Fourth 👻 Story [Video/Action for Goldenrod]

[hashtagafreakingghost]

[VIDEO]

[It's flashback time on multiple levels. A waxy stub brushes over the PokéGear's lens, leaving the view muddy. A blurred hand swipes at it, as if it's trying to either knock the camera away or snatch it up and away, jury's out on which one. From the frustrated grunt accompanying it, seems like either would be preferable.

Whoever's holding the PokéGear, however, doesn't let go, instead jumping away. "Wick lit, wick!" Okay so it's a Litwick, now...desperately trying to get the camera to focus on the owner of the small hand. After a few seconds it works well enough, waxy fingerprints aside, and the one staring her down is an auburn-haired little girl, kneeling on a hotel bed. Around eight, maybe ten? Her small stature and incredible baby-face make it hard to tell if she's just a late bloomer or not. However old she is, she's pouting something fierce. A blanket's draped over her head and a discarded Pokémon Handbook lays open by her knees.]

Give it back, pl-please, I don't wanna!

[With each word, the defiant expression she's tried to keep up slips a little more, until she's genuinely...less distressed and more shy, and she pulls the blanket down so it's covering half of her face. Ashley is absolutely positively miserable.]

Go away. Turn it o-off, 'veryone's just gonna...

[...And there goes the other half of the blanket and she's just a blanket-girl now. Congrats.

Agatha the Litwick sighs and then lets out a confused "Lit?" The view shifts just a hair to the right, to a Ralts also standing on the bed. She shakes her head as the blanket-girl begins to whimper and just takes the 'Gear as if she's taking a selfie.]

Hello. Something seems to have gone quite terribly wrong. My trainer's somehow devolved, and she has no idea-

I WANNA GO HOOOME! 'V-VE NEVER EVEN PL-PLAYED A- A- [And now just wailing. Jane the Ralts winces.]

...where she is. We are...not doing very well in comforting her.

[Agatha's gone to try and fix Ashley! ...It doesn't seem to be working.]

I hope this isn't going to be a permanent change.

[ACTION FOR GOLDENROD / 3/12-3/14]

[Eventually Ashley will venture outside. At least she has a sensible outfit for this place. She's never out by herself, instead often holding hands with her Froslass (who is just a little shorter than her) or generally with any number of her Pokémon on hand, as she has never been out in a city by herself before. Back when they were actual kids Mike tried to get her to go exploring or adventuring but she always said no, because they could get in trouble or get hurt, and her mom would yell at her, so this feels bad and weird, but staying in that hotel room all the time's not fun either, and she has to find some way to call her parents!

While she has the natural instinct to clam up if anyone tries to talk to her or shy away from interaction, if she spies something that interests her like cute Pokémon or a bookstore or the Game's Corner, she'll get caught in one-track mode and go investigate. Curiosity, it truly is a beast. The earlier on you encounter her, the more withdrawn and upset she'll be, but she has to be brave! Or at least try to be. She's more inclined to get drawn in by an unfamiliar sight the longer the week goes on.

Ashley trips up a little on Friday night, as she...kind of gets distracted at the bookstore for too long, though, and when she realizes it's far too late, it's night. Like, pitch-black-stores-are-closing night. So that's a big problem, because guess who is absolutely terrified of the dark?

Comments

3/13

[wing_attack]

[There's a little blond-haired boy, sitting on top of a large bird who's carefully walking along. Really, Regal would rather be flying, but the little boy got understandably overwhelmed by the giant bear. He's got Tobias' bag in his mouth, but he wanders over towards the bookstore and sits down, letting the boy slide down, grab the bag, and head inside.]

[... He'll just wait here, he's a little too big for the store. Inside, Tobias runs over towards the fantasy section, looking up at all the books.]

... 've got weird names.

[hashtagafreakingghost]

[Sitting in the bookstore, rhythmically petting her Chikorita. Some of these things have been really scary so far, but this one's small and his body feels like those big fuzzy leaves her dad planted in the garden that one time, so he's okay. Nice to feel against her fingers. She's got a book in her lap, a big one, and when Tobias walks in doesn't realize he's there first...but his voice makes her head snap up and she jumps, waking her dozing Pokémon.

When Ashley sees the boy's younger, however, she relaxes...just a little. One finger runs up and down the book's pages nervously.] M-mmyeah. They're um...puns. Isn't like what I read at home.

[wing_attack]

[He turns and - oh. It's... a girl. A girl in a bookstore? It's not like he hasn't seen them but... she's got a big book and it's... weird to see a lot of girls reading big thick books like he likes to read.]

Y-yeah. They... um. I don't... I don't see Lord of the Rings here and I've gotta... I gotta find out what happens next...

[Video]

[ratherbelocky]

[Oh. Oh, no. Is that...?]

Hey. Hey, Ashley? Is that Ashley.

[Video]

[hashtagafreakingghost]

[The girl under the blanket stiffens and jumps. One hand reaches out and snatches up the gear, pulling it into her little abode of safety. It's. Kind of hard to see since it's so dark, but she holds it very close to her face, and those sure are the same green-brown eyes...]

H-how d'you know m-my name? [Sniffle.] Do you know my- my mom a-and dad?

[Video]

[ratherbelocky]

[Oh, no, honey.]

No, I...here, I'll start over. My name's York, I'm here to help. This device, it connects you with a lot of people who can help, okay? So you're safe. And your Pok--uhh, your candle friend and the little thing with the horns, they're there to take care of you, too. You're not in any danger.

[Why isn't North here, why did York open his big mouth, he does not know how to kids.]

3/13 night

[motherfucking_ghosttype]

[Once Alpha is calmed down, for a given definition of calm, he doesn't see a reason why he should stay in the room he's in. He's got a body, whether real or constructed, and he's got a world (also whether real or constructed) to explore, and it'll get his mind off of awful things. Like any impending deaths or stressful scenarios involving his own incompetence and utter failure.

This is all a lot weirder and more fun than super space soldiers vs other space soldiers vs aliens. To be fair.

He takes the Mareep along with him (unsure of any of their given names, unsure if they even have any), because she insists, because she keeps her head and is utterly fluffy. And now she's even more useful because the bulb on her tail lights up, any immediate darkness not lit by street lights banished by her glow. And Voltorb's contented sparking. It also insisted on coming. But Alpha's not sure if it's for his sake or because Mareep is comfortable and static charged. (Buizel is following behind somewhere, trying to stay inconspicuous and failing, while a Gastly is invisibly stalking. Somewhere. Invisibly.)]

Reeeeeeep. [The mutant sheep pauses, noticing a little girl, and how there seem to be plenty of children lately, all alone but for their pokemon. Alpha stops mid-step and looks over.] Hey there? Hi?

[hashtagafreakingghost]

[She stands outside the bookstore, trembling in the darkness with a Chikorita next to her, her hand tight around one of his vines.] Koriiii.

[It seems she's quite literally scared stiff...but the light from the sheep and the orb is kind of welcome.] A-are there monsters?

[motherfucking_ghosttype]

[He looks down at his fucked up critters and then at her little plant pony?? thing and then to her.] I uh. I think that depends on how you define monsters, kid. Are you waiting for someone?

5/13, night

[knightoftimeout]

[It's late, very late, and Karkat is dead asleep after two days of watching him. Dave just takes a keycard, the Pokéball of one of his dearest nighttime friends, and his huge, fluffy blanket out to the hall, padding a few doors down until he deems himself sufficiently far away not to wake his roommate. Not that he's crying. He's not, he's totally not. He's just sinking down against the wall between two doors and huddling in a blanket large enough to drown in, muffling soft, hiccuping, snuffling sounds into fur as he clings to his Umbreon like he's a life preserver.

No more. No more, not ever again, please.]

[hashtagafreakingghost]

[The door to his right creaks, cracks open.

There's many things Ashley doesn't remember. To let her Munna out to blank her mind before she sleeps, for example. How to ground herself if she wakes up not knowing where she is as well. The horrible trauma she experienced that one night that still lays dormant in her mind, for another.

The combination of this lead her to wake up confused and afraid, with the strong desire to run. This is against a strange instinct inside her to stay still in her bed, to not even breathe lest her hair fall out of place and alert... What?

She finds the middle ground. A trembling, sneaking middle ground. Thus, the door... And imagine her surprise when she finds someone else there, crying just as she is.]

...'ello...? [Voice so soft it cracks, so soft the first part of the word sounds cut off.]

[knightoftimeout]

[Dave almost jumps out of his skin when Ashley speaks up. He clutches to Hutch, eyes wide behind his shades and cheeks grubby and wet, and then he ducks to hide his face. He has neither the time nor the presence of mind to school it, doesn't want her to know he's crying anyway. His shoulders shake and he rubs the back of his hand over his eyes, knocking his sunglasses askew, miserable.]

Hi. H-hey. 'Sup.

[His voice is quivering too much, his breath hitching, to even pretend to be cool. Hutch, settling down from his surprise, recognizes Ashley as Not a Threat even to his shrunken trainer and goes back gently to nuzzling Dave's hair.]

action; around the game corner, 3/14?

[icicleprincess]

[It really is boring to sit around the hotel room. Weiss has figured this out a while ago. She ventures out, looking in shop windows and things, until she gets to the Game Corner.

She'll jump up trying to see in the window a few times.]

works for me!

[hashtagafreakingghost]

It's got cards and video games.

[Says the taller kid behind her, who is most definitely able to see in the windows.]

But they look like the kind in Vegas. So I don't think we're allowed to play.

Re: works for me!

[icicleprincess]

What's Vegas?

[Weiss just turns and blinks a few times. Is that near Vacuo? Vale?]

It looks fun though.

video

[shotlocking]

[ Oh, no. Aqua has a feeling this is only the tip of the iceberg. So many children in such a short amount of time--and not newcomers, but people who have been here before.

... No one was kidding when they said weird stuff happens here, huh. ]

Ashley? It's alright, Ashley. My name is Aqua, and those little creatures with you are friends. They only want to help you.

video

[hashtagafreakingghost]

[The girl in the blanket lets out a whine and shrinks in on herself.]

Do you know my parents?

[How do people know her name...?]

video

[shotlocking]

[ The urge to travel to where she is and give her a giant hug is super intense right now. ]

I don't, no--but I know you, even if you don't remember me.

[action, game corner]

[exeggutorhead]

[Ashley isn't the only one attracted to the lights and noise of the Game Corner. Envy's never seen anything like this! And even after the scares of the first day he spent lost in this bizarre place, he's feeling a little bolder on the second day.]

[So when he sees that this other kid is also alone, except for that weird white Pokemon creature, and looking just as curious about the exciting-looking building as he is...he thinks that maybe he could approach. And after all, she's just as small as he is, much less of a risk than an adult.]

["Approaching" still means popping his head out from around a nearby mailbox like a sideways whack-a-mole, but it's better than nothing.]

Hey. Hey. Pssst.

[hashtagafreakingghost]

[See, when you're a nervous child, things or people or anything jumping out at you doesn't go over well generally? When you're a nervous child who's woken up in an unfamiliar place with people saying they know you and all these monsters-

Yeah, Ash just yelps and jumps back and almost falls over, if not for her Froslass' steady grip. ...Said Froslass isn't exactly fond of the surprise either, it seems, because she cries out Las! and swings her other arm- ear- what even is this Froslass- her appendage around Ashley's shoulder to try and keep her safe.]

D-don't just do that! You could r-really scare someone! [....like you ash?]

[exeggutorhead]

[Envy wasn't expecting to scare her (honestly, if he'd been trying to he would have been much more elaborate with his jumping out), or for her to have that much of a reaction. With a frightened yelp of his own, he ducks back behind the mailbox.]

[But not for very long, and when he steps back out he's got his arms crossed indignantly.]

I didn't even do anything scary!

[ACTION]

[rocketralph]

<sub>[You know what's worse than the dark?]

[Shadows looming over you.]

[Here's one right now. Ralph is out and about on his way back from a mission, his nerves ever so slightly on edge because there has been a sudden spike in the goblin population as of late. Ralph has a strict one goblin policy as that is about all he can tolerate at any given time--but he can't ignore the fact that there's a kid and her pokemon out in the streets after dark who don't seem like they're doing so good. He passes in front of a street lamp, eclipsing it entirely like a wall wearing overalls.]</sub>

Hey, kid. You lost or somethin'?

[hashtagafreakingghost]

[The light she's got to guide her, as little as it is, suddenly disappears, and Ashley snatches up her Chikorita as if he were a teddy bear- and as if that would protect her in case of giant attacks? Look, fear doesn't always elicit a rational response.

At least she doesn't scream, but a squeaking gasp slips past her lips as she stumbles back.]

A-a-a-a giant...!

[Action, 3/12!]

[foolishwren]

<sub>[In all fairness, it's kind of justified to be afraid of the dark in a world where Actual Ghosts (tm) exist and can do creepy shit like hide in your shadow and drain your energy and stuff. Or pretend to be a balloon and whisk you off to some hellish underworld.]

[BUT FORTUNATELY FOR EVERYONE INVOLVED, the thing currently tromping down the shady sidewalk in Ashley's direction is not a ghost.]

[Even if it is huge, white, moving in a very awkward stompy gait, and completely silent. Gosh.]</sub>

[hashtagafreakingghost]

[Ahhhh

aaaaaahhhhhhhh

aaaaaaaaaahhhhhhh

Ashley does not scream or shriek, but she does freeze up and hold very tight to her Froslass. She wants to run, but her legs are too stiff! Oh no, it is coming right for her!]

M-m- m-m-m-mons- mo- monst...!