From: bbd127@aol.com (bbd127@aol.com) Subject: [PW!] A Candle in the Dark Newsgroups: alt.games.nintendo.pokemon Date: 2000/07/12 It was happening again. Why me, thought Procyon. Why did it have to be me? Of all the people in the universe, why was he picked to have dreams like this? Well, and Taron too, of course. But still. There was nothing he could do about it, though, so he decided to just wait it out and see what was going to happen. He knew, though, of course; he was dreaming. And his dreams were not pleasant ones. He looked around for a moment. It was a familiar scene ? standing quite comfortably in the middle of nowhere. Literally. He was hovering in a void, in the middle of nothingness, standing as if it were perfectly natural to have nothing beneath your feet but eternity. He knew what was coming, too. He did not expect a long wait. He wasn?t disappointed. ?Back again, I see,? the voice taunted. ?Nova.? ?So you remember me. I?m touched,? it replied, in mock tenderness. ?But it can?t be all that bad. You keep coming back.? ?As if I had a choice.? ?You do. Don?t go to sleep.? Procyon couldn?t tell if the Haunter in front of him was trying to be funny or just insane, so he let the comment pass. Finally he got annoyed, staring at the purple grin before him. ?Well? What?s new tonight? Don?t take too long, I have things to attend to.? ?Of course. Your battle with Sabrina.? He grinned. ?Maybe you?d like me along? Ghosts are handy against Psychic types.? ?Like you?d fight for me anyway. And besides, you know as well as I do that that?s a lie. You?d be creamed by an Alakazam and you know it.? Nova seemed taken aback by that statement for a moment, then returned to his usual toothy grin. ?If you say so. Let?s move on then, shall we?? ?I?m all ears.? ?That makes for an interesting mental picture.? ?Whatever.? ?Now then, tonight we?ll be delving some more into your ever so fascinating past,? the ghost told him dryly. ?Ready to see what other fun secrets we can come up with?? ?Hold on a second. I have a question.? Nova found that amusing. ?Go on.? ?Why me?? ?What?? ?Why are you doing this to me? Why are you trying to drive me mad? I never did anything to you. And Taron, too. What have you got against us?? ?Interesting you should ask that. It has a fascinating history, really. I?d be glad to tell you. As for Taron, well, I have? other reasons.? ?Whatever. But me, then. What do you have against me?? The Haunter paused dramatically. ?What do you remember about Katie?? Procyon rolled his eyes. ?Not this again. Aren?t we through with her?? ?Not yet. Answer the question.? ?You know everything I know. I could go on for hours on details, what are you getting at?? ?Did she have any pets?? Procyon found it singularly irritating that a creature capable of reading his mind would still persist in conducting an interrogation. He probably gets some sadistic pleasure from it, he thought. But answering the questions was his only way out of the dream and he knew it. Slowly he responded. ?I?m not sure. I think so.? ?You think. Well, think harder. Remember. Did she have any pets or not?? He sighed. ?Yes. A Dratini and a Rattata.? ?What were their names?? Procyon thought for a moment. ?The Dratini was Sparkle, and the Rattata was named Avon. Why? What possible relevance can this have?? ?How did you like them?? He sighed again. This was going nowhere. ?They were fine.? ?Fine? Really? It seems to me that you didn?t think they were so fine at the time.? ?Huh?? ?Oh, Sparkle was fine. Everybody loved Sparkle. But what about Avon, the poor little Rattata? Who cared about him?? He threw an accusing glare at Procyon. ?She forgot to feed it when she knew you were coming over. And when you did come, you ignored it, and she did too.? ?The poor thing,? Procyon said sarcastically. ?Are you finished with your Pokemon maltreatment speech yet?? ?Shut up!? Nova snarled. Procyon was startled; it was the first hint of real emotion he?d seen from the creature. ?Of course YOU don?t see anything wrong with that. Who cares about Rattatas? If your Dewgong dies, it?s all ?Oh, how awful, the poor thing,? but if your Rattata dies all you get is, ?Darn, what a shame.? Nobody cares at all. They?re living things, you know. Not that you cared.? ?I was eight years old at the time,? he pointed out. ?I didn?t think anything about it. Be realistic, and for goodness? sake, tell me what is going on here!!? Nova turned thoughtful for a moment, and seemed to regain his composure. ?Do you know how Avon died?? ?No.? ?It died of grief. When Katie, its master, was murdered,? it gave a withering glare to Procyon, ?it just couldn?t handle the stress. It died.? Nova stabbed a claw at him. ?YOU are responsible for Avon?s death, just as you are responsible for Katie?s. YOU killed it. This is YOUR fault.? ?I?m sorry,? he said, actually meaning it. ?It was an accident, as you well know. I didn?t realize Avon died too, but I?m sorry.? ?Yes, of course, sorry. Sorry, sorry, sorry. I?m so sorry, oh well, let?s go on and live out our lives.? He stared at Procyon. ?What happens to Pokemon when they die?!? he spat out. ?Do they go to Heaven? Is that it? What happens to them, Procyon?!? ?Well, they?.. they?.? He paused as realization sunk in. ?Avon? you were her Rattata! When it died, you were born! Nova is Avon spelled backwards!? ?Brilliant deduction!? he shot out. ?You figured it out at last. Do you know what it?s like, being a ghost?? His eyes lit up and shone and eerie green, casting a bizarre glow on Procyon?s face. ?You can talk, sure, and move around, and battle, and all that. But you can?t DO anything. Nothing.? He hovered a few feet closer and whispered in Procyon?s ear. ?What happens when a ghost Pokemon dies, Procyon?? Procyon shivered. ?I.. I don?t know. I never thought about it.? ?Of course not. Well, I?ll tell you. They DON?T. We live forever! We can?t die, because we?re already dead! A whole eternity of powerlessness! You humans debate on and on to what Hell is. Take a good look, Procyon, because this is Hell. The inability to die. Nothing more, nothing less.? His eyes shifted from green to a fiery red. ?And this is the fate of every single ghost Pokemon that has ever lived or will ever live. Nothing more, nothing less. A simple inability to die. You asked why I wanted to drive you mad? I?m already mad, it seems only fair that my murderer should have the same privilege.? Nova waved his claws again. ?After all, I?m a Haunter. I haunt.? Procyon was beginning to be scared. Frantically he tried to reason with the thing before him. ?But you would?ve died anyway. I just hastened the process. If all your kind ends up this way, then I haven?t really done anything. It isn?t my fault at all.? ?Ah, but not all Pokemon end up this way. Only the ones that have some reason not to die all the way. Like me. But I know a perfect way out of this situation. I have but one duty to fulfill and I will perform it with glee.? His eyes, already red, practically burned with flame, and his voice sunk to a whisper, all the more potent for its being spoken in a void. ?Vengeance,? he breathed. With that his claws lit up with fire and he shot a crackling bolt of energy at Procyon. It connected and he collapsed to the ground, screaming in agony. Haunter looked at him with amusement. ?Odd being on the other side, isn?t it? You order your little soldiers into battle for you, but it never occurs to you that those are real attacks you?re dealing with. If your Staryu gets zapped by a Thunderbolt, just send out your next Pokemon. No problem.? He fired another beam of energy and his eyes danced. ?How do you like this end of things?? Another crackle, and more screams. ?I?m ready to end this. Now.? With that he gave up speaking and built up a steady stream of sparkling energy that danced around his fingertips, gleaming in the starless night, preparing for one final, lethal assault. And then, on the very edge of consciousness, clinging desperately to life, Procyon had it. Somewhere deep in his pain- wracked mind, something clicked. He smiled. And stood up. Nova gaped in amazement as his continuing attacks did nothing, and he stopped after a moment, an expression of amazement frozen on his face. Procyon stared at him. ?You may have powerful, Nova, but this is my mind. My dream. My world. I am in control here.? He walked softly, menacingly, towards the ghost, his heels echoing lightly on the nonexistent floor. ?And I think it is time for you to leave.? With that he raised his hands. Slowly at first, then with ever- growing intensity, specks of light sparkled around his fingertips. More and more energy was brought together there, between his palms, swirling into a huge vortex that was difficult to look at because of its brightness. And still it grew, as if someone had taken fire and mixed it with light and converted it into raw power itself, taking on a life of its own, growing in size and intensity with each passing second. Procyon walked closer and closer to Nova, shining brightly now, and smiling. And then, all at once, he let it go. The world around him exploded in brilliance, erupting in blinding flashes of light and color. It lasted just a second, but created a flaming world of its own in that second, purging his mind of harm. And then it was over, and Nova was gone. He woke up and looked around. Suik was sleeping, but Taron was staring at him strangely. ?Are you all right?? Taron asked. Procyon nodded. ?I am now.? ?Nova again?? ?Yeah. But this time was different. He?s gone.? Taron was surprised. ?Dead?? ?I think so.? He shook his head. ?Wow. Nova was insane, but I?m not sure even he deserved that. It?s too bad.? ?Not really.? Procyon sighed. ?He got his wish.? The two of them went back to sleep, content in the knowledge that their dreams would be unhindered by purple Haunters anymore. Purple Haunters like the one that was hovering, just thirty feet away, even now planning his next move. TBC