled at Miranda and Misty, somehow making the oversized coat with the Courier Crew badge on its shoulder not seem too out of place with her long dark blue dress and artfully styled silvery hair. "Joshua never lies," Miranda replied as Zack and his mother quickly grabbed the seats next to them as several other couriers descended on the area, taking the best seats possible. "That's right," the man replied, his left arm going protectively about his wife's shoulders as Zack poked his mom in the ribs teasingly, "I just exaggerate from time to time." Misty laughed at the comment, finding the imposing courier less intimidating the more she saw of him. "Aren't you a bit chilly, though?" she inquired as a cold wind blew down from the mountains and sent Joshua's thinning hair billowing out behind him. "Naw," the old courier replied with a shake of his head and a shrug, "I recon the grave'll be colder than this. So I might as well get used to it now. Besides, I've had worse. Why I recall this one Winter. There I was, three days outside of-" "I've already heard this story." "Oh, so sorry," said Joshua, lowering the brim of his hat and smiling toothily, "I forgot." "I think we've all heard that story," his wife Nancy chuckled, her quiet voice sounding as carefree as her husband's seemed world-weary. "Ah! But I see that the rumors are true!" Misty felt suddenly self-conscious as the woman glanced down at the lapel of her jacket to where she'd proudly pinned the badge she'd won from Laurna. "I'm sure there's a new story behind that," the woman continued, glancing up at Joshua teasingly, "Alas, my husband's are getting a little stale." Joshua shrugged as Misty laughed, amused to see the look of sudden embarrassment on the old courier's face. "Now, now," he said, patting her hand and meeting her gaze with a look of dismay, "It's not my fault that the most of the adventure in the world's all but dried up. What with all these new routes and that blasted suspension bridge from Fuchsia-!" His wife only laughed, even as Joshua's face became red and his remaining eye blazed with annoyance. "Well I think you've brought home quite enough evil little critters," she assured him, "And I know that I don't want anymore of you being bitten, freezing or otherwise falling off! It's bad enough you almost died the first time we met, and so help me, Joshua, you're not leaving me alone in this town for the rest of my life!" "Yes, dear..." the man mumbled looking downcast for a moment as everyone else tried not to laugh, especially Nancy, "Oh, look! That Laurna kid's about to start the show!" Miranda had to laugh as she turned towards the stage again. Though her Aunt Laurna was in her early forties, Joshua pretty thought of anyone younger than him as still being wet behind the ears. The small, unimposing woman stepped onto the stage with the spring in her step that she'd adopted since Frank's return to Lavender. As promised, she was once again wearing the long black and silver dress she'd worn at the challenge, and again she wore a silver chain with the pyramid/pentagram emblem on it. Just behind her, someone had put up a set of dark purple curtains, hiding the view of the mountains behind the stage, making certain that all eyes were focused on the politely smiling poke'prof. "Hello, everyone," said Laurna in a quiet tone that somehow echoed loud enough for all to ear, "and welcome to the fifteenth annual Lavender Town Halloween Festival." She smiled as the large block of couriers near the foot of the stage all cheered, called out her name or generally made fools of themselves. "So nice to have a fan club," the professor sighed, her silver earrings swaying as she shook her head in bemused dismay, "But for those of you from out of town who don't know me, my name's Professor Laurna Wyght. Although you've probably all met at least one of us poke'profs in your lives, I'm currently the only one who takes ecto-parazoology seriously." A murmur came up from the crowd as most of the couriers whispered comments and Misty heard Zack mutter, "Stupid tourists." "Now," Professor Laurna continued undaunted, "how many of you out-of-towners believe in ghosts?" There was a chuckle from the crowd as only about half the tourists raised their hands. Misty glanced over her shoulder and began to raise her own, only to have Miranda stop her. "You're family," she whispered, causing the trainer to smile happily. Laurna nodded thoughtfully. "I see," she said, pushing her glasses back up her nose melodramatically, causing them to shimmer in the flickering torchlight, "Now, how many of you believe that ghost-types are just sentient balls of gas? Kinda like a grimer or muk is just a sentient puddle of ooze?" Only a few hands went down and Laurna smiled toothily, her magenta eyes gleaming with amusement. "Well," she told them with a degree of satisfaction, "I suppose I'm going to have to give you all a quick education before we begin, for the tale I'm about to tell you involves ghosts. And if you're going to believe my story, you're going to have to believe in them. For they are real, and they are NOT just a strange freak of nature. Believe it or not, ghost-types are indeed the souls of departed pokemon, and you'd be wise to respect that." Laurna ignored the murmuring of the crowd and the shouts from the back, some demanding proof as others simply heckled. Instead, she raised her small hand and snapped her fingers, the sound carrying much farther and sounding much louder than seemed possible. Instantly, three ghosts appeared around her, and causing several people to scream as others broke into conversation. "They're just ghosts," muttered Zack, and even Misty had to agree that Laurna's trio weren't that bad. "Say hello, everyone," laughed Laurna as the spectral trio circled above her head before turning their attention towards the crowd and receiving a few more quieted screams as several people ran off, "To Nightfall, Nox, and of course, Viper!" As the ecto-parazoologist spoke their names, the three ghosts floated down and hovered near Laurna's feet. "Now then," said Laurna in a more serious tone, her fingers running idly through Viper's ephemera, causing him to make a contented hissing sound, "My gengar Viper is proof of the facts. I received him from my mentor Professor Joyce of Neon Town when I was apprenticing under her. Viper was an ekans then. A very loyal, and very beautiful serpent whom I loved very much..." As Laurna spoke, the three ghosts concentrated, and huge illusionary scene formed above her. It showed a much younger Laurna, receiving an, at the time, rather small purple scaled serpent. In the phantasmal picture, Viper was only about three feet long, having only hatched a few weeks previously, but the bond between them seemed to form almost instantly. The look in Laurna's eyes as she was handed the ekans caused most of the crowd to make approving sounds until the image of the girl hugging the serpent happily shifted to one that seemed to take place some time later. "I had only been with Professor Joyce for a short while when it happened," Laurna explained, her tone reminding Misty of Vivian's as Miranda's fingers suddenly tightened their grip, "Viper sacrificed himself to save my life..." The image had now changed to one that was difficult to see, having been formed from Laurna's own painful memories. It showed a dark, shadowy figure standing over Laurna in what appeared to be a small bedroom that made Misty's look spacious by comparison. As the dark figure neared, and Laurna's image screamed silently, a huge serpent reared up behind him, and without hesitation, sank his fangs into the attacker's shoulder as his long, thick tail wrapped around the human. "Viper fought valiantly for me," continued Laurna as the crowd's absolute silence was broken only by the distant sounds of the rest of the festival and the image of Viper rolling around on the floor with Laurna's would be attacker changed to one where the man now had his hands around Viper's throat, "But in the end, he was strangled to death... Not before his venom killed the man who tried to hurt me, however." Laurna paused, wiping her eyes on the sleeve of her dress and motioning for someone in the front row not to move. "As he died, though," she said after a moment, "I asked him to stay. To never leave me. Little did I know that he would." The woman smiled sadly down at the gengar whose gleaming red eyes glanced up at her adoringly as the scene changed to one showing Lavender Town as it had been nearly thirty years ago. Then, as Laurna spoke, the scene shifted so that the Tower was the main focus until it filled most of the viewing area. "A dear friend took myself and my sister to Lavender Town shortly after Viper's death," she continued as Miranda glanced at Misty and gave her a concerned look, "Once I arrived here, however, I started having dreams. Visions almost, of the Tower. I mentioned it to my predecessor Professor Samuel, but he wasn't as interested in the field of ecto-parazoology as I was. Infact, he warned me not to go into the Tower under any circumstances, and told me a story that I'd like to also share with you tonight. That, however, can wait." The tension in the air settled a little as she smiled and a few people chuckled nervously. "But his warnings fell upon deaf ears. I was determined to retrieve Viper no matter what the cost. So, without telling anyone what I was doing, I went into the Tower one night to retrieve my dearest ekans." The scene showed an image of Laurna, wielding a flashlight and carrying a heavy backpack of supplies as she entered the enormous double doors of the world's most haunted structure and vanished within. "I, however, was lucky," Laurna told the expectant crowd as the image vanished and she smiled at their sudden disappointment, "I found a friend in the Tower. A gengar known only as 'The Guardian!'" With that, a loud, piercing shriek filled the air, followed by what sounded like the wailing laughter of a thousand banshees. As most of the remaining crowd glanced up at the real Tower, witnessing the arrival of an enormous dark shape from one of the upper windows, Miranda leaned closer to Misty. "That was new," she whispered, her stormy gray eyes tracking the descending shape as it formed into an unusually tall gengar and floated towards her Aunt. "What was?" inquired Misty as Laurna spread her arms wide, smiling happily as the ghost that was nearly as tall as she was, floated into her arms and gave her a hug. "Aunt Laurna's never had them show that image of Viper's death before," Miranda explained pensively, "She's also never really mentioned how he died, either. But it meshes with some of what I read in my father's diary." Misty glanced over at the courier with an alarmed look. "Should we be concerned?" she inquired worriedly, "Um, I mean, that's some pretty personal stuff she's revealing to the general public." Miranda glanced at her Aunt, smiling sadly as she saw the look of joy in the woman's eyes as Laurna exchanged a few quick words with the Guardian. "It's her decision, I suppose. But at least she didn't give the whole story." She glanced back at Misty with a sudden sadness reflecting in her eyes and quickly gave her beloved an embrace that was meant more to reassure herself than anything else. "That man was her stepfather," Miranda explained, causing Misty to curse under her breath and hold Miranda a little closer, "That's what made my father so angry. It's what made him take my mother and aunt away. Their mother actually wanted to press charges against Laurna because of what Viper did, irregardless of what her husband tried to do." Misty clung to Miranda shaking as several conflicting emotions fought for dominance inside her. She wanted to cry, run up on stage and hug Laurna, cheer for Viper, and pummel the woman's long dead stepfather into dust at the same time. "Now I know," Misty managed, her eyes burning with tears as she buried her face in Miranda's hair and breathed in her beloved's reassuring scent, "Now I know why you love your father so much." Miranda nodded slowly, running her fingers through Misty's hair reassuringly as she glanced back at the stage. "He barely knew my mom and Aunt Laurna back then," she whispered, "but he said that he loved my mother the first time that he saw her. And when he got the call from Laurna, he rushed right over and drove them out of town that very night. He didn't even stop until he was back here. He said in his diary that it was the only way he could stop himself from going after their mother. My father wasn't a violent man, but that night, he knew he had to take them away or do something he'd regret for the rest of his life." "He's still a hero in my eyes," Misty replied, moving back and smiling sadly as she gave Miranda a gentle kiss, "Your mother is a very lucky woman, and so am I." Miranda closed her eyes and sighed contentedly, smiling happily as Misty rested her head upon her shoulder, holding her hand as they watched the rest of the show. "He saved them, and you saved me," she heard Misty whisper after a moment, causing Miranda to squeeze her hand, "And I thank you. I thank you both, because if not for your Father, I would never have met you..." Upon the stage, Laurna's ghosts were now weaving a new set of illusions. Overhead, the mostly spherical shape showed an area that looked only vaguely familiar. A small village sat near the foot of the Lavender Mountains, surrounded by a dense forest. It appeared to be a small mining town with a narrow trail that lead down to a rather hastily constructed wharf. It was obviously Lavender Town, only hundreds of years ago. "When our ancestors came here," Laurna was now saying, "There was no Lavender Tower. However, the two ley-lines that intersect here did exist. The souls of departed pokemon, still clinging to this world came here even then. However, there was no Tower, so they simply inhabited what we still call the Haunted Woods. "This lead to problems when the miners and fishermen started to clear the land of its trees. The ghosts were NOT happy about loosing their only home to say the least, and many people died as a result. So when word of this area spread, it caught the attention of a man named Professor Spengler." The scene shifted so that more of the forest had been cleared, revealing the desiccated looking corpses of those foolish enough to try to destroy the ghost's only home before shifting to an image of a rapidash drawn cart. The equine seemed nervous and very displeased as trotted along, snorting small flames from its nostrils as it's master drove it onward, down the winding path that now ran West and would one day be know as Route 8. The man urging it on was surprisingly tall for his time, with short dark hair and small round spectacles on the end of his thin nose. As the Guardian added to the illusion, the audience could hear the sounds of the pokemon's hooves literally grinding the stones along the path to dust beneath its hooves as it reluctantly pulled the wagon. They could hear its displeased snorts as its fiery red eyes gleamed with primal fear in the growing darkness. But they could also hear the man's quiet, reassuring words as he urged the steed on. Promising the equine that no harm would come to him, that soon their journey would be over. "Professor Spengler was a something of an anomaly at the time," came the now happy sound of Laurna's voice as she continued to narrate, "five hundred years ago, pokemon had very few rights, and most people treated them as tools and weapons instead of as friends. But Spengler was different; he loved them and never mistreated his small menagerie. "He came here not only to study the ghosts, but also to fight for their rights. He even brought his wife and three children with him, and was determined to settle here and teach our ancestors to respect pokemon. Deceased or otherwise." There was a chuckle from the crowd as the scene shifted again to one a few months later. It showed a more organized looking village with several dozen people laboring over what appeared to be some kind of structure. "The professor started out, by commissioning the construction of what would one day be the Lavender Tower. He had a substantial amount of silver saved up, and paid the workers well. But it was his promise to deal with the ghosts in a way that wouldn't endanger human lives that made them all work so hard. "Then, in less than six months, the Tower was completed, and Spengler and his family moved in to what was to be their home as well as the professors laboratory." The crowd oohed and ahhed as they were shown the Tower as it once had been. A tall, proud, pristine structure that seemed friendly and not at all ominous. They were also greatly pleased to receive tantalizing glimpses of the interior, including the enormous play room Spengler built for his children, and the science facilities he put together in the basement. "That was when the a nameless gastly came to professor Spengler," explained Laurna, smiling over at the tall gengar who looked away almost shyly, "and claimed to represent the forest ghosts. He demanded that the humans move on or be destroyed by the ghosts who greatly outnumbered them." The scene showed the large black orb of a gastly hovering before a sympathetic looking professor Spengler as he worked on what looked like a very primitive pokeball in his lab. The sphere was nearly two feet across, made of dull gray metal, with an open panel that exposed its vital circuitry and vacuum tubes. "Professor Spengler explained to the gastly that the humans weren't trying to harm the ghosts," continued Laurna as the image of the professor waved his arms emphatically, and his lips moving mutely once more, "they were simply there because of the minerals in the mountains. That they only cleared the forest because they needed land to grow food and wood to build their homes. "But the gastly explained that the woods were the ghost's only home. That were the woods to be lost, the ghosts would have nowhere to congregate, to teach the new gastlies who appeared now and then the way of ghostly society. That they would be forced to take what the humans had built by any means necessary. No matter what the cost. "It was then that the Professor made a decision that would change Lavender Town forever!" Laurna paused for effect, smiling as she noticed how many people were now holding their breath, "He told the gastly, that once he and his wife had passed on, that the Tower was theirs. He asked only that the human community be permitted to claim a small portion of the land to live on, in exchange. In this way, the two species each sacrificed something for the other." The Guardian nodded at Laura's words and whispered something to her that caused the poke'prof to shudder. "Oh, oh yes," she stammered, looking around nervously and putting the crowd on edge, "I almost forgot. While this arrangement went over quite well with most of the other ghosts, a small group of dissidents were still less than satisfied. "This group was lead by a young gastly who showed an extreme affinity for psychic techniques. The ghosts saw the deal with the humans as a betrayal. He hated the humans for what they had done, and nothing could change that. And as he and his small band terrorized the human and ghost communities over the course of several years until he became know to them as 'Stryphe'." It was then easy to tell the native Lavender Towner's. They were the ones who cursed under their breath, said small prayers or made warning signs at the mention of the ghost's name. "Now, there's something you should all know about ghosts," said Laurna, glancing over her glasses at her captive audience, smiling inwardly at the power she held over them at that moment, "Ghosts need to feed, just like any other pokemon. However, ghosts don't eat food. They can consume one of two things. Dreams, and strong emotions. Now ghosts can devour your dreams one of two ways, either by just taking it and feasting upon it later, or by drinking it from the source. This, of course, can lead to some very unpleasant side effects, the least of which include insanity and death that plaguing the humans in this way would inspire a greater terror. "The other thing that ghosts prey upon, strong emotions, can be any strong emotion. Be it love, hate, amusement, or fear," Laurna paused as the lighting seemed to dim dramatically and a few people let out small fearful gasps at the look she suddenly gave them, "Now Stryphe and his crew, they went around eating people's dreams straight from the source all the time. They left many people in comas, or with incurable derangements, feeling that killing them was far too easy. "Eventually they developed a taste for fear and hatred. Almost an addiction! So, when Stryphe evolved into a haunter and found his powers gaining strength, he began delving into the minds of his victims. For many nights, he studied their nightmares in an attempt to discern the things that humans feared the most. Stryphe intended to use this knowledge to drive the humans in Lavender Town to the brink of insanity so he might sup upon the sweet nectar of their terror. "Fortunately, though, the nameless gastly that had forged the deal with Spengler on behalf of his elders had risen in the spectral ranks and was by this time greatly respected in his community. He had also become the ghost's ambassador to the humans as Professor Spengler had become the human's ambassador to the ghosts. So when he also saw what Stryphe as doing, he attempted to organize the others to stop the small band of evil spirits." The illusion now showed a Lavender Town very similar to the present day one, but Professor Spengler was much older, with long gray hair and three children who'd grown up and left home. Before him hovered a small collection of ghosts, lead by the Guardian who had now became a haunter as well. "Unfortunately," continued Laurna with a shiver, her fingers coiling her necklace nervously, "Stryphe's had grown substantially in power. He was now able to control other ghosts within a limited range, and began turning those ghosts who actually liked humans against their allies. Stryphe especially enjoyed turning ghosts who had been adopted by humans against them, then letting go of his hold and watching the aftermath with vile glee. "It eventually became difficult to tell who was actually working for Stryphe, and who was just being controlled. As more people were driven mad or simply killed, the Town Council begged the aging Professor to do something. Fortunately, he'd been on the problem for quite sometime." Laurna smiled with a hint of pride as the image above her showed the now very old professor climbing out onto the roof clutching a familiar device in both hands. "Back then, poke balls were bulky, heavy, and very expensive contraptions," she explained, holding aloft one of the black and gray orbs she kept her ghosts in for the audience to see, "But it didn't stop Professor Spengler from experimenting with them. "Infact, it was due to his experimentation with ghosts and pokeball technology that he was able to eventually put an end to Stryphe's rein of terror," the scene now showed Professor Spengler at the top of the Tower. It was raining hard, and thunder and lightning were accompanied by dangerously high winds as he stood with the Guardian and several other ghosts, "he sent word that he wanted to challenge the now gengar to one final decisive battle. Professor Spengler told Stryphe that if he were to die, then the remaining humans in Lavender were his to do with as he pleased. But if Stryphe were beaten, he would have to leave Lavender with his minions, never return. "Stryphe, of course, gleefully accepted the challenge. Professor Spengler, however, knew that the ghost would never agree to leave. That's why he brought the prototype of this with him. What he called a 'ghost-ball'." Some of the onlookers leaned ahead in their seats even as a second illusion of a slowly rotating gray and black pokeball appeared above them. Several people immediately shouted questions, but Laurna silenced them with a smile and dismissive wave. "After the show," she promised with giggle as the scene atop the Tower showed the small group being surrounded by numerous pairs of glowing red eyes, "Now then. The battle that took place atop the Tower lasted long into the night, and the Professor almost lost his life in it, but in the end, Stryphe lay at his feet, a black puddle of partially visible ephemera. "The good Professor took no pleasure in dropping the first ghost-ball upon Stryphe. Even when the device activated and worked almost flawlessly, capturing the downed spectre with almost no problem, Professor Spengler thought only of those who had suffered. Both humans and pokemon." The scene shifted to show a huge, round room, somewhere deep beneath the Tower. The walls, floor, and ceiling were made of carved black stones that seemed to have been fused together. The room was lit only by a ring of extra dribbly candles that flickered angrily as the Professor entered the room, accompanied by the Guardian, holding the ghost-ball before him like a cured artifact. Together, they entered what appeared to be some kind of circle of protection carved into the floor. At the center of the circle, where four line that represented the ley-lines that intersected there, was a black pedestal. "As you can see," the woman went on, "Professor Spengler had also planned to capture Stryphe in such a way that he would never bother anyone ever again. He had commissioned psychics to prepare a mystic circle of containment, a barrier that would imprison Stryphe for all time." In the illusion above, Professor Spengler carefully set Stryphe's ball down upon the dark pedestal and quickly exited the circle as the Guardian held his stubby arms aloft and chanted a few words. As the ghost did so, the professor cut open his finger, bleeding a single drop onto the circle's outer boundary, and Guardian let a small portion of his ephemera break free as well. Almost instantly, the circle seemed to catch fire. The entire array of strange patterns and lines that filled its inner surface burned with dark purple flames as the two backed away, shouting in Latin, "Mangero Es Josephus!" The flames died a moment later, and the scene faded to nothingness as Professor Laurna spoke once more. "After Spengler's death of natural causes, the Tower was sealed, and all living things were banned from entering," she said almost sadly, "The pact between the ghosts and the humans was complete. The ghosts would give up a small portion of the forest, and the humans would give up the Tower. This was also about the time when the Guardian became just that. The Guardian. And what he guards is the most dangerous, vile creature that ever unlived. Stryphe." The audience gave a collective shudder as Professor Laurna accepted a drink from a stagehand. "So now," she said finally, "The Tower stands, keeping us safe from Stryphe. But now those who enter often meet with most unpleasant ends. I was lucky. Nothing more. Please, if you value your lives at all don't enter the Tower. Not under any circumsta-!" But Professor Laurna's emphatic plea was cut off as the sound of breaking glass filled the air, and someone in the audience screamed. All eyes then turned to see what appeared to be a flailing human shape falling from one of the upper- most windows of the Tower, screaming all the way down and accompanied by several taunting ghosts. Even before it hit the ground, the entire audience was on its collective feet, and two uniformed figures from the front row were running to where the body was about to impact. "Stand back!" ordered Officer Frank, now followed by Bow who was barking and snarling at anyone who dared get too close, "We have a situation here, but it's under control!" The second Officer seemed to be one of younger apprentices who'd been passed up for Frank's promotion, but the shaking, pimply-faced adolescent seemed to be more interested in chewing nervously on the brim of his hat then being bitter about it. A moment later, and the body hit ground, accompanied by a hail of glass shards that Frank and the rookie cop had to quickly turn away from. For its part, the crowd was silent; a collective gasp going up the body hit the ground a short distance away from the Tower. Even as the dust settled, they held their breath as Bow shot arcs of flame into the air to ward off the ghosts who'd followed the body down as Frank moved in to examine it. "Hm. Looks like he took a few good blasts of 'nightshade' before being defenestrated," he commented in an all too loud, all too professional sounding tone that caused Miranda to smirk as she caught on almost immediately. "Yeah," added the apprentice officer with a shake of his head, "And then they threw him through a window!" Frank glanced up at the rookie cop. He appeared to be about to say something for several seconds, but then thought better of it. Instead he turned to Laurna and shook his head. "Better wrap this up, I suppose," he said warily, smiling slightly as caught the look in his beloved's eye, "We'll do everything we can for, uh... Him." "Thank you Officer Frank," said Laurna, nodding graciously to Frank as she turned back to the crowd, "Well, just to end this on a lighter note, I wish to take this time to announce to all present that starting November 1st, the Lavender Town Gym will be accepting challengers. I will be its Leader, and the badges you'll be battling for are going to be called 'Ecto-Badges'." Above her, a silvery image of a pentagram within a triangle appeared, causing several dozen people to begin all talking at once. "Furthermore," continued Laurna over the noise, "I'll be selling ghost-balls as of tomorrow, so any interested parties just stop by my lab/Gym. You can even book an appointment for a challenge while you're at it. So, um, enjoy the rest of the festival!" By this point most people were either wandering off into discussion groups or continuing to shout questions to Professor Laurna. Most of the courier's however seemed content to remain in their seats and watch Frank and the rookie cop drag off the old crash-test dummy the ghosts had thrown out the window. "The body was a new one," commented Joshua, leaning forward in his seat and glancing at Angela and making her smile nervously, as she looked back at Joshua's wife who only shook her head and laughed, "Although for my money, I'd have lit it on fire first. More dramatic." "Fire's good!" agreed Zack before leaning forward and catching Miranda's eye. "Hey, you okay, sis?" he inquired. Miranda smiled. "Do you always have to call me that?" she chided in a non- serious manner. "Hey, your mom's always saying how we couriers are like one big family, right?" he chuckled, his deep green eyes showing more reassurance than mirth. "Supposedly," she agreed quietly, glancing at Misty, "But yeah. I'm okay. How about you, dear?" "I'm better," her beloved assured her, "I'm just a little shaken up. But hey, I think we missed something. The part about how Aunt Laurna actually got Viper back." Zack shrugged and glanced at the stage to where Laurna was laughing at some inane question asked by a tourist. "She said something about the Guardian transplanting her memories into Viper's mind." "Makes sense," commented Miranda, "Seeing as ghosts don't remember their former lives at all." "That's kinda sad in a way," added Misty. "That's what makes Viper a special case, I guess," agreed Zack, "Although I honestly can't say I'd go in there. As much as I like Sparkles and Pesto, I don't think I'm that brave." "Thankfully," his mother muttered with an involuntary shudder. "It must be fairly boring for him, though," continued Zack, glancing up at the Tower in time to see the Guardian returning to his entourage of waiting ghosts, "I mean, sitting around all day, chasing off people who try and wander in. It's no wonder he helped out Professor Laurna. The poor guy was probably bored out of his tree!" "Not all of us are so quick to dodge responsibility," replied Miranda with mock severity and getting a laugh from Angela. "Oh, come on now," said Zack, trying unsuccessfully to sound hurt, "Is it my fault I that I need a little excitement in my life? I love being a courier! Heck, you don't see Joshua retiring do you?" Miranda smiled, her arm around Misty to distract her from the sudden shrieking sound that emanated from the Tower for no apparent reason. "I know," she chuckled, "we couriers just don't know what's good for us." Zack glanced over at his mom. "Don't worry," he assured her, "When Miranda get's a desk job, I'll join your crew on the Dawn Sister 2." "You'll inherit her before that happens," replied Angela wryly as several of the other veteran couriers who'd managed to make it into town started showing up and looking about expectantly, "But anyway, some of us 'old fogies' are going off to enjoy ourselves. I'm sure you can stay out of trouble for a few hours. Right?" Zack looked away and began whistling innocently in response, ignoring his mother's raised eyebrow. "Just remember," she added sternly, shaking her finger at him even as the beginnings of a smile crossed Angela's weathered face, "If you cause anything else to blow-up this year, I'll keelhaul ya!" "Aye, Captain!" laughed Zack in response. "That happened to Joshua once," added Miranda with a chuckle as the three waved goodbye to the older couriers and headed back towards the main festival grounds. "Really?" inquired Misty in a suspicious tone, looking from Miranda to Zack and waiting for the punch line. "No joke," Zack replied with a reverent nod, "That's why he's got the limp. A gyarados chomped off a fair sized chunk of his leg. When it went back for more, though, he apparently got out of the way in time and it wound up tearing a hole in the bottom of the ship." "You're serious?" Miranda nodded. "Well, that's what Joshua says happened," she added with a nod, "That's why Angela's ship is the Dawn Sister 2. The old one was taken by pirates and sunk by a gyarados who thought Joshua'd make a nice snack." "Joshua even saved my grandfather's life that day!" added Zack with a grin, suddenly talking almost as fast as his mind worked, "He was captain of the Dawn Sister 1 back then, and if it wasn't for Joshua he'd've been killed. Wow, I wish I could have been there to see that battle!" "It was before you were even born, silly," laughed Miranda as Zack bounded ahead, pulled his wooden sword from his belt and began slashing it around dramatically, pretending to slay invisible pirates. "You know," he continued in an excited voice, "When you're at sea there's no law against using a real sword, eh? These one's your mom designed are tough, but they won't help you if Shubby comes a callin'!" "'Shubby?'" Misty inquired, smiling at Zack's antics. "It's what mom calls that giant tentacruel off the coast of Porta Vista," Zack explained, lunging forward as they walked, heroically slaying an evil, nefarious garbage can. "It's short for Shub-Nuggurath," added Miranda with a shudder, "But it still baffles me that things like that can exist. I mean, what's it eating?!" "Anything it wants to!" laughed Zack, jumping up and spinning around to face them, "On guard, Miranda!" Miranda jumped back, her sword sliding from her special belt-loop almost on its own as Zack's cutlass stabbed playfully towards her. With just a bit too much enthusiasm, the courier knocked her friend's wooden blade aside, sending a small shower of splinters raining down around them. "Um, Miranda," said Zack, his dark green eyes going wide as he glanced up at their now linked swords, held just above their heads, "I hope your mom hasn't seen that." "Huh?" Miranda inquired, shaking her head and stammering out an apology, "S- sorry, you caught me off guard, I- Oh! Oh, yeah... That." Misty stood just to one side of them and picked up a long chunk off wood that had dropped to the ground at their feet. "I think it's time for a new one," she replied, motioning to the numerous cuts and dents along the length of Miranda's bokken. "I'll say," laughed Zack, stepping back, lowering his wooden cutlass and noticing the gleam of the dark metal that lined courier swords clearly visible where the wood had finally given way from Miranda's bokken, "What were you doin' with it? Chopping down trees?" "Oh, just fighting the forces of darkness, saving the world, rescuing defenseless ice-cream," Miranda replied with a nonchalant shrug and a dismissive wave of her hand, "You know. The usual." "Well, Sarah's is closed tomorrow," said Zack, shaking his head and wiping the sweat from his brow, "so I'd head down there tonight if I were you." "Think she'll still be open?" "Sarah?!" laughed Zack, looking at Miranda as though she were the one with a screw loose, "She's only closes the Trading Post on Halloween because your mom makes her. And last year she was open 'till midnight to make up for it." "Well, I suppose," Miranda agreed, spinning her sword over her hand and sighing in dismay as a few smaller pieces fell off. "Trust me," assured Zack trying his best to smile in a completely untrustworthy manner, "She'll enjoy the company!" "Ha! Yeah, right!" laughed Miranda in a tone completely devoid of humor as Zack lead them down a side road that took them through the real graveyard, "I'm not sure Sarah CAN enjoy things." "Why's that?" Misty inquired, glancing nervously at the dark gray stones that soon surrounded them, half wondering which one belonged to Miranda's father. Miranda gave an involuntary shudder and glanced back at the Tower. "She, uh... She went in," the courier explained, sending Zack a knowing glance. "Into the Tower?" came Misty's whispered reply, her eyes going wide. "She used to sleep walk when she was a kid," added Zack in a more serious tone, waving his arm to ward off a stray gastly that didn't seem to be interested in pestering them, "Not anymore though." "They consumed her dreams," explained Miranda quietly, linking her fingers through Misty's as they walked, "In the harmful manner." "It was probably one of Stryphe's crew," muttered Zack bitterly, kicking a stone out of his way, "I mean, she was just a kid right? And she barely got through the front door. The ghosts usually try to scare you away first, don't they?" Miranda nodded sadly. "Usually," she agreed, "But I suppose she's lucky to be alive." Zack shrugged. "I know," he replied, "But sometimes, there's just stuff that ain't worth living through, you know?" Misty glanced over at Zack, her head resting against Miranda's shoulder. "Is, is it safe to ask what ended up happening?" she inquired in a careful tone. "Cerebral hemorrhaging," said Miranda, keeping her tone level, "The ghosts completely wiped out her emotional center. So, quite literally, Sarah... Can't 'feel'. Everything else works fine. She still knows the difference between right and wrong, and she's of above average intelligence, but..." "Concepts like love are completely foreign to her," finished Misty, shaking her head in disbelief. "Well, at least she's surviving, I guess," added Zack, now walking several steps ahead of them, watching the ground, "And it was nice of your parents to arrange for her apprenticeship. Although I think she'll be stuck in Lavender for the rest of her life." "There's a difference between survival and living, Zack," correct Misty sadly. "Still, it could be worse," assured Miranda sympathetically, "I mean, most places have this pretentious view where all retail clerks have to be bubbly and happy no matter how bad a day their having. It's kinda dishonest, if you ask me. But at least here in Lavender if someone asks you how you're doing they actually care!" Zack turned to her and smiled. "Wow," he laughed, walking backwards down the dirt road to where the front gates of the graveyard stood, "If I didn't know any better, I'd say you liked it here!" "It's not as bad here as it used to be," Miranda replied, sending Misty a meaningful glance. "So it's good to be home then?" he teased, glancing over his shoulder and willing to the heavy iron gates to open with his mind. "Home is wherever I lay down to sleep and find my beloved in my arms," she responded, causing Misty to sigh contentedly and lean against her as the gates swung open. "You're in the wrong, business," said Zack with a smile, wiping the sweat from his brow at the exertion. "Eh, the money's better as a courier," chuckled Miranda, "And besides, you get to meet the nicest people in your travels." Zack glanced at Misty, trying not to laugh. "Keep this one," he told her, "I think she likes you...!"
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