The first thing that seemed strange to Usagi, Luna and Rei was that no one was welcoming them when they left the small port. No humans, no Pokémon, no one. There wasn't even a harbor master around.
Usagi believed that Ash would explain it to them, but he remained silent while they walked up the rocky path, to the castle.
Expecting that they would at least meet humans inside the castle, Usagi followed Ash inside, as he opened the heavy front gate. But the halls behind it were as deserted as the harbor.
"Ash, where is everyone?" Rei whispered as he lead them through the dark castle.
Ash didn't respond immediately, but instead gestured at a door at the end of a corridor. "Over there! There's something I have to show you!"
Rei winced. 'What's that?' she thought to herself. 'That strange feeling... somehow, I feel a big amount of spiritual energy, directly ahead of us...'
Ash opened the door and they entered.
It lead into another big hall, looking similar to the dining hall in Lady Joy's Tower. Many tables were standing in the middle of the room, but there still was no one around.
But then Usagi realized her mistake: There weren't any humans around... but all around them, transparent shadows were flitting through the air. They were floating over the tables, sitting on the chairs, and seemed to ignore them.
Then Usagi got a closer look at them: Some of the ghostly apparitions looked like clouds of purple smoke with scary-looking faces inside. Other ghosts had creepy hands that weren't attached to their bodies and floated around freely.
One of them passed them very closely, and when Usagi stretched out her hand, it was passing through the creature as if it wasn't there. But at the same time, a chilly feeling ran down her spine.
"Don't worry," Ash whispered. "They can't see us."
"Ash, what is this place?" Rei muttered. "What's going on?"
Ash looked grimly at the assembled shadows. "These are the residents of Lavender Castle."
"Them...?"
Ash nodded. "Yes, what's left of them. This is their last meal before the attack."
"Attack?" Luna asked and looked up at the black-haired prince. "Who attacked?"
"The Rocketeers..." Ash grumbled. "Lavender was one of the first castles they assaulted. They ravaged the land all around here and burnt down the villages. The survivors fled into the castle. The Rocketeers ordered the lords of Lavender to surrender themselves, but they declined." Ash closed his eyes. "They knew that the castle would fall, but they sacrificed themselves, so the surviving farmers and peasants could flee." He shook his head. "Not a single lord or knight survived the following battle."
"Are they... are they dead?" Rei carefully approached one of the floating, cloud-like spirits, to take a closer look at him.
"Sort of," Ash said with a grim voice. "Whenever a human or Pokémon of Kanto dies an unnatural death, the spirit turns into a Ghost Pokémon."
He gestured at the shadows. "Those Ghastlys and Haunters are all what remained of the castle's residents, after the Rocketeers killed them."
"Is... is that the reason why you brought us here?" Luna asked. Usagi could only utter a small sob.
"Yes and no," Ash replied. "Lavender Castle is one of the few places where we are safe from the Rocketeers. I don't know if the Ghost Pokémon would be able to harm them, but the Rocketeers are deadly afraid of them."
He sighed. "Lord Oak wanted you to see this before you talk to him. Come, they are all waiting for you, upstairs!"
"Will there... will there be more ghosts up there?" Usagi whimpered.
Ash shook his head. "No. For some reason, the ghosts always stay on the lower floors of the castle." He smiled at her. "Don't worry! We will spend the night here in the castle, but on the top floor. You won't have to be afraid that suddenly, a ghost will appear in your room."
"Well, that's good to hear," Rei gulped. She didn't like this castle one bit.
They left the Ghost Pokémon by themselves. Usagi shuddered as one of the Haunters floated over her head. She hurried after her friends.
As Ash lead them upstairs, Usagi asked: "Ash... the Rocketeers. Who are they?"
"We don't know for sure," he explained. "But they suddenly came from the far North, a few years ago. The humans and Pokémon offered them food and a place to stay, but as it turned out their hospitality was wasted. One ship after another arrived, and more and more Rocketeers arrived in Kanto. And then they started raiding the villages. They killed humans and Pokémon, taking everything for themselves."
"Why did they do this?" Luna asked. "Is there a reason for this?"
"I don't know," Ash grumbled. "Kanto is big, and there would have been enough place for everyone. But they killed the messenger Lord Oak had sent to them for negotiations. They don't want to negotiate. They want to take everything for themselves."
Then Ash started yelling: "Yeah, maybe there is a reason for this invasion. Maybe they've been driven out of their home country or their land is desolated, or whatever. I don't know! But that changes nothing! Nothing gives them the right to just come here and kill innocent people, just because they want to have their land."
"Is... is that the reason why you brought us here?" Rei asked. "So that we help you against the Rocketeers?"
"Maybe..." Ash muttered. "Or maybe not, that depends on you. Lord Oak will explain everything to you. Now, hurry up!"
And he ran up the stairs, without saying anything else. After exchanging a distraught look, they followed him.
See other episodes by Shritistrang
(Posted Fri, 16 Feb 2007 22:14)
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