RE: Seven Days of Terror
I guess that we have to wait a while before it is out. I can't wait!
I guess that we have to wait a while before it is out. I can't wait!
Writing Seven Days of Terror
- Thread starter PMJ
- Start date
RE: Seven Days of Terror
The following review is based upon the facts and assumptions that (a) this story is about the ordeal that ensues when Ash and his friends take a vacation to Giovanni's private island, where Jessie, James and Meowth have been dispatched to take care of them permanently (and most likely be taken care of themselves), (b) this story is meant to entertain through drama, gore and shock value and (c) this story's intended audience are your fellow Beachers.
Giovanni, having had enough of being burdened by Ash and his Pikachu meddling in his affairs and the costly ineptitude of Jessie, James and Meowth, concocts a plan to be rid of both Pidgeot with one Stone Edge. After Jessie and James return to HQ, still banged up after yet another foiled at snagging Ash's uber Pikachu, Giovanni charges them with a shocking task: putting the scrappy adolescent permanently in his place, namely six feet under! But do the dastardly duo know that they too end up lying in the bed they make for ol' red hat...
Revered by the Beachers for the obvious skill of the author and for its sheer girth, PMJ's story suffers a bit from bordering on tonal and logical inconsistency, and occasionally being emotionally unrealistic, but nevertheless stands head and shoulders above the majority of the normally forgettable fanfic fare thanks to the gripping interest of its almost startlingly grisly take. Once you look past the flimsiness of the premise and really delve into the story itself, you find that there is so much here to sink your teeth into and thoroughly enjoy that you may begin to question whether or not quality is, in fact, quantitative.
Like I've said, the premise leaves something to be desired. Giovanni, the big bad honcho of Team Rocket himself, sends Ash an invitation for him and his friends to go chill out at his manse on Orre, his very own private island, on the condition that they leave their Pokemon behind. I don't know about you, but I've never accepted any of the invitations I've gotten from the criminal organizations that I've thwarted on countless occasions to go practically defenselessly to some distant, uninhabited, unfamiliar place. If you've read the story and/or have any shred of common sense and/or the meagrest tidbit of a self-preservation instinct, you may know why.
Apparently, Ash's friends and family do not fall into this category.
Despite Ash's misgivings about Giovanni's sudden generosity, they all somehow convince him that there is nothing to worry about, or at the very least that if there is, it is nothing he can't handle. He is well-known thanks to his Pokeprowess and there will be people back at home who will know exactly where he's going.
What could possibly go wrong (besides the obvious)?
Thankfully, what the story lacks in plausibility it more than makes up for in execution.
MORE TO COME, AM BUSY. WOULDN'T HAVE POSTED YET BUT PMJ IS TOO IMPATIENT AND IS DISCOMBOBULATING MY SOUL LIKE HE NORMALLY DOES KRONAR, SO THERE.
The following review is based upon the facts and assumptions that (a) this story is about the ordeal that ensues when Ash and his friends take a vacation to Giovanni's private island, where Jessie, James and Meowth have been dispatched to take care of them permanently (and most likely be taken care of themselves), (b) this story is meant to entertain through drama, gore and shock value and (c) this story's intended audience are your fellow Beachers.
Giovanni, having had enough of being burdened by Ash and his Pikachu meddling in his affairs and the costly ineptitude of Jessie, James and Meowth, concocts a plan to be rid of both Pidgeot with one Stone Edge. After Jessie and James return to HQ, still banged up after yet another foiled at snagging Ash's uber Pikachu, Giovanni charges them with a shocking task: putting the scrappy adolescent permanently in his place, namely six feet under! But do the dastardly duo know that they too end up lying in the bed they make for ol' red hat...
Revered by the Beachers for the obvious skill of the author and for its sheer girth, PMJ's story suffers a bit from bordering on tonal and logical inconsistency, and occasionally being emotionally unrealistic, but nevertheless stands head and shoulders above the majority of the normally forgettable fanfic fare thanks to the gripping interest of its almost startlingly grisly take. Once you look past the flimsiness of the premise and really delve into the story itself, you find that there is so much here to sink your teeth into and thoroughly enjoy that you may begin to question whether or not quality is, in fact, quantitative.
Like I've said, the premise leaves something to be desired. Giovanni, the big bad honcho of Team Rocket himself, sends Ash an invitation for him and his friends to go chill out at his manse on Orre, his very own private island, on the condition that they leave their Pokemon behind. I don't know about you, but I've never accepted any of the invitations I've gotten from the criminal organizations that I've thwarted on countless occasions to go practically defenselessly to some distant, uninhabited, unfamiliar place. If you've read the story and/or have any shred of common sense and/or the meagrest tidbit of a self-preservation instinct, you may know why.
Apparently, Ash's friends and family do not fall into this category.
Despite Ash's misgivings about Giovanni's sudden generosity, they all somehow convince him that there is nothing to worry about, or at the very least that if there is, it is nothing he can't handle. He is well-known thanks to his Pokeprowess and there will be people back at home who will know exactly where he's going.
What could possibly go wrong (besides the obvious)?
Thankfully, what the story lacks in plausibility it more than makes up for in execution.
MORE TO COME, AM BUSY. WOULDN'T HAVE POSTED YET BUT PMJ IS TOO IMPATIENT AND IS DISCOMBOBULATING MY SOUL LIKE HE NORMALLY DOES KRONAR, SO THERE.
RE: Seven Days of Terror
Whoa, this is going to be epic.
Whoa, this is going to be epic.
PMJ
Silhouette Gloom of the Sundown Lands
Forum Head
Articles Head
Elite Member
Advanced Member
Member
RE: Seven Days of Terror
Unsure about whether or not I should kill off one of the characters, I posed Kronar with a hypothetical question, and based on the answer he gave me, the character whose head had been on the chopping block now has a new lease on life.
I'll let you guys know who the lucky saved one is after I post the chapter.
The word count is over fourteen thousaaaaaaaaand.
/me keeps on truckin'
Unsure about whether or not I should kill off one of the characters, I posed Kronar with a hypothetical question, and based on the answer he gave me, the character whose head had been on the chopping block now has a new lease on life.
I'll let you guys know who the lucky saved one is after I post the chapter.
The word count is over fourteen thousaaaaaaaaand.
/me keeps on truckin'
RE: Seven Days of Terror
Yay. Please, post it fast.
Yay. Please, post it fast.
PMJ
Silhouette Gloom of the Sundown Lands
Forum Head
Articles Head
Elite Member
Advanced Member
Member
RE: Seven Days of Terror
~15,908
I'm not even close. I have a feeling this is going to be the biggest chapter ever, and there may be something resembling a short battle later on... haha. Can you say 20k? ;o
I hope you guys like it, regardless of its length.
~15,908
I'm not even close. I have a feeling this is going to be the biggest chapter ever, and there may be something resembling a short battle later on... haha. Can you say 20k? ;o
I hope you guys like it, regardless of its length.
PMJ
Silhouette Gloom of the Sundown Lands
Forum Head
Articles Head
Elite Member
Advanced Member
Member
RE: Seven Days of Terror
Merry Christmas to those of you who celebrate! :> I'm ignorant of other religious holidays, so I'll just say Happy Fillintheblank to the rest of you! :>
It's official. Chapter 10 is the largest chapter to date. I won't bore you guys with silly word count updates anymore, now that it is officially the largest. The word count stands right now at...
~17,151
I could have sworn Chapter 7 was 17,000 words, but it's a bit over 16,300. I was hoping I'd have the chapter done by today, but even if I were, chances are it won't be pre-read until... likely tomorrow at the earliest (and that's assuming I finish today).
In the event that I don't have it ready for posting by day's end, I'll post an excerpt at some point, likely late this evening.
Merry Christmas to those of you who celebrate! :> I'm ignorant of other religious holidays, so I'll just say Happy Fillintheblank to the rest of you! :>
It's official. Chapter 10 is the largest chapter to date. I won't bore you guys with silly word count updates anymore, now that it is officially the largest. The word count stands right now at...
~17,151
I could have sworn Chapter 7 was 17,000 words, but it's a bit over 16,300. I was hoping I'd have the chapter done by today, but even if I were, chances are it won't be pre-read until... likely tomorrow at the earliest (and that's assuming I finish today).
In the event that I don't have it ready for posting by day's end, I'll post an excerpt at some point, likely late this evening.
PMJ
Silhouette Gloom of the Sundown Lands
Forum Head
Articles Head
Elite Member
Advanced Member
Member
RE: Seven Days of Terror
As promised, here's a chunk of chapter ten as a Christmas present to you all.
In this chunk, about six thousand words, you will learn what happens to Misty, who discovers her body, and the events leading up to Ash giving Shelly five across the eyes. ;D
Everything in this excerpt is subject to change, so you may still want to read this when I finish chapter ten so you don't miss anything.
Enjoy!
Everything was black. Darkness as far as the eye could see. To anyone else, one might be afraid of such intense shadow, but Misty had been here before.
Not being able to see, she felt her body where she'd been stabbed, and she was not surprised to find that her body was intact. "It's real this time... isn't it? Am I... am I really dead?" She took a moment to examine the rest of her body. "Nothing out of the ordinary...am I in that strange place again?"
Remembering the details of her last visit, she looked around for the door of light, and this time Misty was surprised to find that it was nowhere to be found. Feeling more comfortable, she walked aimlessly at an even pace, favoring movement over simply waiting for something to happen.
A few minutes passed, and still nothing happened. Misty decided that she would rather wait it out than waste energy walking - after all, if this really was for real, she would have an eternity to wait. Laying down on the surprisingly soft ground, she decided to sing to pass the time.
After fifteen minutes and several songs, Misty still found herself surrounded in total darkness. "Oh, come on!" she called into the darkness. "Is anyone there?! Geez..."
Almost instantly, a door was opened not five feet from where the girl lay, complete with the blinding white light Misty was familiar with. From within emerged the woman with the wand, slowly and carefully. Closing the door behind her, she lit up the surrounding area with a flick of her wand, allowing the two to see each other. She held her hand out for Misty to grab. Once doing so, the woman yanked Misty to her feet with minimal effort, and Misty was shocked at how strong she was.
"Took you long enough!" Misty stated, the annoyance clear in her voice. "What's the deal with making me wait so long?"
"I come when called," the woman explained in a sweet-sounding voice. "You did not call, so I did not come."
Misty took a minute to register what had just been said. "So you mean that I-- and you could have just-- that's..." she trailed off. "Ugh. Fine. Look, I don't know what I'm doing here, okay? I swear to Jirachi or Mew or whatever legendary Pokemon you'll have me swear to that it wasn't me that did this!"
"That is not necessary," the woman continued in the same tone. "I am well aware of the circumstances that brought you here."
The woman's voice seemed to have a positive effect on Misty, as she calmed down considerably after those two sentences. "Good. I just don't want to get screwed out of happiness because of a misunderstanding, you know?"
The woman nodded. "It is a perfectly common reaction. You are wondering if you will be reunited with Vaporeon in the manner you seek, yes?"
Misty tensed up considerably after these words. Of course she was wondering. She'd been wondering ever since she got here... wherever 'here' was. She thought back to the moments just before she died. "Tracey... oh my gosh, I'm so sorry... I can only imagine what you must be thinking now." She remembered the plea she sent with her living body's last breath. She'd forgiven him. She was sure of it. "Well, yeah," she said finally.
The woman said nothing right away; she began walking circles around the Water-type trainer, much to the young girl's confusion. After a few circles, she finally spoke. "I warned you about what would happen if you still had not forgiven Tracey at the time of your death."
"And I did!" Misty shouted. "I swear I did! But..."
"You heard voices which put doubts into your head."
"How did you know?"
"I put them there. I had to be sure that you were being completely honest with yourself, for both your sake as well as Vaporeon's. When you heard those voices, did you listen to them?"
Misty thought for a minute. It's not like it's easy to ignore a voice in your head, and even harder to ignore if the voice is clear as day, persistent, and not your own. Did she hear it? Absolutely. Did she listen to it?
"Of course not," Misty said matter-of-factly. "It called me a liar and I know for sure that I wasn't lying."
The woman nodded. "I know. I tested your resolve and you passed magnificently. However, you made one mistake - telling Tracey you didn't forgive him."
"Look, I told him about your stupid voice, okay? And if you know all this stuff, you should know that I told him that despite that voice and all its nagging, I still forgave him."
"You said you were no longer angry with him. There is a difference."
Misty's jaw dropped. Was she getting ruined on a technicality?
Not if she could help it. "You can't be serious!" she screamed. "That's not what I meant! If you're so smart, you'd know that! You can't tell me I'm screwed based on that!"
The woman suddenly flared with energy, causing Misty to fall over. She hovered slightly off the ground, her teal dress billowing around her. She pointed her wand at Misty and spoke in a voice Misty hardly recognized. "Yes I can. I am Rose, agent of death. This is but a mere speck of my strength. Your fate is as I deem it. Do I make myself clear?"
Misty looked on in horror. What did she get herself into? If she had really messed up her shot at a peaceful eternity by running her mouth and angering the apparent queen of... whatever this place was, she would never forgive herself, voice or no voice, Pokemon or no Pokemon. Unable to form the words, Misty quickly nodded her head, hoping that she'd incurred Rose's wrath for the last time.
Seeing Misty's compliant reply, Rose came back to the ground and continued on as if the previous spectacle hadn't happened at all. "Do not be afraid," she said, as if oblivious to the display she just put on not 30 seconds prior. "You are safe. Follow me..." Without warning, Rose turned and opened the door of darkness, despite the lack of a knob of any kind (at least, from what Misty could tell). Misty shielded her eyes in preparation for total light, but there was none. Instead, Misty found herself in a large field filled as far as the eye could see with flowers of all sizes, shapes, colors, and smells. Near the two of them was a huge body of the clearest water Misty had ever seen; it took everything she had not to just jump in. Misty went wide-eyed at the sheer number of Pokemon present here - in the skies, in the water, in the field - dozens and dozens of Pokemon as far as the eye could see. There were no fewer than 200 different species visible from where they stood, and Misty thought she saw at least 10 Pokemon she did not recognize. Far off in the distance, she could see mountains, which Misty was sure were filled with cave-dwelling and other mountainous Pokemon.
"What... what is this place?" Misty asked, still bewildered by the beauty of what she had seen.
"You tell me," Rose replied from behind her. Turning to see her, Misty was shocked once more to find a small cottage behind her. It was a small thing, dark blue in color, and it had windows. Rose went inside, leaving Misty no choice but to follow her. She flung open the door and was once again taken aback by what she saw inside. While it appeared small on the outside, the inside of it was incredibly spacious - it was bigger than the Cerulean Gym.
Misty took an instant liking to this place. "This is incredible!" she exclaimed as she investigated the large room, her feet clacking on the tile floor. On one side of this room was a playground that seemed to be exclusively for Water-types, as a small group of them were making use of it. In one corner of the room was what looked like a large hole that was filled with water. A tunnel could be seen underwater leading into the wall. "What is that?" she asked, curious.
"Perhaps I was not clear. This is all your creation, Misty. That hole is there because you willed it to be there. And not just that hole. This room, this house, this entire place is a product of your imagination."
"I... made this?" Misty asked to herself more than Rose. "I created this?" She looked around, noting the finer points of the world she'd subconsciously made - how the curtains over the windows were that perfect shade of blue she'd not been able to find in any department store. How the playground inside her new home was being used by some of the Water Pokemon she found the cutest. "Hold on a minute," she said after letting this information sink in. "This is... well, to say it's amazing seems like a horrible understatement. But where's Vaporeon?"
Rose crossed her arms. "You mean you still do not understand? This is your world. Your eternity. If you want to see Vaporeon, all you must do is want her to be here, and she will come."
"Just think of her, huh?" Misty said, closing her eyes.
While the image of her Vaporeon came quickly, her mind wandered to other things - in particular, her living friends, and how they would handle her demise. She felt a pang of guilt at what her last words to Tracey had been. "He probably doesn't think I've forgiven him," she thought. "I really hope he doesn't take it too hard. And Ash... how horrible it must be for you. Our relationship had only started... I'm sorry." She thought about May and Max. "I especially feel sorry for May. I just had to die when you needed me the most."
"Don't worry about it," a familiar voice said from behind her.
Snapping out of her trance, Misty turned around and was face to face with May. "Whoa!" she screamed, taking cover behind the woman with the wand. "W-what is she doing here?!"
Rose walked forward and began to circle the spirit of May, who merely smiled at Misty. "She is here because deep down, you wished she were. She is not specifically the girl you knew - she is merely a copy who is aware that you have died. Despite this, however, she cannot relay messages to the living world. You may talk about anything you want, even about who killed you; the living version of her will never know. She, as well as anyone else you summon, will retain all the memories they had up until the day you died. The summoned versions will remember everything you do with them from this point forward, so you may still have some kind of human companionship."
"You can do that?" Misty asked, timidly stepping forward to become better acquainted with her new friend, although she still did not have a grip on the situation. "Your power is that great?"
"Even greater still," Rose explained. "To put it in perspective for you, I personally created your very own universe and allowed you free reign over it. Even if you were to destroy me, you would only destroy this body. I exist in countless universes not unlike this one, helping good souls such as yourself become more knowledgeable with your new home."
"Yeah," Misty said absentmindedly, paying more attention to May's copy than what Rose had said. She felt a cold wetness on her leg, snapping her out of her trance. She looked down and saw Vaporeon nuzzling against her leg. Misty leaned down and pet the aqueous creature, causing her to leap into Misty's arms and purr softly. Misty held her Pokemon and could not help but let a few tears fall, but at long last, they were not tears of sadness. While she would miss her surviving friends and family, Misty was looking forward to the endless stories she would write with her new found companions... and Vaporeon, of course.
* ~ * ~ * ~ *
Day five at the mansion started like any other. James was up early, as usual, writing in his diary about yesterday's occurrences. He stopped for a moment to give his writing hand a rest. He looked out his window and admired the sun coming up over the horizon, coloring the ocean red-orange. "It's pretty," he commented to himself. "Sunrises usually are..." He continued writing, stealing glances outside on occasion to see if he might see Shelly again. "Don't know what I'm so worked up about," he thought, putting his focus back on his writing. "After what happened, I don't think she's dumb enough to risk getting hurt."
Satisfied with his entry, James put the pencil back in the notebook's binding and let out a yawn. "Maybe I'll get a little more shut-eye," he wondered, looking over at his still-snoozing Pokemon partner. Placing his notebook underneath his pillow, James turned off the nearby lamp and, with another yawn, closed his eyes.
Seconds later, a bloodcurdling scream was heard not too far down the hallway. Fast as lightning, James was on his feet and out the door, clad in nothing but his boxer shorts. Within moments he was joined by a stumbling May, who nearly ran into the wall in her rush to reach him. "Max? Max?? What is it? What's wrong?"
Max slowly backed out of Misty's room, his face frozen over in fear.
When May had come into his room asking him to wake Misty up, he'd almost told her to go do it herself and gone back to sleep before remembering his sister's predicament. Feeling a bit of shame at that, he voiced an apology (much to her confusion) and scrambled out of bed to go to his sister's aid. "Stay here. I'll get her," he said, stifling a yawn. He briskly walked to Misty's door, his self-imposed hurry an attempt at making up for his attitude. He knocked quietly at first; loud enough for Misty to hear in the event she was already awake, but quiet enough not to disturb anyone else. Hearing nothing from inside, he let himself in, eager to complete his task and get back to sleep.
Immediately upon entering, Max could tell something was wrong. The way she lay was a bit unnerving; the fact that he could not notice the steady rise and fall of her chest from breathing was slightly alarming. It wasn't until he went in for a closer look that his suspicions were confirmed.
Misty was dead.
Max stared in horror at her corpse, her light blue nightgown stained a sick, dark purple from her blood. He found himself looking into her eyes - those bright green eyes stared vacantly back at him, seeming as if to ask her killer, "Why? Why would you do this to me?"
Seeing a dead person would frighten anyone not used to seeing them. When it's your first time, and to top it all off, the body of someone you know, regardless of how long you've known them... well, sometimes it's just too much to hold in.
He screamed as loud as he could. All he could do was scream, the reality of the situation hitting him like a ton of bricks. Unable to look away from Misty's lifeless gaze, he backed away slowly, the panic in his mind quickly turning to fear. Who did this? Why do it? Of all people, why Misty? Am I next? All these questions were swirling through Max's head as he entered the hallway. A firm hand fell upon his shoulder, and in his shock he almost screamed again before a small part of his rational mind reminded him what time it was.
"Max! What's wrong?" James asked, looking into Misty's room, hoping to see what would spook Max so horribly.
And saw it he did. James walked over to Misty's dead body and nearly threw up at the sight of it. He quickly looked away, fighting the urge to blow chunks all over the place.
Ash, also awakened by Max's shriek, emerged from his bedroom more annoyed at being woken up rather than shock. He was a bit put off by the sight of the Hoenn siblings crying in each other's arms, and noticing Misty's door was open, he went inside. He was about to ask James what on earth he was doing there when he saw Misty's body.
For Ash, it was as if time stopped. Lying before him was his beloved. She'd been his for not 24 hours... and now she was dead. He didn't want to believe it at first, despite the obvious signs, even going so far as to check her pulse to be sure that it wasn't a false alarm like before.
She was really gone.
He took one of her cold hands in his and kissed it tenderly. He looked into her eyes... and the last thread of his dignity unraveled. He fell to his knees, still grasping her hand, and cried openly and unashamedly. James, still more composed than Ash was, silently let a few tears fall for the young man's loss and simultaneously thanked his lucky stars that it was not Jessie lying there.
James did or said nothing at first and let Ash have his cry. May and Max were still in an embrace outside the room, choosing to comfort each other rather than crowd Ash. After a good twenty minutes or so, after James was certain Ash's tears had finally stopped, he spoke up. "Ash," he said.
Ash, however, was not listening. While it was true that he was finished crying, he had already started thinking of how to go about getting the revenge kill on whoever dared to kill his girl; most likely, Ash reasoned, that blue-haired liar behind him.
He stood up slowly and gently placed Misty's hand on her bed. "Ash," James began again as Ash slowly turned to face him, his face stained red with tears, the very sight of James nearly enough to make him start crying all over again; his fists were clenched so hard his knuckles were white.
During Ash's little cry session, James wondered if Ash might lose control of his rational thought and simply assume the obvious - that James had killed Misty at some point and had just been discovered. It would explain why he hadn't visibly shed any tears, but if there was one thing James didn't need right now, it was a fight.
Unfortunately for him, however, Ash looked fully ready to give him one. James decided that he had better speak up before Ash did something drastic. "Ash, it's not--"
Too late. Almost instantly after opening his mouth, Ash swung as hard as he could at the older man, landing a fierce left hook right in the jaw. James staggered backwards and fell onto the floor, surprised at the young man's strength. He wiped a bit of blood away from his mouth, angry at Ash for letting his anger cloud his better judgment, and himself for not being on his guard.
Wasting no time, Ash dove in to deliver another punch, but this time James was ready for it; he easily rolled out of the way and got to his feet. "Ash, would you wait a second? I get that you're angry, but--" he blocked another swing and nearly fell onto Misty as a result. Man that kid could swing hard.
"Not gonna listen? All right," James said, strengthening his grip on Ash's arm. He pulled Ash in and slammed their heads together, causing Ash to lose his bearings. After that, all it took was one punch to the face to send the boy to the floor. James went over and lifted the boy by his shirt, ready to literally beat some sense into him, but Ash had other ideas.
"Wait! Wait!" he sputtered, flinching as James brought his fist back. When James didn't do anything, Ash slowly looked up at the older man. "I'm fine. Will you let me go?" James did as Ash asked, but did not let his guard down in case Ash foolishly tried to attack him again.
"Sorry about that," James said, backing away from Ash in order to give him a little breathing room.
"Yeah, me too," the black-haired youth said, wiping his own trail of blood from his mouth, and he offered his hand as proof of his sincerity, which James shook. "I was just mad, you know?" He looked over at Misty again. "I just saw her, and you, and..."
"I know. I know. And believe me, Ash, I'm no happier. We'll get to the bottom of this." He looked himself over and felt a bit of embarrassment now at having run out in his undergarments. "Let's get dressed and wake the others."
A nod of agreement from Ash, and James went back to his own room to get dressed, explaining the situation to May and Max on his way back. Ash gave his fallen lady one more look before leaving for his own room, closing the door behind him.
Two doors down, Jessie sat in her own bed, having heard the entire spectacle.
Awakened by Max's scream, Jessie almost left her room to investigate when she quickly deduced why he was screaming in the first place, given his location. She felt horribly nauseous at the memory of it and vomited quietly in the trash can near her bed, hoping she would also purge the image of Misty asking her "why?" that was burned into her mind. She sat on her bed and cried into her pillow, being careful not to alert the ones just outside her door.
"I... I killed her," she told herself between sobs, as if admitting it to herself would make her feel better. "I killed her! Why... why indeed. She didn't deserve to die! What was I thinking?"
She stayed quiet for the following minutes, trying to make out what was going on in the room next door. Hearing things die down, she slipped back into bed and did her best to dry her eyes in case anyone came knocking. Ten minutes later, someone did just that. Taking a quick glance in the mirror to make sure that it wasn't too obvious she'd been crying, she opened the door just a crack and peeked out with one eye. "What is it?" she asked her visitor.
"Ash wants everyone up and in the main hall in five minutes," Max explained.
"Fine," Jessie replied before closing the door in the confused young man's face. She turned and leaned against the door and looked at her bed next to the wall. Giovanni's decision to make all the rooms other than his own identical in design was doing her no favors, as it reminded her again of what she had done. Jessie sighed and tried to think of other things as she went to get dressed.
Ten minutes later, everyone was gathered in the main hall as Ash had requested. Max, May, and Tracey were sitting on the couch nearest the stairs. Brock and James were sitting on the sofa next to them; Jessie and Shelly sat opposite them on the other sofa. No one had said a word since arriving, as Ash was slowly pacing around the furniture, taking long looks at each of his friends in turn. Everyone knew what Ash was going to say - that is, everyone except Tracey, who merely thought Ash was simply waiting for Misty to arrive before starting, although getting stared at was weird, and Brock, who was thinking a similar thought.
Ash may have looked calm and collected on the surface, but on the inside, it was taking everything he had to keep his composure. He didn't want to believe that any of his friends was a killer. He trusted them all with his life, but given the circumstances, he couldn't afford not to suspect them at first. After all, he thought, it was possible they did it. But who would want Misty dead? Why Misty? It was no accident - it was very obvious that Misty was murdered. Was it simply a random killing, or was it planned? Ash cringed at the thought of one of his friends systematically killing them all off, and couldn't help asking himself if perhaps he was next.
After five minutes of nothing but looks and determining how he would start, Ash finally decided to start talking to his friends. He knew it was going to be bad no matter how he put it, so he decided not to mince words. He started with the most obvious thing.
"Misty's dead."
Ash continued to look around and noted the others' reactions to this. As expected, May, Max, and James didn't react too much to the news. Jessie looked like she was going to cry at a moment's notice. Shelly seemed to be relatively unfazed by it.
Tracey went wide-eyed. "No..." he whimpered as he jumped out of his seat and ran up the stairs before James had a chance to stop him.
"Let him go," Ash instructed.
Ash was a bit put off by how well Brock managed to keep his composure. If he was shocked at all by the news of Misty's death, he didn't show it at all. "Last night?" he asked, as if Ash had just announced to everyone that he'd gone to bed.
"Yes, last night," Ash confirmed, trying to drown out Tracey's muffled, sorrowful cries. "And it was no accident. She didn't die of natural causes. She was murdered," Ash said, glancing over at the two women.
Jessie froze. Was she caught? Did he know the truth? She did everything Shelly instructed. She quickly thought back to her actions last night, after she'd done the deed. Knife disposed of? Check. Clothes disposed of? Check. Own body cleansed of any traces of blood? Check. So what did she forget? Perhaps there was something Shelly forgot to mention. Or, Jessie hoped, it was just an innocent glance with no accusations attached.
"Who would do such a thing?" Brock asked, still as calm as ever.
"That's what I'd like to know," Ash said. "However, it's not like we have nothing to go on. We know... that one of us killed her. And yes, I said us. While I know that I didn't do it, and I hope you guys will all believe me when I say that, I know that it's possible that I could have done it."
"Do you have any ideas who did?" Shelly asked.
"Funny you should mention that," Ash said, turning to face the girls, "because as a matter of fact, I do. You see, I came here with my friends. I trust them all. I can't think of any reason they would want Misty dead. As for James, he saved Misty's life. Misty asked me to stop being so suspicious of everything. It ended up being her last request, and I intend on honoring it the best I can. I don't think James did it either. Meowth is also off the hook because one, he's too small, and two, his fur would have been everywhere. So that leaves you two."
"Jessie is innocent!" James roared, bursting from his seat, startling the two teens from Hoenn.
This came as a shock to the younger of the accused women. "Why is he defending me?" Jessie thought. "Why does he even care?"
Ash turned to the male Rocket. "Calm down, would you? I didn't say she did it. Hear me out," Ash said, turning back to the accused. "Now, as I was going to say, this is not an accusation of guilt. I'm just putting my feelings out in the open so everyone knows where I stand. You two are the only ones I could feasibly see committing this crime."
Jessie continued to weep quietly as the young man spoke. "Jessie, listen to me. We've known each other for a long time. Granted, you and James are the criminals here, but let's be honest. Your chance of killing me is a long shot on a good day. Given your track record, if you would have done it, you probably would have ended up cutting yourself, or making a huge mess, or something. Still, it is possible you did it."
Shelly, who had remained mostly silent up until this point, couldn't help but let out a chuckle at the image of Jessie trying to stab Misty, but failing and cutting herself in a very comical fashion.
"And you," Ash started again, directing his attention to the redhead. "I don't even know what to think with you. I just met you a couple days ago and the only thing I know about you is your name. And you're a treasure hunter? What kind of job is that? I swear, everything about you screams suspicious. I gave you the benefit of the doubt before - I'm not from around here. Maybe treasure hunting is some kind of sanctioned profession in Sinnoh. I don't know. The only person you ever really talk to is Jessie, and you guys are gone most of the day anyway doing who knows what. That's why I suspect you most of all. You're unknown to me."
"Shelly wouldn't do anything like that," Jessie said quietly, though the instant the words came from her lips she found herself laughing on the inside at that very notion, almost audibly doing so before catching herself. Of course Shelly was capable of doing this. Who was she kidding? Best to keep up the façade for now, though. "I've known her longer than you. We're friends. There's no way she'd do something so horrible. And I sure didn't kill her, so maybe you oughta start interrogating your friends."
"We've been Misty's friends for years!" May exclaimed. "How can you even suggest such a horrible thing?!"
"Doesn't feel good to be accused, does it?" Shelly said, arms crossed. "Well, unlike you kids, I'm not going to start raising my voice and proclaiming my innocence. I know what I have and haven't done, although I will thank Jessie for coming to my defense," she continued, giving Jessie a one-armed hug for emphasis. "We could sit here for the next three days and point fingers at each other, or we could use our heads and try to figure out just what happened. Did you even consider the fact that Misty may have committed suicide?"
"No way that's possible," James said. "She was stabbed multiple times. She couldn't have done that to herself. There would have been blood all over her hands, and the weapon would still be there."
"Well, aren't we just an ace crime solver."
By now, Tracey had come back downstairs and taken his seat. It was plainly obvious he'd had a very intense crying session, and he secretly hoped no one had heard him.
When he'd first heard Misty was dead, he couldn't believe it. "There's no way," he thought. "How in the world could Misty manage to die overnight?"
He charged up the stairs two at a time and bolted down the hallway to Misty's door. This was all just a cruel joke. It had to be. There was no way, no way, no way Misty was really dead. He threw open the door and ran to the young girl's side.
"It... it can't be." She was dead. He looked at the cuts she suffered and for a moment asked the question everyone else was asking - why? Why her? Who could do such a thing? He fell to his knees and cried loudly into the dead girl's sheets. "She's really gone. What am I going to do now?" he asked himself between sobs. He thought back to the conversation they had a few days prior:
Tracey was wide-eyed. "So you mean to tell me that the only one who knows what really happened..."
"...is you," Misty finished. "Please don't tell Ash or anyone else. I don't want him to worry about me."
"He's going to worry regardless of whether or not you tell him. But I won't say anything. You have my word."
Tracey tried his best not to cry even more than he already was. "Stupid, stupid, stupid! What am I gonna do now??" As he began to dry his eyes, he weighed his options. "Do I tell him? Everyone thinks she was attacked. I'm the only one who knows the truth. They're her friends. They have a right to know! Misty kept it a secret for a reason, though... I'm sure she planned on telling them soon. What to do, what to do... well, everyone's together, so I guess I could tell them since she... won't be able to. I'd better get back downstairs..."
He rose to his feet, making sure he didn't look at the dead girl again for fear he'd have another outburst. He dried his eyes as best he could, took a deep breath, and walked back to the group as calmly as he could.
"I... I'd like to make an announcement," he said once Shelly had finished speaking. Instantly, all eyes were on him, and he regretted bringing attention to himself like that. "It's about Misty."
"What is it?" Ash questioned, showing a bit more interest than before. "Is the body okay?"
Tracey felt a chill run down his spine. How could he talk so freely about this? "Yes, it's fine. It's not really about that. It's about when she was attacked."
"What about it?" Ash pressed him. Why was Tracey bringing this up?
"She wasn't attacked. She... she tried to kill herself."
Ash stood and looked at Tracey, completely dumbfounded. What did he just say? "Mind repeating that?"
"Misty tried to kill herself before we came here." Feeling a little more confident after having said it, he recounted the conversation with Misty that he'd had the day they left Kanto.
"There, you see?" Shelly said to no one in particular. "She tried to kill herself once before and failed. Who's to say she didn't succeed this time?"
Ash was on her in no time at all, delivering a hard backhand across the redhead's face. "How dare you!" Jessie made no move to assist, for fear of getting hit as well. James lunged over the table and struggled to pry the teenager off, who was laying blow after blow on a flailing Shelly. Tracey got up to help, and together the two older guys were able to restrain the young man from Pallet Town.
Amazingly, Shelly seemed to shrug off the damage. "Huh. Second time since I've been here that a man hit me while I'm off guard. How unsportsmanlike you Kanto men are."
Ash cursed at her. "I don't care what your opinion of me is." He struggled in the tight grip of Tracey and James. "Let me go!" He took a deep breath and slowly let it out. "I'm cool. I'm all right." He relaxed his muscles in an effort to show he was sincere, and he was released. "I'm going home," he said, marching upstairs without another word to anyone else.
As promised, here's a chunk of chapter ten as a Christmas present to you all.
In this chunk, about six thousand words, you will learn what happens to Misty, who discovers her body, and the events leading up to Ash giving Shelly five across the eyes. ;D
Everything in this excerpt is subject to change, so you may still want to read this when I finish chapter ten so you don't miss anything.
Enjoy!
Everything was black. Darkness as far as the eye could see. To anyone else, one might be afraid of such intense shadow, but Misty had been here before.
Not being able to see, she felt her body where she'd been stabbed, and she was not surprised to find that her body was intact. "It's real this time... isn't it? Am I... am I really dead?" She took a moment to examine the rest of her body. "Nothing out of the ordinary...am I in that strange place again?"
Remembering the details of her last visit, she looked around for the door of light, and this time Misty was surprised to find that it was nowhere to be found. Feeling more comfortable, she walked aimlessly at an even pace, favoring movement over simply waiting for something to happen.
A few minutes passed, and still nothing happened. Misty decided that she would rather wait it out than waste energy walking - after all, if this really was for real, she would have an eternity to wait. Laying down on the surprisingly soft ground, she decided to sing to pass the time.
After fifteen minutes and several songs, Misty still found herself surrounded in total darkness. "Oh, come on!" she called into the darkness. "Is anyone there?! Geez..."
Almost instantly, a door was opened not five feet from where the girl lay, complete with the blinding white light Misty was familiar with. From within emerged the woman with the wand, slowly and carefully. Closing the door behind her, she lit up the surrounding area with a flick of her wand, allowing the two to see each other. She held her hand out for Misty to grab. Once doing so, the woman yanked Misty to her feet with minimal effort, and Misty was shocked at how strong she was.
"Took you long enough!" Misty stated, the annoyance clear in her voice. "What's the deal with making me wait so long?"
"I come when called," the woman explained in a sweet-sounding voice. "You did not call, so I did not come."
Misty took a minute to register what had just been said. "So you mean that I-- and you could have just-- that's..." she trailed off. "Ugh. Fine. Look, I don't know what I'm doing here, okay? I swear to Jirachi or Mew or whatever legendary Pokemon you'll have me swear to that it wasn't me that did this!"
"That is not necessary," the woman continued in the same tone. "I am well aware of the circumstances that brought you here."
The woman's voice seemed to have a positive effect on Misty, as she calmed down considerably after those two sentences. "Good. I just don't want to get screwed out of happiness because of a misunderstanding, you know?"
The woman nodded. "It is a perfectly common reaction. You are wondering if you will be reunited with Vaporeon in the manner you seek, yes?"
Misty tensed up considerably after these words. Of course she was wondering. She'd been wondering ever since she got here... wherever 'here' was. She thought back to the moments just before she died. "Tracey... oh my gosh, I'm so sorry... I can only imagine what you must be thinking now." She remembered the plea she sent with her living body's last breath. She'd forgiven him. She was sure of it. "Well, yeah," she said finally.
The woman said nothing right away; she began walking circles around the Water-type trainer, much to the young girl's confusion. After a few circles, she finally spoke. "I warned you about what would happen if you still had not forgiven Tracey at the time of your death."
"And I did!" Misty shouted. "I swear I did! But..."
"You heard voices which put doubts into your head."
"How did you know?"
"I put them there. I had to be sure that you were being completely honest with yourself, for both your sake as well as Vaporeon's. When you heard those voices, did you listen to them?"
Misty thought for a minute. It's not like it's easy to ignore a voice in your head, and even harder to ignore if the voice is clear as day, persistent, and not your own. Did she hear it? Absolutely. Did she listen to it?
"Of course not," Misty said matter-of-factly. "It called me a liar and I know for sure that I wasn't lying."
The woman nodded. "I know. I tested your resolve and you passed magnificently. However, you made one mistake - telling Tracey you didn't forgive him."
"Look, I told him about your stupid voice, okay? And if you know all this stuff, you should know that I told him that despite that voice and all its nagging, I still forgave him."
"You said you were no longer angry with him. There is a difference."
Misty's jaw dropped. Was she getting ruined on a technicality?
Not if she could help it. "You can't be serious!" she screamed. "That's not what I meant! If you're so smart, you'd know that! You can't tell me I'm screwed based on that!"
The woman suddenly flared with energy, causing Misty to fall over. She hovered slightly off the ground, her teal dress billowing around her. She pointed her wand at Misty and spoke in a voice Misty hardly recognized. "Yes I can. I am Rose, agent of death. This is but a mere speck of my strength. Your fate is as I deem it. Do I make myself clear?"
Misty looked on in horror. What did she get herself into? If she had really messed up her shot at a peaceful eternity by running her mouth and angering the apparent queen of... whatever this place was, she would never forgive herself, voice or no voice, Pokemon or no Pokemon. Unable to form the words, Misty quickly nodded her head, hoping that she'd incurred Rose's wrath for the last time.
Seeing Misty's compliant reply, Rose came back to the ground and continued on as if the previous spectacle hadn't happened at all. "Do not be afraid," she said, as if oblivious to the display she just put on not 30 seconds prior. "You are safe. Follow me..." Without warning, Rose turned and opened the door of darkness, despite the lack of a knob of any kind (at least, from what Misty could tell). Misty shielded her eyes in preparation for total light, but there was none. Instead, Misty found herself in a large field filled as far as the eye could see with flowers of all sizes, shapes, colors, and smells. Near the two of them was a huge body of the clearest water Misty had ever seen; it took everything she had not to just jump in. Misty went wide-eyed at the sheer number of Pokemon present here - in the skies, in the water, in the field - dozens and dozens of Pokemon as far as the eye could see. There were no fewer than 200 different species visible from where they stood, and Misty thought she saw at least 10 Pokemon she did not recognize. Far off in the distance, she could see mountains, which Misty was sure were filled with cave-dwelling and other mountainous Pokemon.
"What... what is this place?" Misty asked, still bewildered by the beauty of what she had seen.
"You tell me," Rose replied from behind her. Turning to see her, Misty was shocked once more to find a small cottage behind her. It was a small thing, dark blue in color, and it had windows. Rose went inside, leaving Misty no choice but to follow her. She flung open the door and was once again taken aback by what she saw inside. While it appeared small on the outside, the inside of it was incredibly spacious - it was bigger than the Cerulean Gym.
Misty took an instant liking to this place. "This is incredible!" she exclaimed as she investigated the large room, her feet clacking on the tile floor. On one side of this room was a playground that seemed to be exclusively for Water-types, as a small group of them were making use of it. In one corner of the room was what looked like a large hole that was filled with water. A tunnel could be seen underwater leading into the wall. "What is that?" she asked, curious.
"Perhaps I was not clear. This is all your creation, Misty. That hole is there because you willed it to be there. And not just that hole. This room, this house, this entire place is a product of your imagination."
"I... made this?" Misty asked to herself more than Rose. "I created this?" She looked around, noting the finer points of the world she'd subconsciously made - how the curtains over the windows were that perfect shade of blue she'd not been able to find in any department store. How the playground inside her new home was being used by some of the Water Pokemon she found the cutest. "Hold on a minute," she said after letting this information sink in. "This is... well, to say it's amazing seems like a horrible understatement. But where's Vaporeon?"
Rose crossed her arms. "You mean you still do not understand? This is your world. Your eternity. If you want to see Vaporeon, all you must do is want her to be here, and she will come."
"Just think of her, huh?" Misty said, closing her eyes.
While the image of her Vaporeon came quickly, her mind wandered to other things - in particular, her living friends, and how they would handle her demise. She felt a pang of guilt at what her last words to Tracey had been. "He probably doesn't think I've forgiven him," she thought. "I really hope he doesn't take it too hard. And Ash... how horrible it must be for you. Our relationship had only started... I'm sorry." She thought about May and Max. "I especially feel sorry for May. I just had to die when you needed me the most."
"Don't worry about it," a familiar voice said from behind her.
Snapping out of her trance, Misty turned around and was face to face with May. "Whoa!" she screamed, taking cover behind the woman with the wand. "W-what is she doing here?!"
Rose walked forward and began to circle the spirit of May, who merely smiled at Misty. "She is here because deep down, you wished she were. She is not specifically the girl you knew - she is merely a copy who is aware that you have died. Despite this, however, she cannot relay messages to the living world. You may talk about anything you want, even about who killed you; the living version of her will never know. She, as well as anyone else you summon, will retain all the memories they had up until the day you died. The summoned versions will remember everything you do with them from this point forward, so you may still have some kind of human companionship."
"You can do that?" Misty asked, timidly stepping forward to become better acquainted with her new friend, although she still did not have a grip on the situation. "Your power is that great?"
"Even greater still," Rose explained. "To put it in perspective for you, I personally created your very own universe and allowed you free reign over it. Even if you were to destroy me, you would only destroy this body. I exist in countless universes not unlike this one, helping good souls such as yourself become more knowledgeable with your new home."
"Yeah," Misty said absentmindedly, paying more attention to May's copy than what Rose had said. She felt a cold wetness on her leg, snapping her out of her trance. She looked down and saw Vaporeon nuzzling against her leg. Misty leaned down and pet the aqueous creature, causing her to leap into Misty's arms and purr softly. Misty held her Pokemon and could not help but let a few tears fall, but at long last, they were not tears of sadness. While she would miss her surviving friends and family, Misty was looking forward to the endless stories she would write with her new found companions... and Vaporeon, of course.
* ~ * ~ * ~ *
Day five at the mansion started like any other. James was up early, as usual, writing in his diary about yesterday's occurrences. He stopped for a moment to give his writing hand a rest. He looked out his window and admired the sun coming up over the horizon, coloring the ocean red-orange. "It's pretty," he commented to himself. "Sunrises usually are..." He continued writing, stealing glances outside on occasion to see if he might see Shelly again. "Don't know what I'm so worked up about," he thought, putting his focus back on his writing. "After what happened, I don't think she's dumb enough to risk getting hurt."
Satisfied with his entry, James put the pencil back in the notebook's binding and let out a yawn. "Maybe I'll get a little more shut-eye," he wondered, looking over at his still-snoozing Pokemon partner. Placing his notebook underneath his pillow, James turned off the nearby lamp and, with another yawn, closed his eyes.
Seconds later, a bloodcurdling scream was heard not too far down the hallway. Fast as lightning, James was on his feet and out the door, clad in nothing but his boxer shorts. Within moments he was joined by a stumbling May, who nearly ran into the wall in her rush to reach him. "Max? Max?? What is it? What's wrong?"
Max slowly backed out of Misty's room, his face frozen over in fear.
When May had come into his room asking him to wake Misty up, he'd almost told her to go do it herself and gone back to sleep before remembering his sister's predicament. Feeling a bit of shame at that, he voiced an apology (much to her confusion) and scrambled out of bed to go to his sister's aid. "Stay here. I'll get her," he said, stifling a yawn. He briskly walked to Misty's door, his self-imposed hurry an attempt at making up for his attitude. He knocked quietly at first; loud enough for Misty to hear in the event she was already awake, but quiet enough not to disturb anyone else. Hearing nothing from inside, he let himself in, eager to complete his task and get back to sleep.
Immediately upon entering, Max could tell something was wrong. The way she lay was a bit unnerving; the fact that he could not notice the steady rise and fall of her chest from breathing was slightly alarming. It wasn't until he went in for a closer look that his suspicions were confirmed.
Misty was dead.
Max stared in horror at her corpse, her light blue nightgown stained a sick, dark purple from her blood. He found himself looking into her eyes - those bright green eyes stared vacantly back at him, seeming as if to ask her killer, "Why? Why would you do this to me?"
Seeing a dead person would frighten anyone not used to seeing them. When it's your first time, and to top it all off, the body of someone you know, regardless of how long you've known them... well, sometimes it's just too much to hold in.
He screamed as loud as he could. All he could do was scream, the reality of the situation hitting him like a ton of bricks. Unable to look away from Misty's lifeless gaze, he backed away slowly, the panic in his mind quickly turning to fear. Who did this? Why do it? Of all people, why Misty? Am I next? All these questions were swirling through Max's head as he entered the hallway. A firm hand fell upon his shoulder, and in his shock he almost screamed again before a small part of his rational mind reminded him what time it was.
"Max! What's wrong?" James asked, looking into Misty's room, hoping to see what would spook Max so horribly.
And saw it he did. James walked over to Misty's dead body and nearly threw up at the sight of it. He quickly looked away, fighting the urge to blow chunks all over the place.
Ash, also awakened by Max's shriek, emerged from his bedroom more annoyed at being woken up rather than shock. He was a bit put off by the sight of the Hoenn siblings crying in each other's arms, and noticing Misty's door was open, he went inside. He was about to ask James what on earth he was doing there when he saw Misty's body.
For Ash, it was as if time stopped. Lying before him was his beloved. She'd been his for not 24 hours... and now she was dead. He didn't want to believe it at first, despite the obvious signs, even going so far as to check her pulse to be sure that it wasn't a false alarm like before.
She was really gone.
He took one of her cold hands in his and kissed it tenderly. He looked into her eyes... and the last thread of his dignity unraveled. He fell to his knees, still grasping her hand, and cried openly and unashamedly. James, still more composed than Ash was, silently let a few tears fall for the young man's loss and simultaneously thanked his lucky stars that it was not Jessie lying there.
James did or said nothing at first and let Ash have his cry. May and Max were still in an embrace outside the room, choosing to comfort each other rather than crowd Ash. After a good twenty minutes or so, after James was certain Ash's tears had finally stopped, he spoke up. "Ash," he said.
Ash, however, was not listening. While it was true that he was finished crying, he had already started thinking of how to go about getting the revenge kill on whoever dared to kill his girl; most likely, Ash reasoned, that blue-haired liar behind him.
He stood up slowly and gently placed Misty's hand on her bed. "Ash," James began again as Ash slowly turned to face him, his face stained red with tears, the very sight of James nearly enough to make him start crying all over again; his fists were clenched so hard his knuckles were white.
During Ash's little cry session, James wondered if Ash might lose control of his rational thought and simply assume the obvious - that James had killed Misty at some point and had just been discovered. It would explain why he hadn't visibly shed any tears, but if there was one thing James didn't need right now, it was a fight.
Unfortunately for him, however, Ash looked fully ready to give him one. James decided that he had better speak up before Ash did something drastic. "Ash, it's not--"
Too late. Almost instantly after opening his mouth, Ash swung as hard as he could at the older man, landing a fierce left hook right in the jaw. James staggered backwards and fell onto the floor, surprised at the young man's strength. He wiped a bit of blood away from his mouth, angry at Ash for letting his anger cloud his better judgment, and himself for not being on his guard.
Wasting no time, Ash dove in to deliver another punch, but this time James was ready for it; he easily rolled out of the way and got to his feet. "Ash, would you wait a second? I get that you're angry, but--" he blocked another swing and nearly fell onto Misty as a result. Man that kid could swing hard.
"Not gonna listen? All right," James said, strengthening his grip on Ash's arm. He pulled Ash in and slammed their heads together, causing Ash to lose his bearings. After that, all it took was one punch to the face to send the boy to the floor. James went over and lifted the boy by his shirt, ready to literally beat some sense into him, but Ash had other ideas.
"Wait! Wait!" he sputtered, flinching as James brought his fist back. When James didn't do anything, Ash slowly looked up at the older man. "I'm fine. Will you let me go?" James did as Ash asked, but did not let his guard down in case Ash foolishly tried to attack him again.
"Sorry about that," James said, backing away from Ash in order to give him a little breathing room.
"Yeah, me too," the black-haired youth said, wiping his own trail of blood from his mouth, and he offered his hand as proof of his sincerity, which James shook. "I was just mad, you know?" He looked over at Misty again. "I just saw her, and you, and..."
"I know. I know. And believe me, Ash, I'm no happier. We'll get to the bottom of this." He looked himself over and felt a bit of embarrassment now at having run out in his undergarments. "Let's get dressed and wake the others."
A nod of agreement from Ash, and James went back to his own room to get dressed, explaining the situation to May and Max on his way back. Ash gave his fallen lady one more look before leaving for his own room, closing the door behind him.
Two doors down, Jessie sat in her own bed, having heard the entire spectacle.
Awakened by Max's scream, Jessie almost left her room to investigate when she quickly deduced why he was screaming in the first place, given his location. She felt horribly nauseous at the memory of it and vomited quietly in the trash can near her bed, hoping she would also purge the image of Misty asking her "why?" that was burned into her mind. She sat on her bed and cried into her pillow, being careful not to alert the ones just outside her door.
"I... I killed her," she told herself between sobs, as if admitting it to herself would make her feel better. "I killed her! Why... why indeed. She didn't deserve to die! What was I thinking?"
She stayed quiet for the following minutes, trying to make out what was going on in the room next door. Hearing things die down, she slipped back into bed and did her best to dry her eyes in case anyone came knocking. Ten minutes later, someone did just that. Taking a quick glance in the mirror to make sure that it wasn't too obvious she'd been crying, she opened the door just a crack and peeked out with one eye. "What is it?" she asked her visitor.
"Ash wants everyone up and in the main hall in five minutes," Max explained.
"Fine," Jessie replied before closing the door in the confused young man's face. She turned and leaned against the door and looked at her bed next to the wall. Giovanni's decision to make all the rooms other than his own identical in design was doing her no favors, as it reminded her again of what she had done. Jessie sighed and tried to think of other things as she went to get dressed.
Ten minutes later, everyone was gathered in the main hall as Ash had requested. Max, May, and Tracey were sitting on the couch nearest the stairs. Brock and James were sitting on the sofa next to them; Jessie and Shelly sat opposite them on the other sofa. No one had said a word since arriving, as Ash was slowly pacing around the furniture, taking long looks at each of his friends in turn. Everyone knew what Ash was going to say - that is, everyone except Tracey, who merely thought Ash was simply waiting for Misty to arrive before starting, although getting stared at was weird, and Brock, who was thinking a similar thought.
Ash may have looked calm and collected on the surface, but on the inside, it was taking everything he had to keep his composure. He didn't want to believe that any of his friends was a killer. He trusted them all with his life, but given the circumstances, he couldn't afford not to suspect them at first. After all, he thought, it was possible they did it. But who would want Misty dead? Why Misty? It was no accident - it was very obvious that Misty was murdered. Was it simply a random killing, or was it planned? Ash cringed at the thought of one of his friends systematically killing them all off, and couldn't help asking himself if perhaps he was next.
After five minutes of nothing but looks and determining how he would start, Ash finally decided to start talking to his friends. He knew it was going to be bad no matter how he put it, so he decided not to mince words. He started with the most obvious thing.
"Misty's dead."
Ash continued to look around and noted the others' reactions to this. As expected, May, Max, and James didn't react too much to the news. Jessie looked like she was going to cry at a moment's notice. Shelly seemed to be relatively unfazed by it.
Tracey went wide-eyed. "No..." he whimpered as he jumped out of his seat and ran up the stairs before James had a chance to stop him.
"Let him go," Ash instructed.
Ash was a bit put off by how well Brock managed to keep his composure. If he was shocked at all by the news of Misty's death, he didn't show it at all. "Last night?" he asked, as if Ash had just announced to everyone that he'd gone to bed.
"Yes, last night," Ash confirmed, trying to drown out Tracey's muffled, sorrowful cries. "And it was no accident. She didn't die of natural causes. She was murdered," Ash said, glancing over at the two women.
Jessie froze. Was she caught? Did he know the truth? She did everything Shelly instructed. She quickly thought back to her actions last night, after she'd done the deed. Knife disposed of? Check. Clothes disposed of? Check. Own body cleansed of any traces of blood? Check. So what did she forget? Perhaps there was something Shelly forgot to mention. Or, Jessie hoped, it was just an innocent glance with no accusations attached.
"Who would do such a thing?" Brock asked, still as calm as ever.
"That's what I'd like to know," Ash said. "However, it's not like we have nothing to go on. We know... that one of us killed her. And yes, I said us. While I know that I didn't do it, and I hope you guys will all believe me when I say that, I know that it's possible that I could have done it."
"Do you have any ideas who did?" Shelly asked.
"Funny you should mention that," Ash said, turning to face the girls, "because as a matter of fact, I do. You see, I came here with my friends. I trust them all. I can't think of any reason they would want Misty dead. As for James, he saved Misty's life. Misty asked me to stop being so suspicious of everything. It ended up being her last request, and I intend on honoring it the best I can. I don't think James did it either. Meowth is also off the hook because one, he's too small, and two, his fur would have been everywhere. So that leaves you two."
"Jessie is innocent!" James roared, bursting from his seat, startling the two teens from Hoenn.
This came as a shock to the younger of the accused women. "Why is he defending me?" Jessie thought. "Why does he even care?"
Ash turned to the male Rocket. "Calm down, would you? I didn't say she did it. Hear me out," Ash said, turning back to the accused. "Now, as I was going to say, this is not an accusation of guilt. I'm just putting my feelings out in the open so everyone knows where I stand. You two are the only ones I could feasibly see committing this crime."
Jessie continued to weep quietly as the young man spoke. "Jessie, listen to me. We've known each other for a long time. Granted, you and James are the criminals here, but let's be honest. Your chance of killing me is a long shot on a good day. Given your track record, if you would have done it, you probably would have ended up cutting yourself, or making a huge mess, or something. Still, it is possible you did it."
Shelly, who had remained mostly silent up until this point, couldn't help but let out a chuckle at the image of Jessie trying to stab Misty, but failing and cutting herself in a very comical fashion.
"And you," Ash started again, directing his attention to the redhead. "I don't even know what to think with you. I just met you a couple days ago and the only thing I know about you is your name. And you're a treasure hunter? What kind of job is that? I swear, everything about you screams suspicious. I gave you the benefit of the doubt before - I'm not from around here. Maybe treasure hunting is some kind of sanctioned profession in Sinnoh. I don't know. The only person you ever really talk to is Jessie, and you guys are gone most of the day anyway doing who knows what. That's why I suspect you most of all. You're unknown to me."
"Shelly wouldn't do anything like that," Jessie said quietly, though the instant the words came from her lips she found herself laughing on the inside at that very notion, almost audibly doing so before catching herself. Of course Shelly was capable of doing this. Who was she kidding? Best to keep up the façade for now, though. "I've known her longer than you. We're friends. There's no way she'd do something so horrible. And I sure didn't kill her, so maybe you oughta start interrogating your friends."
"We've been Misty's friends for years!" May exclaimed. "How can you even suggest such a horrible thing?!"
"Doesn't feel good to be accused, does it?" Shelly said, arms crossed. "Well, unlike you kids, I'm not going to start raising my voice and proclaiming my innocence. I know what I have and haven't done, although I will thank Jessie for coming to my defense," she continued, giving Jessie a one-armed hug for emphasis. "We could sit here for the next three days and point fingers at each other, or we could use our heads and try to figure out just what happened. Did you even consider the fact that Misty may have committed suicide?"
"No way that's possible," James said. "She was stabbed multiple times. She couldn't have done that to herself. There would have been blood all over her hands, and the weapon would still be there."
"Well, aren't we just an ace crime solver."
By now, Tracey had come back downstairs and taken his seat. It was plainly obvious he'd had a very intense crying session, and he secretly hoped no one had heard him.
When he'd first heard Misty was dead, he couldn't believe it. "There's no way," he thought. "How in the world could Misty manage to die overnight?"
He charged up the stairs two at a time and bolted down the hallway to Misty's door. This was all just a cruel joke. It had to be. There was no way, no way, no way Misty was really dead. He threw open the door and ran to the young girl's side.
"It... it can't be." She was dead. He looked at the cuts she suffered and for a moment asked the question everyone else was asking - why? Why her? Who could do such a thing? He fell to his knees and cried loudly into the dead girl's sheets. "She's really gone. What am I going to do now?" he asked himself between sobs. He thought back to the conversation they had a few days prior:
Tracey was wide-eyed. "So you mean to tell me that the only one who knows what really happened..."
"...is you," Misty finished. "Please don't tell Ash or anyone else. I don't want him to worry about me."
"He's going to worry regardless of whether or not you tell him. But I won't say anything. You have my word."
Tracey tried his best not to cry even more than he already was. "Stupid, stupid, stupid! What am I gonna do now??" As he began to dry his eyes, he weighed his options. "Do I tell him? Everyone thinks she was attacked. I'm the only one who knows the truth. They're her friends. They have a right to know! Misty kept it a secret for a reason, though... I'm sure she planned on telling them soon. What to do, what to do... well, everyone's together, so I guess I could tell them since she... won't be able to. I'd better get back downstairs..."
He rose to his feet, making sure he didn't look at the dead girl again for fear he'd have another outburst. He dried his eyes as best he could, took a deep breath, and walked back to the group as calmly as he could.
"I... I'd like to make an announcement," he said once Shelly had finished speaking. Instantly, all eyes were on him, and he regretted bringing attention to himself like that. "It's about Misty."
"What is it?" Ash questioned, showing a bit more interest than before. "Is the body okay?"
Tracey felt a chill run down his spine. How could he talk so freely about this? "Yes, it's fine. It's not really about that. It's about when she was attacked."
"What about it?" Ash pressed him. Why was Tracey bringing this up?
"She wasn't attacked. She... she tried to kill herself."
Ash stood and looked at Tracey, completely dumbfounded. What did he just say? "Mind repeating that?"
"Misty tried to kill herself before we came here." Feeling a little more confident after having said it, he recounted the conversation with Misty that he'd had the day they left Kanto.
"There, you see?" Shelly said to no one in particular. "She tried to kill herself once before and failed. Who's to say she didn't succeed this time?"
Ash was on her in no time at all, delivering a hard backhand across the redhead's face. "How dare you!" Jessie made no move to assist, for fear of getting hit as well. James lunged over the table and struggled to pry the teenager off, who was laying blow after blow on a flailing Shelly. Tracey got up to help, and together the two older guys were able to restrain the young man from Pallet Town.
Amazingly, Shelly seemed to shrug off the damage. "Huh. Second time since I've been here that a man hit me while I'm off guard. How unsportsmanlike you Kanto men are."
Ash cursed at her. "I don't care what your opinion of me is." He struggled in the tight grip of Tracey and James. "Let me go!" He took a deep breath and slowly let it out. "I'm cool. I'm all right." He relaxed his muscles in an effort to show he was sincere, and he was released. "I'm going home," he said, marching upstairs without another word to anyone else.
RE: Seven Days of Terror
"During Ash's little cry session, James wondered if Ash might lose control of his rational thought and simply assume the obvious - that James and killed Misty at some point and had just been discovered."
Spot the error :O
Well, that certinately got ME wanting more... Misty's whole self-creation world thing makes perfect sense, and well done for handling that situation well. It woulda been kinda cool if Rose layed into Misty a little more, but who am I to suggest that?
GJ for giving us something at long last ^_^
"During Ash's little cry session, James wondered if Ash might lose control of his rational thought and simply assume the obvious - that James and killed Misty at some point and had just been discovered."
Spot the error :O
Well, that certinately got ME wanting more... Misty's whole self-creation world thing makes perfect sense, and well done for handling that situation well. It woulda been kinda cool if Rose layed into Misty a little more, but who am I to suggest that?
GJ for giving us something at long last ^_^
RE: Seven Days of Terror
Looks great so far, PMJ, I can't wait for the whole chapter to be ready.
Looks great so far, PMJ, I can't wait for the whole chapter to be ready.